Chapter 4: Iron-Walled Potortoise
Chapter 4:
Iron-Walled Potortoise
PART 1
I OPENED MY EYES. The cave was dark, and I didn’t know how long I’d been asleep. Light pooled by the entrance, but I wasn’t sure if it was morning or afternoon. Cave life kind of made you lose all track of time.
Not that I had any reason to keep to a regular schedule, since all I did was eat and sleep. When I was full I went to sleep, and when I was hungry I got back up again. Dragons had a pretty easy life.
I brought up my stats to check the recovery situation. I’d rested for a really long time, so I expected to be near full health.
View Status.
Species: Young Plague Dragon
Status: Normal
Lv: 14/40
HP: 92/92
MP: 95/95
My HP and MP were both full. Heck yes! I wasn’t going to drop dead in this forest. If I saw any monsters stronger than me, I’d run away, and if my HP dropped, I’d just come back to my cave to recover.
So what should I do today? Probably just level up and gather food. I can get more of those red peppercorn things, and any other fruit or berries that look tempting. I also want a blanket; I should add hunting graywolves to the day’s activities. Maybe I could try making some clothes or something for when I finally transform into a human?
I wasn’t counting on it at this point, but you never know—I might still find a way to learn that skill.
Divine Voice had always been pretty shady, and I was beginning to suspect it of blatant deception. Maybe just some Plague Dragons got the Human Transformation skill. Still, I wanted to be prepared, just in case. Chances weren’t good, but they weren’t zero, either.
And even if I did get Human Transformation, it wasn’t like it would come with clothes. If I went traipsing into the village nude, they’d think I was some kind of freak. Even if I couldn’t make legit clothes, I could at least make a cloak or something to cover myself.
But I knew I should prepare myself for disappointment; I wouldn’t be at all surprised if I never got Human Transformation at all. If I did, great. But for now, I wasn’t going to get my hopes up. If it did happen…I hoped the human version of me was at least good-looking. What did I look like, anyway, back when I was human? Before I got into that egg? I couldn’t remember anything at all.
Back when I was human… I guess that meant my past life. A dragon lived a long time, and this was clearly a different world, so I was starting to accept that was just what happened. Reincarnation. At the start of this I kept expecting to wake up and have things go back to normal, or to discover that I was part of some kind of evil experiment, shoved into an egg-shaped capsule or something. Or maybe I had been sent away to some foreign country as part of a prank TV show. I had imagined all kinds of scenarios.
I wondered if maybe once I turned into a human, I’d see my face and all the memories of my past life would come flooding back. Maybe my appearance would be based on the me from before.
I was incredibly curious, but it didn’t actually matter that much. If anything, remembering might just make this more painful. Maybe it was better that I’d forgotten after all.
So the plan was, I’d turn into a super good-looking human, meet up with Myria again and become friends with her, then reveal my true form. “Hey, I’m the dragon who saved you that time.” Like that old folktale, Crane’s Return of a Favor. Maybe I could make clothes out of my scales. Nah, probably not. That wouldn’t work. Scraping my skin like that would probably hurt a ton.
Wasn’t that kind of romantic, though? Not the scraping my skin part, just the hopes and dreams part…
Okay, I should stop there.
I must really be a mess if I was having all these weird fantasies. I smacked myself in the face to try to snap out of it. This was not the time for daydreaming, it was time to leave this cave and do some leveling. Some nice monsters about half my level should do the trick. Something I could knock out with one good Dragon Punch.
I poked around and found a shallow pool of bright blue water. Or maybe that was talking it up a bit much. Wait, was it…wriggling? Was that a monster? It didn’t look that strong, and so possibly good for gaining experience. Didn’t seem like I could eat it, though. If I forced myself I bet I’d just get a stomachache.
Might as well use “View Status” on it to be sure.
Normal Skill “View Status” Lv 3 is unable to retrieve that information.
ϔ#Ǣ: S**me
&MΔЀ(: N*
NƸ^: 6/15
ZЯӘ~: 17/19
ӤᾸ¥«: */5
¿Á£J°ĈȢ: 7
ʘF$\ƎΒL: 4
ΞP)Ϟ%Q: *
@£IĈΔU: *
ΦG▪˂ꓭ6¢: F+
*****:
*Ǝ*: Lv —
*****:
**§**R: Lv —
*****:
Ð**!*: Lv —
*****:
**: Lv –
ɤ±***ɰX: Lv —
**ΨY*: Lv —
ƵO&***: Lv — ***: Lv —
***ß*: Lv —
*****:
¿***Ö**: Lv —
Gaah! I think my brain’s melting!
Normal Skill “View Status” Lv 3 has become Lv 4.
Wait, huh? Um…uh… What?! Okay, this is creepy! There’s no way I should go anywhere near that guy!
Good thing I had View Status, or else I might’ve gotten close to the…whatever it was. I used the skill every day, but it had never been such a lifesaver before. If I hadn’t decided to check it, I might be dead right now. The stats that I could see weren’t that high, but there was a deep creepiness to all of it. It wasn’t even that far away from the cave I’d settled down in.
Should I even be in this forest? Should that village even be in this forest, for that matter? I mean, there were some crazy monsters out here. I guessed that “S**me” meant “Slime”? If so, the slimes of this world were incredibly sinister. This was some Cthulhu-type stuff here!
At first I wondered if that weird View Status reaction happened because it was such a high level, or because it was much stronger than me, but this slime was only a Rank F+. So what was going on here?
Whatever the case, I needed to get the heck out of here before it noticed me. I had a feeling I’d regret it for the rest of my life if I got involved with it, which might not be very much longer. Because it could kill me on the spot. I kept my eye on the mysterious creature and backed away from it. Very, very slowly. I just really did not feel good about this slime!
Please don’t notice me. Please don’t notice me—whoa! I was walking backwards, and my foot got caught, knocking me off balance. The slime surged closer, most likely reacting to the noise. It wasn’t fast, but it was definitely moving towards me, sliding across the ground without hesitation.
“Raaaaaaaaar!”
I impulsively let out a roar and used Roll, retreating from the slime.
Gained Resistance Skill “Fear Resistance” Lv 1.
Gained Normal Skill “Bellow” Lv 1.
Title Skill “Chicken Runner” Lv 1 has become Lv 2.
PART 2
UPON MAKING MY successful escape from the slime, I walked through the forest and attempted to catch my breath. I could celebrate my safe retreat after I calmed down. Was that thing really as dangerous as I thought? Like I said before, the few stats I could make out weren’t very high, its rank clearly displayed as F+.
