Affinity Farming (4)
Affinity Farming (4)
Kung.
A heavy vibration that twists the earth.
The only sound breaking the silence that had fallen upon the concrete forest, devastated by the contamination.
Kung.
Although the source of the sound isn't clearly visible, an instinctual terror that makes the heart ache presses down on the body, even through the Navigator's sensory sharing.
Hwaran, who was quite far from the rift, also had ragged breathing, and it seemed I could faintly hear the sound of her teeth grinding as she tried to overcome her fear.
Ku-ung——.
The group of Boblins that had been making a noisy ruckus were already kneeling, trembling, and bowing their heads, while Dolorence, who had been near the rift, was barely managing to stand by leaning her body against the spear shaft she had stuck into the ground.
Dung.
It revealed itself.
Dried out, yet simultaneously slimy mud. By the time the sand grains that seemed to be flying about touched the ground, they were dripping with moisture, making loud cheol-peok sounds.
On the pile of mud, which wasn't much different in size from Dolorence, only hollow, empty black holes—as if eye sockets had been punched out—were indifferently looking around.
Then, suddenly.
The mud's eye sockets, which had been moving here and there without pupils, met the Navigator's vision sensor.
Although the Navigator had a monitor that looked like eyes attached to its round exterior for friendliness, it was, in the end, nothing more than an output screen.
The vision sensor that acted as the actual eye was hidden deep inside the body.
But why is that thing, which doesn't even have pupils, making perfect eye contact with me?
-Hijeuk.
A thin arc was drawn onto the mud pile, then quickly disappeared.
W-wait, did it just look at me and smile?
No, why did that thing even appear right now in the first place?
-Ah-ah.
The sobbing mud. Gritty sand grains flowed out from between the dark holes and scattered in the wind.
The expression "sobbing" is incorrect.
Because that thing has no emotions. It is merely mimicking the final moments of the lifeforms it has devoured.
The crying sound, which didn't fit the situation and was just a plausible imitation, began to echo bizarrely as it spread emptily around.
-Heuk, heuk-heuk.
It is just crying.
However, the brains of the Boblins who had been bowing their heads around it couldn't withstand the crying sound and began to burst one by one.
Dolorence, who had been barely holding on by leaning on her spear, and Hwaran, who had been grinding her teeth to endure, couldn't withstand the pressure, and blood streamed from their noses, soaking the ground.
"What, what on earth is happening?"
Seora, who had been watching the scene from beyond the screen, was finally able to break the silence.
[A thing that shouldn't be here. Dolorence, can you move?]
"Heuk..., I can barely... stand, but...."
A breathless sound is heard.
Since it's merely in an un-reinforced state, it's not ready to face that thing yet.
The problem is that that thing is slowly approaching this place.
As for me, if I lose the Navigator, I can just consider it losing a tool, but that's not the case for the other two.
It's a good sign that it isn't interested in the two of them, but how many days can they last in this zone with the rift right next to them?
"...Director."
[Hwaran-ssi?]
"I, I think I can move. Catching it would be impossible, but... I think I can buy some time. I'll buy time, so please escape with Dolorence-ssi."
Hwaran, who is somehow managing to endure that contamination mass's mental attack and saying she can move.
Her courage is worth praising, but here, it's nothing more than recklessness.
Buying time, my foot. It'll be a miracle if she doesn't die for nothing.
[No. I'm sorry, but I'll have to buy time with the Navigator. It seems interested in me right now. Escaping the zone might be impossible, but if you're still alive, you can at least hope for a rescue, right?]
"But—."
[I'm sorry. This is the only way I can help right now.]
This is not the time to weigh this and that condition.
Without the Navigator, the two of them will wander the contaminated zone for a while, but regardless, Dolorence is a veteran and will be able to survive for a few days without food.
Because going hungry for a few days is better than being wiped out here.
And if they just hold their ground, there won't be a big problem.
Because I'm not just running away; I have a plan of my own.
[The first operation has become quite rough, but I believe Hwaran-ssi can do it. See you.]
Do-do-do.
The short-legged Navigator runs diligently in the opposite direction of the two.
It's not like I'm running myself, so what's with all the sweat soaking my hands?
But I have to protect the two of them.
[Seora-ssi, can you save the last coordinates and track the Navigator's coordinates in real-time?]
"Yes, I can."
[Please send the real-time coordinates to the Gung Office. Along with my name.]
"The Gung Office... Understood."
It'll probably work, right?
I have no certainty.
If that thing popped out at this point, it's already a situation that's a little, perhaps a lot, different from the game I know.
