Chapter 33

Chapter 33: What are you yelling at?

On an E grade Magibeast like this, the three heads act on their own. They aren’t like A grade monsters that can share one mind.

All they knew was the third head took a bite of Qian Qi and then fainted.

Seeing Qian Qi acting all sleazy, the Thunder Lion’s powerful hind legs slid back. Its sharp claws raked the dirt over and over, lining up for a straight charge.

It bared its teeth at Qian Qi. The hatred in those eyes was obvious.

Qian Qi didn’t flinch. She swallowed the Tuban Fruit hidden under her tongue, bared her own teeth, slid her right leg back, and took a runner’s stance.

The next second, screaming “Ahhhh!” she charged bravely at the Thunder Lion… and got head-butted into the sky.

She traced a bright arc like a bird with broken wings and slammed into a Black Iron Tree. The force cracked the tree down the middle.

“Ow. That hit was no joke.”

Holding her aching waist, she pushed up and saw the Thunder Lion lunging again. She drew a deep breath.

“Come on,” she growled, a wild grin spreading. With that first hit under her belt, she flexed her stiff right hand and locked her eyes on the charging Thunder Lion.

“Roar!”

The left head howled like it was cheering the boss. The center head with the horn lowered its brow and aimed the horn point straight at Qian Qi.

She slid her back foot to steady herself. The moment the lion came into range, she darted left, grabbed the second head’s exposed tooth, and used the rush of force to swing herself into its mouth on a diagonal.

Her beat-up flip-flop jammed at the corner of the second head’s jaw. Qian Qi’s eyes went cold. She lifted the Cloudspike in her left hand and stabbed hard into its tongue.

“Roar!”

The blast of sound from the second head rattled her ears. She clamped the base of the Cloudspike in her teeth, swiped her left hand across the Venom Spirit Gourds at her waist, and smeared toxin like crazy onto the tongue wounds.

This time it took almost seven minutes before the second head drooped and passed out. Several times Qian Qi almost lost her grip from sheer exhaustion, but raw stubborn will kept her going until head number two blacked out.

“Exhausting. This is not a job for humans,” she panted, prying open the lion’s jaws to get out.

She popped out of the second mouth and met the furious stare of the main head.

Qian Qi: “…”

She gave a polite smile and said: “If I tell you I did that on purpose, will you forgive me because I’m honest?”

Main head: “…”

Main head: “#%*…@#%*…”

The Thunder Lion couldn’t understand human words, but the look on her face was so punchable.

Alone now, the main head had seen what she could do and didn’t want to drag this out. It lifted its head high and began gathering a blinding Lightning Force at the horn.

This was its strongest strike. If it still couldn’t beat Qian Qi, it would run.

After all, no lion wants to keep biting a hedgehog covered in spikes.

Qian Qi glanced at its wide mouth and couldn’t resist grabbing the fur beside it, starting to climb back in.

Thunder Lion: “???”

It flicked her off with a shake and kept charging the Lightning Force.

Qian Qi slapped dust off and tried again.

Thunder Lion: “…Grass.” [translation: unprintable lion cursing]

Climbing and climbing, she figured the first twenty minutes were almost up. She flicked her tongue and swallowed the second Tuban Fruit she’d hidden under it.

At the same time, the Lightning Force at the horn finally peaked. With a roar, the Thunder Lion knocked Qian Qi flying. A silver white bolt with a hint of purple flashed out, crackling as it blasted toward her.

“Crap, here it comes!”

She reflexively raised both arms to block. A wave of tingling electricity raced through her body. The current ran from the impact point both downward and upward.

Downward, it sank into the ground. Upward, it turned her messy hair into bird’s-nest hair 2.0.

Qian Qi: “…”

Thunder Lion: “…”

They both fell silent.

Qian Qi was quiet because her clothes and Magiplants were all charred. The Thunder Lion was quiet because its strongest strike hadn’t killed her.

She judged: “That move was kind of shabby.”

