Chapter 27
Just when I was starting to hope we'd find something soon…
A path appeared, slanting up a low hill.
It wasn't quite a mountain, but it was too elevated to call flat ground.
"There."
Vitoria gestured.
I poked my head through the vines, then held my breath.
There was a cave.
A black entrance yawned halfway up the hill.
A dry cave on high ground───
It was definitely an ideal candidate for a base camp.
I would've wanted to check inside, too.
In front of the entrance was a flat, dry rock ledge big enough for a few people to sit on, and the ground sloped gently down below it.
I was impressed.
"Looks good, doesn't it?"
I nodded.
We still needed to check for harmful gases inside and make sure the floor was dry, but the location was excellent.
"Where's the beast?"
"Shh, keep quiet."
At the cave entrance, there was something on the sunlit rock.
The one with green skin and vicious eyes.
At first, it looked like a huge green log.
When it flicked out its tongue and began sweeping fallen leaves aside with its thick tail, I realized it was alive.
It was a
Deserted Island Super King Lizard.
"Fuck. Something like that lives on this island?"
"No, fuck. That's our prey."
This is a whole different story!
That tail's as thick as an adult's torso! It's practically a dinosaur!
"Are you scared?"
Grrk.
She'd said the one thing most taboo for a Korean man?
Chickening out? Running away?
I took another look at the king lizard.
Even magic couldn't give me a good read on it……
I was confident I could hurt it, but I imagined the green lump surviving by a hair and charging at me…
It'd charge in after smashing through a few trees without trouble.
Its green scales glinted in the sunlight, like jungle-colored plate armor.
It prowled in front of the cave as if it owned the place.
"That boar was definitely the
southern
forest's master,
right?"
"…That one is the
true
master of the southern forest."
Fuck, so it really was the true king?
Well, fair enough. The throne can change hands.
"Noona. Can I go back?"
"We've come all this way. And doesn't it look like a really good cave?"
Vito noona tried to coax me in a gentle tone.
She seemed to know that this prey was a bit over the top.
She wasn't saying, 'If you're a brave man, go fight it!'
Then she'd be an Amazonian warrior. Fuck.
Honestly, it felt more like she was sweet-talking me because I was a wizard.
You can do it, right? Hmm? That sort of thing.
"The owner of this place is a true king lizard."
"I hope the man who gets to have me tonight is just as kingly."
Grrk.
Damn…… I was wavering when she baited me with a line like that.
Should I try staging a coup?
"I'll hit it first, and if that doesn't work, we'll run."
Even I thought that was a good strategy.
The enemy was in an open area, and we had the jungle full of cover at our backs.
We'd have to run like hell, though──
It probably wouldn't catch us that quickly.
"All right."
"You're not calling me a coward?"
"Of course not. I know the difference between recklessness and good sense."
Noona seemed to like this strategy, too.
It didn't seem like she'd planned to fight that thing up close with a knife from the start.
That meant the hunt would depend entirely on my firepower.
Could I do it?
My Wind Cutter had killed a huge boar in an instant, but looking at its tightly packed scales, I wasn't sure that would be enough.
What the hell was that? Its hide wasn't quite scales, but it wasn't a shell, either.
Something in between.
Were those called
osteoderms
or something?
Could I take it down with an improvised pressure cutter using the Glyph of Water?
'No. That's for processing materials…. '
It wasn't as powerful as an industrial water jet that could cut through actual rock.
Despite the name, Wind Cutter didn't have the cutting power to slice through a living creature's neck in an instant.
What if I aimed for the inside?
Too risky….
If I asked Vito noona to make it open its mouth, I could see the soft flesh inside, but…
There was a good chance I'd watch her get bitten to death by the king lizard right in front of me.
"……Let's wait."
"Wait?"
"Yes."
The lizard happened to be standing on a natural high point.
If it came to the edge of the rock, I might be able to send it tumbling with the Glyph of Wind.
Use the terrain to deal a crushing blow, then immediately seize the advantage───
That was the best solution I could think of right now.
The problem was, I had no way to lure it to the edge.
If I hit it from here, it'd just brace itself with that solid body and charge at us.
So all I could do was pray it'd go there of its own accord.
It was a battle of patience.
"This is starting to feel like a real hunt."
Vito seemed even more accustomed to waiting than I was.
………
……
It's moving.
Had we been waiting an hour, hidden in the bushes like snipers?
As if it had gotten bored of standing in one place, it started walking toward the edge of the rock, exactly as I'd hoped.
'Just one more step.'
I prayed silently.
But the king lizard turned back.
I sighed in dismay.
Luck wasn't on our side. Luck…
"Take a deep breath and calm down."
Vito noona said it as if to soothe my impatience.
Right, don't rush….
This was probably how humans had hunted since ancient times.
We weren't animals suited to short bursts of action.
One of the greatest advantages that made humans the lords of all creation was our endurance.
