The Basilisk

It's been a few hours since we've started our journey to the village, and so far, we ran into plenty of trouble.

Ever since our encounters with those goblins, we've been running into them a lot more frequently. All of them being a lot stronger than the last one.

It was weird to see so many of them, but I didn't really complain since I've been leveling up like crazy.

These were my current stats.

Name: Damien Crow

Race: Human(?)

Age: 155

Class: None

Level: 122

STR: 15,530

DEF: 13,405

AGI: 17,678

MRES: 13,450

Skills: [Appraisal], [False Status], [Detection], [Hide Presence], [Hand-to-Hand Combat], [Dagger Arts: Intermediate], [Fire Magic], [Water Magic], [Earth Magic], [Wind Magic], [Swordsmanship: Intermediate]

Special Skills: [Zerris's Blessing]

Titles: [Child of Zerris], [The Dark Champion], [Other-Worlder], [Merciless One], [Goblin Slayer]

I'm impressed that I've improved so much. I guess I owe it to [Zerris's Blessing], huh.

Those goblins were all F Ranked, but their stats did improve after each encounter. Plus, I ran into a couple of goblins with different classes.

One of the goblins I ran into had a [Fire Mage] Class. Another one had a [Warrior] Class.

Their ranks were still the same, but they were indeed stronger. Some of them were even smarter.

Some of the goblins I've encountered actually used their head to take down their enemies. An example of this, traps.

One of the goblins decided to set up traps around the forest. There were bear traps, nets, pitfalls, and even blow darts.

We were caught off guard at first since these guys were basically charging at us, but after that, we've been on a careful lookout for them. Thanks to [Detection], it was easy to find the traps.

I believe the goblin that set up the traps had a [Trapper] Class. At least I now know what I'm dealing with.

Anyways, like the other goblins, they all had the same time, [Derk's Soldier]. It seems like this Derk guy really wants me dead.

So far, the goblins I've been fighting have been between level 2 to level 7, and their stats were in the hundreds or close to it.

Right now, my stats are in the thousands. If this Derk guy wants to kill me, then he'll have to do better than that.

Anyway, after mowing down the goblins with ease, we're getting closer to our destination. Or so Amy says.

"You sure we're close to the village?" I asked.

"Yes, master. Do you doubt me?" Amy turned with an annoyed expression.

"No, but I'm getting a little tired of killing goblins. The sooner we get to the village, the sooner we don't have to deal with these guys."

I wasn't sure that was the case, but I had no other choice but to believe that since I'm getting sick of slaying goblins. I just want to find a place to sleep and think of our next plan of action.

"Do not worry, master, we're definitely close to the village," Amy assured me.

"Let's hope so. Otherwise, you're dealing with these goblins."

"Hmph! Those lowly beings don't stand a chance against me. Besides, they're helping you level up, so it's important to get as strong as you can."

She wasn't wrong. Thanks to the goblins, I'm definitely getting stronger, but it's a real pain that I have to keep killing them constantly.

They're like ants. Well, I guess they are ants considering how weak they were.

All I have to do is step on them, and they'll die instantly. It's really pathetic.

. . . Seriously, what's wrong with me?

I usually don't act like this. Is the power going to my head?

Before I could think about that, my [Detection] skill picked up an enemy ahead of us. It was also followed by screams and the sound of metal hitting something.

Amy, the shadow wolf, and I didn't waste any time and rushed towards the sound. When we got to the source of the noise, we were introduced with what looked like a battle.

There were seven people in leather and metal armor fighting . . . A giant snake?

Standing in front of us was a seven to eight-meter long snake with darkish-green scales. At the tip of its tail was a pointy edge that could easily impale someone.

In fact, it actually did so to one of the guys fighting it. The snake thrust its tail at the person and swung him away.

Was I seeing things? After confirming that I wasn't hallucinating, I decided to use [Appraisal].

When I looked at the giant snake's stats, I was stunned by what was shown.

