I Became the Only Reptile in the Community

Chapter 24

—–CROW—– 

The Yeouiju.

If I were to rank the things I needed right now, it would undoubtedly be at the top of the list.

And now, the Wind Spirit King had sent one as a gift through Silphy.

‘When did he notice?’

There was no way he’d send a Yeouiju so casually without a reason.  He must have somehow… probably using the wind, his domain, become aware of our relationship, or rather, my existence.

I wouldn’t mind if it was a genuine gift, a gesture of goodwill, but a Yeouiju was far too valuable for that.

“Shaa. Shaaa.”

‘Did the Wind Spirit King ask for anything in return?’

If my hunch was correct, he must have made some kind of request, either to me or Silphy.

“-Uh, not yet?”

‘So he plans to ask later.’

He was leaving it as a debt.  If I used this Yeouiju, I’d be obligated to fulfill his request in the future, whatever it may be.

‘But…’

It was too tempting to refuse.  Was this what a poisoned chalice felt like?  Even knowing the potential danger, my desire for the Yeouiju didn’t diminish.  It intensified, fueling greedy thoughts.

Like, for example, sacrificing Silphy and Cheong…

*Pause.*

“Shaaaaaack!”

‘Shiiiiiit!’

“-El?!”

“Myack?!”

Silphy and Cheong looked at me, startled by my sudden outburst.  But I ignored them, my gaze fixed on the Yeouiju.

How dare it put such disturbing thoughts in my head?

“Shaa.”

‘Silphy.’

“-Y-Yes!”

“Shaack.”

‘Destroy it. Now.’

“-Whaaat?!”

How dare it make me think such things.

That thing, a Yeouiju?

I narrowed my eyes, realizing the influence it had over me.

‘What is this, a cursed item?’

What kind of item inflicted a debuff on its owner?  Especially a Yeouiju.

‘This won’t do.’

I had my doubts.

Was this really a Yeouiju?

I needed confirmation.

From the heroes of Gallery across countless dimensions.

[Is this a Yeouiju?]

-Posted by: DragonScaleSnack

(Picture of Silphy protectively clutching a shimmering Yeouiju)

Silphy received a Yeouiju from the Spirit King. But the moment I saw it, I was overwhelmed by the thought that I should claim it, even if it meant sacrificing all my friends. What the hell? What kind of cursed item is this?  If anyone knows if this is a real Yeouiju, please tell me.

Turning to Gallery was a natural course of action.  There was no better place to find the information I needed.

*Ding.*

*Ding.*

*Ding.*

-Wait, Gallery Master got a Yeouiju?

-The Spirit King gave it to you?  Insane connections.

└As expected of the great Silphy.

└Simply the GOAT.

└Silphy again?  Time for another round of praise.

-But would we even know?

└Lol, true.

└How many people here have even *seen* a Yeouiju?

└Dragons are rare to begin with, lol.

-Wow, is that a Yeouiju?  It’s gorgeous.

└I want to keep it as a work of art.

└It’ll be stolen the next day.

It would probably take a while to get the answer I was looking for.  It was true that Yeouijus were rare.  Even in the original story’s timeline, dragons were seldom seen.

But I had faith.

I believed a hero would appear with the answer to my question.

*Ding.*

-Is that really a Yeouiju? It looks different from the one I saw.

Yes! This was it!

I knew I could count on you, hero!

└(OP): Different? How is it different?

└The Yeouiju wielded by the dragon I fought… how should I describe it? It was like a swirling rainbow, with all sorts of brilliant colors.  But that one has nothing.

└Oh, you might be right.

└Wow, how do you even know that?  It’s a miracle you survived fighting a dragon.

└I fought it in the Records of the Past.  Of course, I couldn’t win and gave up after dying over 100 times.

└Damn, lol.  Even attempting it 100 times is insane.

└Wow, talk about persistent.

└Wait, that place actually exists?

└Yeah, tell me where it is.

└The location keeps changing, so I don’t know.

The Records of the Past!

It was a place where data on past individuals who had visited certain locations was recorded, allowing for simulated battles.  In the game, it had been a simple event feature, but it seemed to exist in reality as well.

‘But a different Yeouiju…’

I looked at the Yeouiju in Silphy’s hand again.  It was still just a transparent sphere, unlike the description in the comment.  However, it was difficult to dismiss it based on that comment alone, because there was a key difference: that Yeouiju was wielded by a *dragon*, not an Imugi.

*An Imugi creates a Yeouiju, and a dragon wields it.*

Perhaps this Yeouiju was in this state simply because it had no owner and hadn’t been imbued with any energy yet.

Hiss.

Should I take this Yeouiju?

