Where is this place?

I remember my body being sucked into the flask the Nakhal Bird threw.

So, is this the inside of the flask? Or have I simply been moved somewhere else?

Right now, I couldn’t be sure of anything.

“Grrr…”

No, there was one thing I could infer.

The countless eyes staring at me.

If there were no way for me to escape, there would be no reason for these beasts to be here.

They were gathered here to kill me.

In other words, if I defeat them all, I should be able to leave this place.

Either I’ll emerge from the flask, or I’ll find my way back to where I was.

“Geh-geh…”

Whatever the case, I have to face these creatures.

“Kreee!”

Starting with the Terror Birds.

“Groaaar!”

And even the Sabertooth Tigers.

Their hostility toward me was palpable.

This scene felt familiar, as if I’d seen it before.

Like when I fell into the Silver Dragon’s Den, trying to escape the Piranha Caiman.

Back then, a horde of insects had gathered.

But these beasts were far stronger than those insects.

Each one was at least as strong as a Terror Bird.

Did they really set this elaborate trap just to capture a single lizard?

Philbang and the Nakhal Bird were only distractions; this was the real plan.

It’s possible that the Snake Queen, upon seeing me vanish, would become enraged and kill both of them on the spot.

Even so, the Bird King was willing to take that risk to set this trap.

Did he value me that highly?

Should I be grateful?

But there was one thing he didn’t know.

This type of tactic couldn’t defeat me.

By leveling up, I could recover from any state.

In fact, these kinds of enemies were nothing more than walking experience points.

“Groaaar!”

The lead Sabertooth Tiger let out a fierce roar and charged at me.

Getting caught by those teeth wouldn’t be fun.

[Using “Scale of Rage Lv1”]

Time to fight efficiently.

[Temporarily acquiring “Toxic Cloud Lv1”]

Although I could produce poison naturally, my skill level wasn’t particularly high.

This was where Scale of Rage came in.

I’d borrowed the Dilophosaurus’s skill.

Sssss.

Hoooh!

A massive cloud of poison poured out of my mouth.

According to my Wild Eye, these creatures had no resistance to petrification or poison.

They weren’t elite troops directly raised by the Bird King; they were more like mercenaries obtained through brainwashing.

That didn’t mean they were weak in battle, but their lack of resistance to poison was good news for me.

The fact that poison worked on them gave me dozens of strategic options.

“Grroar…”

The Sabertooth Tiger that had been charging at me hesitated.

It had sensed the deadly poison.

I didn’t miss the chance and lunged at it.

I struck the Sabertooth Tiger’s head with my front claw before it could react.

Bam!

“Graaaah!”

The Sabertooth Tiger let out a scream, blood spurting from its wound.

It was the largest among them, so it wasn’t dead yet.

But it had suffered serious damage.

I wanted to follow up with another attack, but I couldn’t.

This wasn’t a one-on-one fight.

As if waiting for this moment, beasts charged at me from all directions.

Despite coughing up blood from the poison cloud, they still tried to attack me.

Even if I broke through one side, I’d be attacked from the other.

Komodo.

The creature’s name meant something like “ancient executioner.”

The reason they emphasized its tail was simple.

Buzz.

Crash!

The Komodo’s tail was its deadliest weapon.

The massive, four-meter-long tail whipped around like a club.

I hadn’t learned any formal techniques for using my tail as a weapon.

But just swinging it was enough to cause incredible damage.

Any creature hit by my tail had its head smashed or was sent flying several meters.

“Kee… kee-kreee!”

Though they were brainwashed by the Bird King, some couldn’t overcome their instinctive fear.

Some creatures screamed and tried to flee from the battlefield.

And of course, they would.

A seven-meter-long lizard breathing poison and slaying everything in its path was a terrifying sight.

The sharp scales along my tail were as good as a giant sword.

Slash!

My front claws, razor-sharp, were no different.

Smash!

If a creature was hit directly, its head exploded; even a graze left a deep wound.

And as soon as it was cut, the poison seeped into the wound.

“Grrkk…”

The enemies foamed at the mouth and collapsed.

I cut them down mercilessly.

I wanted to show my overwhelming strength and break their will to fight.

And, of course, to level up by killing them.

No matter how many enemies came, it didn’t matter.

As long as I leveled up, I’d be in peak condition again.

Yes, as long as I could level up.

...

……

I wasn’t leveling up.

•  

One hour before the Komodo’s assault.

“So, you want me and Philbang to act as a distraction for the Snake Queen?”

The Nakhal Bird sounded incredulous.

A mere distraction?

As a high-level spirit beast, this wounded its pride.

“It’s the only way to kill it for sure...”

“That’s not like you. Isn’t this too much of an investment?”

“Realistically... it won’t be you who kills him… which means your strength remains intact…”

The Nakhal Bird and Philbang’s task was simply to divert the Snake Queen’s attention.

There was no need to use excessive force, and if they were cautious, they wouldn’t fall to her.

Their power was to remain hidden while the Snake Queen’s companion was killed.

This was the Bird King’s best judgment.

A strategy that concealed his cards while weakening his opponent.

“You think that’s enough to ensure the job gets done? I don’t think so. Why don’t we have Philbang take on the Snake Queen alone, and I handle the lizard?”

“Woo…”

Philbang shot a glare at the Nakhal Bird.

Its suggestion was blatantly self-serving.

Philbang might have been the strongest in terms of raw power, but he couldn’t hold off the Snake Queen for long.

