Chapter 354: Our Battle
The day after we transported the Metal Dragon Serpent to the Adventurer’s Guild headquarters, I found myself at the front of the guild with the other members, excluding El, for the first time in a while. Perhaps due to the appearance of such a formidable foe, the emergence of monsters from the Forest had become even more sporadic.
“I wonder if snake meat is delicious. I’m so excited!”
Phonia exclaimed, her tail wagging enthusiastically. But what would the outcome be?
“Didn’t you hear that it’s not really edible?”
Ivan repeated what I had told him, but it seemed to have no effect on Phonia. Perhaps it was because she had heard about the pressure cooker from Rio. The reason it was deemed inedible was that it was too tough, but we figured that if we cooked it long enough, it would soften. Even if that didn’t work, we could always turn it into minced meat; there had to be a way to make it work.
“My sister will definitely make it delicious!”
“Haha, well, that’s true.”
Ivan shrugged, but Rio wore a wry smile.
“It feels like a huge responsibility, doesn’t it?”
Just thinking that it would turn out well didn’t mean we had any certainty.
“Oh, they’re at it again.”
As we made our way to the back of the headquarters, we found adventurers busy dismantling monsters everywhere. It was a hassle to carry the abundant monster materials all the way to the guild’s dismantling area, so it had become a task for D Rank adventurers who couldn’t participate on the front lines.
Among them, the most eye-catching was the Metal Dragon Serpent we had defeated yesterday. Upon closer inspection, its metallic skin was marred with various cuts and dents, a testament to the ferocity of the battle we had fought.
Standing before the Metal Dragon Serpent was an adventurer, gripping a drawn katana with both hands, focusing his mind. Upon closer look, I recognized him as one of the A Rank adventurers from the party that had fought the serpent yesterday.
He was quietly concentrating, and I could feel the magic power gathering in his katana. Suddenly, he opened his eyes wide, raised the katana above his head, and brought it down in one swift motion. The serpent before him was cleanly severed.
“Haah…”
He let out a deep sigh before sheathing his katana and turning to face us.
“It’s you…”
“Wow, you also use a katana,” Rio remarked casually, meeting the adventurer for the first time. At her words, the swordsman’s expression hardened slightly.
“Yeah, but I couldn’t land a hit on this one.”
“Is that so?”
Rio tilted her head, looking at the beautifully severed serpent.
“When it dies, its toughness decreases a bit. If I could focus my mind and attack, it might have worked, but I was interrupted before I could try.”
That made sense. The serpent had resistance skills, and those might have been nullified upon its death.
“It’s incredibly tough.”
Phonia was slapping the serpent’s surface, while Nil joined in, kicking it. A little distance away, a D Rank adventurer was struggling to cut through the serpent’s hide.
Noticing some already cut meat, I decided to give it a try. It certainly looked resilient and tough. Should I slice it thin and grill it?
“Hey, could you show me that katana strike again?”
“Hm? Me?”
As I was lost in thoughts about how to prepare the meat, the swordsman was looking at me with a serious expression.
“Yeah. Your weapon is a katana, right? I didn’t get a good look at it back then, and I want to see the prowess of an S Rank adventurer.”
“Well, sure.”
Using the katana was a coincidence; I had just remembered that I had one because a swordsman was right in front of me. But still, what was my main weapon? I primarily fought with my gauntlets, but what was my true specialty weapon?
Lost in thought, I retrieved the katana from my Dimensional Box and approached the serpent, holding the scabbard in my left hand. It had been a while since I last wielded a katana, even though I had used it yesterday. Focusing on my swordsmanship skill, I placed my right hand on the hilt, channeling only the power of my skill without infusing any magic power, and delivered a single slash to the serpent before sheathing the blade.
“How’s that?”
The Orichalcum katana had high attack power. I felt no resistance at all.
“Eh?”
The swordsman gaped at me, but that was irrelevant. Right now, it was all about the serpent meat. I turned around and saw Rio and the others already starting a fire to grill the snake meat.
“The smell seems normal, right?”
“Yeah, it looks pretty appetizing.”
As I got closer, I could see thin slices of snake meat laid out on the grill. Rio sprinkled some salt on them and handed me a plate.
“Bon appétit!”
Phonia eagerly popped a piece of salted snake meat into her mouth and began to chew. However, she kept chewing without swallowing.
“It’s tough…”
In the end, she grimaced and spat it out. Beside her, Nil was also trying a piece, but he seemed to be swallowing it just fine. His jaw strength was impressive.
Thinking I should give it a try too, I took a piece of snake meat and began to chew. An indescribable odor spread in my mouth, but I couldn’t seem to bite through the meat at all. It was incredibly tough. What was this? I could sense some umami, but it was weak.
“I see.”
“Wow…”
In the end, unable to chew it, Rio and I spat it out, exchanging glances and sharing a grin.
“I’m going to try super thin slices and minced meat.”
“Then I’ll try boiling and steaming it.”
Thus, after the serpent hunt, our battle began.