Chapter 159: Process of Growth
Chapter 159: Process of Growth
As I thrust my hand into the gaping maw of the Chaos Mimic, a bizarre sensation dug into my skin. The creature, puffing out thick smoke, immediately began to crawl up my hand until, in the blink of an eye, it had gulped down my entire right arm.
“Oppa!”
“Hyung!”
I heard the piercing screams of my party members from behind me. Given the mimic’s width and length, it should have stopped at my elbow, but they seemed shocked when it swallowed my arm all the way to my shoulder.
However, I simply raised my left hand to hold the chest steady. Then, carefully controlling my magic, I unleashed the power of Eternal Flame. The mimic would have had a better chance of survival if it had tried to flee the moment it saw me. I was almost grateful that it had instead lunged at me as if to say, “Come and eat me.”
KROOOM!
A deep rumble echoed from within, and the creature’s body shook violently. It belched out black smoke from its opening and went limp. After rattling its lid for a moment, it began to crumple like a deflated balloon. Alright. That’s one down.
Stroking the now soft exterior of the Chaos Mimic, I set it aside and looked down. The other two were still pinned beneath my feet. Of course, I had already taken the precaution of wrapping both my feet in the flames of Eternal Flame.
After sternly warning the others not to touch the subdued Chaos Mimic, I picked up the one under my left foot. The first one had been quite hefty, and this one seemed no different. Despite its subspace ability, I could feel a slight weight to it, which meant its insides were packed full. With a pleased heart, I forced its mouth open and shoved my hand inside, just as before.
Chaos Mimics don’t normally enjoy combat. When faced with an enemy, they almost always choose to flee unless the situation is unavoidable. In fact, among all the recorded sightings of these creatures, successful captures were incredibly rare.
Yet, just like the first one, this one didn’t run either. Instead, it resisted fiercely, thrashing about and spewing chaos. I was a little curious as to why, but it wasn't a bad thing for me. Following the same process as before, I easily subdued the treasure chest.
After dealing with one more, I picked up the last one.
“Pyaaaaaaah…”
The one I lifted this time was slightly smaller than the previous two. As I picked it up, it cracked open its lid and let out a mournful cry. I had a pretty good idea of what was going on. It kept squirming, repeatedly trying to get to the two limp mimics in the corner. I suspected this one was the baby. Were the other two not running because they were trying to protect their young? Oh, how touching.
KROOOM!
But I wasn’t sentimental enough to be genuinely moved by a monster. That was that, and this was this. Still, I returned the parents’ love for their child by destroying its insides as quickly as possible. I unleashed the power in a swift burst, so it probably wasn’t too painful. As I tossed the creature’s limp body to the floor, I felt a sense of satisfaction. I rolled my arm a few times and glanced down to see the three of them lying together, intermittently puffing out black smoke.
“Oh my. Oh my goodness. What do we do, what do we do.”
Ko Yeonju was chattering excitedly, her voice unusually high-pitched. The appearance and capture of a Chaos Mimic was enough to startle even a User who had reached the ranks of the Ten Strong. She rushed over as if flying and was about to reach out for them, but she snatched her hand back in alarm when she saw the ground turning black wherever the lingering smoke touched it.
“Don’t touch them yet. It’s dangerous.”
“Phew. That was close. Still, this is truly amazing. A Chaos Mimic…”
It would have been tiresome if she started questioning how I’d caught them again, but I had made it clear a few times that I was reluctant to answer, and thankfully, she didn’t bother me any further.
“Hyung! What on earth are those things you just caught?”
Ahn Hyun, judging that the situation was mostly over, was quick to ask. The other party members, who had been watching, were also staring at my face, their expressions full of curiosity. I met their gazes for a moment before opening my mouth with a calm smile.
“As you heard, they’re called Chaos Mimics. To put it simply, think of them as magic backpacks with a very high-level subspace, and also the best treasure chests in the Hall Plain. Well, you’ll understand the details when you see them later. User Shin Sangyong? Please empty the backpack you’re wearing and give it to me. I need to put these inside.”
“What? You’re not going to open them now?”
