Chapter 12
Chapter 12
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 12
Chapter Title: The Shape of Resolve
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Thanks to gaining the ability to perceive color categories, Hwan-in had stockpiled plenty of food and spent the next three days in his hideout focusing on recovering his condition as best he could.
With his vitality still damaged, there wasn't much he could do anyway.
So the first day, he slept to restore his stamina. On the second, he did push-ups, balance exercises, and spear-thrusting drills to regain his lost senses and muscle strength.
These efforts paid off—not quite back to full strength, but some power had returned, and the bruises and joint pains across his body had eased considerably.
The problem was his right thigh.
Fortunately, the burn wound hadn't festered, but the heat lingered stubbornly.
The surrounding ground was far cooler than body temperature, so if he hadn't used dirt packed in his shirt as an improvised ice pack, it might have turned into serious inflammation.
Hwan-in knew a few ways to reduce inflammation, but none were feasible in his current situation.
The only option he could try was cooling it with clay, but there was no water nearby to make any.
'Looks like I need to move closer to the Great Lake.'
If he could make clay to cool the inflammation and clean the wound with fresh water, his condition would improve dramatically.
He had plenty of food. The mushrooms were drying out nicely in a well-ventilated spot, their colors fading as they went.
By the time he needed them, they'd be portable rations.
Grass roots and tree inner bark had long shelf lives too. Digging in the soil turned up edible grubs, and the lakeshore would have more options...
Decision made, Hwan-in stood, packed his gear, and got ready to move.
He wrapped his food in large, broad, long wooden leaves, then rolled up the four beast hides and tied them with cord. Next, he checked his weapons.
The stone axe and Black Club would serve as daily tools now.
The makeshift spear—just a dagger lashed to a roughly two-meter black wooden pole—had proven far more effective than expected.
Even in his worst state, he'd dispatched two Green Monsters and three Beast-Head Monsters with ease.
The shortsword, being a solid iron weapon, would deliver the highest lethality among his arsenal. What remained was...
Hwan-in's gaze drifted to the staff.
Every time he looked at it, he thought of the Green Monster that had wielded superpowers with it.
Logic told him it was just a heavy stick of wood—dead weight to discard—but an unfamiliar reluctance held him back.
What if it was the key to those powers?
"......"
In the end, he wrapped the shortsword, stone axe, Black Club, and staff in hide, tying them secure. He grabbed Emergency Ration last, then left the hideout he'd called home for over a week.
Kikikiki.
Kiruk. Ki-igut.
Kieee.
'What the hell are those things up to...'
Heading straight for the Great Lake, Hwan-in spotted something suspicious.
Five wounded Green Monsters were limping along toward somewhere, clutching at their injuries.
Bites, stabs, tears—had they fought Beast-Head Monsters?
He paused to think, then silently trailed them.
Had they been heading away from the Great Lake or off in another direction, he'd have waited them out and continued on.
But spotting their path toward the lake sparked an odd urge to follow.
Gripping Emergency Ration's beak to keep it quiet, he shadowed them for about an hour until they reached a vast flower field—and narrowed his eyes at what they did next.
The five Green Monsters tossed aside their clubs and wood chunks, spread out into the field, and began harvesting only the golden flower buds and broad reed-like leaves.
The field bloomed with all sorts of wildflowers, but they selectively gathered those resembling silver bells—golden buds and leaves.
Soon, each had a handful of buds and a few leaves. They plopped down haphazardly, crushed the buds with stones or pebbles, smeared the paste on their wounds, and plastered the leaves over top.
Kikak. Kyagrur.
Ki-ek? Kya-kat.
Kya-uuu......
Once every wound was treated, they chattered excitedly for a bit, then shuffled off looking less pained than before.
"......"
After they'd vanished, Hwan-in entered the field and activated his color vision to inspect the flowers.
Most were cyan shades, but scattered black ones appeared, along with reds and purples.
The Golden Bell Flowers stood out, tinged an unusual milky white.
Achromatic milky white flowers.
