Chapter 13: Claw Lizard Princess

Irim closely observed the death point of the Claw Lizard Princess.  

The death point of this boss monster was right between its eyes.  

The Claw Lizard Princess charged at him with ferocious speed.  

Fortunately, only its Attack and Defense had increased, not its Agility, so Irim figured he could dodge it well enough.  

But then—  

Whoosh!  

The Claw Lizard Princess suddenly leaped into the air.  

Its attack pattern had changed.  

Is it trying to crush me with its body?  

Irim quickly dove to the side.  

BOOM!  

The Claw Lizard Princess landed where Irim had been standing moments ago.  

The ground trembled as if an earthquake had struck, and a tremendous gust of wind spread in all directions.  

If I get crushed, it’s game over.  

The impact of the landing left the Claw Lizard Princess momentarily immobile.  

It lasted about two seconds.  

That’s my chance!  

Irim spotted the perfect moment to throw the sticky net.  

If the Claw Lizard Princess used its jump attack again and fell into a stunned state, he would throw the net and immediately target its death point.  

All he had to do was hold out until then.  

The Claw Lizard Princess swiftly turned its massive body.  

The moment it locked onto Irim, it opened its mouth wide.  

In an instant, a slimy, pink tongue shot out like a whip.  

Irim, unprepared for an attack with its tongue, failed to dodge it.  

Whip!  

“Ugh!”  

The tongue wrapped around Irim’s ankle and yanked him hard.  

Losing his balance, Irim fell to the ground and was dragged along. To make matters worse, he dropped his weapon.  

The Claw Lizard Princess raised its right foreleg high.  

It was poised to crush Irim the moment he was dragged close enough.  

What do I do?  

Without his weapon, using One-Point Thrust was impossible.  

Using the Dagger from his inventory wouldn’t work either—its reach was too short.  

The distance between Irim and the Claw Lizard Princess closed rapidly.  

At this rate, that massive foot would crush his head.  

Irim’s eyes frantically scanned his inventory.  

Then, something useful caught his attention.  

That’s it.  

Irim pulled out a Torch and pressed it against the tongue wrapped around his ankle.  

Fwoosh!  

Kiiiiiik!  

It worked.  

The Claw Lizard Princess recoiled in panic, retracting its tongue.  

Then it spun around, swinging its thick tail.  

Irim, still on the ground, scrambled forward to barely dodge the attack.  

But at that moment, a dark shadow loomed over him.  

Looking up, he saw the Claw Lizard Princess, mid-jump, plummeting toward him.  

“Ugh!”  

Irim dove again.  

BOOOM!  

The Claw Lizard Princess crushed the spot where Irim had just been.  

Now’s the time!  

After surviving several close calls, he finally had a golden opportunity!  

The impact of the fall caused a two-second delay in the Claw Lizard Princess’s movements.  

Irim quickly pulled the Superior Sticky Net from his inventory and threw it at the creature.  

Swish! Splat!  

The rolled-up net unfurled in the air, completely enveloping the Claw Lizard Princess.  

A message appeared.  

[The effect of the Superior Sticky Net is applied. The Claw Lizard Princess is stunned for 10 seconds.]  

Yes!  

Irim cheered inwardly as he picked up the dropped Sturdy Horn.  

Tap-tap-tap-tap!  

Without hesitation, he rushed to the front of the Claw Lizard Princess’s head.  

Aiming for the death point between its eyes, he activated his skill.  

[One-Point Thrust!]  

Huge text flashed in the air as the Sturdy Horn shot toward the death point.  

POW!  

Kiiiiiiiiiik!  

The Sturdy Horn pierced the Claw Lizard Princess’s forehead.  

The creature screamed and trembled.  

But it wasn’t a one-hit kill.  

The horn had only slightly penetrated its hide.  

Five seconds remained on the stun duration.  

With the Sturdy Horn still lodged in its forehead, Irim activated One-Point Thrust again.  

POW!  

Kigigik!  

The Claw Lizard Princess was still standing strong.  

Two more seconds passed.  

Damn, the spear tip isn’t piercing the bone!  

This was what people called “damage not sticking.”  

It seemed Irim’s strength wasn’t enough to penetrate the Claw Lizard Princess’s bone.  

There wasn’t time to eat the five remaining Attack Buff Eggs either.  

The Claw Lizard Princess’s stun was about to wear off.  

What do I do? Should I use One-Point Thrust one more time? Or dodge attacks and eat Attack Buff Eggs whenever I get a chance?  

As Irim hesitated, torn between options—  

[The Claw Lizard Princess’s stun has ended.]  

The remaining two seconds were gone.  

The Claw Lizard immediately raised its foreleg.  

Just as Irim flinched and started to retreat—  

[Night has fallen. Due to the Great Chicken’s Strength buff, your Attack increases by 15.]  

An unexpected message appeared, and instead of retreating, Irim activated his skill.  

[One-Point Thrust!]  

CRACK!  

Kiiiik!  

As the Sturdy Horn pierced the Claw Lizard Princess’s forehead, its foreleg struck Irim’s body.  

BAM!  

“Urgh!”  

A single hit drained two-thirds of Irim’s health.  

One more hit like that, and he’d be game over.  

But then—  

CRUNCH! FWOOSH!  

The Sturdy Horn shattered the bone in its forehead and plunged deep inside.  

Kigiiii…!  

The Claw Lizard Princess, about to swing its leg again, froze in place.  

