In nature, few things rival paternal instinct. A beast that's terrifying alone becomes something unholy when its offspring are threatened.
Until now, the alligators Alvar had been executing seemed random—but seeing the shattered eggs to his left told him otherwise. This was their nest. Their home. And he was their ENEMY!!!
The one's he had electrocuted felt weird, but he had reminded himself that "this world was different from home, so it is fine if some of them had a horn slapped on their face's right ?"
What he had forgot was the fact, if this world is not earth what makes one so confident to travel in the unknown or even deal with basic issues without guidance ?
How can one get shocked if the mother of the alligators like this was a size of a small truck ?
He sat on a pile of hay that crackled under his weight, surrounded by the smell of rot and wet scales. Around him lay crusts of broken shells, still glistening with fluid, and a few intact eggs guarded by creatures—the same ones he had slain in the pond prior. But these "normal" alligators weren't normal at all—each one had six legs and eyes that shimmered like the sun.
The entrance to the pond was in front of him, where the monstrous alligator lurked.
There was a ten-meter distance between the normal-sized alligators and Alvar, but after their brains registered what had happened, they sped toward him. His instincts kicked in, urging him to run in the opposite direction and somehow get closer to the ceiling—after all, this was an attack from two directions.
The moment he took off in a jump to grab the ceiling tile, the pond water roared. The titanic alligator burst out of the water and tore through the doorway, its jaws smashing the frame apart like paper. The shockwave of its impact crushed one of the smaller alligators that was pursuing Alvar—its own child, judging by the screech that followed.
The building trembled as its enormous body forced its way inside. Dust and wood rained down as it approached Alvar, who hung like a desperate rat fleeing a cat. The alligator couldn't catch him directly, so it used its tail to smash the walls, trying to knock him down.
Clinging to the beam, he exhaled sharply, trying to quiet his pulse. His right hand found the hilt of his sword at his waist, fingers slipping against the wet fabric before gripping it tight.
Think, Alvar. Don't panic. You can't kill it head-on, nor can you escape. But it can't touch you either—not for now.
The creature roared again, shaking the rafters. He steadied his breathing. Then aimed.
A small spark bloomed in his palm. "Fire Blast."
The flames shot toward the eggs, bursting them. They cracked and splattered dark fluid across the floor. The monster thrashed, its tail smashing walls; the ceiling groaned with each hit.
"Come on," he hissed, charging another blast and firing again. "I just had to blast one for every ten seconds it attacks me."
The creature, knowing well the remaining alligators couldn't defend the eggs from a long-range attack like this, rushed to protect them itself.
It was now unguarded, its back facing Alvar.
This was his golden chance.
Can I pierce that hide ? I don't know. I don't have another way to know either.
He released his grip on the ceiling and hurled himself forward. The air rushed past as he ignited "Fire Blast!", which only gave him a little push due to exhaustion. He positioned himself just enough that he was directly above its head; his blade drove straight between the monster's eyes. The next millisecond, he charged a Shock with everything he had—a huge amount of it formed and convulsed its brain, killing it instantly.
Silence.
He stood on its head, which was about the size of his own legs, and looked. The next thing he did was slice the head of each remaining alligator, then push forward, stopping at the eggs.
"Should I kill them too?"
"Maybe I should not. Perhaps the Adventurer's Guild could have better use for them. Maybe they could be sold as pets."
He looked at the ceiling, feeling a bit of guilt for what he had done.
A muffled shout echoed from outside.
"Are you all right in there?! What in the name of the Goddess is happening?!"
He blinked. "Oh, they must've heard the commotion."
He started sprinting to the door and, using the vines on the wall to traverse, suddenly…
[PING~!]
[Skill Acquired — SUBMERGE Lv.1]
"Submerge?" he repeated aloud as he jumped toward the floating rock at the door.
"ARE YOU ALIVE?! ANSWER ME, BOY, OR I'M CALLING THE GUARDS!" the bakery head shouted.
