Chapter 47
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 47
Chapter Title: Lemon Flavor
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Rustle.
In the swamp thick with green algae, Lizardmen floated with only their nostrils poking out above the waist-deep water.
Blink.
A Lizardman blinked its vertical reptilian pupils, briefly announcing its presence. It was a moment of carelessness—no, a physiological reaction.
But for the person lying in wait for its eyes to shift, it was the perfect opportunity.
‘Now!’
I hurled a dart as if I’d been waiting for this exact instant. The dart plunged deep into its eyeball.
Puk!
The moment I attacked, my figure flickered into view. But the instant I pulled my hand back, my body melted seamlessly back into the surroundings.
“Shh? Shh shh?”
“Shhh?”
The Lizardmen rushed over at the sight of their comrade’s death, but they found nothing. Of course—I’d already slipped away from there.
‘Feels just like being the invisible man.’
It was all thanks to ‘Camouflage’.
That’s right. I’d chosen Camouflage over paralysis poison.
The reason was simple. I couldn’t be sure the paralysis poison would even work on Lizardmen.
Lizardmen were monsters slathered in poison from head to toe. There was no way they lacked immunity to paralysis venom.
‘Even if it did poison them, the effect wouldn’t be much.’
On top of that, I could drop them in one shot by hitting vitals without needing the poison at all, which swayed my decision.
As a bonus, I’d scored an unexpected perk: the synergy between ‘Camouflage’ and ‘Stealth’.
[‘Stealth’ advances to E-rank. Stealth now holds even during movement. Intense motions excluded.]
[Stealth and Camouflage synergize. Both skills’ effects increase by 20%. During movement: 10%.]
With Stealth hitting E-rank, I could now maintain it even while creeping along slowly. True snake-style infiltration action unlocked.
‘Five left now? I could probably just fight ’em head-on and win.’
I’d been picking them off via assassination one by one, then switching to open combat once their numbers thinned. Sticking purely to stealth kills would drag on forever.
‘Gotta take some risks to ramp up the hunt speed.’
Plus, the closer I got to the nest, the tougher assassinations became. All thanks to the Lizardman Raiders.
Those variants seemed specialized in endurance—their hides looked twice as thick as a regular Lizardman’s.
Red stripes snaked vividly across their green skin, flashy as could be.
Flashy looks always meant deadlier poison. These guys were packing something way stronger than the baseline Lizardmen.
One nick from them, and I’d be paralyzed before I could chew moss. Only one counter: preload the moss.
But it was so damn bitter, I kept hesitating.
‘Just hold it in my mouth for now. Hold it. Chew only if I start feeling poisoned.’
And so, moss clenched between my teeth, I began processing the Lizardmen one after another.
How much time passed like that? Somehow, nearly all the Lizardmen were cleared. Only the Raider remained.
“Shh-ik!”
Right on cue, the Lizardman Raider spotted me and let out a screech.
Instead of ducking out of sight, I flung a Wind Blade straight at it.
Whoo- whoo-
Defying its bulk, the Raider dodged the axe with nimble footwork.
‘Well, well, got some moves? But can you dodge this? Recall!’
The second it fully dropped its guard, I triggered Recall. I felt the Wind Blade whipping back toward my hand.
I took position, arm hoisted high overhead to catch its head squarely on the return path.
The Wind Blade whirred back, zeroing in on the nape of its neck. It clocked the axe too late—way too late to evade.
‘Nice. Easier than I thought…….’
That’s when it happened. Its tail coiled protectively around its head. Simultaneously, it slammed flat to the ground.
Snap!
The Wind Blade merely sheared off the tail before returning. Bitter regret at blowing the golden chance.
‘Kinda disappointing, but hey—tail’s gone. Balance should be shot now.’
I glanced back at it, only to gape: fresh flesh was already budding on the stump.
‘What the—Piccolo?’
‘Super Regeneration, Master.’
‘Super Regeneration?’
‘Regeneration ability found in monsters like Nagas or Trolls. They recover lost limbs in seconds.’
‘Immortal or what?’
‘Aim for the head to kill, Master.’
‘Head, huh…… Not easy.’
Even against blindside strikes from outside its vision, it guarded its head on pure instinct.
It knew. Knew its weak spot was the head.
Once we locked into open combat, it turtle-shelled that noggin relentlessly while gunning to poison me. Dodging those attempts while landing hits sapped my power.
‘Won’t win like this. To win, I gotta charge in, poison be damned.’
Translation: chew the moss.
‘Ughhh. Hate it so much.’
Still, better than dying. Rolling in dog shit beats the afterlife, right?
I began gnawing the moss wedged in my mouth. Instantly, a sharp, acrid bitterness flooded not just my mouth but my nostrils too.
‘Khek!’
I lashed out wildly with the axe. The Lizardman Raider blocked with one hand while raking my arm with the other.
The old me would’ve dodged for sure. Poison meant choking down this nightmare taste.
‘But…… too late. Already chewing.’
I was fully committed to the poison now, moss and all. No backing down.
