Chapter 32
Chapter 32
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 32
Chapter Title: Nest Life
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"Uh...?"
"Roze."
"Lemon?"
Thank goodness.
It looked like it had worked.
Roze blinked at me, clearly still out of it.
I didn't mind and just kept talking.
"What were you up to? If you're not busy, wanna grab some meat before you go?"
"Meat?"
Her eyes suddenly lit up.
I took the dazed, swallowing-hard Roze back to our nest.
We ignored the hazardous creatures that started swarming the moment we left.
"Delicious!"
Roze only snapped out of it after devouring half of our stockpiled meat.
"Want me to grill more?"
"Uh... no, I'm full now."
Yoon Ji-hye, who still used formal speech with everyone but me, assisted with Roze's eating spree.
She watched for a full hour without a single grimace.
Just a mother's smile.
"Thanks, I ate well."
"Oh, no need. I didn't do much. Lemon's the one who gathers the food and sets up the nest."
"Nest? This is the nest? Wow, it's nice here."
Roze finally looked around and let out an exclamation.
A reaction that made all our hard work feel worth it.
I chuckled briefly as I stepped out to check the situation outside.
'Come to think of it, I need to make an extra sleeping mat for Roze.'
But first, I had to deal with that mob up ahead.
The hazardous creatures drawn by the noise were causing even more chaos, with no signs of calming down.
Soon enough, it wouldn't just be these weaklings—the dominant higher-tier hazardous species in the area might show up.
"Lemon!"
Roze approached the base of the tree I was perched in.
Her belly full, she looked in high spirits.
With light movements, she climbed up beside me.
Then she spoke in a surprised voice.
"Whoa, what's with that?"
I'd forgotten I was in camouflage mode.
This was the first time showing it to Roze, so no wonder she was shocked.
After a quick explanation, she poked my skin with her fingers, marveling.
"Amazing. If I hadn't heard you first, I wouldn't have even known you were here."
"It's not that good."
All I could fool was a bit of the visual aspect.
And adjust my body temperature a little?
No way that could hide me from Roze's superhuman senses.
"I need to clean those up. Too noisy—higher-tier ones might come."
"Higher-tier?"
"Yeah, there's one in the south sector..."
"That one? I hunted it."
"...Really?"
On just test day 3?
Higher-tier hazardous species equated to danger level 4 aliens or above.
And when I scouted for the nest, it was heavily contaminated by alien influence.
Alien contamination usually caused mutations that shortened lifespan but boosted power, making them even tougher.
'Well, it's Roze...'
But I accepted it easily because it was her.
She could handle level 4s and worse.
"Good to hear. Still, we should tidy these up. Check if any are edible too."
"I'll help!"
"M-Me too..."
Yoon Ji-hye had overheard from the cave and was calling up from below the tree.
"Then let's all go together."
I jumped down.
We'd sort the food later and headed toward the clustered hazardous creatures.
Coming back, their numbers were insane.
Stronger than the first one I'd hunted, swarming everywhere.
"You two handle it."
"Just us?"
"Yeah. You can do it together."
Yoon Ji-hye flinched at the fight suggestion.
She was clearly hesitating.
But I saw it as a golden opportunity.
Real combat experience like this was rare.
"Sure."
"L-Lemon?"
"You can do it too. I'll go first—join when you're ready."
I took the lead.
Approaching the nearest hazardous creature, I slowly inhaled.
Heart pounding.
Body heat rising, warmth surging.
Muscles twitching with rich oxygen.
Battle prep complete.
I charged into the fray.
"These the last ones?"
"Looks like we've cleared all the locals."
It was tough.
Every hazardous creature had thick hides and was aggressively vicious.
Most were midway through alien contamination, making it harder.
I checked on Yoon Ji-hye.
'Whew.'
She joined a bit after I started.
At first, super passive.
Defensively handling the charging beasts.
But as the fight dragged on, she changed.
No hesitation in using her ability, moving aggressively.
This was the result.
Around her lay more corpses than mine.
Most gruesomely burst open all over.
"Heh..."
Roze watched Yoon Ji-hye closely.
Then inspected the hazardous creatures' states.
"Ah, aah...!"
Yoon Ji-hye snapped back to reality.
Regaining her senses.
Her warrior charisma vanished instantly, replaced by fluster.
She paled, looking around.
Then carefully navigated out, avoiding the piled corpses.
"No injuries?"
"...Yeah. Is Leonard okay?"
"Of course."
I'd fought hard too.
But compared to her, my kills were half as many.
