65th Chapter
22. The Magical Beasts, Evolution, and Great Escape #1
“It’s been decades since my head hurt this much.”
Ilgast paced nervously inside the cave.
I, the Raccoon, casually shuffled the letters marked with my name before addressing Ilgast.
━ So, can I take off now? I’ve finished all the errands, right?
“Yeah, I’m helpless on my own. You should rest up for tomorrow’s festival. With typical preparations, you might end up getting hurt. Seriously.”
━ Ah, yes. Then I’ll be off.
I was a bit surprised that Ilgast was letting me go so easily. I expected a long lecture about magic spells and names.
Maybe Ilgast thought he couldn’t do much by himself. Perhaps he planned to reach out to Eve or get help shortly.
I slowly made my way out of the cave.
The rainy season had passed, but the setting sun painted the sky a gloomy hue, signaling that night would soon engulf everything.
━ Did you share everything? It seems like the Elder is quite fond of you. I’ve never seen such favoritism apart from Lord Lao-Hoo.
━ So it was favoritism after all.
I had noticed a strangely warm and kind demeanor, but hearing about the favoritism left me a bit stunned.
Maybe Ilgast liked my first impression of him. He might even hold some expectations, knowing I’m a Magical Beast.
‘He mentioned names and destinies. It sounded like a headache just listening to it.’
I snorted and shook my head, brushing away the thoughts.
After shaking off all the fur, I felt surprisingly refreshing, almost as if it were becoming a habit.
━ You should shake it off from a distance. Anyway, I’m heading back now.
Salome declared my intentions with a solemn voice.
━ Where to?
━ Lord Lao-Hoo’s garden. I got permission from the Elder, and I should prepare for tomorrow’s festival there.
━ Ah, I see. That makes sense.
It seemed like I was inevitably sticking to the plan of joining the festival. The fact that I had eaten the eternal snow ginseng as a reward created a tightening sensation of anxiety in my heart. I had to figure out a way to escape this situation somehow.
‘Since I need to evolve, I should leave quickly.’
Finding Leaf’s cave would have been nice, but meeting up with Leaf had become a secondary concern.
He may often seem a bit clueless, but the guy was a veteran beast, having survived fifteen years in this forest with a weak Raccoon’s body.
‘Even if I don’t take care of him, he’s probably already headed south or something. He’ll manage on his own.’
I decided to focus solely on my own safety.
While I brainstormed various options in my head, no convincing excuses or brilliant ideas seemed to pop up.
━ I need to fly away quickly while the sunset is still on. It’s a short distance from here to Lord Lao-Hoo’s garden, so I should be fine before night falls.
━ Hey.
I halted Salome, who was about to soar into the sky with wings flapping.
Salome raised an eyebrow at me, seemingly asking, “What’s the matter?”
‘Will a lie work?’
I stammered through the best excuse I had thought of in advance.
━ Tomorrow is an important event; I’d like to be alone tonight.
━ What does that even mean? What could being alone have to do with an important event?
Salome frowned, clearly confused.
━ Well, I might d*e tomorrow, so I need some time to prepare myself mentally. A man needs his alone time, after all.
━ Alone time, huh…
Salome’s expression seemed to toggle between understanding and seeking to understand, making an “Hmm” sound.
I wished I had a more believable and solid excuse, but it was the best my brain could muster at the moment.
━ I’ve heard that males need alone time. Well, it’s understandable you’d be anxious with a big event tomorrow. Fortunately, I know a great spot.
As Salome took off into the air, she seized my arm.
I was whisked up, swinging like a fish trapped in an eagle’s talons as she lifted me into the sky.
━ Where is this?
Salome had brought me to the top of an extraordinarily tall tree that seemed to stretch infinitely.
What looked like a nest made of intertwined branches was nearby.
With black feathers scattered about, I had a good hunch about where we were.
━ This is my home.
Salome said it nonchalantly.
The various feathers adorning the nest must have belonged to her.
━ But you said you wanted to be alone.
━ This place will be empty tonight. I have to prepare for the festival all night, so I need to go into Lord Lao-Hoo’s territory.
She looked upward into the tree and sky before confidently stating,
━ No one will come looking for you. So enjoy your alone time worry-free.
━ Well, if possible, I’d prefer another place…
I peered down from the nest.