[It is E grade, after all. It only has one element skill.]

“Hah, weak,” Qian Qi said, getting bolder at this new fact.

[But all the Magiplants you could use are toast now,] the System reminded her sweetly.

Qian Qi: “…”

She turned and ran. She had only two Tuban Fruits in her mouth to begin with. To keep the rest from getting smashed mid-fight, she had stashed them with her Light-Brain on top of the lair. Now she had only a small self-defense knife on her. If she didn’t run now, when would she?

Seeing her flee, the Thunder Lion, which had just felt a bit scared, got its confidence back. It roared with excitement and galloped after her.

“Mooom! Stop chasing me, I was wrong, okay?” Qian Qi sprinted like a rat. When the lion was about to catch her, she reached for the pocket on her pants.

That grab did it. Her lightning-scorched pocket crumbled to powder. The knife clattered to the ground. Qian Qi froze.

[Haha, Qian Qi’s about to have no clothes,] the Blue System Panel laughed without mercy.

Qian Qi: “…”

Qian Qi: “???”

Why are you barking?

Looking at her clothes that could crumble any second, then at the Thunder Lion already in her face, Qian Qi exploded. She grabbed the gloating Blue System Panel and slammed it hard at the middle lion head.

Blue System Panel: “???”

Thunder Lion: “???”

The strike hit like a C grade impact. The Thunder Lion staggered, stars bursting in its eyes, then crashed to the ground with a boom.

Qian Qi: “Woohoo!”

[#%*…@#%*… how dare you-]

She threw back her head and laughed: “I knew it. You really are a perfect smack-down tool.”

Before, when a Swift Magi Elephant had pinned her underfoot, the System Panel had whacked the back of her head to spread the force so she wouldn’t get crushed while standing. It had hurt enough to raise a lump.

But back then, she could defend against D grade damage. How could the System Panel still smack a lump onto her?

The answer was obvious: the panel’s hardness and attack power were way above D grade.

“You didn’t think I’d miss such an obvious flaw, right?”

She hadn’t called it out earlier on purpose. She wanted the panel to lower its guard so she could test how hard it hit.

System Panel: […]

Man, she was smug. So punchable.

In a great mood, Qian Qi looked at the fallen Three-headed Thunder Lion and rubbed her hands, asking the Blue System Panel: “Help me one more time?”

[…Scram!]

The Blue System Panel flickered and vanished.

“Stingy,” Qian Qi hummed.

Her little knife couldn’t pierce the lion’s hide to stab its heart. Luckily, she had planned ahead. She scrambled back up to the lair, dug out the stashed Tuban Fruits and her Light-Brain, and also plucked a red Magiplant nearby: Poison Coralberry.

This plant looked a bit like winterberry. A bunch of thin branches held clusters of bright red beads. Those berries were extremely toxic, enough to kill an adult E grade Magibeast.

Poison Coralberry is a moving Magiplant. Since it isn’t very aggressive, it survives by constantly shifting around. Some Magibeasts with poison resistance even like to eat it. Before coming to the lair, she had chased one and almost ran herself ragged before yanking off a small sprig. Thankfully, its toxin is a nerve poison; as long as she wasn’t wounded, she wouldn’t get poisoned.

Qian Qi returned to the Thunder Lion. She mashed berries on her knife until the blade was smeared with red pulp, then, without hesitating, drove it into the eye of the horned head.

The tip pierced the blue eye, and the poison raced along the optic nerve into all three brains and the whole body.

A few minutes later, Qian Qi felt a strange rush, like a spark lighting in her mind. She lifted her fist.

“Strength,” she whispered, then slammed her fist down on the lion head.

Bang.

The head burst.

Qian Qi’s eyes flew wide.

[Congratulations on clearing this dungeon. You have gained a Strength Attribute Bonus. Your current Strength level is: D- grade.]

Mouth hanging open, Qian Qi blurted: “There are rewards like this?!”