Chapter 115
“Bibeong-!”
A massive sound echoed.
It shook the entire lakeshore as if it was about to turn the world upside down.
So Lloyd, who was hiding in the bushes with the White Spear Cavalry, felt puzzled.
‘Huh?’
What is that?
Why does that cry sound like that?
Somehow, it’s not unfamiliar at all.
‘That’s totally a fantasy beast’s cry, isn’t it?’
It was just as he thought that.
Once again, a roar rang out from beneath the nest in the center of the lake.
“Bibeobeong! Bibeong!”
Kwaaaa—!
The sound was even louder than before.
The majestic roar caused ripples across the lake.
The members of the White Spear Cavalry hiding nearby unconsciously gripped their shovel handles tightly, becoming tense.
But Lloyd?
He was different.
He didn’t feel nervous at all.
No, he actually felt even more curious and puzzled.
The reason was simple.
The roar of King Stoma just now.
He could ‘clearly’ understand the meaning inside it.
“Wait. Did that guy just shout, ‘Who broke my dam!’? Did I hear that right?”
“Ppodong!”
He checked by glancing inside his coat.
Ppodong, who was squirming in his inner pocket, nodded vigorously.
“Ppododong, Ppodong. Ppodongdong!”
“Right?”
“Ppodong!”
“Yeah. I thought so too.”
It was certain.
Just now, King Stoma really ‘spoke.’
‘It was like someone switched on a real-time auto-translator in my head. I could hear it so clearly. But this, it’s a really familiar feeling.’
Of course.
It always happened.
That’s always how it was whenever he talked to Ppodong, Bangul, or Hamang.
‘So this only happens when talking with fantasy beasts.’
Honestly, he didn’t even know why.
It had just been that way from the start.
Ever since the moment he summoned Ppodong.
For some reason, he was the only one who could always understand everything Ppodong said.
It was like a real-time auto-translator was on in his head.
Or like he held a Level 1 Fantasy Beast Language Certificate.
He could just understand.
‘But why is it happening now too?’
King Stoma was definitely a monster.
Why did that guy’s roar sound like a fantasy beast’s, and why could he sense its meaning?
The question didn’t last long.
Soon, an even bigger roar was heard.
“Bibeobeong! Bibeobeobeobeobeong!”
Tukwa-haaaak!
A tremendous boom exploded with the roar.
One side of the nest shook.
A blast of spray shot into the air.
From within it, a huge figure rose up.
A rounded, chubby silhouette stood tall.
Swaaaa!
A flat, broad, twenty-meter tail, shaped like a ship’s oar, slapped the water.
Strong, short, and thick hind legs stood like pillars.
A plump, round rump tensed with power.
Above it was a sturdy torso and short forelimbs.
Lastly, a big, round head could be seen.
With dark brown wet fur covering its entire body.
It bared its square, flat front teeth from a wide-open mouth.
Rising to its full hundred-meter height, it roared again.
“Bibeong—!”
Kwaaa—!
The colossal roar echoed dozens of times, shaking the lake and the surrounding mountain range.
Only then did Lloyd realize.
‘That’s not just beaver-like behavior. That’s just a beaver!’
Indeed.
The monster that had just awakened and emerged from its nest.
King Stoma, now revealing its full hundred-meter body.
Not just its behavior, but even its appearance was just like a beaver.
It was as if they had just placed a one-hundred-meter beaver there.
Even its behavior after roaring was the same.
Pwoosh!
King Stoma lowered its body forward again.
It slipped smoothly under the surface.
It started to swim.
Heading toward the spot where Javier had used Confined Blasting.
The place where part of the dam had collapsed.
‘Good, just as I expected.’
A beaver that’s obsessively attached to its dam.
That’s the very behavior he had planned for with this operation.
And the plan was working perfectly.
It looked like it was going to repair the dam.
‘Well done. Just keep going. Go fix that broken dam.’
Lloyd quietly cheered for King Stoma.
He hoped it would swim straight to the destroyed part of the dam.
But things didn’t go exactly as he hoped.
While swimming well, King Stoma suddenly stopped in place.
It began to look around.
