Chapter 22 : The True Sovereign of the Great Forest

[‘Turmoil of the Great Forest’ Completed!]

[Achieved the feat of defeating a ruler-class monster alone!]

[Acquired the title, ‘Overlord of the Great Forest’!]

━━━━━━━━

[Overlord of the Great Forest]

Proof of the monster that reigns over the Great Forest.
A symbol of the living calamity that only seven exist.
Your existence will inspire instinctive fear.
That name will remain forever in history and be passed down.
Perhaps spreading beyond the Great Forest, to the ends of the continent…….
━━━━━━━━

[Additional rewards are granted for perfectly resolving the imminent threat!]

The status window was very boisterous.

The pouring messages showed no sign of stopping.

She really had done something amazing.

Unlike usual, Lena sympathized with the status window’s fuss.

Python’s corpse alone was the size of a mountain.

How much she had suffered to cut off this guy’s life.

Though there were more parts where she enjoyed it than suffered.

Anyway, who would have stopped this guy if it wasn’t for her?

Just one battle had turned the area into a mess.

The place where the breath had swept through was so contaminated with toxic substances that she doubted it could ever be restored.

But there would be those who adapted to that environment as well.

It would be a paradise for those who lived with poison sacs in their bodies.

Anyway, he was that much of a formidable enemy.

Lena accepted the status window’s ringing alarms as if they were the cheers of the crowd.

But that was only for a moment.

Ugh, my eyes hurt.

Lena casually waved her hand, then realized that she was holding something.

“Ah, this. I did bring something out from inside.”

It was something she had found while tearing apart Python’s innards, grabbing whatever she could reach.

She hadn’t been able to accurately identify what it was and take it out because she had been too busy thrashing about.

She had just grabbed it because it looked like a jewel at first glance.

Lena read the glittering name above the round object.

“Monster Serpent’s Inner Core?”

It was said that a mystical creature that had lived for a long time would crystallize the essence of its life and possess it.

It often appeared in martial arts novels, but it wasn’t limited to that concept.

That was the same for the nine-tailed fox’s fox bead, the dragon’s wish-fulfilling orb, and the relics of a Buddhist with great virtue.

This was even a fantasy world.

It would have been stranger if a monster serpent who had lived for hundreds of years didn’t have it.

“What should I do to be praised for using this well?”

Lena had a preference for taking the fruit off the top of the cake first and eating the best parts first.

They said that you would end up with poop if you saved it.

She should have swallowed the inner core as soon as she found it.

But Lena hesitated.

She would gain some special ability if she ate this, and that was the problem.

She was satisfied with the ability to make her scales glitter.

She also welcomed the breath, which was powerful and had great firepower.

What if she just got bigger?

Giantification, hmm, her life would probably become inconvenient.

Above all, the inner core was the essence of life, so it could be said to be Python’s giant body, bones and flesh all rolled into one.

She had been happy that she could make enough snake wine to drink for the rest of her life, but now that she thought about turning all that flesh into alcohol, it was daunting.

She didn’t want to bother working on it after the fatigue of the battle had set in, just like how she didn’t want to do anything after getting off work.

Wouldn’t it be the easiest thing in the world to make alcohol out of the inner core?

Just then, the world seemed to help Lena make her decision.

“Ah…….”

As if a wind had blown, Python’s huge corpse turned to dust and scattered.

It had happened in an instant, so quickly that all of it had disappeared in the blink of an eye.

It was said that the inner core was the essence of life.

The body, which had been nothing more than a shell, had lost its form because it had been deprived of it.

“Good, I’ll have to make alcohol with this.”

It was a shame.

With that, she could have held a village festival for days because she couldn’t have eaten it all by herself.

But it wasn’t like Lena was running out of food.

It was better that one of the options was taken away so that she wouldn’t have to worry for so long.

Kruong!

“Badugi!”

Immediately after, Badugi appeared as if he had sprung out of the shadows.

His tail was wagging slowly, and his eyebrows were drooping, so his expression was full of worry.

He was sincere.

The thought that he was trying to lessen the scolding he would receive by showing that he was sorry for running off on his own instead of helping with the fight was definitely slander.

Lena didn’t want Badugi to participate in the first place.

While she was thankful for his heart, he would have just gotten in the way because she would have been worried about him.

That’s why Lena smiled brightly and welcomed Badugi.

“You’re doing alright, right? Yeah, yeah, then come over here. Closer, even closer. That’s good. Now kneel and stop.”

He’s so quick-witted.

He had come at the right time.

Lena collapsed toward Badugi, who had knelt in front of her.

Kkaeng!

Badugi, who had been startled, jumped back.

He stopped trying to jump.