“I’ve destroyed their insides, but they’re still leaking smoke. It’ll probably take a while for it all to clear out.”
“Still…”
“We’re not in a city, we’re in the middle of an expedition. Opening them now is out of the question. We’ll set aside a whole day for it later, so don’t get your hopes up.”
At my firm response, every one of them looked like they were dying of curiosity. But I had no intention of opening them here. I took the backpack Shin Sangyong handed me and approached the mimics. I grabbed the nearest one and pulled out the largest jewel embedded in its center. The jewel had a reddish hue; these were necessary for inscribing Subordinate Magic later, so I needed to store them carefully so as not to lose them.
I removed the three jewels one by one, sealed the chests tightly, and shoved them into the backpack without a hint of hesitation. Since I had secured them, I felt no lingering desire to check them immediately. At that, the party members, who had been watching me with a sliver of hope, let their shoulders slump with crestfallen faces. It seemed they thought the Chaos Mimics were just simple treasure chests. To be honest, the purification process was just an excuse, but I still didn’t want to open them here. Because…
“We rested enough in the clearing earlier, so we won’t be taking another break here. We’ve had a good haul, but there might still be other things left. I’ll keep watch, so I want all Users to search this room thoroughly.”
“Yes, sir…”
They answered in low-energy voices and slowly dispersed. It wasn’t just the kids. Ko Yeonju pouted as she half-heartedly scanned a bed, and Vivian was openly grumbling. Hayeon’s face was calm, but she kept glancing back, clearly unable to let it go. Only Shin Sangyong followed my orders faithfully, a sheepish smile on his face.
I sighed at their behavior and set the backpack down. On the other hand, I couldn’t say I didn’t understand. They had done nothing but march and fight, so they were all tired, whether they admitted it or not, and they had a lot of pent-up feelings.
As in the past, the best way to boost a caravan’s morale during an expedition was to reap rewards. Even Ko Yeonju, who was usually above such things, seemed particularly antsy because she knew the true value of a Chaos Mimic.
It wouldn’t be a huge problem to open just one now. The only issue was that I’d have to shorten the time it took to make it spit out all the chaos, and the only artificial method I had for that was using Eternal Flame. I had decided not to abuse that power so carelessly, and I didn’t like the idea of going back on my word so easily. And more than anything, I wanted to avoid the extremely troublesome matter that would arise the moment I emptied its contents.
“……”
However, as the leader of the caravan, I also had a duty to resolve my members’ complaints. In the end, I decided to take a step back in the face of their silent protest and reached back into the backpack.
I chose the baby Chaos Mimic, the last one I’d caught. Since it was only half the size of the other two, the purification time would be much shorter.
When I opened the tightly shut chest, black smoke billowed out again. After giving it a good shake to clear out what was pooled inside, I calmly put my hand back in. I planned to burn away all the internal chaos at once using Eternal Flame. (Myth-rank Authorities can be controlled.)
Fwoosh.
As the entire chest was soon engulfed in clear flames, the party’s gazes naturally fell upon my hand. I deliberately feigned ignorance and muttered to myself, “If we finish this quickly, we can see what’s inside quickly…”
It was just a simple mutter, but the effect was immediate. Ko Yeonju’s eyes lit up, and she began to search every nook and cranny of the room, even mobilizing her shadows. Vivian started pulling books from a drawer and flipping through them rapidly. Seeing the kids suddenly move with twice the speed and more enthusiasm than ever, I couldn’t help but give a wry smile.
*
“Alright, everyone stand back.”
“Oppa, hurry, hurry.”
“I’m so curious. Is it really that amazing of a treasure chest?”
“You’ll see. And don’t regret it.”
I replied to Vivian’s question as I heard Yoojung’s impatient voice. She gave me a strange look at my cryptic answer but then urged me on with her eyes to open it quickly.
I opened up the smallest Chaos Mimic. No more black smoke flowed out. I had cleaned every corner with Eternal Flame and removed the central Jewel, so it was safe to assume there was no major danger. Still, just in case, I checked it one more time with my Third Eye, then immediately turned the creature upside down. I lightly tapped the part that was now its bottom. And in that moment…
Chrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!
