Chapter 75: Owner of the Mountain

Gathering her mana into forming a simple water ball, Scaly decided to not waste too much of her mana, as she threw the water ball in the direction of the closest group of wild root flowers-Rumble~!

And like she had expected, countless roots shot up from the ground around the group to block the water ball before it had a chance to reach the fragile bodies of the wild root flowers before they disappeared back underground. Only leaving a few small holes in the ground from where they had emerged.

Indeed, it won’t be that easy to kill those flowers...

Shaking her small head regretfully as she confirmed that it would be impossible for her to just use her magic to attack the wild root flowers from a distance, Scaly instead turned to focus her attention on the few wild root flowers that were isolated around the edge of the forest.

Although it was impossible to deal with the larger groups of wild root flowers that could instantly create a shield of hundreds of roots at a moment’s notice, the lone wild root flowers wouldn’t have any way to defend against her... And considering that she couldn’t attempt trying to rush through the forest in her current state, she decided to focus on first hunting down these lone wild root flowers.

Not just to increase her own strength, but also to hopefully increase her vitality and make her recovery faster.

[Gained 264 Exp]

[Gained 234 Exp]

[Gained 197 Exp]

[Gained 2...]

As a result of this, the wild root flowers that had branched off to get closer to the mountain peak were picked off one by one by Scaly, as she found out that each of them only had four roots under their control. Meaning that five water balls launched from different directions were more than enough to deal with the lone wild root flowers.

[*Ding* Reached level 16]

Soon resulting in Scaly gaining another level without any real challenge. Making the fact that she had been injured and was forced to wait around for a bit seem less painful. Especially considering that her injured foot finished healing up a short time after she reached level 16.

But... How am I supposed to get through the forest without being skewered by the wild root flowers...?

Not knowing the answer to this question, Scaly could only stare helplessly towards the nearest group of wild root flowers.

Although she did think about trying to run through the forest and just avoid the wild root flowers, it was obvious that it would be impossible given just how many of them were around, something she only truly realized when she began trying to look for a place that would be safe for her to pass through.

Maybe I should walk along the edge of the forest for a bit and see if I can find a way out...

Not having any other idea on how to make it through the wall that seemed to have been formed by the wild root flowers, Scaly decided to continue moving along the edge of the forest while killing the lone wild root flowers she encountered in the process.

If not for the fact that there was nothing for her to eat outside of the bark on the trees and the dirt on the ground, she wouldn’t have minded the fact that she was stuck on the edge of the forest, as she was still increasing her strength at a relatively fast pace, but she had to find something to eat before she ended up starving.

Even if it wasn’t the problem at the moment, it would not be the case for long.

Whoosh~

So, with this in mind, Scaly rapidly moved along the edge of the forest-

[Gained 183 Exp]

Killing a wild root flower every now and then, as her experienced continued to steadily climb towards the next level.

Rustle~!

However, before she had a chance to do this, the sound of something moving inside the forest immediately caught her attention. Not just because it was odd for there to be anything alive outside of the wild root flowers inside the forest, but also because she hadn’t seen any of the wild root flowers move in response to the strange sound.

Huh? This is...

And only a short time later, she found out why, as a large wolf over three meters heigh casually made its way through the forest without any of the wild root flowers daring to attack. Even when it stepped directly on top of them and killed quite a few in the process.

[Ancient Dire Wolf, lvl 61]

After briefly inspecting its level, she instantly understood why these wild root flowers didn’t dare to make a move even when they had been stepped on and killed. The monster was no weaker than the terrifying human she had run from before losing consciousness and suddenly finding herself on top of the mountain she was now trying to find a way down from.

Growl?

Spotting Scaly at the same time that she inspected it, the ancient dire wolf just casually glanced at her before completely ignoring her and continuing out of the forest before starting to make its way up the mountain.

Passing by Scaly, who had momentarily turned into a wild root flower as the massive monster passed by her without attacking.

Considering her past experience with the terrifying human, she had no intention of provoking the ancient dire wolf after it had ignored her. Instead, just feeling happy that she wasn’t forced into another life-or-death situation again.

As for her pride as a future dragon... That had momentarily been suppressed as she convinced herself that she was still injured and didn’t have the strength to fight with the ancient dire wolf...

Even then, she still took the opportunity to check the ancient dire wolf’s description as it passed by her. Not able to fight her innate curiosity that made her want to know more about this terrifying monster that was no less powerful than the terrifying human she had fled from not too long ago.

[Description: A long-forgotten race of dire wolves said to have existed in the past, the ancient dire wolf can almost exclusively be found inside dungeons and only rarely appear outside of them due to the mysterious evolution condition required for a normal dire wolf to evolve into an ancient dire wolf.

The value of ancient dire wolf hide, fangs and other precious body parts are among the highest for their level. Especially their meat, which is said to be a delicacy only higher ranked nobles and royals have the luxury to enjoy.]

Although the description didn’t contain anything outside of saying that it was powerful and valuable to humans, while also being delicious tasting, Scaly was still amazed at the fact that the description had somehow still remembered to add in the fact that the ancient dire wolf was delicious.

For some reason, she almost felt like that part of the description was specifically targeted at her, who was currently feeling increasingly hungry with each passing second. Even causing her to momentarily look at the ancient dire wolf like a possible meal after reading that part of the description.

Of course, something she stopped doing the moment she realized that this gaze might draw the attention of the ancient dire wolf.

In the end, Scaly waited silently on the spot for a little over five minutes, as the ancient dire wolf soon disappeared inside a cave that was located a bit further up the mountain. Finally allowing Scaly to let out the breath of relief.

However, this relief was only momentary, as she understood that it was unrealistic to expect the ancient dire wolf to just ignore her every time it saw her.

After all, the reason why it kept her alive this time around could be because it just wasn’t hungry at the moment and instead decided to keep her around until it did become hungry for a small, Scaly sized snack!

I have to get out of here...!

With this in mind, Scaly began scanning the forest that the ancient dire wolf had just emerged from for a possible path out of the forest and away from the mountain that she now knew had an owner.

Ah! Maybe I can use the path the ancient dire wolf travelled! After all, it trampled all of the wild root flowers along the way. Creating a somewhat safe passage through the forest in the process.

It was at this moment that Scaly seemed to have been enlightened, as she noticed the clear path through the deadly field of wild root flowers that had been created by the ancient dire wolf not too long ago-

Swish~

And with no better path down the mountain presenting itself, Scaly decided to take the risk and follow along the path created by the ancient dire wolf. Not intending to stay any longer and risk encountering the ancient dire wolf again.