Reincarnated as a Lizard

Observing the odd monster that seemed to be the owner of the cave she and Verdell had ended up rushing into just in time before they turned into a pair of ice popsicles, Scaly couldn’t help tilting her head in confusion upon seeing how this monster that looked like some sort of naked turtle without a shell, clung to a protruding crystal tree root with its beak shaped mouth. Suckling on the crystal tree root like a young, unweaned animal that hadn’t yet let go of its mother’s milk.

To say it was odd would be an understatement, as it was somewhat disturbing watching the naked turtle creature suckle on a crystal tree root.

Still... To be sure it wasn’t some kind of defensive tactic with a trap waiting for her the second she attacked it, she decided to inspect this odd monster before making a move...

[Crystal Root Snapper, lvl 103]

[Description: The crystal root snapper, a unique monster found within large crystal tree forests. Lives for the sole purpose of snapping crystal tree roots with its unique sharp, hard peak shaped mouth before attaching itself to the broken crystal tree root. Slowly devouring the crystal tree of nutrients and sap from below. The meat tastes exceptionally sweet thanks to the vast quantity of crystal tree sap it consumes. Leading to it becoming a luxury ingredient highly sought after.]

And reading through the description of this crystal root snapper, she realized that it was indeed just busy sucking on the crystal tree root and hadn’t yet discovered the two intruders that had just barged into its home.

”That- a crystal root snapper! How lucky!” But before she even had the time to make the first move, the dwarf who had landed in the snow beneath her head had already dug himself out of the snow and spotted the crystal root snapper carelessly hanging from a crystal tree root as it happily ate without a care in the world-

Swish-! Boom!

Springing into action at such speed, she didn’t even have time to react before the crystal tree snapper was hit head on by a fireball that blew up and flung it into the nearby wall. Followed by a fire arrow that quickly finished the job in record speed.

From start to finish, only a few seconds had passed before the little dwarf stood over the crystal root snapper and began diligently dismantling it with a look she had never seen on him before but was familiar with given it was how she imagined herself looking whenever she spotted an especially delicious looking monster.

Rustle~

From this fact alone, plus the description of the monster, she became certain that this crystal tree snapper was beyond anything she had eaten in the past. Not wasting a second longer as she shuffled over next to Verdell as he butchered the still fresh crystal root snapper.

Still, though he was carefully butchering the crystal root snapper, there was still a lot of meat that couldn’t be used that he ended up throwing to the eager dragon breathing down his neck during the entire process. Satisfying the dragon in question, who saw nothing wrong with acting like a dog sitting below a dinner table waiting to be fed leftover scraps.

Though, a reason why she didn’t mind it also had to do with the fact that she knew Verdell would be able to make the already delicious crystal root snapper even better after he grilled it and added in different spices to amplify its taste, a taste she had already managed to confirm was indeed superior to anything she had eaten so far.

Cracke~

And so, as Verdell finished preparing the crystal root snapper and started the grilling process inside the small cave barely large enough to fit the two of them, Scaly found herself looking out at the blizzard raging outside still barely visible through the entrance that had almost completely sealed up behind them.

Watching with a mix of curiosity and dread as the blizzard outside only seemed to grow stronger with each passing minute. Showing no signs of weakening any time soon.

Not to mention hunting down powerful monsters like had been her original intention behind following Verdell to the northern region, she wouldn’t be able to move around for a good few hours before the blizzard outside died down...

Chomp~!

The one positive to this entire situation was the delicious crystal root snapper she soon enough found herself chomping down on alongside Verdell. Making sure to slowly chomp down on it to make it last as long as possible.

Thump~

However, as she and Verdell were both happily sitting around the fire Verdell had created using his fire magic, a loud thump followed by the ground around the shaking soon enough pulled them out of the enjoyable meal they had both been enjoying while watching the blizzard outside slowly vanishing behind the snow that slowly closed off the entrance out of the small underground space they had found to hide themselves from the deadly blizzard.

”That... Did a large crystal tree get uprooted by the blizzard?” Frowning as he put down the piece of grilled meat, he had been about to bite into, Verdell didn’t notice the dragon beside him swooping in from the side to grab the meat from under his nose using one of her claws in a skillful and precise manner completely unfitting for their size. Instead, his entire attention was focused on the small crack that still showed the blizzard outside-

Thump~

But as the thumping sound echoed out once again, this time closer and louder than before, Scaly, who had originally not paid much attention to the sound froze on the spot just as she was about to grab the slab of meat in the process of being grilled. Shifting her attention towards the small crack showing the blizzard outside like Verdell. Realizing that whatever made that loud sound was undoubtedly not just some crystal tree being blown over by the blizzard.

Following which, Scaly found herself joining Verdell, nervously gazing out at the raging blizzard outside. Trying her best to catch a glimpse of what it was that made the loud thumping sound...

Thump~ Thump~ THUMP!

Listening as the sound grew closer until what looked like a giant shadow descended from above and landed directly in front of the entrance to their small underground shelter.

[Glacial Behemoth, lvl ???]

[Description: A colossal, slow-moving monster resembling a walking ice mountain. The glacial behemoth is known as the deity of the north and is followed by a never-ending blizzard that swallows up everything in its path. The Adventurer Guild has only recently run into this behemoth of the north due to recent northward expansion and has done its best to avoid confrontation with this local deity.]

And it was looking towards this shadow that slowly lifted into the sky before vanishing into the churning ice and snow of the blizzard that she got the opportunity to inspect what was undoubtedly the largest monster she had encountered to date.

No... Not just the largest monster she had encountered to date, but potential also the strongest. Directly surpassing that devourer of dream, the demigod she had encountered back in the dreamscape.

Even worse, it wasn’t even close, as this colossal monster gave her a feeling of dread that far surpassed what she felt during her encounter with the demigod from the dreamscape, something that was only justified by the simple fact that this was a monster that even the world spanning Adventurer Guild had decided best to avoid according to the description.

Another factor was also the simple fact that this monster, that was essentially the size of a mountain, wasn’t referred to as a demigod in its description. Instead, it was directly referred to as a deity of the north, a testament to its strength. Strength that she and Verdell were already experiencing firsthand, as the blizzard they were currently hiding from was merely something that followed this terrifying monster around like a special effect that helped highlight its terrifying power that affected its surroundings merely by existing.

Given her recent increase in strength and with how she was close to another evolution, she had originally felt like she was getting close to reaching the top, but this one encounter made her realize she was still far from getting close to the true pinnacle of the world.

”What was that...?” And while Scaly had at least managed to comprehend what was moving around outside, Verdell was completely clueless. Only seeing the massive leg of the glacial behemoth before it vanished from sight within the blizzard outside.

Understandably, this was a far more terrifying experience, as the thumping sound outside didn’t stop and continued echoing out.

Only when the thumping began growing softer and started vanishing did Verdell start to calm down again, though he still kept his gaze firmly locked on the entrance to their small hiding space that had been knocked open thanks to the colossal foot that had landed next to it and shaken the ground enough for the pile of snow to collapse inwards into the underground space. Enlarging the entrance that had almost been sealed shut by the snow pilling up in front of it.