View Status had saved my hide so many times, and I’d be incredibly scared if I ever lost the ability to use it. I’d been expecting that it might not work on some enemies due to their skill or level, but maybe being unable to view an opponent’s status didn’t necessarily mean it was stronger than me. Maybe the slime possessed a resistance or defense skill that blocked View Status.
Still, the way the text bugged out was super creepy. If it had just been blank or something, I would have been a lot less freaked out.
Why was I so scared of that puddle of goo, anyway? Now that I thought about it, there was no way it could kill me with its current stats. Next time I saw it, maybe I’d toss some rocks at it from a safe distance or… Huh? What’s that?
On the ground before me sat a dark green pot, flipped upside down. Hey, that would make a good container to hold the peppercorns and any berries I gathered! I was planning to preserve some food, after all. The pot didn’t look like someone had accidentally dropped it, either—more like it was discarded. First, I’d look inside to see what it contained, and try to find its owner. But if it really had just been thrown away, I’d take it home and use it for myself.
I approached the pot. I couldn’t see anyone else around here, but as I reached out to touch it, it suddenly jumped up and tackled me.
“Raar?!”
Ouch!
It took me completely off guard, knocking me right in my unprotected chin and landing a stiff blow to my chest before swiftly backing away.
I didn’t take that much damage, but I still had a deep, reverberating pain in my bones. I stared at the pot and saw green arms and legs sticking out from it. What the heck was this thing? It was obviously a monster, but what kind?
Species: Potortoise
Status: Normal
Lv: 9/35
HP: 28/28
MP: 27/27
Attack: 21
Defense: 145
Magic: 43
Agility: 12
Rank: D-
Special Skills:
Tortoise Shell: Lv 4
Heat Sensor: Lv 3
Automatic HP Recovery: Lv 2
Resistance Skills:
Physical Resistance: Lv 4
Magic Resistance: Lv 3
Paralysis Resistance: Lv 1
Water Resistance: Lv 1
Normal Skills:
Shell Retreat: Lv 3
Bite: Lv 1
Iron Tackle: Lv 2
Call Allies: Lv 3
Slow: Lv 1
Rest: Lv 1
Title Skills:
Iron-Walled Defender: Lv 4
Dunce: Lv 2
Potortoise? So it’s a turtle or something?
All I saw was arms and legs, no head or tail. It had an awfully big shell—absurdly rounded, too. Just like its name suggested, its shell really did look like a clay pot. I wondered if I could use it as one after I beat it.
The potortoise was incredibly sturdy, but besides its high defense, its stats weren’t that great. It didn’t seem to have any worrying skills, either.
I couldn’t believe this thing had the nerve to ambush me like that. I crept up close and hit it with a Dragon Punch at the base. An uppercut, I guess you’d call it.
My blow threw it into the air, and I landed Dragon Punches on the mouth of the pot and around its midsection. The potortoise flew a few meters and slammed against a tree.
Oof, my fists hurt. Just how hard was this thing? I had to have done some damage though, right? But the potortoise got up like nothing had happened and began to slowly edge away from me. Hey, c’mon. Don’t tell me I didn’t do any damage at all.
Species: Potortoise
Status: Normal
Lv: 9/35
HP: 24/28
MP: 27/27
You’ve got to be kidding me.
I gave this loser a double Dragon Punch and all it did was a measly 4 points of damage? Which meant if I wanted to take him out, I had to do twelve punches in a row? That was wild. By the time I finally beat it, there probably wouldn’t be much of a pot left.
I had no idea how to beat the thing without breaking its shell. There was no way Baby’s Breath would come close to penetrating its defense. Besides, it seemed to have a lid-like mechanism inside, so when it was in danger, it drew its arms and legs inside the pot and then shut itself up tight like a sea snail.
This was proving to be a tougher fight than I expected, but at least all of its other stats were negligible. It barely had any attack ability. The only offensive skill I could see was Iron Tackle, which was probably what it had used when it ambushed me earlier. It had barely done any damage. I was certain the potortoise wouldn’t be able to kill me, even if I slipped up.
It did seem edible, though, so it was the perfect prey. I just had to defeat it. My HP was in good shape, so I might as well take it on. It was high return with no risk. And even if something zany happened and it tricked me, I was much faster. I could just run away.
Before I started anything, I decided to check its status one more time. I needed to figure out its vulnerabilities.
Species: Potortoise
Status: Normal
Lv: 9/35
HP: 28/28
MP: 21/27
Huh? Isn’t that recovery time a bit fast? It already recovered the 4 HP I took. How is that possible?! Isn’t it usually way slower?!
So that was the power of Automatic HP Recovery Lv 2… Hang on a second, its MP dropped. I guess it just used Rest to heal itself. It was probably being cautious, but that sure ate up a lot of its MP. If it kept healing, it would be completely drained in no time.
Well, who cares. I’d just run back over and knock the potortoise into the air again with another uppercut Dragon Punch.
Ugh, my fists hurt so bad! But I have to keep punching just as hard, even if I bust something. Otherwise I won’t be able to beat the damn thing.
I tossed the potortoise up and performed simultaneous Dragon Punches to its right and left sides, like I was juggling a volleyball. All right, here’s the third punch! Ow! I can do this! Another uppercut!
I threw the potortoise again and knocked it around with both of my fists. I spun in midair to give myself some momentum before lashing out with a Dragon Tail.
But I still wasn’t done.
I spun around again, pummeling the potortoise into the ground with my fists. Its body sank into the soft earth.
Title Skill “Infighter” Lv 3 has become Lv 4.
That was hit number seven. Man, this is rough…
My fists were throbbing, but I was slowly whittling away at its HP as I continued to punch. Taking its recovery skills into account, I’d have to give it fourteen more blows in succession. God, there was no way. Absolutely no way… My hands were swollen and red! My beautiful dark scales were gonna fall off!
I’d just take a little break to see how much damage I gave him…
Species: Potortoise
Status: Normal
Lv: 9/35
HP: 14/28
MP: 21/27
Whoa, that worked even better than I thought it would! I’m halfway there! Let’s do this! If I let up now, all the hard work I just did would be for nothing!
My fists and tail were tight and aching, but I’d just have to push through the pain. Determination and willpower! Seven more punches to go! Only seven more and victory would be mine.
Now that I think about it, don’t determination and willpower kinda mean the same thing?
While I slipped momentarily into an inner monologue that had absolutely no bearing on my current situation, a gentle glow enveloped the potortoise’s body. Hey, knock that off!
Species: Potortoise
Status: Normal
Lv: 9/35
HP: 28/28
MP: 15/27
…Ugh, it used Rest. You idiot, you knew it was going to do that! And you didn’t even prepare for it!
