Reincarnated as a dragon’s egg ～Lets aim to be the strongest～ - Chapter 476

476 – Black Lizard’s Evolution

I peer around and confirm that no new monster is about to suddenly appear. There’s a bunch of strange trees around, but nothing that looks like a potential monster. The black lizard should be safe to evolve now.

I bring my head close to her.

『Alright, black lizard! Please show us how you evolve!』

“K-kishi…”

The black lizard takes a couple trembling steps to the side. Wh-what is it…? Is now a bad time? She plops down onto the ground and curls into a ball.

『B-black lizard…?』

She doesn’t respond. A moment later, she shifts slightly to avert her eyes from me.

N-no way!? Why!? Does she hate me!?

I turn to everyone else and begin consulting them.

『Sh-she seems upset? Did I say something bad?』

“Monsters are at their most vulnerable during evolution. Normally it is not something to be willingly shown to another.”

『That is common sense.』

Volk answers, and magiatite-jii chips in… I-is that so?

『I thought she trusted me quite a lot though…』

『Some are instinctively repulsed by the idea of being observed. Rather, how do you not already know this?』

Magiatite-jii glances at the treant and nightmare… The nightmare is brash. The treant is, well, treant-san… If anything it feels like they want to be watched.

Aro was also originally a human, so that sort of instinct might be weak for her.

『Hey, Aro…』

Aro hides behind the treant, her face blushing a slight red.

“…At the start, it was a bit embarrassing.”

『I-Is that so!?』

Now that I think about it, she was originally a human before becoming undead so she had no idea what sort of body she would have when she evolved. It can’t have been comfortable for her to expose her new appearance in front of an unfamiliar dragon, all while being unable to check how she looked herself.

『S-sorry… I’ll look away next time. Though it’s a bit late now.』

“…It’s okay. It’s still a little embarrassing, but next time I evolve, I’ll get really pretty, so… I want dragon-god-sama to see right away.”

She says, still hiding behind the treant’s trunk. The little bit of her cheek that I can see is bright red. Ah… Saying it like that makes me a little flustered, so please stop.

Regardless, I’ve come to understand that the black lizard doesn’t want to evolve in front of people (or rather, in front of monsters). She moves behind a rock to evolve, while we wait for her.

…It feels a bit like we’re waiting for her to try on clothes in a department store.

“…However, precisely because it is when monsters are at their most vulnerable, it would make sense to do it in trusted company. It might be because the lecherta’s species is typically solitary.”

Volk speculates. I-Is that so? I guess that makes sense? But… Riiight…

I hear the sound of something tearing. What’s making that sound? Is she okay?

“Dragon-god-sama… I’d feel too bad for lecherta if you didn’t plug your ears…”

Aro whispers to me. I-is that so? Is that how it is!?

『Volk and everyone else are fine then? Just me?』

Silently, Aro nods her head.

『Treant’s fine too?』

“Treant is treant after all…”

The treant stares at Aro’s back with a complicated expression. I sometimes joke in that way too, but those sorts of nonchalant words can hurt treant-san.

Eventually, the sound of tearing stops. I-is it over?

“Ki, kishi…”

From behind the rock, the black lizard’s head pokes out. She looks a little different from the black lizard I know, but there’s no doubt that it’s her.

Her total length has doubled to about four metres. Parts of the scales on the back of her head have transformed into long, thin, and slightly curved horns. Mysterious pale blue lines trace over her glittering black body, swirling in patterns over her legs and chest, almost giving the appearance of a coat of arms. Four bat-like wings have sprouted from her back, and she has grown out a pair of elongated tails that end in claw-like appendages. A gemstone, faintly shining with blue light, is embedded in her forehead, giving her a divine and majestic appearance.

