## Chapter 617 – Basilisk Hunt

Coming to the Magic Tower certainly had its advantages; accurate information was readily available. Apparently, there were a few others looking for the same thing.

I was able to find out the exact size and appearance of the basilisk.

A cruel, four-legged reptilian monster—that was its true nature. Large, fast, and tough, with deadly claws. And its maw was so huge that it could swallow prey whole and chew them to bits.

Some venomous types used poison to hunt, but they weren’t common.

Regardless of the type, its liver could be used to make high-quality antidotes. It was definitely something the Alchemist’s Guild would covet.

And it was expensive.

More than anything, seeing the sketches gave me a rough idea of how to fight it. These bastards also moved with muscles attached to their skeletons. I could probably sever its maw or get to its side and cut off its forelegs, but I’d have to try it to know for sure.

Thus, early in the morning.

I brought Claudia and Winia with me to the city gates. Preparation was simple; it didn’t seem like we’d be going far.

The area in front of the gates seemed quite deserted.

It wasn’t that there was no one passing through, but it was eerily empty, more so than usual. It was all because of the basilisk. Even the merchant guilds weren’t using this road, and no traveler in their right mind would venture this way unless absolutely necessary.

We passed through the city gates, ignoring the strange looks from the guards.

“It’s strange, though. Such large monsters usually don’t come near cities. It’s likely it was driven out of its territory by that Deathworm, or maybe it escaped,” Winia said as we walked.

“Maybe it just came here and found plenty of humans to eat, so it decided to settle down. There aren’t any monsters around here that could claim regional dominance,” I replied.
“That’s true. So, it’s less likely that it ran away?”
“It’s more accurate to say it went to another town or city. If prey doesn’t come to it, it’ll have to go find it itself.”

That was probably true.

If rumors spread and people avoided this area, it would eventually have to go looking for food. And if that happened, villages far from the city would be in danger.

If it could rob a merchant caravan with a mage, what would stop it from raiding a village?

Even if the young farmers formed a line to resist, most of them would surely die. They might be trained in farming and have experience hunting small monsters near the village, but they weren’t professional warriors or soldiers.

And that was something Kim Kat, the seeker of Fusion Confucianism, the Heavenly Demon, and the paladin directly under the Saintess of the Brass Celestial Angel Society, would not allow.

“Anyway, I’ll quickly catch it, kill it, cut off its head, and rip out all its insides. It’s doomed now that it’s crossed the path of the Deathworm Slayer.”

Thinking about the money made me feel motivated.

With the capital city soon on the horizon, the more money I had, the better. Even though I was being dispatched, I’d need a lot of money to set up a base there. How much did houses cost in Seoul? The capital would probably be similar.

Saintess Kadia had offered to provide housing, but I couldn’t live there forever.

“Hehe, that’s a good attitude. You’re full of confidence? I like it.”
“I’m always full of confidence.”

There was no man more confident than me.

“It seems like you’re even more confident than usual. That’s when you’re at your best, Kat. I’m glad you caught the Deathworm.”
“Hehehe, expect even more from now on.”

Anyway, the search was just walking.

The merchant caravans were attacked while traveling on the road as usual. If we just kept going, we’d find traces, and then we could start searching in earnest.

If it was hungry, it might attack us first.

I hoped it would.
That would be easier.

As we moved, ate lunch, and picked up the pace, we started to see some kind of mass in the distance.

“Wagon wreckage,” I said.

Getting closer, it became clear.

Scattered around were completely shattered fragments of a wagon. Broken, destroyed, and damaged goods were strewn everywhere.

It was clear that the basilisk had attacked here.

“Hmm, there are still goods left?”
“Really?”

Claudia kicked a piece of pottery with her toe as she spoke.

Fabrics, pottery, and other materials were scattered haphazardly. That meant no one had been here yet. There was no such thing as misappropriation of lost property. If someone had come, they would have taken everything.

Or maybe they were all caught and eaten before they could come.

“Hey, I found footprints.”
“They’re huge.”

Of course, there were footprints everywhere nearby.
Footprints that clearly belonged to a large basilisk.

“Wow, how can it be so big?”

Judging by the size, it really was about the size of an elephant.

“Smaller than your dick, though?”

Winia joked with a smile.
She poked my thigh with the end of her staff.

“My dick is that big and wide?”

Claudia also stared at the footprints, then pulled out her sword and placed it next to them, gesturing as if she was measuring the size with both hands.

Then, she put one hand on her cheek and looked at me with a loving gaze.

“Kat… did you get impatient and rub it on the ground?”
“Seriously?”

Was it not a basilisk footprint but a trace of me beating off on the ground?

Was it because I stopped halfway while working yesterday? Claudia and Winia laughed while making such jokes.

Just wait until we get back.

“Hehehe.”
“Hoohoo.”
“Seriously, you women.”

Anyway, it was time to search.

“But there’s not even a bone fragment left.”

I searched for a while, but I couldn’t find anything that looked like bones.

It seemed it really did put them in its maw and chew them up whole. Usually, there would be some traces left at the scene of such an attack.

And the nearby trees were also slightly damaged.
Those were probably the traces left by the basilisk as it moved.

The damage was more severe on the right side of the road. When I told them that, Winia suggested we go that way.

“There are some traces of something passing through. Whether it was recent… I don’t know. If it has any learning ability, it’ll probably be lurking near the road.”

That was probably true.

In other words, this road was like a supply route for the basilisk. A supply route where people came to provide meals on their own.

“Or it might give up on people who don’t show up and go inside to eat other monsters.”
“Anyway, there’s no other way but to search. Ah, Claudia. Winia.”

Suddenly remembering the book I saw yesterday, I called out to them.

