[Author’s Note] Thanks for the support, recommendations, and coupons.
Chapter 16: The Old King’s Garden #3
Plop.
As I moved my legs, something delicate made a sound beneath my feet.
I couldn’t see anything, but I felt the presence of something small, about the size of my fist.
‘Is this Wu Jung-hwa?’
I bent down and extended my paw into the air.
I caught something transparent and fragile in my front paw.
It had the texture of freshly sprouted shoots or tender blades of grass.
When I lightly shook my paw, a clear droplet sound echoed from my palm.
‘What a wonder!’
I brought my paw close to my face and sniffed.
A gentle aroma wafted up, tickling my nose.
It was indescribable, yet clearly the fragrance of a flower.
What I was holding in my paw was probably a transparent flower.
Raindrops splattered in a flower shape in the air, giving me a hazy vision of the flower’s form.
‘So that’s why it’s called a flower that blooms on rainy days. On a clear day, it would be invisible!’
I brought my mouth closer and lightly licked what I thought was a petal.
Admiring a transparent flower beside a rain-kissed pond would be nice, but right now, what was more important to me was whether I could eat it for experience points.
I opened my mouth and swallowed the transparent flower in one gulp.
A bitter taste exploded in my mouth, and the flower’s aroma surged upward.
It felt almost like sipping a refreshing tea made from a flower that was more waterlogged than I expected.
【You have gained experience points.】
【You have leveled up.】
【Achievement ‘Not Everything Visible is Real’ achieved.】
【You have acquired the skill ‘Stealth’.】
‘Oh, what? I just leveled up not long ago. Now I’ve leveled up again?’
I grinned at the words floating in front of me, feeling rather pleased.
It seemed the flower I had just eaten must have been an incredible plant for me.
I couldn’t help but be amazed that not only did I gain experience points, but I also achieved an accomplishment.
Name: Alpha White Dog
Race: Magical Beast lv.13
Strength: 39
Agility: 35
Health: 39
Skills: ‘Omnivorous’ ‘Sturdy Claws’ ‘Low Frequency’ ‘Stealth Movement’ ‘Stealth’ ‘Dance of Courtship’ ‘Interbreeding’ ‘Frenzy’
I had rapidly leveled up by 2 levels in this garden.
Despite being dragged here out of nowhere, my thoughts had shifted to seeing this as a pretty good opportunity.
‘Incredible! Is there more?’
I sauntered around the pond, flailing my front paws in search of more transparent flowers.
If I could reach them, they would ring like tiny bells.
But no matter how much I flailed around the pond, I couldn’t hear any bell sounds.
‘Didn’t they say there were plenty?’
According to Mao, there were supposed to be many Wu Jung-hwa blooming around the pond.
With the word ‘many’ used, it had to be at least more than one.
I couldn’t shake off my obsession with rapid leveling and searched the pond’s vicinity like a crazed beast.
‘Hmm?’
As I continued searching in the rain, a rather large shadow loomed over me.
I perked up my ears at the sound of something fluttering above.
Something with wings was descending toward me.
It landed nearby and tilted its head.
━What are you?
It naturally started talking as if it were the most obvious thing.
Not one to back down, I opened my mouth to respond.
━I was about to ask! Who are you?
I initially thought it was just a large bird from its flapping wings, but up close, this creature was a bizarre beast.
I wasn’t sure calling it a beast was the right term.
It was a strange creature that masterfully blended a n*ked human form with that of a bird.
To be more precise, except for its face, upper body, and thighs, it bore the appearance of a feathered bird.
Its knees bent backward as its sharp, sturdy talons stood out, and what looked like wings grew from its shoulders, fully extended, appeared to be about two meters wide.
Its muscular thighs were taut and defined in a way that the abs looked like they had been chiseled out with a kn*fe.
Above all, the most remarkable part was the impressive br*asts protruding from its upper body.
Its skin was a healthy bronze, but the clean, pretty pink nipples stood out on its chest, and I automatically found myself captivated.
━I’ve never seen anything like you.
It tilted its head, looking me up and down.
Its blue eyes blinked as if surprised.
Long black feathers sprouted in spots like an Indian headdress, matching the color of its hair.
The bronzed skin of its face was that of a captivating beauty.
With slightly pursed lips and its blue eyes giving off a commanding vibe, it looked incredibly intelligent.
In my mind, creatures from myth that seduce men and eat them—like sirens or harpies—sprang to mind.
It landed gracefully in front of me and frowned with its eyebrow as if it couldn’t be bothered.
━What are you doing in the pond? Have you trespassed? How did you get in this garden?
Its voice was thin and pretty, but the tone was quite cold and stiff—I wouldn’t have guessed this creature with soft-looking br*asts would speak like that.
It circled around me.
It seemed that all beasts in this world had to spin around newcomers as a form of greeting.
━What are you doing here?
It shot another question my way.
Birds are said to have poor memories, so maybe it had forgotten it had already asked me that.
It stood confidently in front of me, looking down.
This creature was about twice my size; maybe similar to the body of Witch Eve.
Being glaringly looked down upon by it with its blue eyes was no small pressure.
━I’m a guest of Lao-Hoo Mao. Don’t be so wary.
━A guest of the lady?
Upon hearing the name Lao-Hoo Mao, its sharp gaze relaxed a bit.
It appeared that the name ‘Lao-Hoo’ had a more positive impact in this garden than I’d originally thought.
I puffed my chest proudly, hoping not to seem like a suspicious person.
━I’m Mao’s lifesaver. That’s why I can roam this garden.
