Merge! Basilisk Mantis!

The mantis's arms were powerful weapons. What if it combined with the scythe?

It seemed possible.

However, attack-type pets had to be equipped with high movement speed.

Therefore, he had to give it a body part that could increase its speed.

Eh?

What part should he use?

Lorne checked his bag. There were a lot of materials inside, all of them from when he had killed the monsters in the forest.

"If it's speed, this seems pretty good."

There was something about the creature that made a deep impression on Lorne. It was not particularly powerful, but it moved with incredible speed.

If he used it to synthesize with the mantis monster, the result would be very good.

With a confident nod, Lorne removed the odd half of the corpse from his pouch. It had long, slim legs and a long, narrow tail.

This was the back half of a lizard. Perhaps because its talent was concentrated there, so when the material dropped, half of its body dropped.

"The mantis plus the lizard, this is a completely different species. Will it succeed?"

Lorne frowned.

This time, his idea was more bold. Not only did he use different monster body parts, but he also used many materials.

In the past, the synthesis only used a single body part material, and the result was basically satisfactory.

This time, though, Lorne wanted to combine two parts.

He was not confident.

"It doesn't matter. We still have to try. It's just a waste of materials and gold coins at worst."

He comforted himself, then turned to his pets. "Little ones, get to work."

The pets that received the order immediately rushed up. The monsters in the Beginner Village could not affect them at all, not to mention that there was Rimuru behind them. It was a Bronze Boss-level pet.

The Two-Headed Demon Hound moved the fastest. It was the first to close in on the enemy. The two beast heads bit down at the same time.

-9

-11

Two damage numbers popped up, dealing exactly 20 damage.

This was because the Two-Headed Demon Hound was only level 1. It was almost impossible to deal effective damage to a level 10 monster.

The mantis monster, who had been attacked, was completely enraged. It let out a strange cry as its sickle arms quickly slashed across the Two-Headed Demon Hound's body.

Slash!

The sharp blades broke through the fur of the Two-Headed Demon Hound, and its crimson muscles were immediately exposed, blood dripping onto the ground.

The Two-Headed Demon Hound let out a howl and quickly retreated from the battlefield.

However, the HP above its head decreased by a large amount.

-103!

A triple-digit amount of damage floated in the air.

This was normal.

After all, it was a high-level attack type monster. It would be strange if the damage was not high.

The corners of Lorne's mouth curled up after seeing this.

To him, the stronger the monster, the more powerful the pet would be. Moreover, he would be using the scythe that Priestess Leisha gave him for this synthesis…

"Before I merge it, I should do a little test first, right?"

First, he would let the mantis monster and the lizard's tail combine to see what the final effect was.

If it really inherited the high movement speed, then the success rate would be higher when he combined it with the scythe.

While thinking, Lorne walked up and opened the mantis monster's attributes panel.

————

[Giant Mantis]

Quality: Normal

Level: 10

HP: 1100 / 1100

Physical Attack: 115-140

Defense: 30

Skill: [Sharp Blade]: Increases the effect of armor-piercing by 50 points.

Skill: [Continuous Slash]: Deals 1-3 continuous slashes on a target. Damage is 80% each.

Introduction: A giant mantis that lives in the forest. It has powerful attacks. Be careful. Don't go near it or you will be cut into pieces by sharp blades!

————

No wonder it could deal such terrifying damage to the Two-Headed Demon Hound, its attributes were really impressive.

The attack limit was actually 140 points, and it had 50 points of armor-piercing. It was simply a natural born assassin.

Of course, that was not the most terrifying thing.

What was truly powerful about the giant mantis was its combo attack. Once it launched three consecutive attacks, it could deal 330+ damage in one go. It was very terrifying.

"Two-Headed Demon Hound, step back." Lorne said.

The Two-Headed Demon Hound only had 600 health points. Facing the giant mantis's attack, its life was in danger.

This little guy was about to retire, so he did not need its help in such a dangerous battle.

The Giant Axe Minotaur stepped forward and faced the mantis. When it was close enough, it slashed down with the axe in its hand.

The mantis was unable to dodge the swift and accurate strike.

The sharp edge of the axe tore through the hard shell, revealing blue flesh.

-227!

The minotaur's axe was still very powerful.

150% damage, plus the increase of 40 points of attack, finally dealt 227 total damage. It was quite terrifying.

Ignoring the pain, the giant mantis quickly counterattacked. It struck the minotaur three times in a row, dealing more than 200 damage.

[Armor-Piercing+Consecutive Strike], this combination could bring about the greatest explosive force.

Unfortunately, its attributes were limited. Although its attack damage was on par with the Minotaur, its health was lower by 700 points. Furthermore, without Rimuru's healing, it was no match for the minotaur in such a battle.

In just half a minute, its health points were depleted.

At about 5%, Lorne stepped forward and activated the Monster Merging Simulator.

"Ding!"

"Monster [Giant Mantis] has been identified as the prototype. Please identify the other body parts."

"The tail of a Basilisk Lizard."

Lorne dropped the entire tail in, but the Cracked Death Scythe was not used yet.

He had to test this type of cross-species fusion first. He did not want to waste such a good material.

"Ding!"

"A monster prototype and a material have been identified. The synthesis formula is: (Giant Mantis) + (Basilisk Lizard) = (???)"

"The cost is 150 bronze coins. Would you like to merge?"

"Merge!" Lorne confirmed.

As soon as he finished speaking, a familiar magic circle appeared. The giant mantis and the tail of the basilisk lizard turned into light and mixed together.

In the light, an upright creature appeared.

Its tail was very short, but its arms were very long, like two thin sickles.

Soon, the system notification sounded.

"Ding! Merging successful!"

"Congratulations on obtaining the Elite Monster—Basilisk Mantis!"

With that, the light dissipated, and a very strange creature appeared before Lorne.

Its body was completely green in color. It had a triangular head with vertical eyes that could turn. The neck resembled that of a snake. It was very long and very agile.

The two mighty arms were no different from before.

However!

The strange thing was…

It was standing on two legs!

The legs were very long. They had the shape of a lizard's leg and the exoskeleton of a mantis's limb. The tail behind was short and fat like the abdomen of a mantis. However, there was a benefit to it. It did not stop one from standing, completely freeing the sickle-like arms.

Lorne rubbed his hands together, then opened the pet's attributes. Immediately, he frowned.