We tracked our prey for a long time, waiting for it to show an opening, then attacked when it was at its weakest.
We kept digging at its most painful spot until we finally cut off its breath.
That was…… humanity.
'There. Is this it?'
The moment the king lizard approached the edge of the flat rock, I prepared my magic.
But I felt that it wasn't time yet.
I couldn't explain why.
At that moment, when I was concentrating as hard as I could, every sense in my body was telling me the same thing.
Wait a little longer!
The perfect moment is coming, it seemed to say!
'Now!!'
I formed a Wind Spear, a spell with powerful knockback, and sent it flying.
Whooosh!!
Boom!
"Kraaaagh, grrrr. Hissss!"
The instant I attacked, it let out an enormous breath, like the sound of a steam locomotive.
That single breath from the giant creature entering combat mode made every nerve in my body stand on end.
I'm dead.
If I don't take it down here, I'm dead!!
I immediately formed another Wind Spear and sent it flying.
KABOOM!!
It seemed to wobble, but it held its balance with its tail.
That spell had killed a boar the size of a small bear in an instant!
And my firepower was even greater now. Was that thing really a monster?
"Hissssss!!"
Wow. Fuck. That sound's going to haunt my dreams.
It spotted me. But I'd already completed my next plan.
Sorry, but it's time to step down from your throne.
The two Wind Spears I'd launched hadn't completely dissipated.
The wind I'd sent out returned at my command, striking the edge of the rock where the lizard had planted its feet unsteadily.
Crack!
"Grrr! Hissss!!?"
The ground crumbled, and one of the lizard's feet slipped over the edge.
Without solid ground to support its massive body, there was no way it could avoid tumbling down.
Rumble, rumble, rumble, rumble!!
When the lizard rolled down, I really thought a landslide was happening.
"Let's go right now. It might still be alive!"
I hurried toward it.
Looking down from the rock, I saw it flailing on its back with its mouth wide open.
This was different from the boar.
If I didn't finish it off here, I had a feeling I'd be the one getting hurt next time.
I felt a little bad about brutally attacking a defenseless creature, but……
Accept your fate, True King.
KRRRRRRRR……!
I unleashed a barrage of Wind Spears, sharpening them as much as I could, down on the lizard.
Amazingly, even attacks against its relatively soft belly didn't give me much sense of impact.
But I steadily increased the density of my attacks.
As I focused my power and kept firing Wind Spears, blood spattered.
It felt like I was stomping it into the ground to make sure it could never get back up.
I kept pouring attacks into it, rendering it unable to recover.
Amid the countless attacks, the king lizard finally fell silent.
"Phew……"
The hunt was a success.
"Impressive."
I turned around, exhausted, and saw Vito noona looking at me as if she were seeing me for the first time.
"That was amazing. Korean. Now I see you're not just all firepower."
"I'm Kim Woojin."
"Kim Woojin…."
Vito noona awkwardly repeated my pronunciation.
"Woojin."
"That's right."
Phew, I'm exhausted….
This was probably the first time I'd gotten tired simply from using a Glyph.
Like how you can run a long distance, but sprinting leaves you out of breath all at once.
"Shall we check inside now, Woojin?"
Noona seemed unable to contain her curiosity about what was inside the cave.
"Sure."
As for that lizard…
It'd probably be hard to eat its meat anyway. Could a knife for butchering even cut through those osteoderms?
Even Detection Magic only gave off warning signals.
That meant its body was likely full of harmful things like parasites or bacteria, even if it wasn't actually poisonous.
I quickly let go of any thoughts of using the corpse and went into the cave with Vito noona.
A perfectly ideal dry cave…
After going inside, I was even more certain.
For starters, the floor was bone-dry.
"Looks good. Shall we go farther in?"
"Wait, noona."
I scanned the inside of the cave with Detection Magic.
I couldn't reach very deep, but I was checking for harmful gases.
"It's dangerous to just go in. Let me check the air."
"Check? How?"
I used the Glyph of Wind to push fresh air from outside into the cave.
Then I could tell that the rocks throughout the cave were breathing.
So… the ventilation inside should be good.
"Seems fine. Let's go."
After walking a little farther, we came to a fork in the path.
One side led straight to a spacious area. It looked like a good place to live.
The floor was dry, and the rocks were breathing.
"Nice. It really is perfect as a base."
Vito looked around, seemingly satisfied.
'I want it.'
I wanted to say, 'Could our group have it?'
"Let's check the other path, too."
What could be down the other path?
It felt like it led downward. The floor seemed to grow damper, little by little…
Before it got any darker, I turned on my smartphone flashlight and continued onward…
Things seemed to get brighter farther down.
Bioluminescent fungi spread in a thin layer over the rock….
A small underground chamber wrapped in mysterious light appeared.
……!
In an instant, the mana stirred.
I felt it with a jolt.
'A new Glyph!'