I frantically grabbed hold of the potortoise and tried clawing at the gaps around the lid with all my might.
Open up! If only you didn’t have this stupid lid! Come on!!
A cracking sound split the air. One of my claws snapped off at its base.
“RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAR!”
My loud roars echoed throughout the quiet forest.
PART 3
FOLLOWING THAT TRAGEDY, I tried various tactics to whittle down the potortoise’s HP. I nearly broke my teeth using Venom Fangs. Another one of my nails snapped and went flying when I tried Paralyzing Venom Claws. Everything I tried hurt. I cried.
I tried covering the potortoise with tree branches and burning it with Baby’s Breath. That did damage, but not enough to stand up against Automatic HP Recovery. Every single time I hurt it, it recovered and undid all my progress.
I had no tricks left. I tried everything, but nothing worked. Sometimes the potortoise would let out this noise like “Pttoooort?” like it was making fun of me. Crap. It really was making a fool out of me.
I decided to make one last ditch effort. I picked the potortoise up and started walking. I’d already given up on ripping off its pot whole to use as a container, so now I was just after the experience points. That opened up my options a little. I’d already come this far; there was no way I was leaving without a victory. Walking away empty-handed at this point was too frustrating to think about.
So even though I knew it was crappy of me, I had to do it. Don’t hold it against me. I just really needed to learn Human Transformation so I could get off the road to evil.
I stood at the edge of the cliff I had crossed trying to escape the Taranturouge. I reached down gently and caressed the potortoise’s pot.
I promise that your death won’t be in vain. I’ll grow stronger from it. So please forgive me.
“Pttooort? Tooort?!”
It must have sensed something, because its noises grew distressed. I shook my head and then tossed the potortoise off the edge of the cliff.
“Pttoooooooooooooort!”
It fell down, down, down into the deep chasm below. Its screams echoed off the earthen walls, overlapping as they traveled back up to my ears. Finally, the potortoise hit the ground and shattered, the rushing waters of the muddy stream below swallowing it up, silencing its death rattle.
Farewell, potortoise. You were a formidable foe.
Gained 36 Experience Points.
Title Skill “Walking Egg” Lv — activated: gained 36 Experience Points.
“Young Plague Dragon” Lv 14 has become Lv 15.
The message announcing the death of my foe appeared, confirming more experience and another level under my belt. The moments after a difficult battle always felt weirdly empty. The potortoise and I each gave it everything we had, acknowledged each other’s strengths as we matched skills and wits, and then the time came to say goodbye forever.
I turned my back on the chasm, ruminating on how harsh nature was, but at the same time feeling a sense of accomplishment, and the accompanying pleasant rush.
Gained Title Skill “Dastardly King” Lv 1.
Title Skill “Wrongdoer” Lv 2 has become Lv 3.
I tried my best to make it a clean fight, but I’d had a feeling this was going to happen. All these title skills weighed heavily on my mind and I’d built them up a lot, but in practice they didn’t have much effect. Still, “Dastardly King” was a bit much. I mean, I wasn’t about to just walk away from the potortoise taunting me, was I? What choice did I have? I had a feeling I’d get some nasty title when I flung it off the cliff, but I did it anyway.
I wanted the experience points. Doing all that work and having nothing to show for it was just too much. I realized that killing a creature without the excuse of self-preservation, and that I had no plans to eat, was a crime against nature. But it had to be done.
I hurled it off the cliff. I got the experience. I had the thing I wanted, so it didn’t give its life in vain. Yeah.
But I still kept getting awarded all these negative titles. My evolution path ahead was growing pretty obvious. It felt kind of like being unemployable because of a bad job history, or something.
I really didn’t want to turn into a big evil dragon, though, so I would have to veer back toward the innocent path of love and light, the one where I could coexist with the humans.
Anyway, that wore me out. I’ll just hunt enough for a meal, gather some plants, and head home. I was still a little bitter that I hadn’t managed to get a pot. I didn’t mind keeping my stuff on the ground, but it really wreaked havoc on my interior design.
Well…maybe I could make my own pot? I could find some clay, dig it up, mold it into shapes, heat it and bam! Crockery.
I just needed something to fire it with; I was fairly sure it had to be a high temperature. Could I do it with Baby’s Breath, or would that just turn it to ashes? Guess I wouldn’t know until I tried.
I had all the time in the world, so I might as well try to spend it on something worthwhile. After all, they were making pots in Japan all the way back in the Jomon Era. So why not me?
I could put a rug down in that cave and line a bunch of pots up on it. Yeah, that sounded really good. I bet with a little effort, it could look pretty nice. Maybe I could make some paintbrushes and draw a design on the wall. All right, now I’m getting excited.
It felt nice to have goals.
As I retreated further from the cliff, I became aware of a rustling in the trees and bushes around me. Something was coming, and whatever it was, there were more than one of them. Just listen to the losers, trying to sneak up on me. Come on out and show yourselves already!
“Raaaaaaaaar!”
I let out a little roar to warn them off. So, would they run or would they come out? If they were the kind of monsters who stayed calm and had enough intelligence to wait so patiently, maybe this would be an interesting fight.
The rustling in the brush stopped and everything went quiet. Then ten pots—no, potortoises—emerged from the bushes and headed right towards me.
Talk about déjà vu.
I quickly checked their statuses. Their levels, attack powers, and skills weren’t anything crazy. And none of them had their status screens bugged out like that slime from earlier.
Were they out for revenge? Thinking back, that potortoise did have the Call Allies ability. That last scream it let out must have summoned all these guys. They weren’t very fast, so I could outrun them if I didn’t feel like fighting.
Their shells were too tough for regular attacks, so my only recourse was to throw them off the cliff. The idea left a bad taste in my mouth and the promise of another uncomfortable title. My level would go up some if I tossed them off the cliff, but not a whole lot. It was way more efficient to just hunt graywolves.
I know you’re all burning for revenge, but I have to bail on you guys. Sorry!
PART 4
I KICKED OFF THE GROUND, spread my wings, and gained enough height to make a good leap. I didn’t have time to play games with a herd of potortoises, so as soon as I jumped over them, I made a run for it.
The ten potortoises pushed their heads out of their pot shells and glared at me as I sailed above them. Oh, so they do have heads. The last one only poked its arms and legs out.
“Pttort.”
“Pttooort.”
“Pttort.”
“Tooort.”
“Tooort.”
“Pttooort.”
“Ptooort.”
“Tort.”
“Ptort.”
“Pttoooort.”