To endure, he needed the Nakhal Bird to destabilize her psychologically.

If Philbang was left to face the Snake Queen alone, it would be like a death sentence.

“Don’t... worry…”

“What do you mean, ‘don’t worry’? Haven’t you failed to kill him three times?”

“This time is... different…”

“Why?”

“I’ve discovered his secrets…”

Kachalagaatal’s massive wings flared out.

This operation involved sending all three of his high-ranking subordinates.

Even if two were meant as distractions, it still meant his forces would be absent for a while.

“This is… an unavoidable death…”

For Kachalagaatal, this moment would become his most vulnerable.

“He will be left helpless… surrendering to his own weakness…”

But some risks were necessary.

To kill the detestable companion of the Snake Queen.

“Once his life is snuffed out… I will go to witness the Queen’s expression…”

The Bird King grinned a twisted, ugly smile.

The Nakhal Bird shivered.

It would never get used to that face.

No wonder the Snake Queen had rejected him.

Though the Nakhal Bird wanted to say this out loud, it barely managed to hold its tongue.

•  

I’m not leveling up.

I know that as I continue to evolve, leveling up becomes harder.

But I’ve already taken down over a dozen beasts.

At least one level should have increased.

What on earth is going on?

“Grrr…”

A Terror Bird charged at me.

I swung my front claw immediately.

However, this time, I held back just a little.

Wham!

My claw connected with the Terror Bird's head.

Boom!

In that moment, the Terror Bird’s head exploded.

Something feels off.

That was certainly enough force to withstand at least one hit.

I had controlled my strength.

Yet its head still burst open.

The Terror Bird’s durability shouldn’t be this low.

Something was wrong.

It was crucial to quickly understand what was causing this discomfort.

Sssss.

Hoooh.

I filled the area with poison, turning it into a veritable swamp of venom.

This was necessary to analyze the strange phenomenon occurring now.

The creatures kept rushing in endlessly.

I tried to minimize the use of skills and engaged the beasts in hand-to-hand combat.

Crunch.

Bang!

I aimed to level up using the Predator effect, but that wasn’t easy either.

I couldn’t even spare a moment to eat the corpses.

When I finished a creature off with my sharp teeth, I could at least taste a bit.

But I couldn’t consume a sufficient amount of meat.

Before I could chew a few times, the bodies were exploding.

This was excessive.

The incoming enemies were becoming increasingly bizarre.

They crumbled from even the lightest blow.

Boom!

Even a Terror Bird that hadn’t attacked me began to explode.

To be precise, it was a Terror Bird that had been slowly succumbing to my poison.

Only then did I realize the reason my level wasn’t increasing.

When they sustained a certain amount of damage, they would explode for some unknown reason.

The ones that died this way didn’t contribute to my experience points.

“Kee-kee-kee!”

The Bird King had grasped my abilities.

He probably hadn’t noticed that I had a status window.

What he understood was the rewards I gained after defeating enemies.

It was all about leveling up.

“Craaak!”

A multitude of beasts rushed in again.

No matter how many there were, as long as there wasn’t an exceptionally strong enemy, I believed they couldn’t defeat me.

But the situation changed rapidly.

The enemies were endlessly flooding in, and I had no means to recover my health.

I would die before I could kill any of them.

The same was true for poison-based attacks.

Once I sustained a certain amount of damage, my body would explode.

The cause of death would be something other than me.

To stop my leveling up.

As I realized I could no longer recover, fatigue hit me hard.

The number of beasts that had died from the poison reached thirty.

What was despairing was that none of those beasts had been killed by me.

There were simply more and more of them.

Even if I miraculously took them all down, nothing would change.

They would keep coming until I died.

...

“Geh-geh.”

Get a grip.

I had definitely experienced this situation before.

An endless tide of enemies.

The situation was becoming increasingly dire with time.

Yes, it was when I encountered the Cordyceps in the Silver Dragon’s Den.

Remember how I handled that?

I had found the main body and split it apart.

Someone was definitely manipulating this suspicious space.

Boom!

Strong power surged through my feet, shattering the ground.

This created a brief opening.

Sssss.

I pulled on the energy deep within my dantian.

The energy gathered in my eyes.

I focused to activate my Wild Eye.

At the peak of my energy, I could see things that had been invisible.

A very faint thread.

An intangible thread created from my energy.

My mind raced.

The despair I felt moments ago melted away.

I had found my breakthrough.

“Grrr…”

I dashed forward at high speed.

Toward the source of the thread.

Swoosh!

I slashed through the enemies that rushed to block me.

Boom!

Their durability was exceedingly low.

To avoid giving me experience points, they exploded after sustaining a certain amount of damage.

My tail and hands.

And my body, enhanced by my scales, became a weapon.

I crushed every enemy that stood in my way, literally smashing through them.

Bang-bang-bang!

I could see it.

The owner of this place.

The one who commanded these beasts.

【Dimetrodon Lv55】

Dimetrodon.

I instinctively knew.

This one was the strongest here.

Moreover, I could feel the energy radiating from it.

It was different from ordinary beasts.

Its appearance was also unlike any Dimetrodon I knew.

One of its arms was deformed and unnaturally short.

Additionally, it had a single eye.

While it was larger in size, it didn’t seem suitable for battle.

That’s likely why it controlled the beasts from behind.

“Grrr…”

It let out a low growl.

Dimetrodon.

A close relative of the Spinosaurus.

I will surely devour you.