Chapter 100
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Ace
Chapter: 100
Chapter Title: Strange Beings
-----------------------------------------------------------------
The ecosystem of the Demonic Realm was incredibly diverse.
Swamps cropped up frequently, arid stretches of land resembled deserts, and every so often, you'd run into treacherous jungles choked with vines and thorny thickets.
'What the hell? Why are there so damn many vines?'
The machete barely got a break.
Woojin swung it relentlessly as he pushed into the forest, hacking away at the vines blocking his path.
For every two steps he took, he had to slash once. He'd been at it for over an hour now. Tedious, annoying work.
"Kee-eek!"
Suddenly, one of the vines bared its fangs. Woojin swung on instinct.
Slash!
He cleaved the charging vine clean in two with a single stroke. It writhed wildly on the ground. Up close, it wasn't a vine at all—it was a snake.
A snake with the exact same color and texture as the vines. Camouflage that blended seamlessly into the surroundings.
'Damn, that's some perfect disguise.'
Honestly, he'd been a beat slow to notice. Was his senses dulling? Or was this vine snake so still it didn't even seem to breathe?
Even dead, vipers could still bite, so caution was key. Dragon scales would protect him from harm, but out of habit, Woojin stomped down, crushing the vine snake's head underfoot.
'This area's crawling with snake beasts.'
It was humid overall, dotted with big and small lakes everywhere. No wonder snake and frog beasts turned up so often.
The Naga tribe must have settled in the east because they favored this kind of terrain.
'...Not my cup of tea.'
The paths were rough, and the bugs were relentless.
Insects buzzed around his face. Every breath nearly sucked one in. Woojin fanned them away constantly with his hand.
And just like that, as he pressed on...
He came upon a massive swamp. A sticky morass that looked like dough soaked through with water. Unidentifiable beast bones and skulls littered its surface here and there.
A silent scene of death hung in the air. For good measure, Woojin felled a long log and jabbed it into the swamp.
Squelch—
The swamp swallowed it whole. Woojin grimaced at the sight.
'...How deep is this thing?'
No way to tell.
The right move with a quagmire like this was to go around. But the problem was its absurd width—like it spanned the entire forest.
A major river must have been eroded by the Demonic Realm and warped into this colossal swamp.
'Going around isn't feasible... so either cross this muck somehow or backtrack.'
The latter didn't appeal. Turning back now would cost too much time.
How to get past this hellhole?
Woojin stroked his chin, scanning the swamp. It didn't take long to spot something odd.
Large boulders dotted the swamp here and there, jutting up like reefs. They could serve as stepping stones to cross.
'Those rocks... natural formations?'
He had his doubts.
This swamp was bottomlessly deep, yet somehow rocks sat atop it. No matter how he looked at it, they didn't belong.
'...Time to test it.'
Even a stone bridge deserves a tap before crossing. Following the old adage, Woojin hurled a rock at one of the boulders with all his might.
Clang!
The pebble ricocheted off and flew away. He chucked a couple more, but the boulder didn't budge an inch.
Seemed solid enough to step on.
He built up speed with a running start and leaped. His body sailed through the air, landing squarely on the boulder.
He glanced around warily. If anything seemed off, he'd jump right back.
...But nothing happened.
'Just keep going.'
Woojin leaped again, landing on the next boulder. Solid footing. A few more jumps, and he'd reach the other side.
Lurch—
Suddenly, the boulder underfoot wobbled. It shook violently out of nowhere, throwing Woojin's balance off too.
'What the—?'
Bad vibes. He steadied himself to jump, but right then...
...Squish!
Something erupted from beneath the shaking rock. A purple blob of flesh coated in sticky slime. Four eyeballs protruded, twitching freely like antennae.
'Snail beast.'
What he'd stepped on wasn't a rock—it was the shell of a snail beast. Just like the vine snake, it had been disguised as stone.
The snail twisted its body flexibly to peer at its back. Its four eyes fixed on Woojin.
Crack—
Its mouth gaped open, crammed with teeth of all sizes. It lunged with savage jaws.
Woojin swung his machete in response, aiming for its forehead.
The snail's head vanished.
...Not by Woojin's doing.
His blade hadn't even connected—its head retracted into the fleshy mass first, eyes and all. The machete sliced empty air.
Pop!