All ten of the potortoises made weird sounds as they watched me. And then a hazy, purple light started heading my way.
Gah, what was that? Magic? The attack didn’t seem very precise, so I edged to the right and then the left to avoid it. I definitely didn’t want to catch a whiff of whatever that was. What skills did they have again…? Was that Slow? They must’ve been trying to take away my speed.
Oof, one of them got me.
The light touched me and began to seep into my body. It didn’t hurt, exactly, but a strange discomfort began to spread. Two—no, three more beams of the light entered me for a grand total of four doses.
Eugh. God, I feel sick. I have the weirdest sense of vertigo right now. Nothing around me is moving at all, even though I’m jumping… Or am I the one moving slowly? It feels like I’m pinned in the air.
The potortoises began to pile themselves up into a ten-story tower right in front of me, until the one at the top reached my eye level.
“Pttort!”
It pulled in its arms, legs, and head and launched itself at me. Because of Slow, I couldn’t guard in time and took a heavy hit to my chest. Luckily its attack power was low and it didn’t do much damage. There was no reason to panic.
That’s right, no reason to pan—Ow!
It tackled me in midair, and as I fell towards the ground the ninth potortoise came hurtling towards me.
“Ttort!”
Okay, they’re way too heavy! What the heck do they eat?! Agh, here comes number eight!
“Argh!”
The seventh.
“Ergh!”
Then the sixth, fifth, and fourth. I ended up getting tackled six times. The damage incurred from each of them was small, but a chain of ten attacks still packed a punch. I hit the ground on my back, face-up. The potortoises immediately set on me with the full force of their weight, one after the other.
Ow! Ow! That really hurts! I’m sorry! I apologize for my actions, so please knock it off!
I used Roll at its fastest speed to try to escape from the herd. I was still affected by Slow, so it wasn’t really that fast, but I still managed to put some distance between us.
Crap, they’re still circling around toward me. I’m just too slow right now.
I switched off Roll and shot the potortoises a nasty look.
Let me check their statuses again. They’re not still shooting out Slow, are they? That magic is way too dangerous.
Species: Potortoise
Status: Normal
Lv: 10/35
HP: 24/30
MP: 19/29
Species: Potortoise
Status: Normal
Lv: 7/35
HP: 16/24
MP: 13/23
At least Slow seemed to cost 10 MP. They could all hit me with one more each, but nothing after that. I was beginning to feel like my normal speed was returning. Don’t hit me with more Slow! Give me a break.
Wait, why was their HP so low? They had Automatic HP Recovery, so I doubted they already had that kind of damage when we started. I checked the other potortoises’ statuses, and their HP was all over the place. About half of them hadn’t taken any damage at all.
Oh wait, I think I know what it’s from. Fall damage? That would make all the different levels of HP loss make sense. The ones toward the bottom of the tower wouldn’t have taken much damage when they fell.
Potortoises were tough, but they were also heavy. They had high Physical Resistance and Magic Resistance, but they didn’t have Fall Resistance at all.
I’ve finally found their weakness. I didn’t have to throw them off a cliff; I could use their potential energy, their own mass, against them. All right, let’s try it.
I stopped, raising my arms slowly as I watched the potortoises’ movements. They pounced on me from three directions. The first one hit me from the back, another from the side. I endured the hits, planting my legs and bracing myself for the last attack I knew was coming.
The third potortoise tackled me head-on, but I was ready for it and snatched it up with both arms.
“Pttoort?!”
The potortoise flailed, but I didn’t let go. Instead, I kicked off the ground as hard as I could and leapt up into the air. I spread my wings to increase my momentum.
“T-toorrt!”
The potortoises were stunned for a moment, then quickly started reassembling their tower. I had to admire their teamwork. The potortoise on top jumped at me, but only managed to graze my leg. Sorry, guys. You are now unfortunately one tortoise too short.
I was so high up now that the potortoises couldn’t reach me. I blew Baby’s Breath downward, propelling myself up high like a rocket. Looking down at the tower from my vantage point, the potortoises seemed much smaller than before. I must be pretty high up. Maybe I accidentally used Breath Rocket or something.
I spun around in the air, using my momentum to throw my captive potortoise at the tower. With that mass from this height, I had a feeling the force of gravity would hit them pretty hard. Wait…what was the force of gravity in this world? Was it the same as on Earth?
Gained Normal Skill “Meteorite” Lv 1.
Meteorite…? Oh, I guess I got that skill after I knocked the turtle away when it was jumping at me. My strategy turned into a skill, huh?
“Pttooooort!”
The potortoise I threw towards the ground knocked into the side of the eight-story tower, destroying it. Each of the pot-shells cracked, the flesh inside tearing apart and scattering all around. Oof. That was pretty gross.
Gained 306 Experience Points.
Title Skill “Walking Egg” Lv — activated: gained 306 Experience Points.
“Young Plague Dragon” Lv 15 has become Lv 22.
Whoa, that’s a big jump. Apparently getting an enemy to use Call Allies and hunting the group is a good way to get experience after all.
Special Skill “Fly” Lv 1 has become Lv 2.
Hopefully that will help me fly a little better. Oh, wait… One of them survived.
It was the first potortoise that jumped at me. The one I batted away with Meteorite. It was still alive on the ground, slowly trying to escape. As soon as it realized I’d spotted it, it began to tremble. The effects of Slow had mostly worn off of me by now.
I went after the potortoise and grabbed it, doing the same jump, wing, breath rocket combo to get into the air, then used Roll to toss it to the ground.
Take this—Meteorite!
“Pttoooooooort!”
The potortoise hit the ground, its shell splitting open. Its innards popped out, bloody and mangled, and its eyes were frozen open in shock.
Gained 36 Experience Points.
Title Skill: Walking Egg Lv — gained 36 Experience Points.
Cool, I leveled up pretty good. Time to check my stats!
