Born from snake eggs incubated by rooster.
Having a gaze that brings death.
In European mythology, there is a creature called Basilisk.
Initially, Basilisk was known for its gaze that brought death.
However, as time passed, it's gaze that initially brought death was overshadowed by Medusa's reputation and made most people think that Basilisk's abilities were only limited to being able to petrify other creatures.
Well, but, being petrified can also kill someone, so maybe the truth about it is actually still shrouded in mystery.
***
Zen asked towards Jonna and the others without turning around.
"Hey, are you... know a monster that are capable of petrifying its enemies?"
Jonna and the others were confused.
They looked at each other.
Then, after a moment of silence, Farna replied.
"If I'm not mistaken, there is a low-level species of dragon that is not very strong, but has strong earth magic abilities, and..."
Zen turned his head.
His facial expression couldn't be seen when he asked once more.
"It has the ability to turn its enemies into stone?"
Farna smiled awkwardly, then nodded.
"... Yes, that's true, but... It's not as easy as just with... Gaze..."
[Burn up]~!
Farna hadn't even finished speaking when the flames had enveloped Zen's entire body.
Zen pushed himself and extended the range of his
Zen's face immediately changed.
Sure enough. It was in accordance with what he feared.
More than 600 meters away from where they were camping, the long, snake-like creature with a body that had a rock-like color and texture was clinging to the ceiling.
Its long and flexible body that wrapped between stone pillars were over 80 meters long!
However, that is not what scared Zen.
What's even more terrifying is, this creature have long since targeted them.
In its snout filled with sharp and irregular teeth, a dense blob of magic energy gathered in the form of a blackish smoke ball.
It was ready to attack!
Zen no longer cared about team number 2 as he immediately pulled his fist back, gathered most of his blood energy there, and then hit the monster right at the target.
[Flaming Punch Technique, Second style...]
The flames that enveloped Zen's body swirled around, then concentrated in the direction Zen's fist was heading. With a loud banging sound, a 1-meter-thick pillar of fire shot out with great momentum.
This was the second move of [Flaming Punch Technique] that opened up only after awakening the [Burn up].
[... Burn Beyond]~!
***
Team number 2 didn't understand the reason why Zen had suddenly asked that question.
They became even more confused when Zen suddenly burst into flames and shot pillar of fire towards the ceiling of the cave.
However, when they saw Zen's pillar of fire hitting 'something', they became terrified to death.
Thinking of the reason why Zen had asked the question earlier, coupled with the terrifying screams of the creature that Zen had managed to shoot down, they thought of a terrible scenario.
Could they have almost died to stone if Zen hadn't noticed it earlier?
Farna, Jonna, Igav, and the others swallowed their saliva.
Their hearts were filled with terror.
Zen, with the flames in his body starting to fade, shouted at them.
"Run, fast! Back to the lip of the cave! This creature hasn't been killed yet!"
Jonna and the others were deathly pale.
They could only drag their trembling legs and retreat to the outermost part of the cave's lip.
The campfire and their belongings were all abandoned.
They were frustrated, but they were aware that if the identity of the monster Zen would face later on was to match what they expected, then their existence would only be a burden to Zen.
Farna turned her head towards the silhouette of Zen that had flames enveloping his right fist and the flames from the shattered and burning lantern on the floor illuminated his figure in the distance.
Will this young figure of a Zombie named Zen be able to defeat that creature?
Would that creature, who needed more than 1000 mages of her level with the help of the front lines of over 2000 strong warriors above level 2-3 just to defeat it, would he be able to match it?
"The son of rock, Stone Drake..."
***
Zen took a breath even though he didn't need oxygen.
He checked the amount of blood energy left in his body after releasing [Burn Beyond].
Sure enough, there was now only less than half of the previous amount of blood energy left in Zen's body.
However, the Monster had not been killed yet.
He was almost out of ammunition, but the enemy did not lose its life and had put vigilance on him; making himself lose a golden opportunity to eliminate the enemie.
What should he do in a situation like this?
Of course, changing weapons is the answer!
Zen maintained
Zen stomped on the ground and stepped forward quickly.
Dark.
The cave was extremely dark after Zen was far away from the light of the bonfire and the burning lantern because Zen had accidentally dropped it earlier while firing [Burn Beyond].
However, Zen was still able to see in such darkness thanks to
Moreover, the flames from [Burn Beyond] were still burning the face and body of the Monster, so Zen was able to lock on to his target.
'Even so, it's more than 80 meters long, huh...'
Zen smiled bitterly.
If he was just an ordinary Martial Realm cultivator, he would definitely only be able to escape if faced with an opponent of that size.
In addition, the body of this monster was covered in scales or something similar in color and texture similar to stone. Its defense should also equal or even exceed the resistance of a stone.
Zen even doubted that his [Burn Beyond] was capable of injuring this creature.
However, Zen currently had magic.
So, supposedly, he still had any hope of winning.
All he had to watch out for was the strange breath that this monster had almost shot at them.
Whether it was the breath that made its target petrified or not, Zen didn't care.
He had to dodge that attack.
And the way to beat it is...
***
After running for a while, Zen now became closer to the monster.
As he approached, he encountered dozens of stone statues of humans and intact or destroyed animals and monsters that were probably victims of this monster.
It's terrible.
Do this creature like to eat stones? Zen thought.
Turning it's prey into stone seems quite absurd to Zen.
Well, putting that aside, now, the fire in the monster's body had been extinguished.
The monster once again rose upwards using a stone pillar.
With full vigilance and sharp killing intent, the monster continued to move around. It was as if it was looking for an opening to kill Zen.
Zen continued to follow the monster at a moderate pace.
He observed the monster and assessed what this monster was capable of and what it was not capable of doing.
With such a large body, a small attack would obviously not have much effect unless it had an incredible penetrating effect and hit the monster's vital organs.
Zen hadn't learned the type of magic attacks that had a powerful penetrating effect, so he had to avoid that way.
'Then, what should I do?'
Zen continued to ponder while continuing to follow and observe the movements of the monster.
While Zen was pondering, several other presences entered the detection range of his
Zen immediately stopped his steps.
"Damn!" He cursed.
Stone Drake had brought him towards it's flock!