"Lord Go! The Anodontosaurus wields massive strength and uses that tail like a weapon—it’s an incredibly powerful beast!"

[Anodontosaurus LV32] [Status] [Enraged] [Fearful]

Enraged? And fearful?

It’s a contradictory state.

What I could gather was that this dinosaur was extremely angry. Also, its name wasn’t Ankylosaurus, but Anodontosaurus.

"...Now that I look closely, it doesn’t exactly match the descriptions I’ve heard. Maybe it’s not quite at the level of a sacred beast yet? Still, it’s definitely not an opponent we can take lightly."

That was true.

Though it wasn’t as large as an Ankylosaurus, it was still an enormous creature.

The opponents I’d faced so far might have been long, but they all had a somewhat thin, unbalanced feel to them. The Anodontosaurus was different.

Its body was clad in heavy armor, and its massive tail was a wrecking ball.

This was not an opponent to underestimate.

But there was one positive aspect.

It was a herbivorous dinosaur.

As long as I didn’t try to hunt it, it wouldn’t attack me first.

I didn’t know why it was so angry, but it didn’t seem like it had anything to do with me.

"Screech."

Let’s pass peacefully.

I was already planning to leave this place.

I made my intentions clear with a gentlemanly expression.

Crash!

A stalactite in the cave shattered into pieces.

"Skreeeeaah!"

The dinosaur roared, baring its teeth—or rather, the lack of them. It had a toothless, almost pitiful mouth, but that only made it look more grotesque.

It was indeed a temperamental creature, just as described.

This was not a creature I could reason with.

"L-Lord Go! Now’s the time to use my Mancheonhwa U—"

I shook my head.

"Grrrr..."

Look at that armor plating.

There’s no way your needles could pierce it.

Besides, I didn’t believe for a second that Tang So-Yeong could successfully use that technique.

Even if she could, it would probably be more like a weak version—barely enough to scratch it.

I gently pushed Tang So-Yeong aside.

"Screech."

Keep an eye on the spiders.

Especially Nephila. Things could go very wrong if you interfere this time.

"Graaaaar!"

I roared at the Anodontosaurus.

The meaning was clear: face me.

It was a formidable opponent.

Even three Dilophosauruses would have trouble handling it. Though my poison could be a factor, this thing could crush their heads long before the poison took effect.

I had gotten stronger through evolution, but even I would struggle against three Dilophosauruses. Handling two would already be a challenge.

But despite the clear difference in strength between me and this dinosaur, I wasn’t planning on running.

Because I had the advantage of technique.

The Anodontosaurus’s combat style likely relied on its armor and the destructive power of its tail. That’s the hallmark of all armored dinosaurs.

On the other hand, I favored a style that focused on evasion using my movement techniques, followed by strong attacks with techniques like the Winged Claw.

And I had mastered poison attacks as well, which made the Anodontosaurus and me natural enemies.

Thud.

Thud.

It charged at me.

Its speed was faster than I expected.

But its intentions were obvious.

Either it would ram me with its head or spin around to strike me with that massive tail.

Whichever it chose, I was confident I wouldn’t be hit.

It’s coming.

Whoooosh.

Its tail.

Crash!

The cave shook with incredible force.

If I hadn’t dodged, I could have been killed by that single strike.

But if it doesn’t hit, it doesn’t matter.

The creature was mid-spin.

Naturally, the advantage was mine—

Crash!

Its tail swung again, smashing into the wall.

Crash!

A dinosaur shouldn’t be able to make these kinds of movements.

The reason its attacks carried such power was that its rotational force was concentrated in its tail. Therefore, once it missed its attack, the momentum should have shifted to me.

But it kept attacking.

Crash!

I narrowly avoided its spinning attacks, one after the other.

I was out of breath.

How is it able to keep attacking like this?

This isn’t how a dinosaur should move.

It’s like fighting a martial artist wielding a flail.

Crash!

Except this martial artist is also wearing heavy armor.

The sheer force shook the ground.

It felt similar to the pressure I felt when Baek Yeon-Yeong took a step.

Strong.

Extremely strong.

I was overwhelmingly outmatched in terms of size.

Though I had grown larger, the Anodontosaurus was a beast that weighed tons.

Even though I might have the upper hand in speed, I couldn’t be sure I was faster than it.

I quickly leaped backward to put some distance between us.

A head-on confrontation was impossible.

[Using "Poison Generation LV1."]

I’ll approach from another angle.

I generated poison in the air.

Sssss.

I didn’t plan on hitting it directly, like with the Deinonychus.

If the poison didn’t enter its body, it wouldn’t be enough to cause serious harm to a creature this size.

I continued to use my MP.

The cave floor became drenched in poison.

Thud.

Thud!

It stomped forward, determined to chase me down.

The Anodontosaurus charged at me with terrifying force.

I used the Dragon Ascension Step to target its flank.

Whooosh.

Its tail swung toward me just as I predicted.

Dash!

I kicked off the cave wall.

This was the movement technique Wall Tiger Step.

No, it was more like the movement of a gecko.

I kicked off the wall and instantly positioned myself on its opposite side.

Its tail was still on the other side.

Now was the perfect moment.

But—

I held back.

Whoooosh!

The Anodontosaurus’s supernatural reflexes brought its tail crashing toward me again.

