Chapter 16 Caiman
I had said that I had overcome the brink of death.
That was said out of ignorance.
Before coming to this world, spitting blood and collapsing?
Although I was a lizard, I had reincarnated into a different body.
Having my tail cut off by the Oviraptor and fleeing?
In the end, I succeeded in escaping.
Being knocked out by ant venom?
Evolved from a Gecko to a Basilisk.
What I had experienced was far from the fear of death.
[The level of “Crisis Detection LV6” has increased.]
My body trembled. My teeth chattered, and I panted.
An overwhelming fear that I couldn’t control my body.
This was what the fear of death meant.
The nearly black green skin reminded me of a dragon from myths.
Dozens of sharp teeth like daggers. And saliva dripping from between them. Its presence alone was overwhelming.
【Piranha Caiman LV30(+)】
Originally, I would have been able to see its status.
But I couldn’t see it.
All I could see was its level and name.
__________________________
【Piranha Caiman】
It grows up to ■□m in length and weighs up to ■■■kg in the case of males.
As its name suggests, it primarily preys on □■□ and is hostile to □□□.
It prefers to hunt %■■, preying on % underwater.
__________________________
And just a little explanation.
Even that seemed excessive, flickering violently.
Piranha Caiman.
When I first came to this swamp, it was an opponent I had seen from a distance.
I had seen it swallow a Microraptor in one bite.
But that individual wasn’t this large.
It was only about 2-3 meters at most. Its snout was shaped perfectly for catching piranhas and small animals, slightly different from the typical crocodile I had in mind.
So, I didn’t pay much attention to it. I had no intention of staying close to where it lived, and although it was bigger than me, I thought I could always run away.
But this one was different.
My entire body would barely match one of its front paws.
A monstrously large size.
And that symbol attached to its name.
It meant it was a creature capable of evolution.
A Caiman that had reached the limits of its species was an opponent I could never defeat.
Chooom.
The Caiman’s enormous mouth opened wide.
Its lower jaw touched the ground, and its upper jaw reached the sky.
The turtle stared at it blankly.
Without even thinking of resisting, it accepted its fate.
Crunch!
Crack.
The turtle’s hard shell shattered too easily.
The Caiman seemed to enjoy the texture, chewing until the shell turned to powder.
The turtle’s blood flowed between its teeth, staining the swamp water red.
The nauseatingly fishy scent of blood.
The Caiman gulped down the turtle.
Its blue eyes moved around to select the next target.
Its huge front paw flew into the air.
The shadow it cast covered the toad’s body.
Crush!
The toad couldn’t even scream, crushed to death.
The Caiman swallowed the flattened toad in one gulp.
Its blue eyes moved once more.
The turtle and toad were both dead.
Next would be the green lizard.
Its enormous foot came closer and closer.
In an instant, it became dark as night descended.
Only then did I realize my fate.
I would be eaten by the Caiman.
…….
…Why was I just standing still?
[The effect of Cold Blood activates.]
As soon as I came to my senses, I threw my body aside.
Crunch!
Even so, I was still within the range of its attack, so I immediately used Tail Cutting.
Shwoook!
With the increased speed, I escaped its attack.
I didn’t stop there and activated Sprint.
I ran away at my top speed.
I almost died.
I really almost died.
Was my body frozen in fear? No, considering that the toad and turtle died without resisting, it was definitely something more than that.
Like the deep-sea fish that hypnotize their prey, this crocodile might have such an ability.
One thing was certain: if I hadn’t regained my composure, I would have been crushed like the tail I left behind.
The Caiman picked up my long tail and swallowed it in one bite.
Crunch.
A grotesque sound echoed.
I hoped it would be satisfied with just that tail as I kept running away.
But it wasn’t satisfied.
It immediately turned its head and swam towards me.
Shwoosh!
With the sound of the water splitting, the distance quickly closed.
Speed was one thing, but the size difference was overwhelming.
If it continued like this, I would be caught.
It was time to use my last resort.
I had two uses of Tail Cutting.
By using it again on the already cut tail, I could increase my movement speed.
My plan was to create a sudden change in speed to shake it off.
‘Tail Cutting!’
It was the moment I used Tail Cutting.
[The level of 「%! 자■□ LV1」 has increased.]
An incomprehensible message appeared in the status window.
But I couldn’t pay attention to it.
Chooom!
A gruesome sound echoed as the giant Caiman started to stagger.
It choked as if something was stuck in its throat.
I thought it was strange, but knowing this was my only chance, I kept running.
Splash!
Before the Caiman could vomit up everything it had swallowed.
I thought the turtle and the toad had done something inside. But there was no way those who had already been turned into minced meat could achieve such a feat.
Among what the Caiman vomited out, there was something with a familiar shape.
Though it had been in its stomach, the object remained relatively intact.
