Chomp~!
Chomping down on the unlucky forest rabbit that had been unfortunate enough to run into her, Scaly happily enjoyed her first meal in quite some time. Taking the time to rest and recover from her journey through the wild root flower forest behind her, while at the same time checking out her status.
Name: Scaly
Race: Ancient Water Dragon Lizard
Level: 17/30
STR: 82 |VIT: 170| DEX: 67 | M: 174
Skills: [Dragon Bloodline lvl 3], [Flight lvl 1], [Water Magic lvl 7], [Poison Resistance lvl 2], [Claw Strike lvl 4], [Swimming lvl 1]
However, outside of a few of her stats increasing after her level increased. Not much had changed. The only thing that caught her attention was the fact that her magic and vitality was nearing 200.
Considering the drastic change that had taken place when she reached 100, she was curious if something similar would happen when her magic and vitality reached 200.
Although, it would still be some time before she reached that level...
Chomp~!
Deciding not to think too much about this, Scaly continued to chomp down on the forest rabbit that had almost disappeared by the point her attention turned away from her status.
In the end, Scaly soon swallowed up the last bit of the forest rabbit before continuing to make her way down the mountain through the forest in a far more relaxed manner compared to when she had to worry about the wild root flowers that were everywhere around her.
Rustle~
However, this did not last for long, as she soon heard the sound of something moving not too far away from her- No, listening closely, there was more than one and the sounds they made while moving through the forest gave Scaly a familiar feeling that reminded her of a certain powerful human who had chased her into the swamp...
[Human, Magic Jester, lvl 41]
[Human, Beast Lover, lvl 39]
[Human/Dwarf, Ore Seeker, lvl 42]
And soon enough, a group of three humans made their way into the small clearing she had been walking through just as she dashed into a nearby bush at the edge of the clearing to hide.
Not even thinking about the rather weird names attached to their status, Scaly had no intention of fighting with them.
The main reason was not because she was fearful of the humans, but more so because she wasn’t sure that she could kill all three of them and prevent them from escaping. Possibly resulting in her being chased down by another terrifying human like the one that had chased her into the swamp.
Even if she felt that it was a bit of a pity to let them go, she still decided to do so as she continued to keep an eye on the three while they disappeared in the direction of the wild root flower section of the forest.
Only after making sure that they were gone and waiting another minute for good measure, did Scaly emerge from her hiding spot before continuing to make her way down the mountain.
Rustle~
[Human, Grand Warrior, lvl 35]
[Human, Earth Mage, lvl 33]
[Human, Magic...]
However, she had only managed to walk for a few minutes before she encountered another group of humans numbered a little under a dozen, who were similarly moving in the direction of the wild root flower part of the forest that she had come from.
Thinking that this was just her bad luck to run into two groups of humans one after another, Scaly once again decided to hide and not interfere with the group as they made their way past her and disappeared in the direction of the wild root flowers.
Time to get going and-
Rustle~!
Again!?
About to resume her journey down the mountain after the second group of humans had disappeared, Scaly was once again interrupted, as another group of humans emerged not too far away from her, similarly making their way in the direction of the wild root flowers.
[Human, Master of Fire, lvl 53]
[Human, Junior Templar, lvl 47]
[Human, Monster Hunter, lvl 45]
[Human, Trapper...]
The main difference with this group compared to the others was the fact that each of them had at least reached level 45, while the one leading them had managed to reach a terrifying level of 53!
Even when compared to the terrifying human she had encountered back then, she had a feeling that this group of humans wouldn’t be much weaker.
I’m not here! Continue on your way!
Thinking this to herself as she watched the group of humans make their way past her like the other two group before, Scaly let out a sigh of relief upon seeing the group disappearing behind the thick foliage-
"Hm? Is there a monster nearby?"
However, her relief came too fast, as the monster hunter in the group suddenly seemed to have sensed her presence.
Was it me breathing out too loudly earlier!?
Feeling a shiver run down her spine as she thought this to herself while the monster hunter human narrowed both his eyes and began scanning the area where she happened to be hiding, Scaly could not help silently cursing at herself for making a useless sound before they had left.
Now, she could only hope that the monster hunter human didn’t find her, or she would have to engage in another chase that she really wanted to avoid going through for a second time.
"Don’t worry about it, it’s probably just another forest rabbit. Don’t forget what we are here for. The others should have already started gathering around the outskirts of the wild root flower forest and without me, they won’t be able to pass through that place unharmed, let alone take on that ancient dire wolf."
"This... Indeed, you are right, I’m probably just feeling a bit nervous knowing we are about to take down the ancient dire wolf..."
"It’s fine, that monster is by far one of the most powerful on this floor of the Howling Caverns. Only being surpassed by those things hidden away below the water of the sea."
Luckily, before the monster hunter human had a chance to find her, the strongest human grabbed him and stopped him from continuing to search for her. Soon resulting in the group of humans resuming their earlier path in the direction of the wild root flower part of the forest.
Ancient dire wolf...? The humans are planning to kill the ancient dire wolf!?
Not that it lessened Scaly’s shock from what she heard, as the group of humans mentioned their goal of killing the ancient dire wolf.
Outside of the fact that the humans she had seen so far were far weaker than the ancient dire wolf when it came to strength, she was also curious about how they would pass through the wild root flowers that she had to pass through to leave the mountain.
However, this curiosity didn’t last for long as she remembered how she had almost been discovered by the monster hunter human earlier.
If she really tried to secretly follow the humans, she had a feeling that she would be spotted by the monster hunter human.
Hm... could the reason why so many humans are gathering be because they want to work together to kill the ancient dire wolf?
As her thoughts began to wander while she continued to make her way down the mountain, Scaly wasn’t the slightest bit surprised as she ended up encountering another four groups of humans. Only making her certain of her guess that the humans were all gathering together to take down the ancient dire wolf together.
Something that ended up making her feel even more certain that it would be best for her to avoid fighting humans unless she could kill all of them and prevent any of them from escaping, as that was likely to bring a lot more humans to attack her and hunt her down.
Just look at the current situation of the ancient dire wolf. Even though it was far stronger than these humans, Scaly had a feeling that it wouldn’t be capable of winning when faced with so many humans at once. Especially considering that they would all have strange and powerful abilities like the knight human she had encountered, who could light himself and his companions on fire.
Shaking her head as she thought about this, Scaly focused her attention on the path that had been created in the grass by the human groups who had passed by her earlier. Creating a clear path for her to follow down the mountain without having to worry about getting lost along the way.
For now, I should just get down the mountain and find out what part of the mountain I ended up at before finding somewhere with monsters for me to hunt.
With this thought in mind, Scaly followed the downtrodden grass path created by the humans. Intending to start hunting down monsters as fast as possible so she could continue increasing her strength.