Chapter 14
Chapter 14
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 14
Chapter Title: Scars That Teach
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Why had ghosts suddenly started appearing?
Was that deer-horse hybrid animal just there by coincidence?
What were these warm and cool sensations gradually seeping into his body?
And what were the Warm Ki and Cold Ki circulating inside him?
After pondering deeply for a while, Hwan-in reached one conclusion.
No matter how he thought about it, he couldn't ignore the connection between the supernatural powers of that green monster wielding the Deer-Antler Staff and what was happening to him now.
So, he made it his top priority to figure out what he could do with Soul Vision and the ability to see ghosts.
First, the animal ghost.
There was no way that six-legged creature, like a mix of deer and horse, had wandered around him and vanished for no reason.
As a test, Hwan-in gripped the Deer-Antler Staff with both hands and mentally called out to that six-legged animal from moments ago.
"......"
The animal ghost didn't appear.
Thinking he might need a stronger pull, he concentrated as he did during meditation, but it was no use.
He didn't feel that sudden chill like when he'd first sensed the animal ghost.
"So it's not like this."
Acting on it brought a wry chuckle. Back on Earth, he'd dismissed ghosts and spirits as superstition, barely believing in them.
After failing to summon the animal ghost, he turned his attention to the phenomena inside his body.
For one, the warm and cool sensations flowing into him didn't stop even when he let go of the staff.
Warm Ki and Cold Ki seemed to course through his body, but the feeling was so faint it wasn't certain, and neither sensation was unpleasant or repulsive.
Focusing on them actually brought a sense of calm to his mind and body.
"Come to think of it, the coolness touching my skin feels similar to what I sensed from that animal ghost......"
These mysteries lacked clear answers, leaving him a bit frustrated.
If he just had one solid example, his mind would clear up.
While wrestling with the Deer-Antler Staff and the changes in his body, his food and clothes had fully dried, so Hwan-in started packing up what he'd spread out.
He gathered all the food, bundled it again, wrapped it tightly in beast hide, and made it into a proper pack.
He reassembled the disassembled Multi-Tool and packed it away, then retrieved his waterlogged smartphone.
Next, he attempted to replace the spearhead.
First, using the Stone Axe, Black Club, and Multi-Tool, he disassembled the shortsword's hilt and handle.
The blade's attachment point on the disassembled shortsword was an elongated I-shape, not cylindrical.
Hwan-in removed the rusted dagger tied to the tip of the blackened rod, then split the end of the shaft to match the blade's length and gouged out the center to fit the blade's thickness.
It was tough carving the slot for the blade, but he scored it with the Multi-Tool's knife, wedged it open, and scraped it out like whittling with a flathead screwdriver.
The blackened wood's durability and strength were beyond expectations, making it honestly grueling work.
Without the Multi-Tool, he'd have just tied it on crudely like the dagger.
Then he fitted the shortsword blade's tang into the grooved slot, reassembled it, drilled a hole matching the rivet hole, threaded a long strip of hide through, and wrapped it as tightly as possible, knotting it securely so it wouldn't come loose.
Looking at the finished product, it truly resembled a spear from the spear family.
Swinging and thrusting with the blade now four times longer than before, he was quite satisfied.
Quawk.
The strap tying the Emergency Ration had loosened a bit, so he replaced it with a new vine cord, and about two hours had passed.
"......"
Dressed in his suit jacket and coat, Hwan-in stared at the calm surface of the Great Lake for a moment.
Why had that whale-like monstrosity caused a tsunami?
Earth whales jumped for various reasons: communicating with distant kin, shaking off parasites, and so on.
But for something that size to leap hundreds of meters into the air and crash down required enormous energy.
Hwan-in figured it wouldn't waste that much energy on such reasons.
"Was it fighting something?"
If it was a reasonable hypothesis, fighting made sense. That high-altitude leap as an attack to kill an enemy wouldn't be strange.
"One more thing to watch out for when foraging by the lakeside."
He'd witnessed something beyond common sense, but Hwan-in wasn't scared or fearful.
A freshwater tsunami was threatening, but with care, he could avoid it. The creature was dozens of meters long, so it wouldn't approach the shallow lakeshore.
It'd be a shame to give up easy food because of it.
The pain-relieving effect of the Golden Bell Flower and its leaves exceeded his expectations.
Even distributing his weight with the Deer-Antler Staff to spare his thigh, the wound felt almost healed—it was that comfortable.
Plus, with his belly full from steamed Jade Crabs, he felt energized, and the load weighing at least 10kg didn't feel burdensome.
Four hours into heading east along the cliff edge.
Normally, he'd have encountered monsters by now, but only the chirps of small birds and rustling grasshoppers filled the fresh, peaceful time.
Did the monsters know about the lake's monstrosity and fear it, staying away?
If so, this place was reasonably safe.
But this time, he regretted the absence of monsters.
"I want to check if killed monsters turn into ghosts."
He'd caught and killed some visible insects, but no souls appeared.
Considering the pain difference in the River of Light, he guessed soul manifestation varied too, but he wanted to confirm by killing a monster.
One worry was stepping into the River of Light again.
If the kill count accumulated, he'd really die next time.
"But somehow, I don't think I'll see that River of Light again......"
No evidence, but the conviction persisted at a faith-like level.
Even so, he couldn't stop killing monsters.
