The Giant Yuzu Pepper Salamander Was Punched

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Race: Giant Yuzu Pepper Salamander Lv77

Job: Super Glutton Lv7

Skill: 【Swallow Whole】

【Adhesive Fluid】

【Extreme Vitality Enhancement】

【Defense Enhancement】

【Rapid Regeneration】

【Ambush】

【Thunder Attribute Vulnerability】

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The moving wall's true identity was a monster called the Giant Yuzu Pepper Salamander. The results of appraising it were as follows. Its level was an impressive 77, but the number of Skills it possessed was surprisingly small. However, that very simplicity made its behavior predictable.

It probably spent all its time waiting for prey to approach, then swallowing it whole, just as its Skill indicated. It seemed to have grown this large without ever fighting in order to feed.

If I listened closely, I could hear the sound of water from the other side of the hole. It must lead to a river, and anyone who wandered into the Giant Yuzu Pepper Salamander's lair would be eaten.

"There's a fairly spacious area on the other side of this hole. It's packed full of those Giant Yuzu Pepper Salamander things."

"...Ibuse Masuji, huh."

I muttered at Ruby's report without thinking, but only Genzaburo reacted. Come on, do none of you three read books? It had even appeared in Japanese textbooks for a while... Well, whatever.

In any case, the creature before us was a gigantic predator, but not a warrior. It had grown by constantly eating prey, yet it could not get outside. Whether it was sad about that like a character in a novel, I had no idea. This was an unexpected situation, but we had no particular reason to let it go, so we would try defeating it.

"Jigoro, could you punch it once to start?"

"Sure thing!"

Jigoro happily accepted my request and punched it as hard as he could, lightning wreathing his gauntlet. A heavy boom rang out, followed by golden lightning crackling violently. The sound and effects were flashy, but it looked no different from punching a wall, and since the damage marker was not visible, I could not tell at first whether it had done any damage.

However, its reaction was unmistakable. It seemed to be writhing in pain, its wall-like skin moving violently. The corridor where we stood began shaking so hard that we nearly staggered. It was definitely effective.

"The damage is going through. But if it starts thrashing around, the corridor might collapse. In that case... Astral Magic Formation, activate. Spell adjustment: Paralyze."

When I used 【Curse Magic】, the Giant Yuzu Pepper Salamander twitched convulsively but stopped moving. Was its resistance to status effects low as well? That was convenient for us, but it was pitifully weak for its level.

"Let's pummel it while we can. It seems to have a lot of vitality, so prioritize power."

"Goodness, you're ruthless."

"You really do say some brutal things so casually. Still, I'm glad I get to use the big move from 【Dagger Arts】 in actual combat."

"If it ain't a tough opponent, let's finish it quick!"

"Um... everyone, please try not to damage the materials any more than necessary."

Iris had made a request unique to a production-class player, but in the end, we did not need to take it into consideration. The reason was that the Giant Yuzu Pepper Salamander healed every wound almost as soon as it received it, perhaps thanks to its 【Rapid Regeneration】 Skill.

It was a blessing that we could still use it as high-quality material even if we fought carelessly, but this was where hell began. The Giant Yuzu Pepper Salamander's tremendous recovery power nearly matched the combined firepower of the five of us, and together with its enormous vitality, that plunged us into a grueling battle of attrition.

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You won the battle.

Your 【Lightning Magic】 level has increased.

You learned a new spell: Thunderbolt.

Your 【Lightning Magic】 has reached its growth limit. SP is required to break through the limit.

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"I-is it over? It is, right?"

"The victory notification came up, so it must be... I think."

For nearly an hour afterward, the Giant Yuzu Pepper Salamander held on through nothing but the stats granted by its level and its powerful Skills. The task of punching a wall that was simply hard as rock was exhausting. All four of them looked utterly drained by now.

In my case, I had been maintaining Paralyze and other status effects while attacking with Lightning Magic, my tail, and my scythe, so I was exhausted in a different way. Having many options was useful, but fully mastering all of them was difficult.

"The harvesting... is finished..."

Once Iris finished harvesting it, the corpse vanished, revealing a hollow far larger than I had imagined. For its body to have filled this entire space, it must have been several times Kal's volume. We had never once seen its head, but it undoubtedly possessed a mouth large enough to swallow someone like us whole.

Iris operated the virtual display and sent me the harvested materials, their quantities, and the appraisal results. This convenient feature, which allowed the information to be shown to party members, had been added at the same time as the previous event. Let's see...

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Giant Yuzu Pepper Salamander Soft Skin Quality: Good Rarity: S (Special Grade)

The flabby skin of a Giant Yuzu Pepper Salamander.

It repels water, but is highly vulnerable to electric shocks.

It can be used to make high-quality cloaks.

Giant Yuzu Pepper Salamander Mucous Gland Quality: Good Rarity: S (Special Grade)

An organ that secretes the Giant Yuzu Pepper Salamander's mucus. Sending magic into it causes it to secrete mucus of the same kind.

It gives off a refreshing fragrance, but is highly adhesive and difficult to remove once it sticks to something.

Giant Yuzu Pepper Salamander Jawbone Quality: Good Rarity: S (Special Grade)

The sturdy jawbone of a Giant Yuzu Pepper Salamander, which devours all creatures.