“I saw in a book at the Magic Tower yesterday that basilisks have a good sense of smell.”
“So, you think it’ll come if it smells us?”
“That might not be enough.”

I immediately pulled out my dagger.

Should I spread the scent of blood like attracting piranhas?

“Should I scratch my skin a little?”
“Hey, are you going to cut yourself? We can just find it. Don’t do that.”

Winia grabbed my arm and took the dagger away.

“Yeah, Kat. Scars are cool, but they’re meaningless unless they’re from fighting. Let’s just find it?”

Claudia also grabbed my wrist with a worried expression. No, I didn’t mean to elicit this kind of reaction… I felt sorry.

“Then let’s use monsters.”

If the basilisk had claimed this area as its territory, it would be sensitive to the scent of other monsters’ blood.

The scent of blood meant someone was hunting, and a basilisk that had claimed territory wouldn’t tolerate something hunting in its domain.

It was like how hunting without the lord’s permission was illegal in the Middle Ages.

—Swish!

So, we slaughtered all the monsters we found around us to lure out the basilisk. Killing the miscellaneous monsters that ran away in the bushes was very easy. Massacring the families of gremlins sleeping under the tree trunks was also very easy.

We continued to advance in that way, making a large semicircle around the road.

After investing about an hour, we reached the road again and took a break.

That’s when it happened.

“Kat.”

Claudia said.

—Kugugugu.

A heavy footstep began to be heard from beyond the forest. It seemed the lure using the monsters’ blood had succeeded. I got up from my seat without resting and sent Winia to the back while drawing my sword.

“Winia. If it looks like it’s going to work, shoot a fireball into its maw. If that doesn’t work, just zap it with Chain Lightning.”
“Okay.”
“What about Claudia? I’ll take the front, so will you cut off its breath when you see an opening?”
“Hmm… maybe? Kat, you take the front for now.”
“Hehehe, okay.”

—Kugugugugugu.

As the sound grew closer and closer, its figure began to appear from the inside. The monster was as huge as I had imagined. The creature, which had suddenly appeared, nimbly traversed the forest and crawled towards us at a rapid pace.

Even though it was midday, the shade of the trees was thick, emphasizing its yellow eyes. The light was getting closer and closer. Its fierce eyes seemed to be properly excited.

It must have been excited by the smell of blood.

It was worth luring it out.

“That bastard is the basilisk?”

My heart was just calm as I looked at it. I didn’t feel the fierce tension that I usually felt.

Fear itself didn’t arise.

My calm heart only raised my fighting spirit.

“I’m not scared.”

In the first place, it didn’t make sense for me to be afraid. Why? Because the Heavenly Demon had no fear. Whatever opponent was in front of me, it was only natural to crush it. Why would I be afraid?

—Sssst!
—Kuoong!

Finally, the basilisk, which seemed to have been shot out of the forest, landed squarely in the center of the road, waving its long tail.

—Kyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaao!!!!

Then, it opened its maw wide and roared at us.

—Hwiwoong!

At that moment, a gust of wind blew, and the sound was so loud that my hair was blown around. Its exposed teeth were hideous, its open maw was wide, and above all, its jaw muscles were prominent.

But it wasn’t as big as the Deathworm.

“Winia. Claudia. As we said.”

—Thump, thump.

I grabbed my sword and walked towards it.

I wasn’t lying when I said there was a lizard the size of an elephant in front of me. The presence itself was different from what I had seen in the sketches. The scales that had grown out looked hard, the muscular body looked strong, and above all, the large claws on its strong arms were murderous.

Nevertheless, my overflowing confidence didn’t fade.

I wasn’t being careless.
I was just sure of victory.

“Hehehe, you little shit. You have a loud voice, kkieeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeek!!!!!!”

When I shouted back, —flinch!

—Sararararak.

Its four legs moved, and it retreated slightly.

Dare it?

“This bastard dares to take a step back in front of me? You’re dead, you son of a bitch. I’ll chop you up so you can never run away again.”

Seeing it retreat after I just shouted back made my stomach boil. I hated things that ran away from me the most.

Running away meant they were weaker than me.

The spirit of despising the weak.

—Paaat!

Realizing that, I launched an attack before it could.

“Dejaaaaaaaaaaaat!!!”
—Kiyaaaaaaaaaaoooooooo!!!!

The basilisk, which had let out a roar, opened its maw and charged at me. Still, it was picking a fight, so it was attacking.

It was quite fast, but it wasn’t faster than the strong enemies I had experienced, or Karin, or Liztina.

—Sreuk.

As I naturally moved to the side, —Hwiik! As if aiming for it, its head chased me like a guided missile. The speed at which it swung its head was quite fast.

The difference in mass was so great that if I got hit by it, I would fly away. Its skull was so big that it could be considered a siege weapon.

It would be difficult to aim for its head at once because its mouth was so big, and its movements themselves were faster than I had imagined. Its turning speed was also top-notch.

“But it’s slower than me.”

Heavenly Demon Advent.

—Kwaang!

I immediately stepped on the Heavenly Demon Advent to avoid its maw and head towards its tail. First, let’s slice up the plump flesh on its hind legs.

—Kyaooooooo!!!!

Just as I was about to stab my sword into its hind leg, the basilisk twisted its body extremely flexibly and opened its maw at me.

“Oh, shit.”

It was as flexible as an alligator doing the limbo. An attack that seemed to bend its back almost in half.

But there was no way that attacking from such an unstable position would be effective.

—Patsutsut!

I naturally raised my sword energy and aimed for the basilisk’s snout as it covered me.

“Chief Beheading.”

Using a technique I hadn’t used in a while.