"Yes, I am. Can you open the door now?"
"What in the goddess' name happened, ehh?"
"I guess F-ranks couldn't be trusted with even dealing with some alligators, I presume," said one of the staff, continuing to curse Alvar's name for the commotion he had caused while the bakery head struggled to open the rusty door.
Meanwhile, "What is this skill?" Alvar asked the system.
[THE SUBMERGE SKILL ALLOWS THE USER TO HOLD THEIR BREATH FOR AN EXTENDED PERIOD IN ANY LIQUID. ADDITIONALLY, IT GRANTS THE ABILITY TO MOVE WITH INCREASED AGILITY AND SPEED EVEN IN DENSE OR VISCOUS FLUIDS.]
Alvar felt a rush of giddy excitement. "This is such a good skill! I wonder what I would have to do to level up. Kill similar monsters, I guess?"
[THAT, OR YOU COULD GET BETTER AT USING THE SKILL EFFICIENTLY AT LEVEL 1 SO THAT IT FEELS YOU HAVE LEVELED UP.]
"Ah, that feels very nice to know."
"WHAT IN THE BLAZES WERE YOU DOING TO CAUSE A COMMOTION I COULD FEEL FROM ACROSS THE STREET?!" shouted the head baker, ripping the door open.
All of them stood at the door, covering their faces with cloths that were dripped in perfume.
Then, all of their eyes squinted in terror at the sight of the enormous beast that lay dead and the state of the warehouse. After all—what was a monster like that doing here?
This was a statement, a statement they interpreted in two ways!!!
The Adventurers' Guild was called, and Alvar explained the situation to them. The thing is, the monster was an F-rank on land and an E-rank on water—either way, a monster not supposed to be defeated by an F-rank like him.
A good reason as to why he won—and one the adventurers accepted—was that the monster was distracted and he managed to penetrate one of its weak spots: its brain, killing it instantly.
He agreed to whatever they were saying as he was tired and went to the inn. He cleaned himself up a little bit before entering since it was disrespectful if he didn't, then ate dinner and had a good rest.
He wouldn't be required to go again to the bakery, and the mission was fulfilled—somehow.
The Next Morning
Following guild protocol, Alvar took a number slip from the front desk—fourteen—and sat among the crowd of adventurers. Before number seven was even done, the receptionist approached him personally.
"Mr. Alvar, please come with me."
Dozens of curious eyes followed him as he was led past the line and into a quiet meeting room. The setup looked oddly familiar, like something straight out of the isekai anime he used to watch—neat chairs, tidy desk, and papers stacked to one side.
"Tell me everything that happened," she said.
He explained the entire incident without skipping details. She listened carefully, asking all the necessary questions, then handed him a parchment. "For the job itself, one gold coin. For the corpses and the eggs—after deductions—you're owed three gold total."
His eyes widened slightly. He had been told that one gold was worth twenty silver. Meaning three of them was sixty silver. Two silver got you a medium-sized inn for the whole day, meals included—meaning he had made two months' worth in a single day.
That was a big achievement, and he also had more since he had only spent five days in the inn.
"The eggs have a buyer," she added. "A traveling circus. Lucky timing, I'd say."
Then her tone shifted. "Since you're here, let me be honest with you." She straightened her posture and gestured to the piles of documents beside her.
"These are all the missions waiting for F-ranks. If you take them one by one, you'll be here forever. So as a reward for handling yesterday's mess, you're allowed to take two at once—if they're in the same region."
Alvar blinked. That's… convenient. Wonder why they don't always do this.
"I agree," he said simply.
"Good. These are your next ones."
He picked up the two sheets and read through them. The header caught his attention: [ALWAYS ACTIVE QUEST].
She explained in the briefing what the mission entailed and the place he had to go. He slowly started to smirk hearing the information, his eyes carrying a hint of mischief.
"What's so funny?" she asked.
"This might be the perfect mission for me," he said, folding the papers neatly.