Chapter 61: Battle with the Whip Tail Lizard

The first place I arrived after leaving the base was a humid forest.

Selion, seemingly familiar with the area, moved forward without hesitation.

“Ah, do you see that?”

“Yes.”

Selion, who was walking ahead, pointed to a large tree with bright red fruit hanging from its branches.

It looked like an oversized apple.

“It looks like an apple, doesn’t it?”

“Does that mean it’s not an apple?”

“It’s similar, but it’s a different species. It’s not edible for humans. Because it resembles an apple, the first explorers who came here often picked and ate it, only to end up suffering from stomachaches.”

“Hmm…”

Nodding at Selion’s explanation, I pulled out a small booklet from my pocket.

It was the guidebook to Monster Island that had been distributed to all new explorers before we arrived.

As Selion had said, the guidebook included information about the red fruit. Known as the “Fake Apple,” it deceived people with its attractive appearance.

Like this, Selion led me around and taught me the basics about Monster Island.

What surprised me the most was the appearance of the goblins inhabiting this area.

The goblins here had very long arms and primarily moved by climbing trees.

“Strange-looking, aren’t they?”

I nodded in response to Selion’s question.

Watching them swing from tree to tree with their long arms reminded me of gibbons back on Earth.

“Most goblins here look like that. They’ve evolved this way to survive. They usually live off tree fruits.”

“It’s almost as if they evolved to avoid ground-based monsters.”

“Exactly. The mana storms here accelerate monster evolution. Who knows, in ten years, goblins might even grow wings on their backs.”

“That quickly…?”

I couldn’t hide my skepticism at Selion’s statement.

While I knew the mana from Kalvain Forest had a significant impact on the monsters’ ecology, it was hard to believe that goblins could grow wings within ten years.

“Maybe ten years is too short, but the point is, their evolution happens quickly.”

“Hmm.”

“Anyway, shall we go deeper?”

“Yes.”

The week spent with Selion passed by quickly.

She taught me an incredible range of skills: how to track monsters by identifying their traces, how to craft traps using the surrounding environment, and even how to butcher hunted monsters.

These were invaluable techniques that I wouldn’t have been able to learn even by paying for them in the Karma Empire.

“Think you can manage on your own?”

“Yes!”

I nodded firmly in response to Selion’s question.

After a week of training with her, I was now assigned a mission to hunt a specific monster, testing whether I could properly apply what I had learned.

I wasn’t the only one with such a mission.

All twenty of the new explorers who arrived at Monster Island with me had been given similar tasks.

Although the targets varied, teamwork was permitted, and some had already formed groups to hunt together.

I set out from the base with Nightmare and unfolded a stiff piece of paper.

The paper detailed the habitat, name, and appearance of the monster I needed to hunt.

[Eagle Drake]

Found in the southern rocky mountains, the Eagle Drake is a monster with the body of a massive lizard, the head of an eagle, and wings.

Born with enormous wings, it can fly from birth.

However, as its body grows, the wings fail to keep pace, and by the time it reaches adulthood, it loses its ability to fly due to its increased weight.

For adult Eagle Drakes, their wings, once feathered, transform into tough scales.

The wings, no longer serving as flight mechanisms, become shields and weapons to protect the creature.

Fully grown adults reach a size of about 3 to 4 meters, though individual sizes can vary greatly.

The presence or absence of wing feathers is the primary way to distinguish adults from juveniles.

My mission was to hunt an Eagle Drake and retrieve the white feather adorning its head.

I looked around to see if any of the twenty explorers would be heading to the rocky mountains with me, but no one shared the same mission area.

Unfortunately, I had to embark on the journey alone.

“Alright, shall we get going?”

Fwoosh!

I started running through the forest with Nightmare.

Since it was a rarely traveled area, there weren’t any well-defined paths, but Nightmare navigated the narrow forest trails without any difficulty.

The week with Selion had brought significant changes to Nightmare’s body.

The previously plump figure had shed most of its fat due to the increased activity, restoring its sleek and agile physique.

After breaking through the narrow forest path, we arrived at a long stretch of river.

Following this river would lead me quickly to the northern rocky mountains.

I ran alongside the river with Nightmare.

As I followed the winding path, I frequently encountered monsters.

Smaller, weaker ones fled, intimidated by Nightmare’s presence.

However, larger monsters or those that hunted in groups often attacked us instead.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

This time, a massive lizard appeared before me.

