[Author’s Note] Thank you! If you spot any typos, please let me know. T_T Also, thank you for any early favorites and recommendations. I’m really grateful to everyone who gave me coupons too!
27th episode
9. Elixir026 – Elixir #2
Woof, woof, the raptors squawked loudly.
Their shining eyes flickered through the trees in the forest. It was clearly the gaze of hunters looking for openings.
But no one dared to pounce.
“Alone at night is no fun. With you here, though, it feels cozy. Just look at those hunter owls doing nothing.”
Despite saying that, Leaf was trembling on his legs.
Every rustle made Leaf perk up his ears and react overly dramatic.
“Y-yeah, but it’s still scary. I have no idea what might pop out. Ugh.”
“Hey, don’t be too scared. You’re making me nervous too. You insisted we had to do this at night.”
Of course, I was just as jumpy.
Even though I had gotten quite strong, wandering around at night was still unfamiliar territory. Who knew what sort of creatures lurked in that darkness?
My anxious premonition proved right when a giant scorpion, as big as my body, burst from the underbrush. I silently screamed inside.
Zzzzz.
Its bright crimson eyes reflected off my white fur as it snapped its pincers together, ready to spring.
I growled, baring my claws.
It was a scorpion, so it had to be poisonous. And being so big probably meant its venom was something fierce.
But I knew from experience that most poison didn’t work on me.
So if I had to be careful, it was probably about that stinger and those pincers coming at me.
Its shell looked pretty sturdy; would my claws even pierce it?
Just then, Leaf, the raccoon, tiptoed in front of me.
“W-wait. Z-z-z… huh?”
In the face of the urgent situation of battling a gigantic arthropod, Leaf made a strange sound. It was similar to the sounds spiders and scorpions made.
“Um, not quite what I expected. Zz…?”
“Zzzz.”
“What are you saying?”
“Shh! Be quiet. Zz…!”
“Zzz!”
An odd communication passed between us. The scorpion reacted by raising its pincers and tail.
Could we actually understand each other?
“I-it’s going to be fine now. This one can communicate.”
After a moment of suspicious back-and-forth, Leaf let out a sigh of relief.
“Zz…”
The scorpion soon turned its body and disappeared back into the bush it had come from.
“Wait, we can talk to scorpions now? What did it say?”
“I told it you’re the one who killed the Snake Queen. The Snake Queen and the scorpions had a bad relationship. Since you saved its kin from the Snake Queen, it decided not to eat us today.”
“Wow, we had such a complicated conversation.”
It was a relief to dodge a pointless fight. A giant scorpion really was a sight that didn’t look appetizing at all.
“Do you want to learn too? The language of those many-legged ones? You’d pick it up quickly; it only took me a month!”
“No, thanks.”
I shook my head at Leaf’s offer.
If it took that critter a month to crack the bizarre arithmetic of their language, it might take me a lifetime, being the average thinker I am.
I wasn’t in a position to spend my brainpower learning such a weird language.
“Being out here at night makes my heart race for some reason. Feels like I’m up to no good.”
The raccoon padded softly on the sand, whispering.
His feelings mirrored those of me when I sneaked out for midnight snacks back in elementary school.
“Keep it down. We don’t want to attract any other beasts with your noise.”
I was moving stealthily, minimizing any traces of my presence, so my odds of getting caught by the other beasts were minimal.
If scary beasts showed up, it’d likely be thanks to this raccoon.
But I couldn’t just leave him alone since I didn’t know the way to Yan-Mite’s cave. I had to keep him as quiet as possible.
I perked up my ears and sharpened my senses.
I focused intently, catching every rustle of leaves and the sound of insects chirping.
—
From my right, a little further away, I caught a heavy thud, thud of footsteps.
“How much longer until we arrive at the cave?”
“About half a day? It feels different at night, so I can’t tell well.”
“No time for complaining. Let’s cover the distance. If you want to speed up, go ahead.”
At my serious tone, Leaf nodded, seeming to understand. I continued to focus on those heavy footsteps.
