A chimera presumably created by the World Tree.
Perhaps that’s why.
It was certainly extraordinary.
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[Root Chimera lv100+++]
[Traits]
[Madness], [Ferocity], [Leader], [Low Intelligence], [Baby], [Crown]….
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Its level didn’t increase from 100.
Perhaps it was fixed at 100 since birth.
But it was still a ‘baby’, growing rapidly day by day.
Originally about the size of a bull, it grew larger than Riokku after devouring a few monsters.
It was smaller than its gigantified father, but still deserved to be called enormous.
Is it because it’s a chimera created to imitate me?
Or is it because of its ‘low intelligence’ and ‘baby’ traits?
Its status window was easily visible.
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[Skills]
[Biting lv20], [Roar lv10], [Body Slam lv10], [Branch Growth lv20], [Quick Crawling]…
[Status]
[Madness], [Terminal]….
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At a glance, it possessed high-level skills that didn’t seem particularly advanced.
So, honestly, I couldn’t gauge how strong it really was.
It certainly seemed incredibly powerful, but to what extent?
Among the gathered monsters, there were some that seemed no less powerful than Akims or Riokku.
But they didn’t confront the chimera, instead just following along.
Keeping a bit of distance, they’re probably following behind.
This chimera is likely about as strong as them.
And in my opinion, being about as strong isn’t enough to defeat Gunter.
I know from seeing Medusa Mom cross the river of death in one hit.
It was actually me who angrily shot a beam at Gunter, but it’s still a bit scary.
Crunch!
Steel Gunter swung his axe spear, cutting through the branches shot by the chimera snake in one go.
The chimera snake was brave.
It lunged at Gunter while shooting out branches.
‘Be, be careful!’
It tried to swallow Gunter in one bite.
Boom!
But Gunter leapt high to avoid it.
If the chimera had been a normal snake, it would have been an effective dodge.
However, the chimera’s body was made of wood.
Once again, branches extended from its body, rushing towards Gunter.
Swish-
This time, even Gunter couldn’t cut all the branches.
Several branches tried to pierce through Gunter’s armor.
Bang bang bang bang!
The force was so tremendous that Gunter was flung back.
Even while flying, he managed to steady himself in mid-air and landed, leaving deep furrows in the ground.
Clear dents were visible on his seemingly sturdy plate armor.
Oh, this might be doable.
‘Go, Chimera Snake!’
My relationship with the chimera snake was peculiar.
I clearly failed to dominate it.
It doesn’t listen to my commands. We can’t communicate either.
However, if other monsters growl at me, it doesn’t leave them be.
It also didn’t allow my escape.
Anyway.
It charged at Gunter.
The knights beside Gunter tried to join in, but.
“Don’t come!”
Gunter stopped them.
It fearlessly charged towards us.
Then it leapt in and swung its large arm wielding the axe spear.
I recognized that stance.
How could I forget?
That single strike that severed Medusa Mom’s neck in one blow.
If I refer to Gunter’s status window that I once glimpsed.
‘Crescent Moon Slash’. It might be that skill.
‘Chimera Snake, run away!’
“My, you’re really going back and forth!”
The chimera snake didn’t run away.
Or rather, it was a situation where it couldn’t escape from the start.
At this rate, both the chimera snake’s and my necks were in danger of being cut simultaneously.
But, in an instant.
Hundreds of branches extended from the chimera snake’s nape, covering the front.
Crack-crack-crack-crack!
Gunter’s axe spear cut through all those branches.
And it stuck deeply into the chimera snake’s face.
But Gunter’s eyes widened, clearly not expecting his skill to react like this.
If it had been an ordinary monster, it would have died instantly.
But the chimera snake, with its body made of wood, was different.
It didn’t die and pounced on Gunter.
Boom!
Dust clouds rose.
Gunter swung his retrieved axe spear, cutting down the rushing branches.
And I.
「Using Beam lv1.」
Timely shot a beam to harass Gunter.
And soon, I discovered an amazing fact.
Every time I shot a beam, the chimera snake attacked that direction.
Pew, Boom!
Pew, Boom!
After realizing this, I adjusted the direction of the beam timely.
In other words, I guided the direction away from Gunter and back towards the monster horde.
Because it seemed impossible to win no matter how I looked at it.
Boom!
At some point, the chimera snake forgot it was fighting Gunter and chased after the beam.
Does it think it’s a cat?
It feels like playing with a cat using a laser pointer.
Gunter stood still with his axe spear drawn, not pouncing.
Just as he’s not alone, neither are we.
Perhaps because the leader chimera snake was distracted, the monster horde rushed at Gunter.
Do they see that monstrous human as tasty prey?
Just as Gunter was about to be overwhelmed by all sorts of monsters.
His hair rose slightly.
‘Th-that…!’
I couldn’t mistake it.
It’s the Heavenly Thunder Spirit.
And not the level 1 Heavenly Thunder Spirit I borrowed, but the real thing.
Lightning struck from the sky.
Crack-crack-crack-crack!
It was lightning that could stop even a monster wave for a moment.
The output was completely different from mine.
Given the nature of the skill where lightning strikes oneself, with that level of output, he could die too.
It must be even harder to endure as a human, not a monster.
But Gunter was fine.
He was holding up that long axe spear with one hand.
The lightning struck that axe spear.
And instead of electrocuting Gunter through the gauntlet, it seemed to swirl blue only inside that axe spear.
“As expected, that’s how you use this technique.”
‘Ah, equipment advantage.’
Is it thanks to the gauntlet?
If so, I might need to wear something like insulating gloves on my tail to properly use the Heavenly Thunder Spirit.
Although it’s only level 1.
And aura rose from Gunter’s axe spear.
An aura glowing blue like lightning.
When he swung it towards the monsters pouncing on him.
Crack-crack-crack-crack!
That blue lightning mixed with the aura and burned the monsters.
How many did he kill in one blow?
At least twenty, no, thirty monsters seemed to have been slaughtered in one strike.
“Fall back, maintain formation.”
Gunter calmly managed his subordinates.
Hmm.
As expected.
「Using Beam lv1.」
Pew-
I lured the chimera with the beam.
We mix back into the running monsters.
‘Run away!’
Glancing back, there was no sign of Gunter and the knights chasing.
Rather, old men who looked like mages were making a fuss.
“Draw it, draw it quickly!”
“What an extraordinary monster! A snake chimera with two heads.”
Is one of the two heads referring to me?
They were taking out papers and drawing the appearance of me and the chimera.
“I’ve finished drawing! Look at this skill.”
“Wow. This is worth presenting to the academic world. We’ve caught a good one.”
“But is there a case where one head of a twin-headed monster is this small? Could it be some kind of tumor?”
A tumor, they say.
And at that moment, my eyes met Gunter’s.
He was clearly looking at me.
‘…Next time we meet, I won’t let you off, Gunter.’
“Why don’t you say that to my face?”
‘Because I’m a snake and can’t speak.’
The day we meet next will be the day of Gunter’s funeral.