“Haat!”
A strike loaded with my full-body power. No hide that thick could stop it.
Slash-
“Shiiik!”
Its wrist sailed off, chest laid bare.
I ached to leap high and cleave its throat in one go, but mud clung to my soles like glue—movement was a slog.
Instead, I stomped a step closer and raked a long horizontal gash across its belly hide.
Took three scratches from claws and tongue in the exchange, but thankfully the moss held strong—my body stayed responsive.
The Lizardman Raider wasn’t slacking either; new flesh was already sprouting on the wrist and belly I’d just carved.
‘Regeneration on a whole other level.’
Had to end it now. Teeth gritted, I swung the axe again.
“Die! You! Piccolo! Bastard!”
The regenerating wrist flew once more, knees and ankles shredded. It whipped its tail in a final spasm of resistance, but I lopped that off too—then took its head.
Splash!
At last, the massive corpse sank into the water. Right then, numbness crept through my limbs. Paralysis poison finally circulating.
With trembling hands, I crammed another clump of moss into my mouth.
“Kuh! Absolute worst. Gotta stock candy next time.”
I seriously mulled strawberry versus lemon flavor before heaving a deep sigh.
‘Wouldn’t be half bad if my feet didn’t keep sinking in this swamp.’
Every time I planted power into my stance mid-fight, my feet would sink into the mud without warning.
Caught mid-battle with feet locked, it wrecked both offense and defense.
Looking back, every hit I ate? Feet sunk every time.
‘So, hate the moss? Fix the sinking feet problem.’
But no matter how I racked my brain, nothing solid surfaced.
‘Sigh. Any workaround?’
* * *
“Mmm.”
In the end, no answers found, I trudged back to the academy.
Straight to the throwing range, as always. Fingers crossed Instructor Song might have a fix.
But today, her face was off—resolute, like someone steeling for real combat.
“Instructor, everything okay?”
“Hm? Oh. Nothing big…… Signed up for an internship soon. Thinking about diving a 2-star gate’s got me tense, I guess.”
2-star gate. All-Kill Guild flashed in my mind. And how Lee Joo-hyuk had dragged unaffiliated hunters into their gate—then walked out solo.
“No way it’s the All-Kill Guild’s gate, right?”
I blurted it out in a rush. Praying it wasn’t. But Instructor Song nodded, clueless to my dread.
“Spot on. They’re running an internship for 2-stars.”
“You’re actually doing it?”
“Says the one who needs to enter the tiger’s den to catch one.”
“No, come on—even so, why go there of all places…….”
“Who knows what those punks might pull on you next. Better get the lay of the land early.”
She was risking it all for my sake. All because of my dumb lie about some secret agency.
‘This is exactly why you don’t lie on a whim.’
Toyed with confessing everything right then, but too late. She’d already handed her personal info to All-Kill Guild.
“No, seriously—you’re a grown woman, doesn’t that scare you? Handing your details to thugs like that…….”
“I’m good. Put down the academy dorm as my address. Even All-Kill wouldn’t dare mess around here.”
I begged her to reconsider over and over, but cracking her resolve was impossible. Gave up and pivoted to backup plans.
“Sigh. When exactly?”
“Next month, second week—Saturday.”
“North gate with the Lizardmen nest, yeah?”
“Yep. Figured I’d level up while at it. Don’t sweat it. What could go wrong with ten 2-star hunters together?”
“Sigh. Fine. Just…… be careful, okay? I really don’t wanna see you get hurt.”
“Uh…… yeah. Got it. I’ll be careful.”
Only after my nonstop pleading did she finally blush and nod. She knew she was being stubborn.
‘What to do on my end? They’re only recruiting 2-stars—tough to squeeze in. Guess I’ll have to hit an otherworld gate?’
Issue was, entering the gate meant wiping that 2-star Lizardman nest first. Which meant cracking the swamp feet problem upfront.
‘Right back where I started.’
Hum de dum~
Oblivious to my turmoil, Instructor Song hummed cheerfully while unpacking a box.
“What’s that?”
“Oh, this? Heard the gate’s a swamp, so I prepped.”
She pulled out an outfit—like something for working the mudflats.
“Off clam digging?”
“What’re you on about? This is legit magic gear.”
“Huh? That?”
“Yep. Embedded with a 2-star flying monster Harpy’s magic stone. Grants Lightweight. Wear this, and swamps won’t suck your feet in. Pretty slick, huh?”
Swamp essential, if true.
“W-where’d you snag that?”
“Hm? Easy find around here.”
“……Easy?”
“Lizardman gates nearby. All the related gear’s flooding in. Hit any weapon shop—they’ll have it.”
“…….”
I was speechless.
‘Perfect. No more sinking feet, way less moss-munching scenarios. Sweet.’
I tried forcing positivity, but then Instructor Song beamed and fished a potion from her bag.
“And this is antidote. Normally bitter as hell, but lucky me—they’ve got lemon flavor now.”
“Lemon flavor…….”
Somehow, I felt utterly deflated.