Thud. Thud. The heavy noise echoed through the forest.
“Do you hear that…?”
Leaf also perked up, his fur bristling.
I could guess it wasn’t someone we’d want to meet, being a beast wandering around at night.
‘…Huh? The footsteps are coming this way.’
To add to that, the intervals of those thuds started to shorten, as if whatever it was was quickening its pace.
“Hey, how about we hide up in a tree for a bit?”
Panicking, Leaf shouted as it sensed the large presence.
Instead of replying, I clamped down on the scruff of Leaf’s neck and scrambled up into the tallest tree nearby.
Hiding behind a thick branch, Leaf and I held our breaths, blending with nature. The approaching footsteps surrounded us, shaking the ground.
The raptors that were happily screeching fell silent all at once.
All that could be heard was the eerie whisper of the wind and the rustle of branches. And the footsteps of some unknown creature.
Thud.
It stopped right beneath the tree where we were hiding. Cold shivers ran down my back.
‘What is that…?’
What I assumed was a beast turned out to be something entirely different. Below us was an incredibly bizarre creature that looked like a bloated blob with squirming tentacles, wriggling like a caterpillar.
It stood on two legs like a human but had an exceptionally long neck akin to a giraffe or snake.
It must have been around twice my size.
All the creatures I had encountered in this forest until now had at least some resemblance to beings from the world I knew, but this one could very well be labeled a monster outside my comprehension.
Honestly, I didn’t want to look at it, let alone understand it. I just hoped to get through this moment unscathed.
Sniff, sniff. It raised its long neck to smell the ground.
‘Wait, is it tracking us?’
After a long while of sniffing at the ground, it suddenly made an unsettling cracking noise with its joints and bones as it trembled in an odd manner.
A jingly bell-like sound echoed from its body.
Listening to that disturbingly clear sound made me feel like I was plunged into a nightmare or horror movie scene.
My heart raced. It was beating so loudly I thought it might give us away, so I pressed my forepaws against my chest to quiet it.
“T-that’s the Duoksini…”
The raccoon Leaf whispered with tiny voice.
His eyes were filled with fear, ready to burst into tears at any moment.
“Kreeek. Kreeeek, hee hee. Heheh, kiiiiik.”
From the monster’s small mouth came a high-pitched, childlike voice that was indistinguishable from laughter or crying.
It twisted its body and soon lifted its head, scanning the tree above.
When I locked eyes with its four grotesquely torn appendages, it felt like my heart might just stop.
The monster’s pale face split open in a way I couldn’t have anticipated, revealing countless razor-sharp teeth.
“Kek! Found you! The rich scent of magic.”
Its long neck coiled upward like a snake toward the tree. Panicking, I drew up my claws to strike its head.
But just then, the forest erupted in a massive rustle.
A gigantic figure burst forth with a roar, “Kaaaah!” that resonated through the earth.
“Get out of my forest, you lowly fiend!”
“Kreeeeek! Heek!”
With the giant roar came a constant stream of screams. I watched closely from my perch in the tree, intrigued.
A massive bipedal lizard was tearing into the monster. It was a sight I recognized all too well.
“That’s Yan-Mite…! The lord of the forest is here.”
Leaf exclaimed in a soft voice, brightening up.
“Get out of here now!”
“Kreeek! The rich scent of magic…! I can find my body with that! Don’t interfere!”
Countless tentacles wrapped around the dinosaur’s body. The dinosaur Yan-Mite, biting and clawing at the tentacles, finally managed to snap the monster’s long neck with a sickening crunch.
“Ah, no. My magic…!”
The monster’s bizarre body began to shrink rapidly. Its cries subdued to a small squeak, barely resembling a m*an.
“Hmph, you were nothing special.”
Yan-Mite spat out a muddy, bl**d-like fluid onto the ground. Soon, it raised its head and glanced at the tree.
I nearly got caught in its gaze, scrambling to hide behind the leaves in a hurry.
