Emerging from the cave was a colossal creature—an enormous scorpion that towered as high as a two-story building, stretching an estimated twenty to thirty meters in length.
Its chalk-white exoskeleton gleamed under the light, paired with two massive pincers and a venomous stinger at the end of its tail that screamed death with a single strike.
The scorpion prowled back and forth on the open ground outside the cave, emitting an incessant "woosh woosh" sound. Its restless movements betrayed a deep agitation.
---
**Monster Name:** Crystal Lord
**Level:** Lv30
**Habitat:** Solitary, prefers shadowy environments, dislikes dampness
**Skills:**
- **Venomous Sting Attack:** The Crystal Lord’s tail carries fatal poison; a single sting could mean instant death.
- **Burrow/Assault:** Swiftly burrowing underground before launching sudden strikes at targets on the surface.
- **Sandstorm:** By shaking its massive body, it kicks up dust clouds (restricted to desert regions), which obscure its and others’ vision.
- **Tough Exoskeleton (Passive):** Years of lurking underground and in caves have made its shell exceptionally indestructible.
---
“This thing is the Crystal Lord?” My jaw dropped in disbelief. Its mountainous form, the ridiculous Lv30 strength, and the variety of deadly skills—it all hit me like a hammer.
I had to admit it: except for old werewolf Galios, this Crystal Lord was easily the strongest—and somehow, the most normal—monster I’d encountered so far.
“Yes!” ViniVini blurted out gleefully, her expression brimming with pride. “The Crystal Lord hates humid environments. This morning, I flooded its cave with loads of water~~ That big guy must be completely rattled right now~”
They say innocent minds often mask calculative hearts. Could ViniVini be one of those hidden schemers too?
“Don’t you feel bad for bullying poor Mr. Crystal Lord?” I teased her.
ViniVini pouted. “It’s his fault for not being home lately. I waited for him for three whole days!”
“What were you waiting for it for?”
“To kill it.”
“…You’re planning to murder someone, and yet you blame them for not staying home to be slaughtered? What kind of bandit logic is this?!”
“…” ViniVini froze in place, staring at me wide-eyed as if I’d just flipped the world upside down for her. A moment passed before she gasped in realization. “You’re right! I should apologize!”
“Alright, alright!” I stepped in quickly, grabbing her arm just as she looked ready to rush forward and salute the Crystal Lord. “It’s a monster. It wouldn’t understand even if you did apologize. Besides, you’re a Hunter! Hunting down monsters is literally your job, remember?”
ViniVini froze again. Seconds ticked by. Then her eyes widened again in shock. “Oh my gosh! You’re right—I *am* a Hunter!”
Good grief. Just how dense is this woman?
“I’ll go take care of this real quick, Rogied! Wait for me here!”
With those words, ViniVini tightened her boots and weapon holsters, preparing to dash off.
But I stopped her again.
“What do you mean ‘real quick’? You seriously intend to kill that thing?”
“Yep, so what?” ViniVini scratched her head, puzzled at my concern. “I’m a Hunter—aren’t I supposed to hunt monsters?”
“But you’re only Lv25! It’s Lv30!”
“Is it?!” Her enthusiasm refused to dim—if anything, it became even more fired up. “No wonder I kept losing to it the last few times! Turns out it was this powerful! But this time, I’ll definitely win! I’m all prepared now, trust me! Plus, I’ve got my Hunting Mastery skill advantage~~ Well then, see ya, Rogied~”
“Wait, you—!”
I couldn’t stop her. Before my words reached her ears, she was already charging straight toward the Crystal Lord.
The scorpion hadn’t noticed her yet. ViniVini, cunning as ever, reached into her waist pouch and pulled out a clay bomb, lobbing it expertly into the air above the monster.
“Boom!”
The explosion sent shockwaves ripping through the open ground, sweeping up dirt and leaves that pelted against the Crystal Lord’s tough shell.
