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37. The Magical Beast and the Forbidden Fruit
109 – The Magical Beast and the Forbidden Fruit #1
My body zipped past the scorpion’s shell like a blender blade turned on, grinding it to a pulp.
When my spinning finished, I landed safely on the ground, a bit dizzy.
—Zzzzz…
The giant scorpion’s exoskeleton was smashed to bits, with its white flesh laid bare for the world to see. Honestly, it was a miracle that it was still breathing.
—Wow, man. Impressive.
I had roughly devised this move, hoping that my spikes and tail, combined with my sleek body and strong physical power, could create a powerful finishing move. To my surprise, it was way more effective than I’d imagined, leaving me in awe.
With my heart racing, I let out a confident shriek.
—How do you like that, little guy? Behold my finishing move, um… uh… Cataclysmic Vacuum Burst!
—Zzzzz…
With that, the scorpion collapsed to the ground. It clearly lacked the strength to move its heavy exoskeleton anymore.
Clap, clap.
Batus, who had been sitting on a rock, came over, applauding.
“Awesome! The way you actively fought with your front paws and tail was impressive. That last attack? Pure talent! What do you call it again? The spinning attack?”
—Cataclysmic Vacuum Burst?
I felt a bit embarrassed saying the name of a boss monster move from a game.
It was a name I’d slightly twisted, just for a monster like me with spikes.
Batus muttered, “Cataclysmic Vacuum Burst….” He seemed to think of something and nodded.
“That name’s too complicated. Let’s call it the Devastation Punch instead. As the namer, I’ll make your technique reach the realm of talent!”
Batus hoisted me high into the air by my waist, just like that.
【Skill ‘Devastation Punch’ acquired!】
‘Woah, what?’
This was the first time I learned there was a way to acquire skills aside from just achieving accomplishments.
The fact that simply naming a move could unleash talent made Batus seem even more impressive than I had thought.
Batus set me back down. I looked up at him and asked in a bright voice.
—Can you name other moves too? If I swing my tail or claw, can those get names and become talents as well?
“Not every move can be named. You need a solid imagination about the move and its effects. Naming it just gives a framework to help visualize your technique in your head, allowing it to reach the realm of talent.”
I nodded, trying to grasp Batus’s complex explanation.
Realizing I was still lost, he clenched his fist, swinging it in the air a couple of times.
His rock-hard fist sliced through the air with a whoosh, whoosh sound.
“This is just a punch. But what if we named it? What do you think would be a good name?”
Batus asked me what to call it. Were we seriously going to give a name to that ordinary punch?
I didn’t have a solid name in mind, so I just tossed out whatever came to my head.
—Weak Hand, uh… I mean just a regular punch?
Adam drew in a breath, putting muscle into his arm as he shot his right fist forward quickly.
“Regular Punch!”
Batus’s punch exploded with a loud bang as it hit the air. But it was still just an ordinary punch, nothing special.
—So what’s different now?
“Not much changes. But from now on, when you hear ‘Regular Punch,’ you’ll think of my earlier attack. Naming a move is about that—making it easier to associate.”
Batus pointed to the clearing in the cave.
“Seeing it in action is faster than talking. Show me your technique, the Devastation Punch, again. Yelling the name out will make it even better.”
Batus encouraged me to recreate the technique I used to finish off the scorpion. With a hesitant heart, I looked over the clearing. I then hunched down and rounded my body like a ball.
—De, Devastation Punch!
With a shy shout, I jumped high into the air, and to my surprise, my body spun like a bowling ball rolling down the lane.
‘Oh, what?’
Screech.
I felt my spikes scratching the cave floor mercilessly.
After hitting the wall and stopping my spin, I shook off the dust covering my body. I was amazed that I felt no dizziness after all that spinning.
Batus nodded in satisfaction as he watched me.
“If it’s the usual way, you’d have to practice one move hundreds, if not thousands of times. But overwhelming talent doesn’t need that kind of practice. That’s what makes it talent.”