Species: Young Plague Dragon
Status: Normal
Lv: 22/40
HP: 58/116
MP: 43/113
Attack: 105
Defense: 91
Magic: 95
Agility: 93
Rank: D+
Special Skills:
Dragon Scale: Lv 2
Divine Voice: Lv 3
Grecian Language: Lv 1
Fly: Lv 2
Dragon Scale Powder: Lv 1
Dark Type: Lv —
Resistance Skills:
Physical Resistance: Lv 3
Fall Resistance: Lv 4
Hunger Resistance: Lv 3
Poison Resistance: Lv 3
Loneliness Resistance: Lv 4
Magic Resistance: Lv 2
Dark Resistance: Lv 2
Light Resistance: Lv 1
Fear Resistance: Lv 1
Normal Skills:
Roll: Lv 4
View Status: Lv 4
Baby’s Breath: Lv 3
Whistle: Lv 1
Dragon Punch: Lv 2
Disease Breath: Lv 1
Venom Fangs: Lv 1
Paralyzing Venom Claws: Lv 1
Dragon Tail: Lv 1
Bellow: Lv 1
Meteorite: Lv 1
Title Skills:
Dragon King’s Son: Lv —
Walking Egg: Lv —
Klutz: Lv 4
Just an Idiot: Lv 1
Infighter: Lv 4
Pest Killer: Lv 3
Safety First: Lv 1
Liar: Lv 2
King of Evasion: Lv 1
Protective Spirit: Lv 4
Itty-bitty Hero: Lv 1
Wrongdoer: Lv 3
Calamity: Lv1
Chicken Runner: Lv 2
Mr. Chef: Lv 1
Dastardly King: Lv 1
Sweet, my attack power finally broke 100!
I still wasn’t satisfied. I had to get all my stats over 200 at least before I could take on the Little Rock Dragon. God, I hated looking back at all these sketchy title skills. Did I really actually do anything to deserve the title Dastardly King? And now my Wrongdoer skill was up to Lv 3. How far did it go, anyway? What happened when I maxed it out? Did I just die?
Skills have a max Lv of 10.
O-oh, hey. It’s been a while, Divine Voice. I guess I’ll just confiscate this potortoise meat. It sucks I didn’t get any of the shells. They’re all broken.
On top of that, the many bodies were stuck with pieces of shell too small to dig out. Even the most intact were cracked or crumbling. It was difficult to sort out the shells from the meat. I wasn’t sure about using the pots if they still had half a tortoise stuck to them. Sorting it all out didn’t really seem worth it. I’d just have to make a pot from scratch with clay.
I chose the shell that was in the best shape and put all the salvageable meat inside to carry home. Guess it was turtle soup for dinner tonight. Sounded pretty delicious. Now I’d just gather up some plants that seemed edible. Vegetables were important to a balanced diet, after all.
I wondered if people’s meals centered around grains in this world. I wished I could make some rice gruel to soak up the leftover soup broth. Maybe I could find some rice, or something like it.
I tossed the rest of the meat I tore off of the shells inside my pot and started for my cave. I was covered in blood and probably looked pretty grotesque. Nothing to be done about it.
I froze as I heard heavy footsteps approaching me from behind.
Oh no, a giant monster? I’d better run before it sees me.
“Pttoooooort.”
Huh? Did I miss one? Its voice sounds pretty deep for a potortoise, though. And loud…
A crack broke through the forest, and suddenly trees began to fall. Then the creature showed itself…a gigantic upside down pot as big as a car, with arms and legs sticking out that were as big as my midsection. The instant I saw it, I knew it was way out of my league. What the heck kind of monster did those potortoises summon, anyway?
“TOOOOOOOORT!”
Jeez, are you serious? This should be against the rules.
Species: Giant Potortoise
Status: Normal
Lv: 24/55
HP: 233/233
MP: 156/156
Attack: 74
Defense: 245
Magic: 76
Agility: 4
Rank: C-
Special Skills:
Tortoise Shell: Lv 5
Heat Sensor: Lv 4
Automatic HP Recovery: Lv 4
Resistance Skills:
Physical Resistance: Lv 5
Magic Resistance: Lv 4
Paralysis Resistance: Lv 2
Water Resistance: Lv 3
Normal Skills:
Shell Retreat: Lv 4
Bite: Lv 3
Iron Tackle: Lv 4
Hi-Slow: Lv 4
Rest: Lv 3
Aqua: Lv 2
Title Skills:
Iron-Walled Defender: Lv 6
Dunce: Lv 2
Tortoise Curse: Lv 1
It had stats over 200, and it was a Rank C–. It didn’t have the attack power of the Little Rock Dragon, but it did have higher HP and defense.
This was bad. This was really bad. I couldn’t defeat this guy. Its HP was just too high, and my attacks would barely puncture its defense. And my Meteorite/gravity strategy wouldn’t work—there was no way I could lift that thing up high enough in the first place.
At least the Giant Potortoise’s agility was incredibly low. Should I put down my heavy pot full of meat and make a run for it? I really wanted to find out how the potortoises tasted, though. Besides, the giant one was super slow, and its attack power wasn’t that high, so even if it did try to attack me, I could deal with it. Right? Right.
I could definitely get myself and the pot full of meat to safety.
I gripped my dinner and began to run. The Giant Potortoise stuck out its head and stared me down.
“Ptooort!”
It let out a cry, before a cloud of purple light shot towards me. That had to be the Hi-Slow magic I saw on its status, most likely a beefed-up version of Slow. I absolutely couldn’t let it hit me.
Gah!
The purple light! It touched me! And this huge tortoise has crazy MP! I knew I should’ve tossed the pot and made a run for it!
There was no way to take evasive maneuvers. The purple light seeped all the way into my body.
Damn it, I can barely move at all. I mean, I guess I’m technically moving, but so slowly I might as well be standing still.
Behind me, the potortoise closed in, trees decimated in its wake. It was beyond monstrous.
I gotta brace myself for its tackle! It’s gonna tackle me!
I knew exactly what it was going to do, but I couldn’t do anything about it. The potortoise plowed right into me with a body the size of a truck.
“Arghh!”
I was knocked backward, skidding across the ground in a painful roll. Jeez, I know this guy’s slow, but being that big should be against the rules. A few more hits and I’ll be done for.
Noo! My pot is rolling away and all the tortoise meat is scattering everywhere! I can’t save my dinner! Guess I’ve got to consider this a learning experience and make a run for it. But can I even run for it?
The giant tortoise trudged after me, every step heavy. I got up as quickly as I could, which really wasn’t that fast. If that thing got close enough, all it would have to do was crush me underfoot. There’d be no way for me to avoid it.
When I was almost on my feet, I activated my Roll skill. I couldn’t use it before because I’d been holding onto the pot. But now that I was completely focused on saving myself, I’d be able to escape. Or at least, I should have been able to escape.
“Ptooooort!”
The tortoise fired off another Hi-Slow at me. I changed directions as fast as I could to avoid it, but it shot off a second spell, and then a third. I couldn’t dodge them all and the purple light consumed me.
Whoooa, I’m so slow! I’m rolling but it’s so slow!
I glanced behind me. The Giant Potortoise was still coming, gradually closing the distance between us. Its agility was only 4, but from my perspective it was moving really fast.
Is it just me, or is Hi-Slow a little overpowered? Maybe its title skill Tortoise’s Curse gives it a big boost?