He'd spotted milky white a few times while foraging three days back—sprouts and daytime firefly-like grass bugs.
'Is this color effective for wound treatment...'
Thinking back, many of the Green Monsters he'd killed had scars that looked healed.
He hadn't given it much thought then, but cross-referencing what he'd just seen... yeah, they'd treated themselves with these flowers.
'Similar diet, similar colors in my vision. Might work on me too.'
He set down his pack, harvested a bunch of the plentiful Golden Bell Flowers, crushed them as the monsters had, dropped his pants, and applied the paste to his thigh wound.
'...Feels like nothing. Does it really work?'
Wondering if the leaves were pointless, he covered the wound with a similar broad leaf.
A minute later, the subtle heat and nagging pain suddenly cooled into refreshing relief.
Like menthol on a mosquito bite—cool, tingling, overwhelming the ache and warmth.
Soon, the crushed flowers and leaf adhered like glue, sticking fast.
"Fascinating."
Maybe the flower paste reacted chemically with the leaf.
He couldn't confirm healing yet, but... After a moment's thought, he plucked fresh broad leaves from nearby brush and gathered a good amount of buds and leaves.
Even without healing, the cooling effect alone made it worth applying to the wound.
He'd reapply as needed. Carefully stowing them in his coat's inner pocket, Hwan-in heard Emergency Ration suddenly squawk an alarm and whipped around, scanning the area.
Kigyaak!
Kyagyagya!!
The five Green Monsters he'd seen leave were charging back from afar.
Expression blank, Hwan-in rose with spear in hand. The charging pack skidded to a halt, startled by the human emerging from the flowers with his long spear.
Ki, kigik?
Kiii......
"...?"
Having slain dozens of Green Monsters, Hwan-in understood their habits well enough, and these five's behavior puzzled him.
Green Monsters embodied the weak-against-strong, strong-against-weak archetype.
Fierce against the feeble, timid toward the tough—but against a lone target their size when they had three or four in the group, they charged first, asked questions never.
Only fleeing after a few dropped instantly.
Yet these five, with overwhelming numbers, weren't rushing. They glanced at each other, clearly debating what to do.
Hwan-in said nothing, picked up a stone at his feet, and hurled it at them with all his might.
Shiiik—thunk!
Kak! ...Kiyoooooot!!
He hadn't aimed to hit, but the stone nailed one in the groin. Eyes rolling back, it charged.
Ki, kigik!
Kyaaa!!
That broke the dam—the other four roared half-heartedly and rushed together.
But.
"Hup! Hah!!"
Puk—
Kek.
Pusht—
Kurururelek......
Hwan-in's lightning thrusts pierced the lead monster's heart, dropping it. The second arrived to a swing that severed a quarter of its neck, collapsing in gurgles.
"Maybe I should remove the dagger and lash the shortsword instead."
Kihik?!
Hik......
He'd swung to decapitate, but the weak result drew a mutter. The remaining three hesitated, backing away in fear.
Hwan-in wouldn't let enemies escape to breed trouble.
He kicked off with his good left foot, flew forward, and delivered three rapid thrusts—one to each chest.
"Hm..."
Expecting one miss and preparing follow-ups, he was mildly surprised when all three sank home effortlessly.
Anyway. Proper polearms made a world of difference.
This was outright slaughter.
Not even exciting. Shrugging it off, he glanced at his right thigh.
A bit of intense movement, yet barely any pain.
A faint fever under the cool refreshment, but nothing breaking through— the wound wouldn't worsen.
Shouldering his pack, Hwan-in pressed toward the Great Lake with lighter steps.
"Hoo..."
The Golden Bell Flower paste eased his gait immensely, but to avoid strain, he walked staff-like with the spear. Combined with low stamina, his breath grew short.
Still, the open sky and jade-sea lake ahead filled him with relief and fresh motivation.
Charruruk—
After twenty minutes hiding in brush to scout, confirming no threats, he slid down the slope to the gravel shore.