A wave of shimmering gold began to pour out of the open hole.
“Whoa.”
“Wow~!”
“Woah. Woah.”
The golden wave flowed out endlessly, like a great river. I could occasionally see flashes of silver and the brilliant sparkle of various gems. However, there were almost no items of any significant size. It was just a flood of currency and jewels.
It seemed that since it was a young one, it had mostly swallowed small, shiny things. In terms of pure profit, it was undoubtedly a top-tier haul compared to anything we’d gotten so far, but considering the source was a Chaos Mimic, I couldn’t help but feel it was a bit of a dud.
After pouring out its contents for several minutes, the stream began to dwindle as it neared the end. Finally, it spat out a round, white, glowing orb, coughed up some tiny scraps, and wheezed once or twice. I gave it two more hard shakes, and only dust came out from inside.
The entire party stared around the room, speechless. In the center of our circle was a mountain of reddish-gold coins. The pile was so massive that no one even dared to think about counting it.
“I think it would really take all day to count this,” Shin Sangyong said in a dazed voice, and the other Users nodded in agreement. It seemed none of them had expected this much, and their faces were etched with a sense of being overwhelmed. I clicked my tongue with an I-told-you-so look and spoke in a quiet voice.
“This is why I didn’t want to open it. Anyway, let’s put the coins and jewels back for now. If we try to count all this, it’s doubtful we’ll be able to explore the cave tomorrow, let alone finish today.”
I placed the bag in the center and immediately started gathering everything up. The others followed my lead and helped sweep the coins back in. As I worked, I secretly estimated the total amount. More than half were gold coins, but there were quite a few platinum coins as well, so it was likely over 60,000 gold. But the coins weren’t all of it. There were at least several hundred gems, which would be worth many times more than the platinum coins.
For a while, we worked on transferring the coins and gems back into the bag, and after a few dozen minutes, we had managed to put all the currency and jewels back into the chest. When we gathered the remaining items, a total of three were left lying there. It was clear that, being a young one, it had focused on swallowing shiny things. I cursed quietly under my breath. My stomach churned a little, but the thought that I wouldn’t have to worry about money for a while was a small comfort.
However, it wasn’t time to give up hope yet. I slowly examined the items I had set aside instead of putting them away. I felt that quality, not quantity, was what mattered. My eyes fell upon a pair of small, pretty earrings dyed a pale blue, a rhombus-shaped amethyst I had set aside earlier, and a fist-sized orb that had rolled out near the end.
While Hayeon attempted a Restore spell, I quickly activated my Third Eye. I was a little disappointed that we hadn’t gotten much equipment, but there were still two hefty mimics left, and I was curious about the quality of these three items.
My eyes moved busily, following the letters that floated in the air.
『Earring of Wind』 A pair of earrings once inhabited by a high-ranking wind spirit. Though the spirit has departed, traces of its power remain. When both earrings are worn, they grant the power of wind, sharpening the wearer’s movements and broadening their field of vision. If either earring is missing, the effect falls to half or less.
『Jewel of Amplification』 A high-grade external-inscription jewel once considered essential equipment for mages in the ancient Hall Plain. It amplifies beneficial qualities of the User’s innate mana characteristics, increases the flow of magic power through the circuits, improves mana purity, and reduces the magic power required to cast spells.
『Improved Guardian Shield』 Caution: Priest-class exclusive; bound equipment. An improved Guardian Shield devised by ancient Hall Plain temples for Priest-class Users vulnerable to close-quarters combat and surprise attacks. The orb possesses an ego, independently judges threats to its bound owner, and automatically manifests Guardian Shield when it determines that its owner is in danger.
“Ah, I can’t seem to get a good read on these. The earrings seem to have the wind attribute, but I’m not sure about the other two. Even after using a Restore spell, the information I’m getting is…”
“……”
“Soohyun?”
“…Yes?”
I had been staring blankly at the information when Hayeon’s voice snapped me back to reality. I had been so engrossed in the fact that we had found ancient equipment—not just one, but two pieces. Seeing Hayeon tilting her head at me, I swallowed hard. I calmly steadied my breathing and spoke quietly.
The owners for this equipment had already been decided.