The Giant Potortoise slowly caught up to me and I braced myself for another tackle. Once again I flew into the air, slamming head-first into the forest floor. The impact stunned me, blurring my vision. Searing pain raced through my back.
It was no use. As long as it kept using Hi-Slow on me, escape was impossible. The potortoise could keep hitting me completely unopposed. I could only withstand two, maybe three more tackles at the most before I lost consciousness.
If I can’t escape, I need to think of a way to defeat it. But this situation is absolutely impossible!
Even if I hadn’t taken a hit of Hi-Slow, there was nothing in my arsenal that could deal the potortoise a mortal wound. I mean, even aside from Automatic HP Recovery and Rest, few monsters out here could hope to break through its defense.
I couldn’t drop it off the cliff, either. I might move it a single step backwards if I pummeled it head-on with Dragon Punch, but that was about it. Okay, instead of sitting here thinking about it, I should be trying to run.
Could I use the momentum from being knocked into the air to Fly? So far, I’d barely managed enough forward motion to glide. I could use Breath Rocket to get higher, but if I tried that while moving this slowly I’d just fall…
No, wait a minute. What if I stood on the edge of the cliff, then used the momentum when it hit me to reach the other side? After that all I would have to do was run away.
PART 5
I CHECKED MY STATUS to see how much stamina I had left.
Species: Young Plague Dragon
Status: Slow (Major)
Lv: 22/40
HP: 32/116
MP: 43/113
I could do this. I could withstand one more hit. I’d purposely take the Giant Potortoise’s tackle and use the momentum to use Fly across the cliff and escape. That was my only option.
I used Roll to change direction, heading toward the cliff. The Giant Potortoise followed.
Yeah, keep it up! Now hit me one more time! Then we can say goodbye. And when I’m strong enough to crush you with one hit, I’ll be back.
The Giant Potortoise charged me as I stood right on the edge. I got a little freaked out when I saw the force behind its tackle, but I couldn’t dodge in this state anyway. I flew towards the edge of the cliff with very little resistance.
That was unpleasant, but I’m alive. Now I’ll just spread my wings, fly across the cliff, and get out of here!
Unfortunately, I underestimated the effects of Hi-Slow. I thought I understood how the spell worked, but it turned out to be much stronger than I expected.
“Tooooooort!”
As I unfurled my wings, the Giant Potortoise shot me with another dose of Hi-Slow. I couldn’t avoid it, and so I took the full hit of purple light. I slowed down even further, and the Giant Potortoise stuck its neck out, pursuing me over the edge, trying to grab me before I could get away.
My HP was dwindling. If this thing bit me, I’d be dead. I absolutely had to dodge a direct attack. I could probably take a graze and still get away, though.
I undulated my body with as much force as I could muster, directing a Baby’s Breath downward to push me further into the air. The Giant Potortoise’s attack missed me, but just barely.
Before I could push away, one of my back claws got caught on the edge of its mouth and my front claw, which I’d been waving around frantically, caught on the edge of its eye. I’m glad I survived, but how am I gonna fly when I’m stuck to this thing?
I thrashed, trying to shake myself loose, but my claws wouldn’t budge. The Giant Potortoise shook its neck back and forth, trying to peel me off its face.
I let out a blast of Baby’s Breath, hoping to tear myself off even if I took some of its flesh with me. But its hide was just too hard.
I had to assume that the Giant Potortoise’s main goal had shifted from avenging its kin to shaking me off by any means necessary. Hey, at least the two of us could enjoy having a common goal. But of course things could never be that simple.
If I dropped my guard and paused to carefully unhook my claws, the Giant Potortoise would certainly use that opportunity to get a free hit. I had no other choice but to continue this fruitless tug-of-war.
“Raaaaaaaaaaaar!”
“Pttooooooooort!”
The potortoise was out of my weight class, but I made up for it with repeated applications of Baby’s Breath at full force. Please hold out, MP!
Normal Skill “Baby’s Breath” Lv 3 has become Lv 4.
Get off! Let me go! Get off! Let me go! Let me go! Let me goooo!
I knew my breath wouldn’t last, and everything hurt. But I couldn’t stop firing the jet of flame. It was all that was stopping the Giant Potortoise from dragging me close enough to kill.
I’d just have to keep using Baby’s Breath until I died.
Gained Resistance Skill “Asphyxiation Resistance” Lv 1.
I’m still in this!! I’m gonna tear your skin off!
“RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAR!”
“TOOOOOOOOOORT!”
I can do this! I’m winning! I can pull your stupid giant body over this cliff! Tear you to pieces! Tear your face off! I don’t care as long as you let me go!
Normal Skill “Baby’s Breath” Lv 4 has become Lv 5.
Yes, yes! It’s tilting more in my direction!
Resistance Skill “Asphyxiation Resistance” Lv 1 has become Lv 2.
Gained Title Skill “Stalwart” Lv 1.
“RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAR!”
“PTTOOOOOOORT!”
Slowly but surely I pulled the potortoise closer to the edge, my claws still hooked in its face, until it was teetering on the edge of the drop. Then, finally, it leaned too far and lost its balance.
“Raar?!”
“Tort?!”
The ground beneath the tortoise crumbled, its huge frame plunging towards the ground. The force of its fall broke off my claws, finally freeing me from its leathery hide.
Owwww! That really hurt!
No longer trapped, I heaved myself back towards the opposite end of the cliff like a ping pong ball. Hi-Slow picked that exact moment to wear off, so I immediately burst off at what felt like an incredible speed.
My vision spun and for a second I thought I’d lose consciousness. I felt a jarring impact, and then nothing. I must have slammed into a tree on the other side of the cliff.
Hah…hah…did I escape?!
“PTOOOOOOOOORT!”
The Giant Potortoise’s scream echoed throughout the forest.
Huh? What happened?
It was a half-coherent thought, but a moment later a crash rang out from below, as if in answer.
Gained 288 Experience Points.
Title Skill “Walking Egg” Lv — activated: gained 288 Experience Points.
“Young Plague Dragon” Lv 22 has become Lv 30.
Gained Title Skill “Giant Killer” Lv 1.
Normal Skill “View Status” Lv 4 has become Lv 5.
You are now able to view items in your possession in addition to detailed information regarding enemy monsters.
I looked toward the edge of the cliff. No Giant Potortoise. The spot where it stood had broken away. Oh, that’s right, it crumbled and…right, right. The potortoise fell.
I smacked myself on the cheek to restart my fuzzy brain. Carefully, I picked my way over to the edge and looked down at the remains of my foe. The Giant Potortoise must have crashed against the rocks jutting from the river.