This was a jungle teeming with them everywhere. Hwan-in wasn't naive enough to think he could escape without killing.
Thus, pushing through the underbrush without pause, around 3 p.m., he spotted a stream from the lake swelling into a river.
"This area's higher elevation, huh."
The river was about 60 meters wide by eye. The deepest parts reached 4 meters, and the water was so clear he could see forearm-sized fish swimming on the bottom.
A 10-meter gravel bed lined the bank, and like the lakeshore, low cliffs formed canyon-like walls on both sides.
The cliffs were roughly four stories high—taller than the lakeside—and stone, unlike the muddy lakeshore.
The current wasn't fast, but deep spots would require swimming over his height, tough with gear.
He could swim, but not well enough loaded with over 10kg.
And the river wasn't narrow enough to throw his stuff across.
"I could use a log as a float tube, but...... there might be a narrower spot downstream, so I'll follow the river south for now."
Descending along the river atop the cliff, Hwan-in gazed at the unnaturally clear water and recalled the tsunami he'd survived.
A wave that size should have muddied this river too, but only the gravel was wet, the water pristine.
"It should be murky. Is it because of the gravel and rocks on the bottom?"
Unlike typical rivers with mud and aquatic plants, this one had no soil—just gravel and boulders, some man-sized, others house-sized.
By his knowledge, currents should grind pebbles down, but...... Tilting his head, he continued south until sunset, when he finally spotted Beast-Head Monsters.
One side of the endless cliffs had a corner collapsed into a gentle slope, and nine Beast-Head Monsters were approaching the river through it, likely to drink.
With his extended blade boosting reach and power, he could handle nine, but he flattened himself in the dense brush, parting it slightly to observe.
They weren't just drinking casually; they seemed wary of something.
Reaching the bank, three drank first while the other six stood guard, taking turns.
After quenching their thirst, three went on alert as the remaining six foraged the gravel bed.
Krrrng.
Kyeng!
Grurrr.
They chattered noisily upon finding Jade Crabs or Star Shell Clams, catching Hwan-in's eye.
If wary of enemies, they'd quietly grab and go. Wasn't this calling attention?
"The Beast-Head Monsters don't seem intelligent......"
And sure enough, the river surface near them rippled unnaturally.
Subtle waves, invisible from below.
"Fish?"
Not a fish monster. Transparent waves spread like a boat's wake.
Yet no attacker near the ripples, even squinting.
The deepest mid-river bottom was visible, but no assailant.
"......"
Only with Soul Vision did Hwan-in see the attacker's form.
"Camouflage, huh."
In the clear water, a pale blue creature undulated its body-length tail, slowly approaching the Beast-Head Monsters.
Lizard-like elongated head, human-like limbs, long tail from the hips.
"Soul Vision acts like an infrared thermal camera too."
Sweeping the entire visible river with it open, Hwan-in shivered with chill.
Blue shadows lurked along the bank and river he'd passed—six by visible count.
"Is the whole river their territory?"
Some crept toward the Beast-Head Monsters like chameleons, bipedally or quadrupedally.
Had he gone to the bank, he'd have been ambushed.
Attacker size: adult male. Tail maneuverable like a whip, about 2m long—not to be underestimated.
Mid-thought, the river assailant reached the bank, peeked out, and shot its tongue at the oblivious Beast-Head Monsters.
"Fast."
Frog-like tongue extended nearly 3m, wrapping a Beast-Head Monster's ankle.
He saw the jaws open, but not the tongue launch.
Kyaeeeeeng!!
Attack revealed its camouflage... The Lizardman retracted its tongue with a slurp, dragging the Beast-Head Monster into the water.
It clawed the gravel desperately but slid.
"Impressive tongue strength."
Nearly 30kg, yet pulled effortlessly.
Covered in white scales, the Lizardman grabbed the thrashing arms and submerged. As feeding began, other hidden Lizardmen pounced on the fleeing monsters.
"......"
Predator and prey were clear-cut.
They easily subdued the yapping, resisting Beast-Head Monsters and dragged them under.
The monsters flailed in panic, only to be snared one by one.
Hwan-in observed the Lizardmen's tactics closely.
Camouflage meant slow movement.
Proven by their lazy cat-like pace; bounding jumps were their fastest.
Not to underestimate. Two attack types, both hard for his dynamic vision to track.
One: tongue strike. Blunt-tipped like a frog's, concussing a Beast-Head Monster instantly.
Power like a pro boxer's bare punch.
Other: slender 2m tail.
Whipped with a ping, sending one flying meters—enough to fracture anywhere hit.
"Good thing pre-attack motions are big and obvious."
No tool use suggested low intelligence.
Kyaegaeng! Kyaeeeng!!
A waist-wrapped Beast-Head Monster clawed futilely at the Lizardman as dragged in; scales barely scratched.
Submerged, it thrashed briefly, bubbled like drowning, went limp. The Lizardman slowly tore into it underwater.
Blood spread like ink through the river.
Watching quietly, Hwan-in furrowed his brow slightly.
"Color schemes totally different from Beast-Head Monsters, yet it eats like it's normal. Safe?"
Some accumulate toxins, but...
"......I can't guarantee safety, so I'll stick to greenish creatures."
The hunt ended after seven Lizardmen each snagged one.
Only two Beast-Head Monsters escaped alive.
And moments later, the phenomenon Hwan-in anticipated began.