14
Chapter 14
Dusk settled in deeply.
A solitary Boxwood stood alone as always.
I leaned against its solid trunk in solitude.
Phew.
I became a loner once again.
Jjokkomi and Tosuni returned to their respective homes when it got dark.
For reference, Tosuni was the nickname I gave to the Blood Rabbit.
After they left.
I did absolutely nothing, just like always.
I also refrained from practicing Flame Manipulation.
There might be monsters roaming nearby.
I could not do something as stupid as lighting a fire at night and exposing my location.
I plan to charge my punch later, too.
After replenishing enough Consumption Mana to use the Action skill.
Time passed.
I stayed up all night, just staring blankly.
Before I knew it, the darkness receded and dawn broke.
Time really flew by.
The time for action had finally arrived.
Spring.
I got up energetically, basking in the warm morning sunlight.
Flame Teddy Bear is resurrected!
Now then, what should I start with today?
Shall I just practice Flame Manipulation for now?
Hmm. That seemed like the best option.
I should go hunting together with Tosuni when she arrives.
It is only safe when the bus Knight is around.
With my arms crossed.
That was when I was making a plan.
Thud-!
Thud-!
A sound that shook the ground echoed from nearby.
It was not an earthquake.
It sounded like the footsteps of a massive creature.
At this volume, it must be an incredibly huge creature.
Could it perhaps be a dinosaur-type monster?
I grew slightly curious.
I wondered what kind of monster it was.
However, I decided to try my best to ignore it.
Going to take a look for no reason could put my life in danger.
Thud-!
Thud-!
.......
Thud-!
Wait, is it just me?
It felt like the sound was getting closer and closer.
Thuud-!
Thuud-!
The sound began to grow louder.
And not long after, the ground stopped trembling, and a giant rock appeared in my line of sight.
A magnificent rock that had suddenly appeared out of nowhere.
That was no ordinary rock.
[Slow Stone lv.21]
┗Pw.63
┗Rnk.Superior
Gasp!
So you were the culprit behind the tremors!
At first glance, it looked like an ordinary large rock.
No, even upon closer inspection, it was just an ordinary giant rock.
At least from what I could see right now, it had absolutely no features of a living creature.
If the Helper had not displayed its information, and if I had not caught it moving with my own eyes, its perfect disguise as a rock would have made me never suspect it was a monster.
It is a monster with incredible Camouflage.
Or maybe that is just how it looks.
"Guoooo...."
The Slow Stone let out a cry.
It did not seem to have any holes in its body, so where was that sound coming from?
Also, how was it moving when it had no legs?
I quickly dropped my questions.
It probably uses Mana to somehow make it work.
"Guoo."
It moved again.
It sluggishly approached me.
Why are you coming closer? Please do not do this.......
I took a step back, my eyes fixed on it.
Fortunately, I did not need to run far.
Because the thing had stopped moving again.
"Guo."
The Slow Stone stopped moving again.
It remained completely motionless.
Do not tell me it plans to settle down right there?
"......."
It seemed that was exactly what it intended to do.
Hey! Get lost!
That is my house!
First the Vampire last time, and now this rock guy, I do not understand why everyone keeps squatting in someone else's home.
"Guo."
Oh. It started moving again.
It must have just been taking a short break.
I misunderstood, sorry about that!
Crunch-!
Huh? Crunch?
Looking ahead, I saw the Slow Stone's massive body completely crush the Boxwood.
......No!!!
My home was being forcibly demolished!
My anger boiled over from the shock of losing my pillar of support at dawn.
How dare this bastard destroy my house?
What are you, some kind of hired thug?
If it had been weaker than me, I would have exacted my revenge immediately.
I would have ruthlessly fed it a Bear-Bear Punch.
However, that thing was stronger than me.
It could not be helped.
I will make an exception and forgive You.
Because I am weak against the strong and strong against the weak. Ahem.
"Guoo."
The Slow Stone once again stopped moving.
Having crushed the Boxwood, it perfectly settled into its spot.
I did not misunderstand earlier after all.
You really do plan on settling down here.
Now that things had come to this, I had no other choice.
I had no way of driving it out with my own strength.
Even though it was a villain illegally occupying my house, I had no choice but to show mercy, forgive its unforgivable sin, and live together.
Well, I guess that would be fine.
For now, it did not seem to have any hostility.
Maybe we could even become friends?
It would be reassuring to have such a strong-looking monster as another friend.
Step, step.
