Ackster left Ilto after making a short mental note to start thinking about his intrapersonal relationships could affect and benefit his mission. Since he was so close to town, he could leisurely think about it without having to worry about getting attacked by anything other than the morning mosquitos. In fact, thanks to Leather Skin, he could even ignore those.
But as he got further away, he had to start being careful of things like snakes and monsters that could sneak through the fields on either side of the road.
Although farmers tended to the fields on a somewhat regular basis, they weren't always the best suited to deal with monsters, and it was only right before harvest that adventurers and knights pitched in to clear the fields of monsters.
Now, when it wasn't long until it was time to harvest and it had been a while since the last great clear, there was almost certainly a bunch of different beasts and monsters among the vast fields.
But Ackster wasn't overly worried. Anything interested in hiding among the crops wasn't enough to threaten him, at least not in this area.
However, he still scanned the fields just in case until he arrived at where his chosen foe awaited him.
Well, it wasn't waiting for him specifically. It probably wasn't really waiting at all. According to what the receptionist at the guild had told Ackster about rock Lizards, it was a monster that didn't really pay much attention to the outside world as long as its territory was untouched.
But it was fierce when it came to protecting its territory, which was fine since it usually meant it didn't attack humans or human settlements.
However, this particular monster, this specific rock lizard, had decided to set up camp in the middle of the fields and start building a nest. If someone didn't get rid of it soon, it would damage a large part of the field and also pose a threat to the adventurers who would assist in clearing the fields when it was harvest season.
Since it was a menial task, mostly low-ranked adventures contributed since it was easy work that paid relatively well. Many adventurers also came from common families, many of which stemmed from farmers. Helping out during harvest season was only natural.
But those kinds of adventurers usually weren't ready to deal with a juvenile rock lizard. And if it became an adult by the time it was time to harvest, it could ruin the entire harvest.
Fortunately, it was relatively easy to deal with a young rock lizard, who had just started setting up its nest since it wouldn't be as strong as it could be, even if it had the potential to become a significant threat in the future.
'Easy, my ass.'
Ackster could tell that it wouldn't be as easy as the receptionist had promised as soon as he got close. He almost wondered what a complete nest would look like if this fortress-like pile of stone was a newly-made nest. However, he didn't have time for idle thoughts.
He had to start thinking about how to deal with the moving brown shadow he saw crawling around the mounds of stone. It had noticed him and was on its way to get rid of trespassers like a grumpy old man or woman after catching punks stealing his or her apples.
Fortunately, while the rock lizard didn't have any outstanding weaknesses, it was mainly due to one reason.
The four-legged lizard monster, its head, and its tail were all covered in a layer of scales made of rock. The thick scales provided the beast with an incredible defense that rendered most attacks against it useless.
But the rocks weren't so thick they lowered its agility or flexibility, and while its legs were relatively short, they were still long enough that when it used its tail as well, it couldn't be flipped and trapped on its back.
On top of it all, the scales covered most of its face to the point where only a pair of thin slits revealed its eyes. Ackster could hit them if he had something thin and sharp and if he had incredible precision or the rock lizard stopped moving its head and let him attack, which wouldn't happen. If it did, it could just close its eyes, and skin, tough enough to carry stone scales, would protect them.
Its mouth, which could open wide enough to swallow a man's head, wasn't a weak point, either, even if he could get it open and try to attack it from within.
Although the rock lizard was a carnivore, it also had a habit of eating rocks. A mouth and teeth that could handle that weren't much easier to damage than the rock scales.
In short, Ackster had no way up his sleeve to deal with the Rock Lizard. He could only hope he was strong enough to overpower it.
He had to admit he understood why the receptionist said the rock lizards were distant relatives of earth dragons, even if they weren't in the same weight class.
Ackster dropped his bag with Mio in it to the side and charged toward the rock lizard.
Since he had put himself in this situation exactly because it seemed hopeless, Ackster had no intentions of backing out at this point. He was going to grab the bull by the horns – or the lizard by the scales – and try to find a way to win while fighting.
To begin with, only the rock lizard's defense far surpassed Ackster's. Its strength, agility, and all that was around the same level as Ackster's. It was probably a little stronger due to its weight and the fact that it lugged around an armor of dense rock all the time, but its agility, especially in terms of jumping up and around and doing complex maneuvers, shouldn't be as good as Ackster's.
The rock lizard ran across the flattened wheat fields with a speed that, while surprising for its size and apparent weight, wasn't out of Ackster's expectations.
What was outside Ackster's expectations, however, were the claws that easily cut through the ground and sent slashed wheat flying into the air behind it.
'Shit.'