━Hmm, a lifesaver, I guess you must be a guest after all. No one can enter this garden without permission from the lady or elder.
━What happens if one enters without permission?
I suddenly got curious and asked.
━Are you talking about intruders?
Soon, the bird woman gave me a cold smirk and let out a strange laugh.
━You’ll be shredded by my claws and become compost for this garden. In fact, many bones are buried beneath this soil.
━Ah.
I felt as if I began to grasp what kind of place I was standing on.
The delicious fruits and vegetables I had munched on were not soaked in a farmer’s sweat and bl**d, but rather mixed with the bl**d and flesh of intruders.
‘Could I win if I fought it? It looks quite strong.’
I couldn’t help but glance at its impressive and bouncy-looking br*asts.
Compared to Eve’s, which seemed infinitely soft and squishy, this one looked bouncy enough to push my hand away.
━What? Do you have something to say? Why are you staring at me?
As if sensing my gaze, the bird lady covered her br*asts with her wings.
Was she actually feeling shy about being stared at while going around n*ked?
Seeing her get bashful made me feel awkwardly bashful myself.
I panicked and stammered out a defense, like someone caught in the act.
━No, um, well, I’m actually looking for Wu Jung-hwa. I can’t seem to find it anywhere.
━You’re foolish. Isn’t Wu Jung-hwa right in front of your eyes?
The bird lady spread her other wing wide.
The dark feathers pointed right at the center of the pond.
━That’s it.
━Where?
But to my eyes, it only looked like a regular blooming lotus.
━Where’s Wu Jung-hwa then?
━The flower blooming right in the center of that pond is Wu Jung-hwa.
━Huh?
I felt a jolt at the back of my head as if something was off.
It seemed that the lotus flower was indeed Wu Jung-hwa, just like I initially thought.
━No…
Then what was the transparent flower I made that bell sound with?
I was dizzy, unable to comprehend what I had devoured.
Despite my still cooling chest, I subtly asked a question.
━Then what about the transparent flower? The one that makes that dangling bell-like sound.
━That’s a Mandrake. Commonly called the Everlasting Snow Three. It’s Lao-Hoo’s treasure, found in this garden.
━T-treasure?
━Yes. It’s a very rare plant. There’s probably only one of it in this entire forest. Because it’s inherently invisible and moves around, finding it isn’t easy. Have you ever seen one?
━No, never. I truly haven’t. I’ve only heard rumors. I was hoping to catch a glimpse of it, but what a shame.
I lied through my teeth with a straight face.
The bird lady snickered as if she were above me.
━Hmph, that would make sense. I haven’t seen it either. I’ve only heard rumors that it’s somewhere here. They say fights break out among the forest owners over that flower. I would love to see what kind of flower it is.
She bragged about it as if it were her property.
━Cough, cough. I see.
I felt cold sweat trickling down my body.
If it hadn’t been raining, my fur would’ve been soaked in the sweat I was pouring out.
It made me wonder what someone who broke an expensive vase in a museum would feel like.
I felt a chill of anxiety upon realizing that the transparent flower I had eaten was a prized possession.
Whether it was a magpie or the Everlasting Snow Three talked about, the situation was getting worse, dragging me further into a fire pit, all without even meeting Lao-Hoo.
Now that I thought about it, I vaguely recalled Mao mentioning something about her father’s treasure when I entered the garden.
‘Was that the flower? There’s no doubt it had an incredible effect.’
The power of the transparent flower, the Everlasting Snow Three, was enough to level up and gain skills all at once.
Even if the forest’s owner cherished it as a treasure, it made sense.
‘I should definitely find a way out and escape.’
I worked diligently, my mind racing for a good plan.
The silver lining was that, since it was originally transparent and hard to spot, there was a chance my eating it wouldn’t be discovered.
If it were to be found out, it would take quite a bit of time.
In the meantime, I could only hope to escape this western forest.
I anxiously rolled my eyes, lost in thought.
The blue-eyed bird lady, watching me, narrowed her gaze.
━More importantly, what kind of beast are you? You look like a feline, but also somewhat like an extinct Ratel, with spikes on your back. Are you a hedgehog?
It seemed the bird was unwilling to give up its curiosity about me.
Should it start keeping a record of intruders, perhaps?
If I revealed myself as a magical beast, who knows what would happen? So I decided to make up a decent answer.
━I’m a Ratel Edge Hog.
━Ratel Edge Hog… that’s a name I’ve never heard before. Not from the Western Forest, huh?
━And you, what kind of animal are you? A sparrow?
I was curious about what this enticing bird was.
Even if I would leave the west soon, I wanted to know what this magnificent creature was.
━A sparrow!?
It raised its voice sharply, its brows furrowing.
━I am Harpy Salome! How dare you equate me with that sparrow Pepe? Even as a lady’s guest, that’s incredibly rude!
It fluffed the feathers in its wings and hair. It seemed rather furious.
━And I’m not a sparrow; I’m a swallow!
━A swallow?
━Behold, my proud tail feathers!
It quickly turned around.
Indeed, two long, magnificent tail feathers flowed down from its back all the way to its rear.
From the back, it looked like a gentleman in a tailcoat.
I unconsciously reached out to touch the long, flowing tail feathers.
At that moment, this Harpy Salome shrieked a loud, bizarre sound and trembled.
━You! How dare you touch me!
━I thought you said to look at it!
━I said to look! When did I say to touch it? How dare you lay a hand on my body; especially those sensitive tail feathers… even as a lady’s guest, I can’t tolerate this anymore!
With a powerful flap of its wings, it soared into the sky.
Then let out a loud screech toward the ground.
━It’s a duel!