“How long are you going to keep watching? That young beast up there reeks of inexperience. Hiding is useless. You’re not unaware of my talent, 《Tracking》, are you?”
“Uh, what do we do? I think it’s found us.”
Leaf looked at me, eyebrows raised. In a moment, I racked my brain to think how to get out of this situation.
‘Wait, do I really need to hide from that thing? We were on our way to meet it, after all.’
I began to see it as a golden opportunity to cut down the errand time.
More than anything, given how terrifying and bizarre the Duoksini was, the dinosaur suddenly seemed cute in comparison.
I peeked out between the leaves. At the same time, I locked eyes with the dinosaur’s enormous green orb.
“You…”
“You’re Yan-Mite, right? I’m here on Witch Eve’s errand.”
“What!? That Eve’s?”
With a growl, Yan-Mite bared its fangs in anger.
I felt like I had just pressed a button I shouldn’t have.
*
“The southern forest at night has been quite chaotic the past few days. You’d do well to rest in my nest until the sun rises.”
“N-no, I’m fine… cough.”
Before I could refuse, that gigantic mouth clamped down on my neck. It felt like I was about to be gobbled up, but instead, the dinosaur raised me and Leaf onto its shoulder.
“Now that I mention it, you’re on a witch’s errands, huh? Hmph, do you know how much torment I’ve endured while serving under that woman?”
Thud. Thud. My vision rocked violently. Leaf and I found ourselves riding atop Yan-Mite, traversing through the forest.
The ride was bumpy and shaky from up high, and I felt a bit nauseated, but I dared not voice it.
“Ugh, my head is spinning.”
Leaf was foaming at the mouth, practically rolling his eyes back in shock.
It made sense, really. Who wouldn’t react this way perched atop a massive carnivorous dinosaur?
“That woman stripped all my scales and doused them in stinging potions. It was quite the ordeal, cutting off and experimenting with my tail’s regeneration—you know, as her servant, that’s just the way it is. You’d best quit while you can.”
“I’m not her servant though.”
“Oh, I see. I misunderstood. I thought you might be my junior.”
Yan-Mite burst into fits of laughter for a dinosaur.
“I’ve heard you’re a ferocious one, yet surprisingly reasonable too. My assessment of you just got a few levels up.”
“What was that creature earlier? Leaf said it was a Duoksini.”
“Duoksini, or ghost, as it’s called. Among the things that live in the forest, it’s one of the ugliest. You can’t really call it alive. It’s more like a remnant of mythical creatures and gods, ashes from the fire. If you run into those dangerous ones, you better flee immediately. But what about you, what kind of beast are you? A wolf?”
“Nope. I’m…”
I hesitated over whether to mention I was a Magical Beast Behemoth. I quickly shook my head and made up a vague response.
“I’m a Ratel.”
“What? A Ratel? The soft, squishy one? Are you really a Ratel?”
“I misspoke. I’m actually a wolf.”
“Hmph, a wolf, huh? Wolves don’t look like you. They’re generally more unpleasant. Especially that Kublai is exceedingly unpleasant.”
“I get what you mean. Kublai is indeed quite a despicable character.”
“You know your stuff. Have you met Kublai?”
“That guy destroyed my house.”
“Oh dear, wolves are just like that. And no need to use honorifics with me. I’m not like that lady snake queen El-Gasa. Your politeness makes my scales itch.”
“Oh, I see. So, yes, you actually had a sister. Is she older?”
“Yes, we are twins born from the same egg. I don’t know where El-Gasa is right now, but there are rumors she’s dead. No way! I can’t believe that woman could d*e.”
How on earth a dinosaur and a giant snake could be twins was puzzling.
But since both lizards and snakes are of the same reptilian kind, maybe it made sense. I decided not to dwell on it too much. Such deep thinking was just a waste of calories.
‘But what happens if it finds out I ate its sister…?’
While I was stuck in thought, the dinosaur Yan-Mite chimed in.
“Oh, we can see it now. That big cave over there is my home.”
