Chapter 57
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 57
Chapter Title: Camouflage and a Snack
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Cheon Doun followed the trail of mana to a rocky, stone mountain.
*There he is.*
Guu was standing in front of a cave entrance in the ground.
It was less of a cave and more of a burrow. A tunnel connected to the underground through a large crack in the rock.
As Cheon Doun approached, Guu turned to look at him.
“I heard from Kim Nari. Sasa started molting? How is it doing?”
-No significant changes yet. Molting isn't something others can help with… we can only wait.
Cheon Doun looked at the burrow. The path inside bent, so he couldn't see Sasa.
“Isn't Sasa too young to be molting?”
-That's true. But a monster's molting is often more influenced by psychological factors than physical age. Considering that, it's not entirely strange for it to happen now.
“Psychological factors? What happened?”
-I don't know either. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary.
Guu recalled what had happened while Cheon Doun was away.
While Cheon Doun and the siblings were at the snowy mountain, several fierce battles had taken place in the yard.
The protagonist of these battles was Sasa.
A young monster from a volcanic region.
-Chirp... chirp...
Sasa wandered the yard, crying like a chick. Its gaze never left the Mandragoras in the garden.
Plants imbued with demonic energy are a delicacy for monsters from volcanic regions. And there were five of these delicacies. The problem was, they were a pie in the sky.
No matter how much it wanted them, it couldn't even get close.
-Chirp...
The moment it took a step closer, the soil in the garden would stir. A single root would stealthily poke its face out and stare at Sasa.
That alone was enough to demoralize Sasa. The imprinting effect of successive defeats.
*I'll never be able to beat those weeds.* That perception was now ingrained in its mind.
If it were one-on-one, it might have tried something. But it was outnumbered. To make matters worse, their coordinated attacks were exceptional.
The shock Sasa felt upon seeing the four-story Mandragora root tower had still not faded.
-Hmph!
*Invader. Come any closer and we will attack.* Five roots, their faces peeking out from the ground, watched Sasa with such expressions.
-Ch... Chirp.
Sasa shrank back at the terrifying sight. It didn't dare try to break through their solid defense.
It would never get to nibble on those leaves in its lifetime.
The days passed gloomily with that thought. Then, for the first time, there was a change in its routine.
-*Rustle, rustle.*
A new chimera family member arrived in the yard. Among them, what caught Sasa's eye was a sapling that walked on its roots.
The demonic energy it exuded was unique. Its mouth watered at the sight of the lush leaves.
*Is this what they call a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush?* It couldn't touch the garden roots, but it felt like it could hunt that sapling.
Sasa approached the sapling from behind. Distance: twenty centimeters. *Now.* Sasa charged toward the sapling.
The target was a single leaf near the bottom. *I will tear it off and eat it.*
-Chirp...!
It was a decisive blow. It was confident of success.
But the plan was thwarted by an ant that suddenly popped out from among the leaves.
The sapling's bodyguard. The sapling's best friend from their time at the research institute. The ant threw its weight behind a leap at Sasa.
-Chirp...!
The palm-sized ant was heavy. The slender Sasa couldn't withstand the weight and was sent flying on impact.
Having stopped Sasa's attack, the ant and the sapling hid together in a crevice of the yellow ore.
Sasa's face fell in dismay. It thought it was one-on-one, but it was two-on-one.
*Cowards. The world is unfair. Why is no one on my side?*
-Ch... Chirp...
Sasa flopped onto its back, belly exposed.
It was miserable. It failed to eat again. In its frustration, it kicked its little chick legs in the air.
-There it goes again.
Guu, who was sunbathing in the yard, chuckled at Sasa's fierce battle.
*Since it wants to eat so badly, I should soothe it a little.* He got up and went into the forest.
He looked around, found a flower containing demonic energy, plucked one, and returned.
-Eat this, at least. You'll never get to eat those things in the garden, so give up.
-Chirp...?
Sasa's eyes widened at the flower that had fallen before it. It cautiously got up and circled the flower.
Sasa touched the orange petal with the tip of its nose. Its head swayed from side to side at the soft texture.
Sasa bit down on a petal. It ferociously stomped on the stem with its leg. As it pulled, a single petal tore off.
*Nom, nom.* Sasa trembled as demonic energy overflowed with every chew.
-Do you like it?
Instead of answering, Sasa bit another petal. One, then another.
After tearing off and eating all six petals, a sense of fullness washed over it.
The world is full of such delicious things. Realizing this, it felt foolish for having obsessed over the garden roots.
Sasa picked up the stem-only flower in its mouth and headed for the garden.
-Hmph?
-Hmph, hmph!
*That wicked thing is coming again.* The Mandragoras rose to the surface of the garden and took a battle stance.
Sasa threw the flower stem from its mouth in front of them.
-Chirp!
*I ate this. You're mistaken if you think you're the only delicious things around. Did you think I would pine for you forever?*
Sasa cried out and turned away. It was a cold gesture, as if vowing never to look back at the Mandragoras.
-Hmph?
The garden roots tilted their heads at the inexplicable behavior.
The roots picked up the stem Sasa had thrown. They planted it in a corner of the garden.
A plant devoured by their enemy. It was a gesture of mourning.
It would be nice if new roots grew from the stem and it lived, but if it withered and died, there was nothing to be done.