All’s well that ends well, I guess. I’ll head back to the other side of the river. I’m pretty fond of that cave, and I want to score some of that Potortoise meat, too. Anyway, since I leveled up, I might as well check my status.
Species: Young Plague Dragon
Status: Normal
Lv: 30/40
HP: 8/140
MP: 10/137
Attack: 129
Defense: 110
Magic: 120
Agility: 109
Rank: D+
Special Skills:
Dragon Scale: Lv 2
Divine Voice: Lv 3
Grecian Language: Lv 1
Fly: Lv 2
Dragon Scale Powder: Lv 1
Dark Type: Lv —
Resistance Skills:
Physical Resistance: Lv 3
Fall Resistance: Lv 4
Hunger Resistance: Lv 3
Poison Resistance: Lv 3
Loneliness Resistance: Lv 4
Magic Resistance: Lv 2
Dark Resistance: Lv 2
Light Resistance: Lv 1
Fear Resistance: Lv 1
Asphyxiation Resistance: Lv 2
Normal Skills:
Roll: Lv 4
View Status: Lv 5
Baby’s Breath: Lv 5
Whistle: Lv 1
Dragon Punch: Lv 2
Disease Breath: Lv 1
Venom Fangs: Lv 1
Paralyzing Venom Claws: Lv 1
Dragon Tail: Lv 1
Bellow: Lv 1
Meteorite: Lv 1
Title Skills:
Dragon King’s Son: Lv —
Walking Egg: Lv —
Klutz: Lv 4
Just an Idiot: Lv 1
Infighter: Lv 4
Pest Killer: Lv 3
Safety First: Lv 1
Liar: Lv 2
King of Evasion: Lv 1
Protective Spirit: Lv 4
Itty-bitty Hero: Lv 1
Wrongdoer: Lv 3
Calamity: Lv1
Chicken Runner: Lv 2
Mr. Chef: Lv 1
Dastardly King: Lv 1
Stalwart: Lv 1
Giant Killer: Lv 1
Whoa, my HP and MP were at rock bottom. Just a few more Baby’s Breaths and I would have been completely wiped out, and that Giant Potortoise would’ve killed me.
But I guess you truly do grow a lot when you’re cornered, huh? My skills are really coming along. I thought I wouldn’t evolve for a while, but it’s coming up sooner than I expected.
I hoped I’d get to increase the levels of some skills like Protective Spirit or Itty-Bitty Hero before then.
For real though, why haven’t I learned Human Transformation yet? There are only ten levels left before I evolve, so will I even have a chance to learn it? If I hit max Lv and don’t get it, I think I might actually cry.
PART 6
I ARRIVED BACK at my new base without further incident, deposited my pot full of meat, and then headed back outside. I was a little worried about my HP, but I still had errands to run. I wanted more of those red peppercorn things and another ingredient for my turtle soup. Surely there would be something usable in the neighborhood. My HP would be fine for a little while.
Worst-case scenario, I’d run into that weirdo slime again. It was freaky, but its stats were low. If I saw it, I’d just kick its butt and rid myself of that anxiety once and for all.
Actually, although I hadn’t checked it much since I beat the Giant Potortoise, my View Status skill had leveled up. I could check details about items in my possession now, not just monsters, so maybe gathering plants would get way easier. I’d be able to tell instantly if something was poisonous. Although I had Poison Resistance, so if it looked tasty enough I might eat it anyway. Might even raise my skill level.
I strolled through the grass, paying close attention to the ground, and noticed some mushrooms growing by the base of a tree, black and yellow in a tiger-striped pattern.
Hey, those look pretty good. I went ahead and plucked some up, holding them in my hand.
Lightning Shroom: Value E-. Absorbs nutrients from tree roots, causing those trees to stop bearing fruit due to parasitism. Since it has taken sustenance from another source, it is very nutrient dense and tastes delicious. However, it contains a mild Paralyzing Poison.
It steals from others while protecting itself. An underhanded mushroom.
Aw, don’t say that. It’s survival of the fittest out here. You gotta be a little crafty. It’s eat or be eaten. Wait…why am I defending a mushroom? Anyway, I don’t have Paralysis Resistance. So unfortunately, I’m gonna have to give up on this one.
Maybe I’d take it with me anyway. It said it only gave mild paralysis, so maybe it wouldn’t actually be that bad. I could use it to get the resistance skill.
I spotted a large blossom that resembled a sunflower with an oddly swollen stem. Curious, I drew closer to identify it. But before I could, the swollen stem burst open into a huge chomping mouth. I stopped it with a quick punch.
Gained 12 Experience Points.
Title Skill “Walking Egg” Lv — activated: gained 12 Experience Points.
There are carnivorous plants out here?! It definitely doesn’t look edible, but I’ll check it out anyway.
Carnivorous Flower: Value C-. A rare plant that eats animals. Unable to digest sodium, therefore salt collects in the white tips of its roots, which can be burned to obtain the salt. Its value depends on the quality of the soil.
Aha! In my previous life I remember hearing about salt collecting in the leaves of trees, and the wind scattering the deposits across wide distances. This is great, actually. I could use some salt. I might as well take the roots with me.
I dug up the roots and noted that the tips definitely bulged with something white. There seemed to be a lot there. Perfect. Next time I saw this type of plant, I would actively hunt it down.
Now, what’s next… Whoa, there’s a huge mushroom with a purple cap. I pulled it out of the ground and used View Status.
Monster Shroom: Value D. Once grown, it becomes a monster that can ambulate and attack people. It tastes like meat and is regarded as a delicacy.
Cool, cool. I’ll take this home with me. Sounds like it’ll make good broth.
I held onto the monster shroom and continued my foraging.
Oh, here’s an odd mushroom. Small and white and very cute, it looked like something out of a fairytale.
Moro Trogia: Value A. So valuable that successful cultivation could bring a country back from the brink of financial ruin. Bears a striking resemblance to the poisonous mushroom “Al Trogia,” which, unbeknownst to many, is much more common. Ingestion causes hallucinogenic effects, inducing intense feelings of euphoria.
Five hundred years ago, it was often crushed, mixed with stimulants, and sold as a narcotic. In more recent times, however, the official practice is to burn them on sight. There are still fanatics and rogue soldiers who privately cultivate them, using them for many purposes, including torture.
Just one mushroom can be used to make a large quantity of the narcotic, so they can be sold at extremely high prices to those who desire them. However, beware of double-crosses or theft.
I stomped down hard and finished up with Baby’s Breath, until the dangerous mushroom turned to ash and crumbled.
