I Became a Mountain Tiger in a Fantasy World

< Chapter 10: The Little Beast and the Savage Beak (3) >

“Growl!”

I ground my teeth savagely, tense and alert. I never understood why cats hissed in unfamiliar places, but now I got it. Eight or nine out of ten of them must have been seized by fear.

‘Damn it!’

What should I do? This was the first time I’d encountered an opponent whose name I couldn’t even guess. Could I really defeat him?

“Screeeech!”

[The ‘Raging Flame Savage Beak’ warns you to run away!]

At that moment, I heard the desperate roar of Brother Beak. My face involuntarily twisted in frustration. What the hell was he saying, this pathetic brother of mine!

“Growl!”

The mysterious goblin soon lost interest in me and approached Brother Beak. Every time he swung his staff and chanted a suspicious spell, Brother Beak howled in agony.

“Screeeech!”

A strange light flickered from Brother Beak’s body, constricting him like chains. I had a rough idea of what the goblin was trying to do. He was undoubtedly attempting to extract the ‘Essence of the Sky’ from Brother Beak.

‘This crazy goblin!’

I was furious beyond measure, but there was nothing I could do. Zombie-like goblins were gathering around him, and the suspicious goblin was even using magic. From the moment Brother Beak was captured, the fight was already tilting in their favor. And Brother Beak, knowing this…

[The ‘Raging Flame Savage Beak’ warns you to run away!]

He was using his remaining strength to unleash his last flame for me. Seeing him fiercely resist stirred an inexplicable rage within me.

I knew it. The goblin’s target was the Essence of the Sky. He didn’t even care about me. If I wanted to escape, now was the time. But I didn’t want to.

‘Damn it!’

I was not a righteous person. I had never committed crimes, but I wasn’t the type to suffer losses either. Considering I went hunting without much guilt after reincarnating as a tiger, I was undoubtedly a very selfish person.

‘Yes, that’s right.’

I was such a selfish person that I hated anyone touching something precious to me.

“Screeeech!”

Even at that moment, Brother Beak was desperately struggling, drawing the goblin’s attention.

[The ‘Raging Flame Savage Beak’ pleads for you to run away!]

I get it, so shut up already!

“Growl!”

I calmed my anger and observed the mysterious goblin. He paid no attention to me and only targeted Brother Beak.

Good. The enemy’s negligence always creates opportunities. First, let’s assess his strength.

An old goblin. He even had one blind eye. Judging by his stance with the staff, his physical strength wasn’t great either. He even treated me like a mere insignificant creature. …Yeah, an insignificant creature.

At that moment, an idea flashed through my mind.

‘Maybe…’

No matter the difference in levels, he was still a goblin. A goblin that would bleed if its flesh was torn. If things went as I thought, I might be able to inflict a fatal wound on him.

.

.

.

An old goblin. I’ll make him pay dearly for underestimating me!

* * *

I didn’t attack the goblin directly but moved around the area, preparing something. To the old goblin, it seemed like I was aimlessly wandering, unsure of what to do. Despite the rattling noises I made, he barely paid attention.

‘He must be confident.’

He had probably seen me hunting other goblins. His dismissive attitude meant that he didn’t see my skills as a threat at all.

‘Or maybe he just thinks I’m a mere wild animal.’

No, he definitely did. In his eyes, I was just a four-legged monster. From the start, his chain attack had been aimed at Brother Beak, not me.

He wasn’t wary of me, and that was the key to defeating the old goblin.

“Growl!”

I pretended to be furious at the sight of the roaring Savage Beak, tapping the ground in frustration. The old goblin briefly turned his head and then, with a finger gesture, commanded:

“Annoying. Kill it.”

“Growl!”

At his command, several goblins charged at me. I didn’t confront them head-on but circled around, buying time.

My stamina was nearly depleted. Instead of a prolonged fight, I needed to aim for a decisive blow. What I needed was ‘confirmation.’

“Growl! Growl!”

Swish, swish! The goblins’ blades cut through the air. I hissed and darted around as if I were extremely flustered. Then, when the old goblin’s view was obstructed, I swiftly swung my forepaw.

Thud!

A goblin warrior chasing me fell limply. I repeated this process a few more times and nodded. The preparations were complete.

‘Now all that’s left is…’

Timing!

I watched for an opening, and when the old goblin’s staff flashed with fire, I darted forward.

Swish!

“Growl!”

I charged recklessly, letting the goblins’ blades cut into my hide. I endured the pain and kept moving forward. I had to exploit the old goblin’s vulnerability while he cast his spell. This was a gamble that put my life on the line!

Blood splattered as I broke through the goblins’ encirclement in an instant.

“…?”

The old goblin, chanting a spell, finally took notice of me.

As he slowly turned his head, I struck with my forepaw. Beneath me lay the ‘solution’ I had prepared earlier.

Slash!

With a sharp clang of metal, the blade I’d prepared on the ground shot towards the old goblin like a throwing knife.