When swallowing prey that has wandered into its lair, it clamps down with this jaw to prevent the prey from escaping.

It gives off a faintly refreshing fragrance.

Giant Yuzu Pepper Salamander Thigh Meat, 10 kg Quality: Excellent Rarity: T (Treasure Grade)

The refreshing-smelling meat of a Giant Yuzu Pepper Salamander. This is thigh meat.

Tender, well-marbled, and exceptionally delicious, it is a high-end ingredient.

It spoils easily and soon becomes inedible.

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"This is certainly a strange one... I'm at a loss for comment."

Perhaps the name Giant Yuzu Pepper Salamander was not just for show, because everything except the skin seemed to give off a refreshing fragrance. When I had Iris take just one piece of meat out of her inventory, a scent reminiscent of yuzu really did waft through the air. ...What is this?

Perhaps because it had been so enormous, the meat items were quite large. If the description was accurate, this one piece alone weighed 10 kg. Apparently there was shoulder meat and breast meat as well. The description was just an aside, so I will omit it.

Even so, it was surprising that the meat had the highest rarity. I cannot eat, so I decided to give my share to Kal and the others.

"Adding up the gram amounts listed for the meat doesn't reach 100 kg, so it seems the characteristic reduction in drop quantities has occurred. Even so, since our opponent was higher-level, this is a large amount of loot for five people."

"It looks like chicken, maybe? The size and weight are bizarre, though..."

"Indeed. But like the other edible items, surely it has no flavor, does it?"

"You'll know if you eat it. Iris, give me one."

"Huh? Yes, here you go."

Jigoro said that and accepted a piece of meat from Iris—and then, unbelievably, bit into it raw! He proceeded to chew the raw meat. I know this was a game! He looked like someone who would casually eat raw meat! But still, that was shocking!

"...Tasty. This is good!"

"I-it has flavor!?"

Jigoro widened his eyes in astonishment and muttered those words before beginning to devour the meat greedily. Of course, he was still eating it raw.

The scene looked exactly like a meal being eaten by an ogre lurking in the mountains, but the bigger issue was that we had discovered an ingredient with a distinct flavor. Eating and drinking in virtual worlds was generally supposed to be flavorless. Apparently, this was because overly strict dieting might be encouraged, or because people might lose interest in real food if virtual food tasted too good.

And yet Jigoro clearly seemed to be tasting it. Drinks were one thing, but was it really okay for food to have flavor...? I was mainly wondering about legal issues and the like.

"I think ingredients whose flavor can be clearly perceived are limited to high-end items."

"What do you mean?"

"Well..."

Realizing what I was wondering about, Iris explained her theory. The problem was not the existence of flavored food and drink items themselves, but their potential negative effects on the real world. Therefore, she thought that all flavorful ingredients were probably restricted to high-rarity items that could not easily be obtained.

Indeed, the rarity of this Giant Yuzu Pepper Salamander meat was T (Treasure Grade), which was extremely high. The description even called it a high-end ingredient, so its market price had to be enormous. If it was impossible to buy enough of it to affect the real world, it could not cause any harmful effects. Therefore, it probably would not create a legal problem.

Now that she put it that way, it might be true. However, if Iris's guess was correct, this meat was absurdly expensive. I regretted that we had no way to convert it to cash. It also spoiled easily, so if we did not eat it soon, it would apparently become garbage. Wasting it would be a shame, so what should we do...?

"There's no point agonizing over it here. Let's head outside for now."

"Agreed. I'll lead the way."

In any case, leaving the hole was more important than thinking about all the possible uses for the meat. Just as when we entered, Ruby led us back outside.

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We were tired from the battle with the Giant Yuzu Pepper Salamander, so we decided to return to Shiratsuki with Kal. When we gave him one of the chunks of meat, his gloom at being left behind vanished as if it had never existed, and he became cheerful. It seemed the meat was delicious to Kal as well.

"Jigoro, was it really that good?"

"No, it wasn't exactly exquisite. It was like sashimi made from pre-seasoned meat. Being raw might have been part of it, too..."

"So you were surprised because it had flavor?"

"That's right. It's normally tasty, but that's all."

I see. So even if it was delicious, it was nothing special compared to high-end cuisine in the real world. In that case, players who pursued high-end ingredients endlessly would probably be connoisseurs or eccentric gourmets.

"Jigoro-san, did anything happen to your body after you ate the meat?"

"Nope. Seems different from the tea I drank at the old man's place."

"It's strange for an item of this rarity not to have a food effect. Even high-end ingredients apparently can't reach their full potential unless they're cooked."

So if high-end meat was not cooked, it became an item that merely had flavor and restored satiety. I see. In that case...

"How about we have a yakiniku party at Shiratsuki today?"

"Sounds great!"

"We're doing it before everyone logs out, right?"

"Then I'll contact everyone through clan chat. Fortunately, it looks like everyone is logged in today."

"As it happens, I've already made a BBQ set!"

The excitement of the other four was off the charts. I was happy to have made a proposal that everyone liked. However, if there was one unfortunate point, it was that I, the person who had proposed it, could not eat anything myself... It would put a damper on things, so I decided to keep quiet. As I thought that, we returned to Shiratsuki using 【Space-Time Magic】.