Harmless Animal (2)
Leaping beyond the Mythological Era straight into the Mesozoic meant I was now fighting an actual dinosaur, but it was nothing to panic over.
Mentally framing it as squaring off against an oversized dog made things far easier to stomach. It was only jarring because of the label "dinosaur"—at the end of the day, it was still just a wild beast. Compared to the pack of Mad Dogs that had swarmed me back then, a single creature ought to be far simpler to handle.
CRUNCH!
I nimbly sidestepped as the beast lunged forward with its maw gaping wide. Having snapped at empty air, its jaws clamped down instead on an innocent tree trunk. The sheer angle at which its jaws could unhinge was absurd.
Crack! Crunch! Snap!
Whether this was simply the nature of dinosaurs or a perk of inhabiting the Forest of the Four Seasons, the massive trunk was crushed flat under terrifying bite force.
Look at that… it's chewing through timber like it's soft tofu.
It seemed to have poured every last evolutionary stat point into its bite force, completely neglecting those comically stubby forelegs. In other words, beyond that devastating set of jaws, it had little else to offer.
Still, I can't let my guard down. It might have something else up its sleeve.
I held back from acting rashly. Impatience had burned me far too many times in this forest. For all I knew, the creature had multiple strengths hidden in reserve, so feeling it out came first. That didn't mean adopting a purely passive defense, of course; only by mounting an attack could I gauge how it reacted.
Crunch! Munch!
Having pulverized and swallowed the tree bark whole, the beast fixed its glare squarely on me. While I wouldn't lose out in pure mass, getting caught between those teeth meant my bones would be ground to dust.
Vwooom!
I drew upon my mana, cloaking the Heavenly Demon's Sword in a brilliant hum of Aura to intimidate it. At once, the dinosaur cocked an eye warily, slowing its pace to a cautious prowl as it circled me. Its predatory instincts must have warned it that the luminous blade was bad news.
I circled in tandem, keeping my guard raised and eyes locked onto it.
Honestly, I'd prefer it if you just backed off right here.
Having it cut its losses and retreat would be the ideal outcome, though having the rest of our group catch up wouldn't be bad either. Besides, I had Bbarmbo clinging to my back. Even if something unexpected went down, we had plenty of ways to counter.
"Grrr…"
Lowering its center of gravity, the dinosaur glared with vicious, predatory intent. People usually associated dinosaurs with colossal titans, but smaller species certainly existed. Whether this particular specimen fell into that category was anyone's guess. If it was a juvenile, that was a headache in its own right; if it was simply a diminutive adult, that posed an entirely different problem.
If it's a baby, the mother's bound to come looking. And if it's a small breed…
Rustle—
A soft rustle whispered from the undergrowth behind me.
Startled, I snapped my head around.
Rustle!
"Grar?"
"Ah, damn it."
A second reptilian snout poked out from the dense foliage. That settled it—these weren't hatchlings, but a naturally small species. Two of them was still manageable. The real issue was…
Swish—rustle—
"Grrrr…"
"Krrr…"
The real issue was that there weren't two. There were four.
Watching the numbers quadruple in the blink of an eye, I took several tense steps backward. Even my very first encounter with the Mad Dogs had only involved three, and now I was facing more. While having Bbarmbo at my back was reassuring, complacency was a luxury I couldn't afford.
Retreating step by step, I finally felt the sturdy trunk of a towering tree meet my shoulder blades. With my back covered, only one move remained. I steadied my pounding heart, took a deep, deliberate breath, and bellowed at the top of my lungs:
"HELP!!!!"
"GRAAAAR!"
"SKREEECH!"
Taking my shout as an opening signal, all four dinosaurs charged simultaneously. The sight of multiple prehistoric predators bearing down at once was overwhelming, to say the least. But I didn't lose my head. I broke into a dash, ducking swiftly around the broad tree trunk. With jaws like theirs, this trunk wouldn't hold out long, but it would buy me the split-second I needed.
CRRR-RUNCH!
Just as expected, two of them sank their fangs straight into the wood, splintering the massive trunk in an instant. The other two swung around the sides to cut off my escape. That was my opening. While the first pair was busy chewing through timber, I had to take down at least one of the flankers.
"KRAAAGH!"
A cavernous maw lunged straight for my face. You're first.
Because its attack trajectory was entirely linear, evading was simple enough. Dropping low, I slid right beneath its snapping jaws and brought my blade sweeping upward against its thick hind thigh—a far bulkier target than those useless forelegs.
Slash!
