Traces (2)
Training to boost my reaction speed with Ppareumbo. It was less like training and more like one-sided beatings, but I endured it steadfastly. Ppareumbo was holding back in its own way, and my reflexes were improving bit by bit. At least if I stayed focused to the end, I wouldn't get hit completely defenseless. I could react enough to block grabs, so it was plenty effective as training.
"Wonmo. Dad's really beat."
"Kyu?"
"So come here, sweetie."
Lunchtime. I hugged Wonmo awake from her nap, healing my gloomy mood. Not sure if she got it, but she purred contentedly anyway. I calmed my bruised ego from the training and got lunch ready.
Lunch was the fish I'd caught that morning. For reference, I'd snagged two more since then. Food in abundance—pure bliss. I could feast on fish for a while.
Afternoon's for scouting.
I'd said I'd stick around here longer, but that didn't mean skipping exploration entirely. From now on, instead of blindly venturing far, I'd map the surroundings in detail. With luck, I might find herbs rivaling adult mandrakes. Or, if not, something valuable like the Oriharukon cave.
Sometimes I can't tell if my luck's good or bad...
I wolfed down lunch and prepped with my animal pals. Subspace pouch on my left hip. Elixirs and potions on my right. All set.
But first, something to check.
Let's draw the bowstring.
The bow from GrowTrees, the presumed elf high-nick. It used to be a struggle just to pull before, but now? My strength had jumped noticeably, so there should be real progress.
Kkiiigiiik—
As expected, the string pulled way easier than before. Still not battle-ready, though. Unlike last time when I poured everything into it, now it was just a bit of grunting? To draw it smoothly, I'd need even more power.
No word from the dwarf. Probably boozing.
I was supposed to get barricades from PassingDwarf, but no reply—busy or drunk, who knows. Better to scout first and grab them later.
Today's not the river—deeper into the forest.
Following the river was pointless, as I'd realized yesterday. Better to expand my map by scouting spots throughout the woods. Spot rare herbs here and there, find animal territories, that sort of thing. Mark this area as my turf, like the beasts do.
Not that I'll mark it like an animal.
No way I'd pee on trees and risk ambushes. I wasn't ready to ditch human dignity. My gut already wrecked me enough without adding that nightmare.
"Whoa, what's this now?"
I was scouting for mystery herbs when I found mushrooms instead. Not ordinary ones—these looked like blue deer antlers. Anyone unfamiliar would swear it wasn't a mushroom.
Related species?
The so-called "king of poison mushrooms," the red deer-antler mushroom. Shaped just like its name, with toxins so vicious they rival radiation poisoning. Legend says even touching it causes dermatitis.
Neat—gotta document it.
I pulled out my prepared notebook and sketched the mushroom. Deer antlers would do the trick. Then I scanned around for anything odd. Could be a golden mushroom jackpot.
Just a normal patch, looks like.
Nothing stood out. I closed the notebook and posted to the Gallery.
Found a blue mushroom
YasaengGrill (blue mushroom shaped like deer antlers)
Anyone know what this mushroom is? Looks like total poison so I didn't touch it, but curious.
└Cheonma It's blatantly signaling not to eat it.
└SwordTasteStar Yeah. Looks creepy to even touch. Kinda like Cheonma-nim though?
└Cheonma Are you mocking this lady's face by comparing it to a mushroom?
└SwordTasteStar It's blue lol
└Cheonma You wish to turn blue as well, do you? I shall suggest it to the head mod.
└SwordTasteStar Sorry!!
└Doesn't wanna turn blue lol
└Hates it that much lmao
└But is Cheonma sub-modding??
└Yeah, trash posts way down since the NEET started.
└StarlightPrincess It's a red deer-antler mushroom. Similar ones in Jungwon, but blue's new. A variant?
└YasaengGrill You guys have those too? We had 'em where I'm from.
└StarlightPrincess Yep. Infamously deadly poison. Blue variant's a first for me.
└Olfather First time seeing one like that. If it's no trouble, could I get one for research?
└StarlightPrincess If possible, one for me too please.
└YasaengGrill Sure, got it.
Just in case, I gloved up and harvested the mushroom. No eating involved, so trades would go smooth.