It looked similar to the one I had encountered in the Forest of Kalvain, but its back was smooth, lacking any broken organs, and it was slightly smaller in size compared to the previous one.

“Screeeech!”

If I had the time to consult the guidebook for pioneers, I might have identified this monster.

But now was not the moment for that.

Pulling tightly on Nightmare’s reins, I abruptly changed direction.

I wanted to avoid fighting monsters other than those directly related to my mission.

However, the persistent lizard left me no choice but to engage in battle.

Gripping the reins firmly, I drew my sword from its sheath behind me.

Having gone through countless adventures together, Nightmare immediately understood my intentions.

It shifted direction and charged at the lizard.

Was this what it felt like to rush headlong at a giant truck?

As I stared at the gaping maw of the enormous lizard, I kicked off Nightmare’s back and leaped into the air.

Nightmare, quick on its feet, veered away just in time to avoid the lizard’s attack.

The damp wind, heavy with moisture, tousled my hair as I felt a brief sense of weightlessness.

I quickly adjusted my posture and swung my sword at the lizard’s head below.

Clang!

My sword struck the lizard’s scales as I descended, producing sparks as if it had collided with solid metal.

A sharp recoil traveled through the blade and into my hands.

“…!”

Sliding off the lizard’s head, I landed on the ground and quickly rolled away.

Above me, the lizard’s tail whipped through the air toward where I had been.

Thud!

The tail slammed into the ground, gouging out a deep crater as if struck by a massive club.

Watching the impact, cold sweat trickled down my face.

If I had been just a moment slower, I would have been flattened like a piece of dried fish.

During the week I had spent with Selion, she had taken care of most of the monsters, so I hadn’t faced this kind of direct danger before.

Recalling the warnings from the Monster Island guidebook, I steadied my sword.

Whoosh!

As the mana circle in my heart began to spin, the lizard whipped its tail at me again.

The attack was fast and precise, but with my preparations complete, it wasn’t a threat anymore.

Lowering my stance, I gripped the sword with both hands and swung it.

Just before the tail reached me, the crest of the Great Warrior, infused with mana, glowed brightly, further enhancing my body.

The flow of mana didn’t stop there. Activating the sigil on the back of my hand, the mana surged into the blade, forming a star-studded aura around the sword.

In that instant, my sword and the lizard’s tail brushed past each other.

The impact on my wrist was intense, but I held on firmly, successfully severing the massive tail with a sharp swish.

Thud!

The severed tail crashed to the ground, and Nightmare immediately rushed to my side, standing protectively.

However, the lizard, now missing its tail, seemed to lose its will to fight.

It quickly turned and fled across the river. Quite the swift retreat.

Watching the lizard vanish into the distance, I let out a deep sigh.

“Prrr…”

Nightmare nudged my back gently as if asking, “Aren’t you going to chase it?”

“It’s fine. Let it go.”

I could have pursued it, but my target wasn’t this lizard—it was the Eagle Drake.

Moreover, chasing it through the forest would only increase the likelihood of encountering other large monsters.

And besides, it wasn’t as though I had come away empty-handed.

I approached the massive tail that lay on the ground, still twitching with remnants of nervous activity.

“Let’s see…”

Taking out a guidebook from my pocket, I flipped through its pages, searching for information on the monster I had just encountered.

Soon, I found a detailed entry matching its description.

[Whip Tailor]

A monster found across Monster Island, characterized by its long tail and tough, scaly exterior.

Its tail attacks are particularly notable.

The size and color of its scales vary depending on its habitat, with the largest recorded specimen reaching nearly 30 meters in length.

Its scales are both durable and lightweight, making them a popular material for crafting armor.

“Hmm.”

Nodding at the entry, I realized this was the perfect opportunity to test what I had learned from Selion about processing monster parts.

Pulling out a small dagger from my bag, I began to peel away the scales from the tail.

Nightmare seemed very interested in the tail’s meat.

Its tongue flicked out repeatedly, and it clicked its teeth as if the tail looked particularly appetizing.

Amused, I sliced off a portion of the meat and tossed it to Nightmare.

“Neighhh!”

Nightmare happily chewed on the meat, its expression one of pure bliss.

Watching this, I hastened to finish processing the tail.

The severed tail alone was at least two meters long.

By the time I had stripped the scales and stuffed them into my bag, what had once been a slim bag was now bulging.