‘That’s some serious power.’
I trembled when I saw the scraped cave floor, realizing I had just created a move worthy of being called a finishing technique.
You could almost say I’d drawn a joker card capable of turning the tides of a dire situation.
‘Devastation Punch, huh…’
—But do I really have to yell the skill’s name?
The need to shout out my technique’s name made my fur itch, like ants crawling beneath my skin.
“Right now, shouting the name makes it easier to visualize the move. Later on, you wouldn’t have to say it, but it’ll take some time.”
—Ah…
I nodded casually.
As my excitement over my new technique began to calm down, my stomach growled loudly.
I turned my gaze back to the scorpion I had caught, the Dome Perry Scorpion.
—Can I eat it all since I caught it?
“Sure, just leave the tail behind. We need proof that you’ve saved the sea’s bounty. Besides, I doubt you could finish that entire thing. I’ll take care of the leftovers.”
Batus drew a dagger from his waistband and cut off the giant scorpion’s tail.
—Then I’ll eat it all!
I approached the scorpion. Its red shell looked just like a perfectly ripe lobster.
With its broken shell revealing its white flesh, a sweet aroma wafted from the juices leaking out—be it fat or meat juice.
‘No need to even taste it; it’s definitely delicious.’
I hopped up on the scorpion’s body and bit into its shell. The heated shell tasted salty, like crispy snacks.
‘At this rate, I could even eat the shell.’
Without hesitation, I chomped down hard, munching on the scorpion’s shell. Soon only the glistening white flesh remained, bouncy and ready to be devoured.
I opened my mouth wide and took a great bite of the giant scorpion’s white flesh.
As the nutty and salty flavors exploded in my mouth, it felt like I was savoring some shrimp seasoned with salt.
And the more I chewed, the more sweet flavors came through, making it impossible to get enough.
‘This is heavenly.’
Most importantly, the golden juices flowed from the scorpion, tantalizing my taste buds. The sharpness of the alcohol and a hint of apple aroma heightened my appetite and freshened my mouth.
Before I knew it, I had devoured the entire giant scorpion. Suddenly, words indicating I had gained experience points floated in front of me.
Some beasts provide experience points with just a single bite, while others require a certain amount to gain any. This scorpion seemed to belong to the latter category.
‘No level-up, though. Just one more level up and I could evolve at level 20.’
While I licked my lips, feeling somewhat unsatisfied, Batus was watching me, amused.
“In less than half an hour, you ate all of that? Your appetite is colossal! I thought you’d leave half, but you gobbled it all up? Impressive.”
—Is that a compliment?
“Of course, it’s no bad thing to eat well. Even Beta, who was the biggest eater among your siblings, couldn’t eat this well. You might be the smallest, but… where did it all go? Did hatching in that ancient nest have any effect…?”
Batus rubbed his chin, lost in his thoughts. I glanced at the scorpion’s tail draped over his shoulder and cautiously asked.
—So how strong am I? What’s my evaluation?
“Oh right. We came here for that. I’ve got a lot on my plate, so I forgot. Well, to sum it up, there was a significant issue with this fight.”
Batus’s cold assessment deflated my spirits, making my tail droop. I had expected something grand since I had won overwhelmingly.
“The issue was that I was only now able to observe your fight. Why didn’t I think of bringing you in sooner?”
—Is that a good thing?
“I never imagined you’d put on such an excellent display without even being an adult. Honestly, I didn’t expect you to win at all. This could move our plans up by quite a bit!”
Batus let out a hearty laugh, as if something quite delightful had happened.
Gold Grade or higher, but below Platinum Grade.
That was how Batus assessed my threat level as a beast.
“You’re the strongest among the non-adult magical beasts. How long have you been alive? Do you know your age?”
Batus ruffled my fur cheerfully, resembling a master congratulating a student who successfully passed a training session.
I frowned as my fur got all messy and replied.
—It’s been about two months now.
“What?”
“…What? Two months?”