I have no choice but to gamble.
I turn the corner of the alley and burrow into the gaps of the debris of a destroyed building.
Thanks to my small body, I have to double my movement speed, but it's quite advantageous in these aspects.
The mud lump follows me leisurely, like an adult playing tag with a child.
When I burrow into narrow gaps, it turns into sand to follow, or when there aren't even such gaps, it swings its massive mud body to smash them and chases me joyfully.
How long did the chase continue?
Before I knew it, the Navigator reached a dead end, and as if confident in its victory in the game, the corners of the mud's mouth split open with a smirk.
-To think I'd reap such a big harvest here.
[How did you cross over the rift? You shouldn't have the power to do that yet.]
-Heh.... Do you know my identity?
The arc stretches out, drawing almost a semicircle.
The unidentified white bones and chunks of flesh that seem not yet digested, visible inside the slightly cracked gap, make my stomach churn.
-I thought I'd look for some Star Dust, but the Star was waiting for me. I'm so excited, you know?
[You know you'll be subjugated soon in your current state, right? If you go back quietly now, you might be able to keep that small handful of mud.]
-No, I've come this far, so I must have the Star.
Star.
That's what enemies in the game often said to the protagonist.
They only said hard-to-understand things like they came looking for the Star, or that they had to have the Star, and their exact purpose hadn't been revealed in the story so far.
At least it was certain that when the protagonist was present, they prioritized securing the protagonist over anything else.
Getting caught isn't a good choice, but....
Seu-reu-reuk.
The mud, crawling like a snake, completely wraps around and binds the Navigator.
-Where are you watching me from, Star?
The mud's gaze staring intently at the vision sensor.
Feeling like my head is half-penetrated, a groan comes out automatically, and drool flows down from the corner of my mouth.
A little, just a little more....
-Ahahaha, from there——.
Kwa-ang!
The concrete building explodes entirely, and the mud pile is shattered to pieces.
[A-geu-geuk....]
As I was groaning from the aftereffects left by the mud's gaze, a cheerful voice was heard.
"You said you were looking for me so desperately, honey."
Goosebumps rising on my forearms.
But at the same time, the strength drains out of my body as relief washes over me.
[Haa... you're here.]
"Of course. You called for me, how could I just stay still?"
Healthy brown skin that appeared with the sun at her back.
Green, sparkling eyes peeking through the backlight walk toward the Navigator.
"Honey, when did you get so cute?"
[Ugh. Let's deal with that thing first and then talk.]
"Oh my, it was alive? After getting hit by that?"
As the woman who came to save me turns her head at my words, the path of the mud retreating little by little catches my eye.
Must not let it get away.
[Can you subjugate it?]
"Of course, but you have to pay me back with your body☆?"
W, with my body?
Damn it, I don't know. I have to save our team first.
[Damn it, I don't know. Just do it.]
"Hehe, date, date...☆."
The woman, who put the Navigator down on the ground, sticks her hand between her massive cleavage and pulls something out with a su-uk.
That was... too huge to be a gun.
A cannon. A massive gun that looked more like a cannon slowly activates.
Woo-oong.
A mechanical cannon shining as if sucking in all the light around it.
Dung-dung. Du-dung. A cute "Yap!" sound follows the mechanical sound signaling it's fully charged. And.
Tu-kwa-a-a-ang!
A massive beam of light splits the ground and begins to perfectly burn the path the mud was escaping through.
...The light subsides soon after.
The thin, jjo-rok sound-making beam of light disappears, and nothing is left in the place it swept.
Just a huge, elongated hole dug diagonally into the ground.
"Phew, it wasn't even a big deal, right? You called me, so I was really nervous."
[It was a big deal, actually. It seemed like it wasn't the main body since it was trying to force its way out of the rift....]
"Hmm, is that so? Shall we go save the team you just put together now?"
You sent the rescue request at the same time, nice, Seora!
The woman who picks me up stuffs the Navigator right between her breasts.
[W, wait! Hey!]
The soft and warm sensation felt through the Navigator's sensory sharing.
"What's wrong? This is much more comfortable than carrying you in my arms."
The woman who walks along just fine, even though she probably can't see in front of her because of the Navigator's body.
[Ik, eek!]
"Uh-huh, why are you like this? This is the price for the rescue request. This is cheaper than sending you a bill, right?"
[......Haa.]
But with the small Navigator's body, all I can do is flail my short arms.
I have no choice but to give up quickly at the mention of money and stay quietly nestled.