[Name: Somewhat Stronger Lizard Monster]
[Disaster Level: Tiger (promotion conditions not met)]
[HP: 2000/2000]
[ST: 2410/2410]
[AP: 1000/1000]
[SP: 3000/3000]
[MP: 0/0]
[Allocatable Points: 10]
[Skills (15/15): [Super Instinct] LV6, [Quiet Steps] LV5, [Sharp Claws] LV6, [Strong Teeth] LV5, [Tail Severing] LV2, [Hardened Body] LV5, [Super Regeneration] LV6, [Stealth] LV4, [Sniping] LV1, [Might] LV1, [Instant Acceleration] LV1, [Body Transformation] LV1, [Tracking] LV1, [Warp] LV1 (NEW)]
“........”
A hospital room bathed in the harsh summer sunlight.
Wearing a patient gown and plaster casts all over his body, Snack stared silently at the white wall.
No.
More precisely, he was staring quietly at the enemy reflected on it, using the white wall like a screen.
“........”
The guy took up a natural stance.
It looked awkward.
Like a child who had just started learning martial arts, his form was there, but it was clumsy, as if he had never properly been taught.
And yet.
What was that level of skill?
Just then, the guy charged straight at him.
The footwork in those steps was definitely not that of a beginner.
It was the kind of mastery that would take at least several years, maybe even decades, to build.
Learning martial arts did not mean everyone could actually use it in real combat.
To use it in a fight, you first needed the skill to mix martial arts into your movements naturally.
And just as important as that was the ability to judge when and what technique to use in any given situation.
In that sense, the eyes of that monster staring at the double palm strike he had just unleashed were unnervingly calm, even in memory alone.
Cold.
Terrifyingly composed.
Those vertical pupils moved fast.
Even while charging, they were reading his movements in split-second detail.
And then, just as both hands were about to reach him.
With precise movement, he placed his own hands against them.
Then he let the force slide off to the side, smoothing out and dispersing the shockwave within it.
The level of mastery was absurdly high.
The ability to read the situation was exceptional.
His natural stance had looked so awkward, so what on earth was that skill?
“......Ah.”
His reflected self on the white wall thrust out a straight palm.
It looked as if he would neither block nor dodge it, but simply take it head-on—then, with a movement like flowing water, he redirected the force.
“...Ugh.”
...The pain from the blow he had taken then was still vivid.
Just remembering it made his insides throb.
In truth, he had already been knocked out by that one attack.
His organs had burst, and several ribs had broken from that single strike.
As he lost his balance, the guy rushed in again.
Again, the movement was smooth and fluid.
He shaped his fingers into a spear hand and stabbed toward his chest.
At that final instant, Snack had felt death.
That would kill him if it landed.
He would probably just be pierced straight through.
Already reeling from the shockwave, he could not even raise a guard.
In a last-ditch struggle, he kicked at the guy’s head.
But it did no damage at all.
It was so hard that the recoil shot back into his own leg, making it tremble violently.
At that point, he had given up.
So this is where I die, he had thought.
To be reduced to this after taking only one attack was, honestly, a little ridiculous.
He had thought of himself as strong, after all.
And so he had collapsed and closed his eyes.
He had expected his chest to be pierced any second, but feeling no pain there, he had passed out without even realizing it.
“........”
An overwhelming defeat.
There was no better way to describe it.
To be knocked out by a single attack and then left wheezing like this.
...Still.
At least he had it better than Death Gatling.
From what he heard, the kendama had collided with his head and cracked his skull.
He had narrowly survived, but it had been close.
“...Damn it.”
The memory was still vivid.
The sight of that monster appearing while chewing on another monster right in front of them, then taking down the A-rank heroes traveling with them one by one.
That already red-scaled body, gleaming even more slickly with blood...
“...Wait. Red scales... a lizard monster?”
...He didn’t think it was possible, but one thought came to mind.
The article about the monster that had killed the C-rank hero Gogmuboots.
And in that article, there had been...
That round, harmless-looking...
That “lizard monster with red scales.”
For some reason, he kept thinking of that guy.
There were plenty of lizard monsters with red scales, and yet he kept thinking of him.
“........”
It was only a hunch, but...
He had a feeling he would cross paths with that monster again someday.
After the heroes, including himself, had been loaded onto stretchers and rescued, an S-rank hero had swept through the entire mountain.
According to Tornado of Terror, there had been no such creature.
Which probably meant it had already left the area.
...As a pro hero, that was unsettling.
He had no idea where that thing might rampage next.
The disaster level had probably been measured as Demon, so now a number of A-rank heroes, or even an S-rank hero, would likely step in...
Still, somehow, he did not think that guy would die so easily.
On the other hand,
as a martial artist,
he was relieved that the guy had survived.
“...I’ll definitely pay back the humiliation from that day someday...!”
Just as he made that vow and got up, clenching his fist, a nurse forced him back down, saying he had to remain on absolute bed rest.
Snack would only be discharged in time for the hero screening that would be held a little later.
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