I slowly approached the Slow Stone.
Even up close, it was just an ordinary rock.
It did not even have eyes, a nose, or a mouth.
Nice to meet you. I am a Teddy Bear.
Would you like to get along, as fellow inanimate monsters?
Excuse me? Can you not see me?
Swoosh, swoosh!
I waved my front paws around wildly.
The Slow Stone had no reaction.
I guess it really cannot see me.
......Did you think I would say that, you punk?
Who do you take for a fool?
Of course, I am a fool, but... anyway, you know perfectly well that I am right in front of you!
There was no way it did not know.
It was a Superior grade monster, so there was no way it could not even do basic Mana sensing.
Be honest.
You are trying to catch me off guard and then ambush me, right?
"......"
Sure enough.
Whoosh-!
A small pebble shot out fiercely from its body.
The pebble flew right at me, aiming accurately.
Hiyah!
I wiggled my butt and dodged!
I narrowly managed to avoid the attack.
I would have been a goner if that had hit me.
Why is your attack so fast when you are called a Slow Stone?
Do not fake people out with your species name, punk!
Succeeding in dodging the attack was thanks to anticipating it to some extent.
If I had let my guard down, I would not have been able to react and would have taken the hit head-on.
You simple and stupid rock!
Your thoughts are so obvious!
Hehe. This proves that a Teddy Bear is more intelligent than a rock.
Anyway.
Hey, Slow Stone.
You have no intention of getting along with me, do you?
Screw you! Actually, I had no desire to get along with you either!
How dare a mere rock try to be on the same level as the great Teddy Bear!
If we are not friends, we are just enemies.
I will hunt you down!
This is revenge for the Boxwood!
The reason I changed my attitude was simple.
Come to think of it, I felt like I could beat it if I utilized my skills. No matter if it was a Superior grade and level 21, I still had a decent chance of winning.
"Goooo."
The earth vibrated.
Along with that, my body grew heavy.
No, rather than growing heavy, my movements drastically slowed down.
Ah. So that was it.
I realized something.
The meaning behind the species name, Slow Stone.
You are a monster with the ability to slow down your opponents, aren't you?
"Goooo."
Large and small rocks floated up around the Slow Stone.
They seemed to be rocks generated by its skill.
Are you the only one with a skill?
I have one too!
[Using the [Teddy Bear Camouflage lv.1] skill.]
I activated the Teddy Bear Camouflage skill.
Now, it should no longer be able to sense my Mana.
In other words, my existence had completely vanished from the Slow Stone's world.
Because it does not possess a sense of sight.
"Guo?"
I heard a foolish sound filled with question.
Haha! You have no idea where I am, do you?
My body became as light as before.
The moment I used the Teddy Bear Camouflage skill, the status effect on me was lifted. It seemed the Slow Stone could not maintain its status effects if it could not feel the opponent's Mana.
The rocks floating in the air plummeted helplessly to the ground one by one.
Now it was my turn to attack.
Smack!
I stuck to its body like a leech.
I could not see any from a rough glance outside, but sticking this close and carefully inspecting every corner of its body, there had to be at least one hole.
If there were no holes, I could just retreat.
While quickly crawling around and meticulously scanning the Slow Stone's body.
Ooh! Found it!
I discovered a very small hole.
It was a pinkish hole, gaping open and shut as if breathing.
It looked exactly like it would be connected to its internal organs!
As expected, this guy was still a living creature.
You fake inanimate monster!
Do not ever discuss being inanimate in front of me again!
My attacks might not work anywhere else, but my measly attacks had a high chance of being effective here.
For a living creature, a spot like this is usually a weak point.
Of course, monsters could be different.
There might be cases where even their internal organs are tough.
Still, that is fine.
There is no big problem even if it does not work.
As I said earlier, I can just run away.
It cannot catch me anyway because it cannot sense my Mana.
I pressed my mouth against the Slow Stone's hole.
Based on the results of yesterday's experiment, spewing fire from my mouth had the best spread.
The fire shot out far and well, just like a flamethrower.
Anyway, I finished preparing to inject fire into its body.
Alright! Here I go!
The flame injection is going right in!
There is no anesthesia, so please bear with it.
Inhale!
[Using the [Flame Manipulation lv.1] skill.]
Fiiiire-!!!
"Geueueueueuh!!!"
The rock's scream pierced the sky.
The effect seemed definitive.
[The level of the [Flame Manipulation] skill has increased.]