Blood gushed from its forehead.  

Finally, the Claw Lizard Princess collapsed flat on the ground.  

THUD.  

A flood of system messages followed.  

[You have defeated the Claw Lizard Princess!]  

[You have obtained 200,000 Won.]  

[Achievement Unlocked!]  

Achievement Gained: Nightmare of the Claw Lizard!  

Condition: Be the first to defeat the Claw Lizard Princess.  

Reward: Skill ‘Lizard’s Strength F’  

[Lizard’s Strength F, Passive]  

You can climb walls up to 20 meters high.  

“Wow.”  

Lizard’s Strength was a passive skill.  

Though its immediate use wasn’t clear, the fact that it was something others couldn’t do made it unique.  

Irim gazed at the limp corpse of the Claw Lizard Princess.  

He immediately pulled out his Dagger to butcher it. But the Dagger bounced off weakly.  

A message appeared.  

[Quest items cannot be damaged.]  

“Quest item?”  

Irim was currently on a quest from the Red Queen Spider.  

It seemed he needed to deliver the Claw Lizard Princess’s corpse intact to complete the quest.  

Irim stored the corpse in his inventory and left the clearing.  

The trees in the Spider Forest were all tall and slender.  

Even the smallest tree trunks stood at least 10 meters tall and resembled coconut trees.  

But there was no way coconut trees could grow in this environment.  

Moreover, their leaves were far larger and lusher than those of typical coconut trees.  

Leaves spread out in all directions from the midpoint of the tall trunks.  

Normally, looking up at a coconut tree, you’d see fruit dangling, but here, it was hard to tell if there were any fruits at all.  

Irim suddenly felt the urge to climb a tree.  

He wanted to test his newly acquired skill.  

Irim clung to a nearby tree.  

In reality, he had never climbed a tree.  

His quiet, timid, and unadventurous personality meant he avoided anything that seemed even slightly risky.  

Climbing trees fell into that category.  

“Phew.”  

Irim exhaled shortly and put strength into his arms.  

He gripped the tree trunk and placed his feet against it.  

Then, something miraculous happened.  

His body stuck to the tree as if coated with adhesive.  

Irim climbed the tree trunk effortlessly, without expending much strength.  

In no time, he reached the top and carefully stood, balancing himself.  

“Wow.”  

The view of the forest from the treetop was completely different from below.  

The green waves stretching beneath the twilight sky stirred an indescribable emotion.  

“Hup. Haa.”  

Irim took a deep breath of the high-altitude air.  

The refreshing air, carrying the scent of the forest, filled his lungs, making him feel amazing.  

For others, such small moments might be mundane, but for Irim, they were precious and valuable.  

Because I could never feel this in reality.  

After savoring the forest’s scent for a while, Irim looked down to climb back down.  

To his surprise, a few coconut-like fruits were nestled at the top, like eggs in a nest.  

Upon closer inspection, they were indeed coconuts.  

Normally, coconuts hang from branches, so it was an unusual sight.  

It was only possible because this was a game.  

Irim’s face lit up, thrilled to find coconuts in such a place.  

He picked all five coconuts from the tree and stored them in his inventory.  

Irim quickly descended and checked other trees for coconuts, but found none.  

Not every tree bore fruit.  

Satisfied with the five coconuts for now, he continued walking.  

Coconuts have many uses in cooking.  

The juice could be drunk as is or mixed with other ingredients to make a richer beverage.  

The flesh had many uses too.  

The firm, jelly-like flesh could be eaten as is or dried to make a great snack with alcohol.  

By scraping the flesh and squeezing it, you could make rich, creamy coconut milk. Boiling and cooling it could even yield coconut oil.  

As Irim walked through the forest, he took out a coconut.  

Using the Sturdy Horn, he pierced a deep hole and drank the refreshing juice inside.  

Gulp. Gulp. Gulp.  

“Ahh, nice.”  

Coconut water was definitely a polarizing taste.  

Many questioned what kind of flavor it had.  

Most expected it to taste like an isotonic drink, but were surprised by its actual flavor.  

Coconut water tasted like a diluted isotonic drink, with a stronger salty note than sweetness.  

For those unfamiliar with coconuts, it was hard to get used to.  

Irim was different.  

To him, there was no such thing as inedible food, and very little tasted bad.  

Coconut water was no exception.  

He loved its unique aroma, simplicity, and rustic flavor.  

After finishing the juice, Irim stored the empty coconut shell in his inventory.  

By then, he had reached the field where the Red Queen Spider resided.  

As Irim approached the Red Queen Spider to complete the quest, several players who recognized him crowded around, bombarding him with questions.  

“Rice-nim, aren’t you selling today?”  

“I ran out of the food I bought yesterday. I’m dying for something tasty.”  

“Please, have mercy!”  

Irim’s inventory still held the sixty Delicious Lizard Skewers he had prepared for the boss fight.  

“I’ll sell them in about ten minutes.”  

At his words, the players cheered in unison.  

Once the crowd dispersed, Irim finally stood before the Red Queen Spider.  

He took the Claw Lizard Princess’s corpse from his inventory and placed it down.  

From the moment Irim approached the boss, many players in the area had been watching him.  

Some of them gasped and shouted in shock.  

“That’s the Claw Lizard Princess!”  

“No way, he killed it?”  

“I couldn’t take it down even with a five-person party!”  

“Good lord.”  

The players in the Spider Forest were witnessing yet another legend created by Irim.