Saelran staggered eastward. Perhaps because he had always been on the outermost edges, he had not encountered any wild beasts or even magical beasts after traveling for some time.
Buzz–
A barely audible flutter of wings came from a tree branch.
It was a strange insect, the size of a thumb, emerald green, resembling a caterpillar, but with thin wings.
The winged caterpillar glided down from the emerald green leaf, slowly descending toward Saelran.
However, the moment it reached above air Saelran's head, the iron sword curved through the air and split the winged caterpillar in half, its body falling to the ground.
『You have gained 1 experience point.』
A faint fishy smell drifted through the air.
Poisonous?
Saelran glanced at it briefly and continued forward without stopping.
What a pity.
He did not possess any detection magic. Otherwise, he would not need to rely on his own judgment.
At this moment, Saelran's HP, physical attack, and agility attributes had all reached 73 points.
Except for HP, he had recently tested the rest. With 73 points of physical attack, he only needed three full swings of his iron sword to chop down a tree as thick as a person's embrace.
With his fists, a full punch to a tree stump would leave a fist-sized dent in the trunk.
As for agility, the data was not very precise. Saelran only knew that his senses had increased significantly.
Previously, with 63 agility points, when he encountered a thief who was likely level 8 or higher, what seemed incredibly fast to ordinary people appeared normal, even slow, to Saelran.
The "Guard" team members were the most experienced adventurers Saelran had been around. Their strongest member was their captain, Dalron.
Now, Saelran felt he might already be stronger than them.
Moreover, he possessed not only skills but also martial arts and magic.
Saelran was not confident in a direct confrontation, but he believed he could eliminate the "Guard" team through stealth attacks, although he would likely be injured in the process.
From someone weak to someone comparable to an "E-rank" adventurer team, Saelran could not help but admire the terrifying power of the innate ability "Player."
He needed to be careful when increasing his strength, so as not to arouse the True Dragon King's suspicion due to his rapid growth.
Continue forward.
The real problem in the forest was not the obvious magical beasts or wild animals, but the colorful insects, most of which were highly poisonous.
With Saelran's agility, he did not fear sudden attacks from these insects, but dealing with them was troublesome, and the experience gained was very minimal, greatly slowing his progress.
Krak!
A fallen branch snapped under Saelran's foot, producing a crisp sound.
This was not particularly noticeable at the edge of the forest, where insect chirps and rustling leaves filled the air, yet Saelran stopped.
"Finally, worthy prey. Is this your territory?" Saelran turned to the left.
There, where the dense branches of several large trees intertwined, lay a pitch-black creature with faint green spots, motionless among the leaves.
Fortunately, it was daytime. Although hidden among the foliage, its somewhat slender silhouette was still visible. In darkness, Saelran might not have noticed it.
Earlier, Saelran had vaguely sensed something was wrong. Even though this area was on the outskirts of the Arkenwald Forest, the number of beasts he had encountered on the way was unusually low.
The most likely explanation was that this place was the territory of a powerful beast or magical creature.
Now his guess seemed correct.
Saelran glanced at the black figure hidden among the branches and leaves. Its body was at least one meter long.
What is that?
Saelran narrowed his eyes, raising his iron sword horizontally before his chest.
Swish! Swish!
The leaves brushed against one another, producing a wind-like sound.
The hidden creature clearly sensed his presence, and its red, forked tongue flicked out toward the human who had trespassed into its territory.
The next moment, a dark green figure burst from the thick foliage like a spring, its gaping jaws lunging toward Saelran from above.
The dark green scales shimmered coldly under the dappled sunlight, a metallic sheen.
Saelran finally identified the creature.
A snake.
And an enormous one, more than six meters long and as thick as two adult human thighs.
The black-green snake lunged forward, its bloody breath rushing toward Saelran's head.
Saelran quickly swung his iron sword, slashing fiercely at the snake's head.
Bang!
The sword struck the snake's open mouth with a heavy sound. Sparks scattered where the black scales met the blade.
"So tough!"
Saelran's eyes narrowed.
"Hiss!"
The black-green snake roared in pain. Its six-meter-long body writhed violently, its thick tail whipping from behind.
The tail sliced through the air with a sharp buzzing sound.
Seeing this, Saelran used his right hand to block the snake, his sword holding it off, while his left hand reached into his inventory, drew another iron sword, and slashed at the whipping tail.
Bang!
Another dull impact sounded.
The tremendous force pushed Saelran back one step, his left shoulder shifting backward, but he successfully deflected the black-green snake's powerful tail strike.
The snake hissing again.
Except for the middle section that stood upright, it pressed its entire front body and tail toward Saelran, twisting vigorously.
It seemed determined to coil around him, using the constricting attack typical of snakes to kill its prey.
However, Saelran, with his agility, wielded both swords and blocked the attacks of the snake's head and tail while steadily retreating.
"Its scales are tough, and combined with its slippery body, it is difficult to injure it with brute force."
Saelran continued swinging his iron swords, occasionally striking its body, but the effects were minimal.
Its hardness mattered, but its slick body caused Saelran's attacks to lose much of their force.
At first, he thought it was just a large beast like a normal snake. But now it seemed to be a magical beast.
In this world, wild beasts and magical beasts were relatively easy to distinguish. Any creature possessing a unique ability could be classified as a magical beast.
Seeing that the human before it seemed unable to break through its scales, the dark yellow eyes of the black-green snake lost some of their vigilance.
It began to ignore some defensive positioning, and its attacks became even more ferocious.
Bang!
Its thick, swinging tail was once again blocked by Saelran's iron sword, this time with even greater force.
"That is enough."
Saelran's expression remained unchanged. He had already grasped the snake's attack pattern.
With his speed, taking it down would not be difficult.
However, this was valuable experience.
Bang!
Saelran stomped hard on the ground and leaped backward as if attempting to flee.