The head popped back out. Jaws yawning wide. Woojin went to swing again, but something felt wrong.
He kicked off the shell and leaped to another boulder.
Guweeeek—!
The snail spewed sticky slime. The dark goo splashed onto its shell and hardened like concrete in seconds.
'Good dodge.'
Coated in that, he'd be sluggish. As the thought crossed his mind...
Lurch!
The new boulder shook hard too. And in sync, every boulder across the swamp began to buck.
...They were all snail beasts.
Too far to turn back now. He had to reach the other side fast. Woojin leaped repeatedly, bounding over shells as the snails stirred awake.
He glanced back sidelong.
Squelch, squelch—
The snail pack crawled across the swamp.
By all logic, their weight should sink them, but they spat slime to harden the surface. Using that trick, they moved freely over the muck.
'Clever bastards.'
Handy ability, actually.
Woojin leaped high, then used Weight Amplification to crank up his mass. He plummeted straight down.
Krunch!!
His feet smashed through a shell. The snail thrashed in agony, foaming slime instead of froth.
Every burst of slime hardened the swamp. Like a lake flash-freezing into ice.
A new path formed atop the morass.
Woojin sprinted along it, slashing and kicking aside any snails in his way. Shells cracked endlessly.
After that frantic dash...
'...Finally across.'
He'd made it, somehow.
The snails gave up chasing the intruder and retreated to their domain. Only then could Woojin catch his breath.
'Gotta find another route back.'
That slime was a real pain.
Thanks to it, he'd crossed—but he had no desire to tangle with those nuisances again. Better for everyone.
'...Let's get out of this damn forest already.'
Even a quick sit-down rest got ruined by snakes and bugs crawling around. Might as well push on without stopping.
He picked up the pace again.
After half a day of walking, he finally escaped the irritating woods. Only to face... another forest.
Out of the woods and into the woods.
Sounds absurd, but this forest was a whole different beast.
'Giant mushrooms...'
A forest of enormous mushrooms. Woojin eyed them curiously. Each one was as thick and tall as centuries-old trees.
Glittering particles drifted down like snow. He reached out and caught some.
'Mushroom spores.'
He rubbed them between his fingers, then flicked his tongue for a taste. A sharp sting hit like touching a battery.
'Figures... poisonous.'
Those sparkling flecks looked beautiful, but they were spores from toxic mushrooms—deadly venom for the unwary.
Most creatures would skirt this poisonous forest.
But the powder posed no issue for Woojin. He had resistance that shrugged off dragon venom.
'Just walk through.'
He strode into the mushroom woods.
No bugs at all, choked with poison as it was—unlike the previous forest. Satisfied, Woojin pressed on.
An hour in...
A rustle from above. Woojin looked up to pinpoint it.
What he spotted was...
squirrels.
'Huh, kinda cute.'
Adorably out of place in the Demonic Realm.
But their size dwarfed adult men. They gnawed on monkey beast skulls like walnuts.
The squirrels peered down curiously. As Woojin advanced, they shadowed him, hopping between mushrooms.
Pang! Paang!!
They kept thumping down on their haunches. Each bounce sent toxic mushrooms puffing out glittering spores.
Woojin down below got doused repeatedly.
'...These little shits.'
Trying to poison the intruder, no doubt. Just an annoyance to him.
He irritably brushed the spores from his hair. The squirrels seemed thrown off.
"Chit? Kee-ik!"
They chittered back and forth like they were communicating. Soon, they scraped up various spores and showered him.
A rainbow of colors: red, blue, yellow... like Christmas lights wrapped around a tree. The spores twinkled in every hue.
'Pretty sight.'
Seemed the squirrels and mushrooms had a symbiotic thing going.
Immune to the toxins, the squirrels made the forest home, safe from predators. Like Nemo in an anemone.
Their frolicking spread spores far and wide effortlessly for the mushrooms. That's why the forest sprawled so vast—the squirrels played bee.
Cutest foes since those snails, but...
'...Getting annoying.'
Woojin was a walking rainbow. Layers of spores made him look like a kid's crayon scribble.
How to catch and punish these pests?
As he pondered...
One stood out. A squirrel with shining silver fur. Smaller than the rest, but its tail was fluffier, glossier.
Its eyes gleamed with calm silver light. Woojin sensed it instantly.
'That's the leader.'
The pack boss had shown itself to drive out the stranger.