Novel Lived
Chapter 86: Black Lizardman (3)
Chapter 86: Black Lizardman (3)
The startled Black Lizardman flattened itself to the ground again and used Camouflage. However, it couldn’t erase the red potion stains on its skin.
"You can't use that skill anymore." Having said that, Kai charged at the creature while using Holy Explosion.
Realizing that Camouflage wouldn’t work anymore, the creature's skin, which had turned the color of gray rocks, turned back to black. Its yellow pupils continuously expanded and contracted.
It’s observing me.
Kai, now under prioritized observation, used his right hand and fiercely wielded his sword.
Clang!
The creature’s two scimitars crossed and gripped onto Kai’s sword like teeth. At the same time, it subtly rotated its wrists. Then suddenly, the distant blade closed in on Kai’s wrist.
“Damn it!”
Kai, startled, pulled his sword back and retreated backward.
His furrowed brows reflected his frustration.
These scimitars... are troublesome.
The blades of the scimitars weren’t straight like the Long Sword of the Enlightened One. Instead, they bent sharply at the middle, making them look more like boomerangs from a distance. This design allowed for a significantly wider attack range with just a slight twist of the wrist.
Dealing with one of them is already a pain, but there’s two of them...
Deciding to reduce the threat to one sword, Kai's left hand suddenly emitted light.
“Krrk!”
Even while observing how it countered Earth Wall, Kai noticed that this creature had an incredibly fast learning ability.
As Holy Explosion emanated from Kai's left hand, the creature ducked the moment Kai's left hand glowed. It had remembered the previous encounter and had been extremely guarded against it happening again.
However...
Kai was well aware of the creature’s intelligence from observing its battles!
“It’s a feint, you idiot!”
[HP restored.]
[HP restored.]
“Krrk?!”
What shone from Kai’s left hand was Sunlight’s Warmth! The real attack came from the index finger of his right hand, gripping the sword.
Boom!
“Kraaaagh!”
The terrifying creature twisted its body to avoid a direct hit!
However, Kai’s eyes shined as he saw one of the scimitars spinning away.
I didn’t land a direct hit, but I’ve reduced it to one sword.
Now things were manageable.
As soon as Kai made this judgment, his body shot forward, ignoring air resistance.
Slash!
Kai's sword, swift as lightning, aimed at the Black Lizardman’s neck.
The creature tried to block it with its tail, relying on the defense of its scales. But while the creature knew its own defenses well, it underestimated Kai’s attack power. And that was its crucial mistake.
Kai’s attack power was more than enough to tear through its scales.
Slash!
"Kraaaagh!"
As the thick tail hit the ground with a thud, it screamed and retreated.
Of course, Kai was determined not to miss this momentum and quickly followed it.
"Flood of Blades!"
Whirrrrr!
The wind swirling around Kai's sword rotated at a terrifying speed, sending the creature’s scimitar flying.
"Finally."
The Black Lizardman lost its means of attack.
"Rest in peace."
As Kai raised his sword for the final blow, something struck his exposed side.
“Urgh!”
Kai rolled on the ground, falling backward. He quickly lifted his head to see what had attacked him.
“...What is that?”
In his sight was the creature's tail, swaying gently.
It was a new tail, still covered in a sticky liquid, proving it had just regrown!
As expected from a lizard, its tail grows back.
Of course, this fact wasn’t significant enough to change the favorable situation. But a thought flashed through Kai’s mind.
Could it be...?
Brushing off the dirt and leaves, Kai stood up and picked up the creature’s severed tail from the ground.
[Black Lizardman Tail]
Grade: Magic
A tail covered in hard, dense scales. The leather can be skinned to craft equipment, and the remaining tail makes an excellent cooking ingredient!
"...Oh?"
After that, Kai’s gaze toward the Black Lizardman changed drastically.
***
“One, two, three, four...”
Kai's counting of the tails neatly laid on the ground ended at twelve.
"Is that all?"
“Krrgh...”
The Black Lizardman, looking at Kai with a gloomy expression, quickly lowered its eyes when their gazes met.
The once confident creature now looked pitiful.
But considering its perspective, anyone would react the same.
Kai was a terrifying figure who cut off its tail every time it regrew, waiting for the tail to regenerate! And if it stubbornly refused to regrow the tail, Kai would look disappointed and go for its neck!
In the end, the Black Lizardman had no choice but to desperately regenerate its tail.
“Is that it? Try using your lower abdomen muscles.”
“Krr...”
The creature grimaced as if straining, but no new tail sprouted.
“Seems like it's really over. Now to kill... huh?” Kai, who was about to draw his sword, tilted his head.
But was its skin always this color?
The Black Lizardman's original skin color was black. That's why it had the word black in its name.
But now, its skin color was closer to gray than black.
Come to think of it, its skin color seemed to change slightly when I cut off the last tail...
While Kai pondered whether to kill the creature, Neil, who was examining the tails on the ground, shouted, “K-Kai! Please come here for a moment!”
"...What is it?"
When Kai approached Neil, he shook something he had taken out of the tail. "Look at this! It's the Essence of Darkness!"
"Why is that there?"
"It was found in the last tail. It seems that during the tail regeneration process, the Essence of Darkness accidentally got incorporated."
"...That can't be." Kai glared and looked at the Black Lizardman. "You did it on purpose, didn’t you?"
"Krrk?"
The creature shook its head vigorously with innocent eyes, as if to say it didn’t know anything!
Kai looked at it with an incredulous expression and let out a hollow laugh.
Ha, they’re really not just ordinary smart beings.
Realizing that the Darkness Hunters were hunting it because of the Essence of Darkness, the creature had expelled it through its tail!
