19
Chapter 19
The morning after the Teddy Bear went missing.
Jjokkomi and Tosuni set out to find the lost Teddy Bear again today without fail.
Yesterday, they scoured the area around the Teddy Bear's dwelling.
And today, they were following the trail left behind by something massive that had swept through.
They thought that perhaps the Teddy Bear might be at the end of this trail.
"Woong!"
Tosuni was riding on Jjokkomi's back.
She was glaring ahead, her eyes burning with determination.
Her gaze showed she wouldn't miss even a single small clue related to the Teddy Bear.
As they continued moving forward.
"Woong?"
Something caught Tosuni's eye.
She immediately recognized it as a mangled corpse.
However, she couldn't yet tell who the corpse belonged to.
Because the distance was quite far.
It couldn't be our Teddy Bear, could it?
Tosuni urgently patted Jjokkomi's back.
"Woooooong!!!"
"Kku-o?"
Over there, hurry up and go forward!
Tosuni's intention was conveyed perfectly.
Jjokkomi increased her Speed and quickly approached the corpse.
After getting right in front of the corpse.
Hop!
Tosuni jumped down from Jjokkomi's back.
After checking the corpse up close, Tosuni breathed a sigh of relief.
It was so mangled that it was hard to recognize its shape, and she still couldn't tell what kind of creature it was, but it definitely wasn't the Teddy Bear. If it were the Teddy Bear, white stuffing would have been scattered around.
"Woong!"
Let's move again!
Tosuni leaped up and got on Jjokkomi's back.
However, Jjokkomi didn't take a step.
She was staring down at the corpse, smacking her lips.
"Kku-o, kku-o-o-o."
I'm hungry.
Can't we eat this before we go?
A gurgle echoed from Jjokkomi's stomach.
Hearing that sound, Tosuni jumped down from her back again.
She couldn't help it since her friend was hungry.
"Woong."
"Kku-o-o."
Munch, munch.
Nibble, nibble.
Tosuni ate the blood and organs.
Jjokkomi devoured all the remaining parts.
While eating the corpse like that, they also found a Mana Stone.
The two offered the Mana Stone to each other.
Neither of them backed down from yielding it.
It was their desire for their friend to eat the good stuff.
Eventually, they agreed not to eat the Mana Stone and to keep it instead.
Promising to give it as a gift when they met the Teddy Bear later.
Afterward.
Having finished their meal, the two resumed following the trail carved into the ground.
Time passed.
They continued to follow the tracks.
Meanwhile, a village subjected to Destruction came into view in the distance.
Jjokkomi stopped walking.
Then, she stared intently at the scene of the High Orcs restoring the village before asking Tosuni, who was riding on her back.
"Kku-o, kku-o-o-o?"
Should we go over to them and ask if they've seen our Teddy Bear?
"Woong? Woooong!"
Are you crazy? It's dangerous!
Tosuni was startled and tried to hold Jjokkomi back.
Those guys are stronger than us.
And they will eat us if they find us.
So we absolutely must not get closer.
Tosuni persuaded Jjokkomi.
Telling her that it was a shame, but they had no choice.
Asking to turn back since they could no longer follow the trail.
To keep following the trail, they unconditionally had to pass through that village.
A detour was impossible. Fog hung thick on both sides of the village.
Tosuni immediately realized that the fog was dangerous.
After Tosuni's persuasion, Jjokkomi eventually trudged back the way they came with weak steps.
***
During the dawn.
I paired up skills two at a time and performed Synthesis twice in total.
I held back on combining three or more skills.
I planned to try that once the number of skills became uncontrollably large.
The Synthesis results were as follows.
[Feeding lv.1] + [Magic Chef lv.1]
[Gourmet lv.1]
─(Feeding skill description)
─(Magic Chef skill description)
+Does not produce tasteless dishes.
[Bloodsucking lv.1] + [Hero lv.1]
[Bloodsucking Enhancement lv.1]
─(Bloodsucking skill description)
+Can activate a bloody Mana to wrap around the body.
+While active, power increases by 1 to 20 depending on the density of the bloody Mana.
The abilities of the skills used as materials remained completely intact.
On top of that, extra abilities were generated, or the abilities were even enhanced.
This Synthesis was also highly successful.
Nice, very nice.
I wanted to ride this momentum and immediately perform Synthesis on other skills too.
But unfortunately, that was impossible.
Because I could no longer use the Synthesis skill.
[Spinning Teddy Bear lv.19]
┗Pw.38 (+6)
┗Rnk.Uncommon
[Skill]
[Helper lv.1], [Evolution lv.2], [Action lv.2], [Teddy Bear Camouflage lv.1], [Bloodsucking Enhancement lv.1], [Flame Manipulation lv.3], [Synthesis lv.1 (Unavailable)], [Rolling lv.1], [Gourmet lv.1]
The skill list.
The text color for the Synthesis skill alone was dyed gray.
It seemed there was some sort of limit on the number of uses.
It probably wouldn't be permanently disabled.
If that were the case, the skill itself would have vanished from the list.
I didn't know how long it would take, but it would become usable again as time passed.
After finishing the Synthesis.
I stayed up all night with my eyes wide open, thinking about this and that.
As time flowed by like that,
The sun shone brightly! A refreshing and exhilarating morning arrived.
Heave-ho.
I hopped down from the tree.
I landed safely on the ground with a flawless, unwavering posture.
Now then, shall I head back to where the Slow Stone's corpse is?
But which way should I go?
I have no idea which direction I ran away from.