Looking closer, she was clutching her left forearm with her other hand.
Blood dripping down.
"More like, check your arm."
"No, it's nothing."
"Looks injured. It's bleeding."
"I'm fine...!"
I grabbed her escaping arm, turned it, and checked the wound.
Deep gash on the back.
Bone almost visible.
Skin around it discolored black—alien contamination.
"This needs treatment."
"I-I can handle it myself."
"Hold still. Can't reach there. And you can't treat it properly alone."
I calmed her struggles and sat her down.
Pulled out the emergency medkit.
'Kinda lacking.'
The kit was basic.
Fine for scratches, useless for a wound this big.
Leave it? No.
Day 3—leaving it would worsen.
Contamination to the bone could mean disqualification.
'No choice.'
Disinfected with neutralizer, sprayed all the anesthetic.
Secretly produced a ton of treatment fluid in my mouth.
Told the trembling Yoon Ji-hye,
"Hold still a sec. No moving."
"Uh, uh...? Eek?!"
When numb enough, I pressed my mouth to it.
Extended fangs long, sucked out contaminated blood, reinjected healthy blood mixed with fresh treatment.
"Ptoo! Not done yet."
Yoon Ji-hye frozen, speechless.
I'd started, so I brazenly finished meticulously.
Wrapped thick bandages, knotted tight.
"All done. Be careful with your left hand till it heals."
"Ughhh!"
I was embarrassed too, but her reaction made it worse.
Left her beet-red, face-covered, and stood.
Roze, curiosity sated, checked for edible ones amid contamination.
"Found any?"
"Yeah, this and that."
"One's enough. We have leftover meat anyway—stop."
"Okay!"
Told her a nearby stream to wash, then inspected corpses.
'Figures...'
Tried using my ability.
Like opening a corrupted file—total mess.
Barely glimpsed info was scrambled junk.
Useless.
Gave up, returned to nest, treated my wounds.
'Treatment fluid's great.'
No major injuries, but more scrapes than Ji-hye.
Still fine thanks to traits.
Mid-fight doses healed potential issues.
So convenient.
Slap some saliva, done.
Detox components prevented infection, no scars.
Even bruises fixed instantly.
Finally, slathered my bruised ribs—sore to the bone from a hit.
Fluid soaked in quick, cool relief.
'Treatment over.'
Cleaned up moderately, but they weren't back.
Instead of waiting, prepped extra supplies since Roze joined.
'Make her a sleeping mat.'
Left the nest.
Area safe for a while now.
Higher-tier gone—rest of test smooth.
Relaxed, I focused on nest improvements.
*
Test day 6.
Nest life fully stable.
Foraged edible veggies, fruits, roots—meals abundant.
Safety solid.
Cleared all swarms 3 days ago—only stragglers now.
Minus 3-shift watches, just killing time.
"Bored."
Roze finally muttered.
Nothing to do.
Even morning/evening training done—time overflowed.
"Lemon."
"Yeah?"
I'd finally nailed a hammock after fails, lounging in bliss.
Too comfy.
Gonna live like this when old.
"Anything to do? I'm bored."
"Hmm..."
Almost nodded, but paused thoughtfully.
Half-assed reply might spell trouble.
"Ji-hye, you bored too?"
"Me? ...A little?"
Yoon Ji-hye glanced at Roze while answering.
Only Roze seemed dissatisfied, but couldn't ignore a teammate.
Roze from hammock.
Up, but nothing epic came to mind.
Grabbed a fist-sized rolling stone, taught jacks.
Lasted 10 minutes.
"Too easy. Boring."
"Me too..."
They were too good.
Irregular stones, yet acrobatic feats galore.
Never a miss.
Flash of inspiration: rock-paper-scissors? No, next: egg tapping.
But issues again.
"How'd you break it?"
"S-Sorry...!"
"Ah, Lemon, this one's broken too."
Started fine, turned demolition derby.
Roze's stone shards cratered cave walls.
Yoon Ji-hye amped it—ability pulverized egg and slate to dust.
Radical overturn.
"...Nope."
Physical games no-go for these powerhouses.
What then?
Deep thought.
"Ah."
Perfect: bingo.
No prep, peaceful fun for three.
Nailed it.
"Bingo! I got a line already!"
"Wow, congrats!"
No paper—carved numbers on flat stones with strength. No issue for them.
"Fun! Never played this with friends before."
Roze especially enthusiastic.
First time like this—laughing nonstop.
Made me curious.
'Come to think of it, what's Roze's backstory?'
Pondered, but drew a blank.
Not detailed in the original.