Title Skill: “Itty-bitty Hero” Lv 1 has become Lv 2.
Well, I’m glad that finally leveled up. But how is something this dangerous allowed to exist?
If I just left it, or got greedy and picked it, I could unleash a huge catastrophe that could wipe out an entire village. I probably deserved more than just one level. I might have just thwarted a complete disaster!
I was lucky I could view the stats of objects now, or I would have eaten something really terrible. This was way beyond the level of “Oh, hey—maybe I’ll develop a resistance to it!” That was the sort of mushroom that could single-handedly turn me into a bad dragon.
Well, I think that’s plenty of mushrooms. But if I remember correctly… Ah, there they are. The little red seed thingies I used as pepper. They’re really versatile and delicious, so I’ll pick a bunch of them. Might as well check them out while I’m here, too.
Piperis: Value B+. One of the most widely used spices, which emits an appetite-stirring aroma.
However, due to the difficulty of its cultivation and widespread old wives’ tales that the roots can be made into a panacea, it is rarely found outside the Borderlands. It is at risk of extinction due to over-gathering.
It is highly sought after by nobles with gourmet taste and said to be worth its weight in gold.
Whoa, I had a feeling these were valuable! Doesn’t look like the villagers ever come to pick them, though. Is that because there are too many monsters around here? Or maybe they don’t even know they’re here. Well, whatever, more for me—I’ll pick a lot in case someone else comes along.
I also picked up some kind of sweet, magical-looking tree branches, a variety of nice-smelling leaves, a delicious mushroom packed with super shiny spores, and some lettuce-like vegetable with greenish-white leaves.
I got in a brief scuffle with a pack of graywolves on the way home, and with my hands so full I had to fight entirely with my legs. They still didn’t give me much trouble—I’d gotten pretty strong. I went back to my cave to deposit the fruits of my foraging, then went back for the graywolf meat.
In the end, my haul consisted of the cracked tortoiseshell pot, a selection of potortoise meats, a glowing light shroom, a paralysis-inducing lightning shroom, the roots of the carnivorous flower, the monster shroom, a bunch of piperis, magictree branches, aroma leaves, a green ball plant, and the meat and pelts of five graywolves.
I’ll eat the potortoises today, but then what should I do with all these graywolf steaks? Maybe I could dry them out. I wouldn’t say no to some jerky.
PART 7
THE LIGHT SHROOM brightened the interior of my cave quite a bit, and I’d be able to use it as a lamp when the sun set. I was really glad I’d picked that mushroom, since proper lighting was a vital part of interior decorating. Or, well, at least I could see my food while I was eating it. When I went to sleep I could just drape one of the graywolf pelts over the mushroom to turn it off.
I dug a shallow hole near the entrance of the cave and stacked it with dry kindling. I used Baby’s Breath to start the flame and set the potortoise shell on top as a cooking pot.
The shell was pretty banged up, but none of the river water leaked out—the damage looked worse than it was, I supposed. I added the whitish-green leaves of the green ball vegetable to my makeshift pot along with some mushrooms, the potortoise meat, and a root from the carnivorous flower for salt.
Yeah, this is looking like real soup! It makes me so nostalgic I might cry.
I fashioned some chopsticks out of branches, slicing them up with my claws. I had Dragon Scales, which meant I could withstand a bit of heat. It was fine if the chopsticks weren’t perfect. If all else failed, well, I’d eaten the graywolf meat with my bare hands before, so really this was all just for the aesthetic. My claws were long and my fingers cumbersome, but I wanted to try using my new chopsticks anyway.
I let the soup simmer for a while, then took a bite of the potortoise meat.
Whoa, this is really good! It was sort of like extremely tender chicken. I’d never eaten anything like it, not even in my previous life.
Jeez, if they’re all this delicious, I’m gonna have to go hunt more potortoises. Heck, I’ll hunt them to extinction. Good thing I’d gotten ten today.
Think how much meat I’d have if I could have kept that Giant Potortoise’s body. Although…its flesh was pretty tough. I bet once the potortoises grow up, they get dried out and less tasty. The same went for chickens, I’d heard.
Maybe I should try that yellow-and-black-striped mushroom. What was it called? Lightning Shroom? Its status said it caused paralysis, but that it tasted good. Hmm…it makes my tongue tingle a bit, but it’s got a nice texture. Real crunchy. And it soaks up the potortoise broth really well.
The tip of my tongue went numb and I couldn’t feel my hands, but that passed relatively quickly. Dragons were amazing. I mean, I knew that, but it was cool to be reminded.
Gained “Paralysis Resistance” Lv 1.
Excellent, all according to plan.
I decided to taste a bit of everything, adding more ingredients to my soup. I put in more of the green ball leaves and added more water, before getting so frustrated with the chopsticks that I bit them to pieces. I drank directly from the pot after that.
Man! That was delicious! Talk about a feast. There’s no way I could go back to being a human after that.
I patted my full belly, basking in the taste of the potortoise. Good thing they had shells, otherwise they’d probably be hunted to extinction by now.
So…the potortoise experiment was a success, but now I had to do something with my mountain of graywolf meat. I couldn’t let it spoil, so I decided to go with my earlier plan and try to turn it into jerky.
I cleaned and gutted the graywolves, separating out the bones, organs, and brains, then the meat and fur. I cut the meat into bite-sized pieces, trimming off fat and sinew. I blew a Baby’s Breath on a carnivorous flower root to make salt, then massaged that into the meat. The salt would kill bacteria and draw out the moisture, preserving the flesh. There was so much graywolf that I nearly ran out of salt before I was done.
When I was finished, I picked it all up and took it outside. I used Baby’s Breath on a tree beside the cave entrance, stripping away the leaves and potential germs from a branch. Then I pierced the meat through the naked branch like a skewer.
This should work, and if it doesn’t, I’ll try something else next time. I’d be pretty disappointed if all this meat went to waste, though.
Title Skill “Mr. Chef” Lv 1 has become Lv 2.
Oh, great! Now, the fur…
If I just left the pelts in a heap like that, they’d probably rot. But honestly I had no idea how to preserve animal skins. My best guess was to cut off the fat, cover the hide in salt, and hope that removed enough bacteria and moisture to stop putrefaction.
After that, I wasn’t sure. I didn’t want a maggot infestation, so I considered just throwing them out. I really wanted a carpet, though. And I definitely didn’t want to show up to the village totally nude when I finally got Human Transformation.
Well, for the time being I’d use the rest of my salt on the pelts, let the piperis dry outside, and get some rest. Tomorrow I could go on a search for more carnivorous flower roots and spices.