Should I really possess this object that filled me with such tempting, impure thoughts?

“-El!”

“Shaa?”

‘Huh?’

*Whoosh*

“-Why do you look so troubled? Is something wrong?”

“Myamyamya! Myaang!”

“-Cheong is worried too.”

Something wrong…

‘Sigh.’

*Twinkle, twinkle.*

“Shaaa.”

‘This is driving me crazy.’

What choice should I make?

Someone, give me an answer!

*Ding.*

-Is the mental corruption that bad? Like, impossible to resist and find a counter item?

└Oh, you’re a genius.

└But isn’t that thought corruption? How can you resist that?

└I don’t know. The Gallery Master will figure it out.

└Lol, crazy.

*Pause.*

Resist? And a counter item?

I immediately replied to the new comment.

└(OP): I think I can resist, but I’m not sure. And what do you mean by a counter item? Like, mental defense or something?

└Yeah.

└(OP): Would something like that even exist in my era?

└Ah, right.

└Lol.

I knew it.

I shook my head and focused on the Yeouiju before me.  It was just me and the Yeouiju now.  Silphy and Cheong, sensing that my sudden behavior was due to the Yeouiju, had considerately left me alone with it.

‘Seriously, what is this, a cursed item with a passive debuff?’

Just looking at it made it whisper temptations, urging me to claim it.  And the whispers seemed even more insistent now.

*Roll, roll, roll.*

Just as Cheong rolled the amrita with her paw, I rolled the Yeouiju with the tail that had regrown after Cheong had bitten it off.  What should I do with this thing?  I couldn’t bring myself to use it, but I couldn’t discard it either.  It was a true dilemma.

“Shaaaa.”

‘Hey, can you hear me?’

Considering the constant whispers, I wondered if the Yeouiju had a consciousness, but it remained silent, only filling my mind with those strange, unsettling thoughts.

‘The five elements needed to create a Yeouiju.’

Fire. Water. Wood. Metal. Earth.

And additionally, wind and lightning.

Could I sense these five, or rather, seven energies within the Yeouiju?  Honestly, I couldn’t tell.  Where was I supposed to sense these energies?  It just felt like a smooth, ordinary glass bead.

But Silphy had immediately recognized it as a Yeouiju.

‘How?’

Could she sense the energies contained within it?  Just like she had sensed the wood and metal energies within me.

‘Then…’

Could this work?

[Question about the Yeouiju]

-Posted by: DragonScaleSnack

A question about the Yeouiju. It feels like it’s related to alchemy, so hear me out.

(Explanation about needing the five elements, wind, and lightning to create a Yeouiju.)

…So, it’s something like that.  And since the thing I got is definitely a Yeouiju, it should have the same energies as described above, right? So… (explanation of the crazy thing I was about to do).

Would this be possible?

-Gallery Master, are you crazy?

-Oh dear, our Gallery Master has finally lost it!

-Living as a snake has made his brain turn into snake mush!

-Shaa! Shaack! Shaa!

└Why has this guy’s brain turned into snake mush too?

└Shaaaaa!

‘Hmm…’

Even I thought this was a bit crazy.  But I had no other idea how to handle this Yeouiju.  Carrying around a cursed item like this and becoming a dragon felt like a recipe for disaster.  It was definitely not something I wanted to keep for long.

“-Hmm… interesting.”

└Agreed.  So that’s how a Yeouiju is made?

-But I can’t say it’s impossible.

└Assembly is the reverse of disassembly!

└Is that the right saying here?

└Isn’t it?

└I don’t know.

Several people, presumably alchemists or engineers, left comments.  I was encouraged by the comment saying it wasn’t entirely impossible.  And that saying in the comments… “Assembly is the reverse of disassembly.”

*Crack.*

‘Alright.  Let’s do this.’

If I couldn’t use this Yeouiju and might have to throw it away, I might as well try this reckless method.

*Crack.*

I opened my mouth as wide as I could.  Wide enough to swallow Cheong’s head whole.

*Rip.*

‘Ow! That hurts!’

Of course, that wasn’t possible with my current size.  No matter how flexible my jaw was, pushing it past its limits resulted in tearing.

‘But I can endure it!’

It hurt, but this level of pain?  Compared to pulling out my fangs, it was a mere tickle.

*Thump.*

Finally, my jaws stretched wide enough, and I lunged at my target, slowly swallowing the round object.

‘Assembly is the reverse of disassembly.’

So, I’d disassemble this unpleasant Yeouiju, absorb the energies within, and then create my own.  I’d rather have a brand-new, personally crafted one than a used, second-hand item.

*Gulp.*

—–CROW—–