Jack-o'-Lantern (3)

Light was shining from my eyes.

Normally, that phrase was used as a figure of speech. It did not mean actual photon beams were firing out of someone's retinas; it simply meant their eyes twinkled with sudden interest or excitement. In my case, however, genuine beams of luminescence were pouring directly from my ocular cavities. I realized it early on thanks to the sheer bewilderment of everyone around me.

Wonmo and Tyrano were thrilled, happily bouncing on their heels as radiant beams lit up the dark cavern. Ludwig, on the other hand, stared at me with an expression that said he had truly seen every bizarre abomination this cursed world had to offer. His furrowed brows and agape jaw asked one silent question: Is that creature even remotely human?

Having served as a paladin for so many years, he had likely witnessed all manner of holy relics and magical miracles, but a living human flashlight had to be a brand-new first.

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

The moment my post went live, the Gallery erupted into chaos. Had anyone in their lives ever seen a creature quite like me? Almost certainly not.

I closed the interface and gazed outward toward the entrance of the cave. The beams cutting from my eyes illuminated the dense wilderness outside as brightly as high-powered military searchlights. With illumination this fierce, navigating pitch darkness would be trivial.

That said... how the hell do I turn this off?

The main problem was control. I tried straining my ocular muscles, squinting, blinking repeatedly, and relaxing my face. Despite several different attempts, the beams showed no sign of dimming. The mana within my vessels remained quiet and unchanged, identical to how it felt before.

Was this purely a passive trait, or was it something I could manipulate at will? If I couldn't control it, things would get awkward fast. I turned my head back toward Ludwig, and the paladin immediately winced, throwing an arm across his face to shield his eyes. Not even being able to make eye contact with my companion was a glaring issue. The cubs found it fascinating, but that novelty would wear off soon enough.

Let's try running my Mind Cultivation Method. Since I digested an inner core, there has to be some trace left behind.

I closed my eyelids and circulated my internal energy to see if I could detect anything unusual inside my meridians. Yet aside from the deep, familiar frost lingering within my dantian, nothing stirred. It really did seem to be a passive trait. Since the glow hadn't appeared until the sun dipped below the horizon, darkness was likely the trigger.

Even so, I refused to give up. An ability that couldn't be controlled was practically an affliction. Enlisting the help of both Ludwig and the forum users, I began testing various methods.

None of their suggestions proved helpful. Everyone was witnessing ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠this for the first time, leaving them just as clueless as I was. In the end, I decided to call it a night. If I shut my eyelids and kept my mouth closed, the light was mostly contained. A faint glow still seeped through my nostrils, but it was dim enough to tolerate.

Still... I really am slowly turning into something non-human, aren't I?

Absurdly massive aura and chilling frost energy still fell within the realm of common martial logic. Rare though they were, historical precedents existed. But shooting light from one's eyes, nose, and mouth? Not even ancient grimoires had recorded such a freak. Starlight Princess had mentioned that certain humans turned into youkai exhibited unusual bodily mutations, though she couldn't verify it with certainty.

Aren't inner cores supposed to be purely beneficial?

I wished I had known about this peculiar side effect beforehand. Unlike the protagonists in web novels, I had no holographic status window or system prompts to spell out my stats; I had to test and discover every bodily alteration with my own two hands. The silver lining was that my total mana reserve had swelled significantly beyond its previous capacity.

Resting my back against the rock wall, I shut my eyes and thought about tomorrow's agenda.

Winter will be here soon. Five days at the very latest.

The biting chill in the air was proof enough. After those few bouts of heavy rain, the temperature had plummeted precipitously. It was high time I secured winter thermal gear for Ludwig as well, which I could commission from Passing Dwarf without much trouble.

First, chop some more firewood. It might snow, so I'll need to keep the flames stoked high.

Once all those domestic chores were handled, I planned to head down to the Orichalcum Cave. Since I now possessed a built-in headlight, I might as well put its performance to the test. My current cave was too cramped, and the central campfire made it hard to judge just how effective the illumination was. It would be a quick round trip, and I could introduce Ludwig to the place while I was at it.

Most of our winter preparations were already complete, meaning we wouldn't need to venture outside for quite some time. If there was one remaining task, it was carving out a discreet emergency escape tunnel, which wouldn't take very long. With tomorrow's schedule mapped out in my head, I gradually surrendered to exhaustion and fell asleep.

Morning arrived with crisp clarity, the air slightly milder than the day before.

"Now that the sun is ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠up, the light stopped coming out of my eyes."

"Mmh."

It was indeed a passive trait triggered solely by low ambient light; under the bright morning sun, my eyes looked entirely normal. Wonmo and Tyrano were visibly disappointed when they realized the miraculous show had ended. Chuckling, I patted their heads and set about preparing breakfast. First, I needed to hike up to the river and retrieve the submerged fish traps.

"Huh?"

The moment I stepped onto the riverbank, an odd sensation gripped me. The river had always been extraordinarily clear, allowing one to peer straight down to the pebbled bed. However, because the river fauna moved swiftly and possessed natural camouflage, spotting them had usually required sharp concentration.

Now, it was completely different. Specks of brilliant light were glittering all across the water.