This was the experiment I had conducted using the goblin warriors. The weapons they used—I had tested if I could strike and launch them in a desired direction with my forepaw. It turned out to be easier than I thought.

And this was the result.

“Grook?!”

The old goblin couldn’t even utter a coherent word in his shock. I saw him stagger backward, his face pale with fear. But it was already too late.

Thud!

“Groaaak!!”

The blade I aimed at his heart pierced his shoulder as he retreated. But even that was a success.

Clang!

The chains binding Savage Beak rattled violently. I leapt forward to secure my advantage.

[Using Leg Strength Enhancement!]

This was the one thing I had over him.

The old goblin saw me as a mere beast. He had no idea that I could ‘think’ like a human. He couldn’t possibly imagine that the thinking entity inside me had experienced a sophisticated, modern civilization.

The fact that I possessed ‘intelligence’ was my greatest weapon.

“Groaaak!!”

The old goblin staggered, blood pouring from his shoulder. Even in that moment, he couldn’t grasp the reality of what had just happened.

“…!!”

He never would have guessed that a mere beast could launch a blade like a projectile.

Clang!

And he certainly wouldn’t have imagined that I had one final move left.

A moment of negligence. I seized that slim opportunity.

‘I’ll kill him!’

I had to finish this with a single strike. If I failed to kill him now, I would be the one to die!

Swish!

Using Leg Strength Enhancement, I closed the distance and raised my forepaw.

“Groar!”

Finally, the old goblin came to his senses and raised his staff with his uninjured hand. The staff began to glow ominously. It was too late to use Magnification for a powerful Smash.

In that case!

Clang!

I focused the energy of Magnification into a single point. To take down the old goblin, I didn’t need overwhelming force.

He couldn’t even deflect a flying blade.

So,

[Razor Claws responds to Magnification!]

I extended the sharpest of my claws. At the same time, the old goblin thrust his glowing staff forward.

“Roaaar!”

“Grook!”

Thwack!

The sound of flesh being pierced echoed across the wide plains.

* * *

Drip, drip.

“Grrowl.”

A small beast was wrapped in thick iron chains.

A single claw, deformed and grown long, extended from its right leg, which was stretched out with a fierce gaze.

The tip of that claw, discarded like a longsword,

Stopped precisely in front of the old goblin’s forehead.

“Keh, Khek!”

Skrillzhak fell backward with a face drained of spirit.

‘I almost died!’

He was lucky.

There was no other explanation.

The reason he wasn’t impaled by the young beast’s claw wasn’t because the binding chains held it, or because the goblins shielded him from the claw.

The chains were slow, and the goblins were impaled.

Simply, the beast’s claw wasn’t fully grown yet.

The delay in reaching him allowed Skrillzhak to barely survive with his hastily cast magic.

He was caught off guard.

He, a great being, was precisely tricked by a mere young monster.

‘Th-this…!’

He couldn’t contain his burning anger.

“G-get back!”

For such a lowly creature, barely sensing magic, to pull such a cunning trick!

“Grrk!”

“Roaaar!”

Infuriated, Skrillzhak halted as he met the beast’s gaze.

‘What is this?’

The beast was glaring at him as if it would tear him apart.

The moment he met those eyes, Skrillzhak realized.

‘It wasn’t a coincidence…!’

Throwing its weapon like a dart,

And focusing magic into a single claw. None of it was coincidence.

He thought it was merely an instinctual act for hunting,

But even bound by chains, the beast was already gathering magic into its other claw.

When its ambush failed, it changed its strategy again.

‘What! What nonsense is this…!’

Feeling a chill, Skrillzhak retreated to the safest place and shivered.

The gaze of the young beast.

What was contained in those eyes was not just the wildness of a monster. Skrillzhak recognized what was within them.

‘A mutant!’

This beast, like him, was a thinking beast.

Skrillzhak’s eyes darkened.

‘It must be killed.’

It was a stroke of luck that he encountered this vile beast here.

If the beast had enough magic?

Skrillzhak would undoubtedly have been killed by this young beast.

‘No way! I, Skrillzhak, inferior to such a creature…!’

He couldn’t believe it.

If this thing grew into an adult, it would surely become an unstoppable disaster.

Along with the fear, uncontrollable rage surged within him.

“The, great being, is me.”

Skrillzhak’s staff emitted light and drew a strange pattern.

The strongest spell he knew.

Using this spell meant he was determined to end the life of this young beast here.

“Fare, well!”

A chill swept around Skrillzhak, freezing the air.

A giant ice spear, summoned from the glowing blue magic circle, shot towards the small beast in an instant.

“Kiieeeeek!”

As the ice spear shot forth, the sound of large wings filled the meadow.

***

Everything happened in a moment.

The sharp ice spear shooting forward.

Someone stepping in front of him.

With the sound of feathers fluttering, there was a sturdy back in view.

Puhwaak!

As he looked at the merciless spear tip piercing through,

The young beast let out a bitter roar.

“Roaaar!!”

Crack!

Behind the back of the hawk, bound in chains, the sharp tip of the spear protruded.

But that spear never reached the small beast it was protecting.