Sorry for this looong post… I’ve been binge-reading a ton of manga and binge-watching a ton of anime recently, since… it’s summer and all, and I couldn’t help myself :p

Also, b-coz’ our house is being renovated and that this chapter was longer than I thought… *sigh*

≠≠≠≠≠≠≠≠≠≠≠≠≠≠≠≠≠≠≠≠≠≠≠≠

Facing against another powerful monster, I ready myself.

If I do anything careless, it might eat the child wholesomely.
And if I move, it moves too.
Since we’re both in a stalemate, I’ll check its status for now.

‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐
Species: Manticore
Status: Normal
Lv: 73/80
HP: 453/453
MP: 142/142
Attack: 413
Defense: 228
Magic: 194
Speed: 534
Rank: B

Special Skills:
〖Nekomata: Lv—〗〖Incognito: Lv4〗〖Presence Sense: Lv6〗
〖Grisha Language: Lv1〗

Resistances:
〖Physical Resistance: Lv4〗〖Magic Resistance: Lv5〗〖Fire Element Resistance: Lv3〗
〖Poison Resistance: Lv2〗〖Paralysis Resistance: Lv4〗

Regular Skills:
〖Paralyzing Claws: Lv7〗〖Paralyzing Fangs: Lv8〗〖Human Transformation: Lv8〗
〖Sandstorm: Lv6〗〖One-Thousand Needles: Lv9〗〖Surprise Attack: Lv7〗

Titles:
〖Cunning: Lv6〗〖Tenacious: Lv6〗〖Chaser: Lv9〗
〖Feline’s Obsession: Lv3〗〖Gale Runner: Lv7〗〖Final Evolutionist: Lv—〗
‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐

A manticore…… huh.
This might be the first time I’ve seen an actual mythological monster in this world before.
It looks like a real lion, even though it’s not.

It’s definitely built for combat……
It’s lower than me in rank, but…… its speed is off the charts!
I wonder if it can increase its speed even higher.

The first dangerous monster I ever encountered so far was the Giant Centipede, I wasn’t expecting I’d meet another one here.
It looks like it’s slowly moving right now. I think it’s trying to run away.

…… Hm?
Thi-, this thing… has〖Human Transformation〗?!
And, not to mention it’s one level above mine.
I’m a bit jealous though. But, you don’t really need that skill now, do you?!

…… Oh well, I guess it doesn’t really matter whether I know how it got that skill.
I should focus on its other skills that are for fighting.

Partner.
For now, please heal that child who’s being eaten.
It’ll die if we leave it be after all.

When I called Partner out, she nodded.

“Gra~a~a!”

Light from〖High Rest〗shines from the Manticore’s mouth.
The child’s finger twitched.
It’s still alive.
I need to find a way to release it from its mouth.

“Gebagebageba~a!”

The Manticore’s mouth moves, and its fangs sink deeper into the child’s back.
It’s going to kill the child at this rate.
I have to save it soon.

The Manticore seems to have been provoked by my〖High Rest〗and jumped at us.
Other than speed, I have the advantage in all the other status in numbers.

I’ll endure all of its attacks, and when I see an opening, I’ll hit it with a powerful counter.
With that status, hitting it twice should hopefully be enough.
I rarely see strong monsters without recovery skills.
I need to make sure my attacks actually hit.

“Gebaha~a!”

When the Manticore is directly in front of me, it makes a big leap at me with its front claws open.
It’s a scratch attack.

I cover my body with my wings to block the attack.
The Manticore’s claws hold on to my wings, twirls around, and jumps over me.
My back then got scratched and I felt severe pain from the cut.

I tried hitting where the Manticore scratched me with my tail, but I shook it off.
I widely turn my body around and face the Manticore again.

Darn it. It’s probably better to attack it instead of focusing on half-baked defense.
Its HP isn’t that high after all.

“Gebahahaha~a!”

After successfully landing a hit on me, the Manticore repositions itself and comes at me again.
It’s coming. This time, I’ll make sure to beat the hell out of you.

It moves with composure while remaining cautious at me.
I shoot three〖Wind Slash〗while it’s running closer towards me.

“Gebagebageba~a!”

The Manticore moves sidewards to evade the attack.
Not like those kinds of attack will even land on something that fast.

I’d prefer it if you let your guard down just once.
I want to get this over with quickly.

The Manticore kicks off the ground and jumps.
It’s the same stance as before.
If it can dodge, it dodges, it’s so full of itself, I can almost see your smug face filled with arrogance.

I can hit it once it gets close…… no… I shouldn’t do something so wasteful.
Safety first, safety first.
If I mess up, the chances that I’ll unexpectedly get caught like before is high.
I’ll have to take the hit, and then I’ll strike a deadly blow on you. For sure this time.

I took a step back and thrust my neck forward.
The Manticore’s claws impale my shoulder.
And in that moment, my fangs aim at the Manticore’s belly.

“Geba~a?!”

Meet my〖Poison Fang〗skill.
I’m going to inject a ton of poison inside you.
I kicked the Manticore with my foreleg.
The Manticore’s body hit a tree and rolled on the ground.

The Manticore fell on the ground with its belly up.
Blood flowed out from the part where I bit.

It didn’t take long for it to get back on its feet.
Well, I guess that’s that.
Its HP and defense weren’t that high.
And, it doesn’t have any healing skills too.

It just wasn’t tough enough.
If you had lived in an environment that forced to you to survive, you might’ve ended up with a tougher hide, like me.

I shoot〖Wind Slash〗towards the Manticore’s half-open mouth.

“Geba~a……”

The Manticore’s head turns and my attack hit the cheek instead.
A bloodied child falls down from the Manticore’s mouth.
Alright, that went well.
All that’s left now is to cook the Manticore for tonight’s dinner without the child noticing.

The Manticore stands up with a heavy breath.

“Gebageba…… geba……”

One more hit should guarantee my victory.
So come on, attack me already.
Is it going to jump at me like before?

It’s slowly retreating, but it’s also showing a lot of openings.
There’s a quote for wounded animals, when you’re backed into a corner, that’s when you really have to escape.
It doesn’t look like it has any other dangerous skills…… do I even need to think up a counter strategy?
In any case, it’ll only let its guard down until it decides for itself that its safe.

“………… Geba.”

The Manticore turned its back on me and ran away.

Hey, it actually ran away……
Wee~ell, if you think about it, anyone would do that.
Its own attacks didn’t have much effect, and when it got hit, it was hurt pretty badly. If I were in its place, I’d run at full speed too.

I only lose to it in terms of speed, and I can’t chase after it with that speed.
I’m sure I could catch up to with with〖Roll〗, but…… let’s not do that.
Besides, helping this injured child is first priority.

Either way, that Manticore got poisoned, its experiencing heavy blood loss, and it doesn’t have much HP left.
I might be able to find its corpse somewhere, so I guess I can search for it later.
With a meal that size, I can sustain myself for days.

But, that Manticore…… has a surprisingly weird humanoid face.
If I eat that, I feel like I’ll be going over a line that I was keeping until now.

≠≠≠≠≠≠≠≠≠≠≠≠≠≠≠≠≠≠≠≠≠≠≠≠

T.N: I was able to successfully make my own discord server! Plz join it for happy discussion times! XD

Join or not join
Stay or leave

I’m not particularly forcing you, so the decision is completely yours to decide =3