Though it had become ferocious from consuming the Essence of Darkness, it was originally intelligent enough and found the best way to survive.
"Hmm... so what should we do with this guy?"
The creature, no longer tainted by the Essence of Darkness, was just a Black Lizardman.
As Kai repeatedly grabbed and released his sword handle, debating whether to kill it or not, the creature’s expression continuously shifted from hopeful to fearful.
Then after long deliberation, Kai waved his hand and said, "Hmm... off you go."
"Krrk!"
The Black Lizardman let out a cry. It seemed to have interpreted Kai’s words as a death sentence!
Then Kai waved his hand again, saying, "I’m not going to kill you, just go."
Having obtained the Essence of Darkness, which was his original goal, and twelve lizardman tails, Kai could afford to be merciful.
Sigh, this is why I get called a handsome pushover angel...
He was even able to engage in real-time self-reflection!
"...Krrrk?"
The creature looked at him with a suspicious gaze, afraid of being tricked.
At this, Kai raised an eyebrow and warned, "If you don’t leave now, I’ll just capture you."
Hearing that, the lizardman's eyes widened. It had an expression that showed it couldn't believe the opponent who had been its enemy just moments ago was now letting it go!
"Are you not gonna go?”
"Krrr."
The creature gestured for him to wait for a moment, deep in thought. Then after a brief pause, it suddenly lowered itself on the ground, bowing its head deeply!
"What are you doing...?"
As Kai looked on in confusion, a series of message windows popped up in front of him.
[The Black Lizardman is moved by your mercy and offers a bow of submission.]
[The lizardmen follow the strong. Sensing your strength and mercy, it wishes to follow you.]
[You can now tame the Black Lizardman.]
[You can equip tamed monsters with gear, and later use skill books for summoning and unsummoning.]
[Good deeds are good deeds, no matter the species, friend, or foe. Helik, the Solarian God, approves of your benevolence toward monsters.]
[+3 Benevolence.]
"...Huh?"
Kai, startled, read the message once, then read it again.
What is this? Monster taming?
Monster taming literally meant taming a monster to use as a summon.
However, Kai, not being of the tamer class, had never imagined he would be able to tame a monster.
Of course... I have seen level 1 non-tamer players tame rabbits or squirrels before.
He had seen it, but even though they were classified as the same monsters, the difference between a rabbit and a lizardman warrior in innate intelligence, strength, and even level, was vast.
Well this is bewildering.
Kai looked down at the Black Lizardman bowed before him with a truly bewildered expression.
In fact, this situation was a near-miraculous event that had overcome almost impossible odds.
The Black Lizardman had become ferocious from being tainted by the Essence of Darkness and had attacked Kai twelve times, losing each time. And in the process, its self-esteem had eroded while its will to live had grown inversely.
But when Kai spared its life and showed mercy, the creature expelled the Essence of Darkness and returned to its usual temperament, feeling a wave of gratitude like a tsunami as there was no reason for it to feel grateful, considering its attacker was now forgiving it!
...Is this a suspension bridge effect or what?
Kai shook his head and looked at the message window in front of him.
[Would you like to tame the Black Lizardman?]
[Yes / No]
Accepting this wouldn't be...
There was nothing bad about it. In fact, having just fought it, Kai was inclined to accept. The moment he accepted this creature, he was confident it could be used effectively immediately.
Ultimately, Kai voiced his agreement, "...Yes."
[You have tamed the Black Lizardman.]
[A new selection window has been added for your pet’s status.]
[You can check the status of the Black Lizardman in the pet status window.]
"Pet status window."
In the newly appeared interface, the Black Lizardman was represented as an adorable SD character.
[Black Lizardman]
Rank: Field Boss
The greatest of all Lizardmen soldiers. Also called the reincarnation of Ataka, the legendary Lizardman. Uses dual curved blades masterfully and possesses the ability to blend in with its surroundings. Its outstanding abilities and brain led to becoming an object of obsession for the Church of Muldine to insert an Essence of Darkness.
Happiness: 41/100
Loyalty: 35/100
"Oh wow, it shows so much detail."
Below, there were also descriptions of the items equipped by the Black Lizardman and his skills.
The equipped items are just two scimitars. As for the skills...
[Novice Lizardman Swordsmanship LV.1]
Grade: Normal
[Camouflage LV.1]
Grade: Rare
[Regeneration (Passive)]
Grade: Normal
[Animalistic Agility (Passive)]
Grade: Normal
[Acumen (Passive)]
Grade: Rare
“Dang...”
For a mere monster, these were luxurious skills!
However, the grades of the skills, which were at least intermediate level, were all nerfed to novice level 1.
...Well, taming is all about growing them.
Quickly accepting the situation, Kai extended his hand to the Black Lizardman. “Let’s get along from now on.”
“Krrr!”
The creature grasped his hand with a grateful expression!
[You can make a name for the Black Lizardman.]
[Loyalty will increase by 5 upon making a name.]
“Hmm, a name huh...”
Kai rubbed his chin in thought.
The species name is Black Lizardman, so... Black is too childish. Blackie? That sounds racist. Then...
Kai felt as indecisive as when choosing a game character ID!
Then after five minutes of pondering, he suddenly clapped his hands.
"Alright! Let’s go with Blizzard!"
It was a shortened form of Black Lizardman!
Plus, the name alone gave off a powerful vibe, like a spell used by a wizard over level 200.
Neil gave Kai a subtle look at his questionable taste, but the Black Lizardman seemed pleased, nodding his head repeatedly. And with that, the lizardman was named Blizzard.