The Crystal Lord roared in fury, scanning the surroundings wildly until its eyes zeroed in on ViniVini’s figure—the audacious troublemaker who had dared antagonize it countless times before.
It raged, its monstrous mind consumed by frustration. Again! She’s back again! Won’t this puny human *just stop already?!*
Enraged beyond control, the beast let out an ear-splitting shriek, its tail whipping down toward ViniVini with terrifying speed.
“Boom!”
A massive crater erupted in the earth below, dirt flying everywhere. But ViniVini had already darted to the side, narrowly avoiding the venomous tail strike.
As the dust settled, I saw her—bow in left hand, arrow nocked and string taut. Her lips moved as she murmured under her breath.
“Focus… calm…”
The words seemed to awaken something deeper within her—her eyes suddenly gleamed with an emerald light! In the next heartbeat, she released the bowstring.
*Swoosh* The arrow shot forward with devastating force, piercing directly into the Crystal Lord’s left eye.
A screech tore through the air—the Crystal Lord writhed in agony, coiling its massive form in on itself.
Unable to line up another shot at its remaining eye, ViniVini threw her bow to the ground like discarded trash. She swiftly unholstered a dagger from her belt, dousing it in alcohol before igniting it with a whisper:
“Come forth… Flame!”
*Whoosh!*
Flames erupted from the dagger’s blade, roaring hungrily. In the next moment, the fire was so intense that ViniVini’s face turned black with soot.
*cough cough cough cough!* She hacked furiously, her pyrotechnics clearly backfiring.
“What in the world is she even doing…?” I groaned, massaging my temples in utter disbelief.
But she recovered quickly, wasting no time. As the Crystal Lord still agonized over its blindness, ViniVini gripped her blazing dagger tightly and charged forward. The scorpion lashed out in wild desperation, its massive pincers swiping through the air.
To my astonishment, she launched another clay bomb—but this time, she threw it *underneath her own feet.*
The explosion hurled her upward with raw force, sending her soaring above the monster. Twisting elegantly in mid-air, she landed squarely on the beast’s head. Without hesitation, she thrust the flaming dagger deep into its right eye.
*Screech!*
Twin blindness conferred chaos. The Crystal Lord thrashed wildly, its enormous frame spiraling into sheer panic.
ViniVini let out a deep breath, her lips curving into a relieved smile. She wiped off the sweat dripping down her forehead before glancing down—and, catching sight of me below, leapt with joy and waved her arms.
“Rogied! Look at me~~(≧3≦)/ I’m up here!~”
“You idiot! Watch your back!” I yelled at her.
She quickly ducked. The scorpion’s venomous tail swiped past her head, so close it grazed a few strands of her hair.
That was *way* too close!
“You fool! Don’t lose focus during battle!” I shouted with exasperation. ViniVini pouted, retorting indignantly.
“Yeah, yeah, I know! Let me finish this already!”
Rather than launch a direct attack, she focused on stabbing the Crystal Lord’s leg joints with her dagger several times in quick succession. Her nimble strikes forced the blinded monster to limp to the left, where…
Suddenly, the seemingly ordinary ground erupted into flashes of electricity!
*Boom! Boom!* Explosions followed in rapid succession, encasing the area in chaos. Fire, water, ice—you name it, every kind of trap imaginable activated in sequence, as though an inferno had been unleashed.
Caught amid this veritable maelstrom of destruction, the Crystal Lord screamed helplessly—the traps shredded away at its body, leaving wounds everywhere.
Finally, crippled and beyond salvation, the massive scorpion crawled to an area of loose soil. Its immense weight caused the ground to cave in, creating a pit that swallowed its bulk whole.
At the very brink of falling, ViniVini sprang upward with incredible reflexes. Spinning several times mid-air, she extended her arms and landed gracefully back on her feet.
But not before—*whoosh whoosh*—a series of piercing sounds echoed up from the pit below.
