Fungal Forest of Burning Moss (2)

"Shaaah!!!"

Driven by hunger, the Lava Deadly Viper charged at us. It had no Skill like 【Agility Enhancement】, but it was considerably faster than I expected. Its Agility stat must simply have been high to begin with, without any bonuses from Skills.

Rather than targeting Eiji, who was at the front, it sprang at Moss-san. Eiji stepped between them and wedged his tower shield into its wide-open jaws like a support bar. Then he slammed his axe down with all his strength.

"Nngh! ... Whoa!?"

Although Eiji's axe shattered the Lava Deadly Viper's hard scales, the lava flowing inside them splashed out at that exact moment. It was almost like Lava Shot from 【Lava Magic】.

Eiji's surprise delayed his follow-up attack, allowing the Lava Deadly Viper to retreat and coil up defensively. Eiji had broken part of its scales, but that section had already been repaired.

Apparently, the lava flowing beneath its scales was used not only to counterattack when it was struck, but also to repair the scales. It had not recovered the damage caused by shattering them, but even if we accepted that risk and broke its scales, its defense never actually decreased. That was extremely troublesome.

"Jujahhhhh!!!"

"Gah!? Poison!?"

"That's potent poison. It's killing the moss on the ground."

The Lava Deadly Viper opened its mouth while still coiled and fired venom from its fangs. The poison must have been extremely potent, because, just as Moss-san said, the moss withered in an instant.

I was glad its aim was poor and it missed, because a direct hit would have left everyone but me in serious trouble. Was it planning to keep firing poison like a cannon? That was seriously underestimating us.

"If it's staying still, that's convenient for me. Grand Magic Array, activate. Spell adjustment... Ice Rain!"

"Whoa!"

"Huh, I could probably dodge that, at least."

Taking advantage of its immobility, I activated the time-consuming Grand Magic Array and cast 【Water-Ice Magic】, which dropped countless blocks of ice from overhead. Ice chunks roughly a meter across came raining down over an even wider area than I had imagined.

As flashy as ever. Eiji was amazed by the spell's spectacle, while Moss-san calmly analyzed whether flying through the gaps between the falling ice was possible. Considering what would happen if an enemy used it was important, but you could react a little more, you know?

"Jagyahhhhh!?"

Regardless of my companions' reactions, the falling ice chunks pounded the Lava Deadly Viper's entire body. It was the equivalent of being beaten all over with blunt weapons, and it let out an ugly scream.

The ice chunks shattered its scales and sent lava spraying everywhere, but no one was nearby, so it was meaningless. All it did was leave the creature writhing in agony.

"Now! Bwoooooo!"

Taking advantage of its moment of hesitation, Eiji charged. Using the ice chunks buried in the ground as footholds, he ran up them, leaped, and brought his axe down toward the creature's head. He swung with enough force to cleave it in two from the brow down, but it barely dodged, and the axe missed its head.

However, the blade had sunk into the body close to its head. Lava splashed out again, but Eiji blocked it with his shield and smashed the snake with it. The impact pulled his axe free, and he landed smoothly. Seeing movement reminiscent of Jigorou and the others, I would have opened my eyes wide in surprise if I had possessed eyes.

"That's quite a sense of balance, isn't it? I was surprised myself yesterday."

"Indeed. It's impressive that he can move so well with that cumbersome body."

While Moss-san and I were admiring him, the battle continued to unfold. Having realized the folly of staying in one place, the Lava Deadly Viper began circling around us.

That let it escape the range of Ice Rain if I cast it again, and might also make it easier to respond to Eiji's attacks. However, Eiji and I were not the only ones fighting.

"Starting with 【Ultrasonic Waves】, then Skywing Blade... Isn't this the optimal solution?"

"Jwooooooo!?"

As the last member of our party, Moss-san flew up into the air and shouted something in a voice our ears could not hear. Instead, a visual effect showing the space trembling appeared, and the moment it struck the Lava Deadly Viper, its scales burst apart.

Moss-san apparently attacked it physically with sound waves, just as Wool did. Then, a vacuum wave created by those wings struck the exposed section. The blow to the area without scales inflicted considerable damage.

As Moss-san had said, this seemed to be the optimal way to fight the Lava Deadly Viper. Somehow shatter its scales, then attack the exposed area again before they could regenerate. Repeating that process was the strategy for defeating it.

"Jugaahhhhh!!"

Naturally, our opponent did not simply take the punishment. It spat out a purple-tinged black gas from its mouth to counterattack. This had to be 【Scorching Poison Breath】. Judging from the name, it probably released poison gas that also dealt Fire Attribute damage. Extremely dangerous.

"Astral Magic Array, remote activation, Wind Pillar."

However, I was a player with a fair amount of experience. I already knew how to deal with situations like this. By raising pillars of wind at a distance and creating an air current, I could guide the gas toward them.