Whether it was the thick fog settling down or just the incredible height, I couldn’t see the ground at all.
The thick tree swayed like a well-cooked sausage in the breeze.
━ Don’t worry. Even in a storm, the tree won’t break and the house won’t collapse. This tree’s roots are one of those that have independent ties with the World Tree.
The mention of the World Tree’s roots was quite impressive, but I had no time to focus on that.
━ No, it’s not about collapsing. How do I get down from here?
━ Don’t worry about coming down. I’ll come to pick you up early tomorrow morning.
I felt an uneasy sense of ‘this isn’t right’ with Salome’s excessive kindness.
Once more, I looked down beneath the tree.
‘Can I come down alone? Can I do this?’
From past experiences climbing trees, I knew it was easy to claw my way up but much harder to get down.
‘If I slip just once, I’m toast.’
I had been planning to take the opportunity after evolving to make my escape south, but things weren’t going as smoothly as I hoped.
Now I was even pondering about needing to survive the festival and come out on top.
━ Anyway, I’m leaving. You just focus on calming yourself.
With those final words, Salome dived down towards the ground with vigor.
Like she was diving off a waterfall, she shot straight down before soaring magnificently, unfurling her wings.
In no time, she disappeared from my sight.
━ This is not what I wanted.
I plopped down in the spacious nest that could easily be referred to as an apartment studio.
The nest was reasonably flat and comfortable.
Thanks to the plush feathers piled around me, it felt like I was sinking into a luxurious feather blanket.
Occasionally, the nest would sway to the point I feared it might break, but according to Salome, this tree was sturdy, so I didn’t worry too much.
‘For now, I’ll evolve here and then think things over.’
I stared at the three options in front of me, contemplating my next move.
Which of these choices would lead to the best outcome?
Choosing when to evolve was always a matter of deep consideration and hesitation.
The fear of picking wrong and regretting it for the rest of my life filled me with indecision.
‘Let’s try eliminating them one by one.’
I aimed to consider the options among Curry Rex, Madashi Military Frog, and Puallaire Black Deer, excluding one for the time being.
‘Frog seems the least impactful among the three.’
The frog offered the least bang for the buck.
Unless I could become poisonous like a poison dart frog, the description for Madashi Military Frog stated that it couldn’t use any poison.
‘So it’s down to two now.’
Curry Rex sounded like a dinosaur that oozed strength, while the Puallaire Black Deer seemed like an intriguing choice due to its association with Ilgast.
‘I suppose the final evolution of the Puallaire Black Deer would lead to becoming like Ilgast.’
Thinking back on Ilgast’s words about how much effort he put in to attain his position as the Elder of the western forest.
He claimed he became the forest ruler without any talent, just through countless efforts.
‘In other words, the black deer might possess physical strength strong enough to become forest ruler even without talent?’
With the assumption of tear-inducing effort in play, I had eight talents that Ilgast lacked.
Some were reportedly exceptional enough to become the ruler of the forest with just one alone.
‘For now, let’s put it on hold….’
I slowly shifted my gaze to the words “Curry Rex.”
‘King of the Wild…strong claws, sharp teeth, and a formidable tail.’
Just reading it exuded an essence of strength and toughness.
I envisioned Yan-Mite roaring boisterously, slicing through bushes and trees.
He certainly looked the part to deserve the title “King of the Forest.”
If it weren’t for the unique example of Ilgast, I would not have hesitated to pick this one.
Stuck between the dilemma of choosing a dinosaur or a deer, my mind felt overwhelmed.
How great would it be if I could watch evolution strategy videos or read some reviews?
Realizing that everything rested solely on my choice made my hands freeze.
‘Up until now, one choice shined head and shoulders above the rest.’
If I were to go through two or more evolutions in the future, would I face more difficult options like this?
Because as I grew stronger, I would be able to prey on even mightier animals, which would undoubtedly be enticing and powerful beasts themselves.
‘Dinosaur? Deer?’
After agonizing for many minutes, I finally made my decision.
‘Alright. It’s settled.’
I pointed to the chosen option with my front paw’s claw.
As soon as I did, an incongruous sound like “Ding!” echoed, and my vision faded to black.
As usual, a pleasant drowsiness washed over my head like a pink haze.