Having done their duty, the Mandragoras returned underground.
-Chirp...?
Sasa, who had turned away coldly, tilted its head at the sight. It never expected them to plant the stem in the garden.
*If I use this tendency of theirs, couldn't I break through their defenses?* A plan flashed through Sasa's mind.
The cold serpent of the Demon World. The cruel Sasa, who holds no attachments once it turns away.
-Chirp.
*What the heck, I'll just turn around again. Then I'll be back where I started. A 360-degree turn brings you back to the beginning.*
Sasa's eyes gleamed as it looked at the garden. For the first time, Sasa had found a way to conquer the garden dwellers.
* * *
“That's more or less what happened.”
After hearing Guu's recollection, Cheon Doun had a strange expression on his face.
“That's it?”
-That's it.
“I don't see how that's any different from usual. It's just a typical day for them.”
A psychological change significant enough to trigger molting. Where in that story was such an intense event?
As Cheon Doun looked puzzled, Guu nodded.
-I think so too, but something must have happened to Sasa that we can't understand. It's a young creature that hasn't seen much of the world.
“Hmm... I guess so?”
The explanation was plausible enough. To Sasa, the yard where it lived was its entire world.
What was a trivial matter to them might have been a life-changing event for Sasa.
“Still just a baby.”
-A baby, indeed.
“I'm going in. Keep a lookout for me.”
-There's nothing you can do to help with molting, you know?
“I can't do much else, but I can create an environment similar to a volcanic region. It's better than doing nothing.”
*I'll do what I can.* Cheon Doun followed Sasa's aura into the burrow.
* * *
Once inside the burrow, he could sense Sasa's presence. It was huddled behind a watermelon-sized rock.
-Chirp...?
Sasa peeked its head out at the familiar presence. Seeing Cheon Doun, it became restless.
-Ch... Chirp!
A wary cry telling him not to come closer. Even with someone it knew, a creature becomes sensitive during molting.
It shrieked sharply, but contrary to its fierce demeanor, its slender legs were trembling.
*The molting doesn't seem to be going smoothly.*
It was due to a lack of heat, as expected. Cheon Doun backed away so as not to bother Sasa.
The ability of the Fire Toad, a monster from a volcanic region. He summoned the power he once used to burn a ramen wrapper, and his hand burst into flames.
As he increased the intensity of the ability while monitoring Sasa's condition, the temperature inside the burrow rose instantly.
-Chirp?
At the sudden change, Sasa looked at Cheon Doun. The heat it had been longing for was radiating from him.
*A safe one. An ally. I can trust him.* After a brief train of thought, Sasa went back behind the rock.
*Looks like it's about to do something.*
Through the shadow cast on the wall, he could see Sasa's body writhing.
There was no change in its overall size. However, the center of its forehead bulged as if a horn was about to grow.
Painful chirps could be heard from behind the rock.
Many monsters die while molting. The change it was undergoing was that physically demanding.
*If this molting started because it wanted to eat the Mandragoras... will it get bigger?*
If so, keeping it in the yard with the others would become a problem. If it truly became a threatening monster, separating it would be necessary for the sake of the garden dwellers.
Through the shadow, he could see that Sasa's molting was complete. A long horn had grown on its head.
*Is it over?*
Cheon Doun peeked behind the rock. Sasa was lying on the ground, panting heavily.
*No external changes. Same size. Nothing seems to have changed except for the horn. Is this it?*
Cheon Doun picked Sasa up and froze when he saw the horn that had grown on its head.
A light green horn. It was a thin, long shape, about five centimeters in length. At its tip was a round, oval-shaped object.
Cheon Doun stared at it with a peculiar expression.
“It wasn't a horn. Why did something like this grow?”
What he had thought was a horn was actually a plant stem. At the end of the five-centimeter stem was an orange flower bud.
*Why is a flower growing from its head?* Puzzled, he touched the flower bud, and Sasa opened its eyes.
-Chirp...
Sasa sensed the change in its body and shook its head. The bud opened, and in an instant, the flower bloomed.
Sasa plucked a petal with its tail and ate it. The eaten petal quickly regenerated and grew back.
-Chirp!
*Perfect. It's the same flower I ate.* Sasa recalled the flower stem the Mandragoras had planted in the garden.
*Infiltration by camouflage. A stepping stone for that purpose.*
*Behold. A flower blooms on my head. I am a flower. A single plant. How about planting me next to you?*
Sasa shook its head with that kind of intensity. Feeling hungry, it tore off another petal and ate it.
Cheon Doun wore a complicated expression as he watched it bloom a flower on its own head and become self-sufficient.
A snake's body, a chick's legs, and a single flower on its head.
He had never heard of a monster that bloomed a flower from its body through molting.
*Is there some incredible function hidden in that flower?*
This was a molting achieved out of a desire to eat the Mandragoras.
If it had made such thorough preparations, even risking its life to molt, the upcoming battle could be truly dangerous.
*I'll find out when I let it face the garden roots.*
*If it looks dangerous, I'll intervene immediately.* Cheon Doun thought to himself as he examined the flower on Sasa's head.
The function of Sasa's flower was to serve as both a snack and camouflage for infiltration.
Unaware of the truth, Cheon Doun left the burrow, looking at the flower with a serious expression.