Bolstered by Aura, the peerless edge of the Heavenly Demon's Sword sliced through muscle and sinew like butter. Deprived of a hind leg, the creature had no hope of keeping its balance and collapsed heavily into the dirt.
"SKRAAAAK!"
It let out a shrill shriek of agony as crimson blood gushed from the severed stump. Without wasting a breath on the crippled beast, I spun around to face the next threat. In the heat of close-quarters combat, the others could pounce at any second.
"…Huh?"
I blinked, scanning the immediate surroundings as I caught my breath. Nothing. There was nobody there. The two that had been splintering the tree trunk only moments ago were completely gone. Aside from the one writhing and thrashing on the ground, every single dinosaur had vanished into thin air.
What the hell is going on?
The situation defied all logic. Even as I stood bewildered, the fallen beast continued snapping its jaws wildly, teeth clicking together with relentless fury. It was plain as day that it intended to tear a chunk out of me if I came within an inch of its mouth.
Thwack!
I shattered that stubborn resolve by driving my sword straight through its skull. Pulling the blade free, I scanned the treeline once more. The chaotic battle had evaporated, replaced by an eerie, suffocating silence.
Where did they go?
I had never witnessed something like this, and it set me on edge. But this was the Forest of the Four Seasons. There was no telling what bizarre abilities these beasts possessed. Lowering my guard now would be suicide.
"Grylls!"
As I held my stance, a familiar voice cut through the trees. I turned to see Ludwig limping toward me at a hurried pace. With Ggobongi staying behind to guard the young ones, Ludwig had come out alone. Perched upon his shoulder was the diminutive figure of Cain, clearly brought along to act as an interpreter.
"Mister, you're—!"
The words caught in my throat. Just behind Ludwig, the air shimmered faintly. It looked as though light itself was warping and bending out of alignment. As my eyes focused on the subtle distortion, cold dread washed over me.
"Behind you!!!"
"[Behind you!!!]"
Cain's voice echoed mine in an instant. He hadn't just parroted my warning; he had spotted something behind my back as well.
Spinning on my heel, I swung my sword in a desperate arc.
Crack!
"Krk!"
My blade cleaved clean through a sapling, but I caught the telltale glimpse. Though it blended almost seamlessly into the background by bending ambient light, the faint ripple of its outline had been unmistakable. It was hard to believe even after seeing it with my own eyes, but there was no mistaking it.
Good grief… chameleons don't even come close to this!
Backpedaling cautiously, I closed the distance between myself and Ludwig. Fortunately, he had heeded my warning in time and avoided any ambush unscathed.
Grrrrr…
Krrr…
Snarl…
With Ludwig and me standing back-to-back, blades raised, the beasts hesitated to make a reckless charge. Even so, pinpointing their exact positions was a nightmare. Aside from occasional ripples in the empty air, they were virtually invisible. Camouflaged stealth dinosaurs were something I had never heard of in my life, and I doubted anyone else on Earth had either.
"[A high-grade concealment technique,]" Cain muttered from Ludwig's shoulder. "[Just what manner of beast are we facing?]"
"Dinosaurs," I replied tersely.
"[Dinosaurs? Are they truly the dinosaurs of ancient lore?]"
"Hard to believe, I know, but take a look at that corpse over there."
I tipped my chin toward the dead reptile lying in the dirt. Only after seeing the carcass did Ludwig and Cain seem to accept my words. Given that such creatures were supposed to predate the Mythological Era, their disbelief was entirely reasonable.
"[Remarkable,]" Cain mused. "[One would expect such lineages to have long since evolved into drakes or wyverns.]"
"Looks like they took a different evolutionary path here. Anyway—"
Whoosh! Clang!
Cutting my sentence short, I threw up my shield just in time to catch a heavy blow. The shockwave rattled up my arm; one of them had whipped its tail out like a lash.
Slash!
"KRAAAAGH!"
Despite the creature being nearly invisible, Ludwig's blade flashed out and severed the tail in a single clean motion. The stark difference in our combat proficiency was on full display. Still, celebrating early was a bad idea. Severing a single tail didn't solve the problem of tracking their unseen bodies.
Drip, drip, drip—
Or perhaps it did make tracking at least one of them easier. It seemed their camouflage only extended to their skin, unable to mask the dark red blood leaking freely from the fresh stump. Thanks to the steady trail of crimson falling through thin air, its position was laid bare.
…Wait a minute.
A sudden thought struck me, and I opened the Gallery interface in a flash. Diving straight into the Auction House, I searched for the specific item I needed.