If I had attacked right away, that tail would have crushed my skull.

But now, I had won.

Thud!

The Anodontosaurus’s massive body toppled over.

With that huge tail whipping around, it lost its balance.

And the floor was slippery from all the poison.

It was enough to bring it down.

Now was my chance.

While it struggled to get up, I needed to strike.

I crossed my arms, gathering power.

Winged Claw.

But I didn’t stop there.

[Using "Poison Gathering LV1."]

I gathered the poison that had spilled across the ground.

The range of this skill wasn’t very far, so it wasn’t meant to be used from a distance.

But that’s fine.

I was gathering the poison directly into my claws.

With the combined power of Winged Claw and poison, I struck at the Anodontosaurus.

It had no way to defend against this.

This was the end.

Ssssss!

I unleashed the Winged Claw, aiming straight at the dinosaur.

"Lord Go! Behind you!"

Crash!

An enormous force slammed into me.

I was sent flying several meters by the impact.

Thud!

...What just hit me?

My head was spinning.

My dragon scales had absorbed the impact, so nothing was broken, but the sheer force still hit me full on.

I couldn’t focus.

"Lord...Lord Go!"

No, I had to regain my composure.

I gritted my teeth and forced myself to stand up.

How had it managed to hit me in that situation?

It couldn’t have gotten up that quickly.

Whoooosh.

The sight before my eyes was shocking.

Whoooosh.

The Anodontosaurus hadn’t gotten up.

It was still in the same position as before, lying on its side.

Crash!

But it was spinning its body wildly, swinging its tail like a berserk hammer.

I still couldn’t shake the idea that I was fighting a dinosaur.

It was like fighting a human martial artist who wielded a flail while disguised as a dinosaur.

Crack!

Whoosh.

Whoosh.

Crash!

Even while lying down, the Anodontosaurus was closing in on me.

I didn’t know how, but it was spinning its armor plates to move.

Crack!

It was like watching a master of the flail technique.

I had already taken a serious blow from its attacks.

My vision was still blurry.

Even though I had instinctively raised my left hand to block, my left arm was destroyed.

If that’s what happened from blocking, one more direct hit and I would definitely die.

There was no time to think about anything else.

"Grrrr…"

If I took another hit, I’d be dead.

Sssss.

I transformed my dragon scales.

Maximizing my attack power, taking on a form resembling a Western dragon.

I had to put everything I had into this.

[Using "Reverse Scale LV1."]

[Temporarily obtaining "Mancheonhwa U."]

The technique shown by the Dilophosaurus—the Tang family’s secret skill.

Mancheonhwa U was a technique that involved throwing numerous projectiles.

The Dilophosaurus had replaced projectiles with its poison-covered feathers.

I didn’t have anything like that.

So my Mancheonhwa U was incomplete.

No.

It wasn’t even a quarter as effective.

Sssss!

The poison on the ground flew toward the dinosaur.

Normally, this attack wouldn’t do much.

But now the creature was exposing its weakest point—its belly.

This would have an effect.

Crack!

Whoosh!

Its movements slowed.

But it still wasn’t enough to finish it.

Even though it was poisoned, this wasn’t strong enough to kill it.

It was only a hastily assembled version of Mancheonhwa U, after all.

[Using "Reverse Scale LV1."]

I gathered every last bit of my MP.

[Temporarily obtaining "Nine Yin Bone Claw."]

Last time, I had used this technique without fully understanding it.

In a fit of rage, I had poured all my energy into this move.

The Mancheonhwa U I had just used was a pale imitation of the original.

It was a technique hastily borrowed from my status window, so of course it was weak.

The Nine Yin Bone Claw was also borrowed from the status window.

But now, I had already used it once before.

Crack!

I knew exactly how to use it, and the technique was etched into my mind.

Crush the enemy’s head with five fingers.

Crash!

All of my internal energy poured into the five claws that smashed the enemy’s skull.

Crack.

Thud.

The Anodontosaurus collapsed from the force of the blow.

I had won.

It had been a series of dangerously close moments.

The Anodontosaurus was a worthy opponent.

In return for shattering its skull, my claws had been ground down.

It wasn’t an exaggeration to say that when its tail hit me, my defeat had already been sealed.

Look at me. Even now, I can barely move…

...

Why didn’t I level up after defeating it?

Whoosh!

Its tail swung at high speed.

It wasn’t dead yet.

There was no way I could dodge this.

I couldn’t use Nine Yin Bone Claw again, nor Winged Claw.

My left hand was already shattered, and my other claws were ground down.

All I had left was my tail.

And my legs.

It’s do or die.

I supported myself on my left leg.

Rotating my body as little as possible, I extended my right leg forward.

My target was not the club itself, but the joint where the club connected to the bone.

I had to strike that point to stop the attack.

Crash!

Dust filled the air.

...Did I succeed?

The fact that I was still able to think clearly meant I had succeeded.

But why couldn’t I feel my leg?

It didn’t feel like it had been severed in the attack—there was no pain.

In fact, it felt like I hadn’t even come into contact with the Anodontosaurus’s tail.

This doesn’t make sense.

"Lizard."

A familiar voice.

"Little lizard."

There was only one person in the world who would call me that.

As the dust cleared, she stood there.

With one hand, she casually held the Anodontosaurus’s tail, looking straight at me.

"...You’re not so little anymore."