Name: Aguz

Race: Basilisk

Class: King

Level: 35

Rank: D

STR: 17,327

DEF: 21,400

AGI: 18,560

MRES: 23,429

Skills: [Petrification], [Acid Spit], [Scale Armor], [Bite]

Special Skills: None

Titles: [King Basilisk], [Pet of Derk]

Holy, crap . . . That's a strong enemy.

Its status says that its a Basilisk. Not only that but its title and Class says that its a king.

Wait, it also says [Pet of Derk]. It's that Derk guy again!

How was Derk able to tame a King Basilisk? This things stats prove that.

There's no way this Derk guy was able to make it his pet, yet it says so in the status. This Derk person must be one powerful enemy if he could tame something like this.

That reminds me, what's the statuses of the guys fighting it? I then used [Appraisal] on the fighters that were against the Basilisk.

From what I'm seeing, all of the fighters were between level 10 to 20s, and their stats were in the thousands or close to it. In fact, one of the fights was level 22.

Name: David Wells

Race: Human

Age: 34

Class: Warrior

Level: 22

STR: 5,240

DEF: 4,100

AGI: 5,248

MRES: 3,050

Skills: [Swordmanship: Intermediate], [Hand-To-Hand Combat], [Quick Step]

Special Skills: [Perseverance]

Titles: [Village's Strongest]

This guy was a higher level than me, but his stats were still below mine. This blessing really is a cheat.

Ignoring that, I returned my attention back to the Basilisk. Just in time for it to stab another guy with its tail and toss him aside.

There were now five fighters left. If this battle drags on any further, the Basilisk was going to win.

I wonder what David was going to do. He's about the only person that's at least capable of surviving a little longer than the others.

That [Perseverance] skill of his sounds interesting, though. Not only that, but it seems to be a Special Skill as well.

Let's see what it is.

[Perseverance]: Increases the user's stats by 2x for three minutes.

That skill seems pretty handy. If David used it on the Basilisk now, his chances of defeating it will be higher.

However, since it's for three minutes, he can't waste any time. In a battle like this, time can really fly.

He'll probably have to weaken it first before activating the skill to ensure his victory. How is the Basilisk holding up, anyway?

I took another look at the Basilisk and noticed that it didn't seem tired or anything. It just kept blocking the attacks and killing the fighters.

By the way, we're down to four fighters now.

Geez, this battle's going to end pretty quick if this keeps up. Should I help them?

They can't really offer me anything, so I see no point. On the other hand, since these guys were villagers, they could guide us to their home.

Hmm, I'm in a difficult situation. Let's see how David holds out and then I'll make my decision.

As if he heard me, David started to get serious.

"[Perseverance!]" He chanted, and a pale golden glow emitted off of him.

The Basilisk saw this and decided to get serious too. It scowled at David as it prepared itself for battle.

David then launched himself at the Basilisk with newfound speed thanks to his Special Skill. The Basilisk attempted to dodge the attack but barely made it.

When David slashed at the Basilisk, he managed to get one of its eyes. The Basilisk screeched in pain as blood began to stream down its face.

As soon as David landed on the ground, he immediately rushed at the Basilisk again and did a multi-slash attack. The attack didn't do much damage, but it did piss off the giant snake.

The Basilisk tried to eat David, but before it could achieve that, he moved out of the way just in time. David then jumped in the air and made another chant.

"[Sword Art: Heavy Slash!]" David slashed his sword down at the Basilisk with every ounce of strength.

Unfortunately, it didn't work out. As soon as David's blade hit the Basilisk, it shattered into a thousand pieces.

Surprised by this, David didn't notice the Basilisk swinging its tail at him. After he was hit with the tail, he crashed into a tree.

He seemed pretty hurt and was bleeding. The Basilisk took advantage of this and charged over.

The other fighters tried to stop it, but the giant snake just swatted them away like flys. Its only attention was David.

David didn't move a muscle as the Basilisk drew closer to him. The Basilisk then opened up its mouth and tried to eat him.

Okay, I made up my mind.