Banished from the herd, I was actually a member of a very rare species. ~With the unique skills that only I can use, I can grow and evolve quickly. I will become an unrivaled monster~ - Episode 83: Red Lizard

Episode 83: Red Lizard

“Gyuoooohh!”

The three-eyed Red Lizard let out a roar and lunged at me. Even though we were still quite far apart, its jumping power was incredible.

“([Conduction], another explosive arrow!)”

I quickly fired another arrow, but it was blocked, or rather, intercepted. It collided with a fireball spewed out by the Red Lizard and exploded halfway between us.

The Red Lizard charged through the flames.

“([Replicant Form], [Slash]!)”

Realizing the situation, I mimicked the forest halberd and used a slashing [Weapon Skill]. My current [Factory] had Additional Effects for sharpness and [Weapon Skills].

I aimed to cleave through the Red Lizard’s open mouth, targeting its orange fangs—

“(Huh?)”

—But the halberd passed through the Red Lizard’s body.

It felt like cutting through a muddy swamp.

It wasn’t due to defense ignoring; even the original forest turtle didn’t completely ignore defenses. The weapon’s performance had slightly degraded when translated into its current form. 

So it wasn’t something I did…

“Gyaaaah!”

“(Damn it!)”

It was the Red Lizard’s ability! It turned its body into magma to bypass the slash, then instantly reverted to its normal form and charged at me.

Despite using [On the Edge of the Ring], I couldn’t fully withstand the force of the beast and its [Charge Skill]. We tumbled down the slope, entangled.

By the way, it bit me during the commotion, but that wasn’t a problem. It seems the Red Lizard doesn’t have defense ignoring capabilities.

“(Let go, [Replicant Form]!)”

“Kyaah!?”

I thrust the mimicked hydra poison spear towards its gnawing mouth. The resistance suddenly disappeared when the tip of the spear was embedded, as it had turned to magma.

The Red Lizard kicked me with its non-magma legs and backed off.

We reached the bottom of the valley.

“[Slash]!”

“Gishaa!”

We stared at each other from a distance of several tens of meters.

With the beast’s speed, it could close the gap in an instant. Between us, two types of [Dominion] were clashing.

The Red Lizard’s [Dominion] seemed to be based on heat. The ground beyond halfway was glowing red, and the air was shimmering. In contrast, the ground on my side was crackling and turning into a weapon.

“([Throwing]!)”

I threw a rock transformed into a spear and ran after it. The flying spear was deflected by magma that erupted from the ground just before it reached the Red Lizard.

“Gyuoh!”

“(Whoa, it’s hard to read!)”

The Red Lizard’s |Mana| dispersed, causing magma to erupt from various spots underground. Moreover, magma that rose into the sky twisted its trajectory and fell towards me at high speed.

Both I and the forest chains can probably endure the magma’s heat, but I chose to evade to be safe. I zigzagged while focusing on the terrain.

“Kyuuh!”

“(I saw that before.)”

While keeping an eye on the Red Lizard, I continued to be wary of its main body. I easily dodged the fireball aimed at my predicted location and charged forward.

“([Charge Thrust], [Slash]!)”

Once in range, I attacked with the poison spear and halberd. Although they certainly struck the Red Lizard, it was still bypassed by its magma form.

If it were ordinary water, the weapon would have exploded at this speed, but the high viscosity of the magma prevented that.

The Red Lizard, having dodged my attacks, materialized only its head and opened its jaws at close range.

|Mana| surged. Evading from here was impossible.

With a dazzling brilliance, a torrent of magma was spewed out.

“(Ouch, did the forest chains get burned out?)”

The two forest chains in the front row were completely burned and turned into necrotic flesh, evaporating in an instant.

The magma was far hotter than what had erupted from the ground before. It seemed even the forest chains couldn’t withstand it at such close range.

I flattened my body to avoid the lava flow like a puddle. Using the descending line of fire to my advantage, I activated [Instant Shift] and advanced past the opponent.

“([Cross Counter], [Compact Swing]!)”

During this, I quickly swung a mimicked hammer. A sticky water sound roared.

“(If slashing and thrusting won’t work, how about blunt strikes!)”

The hammer broke the Red Lizard’s front leg and slashed diagonally into its belly.

The lava body split into two chunks.

“Gyurororo…”

“(I’ll finish this in one go, [Charge Swing]!)”

Seeing this, I immediately sprang into action. I kicked off the red ground with the eight-legged mimicry I had re-created. My target was the mass with the upper body. I swung the poison hammer at its head, but this time it deftly avoided the attack with a unique movement.

The magma body was incredibly fluid.

“(But it’s already half its body. A comeback from here is… huh!?)

The Red Lizard, having dodged my strike, headed towards the remaining chunk that had been separated earlier. The lizard plunged headfirst into it and quickly merged back into a single body.

How is that even possible!?

If it were a slime, the torn body would have decayed immediately!

“Gyuroroh!”

“(Whoa!)”

The fully restored Red Lizard puffed its cheeks like a squirrel. In the next moment, I was struck by an immense shockwave.

“(Is that… volcanic rock?)”

From the rocks hitting my body and the smoke rising from the lizard’s mouth, I deduced the nature of the attack. It seemed to have launched volcanic rocks at incredible speed. Even with [Instant Shift]’s visual enhancement, I could only see afterimages.

I couldn’t dodge in time and was hit directly, but… the damage was still negligible. It felt as powerful as the forest turtle’s charge. But without defense ignoring, it was manageable.

“(Phew, stay calm. It’s not unscathed either.)”

I focused on the Red Lizard, which had retreated significantly. Upon closer observation, its body had accumulated more minor wounds compared to the beginning.

“(…I see, from the splashes.)”

It’s just a guess, but it shouldn’t be too far off. Just like how water splashes when hitting the surface, when I struck the lizard’s body, several lava droplets had scattered. While larger chunks could be recovered, fine droplets couldn’t be picked up. That might be the case.

“(Come to think of it, it makes sense.)”

If attacks were completely ineffective, it would just spew fire or volcanic rocks up close. The fact that it’s keeping its distance and staring at me suggests there’s definitely a weakness.

“(And that weakness might not be just one.)”

Having grasped a clue for the strategy, I began to mimic the queen ant spear.