Chapter-02 · EP-035
Episode 35: Giant Lizard
The moment I entered the second-floor boss room, a low, dull growl rumbled through the air.
The room was domed, just like the first floor. In the center stood a giant lizard. Its long tongue flickered in and out of its mouth, revealing sharp teeth, and its tail swung back and forth like an iron whip.
Somehow, it looked far more ferocious than in the photos. From the pictures, I thought it looked like a crocodile, but seeing it in person, it was more like a dinosaur than a crocodile.
Its imposing presence left me hesitant.
The Floor Boss, the Giant Lizard, seemed to be gauging my approach.
"No choice but to fight…"
Being scared wouldn't help. I stepped forward, one step at a time, ready to face the Giant Lizard.
"Kishaaa!"
It opened its mouth, baring its fangs in a threat display.
I slid sideways and struck the Giant Lizard's neck from an angle.
Thwump! The sensation of hitting flesh, a feeling unique to living creatures, transmitted through the wooden sword.
The Giant Lizard immediately tried to bite the wooden sword. I pulled my hand back, withdrawing the sword.
This time, I brought a blow down on its head.
Crack! The impact of hitting its skull. The Giant Lizard flinched.
Was it working?
Then, the Giant Lizard charged at me.
Its short four legs moved rapidly, and the sight of it closing in filled me with fear. I quickly sidestepped to the right, evading its charge.
Its biting attack cut through the empty air.
If it bit me, it wouldn't be a simple injury. I'd die.
As I thought that, I felt a pleasant tension rather than fear.
After that, I repeated the pattern: focusing only on avoiding its bites, I struck it repeatedly with my wooden sword.
A steel sword would probably deal more damage than a wooden one. I felt the need to upgrade my weapon, but I concentrated on the fight before me.
Then, the Giant Lizard stopped for a moment. It planted its four legs firmly. I recognized this move from my research.
It was the tail swipe.
The Giant Lizard twisted its large body and swung its thick tail with full force. This attack was powerful on its own, but the real danger was that after this blow, it would pounce on you while you were off-balance and bite.
"Now's my chance!"
I knew this was an opportunity.
I leaped over the swinging tail and, with my wooden sword, struck the now-exposed side of the Giant Lizard with all my strength.
It was a critical hit.
My attack made the Giant Lizard fall onto its back.
With a heavy thud, its massive body collapsed, and it died, vanishing and leaving behind a Magic Gem.
"Phew… Well, maybe challenging it at level 3 would have been the correct approach, but it seems even at level 2, it's not impossible."
I muttered, picked up the Magic Gem, and descended the stairs to the third floor that had appeared before me.
The third floor was also a cavern similar to the previous ones. By the way, I heard the atmosphere changed from the fourth floor onward.
Wondering if defeating the Giant Lizard had raised my level, I used Skill Camouflage to check my current status.
Shirou Ichinose: LV2 ▶
Skill: Skill Camouflage (Hide) ▶
Party: None
The information displayed on the floating Skill Board was the same as before, unchanged.
"My level still hasn't gone up…"
It was said that to go from level 2 to 3, you needed to defeat about 100 monsters on the second floor if alone, or about 400 if in a four-person party.
Since reaching level 2, I had defeated many slimes on the first floor, the Huge Slime twice in a party and once solo, and on the second floor, a total of four regular monsters and the Floor Boss, the Giant Lizard.
Even though it was a Floor Boss, I thought it should give a fair amount of experience, but it seemed that this many wasn't enough to reach level 3.
Not having reached level 3 was disappointing, but the fact that I could check my status anytime without going back to the Skill Board at the dungeon entrance was convenient for this skill called Skill Camouflage. I thought it was a useless skill, but it had its benefits.
Now, after dismissing the Skill Board, I looked around.
This was the third floor. The monsters appearing here were different from the second floor.
What appeared on the third floor were goblins.
Small imps about one meter tall. They were ferocious, but also weak, making them a classic representation of weak enemies in the video games I liked.
But apparently, in the real world, they weren't that weak.
First, the troublesome thing was that they were humanoid monsters that walked on two legs and sometimes wielded weapons. It felt different from defeating slimes on the first floor or animal-type monsters on the second floor; there was a distinct aversion.
Even though they were monsters with fierce faces and low intelligence, some people apparently felt like they were killing small children due to their size. Those with such sensitivities were forced to retire on this floor.
It was said to be a floor that tested whether you could compartmentalize, seeing monsters as monsters and people as people.
What about me?
I asked myself, but I didn't know. I'd just have to fight and see how I felt.
I started walking forward along the path on the third floor.