Batus and Adam frowned unconsciously at what the white magical beast had just said.
Naturally, they could not believe that the creature they had dubbed “Alpha” was only two months old.
‘Even a Behemoth would normally take years to grow to this level…’
Adam realized that there was a discrepancy in his calculations and plans. Of course, it was a pleasantly surprising discrepancy.
‘I can accelerate the plans significantly now.’
Adam had expected that raising the magical beast Behemoth to return to the World Tree’s forest would take years, or possibly decades to centuries. But at this rate, it was clear they would finish everything within months.
Adam watched the Behemoth Alpha being petted on the palm of his hand, smirking.
He looked annoyed and perky but didn’t pull away from the touch, showing a reluctance to disregard it.
This creature was undoubtedly an extraordinary specimen.
‘Managing magical beasts had always been a pain, but this one acts human-like, both in speech and behavior. Outside of combat, it’s not aggressive at all. I can’t shake the feeling it’s rather gentle.’
The mere fact that this magical beast, which devoured everything in sight, had formed a pack with raccoons caught Adam’s attention.
‘The Alpha is smaller than the others but far stronger. Is this a peculiarity of being a naturally grown specimen from the Ancient Nest? Initially, wasn’t the complete Behemoth just the four of them?’
Adam recalled the four magical beasts created by him, Laplace, Eve, and Ilgast.
Beta, a hefty powerhouse; Gamma, specialized in agility; Delta, focused on special abilities, and finally, Epsilon, who had all abilities well-balanced.
Those four magical beasts, thoroughly controlled and created under a planned experiment, were reduced to ash by the twelve gods.
Now, a fifth magical beast, an unexpected one.
A specimen discovered by chance in the Ancient Nest.
The appearance of Alpha contained many aspects Adam could not yet comprehend.
‘I’ll probably know when I go to the Royal Capital. The ancient goddess resides there. Showing her Alpha will unveil unknown answers and all paths leading to the future.’
Adam cleaned up the tangled mess in his head.
If he got bogged down by such complicated thoughts, he might lose his magical power and be consumed by Batus’s personality entirely.
‘There’s not much time left now.’
I left the cave with Batus and headed back towards Sinai village.
The cool breeze felt great, and every summer ray of sunshine along with the cicadas’ songs made me feel pleasantly at ease.
—Kyiing…
Yingyi whined as if hungry. After all, being stuck in the cave all day yesterday without food would naturally make one famished.
—We’ve almost reached the village. Let’s go get some fruit or something.
—Ying.
As we entered the hunting guild’s entrance in Sinai village, people suddenly surged toward Batus and me.
“L-Leader! It’s a big deal!”
A female hunter with golden bobbed hair, Vitali, looked at Batus with a distressed expression. Batus frowned at her as she clung to him.
“What’s going on?”
“Um, it’s about that girl.”
“What happened to her?”
“Uh, y-you should see for yourself!”
Following Vitali’s guidance, Batus and I entered the hunting guild.
On the first floor, the tables in the dining hall were in total disarray, indicating some unusual commotion had taken place.
Food littered the floor, and broken plates and toppled chairs shouted chaos as I raised my tail in curiosity.
‘Where’s Leaf?’
As I glanced around, I noticed a wooden cage-like structure in the corners of the dining hall.
“Well, I’ve managed to restrain her…,” Vitali said, her voice lacking confidence. A long-haired woman, Nidali, stood guard at the cage, her face lighting up when she spotted Batus.
“Leader, you’re here! Look at this!”
Nidali pointed inside the wooden cage, where a raccoon with a metal collar crouched in a corner.
Nidali chuckled helplessly as she pointed at the raccoon, Leaf.
“Th-the girl you brought back suddenly turned into a raccoon. What on earth happened? I’ve trapped her in a snare so she can’t escape.”
Upon hearing Nidali’s words, Batus frowned deeply.
“I told you to take care of her as best as you could. If she gets hurt, we’ll all be in trouble.”
