“Crocodile…? No, it’s more like a giant lizard, that thing.”
Feeling a strange presence, I stopped in my tracks.
Holding my breath, I carefully moved to avoid making any noise, peering out from behind a large tree to confirm what I sensed.
Around a moss-covered green boulder, they were there.
They resembled enormous lizards, about 150 cm long including their tails. When I used my appraisal skill, they were identified as Monitor Lizards. Basically, just oversized lizards, huh?
“But at that size, they’re definitely intimidating.”
These creatures must have been regular monitor lizards exposed to dense magical energy, turning them into magical beasts.
There seemed to be a group of them lounging around the rocky area—more than ten in total. Among them, a particularly large one stood out, likely over two meters long. It had rough, scaly skin and spiny fins running along its back.
Its tail was thick and powerful—getting hit by it would surely send someone flying. The appraisal revealed venom sacs in their lower jaws.
“Well, I’ll have to take down these unknown magical beasts, just to be safe. Let’s handle them from a distance to avoid the venom.”
For efficiency, it’s better to hunt prey in groups to rack up points. I felt a bit guilty interrupting their lazy nap time, but the first strike wins the battle.
I concentrated my magic and unleashed Wind Cutter.
The sharp wind blade sliced through the lizards’ necks along with the boulder. One, two, three—the wind magic cut through them consecutively.
The concentrated, reinforced Wind Cutter I created was strong enough to take down about five of them before dissipating, even though a single use would normally exhaust its power.
“My efforts in mastering magic control paid off. I can do this now.”
I adjusted my magic flow with a flick of my fingers, sending the remaining monitor lizards scrambling in panic. I pursued and systematically eliminated them.
For the largest one, I used a Water Cutter to carefully sever its neck.
“Alright, that’s all of them.”
Excitedly, I collected the carcasses of the slain magical beasts. How many points would I earn for these? The massive one especially seemed to be a unique specimen, making the appraisal process all the more exciting.
“Hmm… Eight thousand points for one whole lizard? Not bad, I guess.”
Unfortunately, there weren’t many usable materials. I could only salvage the magic stones, skin, and some meat.
“Can you even eat lizard meat? Let’s see… ‘Lean, high-protein meat. The tail section is particularly delicious.’ Hmm, the tail, huh?”
I took the tail out of my [Item Box], and it certainly looked like a hefty chunk of meat.
The clean, red meat intrigued me.
“How should I cook this tail meat? Maybe as a steak?”
I’d had ox tail before.
Back in college, I once bought a frozen chunk of ox tail from a bulk supermarket and made tail soup.
I brought it to a potluck party with my seminar group, where everyone cooked and shared a dish. The tail soup, simmered in a pressure cooker, was a big hit.
“Alright, I still remember the recipe. Let’s have lizard tail soup for dinner tonight.”
After converting the non-tail materials into points, I decided to move on quickly.
“This spot will be today’s base.”
I chose the location because I found grapevines resembling Delaware grapes.
Even without a trellis, the large vines had grown robustly, spreading across nearby trees. While their shape was similar to Delaware grapes, their yellow-green color was more like muscat grapes. The appraisal indicated they were edible, so I tasted one—it had a pleasant sweet-and-sour flavor.
I harvested several ripe clusters and moved to a spot a little farther away to set up my tent.
After pitching the tent, I prepared the monitor lizard tail for cooking.
When materials are dismantled for point conversion via the [Item Box], they somehow come pre-drained of blood, saving me the tedious task. Very convenient.
“For ox tail, you start with a parboil.”
I cut the tail into chunks, boiled it in plenty of water for about ten minutes after bringing it to a boil, then discarded the water.
Using water magic, I thoroughly rinsed the meat and removed any scum. To eliminate odors, I added green onions, cooking sake, and ginger, then simmered the lizard tail in fresh water.
Skimming off the scum while it simmered was tedious, but I persevered for the sake of a delicious soup.
For lunch, I had prepared rice balls and stir-fried vegetables with boar meat.
It wasn’t quite enough, so I ended up eating instant noodles as well.
“Thank goodness for my magic stove. Without a pressure cooker, using regular gas for hours would be impossible.”
Thanks to the divine blessing, my eco-friendly magic-powered stove didn’t require fuel. Even after simmering a full pot of tail meat for hours, there was no risk of running out of gas. Incredible.
“I’ll let this simmer on low for at least three hours.”
I placed the stove on a stone table crafted with earth magic, reducing any fire hazards.
To be safe, I planned to check it every 30 minutes and decided to spend the time hunting and gathering.
Earning points was a top priority for living safely and comfortably.
“Another successful hunt today.”
I returned in high spirits.
Discovering and wiping out an orc herd was a major win.
After chasing down one survivor, I stumbled upon an orc settlement.
Using magic, I annihilated the 30-plus orcs in the settlement, earning a massive point haul.
I converted all materials except the meat into points. Although it took about an hour, I was relieved to find my tail soup had simmered beautifully, with no scorching. The tail meat was now tender and gelatinous.
Instead of making the entire pot into soup, I set aside half for other dishes.
For today’s main dish, I kept the tail soup’s seasoning simple: just salt and black pepper, with a dash of soy sauce for depth.
When I bit into the tail meat, it had a texture reminiscent of muscle, tough to chew but satisfying.
“…Yeah. This is delicious. With enough simmering, the meat becomes tender and melts in your mouth.”
Rich in collagen, the meat had absorbed plenty of flavor. Topped with shredded white onions, the soup was heavenly.
My only complaint was that most of the meat’s flavor had dissolved into the soup, leaving the meat itself a bit bland.
“This meat would be great in red wine stew, beef stew, or curry.”
A curry base using this tail soup sounded mouthwatering.
Although preparation and cooking were tedious, this meat was perfect for stews and soups. Even if it wasn’t point-efficient, I decided the monitor lizard was worth hunting just for its tail meat.
Dreaming of more recipes, I savored the soup passionately. I added grilled rice balls from my [Item Box] to the soup, turning it into a flavorful porridge. The toasted aroma from the charred rice was exquisite.
(Lizards are surprisingly tasty.)
While I could never eat insects, reptiles or snakes might be more palatable than I’d expected.
And speaking of other worlds—dragons.
If lizard meat is this delicious, dragon steak must be divine.
According to the spellbook, dragons are formidable foes, so targeting their subspecies, like wyverns or land dragons, might be more feasible.
With enough leveling, I could hunt lesser dragons in dungeons.
Dragon tail soup must be otherworldly. Its steak, roast, or even cutlets could be incredible.
Considering their immense size, they’d surely provide a feast.
“Alright, if I can catch a wyvern, I’ll treat the others. If dragons are this tasty, it’ll boost enthusiasm for defeating evil dragons.”
As I savored the tender, dissolving tail meat, I began dreaming of the culinary possibilities awaiting me with dragons.