Learning the Golden Bell Flower's benefits eliminated his primary need for clay and cold compresses, but foraging remained a solid secondary goal.
Securing his food from waves, he washed the torn running shirt he'd used as bandages, spread it on the warm gravel, and hunted Star Shell Clams and Jade Crabs.
"Hm."
Color vision showed the Jade Crabs as leafy green (cyan tones) with faint orange-red (red tones).
The near-orange Star Shell Clams faded toward pale white when cooked, which was why they'd caused mild stomach pain before.
"Eat up."
He gave all six roasted clams to Emergency Ration.
It handled them fine, and with his condition off, he didn't want to risk it.
Conversely, steaming turned Jade Crabs pure white—safe to eat.
As he munched the reddened steamed crabs instead of sharing, Emergency Ration demolished the clam shells, stared at him, then screeched like a deranged yellow chicken.
Kkueeeek!
"Didn't you get the clams?"
Kwaaak!
"......"
It was getting so domesticated it seemed to understand speech. Imagination, probably.
A bit absurd, but food was plentiful anyway.
He pulled one of the three steamed test crabs and set it before Emergency Ration.
Pak! Pashik, kwaduk! Kwak-kwak!
It went berserk, shattering the shell with its beak and devouring the flesh.
Up close, Emergency Ration's beak strength was impressive—even on steamed, soft shells.
Watching the destructive feast a moment, Hwan-in resumed eating his Jade Crabs.
Slurrp—
"Mm."
Peeling off the white carapace revealed perfectly cooked flesh and innards. Sipping them brought not fishy brine, but a clear, savory broth-like umami flooding his mouth.
Being able to eat without worry was all thanks to color vision. A faint smile crossed his face.
Not that he had zero concerns.
What if color vision glitched? What if the info didn't match perfectly? What if it didn't apply to him, a creature from another world?
"Cross that bridge when we come to it."
No sense borrowing trouble. Muttering that he'd observe and memorize as much as possible, he crunched the crisp crab carapace.
Belly full and satisfied, he buried the leftover clam and crab shells, erased traces, and headed east along the shore.
Assuming lake monsters, he stayed off the water's edge, hugging the low cliff.
The gravel strip was about 70 meters wide. Even if something burst from the lake, 60 meters gave ample time to flee into the woods.
Shwaaaa—crash.
The waves' clear, crisp breaking was soothing.
Unlike sandy beaches, the rolling pebbles created an ASMR-like tingle deep in the ears.
"......"
The one baffling thing about this gravel shore: not a single water plant or moss clung to the stones.
He remembered the pebble beach at Incheon's Yeongheungdo Island with his parents—coated in green moss.
But here...
Ruuuoooo—
"?!"
A elephantine roar from the Great Lake jolted him. Turning, he gaped in shock.
Far across the water, a whale-like creature—fist-sized from this distance—leapt high above the surface.
A massive trident horn, rocky scales or armor encasing its head—rough and rugged.
It soared impossibly high.
Kwaaaa...!
Then crashed back, erupting a colossal spray.
Like the nuclear underwater blast from a war documentary—a mushroom cloud of water.
"...Gasp."
Realizing the incoming wave's height too late, Hwan-in bolted thigh pain forgotten, grabbing a protruding tree root on the cliff face and scrambling up.
Of course, this spot's cliff was the tallest around at eight meters, nearly vertical—hell to climb.
Recalling ranger training rope climbs, he'd hauled up two meters when a glance back chilled his blood. Mustering newborn strength, he heaved on the root.
A tsunami dwarfing him rushed in.
Crack!
"Kgh!"
The arm-thick root snapped; nearly falling, he clung to a thigh-thick one and scanned the cliff desperately.
No path.
The snapped root left a meter gap above his three-meter perch.
A thicker root jutted higher, out of reach.
No cracks for fingers, no footholds.
The wall wasn't solid enough anyway.
Grimacing, Hwan-in wrapped his left leg around an exposed root, hugged tight with both arms, and squeezed his eyes shut.
The ferocious wave swallowed him headfirst.