The sparkling points drifted along the river's current before slamming straight into the wicker frame of my fish trap. The trap itself was glowing brightly, shining like a clustered clump of gold nuggets that practically demanded my attention.

What... what is that?

Uncertain of what had changed, I hauled the wicker trap out of the water with Ggobongi's eager assistance. As the water drained through the weave, several vigorous river fish flopped desperately inside. Their bellies—specifically the precise area where their inner cores were lodged—were glowing with sharp, unmistakable luminescence.

...Could it be?

Without wasting a second, I gathered the gear and marched back down to the shelter. Gutting the fish, I sliced into the flesh and extracted the small internal nodule. Sure enough, faint though it was, the tiny inner core twinkled like a distant star in my palm. It was an active tracking effect granted by consuming Pumpkin Jack's core.

Come to think of it... the subspatial backpack and the glass bottles storing my other cores are glowing too!

I had only just noticed. Because I had swallowed the core late yesterday evening, the sensory shift hadn't fully registered until now. This was an astonishingly useful passive. Foraging for rare medicinal herbs in the wild was going to become infinitely easier. Since I wasn't a botanist, having to take pictures and consult the Gallery for every single weed had been exhausting.

I should still double-check their specific properties on the forum, though.

I gave a brief, simplified explanation to Ludwig. Hearing my description, the paladin's eyes widened in mild disbelief, astonished that such a convenient tracking vision existed. That brought a sudden thought to mind. What about the mithril vein, which the interface had previously classified as a living organism? Would it sparkle like gold dust as well? Curious, I hurried to the rear of the cavern.

Beyond merely sparkling, the deep mithril vein blazed with a radiance so brilliant it nearly blinded me. Beams of intense silver-blue light radiated from the rock wall's deepest recesses, looking so overwhelming that it actively discouraged me from approaching. It almost felt as though mining any deeper would trigger some catastrophic rebound, leaving me with a heavy, unsettled feeling in my gut.

Well, as long as I leave it alone, it won't cause any harm...

Though wary, I realized I would need to make regular sweeps of the perimeter around the shelter. Relying solely on the wild herbs Papa Raccoon brought over placed a harsh limit on producing Inedia Pills. To put my newfound sight to the test, I decided to scout the immediate woods alone—though I made sure to bring Ppareumbo along as insurance.

That thing is shining almost as brightly as the mithril.

The sapling provided by Let's Grow Trees was glowing with concentrated green luster. While the other flora in the clearing grew at an astonishing pace, this sapling crept upward at an agonizingly sluggish crawl. Had she genuinely handed me a World Tree sapling? The suspicion grew heavier with every passing day.

They say a fully grown World Tree is larger than an entire metropolis. Can this clearing even sustain it?

If a tree of that scale reached maturity here, the entire shelter would be crushed to splinters. Shaking the pointless worry from my mind, I finished scanning the surroundings. Surprisingly, genuinely radiant herbs were rare; the vast majority of the greenery consisted of ordinary weeds.

What exactly is the threshold? Does an object need to match the potency of an inner core to trigger the glow?

There was plenty to ponder. After finishing the brief patrol, I returned to the cave and gathered the gear needed for our expedition to the Orichalcum Cave. It was time to confirm once and for all how my headlights functioned in the subterranean depths. Naturally, the entire group was coming along. Leaving a small, vulnerable rear guard behind in this forest was always far more dangerous than sticking together.

Even if something ransacks the camp, all they can steal is some dried fish and firewood.

With our preparations finalized, the shelter's retinue set out toward the cavern. Ludwig sat comfortably atop Largo's broad back, quietly trailing right behind me.

I really need to craft him a proper saddle soon.

Using a colossal giraffe like a cavalry steed meant a saddle was an absolute necessity. As we made our way through the dense undergrowth, I diligently harvested every sparkling herb that caught my eye. Midway along our path, however, a bright, pulsating shimmer buried deep beneath the dirt snagged my attention. Wondering if it might be a deposit of precious ore, I unslung my pickaxe and shovel without hesitation.

"Ludwig-ssi, there's definitely something buried under here. Help me dig."

"Mmh."

Ludwig nodded, immediately pitching in with ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠vigorous shoveling. I broke through the hardened loam with heavy strikes of my pickaxe, and Ludwig efficiently shoveled away the loosened soil. Working in seamless tandem, we drew steadily closer to the pulsating glow.

RUMMMMBLE!

Without warning, the earth beneath our boots began to violent shudder. Ludwig and I froze, immediately halting our tools. If survival in this forest had taught me anything, it was that sudden earthquakes were never a good omen.

And true to form—

CRRRRAAASH!

A towering mass of rock and soil erupted violently from the pit. Ludwig and I scrambled backward in haste, dodging the exploding clods of earth. As the dust cleared, the monumental entity revealed its colossal silhouette.

"A... an Earth Guardian...?"

It was a massive golem forged of compacted earth and stone: a subterranean Guardian. High on its stony chest, a vivid, crystalline core blazed with blinding, rhythmic pulses of golden light.

"...#%%^#$?!"

Ludwig turned his head toward me, his frantic babble asking one unmistakable question: What in the gods' names did you just dig up?!

Staring at the towering behemoth, I had absolutely no answer to give him.