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Species: Venom Lecherta Goddess

Condition: Normal

Lv: 1/80

HP: 144/217

MP: 31/155

Attack: 144

Defence: 126

Magic: 85

Speed: 133

Rank: B

Characteristic skills:

[Unique Poison: Lv-] [Poison Sash: Lv8] [Scales: Lv4] [Onmitsu: Lv4] [Dark Attribute: Lv-] [Automatic HP Recovery: Lv5] [Decoy Tail: Lv-] [Presence Perception: Lv4] [Petrifying Demon Eye: Lv2] [Flight: Lv2]

Resistance Skills:

[Poison Nullification: Lv-] [Paralysis Nullification: Lv-] [Physical Resistance: LV4] [Confusion Resistance: Lv2] [Petrification Resistance: Lv4] [Instant Death Resistance: Lv3] [Curse Resistance: Lv4]

Normal Skills:

[Poison Fang: Lv5] [Poison Claw: Lv7] [Paralysing Tongue: Lv6] [Extreme Poison: Lv5] [Roll: Lv5] [Clay Gun: Lv6] [Purification: Lv4] [Surprise Attack: Lv4] [Clay Wall: Lv2] [Autoregeneration: Lv4] [Multi-Claw Attack: Lv2] [Body Control: Lv3] [High Jump: Lv2] [Poison Sphere: Lv2] [Poison Body Double: Lv2] [Poison Swamp: Lv2]

Title Skills:

[Foul Feeder: Lv7] [Poison Master: Lv6] [Cunning: Lv5] [Chicken Runner: Lv4] [Demon Lord’s Subordinate: Lv-] [Death God: Lv-] [Goddess of Poison: Lv-]

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O-ooh…! Her stats should increase a lot from here on, and she’s gained a bunch of remarkable skills. Her rank has surpassed the nightmare and treant’s.

The gap between C and B rank is vast. I can expect a lot from her in combat now.

【[Venom Goddess Lecherta]: B rank monster】

【The highest evolution of the [Venom Lecherta] line.】

【Called the [Goddess of Poison] to due its extreme beauty, the value of its skin and the gemstone in its forehead is enough to buy a castle.】

【However, adventurers do not challenge a [Venom Goddess Lecherta].】

【That is because, if they are unable to obtain the forgiveness of the [Venom Goddess Lecherta] that has poisoned them, then even if they narrowly escape death, they will surely suffer an agony excruciating enough for them to wish for death.】

【Its poison is said to make a single night feel like a hundred, so some torture-loving nobles pay a high price for its blood or for the stone in its forehead.】

Th-that sounds brutal… I’d rather not inflict that even against my enemies but… It probably wouldn’t work against Lilixira anyway. She has healing magic, and her poison resistance and magic stat is inhumanly high… No, even so, it might be enough to create an opening.

Still, I’m relieved that she has [Flight] now. With the treant and nightmare’s bulk, I’ve been carrying a lot of weight. I was worried about how we were going to move if the black lizard got bigger too. Her wings seem a little small for her body, but they should be plenty for her to fly with.

…The species description mentioned that it’s the highest evolution of the lecherta line, but she doesn’t have [Final Evolution]. Can she still grow further than this? We’ve had princess, queen, and now goddess, so what could be next?

“Kishi…”

The black lizard glances at me repeatedly. It seems she wants me to appraise her evolution.

『You look quite strong. Once your level is a bit higher, you should be able to make use of your speed and poison to run circles around your opponents!』

“Kishii…”

She crouches down with her belly on the ground. She seems a little sad. Wh-what is it…?

『Ah, also, you look pretty.』

She looks up at me. Her twin tails lift up and wag happily. G-great, it seems she’s happy.

We should head back to the waterfall cavern for now and plan what to do tomorrow. Should I continue trying to raise everyone’s levels, or should I make my own levelling the focus a bit more? I’m a little worried that with how many of us there are and with how poor the levelling efficiency is getting, we might quickly empty the hunting grounds. Or rather, we’ve already done that once. At this rate, a future in which we’ve hunted everything on this island to extinction might not be too far off.

Even so, I want to make sure treant-san can evolve… As I think that, the ground suddenly shakes. W-what is it? An earthquake? No, a monster attack?

Looking around, I see a tree with giant blossoms and a intertwined trunk shaking massively. N-no way, is that also a monster!? The presences of these monsters are so faint that I’ve been negligent in my checking. I never considered the possibility that another kind of mandragora could still be sleeping.