...Well, if I just wander around this area a bit, I'll probably find the place where the Slow Stone is.
Thinking complacently, I roamed the vicinity while leisurely trying out my flaming fists.
*
*
*
Hmm. I am in big trouble.
I ended up getting lost.
I walked all around this area the entire day, but there was not a single sign of the Slow Stone's corpse.
Just how far did I actually come?
It was already getting dark.
Eventually returning to my original spot, I climbed a tree and settled down.
It couldn't be helped.
I have no choice but to look for it again tomorrow.
Unlike today, I decided to try moving straight in one direction tomorrow.
It seems this place is incredibly far away from where the Slow Stone is.
What if I end up going in the exact opposite direction?
That's why I need to choose the direction carefully.
If I choose wrong, there will be no turning back, but I plan to trust my Luck again this time.
Because I am a Lucky Teddy Bear!
***
I was screwed.
After picking a direction.
A few days had passed since I kept heading that way.
Even so, I couldn't find the corpse of the Slow Stone.
Sensing that I had taken the wrong direction.
I turned around and used the Rolling skill to travel the opposite way.
Another few days passed like that.
I did not discover the corpse of the Slow Stone.
I even lost the spot with the tree where I spent the first night.
Oh my god.
To think I've become a lost Teddy Bear...
It was when I was sitting on the ground in despair.
Rustle.
A monster popped out from the bushes.
It was a monster with a familiar appearance.
[Thunder Ant lv.10]
┗Pw.20
┗Rnk.Uncommon
"Kii?"
Hello?
It's nice to see you here.
For some reason, it felt like meeting a friend from my hometown.
Of course, we were enemies back home.
For the record, it and I were strangers.
I had never seen a level 10 Thunder Ant in my hometown.
That species must have a wide habitat range.
"Kii-i...!"
The Thunder Ant was wary of me.
It didn't seem to have any intention of attacking first.
It seemed to instinctively know that I was stronger than it.
"Kii-i......."
It also looked a bit scared.
Hehe. My status has gone up a lot too.
I was no longer the weak Teddy Bear I used to be.
Shoo, shoo.
If you don't want to die, go away.
I signaled it to get lost with a hand gesture.
I'll make an exception and let you live.
Honestly, I didn't want to fight the Thunder Ant.
Should I say it felt a bit sketchy?
Because I witnessed that strange phenomenon of its body swelling up last time.
If Sleep punch hadn't activated, a dangerous situation might have occurred.
"Kii."
Hey! Are you not going?
I'm telling you to run away when I'm mercifully letting you go!
Or do you want a taste of my flame punch?
Whoosh-!
I created a fist-shaped flame.
"Ki, kii-i!"
Only then did the Thunder Ant run away as if its feet were on fire.
It was a very wise friend.
***
The Thunder Ant that had run away from the Teddy Bear.
It hadn't gone far before it encountered another enemy.
Their identity was Humans investigating this forest.
Among them were Monster Slayers, who specialized in hunting monsters.
One Slayer reacted immediately.
Drawing his weapon, he rushed toward the Thunder Ant that appeared before him.
Crunch-!
A long spear thrust down, piercing the Thunder Ant's head.
The Thunder Ant trembled violently before its movements stopped.
"Wow, nice!"
"Phew. It popped out of nowhere, so it startled me."
"This is a monster I've never seen before either."
"Fortunately, it wasn't a strong monster. I was worried it might be a ruthless one like the monster we saw earlier."
While the Slayers were having a brief conversation.
One Slayer noticed the anomaly in the corpse and shouted urgently.
"...Huh? E-everyone, step back from that monster!"
The Thunder Ant's body began to swell like a balloon.
The panicked Slayers quickly distanced themselves.
The Slayer holding the spear tried to attack the swelling Thunder Ant, but he couldn't leave a single scratch.
Its body grew enormous in an instant.
It slowly split in half.
Soon, a Human face was revealed from within.
Crack.
A torso grew beneath the Human face.
Subsequently, limbs sprouted grotesquely.
The twisted arms and legs quivered as they took their complete shape.
Small bolts of lightning were flickering in its eyes.
[Bugman lv.30]
┗Pw.120
┗Rnk.Rare
A type of Bugman.
An ant-humanoid monster that wields lightning.
It was the form it temporarily took through Evolution when the Thunder Ant lost its life.
Its lifespan was only 1 hour.
However, if it consumed another creature before its lifespan ended, it could revert back to a Thunder Ant.
"Wh-what is that?"
"A humanoid monster...?"
Zap-!
Sparks flew, and the Bugman's figure disappeared.
The Bugman's figure flashed here and there, repeatedly appearing and disappearing like lightning.
"Gah!"
One Slayer lost his balance and fell to his knees.
A massive hole was pierced through his chest.
"James!"
The head of the woman who cried out for James soared into the sky.
They couldn't react.
They couldn't keep up with its Speed.
They couldn't even see its movements.
One after another, the other Slayers began to die helplessly from the Bugman's attacks.
The last remaining Human belatedly realized the situation and tried to run away, but taking barely two steps was the best he could do.
His body was engulfed in lightning and burned to a crisp.
The forest became silent in an instant.
The Bugman looked down at the Human corpses piled beneath its feet.
And with its mouth wide open.
It noisily devoured one of the corpses.
A moment later.
[Thunder Ant lv.10]
┗Pw.20
┗Rnk.Uncommon
"Kii!"
The creature reverted back to a Thunder Ant.
After devouring the rest of the corpses, the Thunder Ant leisurely left the area.