It sniffed, as if picking up a scent.
It let out a suspicious roar.
“Bibeobeong? Bibeong?”
Of course, Lloyd could understand the meaning behind that roar, too.
It was…
‘…Something smells strange?’
Sniff sniff sniff!
King Stoma’s round nose kept drawing in air.
There was a faint but odd scent in the air.
A smell that didn’t fit with the dirt, wood, and lake.
A fishy, metallic scent drifted in from one side, irritating its nose.
‘Bibeong! Bibeobeong!’
King Stoma sniffed repeatedly, thinking.
It was certain.
If the metallic scent was this strong, it meant humans.
Only that weak, greedy species carried such a thick, fishy iron smell.
Which meant…
“Bibeobeong! Bibeobeobeong!”
King Stoma’s gaze turned toward the dam.
The place where vibrations had woken it up a moment ago.
It stared at the collapsed section of the dam.
“Bibeong!”
Now it understood.
It didn’t just collapse on its own.
It wasn’t old, nor was it just a coincidence.
It was humans.
Those who reeked of metal.
They were the ones who broke it for some reason.
They ruined its precious dam!
“Bibeobeobeong!”
King Stoma’s huge, dark eyes filled with rage.
With a gaze that seemed to burn, it scrutinized the entire lake area.
Thanks to that, Lloyd had to gulp down dryly.
‘That thing, it’s looking for us right now.’
King Stoma’s cry, full of anger.
Just listening to it, Lloyd could automatically understand its meaning, just as when talking to a fantasy beast.
‘It says it smells iron. Thinks there are humans. That humans broke the dam and woke it up… Hoo, that’s some deduction skill.’
Listening, it was no joke.
This was no mere beast or monster’s level of intelligence or thinking.
It seemed equal to the likes of Ppodong, Bangul, or Hamang that he kept with him.
In other words, it possessed intelligence and reasoning on par with a human.
‘I need to re-examine my plans for what comes next.’
Lloyd’s expression stiffened.
He gathered his thoughts.
‘I was going to keep damaging the dam. Damaging it so King Stoma would wake up, repair it, and after it fell asleep again, repeat the process. Over and over until the monster domino phenomenon ended. For about a year.’
Just like the beavers on those animal shows.
Or like Sisyphus from Greek mythology, eternally rolling a boulder.
By forcing endless labor like that, he planned to make King Stoma stay active.
But now?
If he kept going like this, things would go badly.
‘It’s much smarter than I thought.’
He thought it would just be a monster.
A brute like Gigatitan.
He never expected it to show features of a fantasy beast.
‘So it’s going to be hard to repeat the operation as planned.’
For now, things were working, but with King Stoma’s reasoning, after two or three more tries, he’d definitely catch on.
So—
‘A tailored response is needed.’
Lloyd’s mind spun rapidly.
His original plan.
What he had confirmed today about King Stoma’s characteristics and intelligence.
He broke down all the pieces.
Laid them out from the beginning, step by step and tried to fit them into a new shape.
He finally found the answer.
“Javier.”
Lloyd, having finished his calculations, turned his gaze.
He looked Javier straight in the eyes and spoke.
“Today, you need to play the villain.”
“…What do you mean by that?”
Javier asked with a reluctant expression.
Lloyd curled one side of his mouth.
“Just what I said. You need to play the villain. To King Stoma.”
“To King Stoma, you mean—”
Javier’s eyes gleamed.
“So I should kill it?”
“No, absolutely not. Never.”
Lloyd shook his head vigorously.
“You must not kill it, man. Think about it. If you kill it, who will scare off and block the monsters that’ll keep coming with the domino phenomenon, huh?”
“Then…”
“It’s looking for someone to blame right now.”
“Sorry? Blame?”
“To explain, it’s searching for clues to the culprit who broke the dam today.”
“So that’s why it stopped before going straight to the dam and is looking around?”
“Yeah. See it sniffing?”
“Yes.”
“It’s searching for where the iron smell is coming from.”
“So it’s decided the culprit is human.”
“That’s right. Exactly.”
Lloyd grinned.
“So, brave, chic, and cool Sir Asrahan. Today, I ask you to represent humanity.”