【Scorching Poison Breath】 spread until it nearly covered my entire field of vision, but the five pillars of wind blew it all away. Its finishing move had failed, and the Lava Deadly Viper remained frozen in the posture it had used to exhale 【Scorching Poison Breath】, looking somewhat dazed.

"Aim for the neck! Flying Slash Dance!"

"I'll coordinate! Skywing Slash... Eiji-kun!"

"Yes! Decapitating Circular Axe!"

We did not let that opening pass. Using the scythe I had taken out for the first time in a while, I sent countless slashes flying, while Moss-san simultaneously flapped those wings and released several blades of wind. Our target was a vital point: not the head, but the section immediately below it. Incidentally, I avoided the head because it had dodged my attack earlier, and for no other reason.

Our flying slashes shattered its scales and sent lava spraying around it again. Eiji charged in while blocking the splashing lava with his shield, then swung his axe through as he spun once in midair. The Lava Deadly Viper's head was severed and fell to the ground, hitting it with a dull thud.

――――――――――

You won the battle.

Your Race level has increased. You acquired 1 SP.

Your Job level has increased. You acquired 1 SP.

【Water-Ice Magic】 level has increased.

You learned the spell Glacier Hurricane.

【Water-Ice Magic】 has reached its growth limit. 20 SP required to break through the limit.

――――――――――

"Oh, I leveled up. It was a lower-level opponent, but it would have been dangerous if we hadn't been careful."

"Yes. Since we'll likely encounter other specimens from here on, we'd be poisoned in no time if we let our guard down."

"Ugh, what a pain!"

The Lava Deadly Viper was not strong enough to force us into a difficult battle, but fighting carelessly would earn us a painful counterattack. That was my overall assessment of it.

However, anyone who challenged it at a low level would probably be poisoned to death while their attacks were blocked by its repeatedly repairing scales. I did not know whether Mac and the others had fought one before, but we should exchange information about this monster, just in case.

Now then, it was time for the long-awaited harvesting. We had moss and mushrooms, but still had not obtained any monster materials. It would be nice if an appealing material came out here. What would we get?

――――――――――

Lava Deadly Viper Venom Fang Quality: Fair Rarity: S (Special Grade)

The fang of a Lava Deadly Viper.

It is infused with potent Fire Attribute magic, and the venom soaked into it never disappears.

Although sturdy, it is tubular and difficult to process.

――――――――――

The drops consisted of a fang and several magic stones. Setting the magic stones aside, the fang was slightly curved and measured roughly fifty centimeters from tip to base. Its texture was no different from the fangs of the monsters we had seen so far, but it was somewhat reddish and had purple streaks running through it.

Moreover, when I actually touched it, I could tell that the fang itself held heat. It was not too hot to touch, but it was certainly quite warm.

"It looks like it could be used as a weapon, but... what an awkward length."

"It's a little too short for a straight sword or curved sword, but too long for a dagger, isn't it?"

"Too short for a belt and too long for a sash, as they say?"

Just as the proverb Moss-san cited suggested, it was an extremely inconvenient length. Was it because I was miserly that I found it all the more wasteful precisely because it was such an interesting item?

However, not taking it home was not an option. It was a hard-won trophy, after all. Still, if we ended up fighting another one, I would try defeating it in a different way and see whether it dropped any other items.

"Oh? I've received a mountain of messages from Shiitake."

I was about to put the items away in my inventory when I noticed that a huge number of messages had arrived from Shiitake. Since I had turned off notifications during the battle, I had noticed them late.

"Shiitake-san? Did something happen?"

"It's about the Centaur children, right? Judging by her reaction when she saw Alvy-chan..."

"Exactly. It seems she nearly went berserk, but Cal apparently drove her off. The messages I've received are complaints about that."

Apparently, she had been holed up in the dungeon, fighting single-mindedly to collect Golem cores. When she returned to put away the items she had gathered, she found the Centaur children playing with Cal.

As expected, she went berserk and tried to dash toward the children, but Cal stood in her way and drove her off, even using the Skills 【Intimidation】 and 【Roar】. The children must have thought someone bad was there, because they got frightened and hid behind Cal.

Shiitake complained to me, saying things like, "Let me play with them!" and "This is discrimination!" It was her own fault, and all she had to do was approach without frightening them. I had no obligation to answer her complaints, but perhaps I should placate her.

"I'll give her an unusual item, so bear with it for now," I replied."

"Are we heading back now just to give it to her?"

"No. Shiitake needs time to cool her head too. Let's explore as a trio a little longer."

"That's more like it!"

I had replied to Shiitake's complaints, but I had never said we would return right away. We could stay here a little longer. We continued exploring 'Fungal Forest of Burning Moss' until we were satisfied.