It looked like a part of a complete sphere.
It appeared to be a fragment of something.
“A fragment of a high-level Core”
A Core!
And a high-level one at that.
It happened to fall right in front of me, so I picked it up as if I were mesmerized.
The Caiman immediately began to eat the contents it had vomited back up.
Excluding the toad ball, it mainly focused on the Cores it had eaten.
The creature, frantically eating, realized something was missing and roared loudly.
“Kraaaaah!”
A roar that shook the heavens.
If it caught me, it wouldn’t just kill me.
But I had already gained enough distance.
At this distance….
Shwoosh!
Wasn’t that speed unreasonable for such a massive creature?
I leaped into the air and landed in a puddle.
I ran as fast as I could.
Thud thud thud!
No matter how hard I tried to escape, the distance between us continued to close.
If I threw the Core piece in the opposite direction, would it stop chasing me?
No. I couldn’t do that.
Even if it would work, I wouldn’t do it.
I had almost died to that thing.
Fear had transformed into something else.
A feeling of something boiling inside my chest.
Yes, it was anger.
Running away meant losing to it.
I couldn’t accept losing to such a creature.
Of course, that didn’t mean I wouldn’t run away.
There was no lizard in this world dumb enough to face that monster head-on.
While running, there was one way I could avoid losing to it.
I had to take something precious from it.
【Piranha Caiman LV30】
The symbol behind its level had disappeared.
If it couldn’t recover the Core fragment I had stolen, it would suffer a significant blow.
Gulp.
I opened my mouth wide and swallowed the Core fragment in one go.
There was no time to savor it.
I couldn’t even absorb its energy.
I just shoved it into my mouth urgently.
“Kraaaah!”
It roared loudly again.
I had essentially backed myself into a corner.
Now, to recover the Core, it had no choice but to catch and eat me.
Even if it didn’t, it would still try to eat me.
“Gegek!”
I let out a brave sound that matched its roar.
The Caiman, furious, charged without thinking.
Even a brush with it would be fatal. No, brushing against it would mean death.
I used my footwork technique.
Being elusive was my specialty.
But against this thing, I had no leisure.
I had to get as far away as possible.
I leapt off the surface, grabbed a vine.
Navigated between vines and landed on the ground.
I ran along paths only I could take.
But obstacles meant nothing to the Caiman.
Crash!
It barreled through with brute force.
No ordinary obstacle could stop it.
Maybe trees that grew in the jungle or boulders larger than its size, but…
This was a swamp.
There weren’t many big trees.
But there were a few large boulders.
I sped up.
Our speeds were evenly matched.
But the effect of Tail Cutting was wearing off.
Sprint aside, I couldn’t use Tail Cutting again in this situation.
At this rate, I’d be caught.
Shaking it off with speed was impossible.
“Kraaaaah!”
Chooom!
Its huge mouth opened wide.
It seemed to think it could catch and eat me now.
I squeezed out my last bit of strength and pushed off the ground.
The Soaring Dragon’s Ascension Step was a technique that mimicked the steps of a small dragon.
A dragon could fly in the sky.
It was a leap so high it felt like I was flying.
I tilted my head forward, shifting my center of gravity forward.
Thud!
I landed slightly further than my original landing point.
But my posture was unstable, and I felt the pain of falling.
The Caiman’s teeth aimed at me.
All conditions were met.
It was time to use that hidden technique.
A secret move.
Naryeotagon
.
Rolling my body like a pill bug, I escaped.
Despite its grand name, it was just rolling my body. But if it meant surviving, I would do anything.
Thud!
I heard the sound of its huge jaws biting the air.
The Caiman tried to attack again, but it couldn’t.
I had already escaped to a safe place.
It was a gap in a large boulder.
I could enter, but the Caiman’s sharp claws couldn’t reach this natural fortress.
“Kraaaah!”
The Caiman let out a roar full of rage.
Phew.
I took a rough breath, catching my breath.
Even a Caiman couldn’t easily deal with a boulder larger than itself. If I stayed here and waited for it to leave, I’d be safe.
Thud!
The creature slammed into the boulder in frustration.
Crash!
The noise was loud, but I knew it wouldn’t have any effect.
This place was almost like a mountain of boulders.
There was no way this huge boulder would collapse from that.
Crash!
Stop trying and go away.
Think of the high-level Core fragment as compensation.
Consider it a cheap settlement for just one piece.
“Gegek.”
It was when I made that cute cry.
Crack.
…There were a few things I had overlooked.
Even if the Caiman’s actions couldn’t collapse this massive boulder, it could affect the ground in weak areas.
And it just so happened that the weak spot was where I was standing.
Crack crack crack!
The ground beneath me suddenly gave way.
“Geeeeek!”
I fell into an endless abyss.
No, I was still falling.
How deep was this place?