Since I was already lying down, I didn’t have to worry about collapsing; I surrendered to the waves of consciousness.
Floating in blissfulness, I lost myself completely.
【Evolution Complete.】
How much time had passed? As I groggily opened my eyes, I felt something strange around my rear.
The world was still pitch dark; it seemed like it would take a while for the sun to rise.
‘Did I evolve?’
I moved my body around a bit.
My limbs didn’t feel much different, making it hard to determine whether the evolution had succeeded or not.
Raising my body, I stumbled a little at the unexpected distance I felt.
‘What’s this? The nest feels oddly cramped now. Did it grow a bit?’
Since the nest couldn’t have shrunk from just a day’s time, I suspected my size had increased.
I’d need to check my size against Raccoon Leaf or other beasts to know for sure.
‘Something feels off.’
I felt a peculiar sensation around my rear end that had been nagging at me since earlier.
Curious, I stretched my front paw back and touched around my rear only to discover something incredible had sprouted there.
‘A tail?!’
I had grown a long, bushy tail, reminiscent of a fox or raccoon.
While I did have a tail before, it was short and blunt like a bunny’s, so I hardly paid it any attention, making this change quite remarkable.
‘Wow, what the heck.’
I marveled, fondling my tail.
Beneath the plush fur was a squishy muscle-packed tail.
Just like when my horn had grown, it felt strange and unfamiliar to touch a body part that wasn’t there before.
‘What’s this? Why is it moving on its own?’
My tail thrashed back and forth like a car’s windshield wiper.
I didn’t intend for it to move, nor did I know how, but it was swaying back and forth as if I had pressed a button.
‘I definitely need to learn how to control this tail. It’s going to be handy going forward.’
The evolution choice I made was Curry Rex.
I’d considered the sense-enhanced Black Deer too, but the strength of a deer just didn’t resonate with me.
In that sense, the intuitive and primal strength of the Rex seemed like a substantial advantage.
What I felt I needed now wasn’t sense like smell or hearing but a powerful strength like that of a dinosaur.
I had struggled against Kublai and Suka not because of lack of sense but because I lacked strength.
‘I want to test just how strong I’ve become. But more importantly, how do I make this tail stop?’
I gripped my tail tightly with my front paws in hopes of calming it down.
Being trapped in my embrace, the flailing tail suddenly quieted down.
‘It better not start moving again on me!’
Watching my tail, now limp and still, I finally let out a sigh of relief.
‘Okay, what to do next?’
I peeked outside from the nest.
A pitch-black abyss gaped like a bottomless pit, obstructing my view a few inches ahead.
If I were to fall from here, no matter how much I evolved, dreadful things awaited me.
‘Still, I need to get out of here quickly. If I don’t, I’ll definitely get sucked into that fatal festival or whatever it is.’
I dug through my nest, searching for anything that could aid my escape.
I knew rummaging through someone’s home when they weren’t around was quite rude, but right now, moral standards didn’t matter much to me.
‘Should I use these feathers to try making wings or something?’
As I spent time digging through feathers, stories of Icarus and Daedalus making wings from wax came to mind.
Of course, that was absurd, and there seemed to be no other solutions, so I figured I might as well look through the feathers a bit more.
‘Huh?’
At that moment, I felt something hard knock against me through the feathers.
‘What’s this? A rock?’
As I pulled out a round object with my paw, I recognized it as something I had felt before.
‘An egg?!’
It was an egg slightly larger than my fist.
Why on earth would there be an egg in a nest? It seemed pretty clear that eggs only belonged in bird nests.
‘Do harpies lay unfertilized eggs?’
The cold, empty egg had no warmth to it.
Thinking a human-shaped bird laid an egg filled me with a strange sense of wonder, and just as I was about to return the egg to its original place, I heard a voice.
━ Zzzz, look who moved in! An egg thief, huh?
A sultry voice sweeter than honey dulled my ears.
Having received minimal training from Ilgast, I instinctively realized the voice emanated from right above me.
━ Oh, cr*p.
Looking up, a wave of fear surged through me as I spotted a figure hanging upside down.
A women with a black body was dangling from the thick tree trunk, her eyes locked on me.
[Author’s Note] Thank you! If you enjoyed reading, please press the recommendation button at the top of the mobile screen. A two-second gesture can gift a writer a happy day!