“Why should I be the one?”
“Because you’re handsome.”
“…”
Javier fell silent, and Lloyd grinned wickedly.
“Look around. Is there anyone here better-looking than you?”
“No.”
“Oh, look at you, not even hesitating for a second.”
“It’s a clear fact.”
“Right. So you should be the one.”
“What the…”
“To be more specific, I want you to appear in front of King Stoma and draw its attention. Act like you’re the villain who broke the dam today.”
“So you’re up to something.”
“That’s right. I am. And besides, you really did break the dam, didn’t you?”
“But we all did it together…”
“You landed the final blow, right?”
“…”
What a dirty, sneaky young master.
Javier shot Lloyd a dirty look for a moment.
But soon, accepting the situation, he nodded.
“Fine. I’ll do it. But I also have a request for you, Lloyd.”
“A request?”
“Yes.”
“I refuse.”
“…”
“What? Why? Did you really think I’d just accept your request with a serious face in this situation?”
“Hoo, never mind.”
“Of course not, right? Good. Now get going. And don’t cause waves—just fight in the shallow part by the edge.”
“Understood. Then.”
Whatever you’re planning, please don’t put yourself at unnecessary risk.
…He was about to say that.
Javier sighed and lowered his body.
He walked under the bushes.
He moved stealthily for quite some time.
He distanced himself more than three hundred meters from the group.
He climbed onto a conspicuous rock by the lakeshore.
Srrng!
He drew his sword and raised it.
He activated the Asrahan Heart Technique.
He fiercely collided two circles.
Tuwhak—!
A powerful Confined Blasting shot from the raised sword.
With an explosion, it cut across the lake.
Up until that moment, King Stoma had been looking around.
Now its head whipped toward this side.
It spotted Javier instantly.
“Bibeong—!”
It’s you!
King Stoma remembered clearly.
Just before it awoke, while enjoying a deep sleep, it had vaguely heard an explosion.
The very same sound as when its precious dam was broken.
It was sure.
That human with silver hair standing across the lake holding a sword was the culprit who broke its precious dam!
“Bibeobeong! Bibeong!”
It roared in anger.
It dove under the cold surface.
With its huge body, it cut through the lake.
Chuwaaaaak!
Because of its enormous size, its movements looked heavy.
But in reality, it was different.
With its flat, broad tail like an oar.
Every time that tail swept, it churned up an enormous amount of water.
It pushed its hundred-meter body swiftly forward.
Thanks to that, King Stoma could reach the lakeshore where Javier was with just a few strokes of its tail.
“Bibeong!”
Chwaaa!
It lifted its head, breaking the surface.
Then, with its short, thick forelegs, it struck down at Javier.
Kwaaang—!
With its massive weight behind the blow, the rock shattered. No, it was crushed entirely.
King Stoma panted as it looked at the broken rock.
But it couldn’t find the hateful enemy’s corpse anywhere.
Just then.
“Over here.”
Suddenly, a cold voice rang out from about twenty meters away.
At the same time, a powerful shockwave shot out in a straight line.
Tuhwak—!
The unleashed Confined Blasting grazed the top of King Stoma’s head.
It flinched in surprise.
“Bibeong!”
Ah, that startled me.
The surprise soon turned into even greater rage.
“Bibeobeong! Bibeong!”
From that point on.
King Stoma raged even more fiercely.
To kill the detestable culprit who broke the dam, it unleashed its wild nature.
But every time, Javier evaded the attacks like an annoying fly, even deliberately shooting Confined Blasting off target.
So King Stoma’s gaze became even more fixated on Javier.
The more Javier dodged its attacks.
The more he ran around teasingly.
All of King Stoma’s senses and attention focused solely on Javier.
“Bibeong! Bibeobeobeong!”
So, as time went on, King Stoma rampaged ever more violently.
Because of that, it didn’t have the slightest idea.
‘Good, that’s it.’
At some point, Lloyd had sneaked up behind King Stoma.
And in Lloyd’s hand was the secret weapon he’d prepared to subdue King Stoma.
A blue sunflower seed that could shrink a fantasy beast.