Ackster left Ilto after making a short mental note to start thinking about his intrapersonal relationships could affect and benefit his mission. Since he was so close to town, he could leisurely think about it without having to worry about getting attacked by anything other than the morning mosquitos. In fact, thanks to Leather Skin, he could even ignore those.

But as he got further away, he had to start being careful of things like snakes and monsters that could sneak through the fields on either side of the road.

Although farmers tended to the fields on a somewhat regular basis, they weren’t always the best suited to deal with monsters, and it was only right before harvest that adventurers and knights pitched in to clear the fields of monsters.

Now, when it wasn’t long until it was time to harvest and it had been a while since the last great clear, there was almost certainly a bunch of different beasts and monsters among the vast fields.

But Ackster wasn’t overly worried. Anything interested in hiding among the crops wasn’t enough to threaten him, at least not in this area.

However, he still scanned the fields just in case until he arrived at where his chosen foe awaited him.

Well, it wasn’t waiting for him specifically. It probably wasn’t really waiting at all. According to what the receptionist at the guild had told Ackster about rock Lizards, it was a monster that didn’t really pay much attention to the outside world as long as its territory was untouched.

But it was fierce when it came to protecting its territory, which was fine since it usually meant it didn’t attack humans or human settlements.

However, this particular monster, this specific rock lizard, had decided to set up camp in the middle of the fields and start building a nest. If someone didn’t get rid of it soon, it would damage a large part of the field and also pose a threat to the adventurers who would assist in clearing the fields when it was harvest season.

Since it was a menial task, mostly low-ranked adventures contributed since it was easy work that paid relatively well. Many adventurers also came from common families, many of which stemmed from farmers. Helping out during harvest season was only natural.

But those kinds of adventurers usually weren’t ready to deal with a juvenile rock lizard. And if it became an adult by the time it was time to harvest, it could ruin the entire harvest.

Fortunately, it was relatively easy to deal with a young rock lizard, who had just started setting up its nest since it wouldn’t be as strong as it could be, even if it had the potential to become a significant threat in the future.

‘Easy, my ass.’

Ackster could tell that it wouldn’t be as easy as the receptionist had promised as soon as he got close. He almost wondered what a complete nest would look like if this fortress-like pile of stone was a newly-made nest. However, he didn’t have time for idle thoughts.

He had to start thinking about how to deal with the moving brown shadow he saw crawling around the mounds of stone. It had noticed him and was on its way to get rid of trespassers like a grumpy old man or woman after catching punks stealing his or her apples.

Fortunately, while the rock lizard didn’t have any outstanding weaknesses, it was mainly due to one reason.

The four-legged lizard monster, its head, and its tail were all covered in a layer of scales made of rock. The thick scales provided the beast with an incredible defense that rendered most attacks against it useless.

But the rocks weren’t so thick they lowered its agility or flexibility, and while its legs were relatively short, they were still long enough that when it used its tail as well, it couldn’t be flipped and trapped on its back.

On top of it all, the scales covered most of its face to the point where only a pair of thin slits revealed its eyes. Ackster could hit them if he had something thin and sharp and if he had incredible precision or the rock lizard stopped moving its head and let him attack, which wouldn’t happen. If it did, it could just close its eyes, and skin, tough enough to carry stone scales, would protect them.

Its mouth, which could open wide enough to swallow a man’s head, wasn’t a weak point, either, even if he could get it open and try to attack it from within.

Although the rock lizard was a carnivore, it also had a habit of eating rocks. A mouth and teeth that could handle that weren’t much easier to damage than the rock scales.

In short, Ackster had no way up his sleeve to deal with the Rock Lizard. He could only hope he was strong enough to overpower it.

He had to admit he understood why the receptionist said the rock lizards were distant relatives of earth dragons, even if they weren’t in the same weight class.

Ackster dropped his bag with Mio in it to the side and charged toward the rock lizard.

Since he had put himself in this situation exactly because it seemed hopeless, Ackster had no intentions of backing out at this point. He was going to grab the bull by the horns – or the lizard by the scales – and try to find a way to win while fighting.

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To begin with, only the rock lizard’s defense far surpassed Ackster’s. Its strength, agility, and all that was around the same level as Ackster’s. It was probably a little stronger due to its weight and the fact that it lugged around an armor of dense rock all the time, but its agility, especially in terms of jumping up and around and doing complex maneuvers, shouldn’t be as good as Ackster’s.

The rock lizard ran across the flattened wheat fields with a speed that, while surprising for its size and apparent weight, wasn’t out of Ackster’s expectations.

What was outside Ackster’s expectations, however, were the claws that easily cut through the ground and sent slashed wheat flying into the air behind it.

‘Shit.’

‘Is it too late to get a weapon?’

The rock lizard’s advantage didn’t only lay in its defense. The claws it used to cut and shape solid stone were more than enough to rend apart a human body in seconds. Ackster was once again forced to realize that he might have bitten off more than he could chew.