With all these variants, even outer-world standards have novelties.
I kept moving, scouting. Wonmo led, her beastly nose sniffing out threats early. Cub or not, owl-bear senses were sharp. She'd warn me about overlooked animal droppings now and then.
This is owl-bear shit. Old stuff.
I'd seen it before. Time and rain had mostly erased it, but the shape lingered, easy to ID.
So this was owl-bear turf originally.
River-focused scouting had kept me blind to it. With owl-bears gone, who'd claimed it? No fresh signs, so probably no one yet.
Even owl-bears got booted by saber-tooths.
Owl-bears were tough, but no match for saber-tooth tigers. Those things regenerated fast—endurance fights were hopeless.
"Kyu. Kyu."
Scanning for more traces, Wonmo urged me on, pointing cutely with tiny paws. I chuckled and followed. She was better at tracks anyway. I'd just check plants and shrooms, squash any snakes on sight.
"Kyuuu!"
Suddenly Wonmo went nuts, bouncing excitedly. Curious, I pushed through dense trees.
A surprisingly open clearing greeted me.
"A cave?"
And a massive cave mouth. Mine was big, but this dwarfed it—cool breeze wafting out.
Wind blowing inward.
I armed up—just in case. No clue what lurked inside. No light orb; sunlight filtered from the ceiling somehow.
"Alright. Let's go."
"Kyu!"
Prepped, we entered. Wonmo bolted ahead thrilled, ignoring my silent "slow down." Too late—if anything was in there, it'd scream.
"Kyaaaaak!!!"
Like right now. Wonmo vanished behind a rock, shrieking in terror. I bolted after her, heart pounding.
What I saw: one animal. Ignored the scattered bones. My mind blanked at the beast choking Wonmo's neck.
Overlong claws. Hunched forward. Wet, mournful eyes. And those bulging upper-body muscles visible from afar.
Ka, kangaroo?
A kangaroo had Wonmo in a brutal headlock with massive arms. More like a neck-strangle from her thrashing. No idea why one was in a forest cave, but rescue first.
I charged, sword swinging full-force to kill the threat.
Shaaak!
Four Seasons Forest beast—dodged effortlessly. It released Wonmo, but no relaxing. She wheezed toward me.
No way. Better body than mine?
The kangaroo's ripped physique floored me. Muscle Mushroom's weird limbs hadn't screamed "huge," but this? Pure tension fuel.
"......"
Grgrgrk—
It stared, then lowered its torso slowly. Powerful hind legs tensed for a charge. I thrust my shield forward.
Kwang!
It leaped sky-high, sailing over my head. I tracked it the whole way.
Thud! Boom! Thud!
It fled out the entrance. No fight in it—good. Kangaroo in the woods? Four Seasons Forest magic, I guess.
Lots crossed from beyond the river.
Ppareumbo from the jungle, this kangaroo—warped space stragglers, stuck forever.
I exhaled long, checked Wonmo.
"Kyu...... Kyu......"
Clung to my leg, neck hurting bad. First real pain in her life? Even the Oriharukon guardian hadn't scared her like this.
"It's okay. I've got you."
"Kyu......"
I petted her soothingly. She perked up. Kangaroo gone, time to scour the cave.
Bones everywhere—some beast's old haunt.
Not the kangaroo's work, though.
Kangaroos are herbivores. Might choke prey with those arms, but still. Forest mutations could've turned it carnivore, but it fled when threatened—not defending turf.
That a nest?
Not just bones—a huge bird nest. Fun part: Wonmo hopped in, lounged like home. Her sad cries gave it away.
This was the owl-bear cave.
Nest bigger than a king bed—perfect owl-bear size.
Do owl-bears even build nests?
Didn't know, so Gallery search. Famous beast, tons of posts. Yep, they nested in caves.
World's full of wonders, I mused, then poked around.
Trickle trickle—
Shallow stream inside, even minnows—clean water.
Wanna move here.
Fortify it, and it's a natural fortress. But open ceiling means rain woes. Too spacious for defense too—big critters could waltz in.
"......Huh?"
Circling the nest, a bone caught my eye amid the pile.
Unlike the rest, it screamed human.
......A skull?