“Your scales really are…”
Lifa’s bold move successfully drew the earth dragon lizard’s attention.
Especially with her relentless attacks despite the level gap, she gradually pulled the enraged beast away from the camp toward a different direction.
“Tougher than a turtle.”
Finishing her unfinished words, Lifa knew this counterattack attempt had failed again.
Her weapon and strikes simply couldn’t break through the earth dragon lizard’s armor, and the mediocre-quality blade was already badly worn.
“Phew… No wonder Teacher said to take good care of your weapon.”
Lifa had been on the earth dragon lizard’s back, thinking that position would avoid its claws and bites. But she hadn’t expected its tail to lash out like a whip afterward, nearly snatching her weapon away.
“And watch out for the tail.”
Letting out a deep breath, just before the earth dragon lizard’s tail struck again, Lifa landed gracefully with a leap to dodge.
Combining Ron’s analysis and advice with her own excellent skills, Lifa was holding her own against this peak fifth-tier boss beast, though actually killing or defeating it was still a huge challenge.
‘I wonder how Teacher and Sister Ash are doing.’
Lifa murmured softly. She was now some distance from the camp, separated by the forest lake that served as a water source.
‘A good chance.’
Her movements were fluid and unbroken. As the earth dragon lizard roared and lunged at her again, she simply raised her sword, then calmly stepped back to adjust the distance.
She had been looking for an opportunity to strike the weak points Ron mentioned: the eyes and the belly.
The former were vital and fragile organs for any creature, while the latter was the only spot where Lifa’s weapon could break through this beast’s defense.
‘Almost there.’
Lifa stopped retreating. Her knight boots sank into the soil beneath the grass as she held her sword diagonally upward at forty-five degrees, like a soldier readying a spear.
As expected, the earth dragon lizard would slam its weak point directly into Lifa’s attack upon landing.
But something unexpected happened.
Crack—
A crisp metallic sound. Lifa’s weapon snapped in two from the middle.
Part of it did pierce into the earth dragon lizard’s body, but instead of wounding it fatally, it only enraged the beast further. Lifa had lost the only blade she could fight with.
The furious beast looked down at the tiny human who had hurt it. Its massive front claw crashed down like a mountain after its roar, aiming straight for Lifa.
“Ugh!”
Lifa’s thoughts were distracted by the broken sword incident. Just that tiny lapse nearly made her fail to dodge the earth dragon lizard’s heavy strike.
Even though she barely escaped, the shockwave from being so close left her in a rough state.
She now had two choices. First, rely on her agility and judgment to keep evading and stalling the earth dragon lizard. Second, turn back to the camp and borrow Ron’s weapon or the dagger.
The second option was the most practical, but it went against her goal of buying time. And the first…
‘Careless. I should have put on the radiant set.’
The previously spirited girl blinked repeatedly, realizing she couldn’t counterattack. The earth dragon lizard would definitely launch even more reckless attacks.
Lifa had no armor on at the moment; a direct hit would mean serious injury.
‘Teacher… Sister Ash…’
Lifa’s speed advantage was quite limited, especially after the intense battle so far—her stamina had also been drained significantly.
Though she could still barely manage, she worried that a single mistake later might lead to injury and defeat.
‘What if I jump onto its back…’
With Ron not around, Lifa had to rely on her own judgment.
The earth dragon lizard was now closing in with continuous claw strikes and charges, trying to drive Lifa to the lake where there was no escape.
Getting back onto the beast’s huge back meant she only needed to watch out for its tail and avoid being thrown off.
THUD!
Now!
The beast’s sharp left front claw smashed down. Instead of dodging, Lifa flipped directly onto the earth dragon lizard’s wrist, then sprinted with full strength up its arm like a steep slope.
Dodge, jump, grab.
The earth dragon lizard had been climbed this way before. This time, while Lifa was still climbing, it immediately swung its other claw at her.
After dodging, just as she jumped onto its back, the earth dragon lizard urgently rolled onto the ground, spinning several times. If Lifa hadn’t grabbed a protruding scale to keep from being thrown off, this attempt would have failed.
“Still, still not stopping…”
Lifa gritted her teeth as the rolling continued, as if it wouldn’t stop until she was flung off.
Each time from upright to upside down, then from left tilt to right slant.
Lifa had to let go of the half-broken sword blade and focus all her energy on fighting the dizziness, holding tight to the scale to stay in place.
“Finally, finally settling down…”
Like a sailboat leaving a storm, the sudden halt in the earth dragon lizard’s motion made Lifa almost sigh in relief.
“No!”
As her balance and sense of direction slowly returned, Lifa immediately realized she had missed something.
That tail of its—
By the time she understood that there was an iceberg ahead of the sailboat, it was too late to dodge.
She half-crouched, raising her arms to shield her head.
Closing her eyes, Lifa was already thinking about what to do after taking this hit.
Crack—
“ROAR!!!”
The attack didn’t land, and the earth dragon lizard’s roar sounded wrong.
Lifa opened her eyes just as a splash of blood painted the right side of her cheek.
The tail, as thick as a man’s arm span and skin as hard as steel, was severed and sent flying into the center of the lake, spreading a bloody ripple.
“Sister Ash! You, you’re awake?”
Lifa was both delighted and excited. Seeing Isis on her left and in front of her, she quickly stepped on the earth dragon lizard’s scales and ran over.
“Mhm.”
Isis nodded calmly, then took Lifa’s hand and jumped to the ground, completely ignoring the thrashing beast behind them.
“Sister Ash, thank you for saving me.”
Lifa wanted to say more, thinking that now that Isis was awake and could fight again, this beast was no longer a concern.
“Sister Ash, your face…”
Against her cold, pale skin like moonlight and frost, the blush on Isis’s cheeks was especially noticeable. Lifa felt puzzled and strange.
Had something happened before Sister Ash came to help her?
Lifa tilted her head, while Isis also chose silence, a bit guilty.