But it was kind of exciting. As long as Ackster didn’t get hit, he at least wouldn’t die.

However, that receptionist, who had spent several minutes talking about various details and the supposed ancestry of rock lizards, deserved a stern talking to.

‘Why the fuck did he talk about the density of its bones and the taste of its tongue without even mentioning the fact that it has claws like a fucking ostrich?!’

However, before Ackster could think about venting his frustrations on the receptionist any further, he had to dodge to the side to avoid the rock lizard’s charge.

Deciding to fight the rock lizard might have been a somewhat foolish decision. But it would be even more foolish if he died because he couldn’t keep his thoughts in check.

Ackster darted to the side and continued running.

Even just by looking at the rock lizard, Ackster knew that it wouldn’t be an easy fight. So, instead of letting the rock lizard close the distance and giving it an opportunity to maul him until he had the same consistency as Mio, Ackster planned to keep it at a distance until he could come up with a way to fight it.

But it wouldn’t be as easy as he thought.

As soon as Ackster darted to the side, the rock lizard’s heavy tail whipped to the side, in the process sweeping the ground clean of dirt, and the rock lizard pivoted on the spot with a turning radius slightly larger than a dime. It headed straight for Ackster, its clomping feet belying its apparent mobility.

‘Shit. That’s not fair.’

The rock lizard’s moves just now were proof that the rock lizard surpassed Ackster in basically everything. It was sturdier, stronger, and basically as fast and quick at turning and chasing.

He was beginning to reconsider doing this. There was no need to fight against a rock lizard just now. He could come back later after fighting something more agreeable. After all, what would be the point if he went and died just because he decided to stick with a bad decision?

‘No! I can do this. I have to do this.’

But Ackster quickly forced away those thoughts. His fight with the rock lizard at the moment might be a clear consequence of his choices and actions. However, he might end up in similar situations in the future, which would be because of circumstances beyond his control. There might also be similar situations except for one tiny detail.

What would happen if something like this happened, but he wouldn’t be able to run? Would he just lie down and die since it wasn’t even worth trying to struggle?

No. Ackster wouldn’t let himself go down that easily.

Wasn’t he going to grab the lizard by the scales? What was he doing now, running away like a coward? He wouldn’t be able to run away from The Hero or the inevitable fate Ackster and the world would face at the hands of The Hero.

With his mind set and his resolve firm, Ackster stopped running in circles. The rock lizard was gradually gaining on him, so it was only a matter of time before he had to do something about it, either way. He had just arrived at that conclusion of his own volition instead of being forced to it by the rock lizard’s threat.

He turned and faced that the rock lizard, who couldn’t care less about what Ackster was doing as long as he stayed still and stopped running. It only wanted to get rid of this trespasser.

Ackster stared at the alligator-like rock-covered rock-lizard, several meters long and up to his waist.

He would have liked a weapon. He didn’t have any preferences, just something easy to use. Maybe a sledge or mace or something would be good against the rock lizard’s heavy armor. However, all the weapons he knew of, thanks to being a transmigrator, were things pretty far beyond his current level of strength.

The only things close were the beginning swords that The Hero had used up to this point. But they were either in safekeeping somewhere inaccessible for everyone except royals and The Hero or destroyed. Also, Ackster wasn’t sure how good a sword would be against such a heavily armored enemy without any offensive skills suitable for armor penetration.

Ackster slowly felt his thoughts weaken as the rock lizard got closer with each step it took. It was less than a breath away, and Ackster’s fist, his only weapon available to him, was ready.

Ackster saw the rock lizard’s jaws separate and put the jagged maws of stone-crushing death on display. The teeth were a mix of razor-sharp and blocky ones, suitable for both cutting and mashing.

One bite would be all it took for the rock lizard to sever Ackster’s arm from the rest of his body. And by the second, Ackster’s arm would have already become a bloody paste filled with bone fragments.

However, Ackster had no intentions of letting the rock lizard take even a single nibble on him. So, before the rock lizard could close its mouth on its own after latching onto him, Ackster slammed down with his fist on the rock lizard’s snout.

With the rock lizard’s height, the way it raised its head, and how wide its jaws could open, he almost gave the rock lizard a little Ackster-appetizer. But he still managed to land a somewhat decent blow on the rock lizard’s nose.

The only problem was that it had hurt him more than it had done anything to the rock lizard.

At least it had still been enough to bait the rock lizard into closing its mouth since it thought it would get to bite around Ackster’s hand, even if he hadn’t forced its jaws shut with force.

Ackster retracted his fist as soon as he had struck the rock lizard, but he wasn’t just going to watch as the rock lizard attacked him again, so he lashed out again.

This time, he bent down slightly as he brought his arm back, down, and forward.

Before the rock lizard could open its mouth more than a finger’s length, Ackster’s fist had already slammed into its lower jaw in an uppercut powered by his entire body straightening and pushing off the ground.

“Motherf…!”