They have it… but buying an entire bucket is pricey.
Beggars couldn't be choosers. Having it available at all was a blessing. I confirmed the purchase without hesitation and barked a warning:
"Mister! Duck!"
The moment the words left my lips, Ludwig dropped low without a second's hesitation. Setting down my sword and shield the instant he cleared my line of sight, I wrenched open the lid and swung the bucket wide, hurling the contents into the air.
SPLASH!
A heavy spray of bright purple paint rained down in every direction. It was the very same paint I had previously bought from the Gallery to mark navigation signs across the forest. It cost a pretty penny, but money was cheap compared to our lives.
"Krrrk?!"
"SKREEE!"
No matter how miraculous their optical camouflage was, it meant nothing once thick, vibrant paint coated their hides. On top of that, the pungent chemical fumes were noxious enough to disorient any predator with a keen sense of smell.
"Mister! Take them now!"
Leaving Ludwig to handle our rear, I snatched up my sword and shield. The beast before me was thrashing in blind panic, paint dripping straight into its eyes. This was the moment. Channeling every scrap of mana coursing through my circuits, I ignited the blade with raw energy.
Shing!
The Aura-sheathed Heavenly Demon's Sword sliced through its neck with surgical precision. A geyser of scarlet erupted into the canopy, and as its life ebbed away, the stealth effect shattered, revealing its full scaly form.
Thud. Plop.
The severed head and body crashed into the ferns. That left Ludwig's side. Twisting around, I saw that Ludwig had already dispatched another thrashing beast, but a third, lightly splattered with paint, was creeping up behind him. It was displaying chilling cunning, stalking forward even while its packmate died.
"Mis—!"
SWISH!
Before the warning could leave my mouth, a dark blur whipped off my back and intercepted the predator in mid-stride. It was Bbarmbo, who had been clinging quietly to my shoulders until that exact second. Having anticipated that Ludwig's impaired mobility left him vulnerable to a flank, Bbarmbo stepped in to finish the job cleanly.
Thud!
With all four beasts slain, the magical refraction died away completely, leaving four distinct reptilian corpses scattered across the clearing. Breathing heavily, I stepped forward to inspect the fallen creatures.
To think dinosaurs that should have belonged to a prehistoric age long forgotten were thriving right here. It made me wonder whether this forest had stood untouched since those ancient times.
Then again, with Sky Whales swimming through the clouds, dinosaurs aren't even that shocking.
It was clear that the gods—or whatever transcendent entities shaped this world—had meddled extensively. Seeing living giraffes from Earth roaming around had already confirmed as much. Someone had played around with life forms, not unlike that famous dinosaur park movie.
First, let's snap some photos.
Before tidying up the mess, I took several high-resolution shots through the interface. Posting pictures of actual dinosaur carcasses would turn the Gallery upside down. And once they realized these beasts were equipped with active camouflage, the reaction would go completely off the charts.
ROOOAAAR!
HOOO-OOO-AAARGH!
A pair of thunderous bellows suddenly tore through the forest canopy. One of those roars was unmistakably familiar—it was Ggobongi.
"Mister!"
"I know!"
"Take your time catching up!"
Leaving Ludwig behind so he wouldn't strain his injured foot, I sprinted back toward the camp at full speed. Panic gnawed at my chest, worried that the younger ones had come under attack, but…
CRAAAACK! SNAP! SQUELCH!
The sight of Ggobongi grabbing a dinosaur by its upper and lower jaws and tearing its skull in half with raw, unadulterated primate strength proved my worries entirely baseless. Aside from the fur color, the scene looked like it had been ripped straight out of a King Kong movie.
"Hmph."
Looking down at the predator whose jaw he had just completely pulverized, Ggobongi gave a dismissive snort. To top it off, he calmly adjusted the glasses on the bridge of his snout with an air of nonchalance.
Breathing a sigh of relief, I checked on the others. Everyone was safe. Wonmo and Tyrano were simply sitting there with wide, saucer-like eyes, looking as though the entire skirmish had unfolded and ended in the blink of an eye.
No one's hurt, at least…
Looking over at the dinosaur carcass that, aside from its obliterated jaw, remained mostly intact, a practical survival dilemma hit me.
How on earth do I butcher a dinosaur?
I had only recently gotten comfortable field-dressing normal wild game, and now I had to figure out dinosaur anatomy. It was a daunting headache, but there was something far more important to take care of first.
Time to write a post on the Gallery.
It was high time I proved that the hypothesis about these creatures being "harmless animals" was dead wrong.