Lena’s entire body was limp and lifeless, so it was obvious that she wasn’t joking around.

“I’m just going to take a nap.”

A voice that seemed to fade away like embers from a fire that had burned out.

The fur on his back became damp, and the stench of blood began to permeate the air.

Badugi realized that Lena’s condition wasn’t normal.

She had faced a ruler-class monster head-on and won.

There was no way her body would be fine.

Badugi suppressed the shaking of his body and ran at full speed.

[Growth points have reached a certain level, so options are being presented!]

Lena was just taking a nap and had fallen into the inner world for her next job change.

It was Lena’s fault for not explaining and just closing her eyes.

“Umm…….”

The lady knight tossed and turned.

She groaned, unable to get comfortable, and flailed her arms and legs. Unfortunately, the bed wasn’t big enough to handle her tossing and turning.

The moment she flipped over, Kwadang!

“Hyat!”

The lady knight’s eyes snapped open.

“Who’s there!”

In her mind, she pictured herself gracefully flipping over and drawing her sword.

The reality was a mess.

Twisting and writhing, fidgeting and wriggling.

Those descriptions were accurate.

She was like an insect writhing after being trapped in a spider web.

“W, why is this…….”

The lady knight’s face flushed.

Why wasn’t her body listening to her?

The moment she looked down, she was shocked.

“Kyaaak!”

A green substance covered her entire body.

At the same time, she remembered what had happened before she lost consciousness.

She had fought a huge group of lizardmen monsters, tried to run away, the leader had appeared, and she had lost.

Then was this the lizardman’s village?

The fact that they hadn’t killed her right away but had wrapped her body with this green semi-solid meant…… they were preparing something.

They were planning to cook their prey in a fancy way.

The lady knight’s eyes shone brightly.

This was an opportunity.

She had to run away while they were off guard.

Humiliation was only temporary.

She could always get revenge later, so she had to prioritize her life now…….

“……Huh?”

However, the lady knight stopped writhing, about to try and escape.

Something was strange.

There were many things that didn’t add up to simply writing this place off as a place where monsters stored food.

The environment was clean, and there were furniture like beds and drawers…… there were clear traces of life in the space.

There were crude parts here and there, but considering the monsters’ skills, it was surprisingly good.

The presence she felt in the surroundings also fueled her doubts.

It was quiet.

If this was a lizardman village, it should have been swarming with activity.

No, even before it was a lizardman village, this was the heart of the Great Forest.

The entrance to disaster where monster habitats could be found anywhere.

The fact that there was no sign of monsters was clearly strange.

“Could it be.”

Was this not the Great Forest?

If her comrades had come to save her, which was ridiculous, if the knights had sent personnel to rescue her.

Then she should see this green goo all over her body as an ointment.

As she thought that, she felt as if her body was slowly recovering.

It wasn’t just her imagination; it was really happening.

Knights were a profession that made physical training their job.

Knowing how to check the condition of their body was a basic skill.

It was when the lady knight was about to take a breather.

A gust of wind seemed to blow, and then the figure of a beast was reflected in the broken doorway.

“……!”

The lady knight held her breath.

It was a huge wolf.

Its black fur was glossy and fluffy, and its sharp eyes exuded a chilling charisma.

Its aura was terrifying.

Her instincts told her that it was a monster she couldn’t handle.

At the very least, it was stronger than the lizardman leader.

She understood why she couldn’t feel the presence of any other monsters around her.

It was probably because that wolf had claimed that space as its territory.

It must have been the one who had stolen her from the lizardmen, the prey.

This was a desperate situation.

The lady knight didn’t give up.

She tried to move her body and draw her sword that was standing next to the bed.

The wolf’s mouth was full of blood.

A slender girl was being held between its teeth.

She wasn’t dead yet.

Then she had to save her.

The thought that she had to take care of her own life first only flashed through her mind.

It was the duty of a knight to save people, to defeat monsters.

Clatter, the sword rolled across the floor.

The lady knight belatedly realized that her entire body was covered with something like goo.

It was a mistake to become complacent and delay after having such optimistic expectations.

In any case, her top priority was to free her body…….

“Eeeek!”

The lady knight crawled and squirmed.

She had succeeded in standing on her own two feet by exerting superhuman concentration.

Even though she would die, she hoped that the noise would wake the girl up.

It would be a success if she could at least create a chance for the girl to run away.

What stopped the lady knight from trying to run with a determined attitude was the wolf’s actions.

It opened its mouth and set the girl down.

Then it brought an object like a jar from somewhere and poured the contents over the girl’s entire body.

“?”

The color and texture of it were exactly the same as what was on the lady knight’s body.