Comment and Coupon Gratitude, Thank You All. Chapter 178
56. Magical Beast and Little God 177 – Magical Beast and Little God #3
The ammo depot where I worked was perched atop a high hill, strategically set up to keep an eye on the sloping paths leading up and down. Behind it lay an empty space of about 20 meters and a shooting range, all fenced in by iron bars and wire mesh to keep out any pesky wild animals or pesky interlopers.
Now, why am I rambling about all this? Well, this outpost and that wide-open space were the last bastions of my freedom to move around.
If I dared to venture down the hill or crossed the iron fence to escape, somehow, I’d find myself back at the outpost, as though I’d never left.
“No matter what, I can’t get out of here. It’s like I’m tied to this spot… Seriously? Am I really going to spend a hundred years here?”
Military life dragged time at a leisurely pace, and with the lack of tension, my final days were boring as all hell, especially during this time of eternal watch.
Hadn’t somebody maliciously conspired against me to end up in this scenario?
“I’m really going to d*e of boredom here…”
I lost track of how much time had passed. The sun blazed high in the sky, refusing to budge, and the cicadas were screaming their heads off like karaoke champions.
“…”
Thank goodness there was a junior soldier with me. Or was that “thank goodness”? I could only see his lips and his white, neat teeth peeking out from under the shadows of his bulletproof helmet.
His presence felt more like a stationed NPC than a living human being.
“Hey.”
I confronted the back of the junior’s head, steadfastly doing his duty.
“Did you call for me?”
He didn’t bother turning around, just throwing me a response. A textbook soldier’s attitude, sure, but to my boredom-riddled self, it felt rather cold-hearted.
“Tell me something fun.”
There’s nothing better for killing time than a good conversation. I decided to engage in talk with this NPC-like dude and survive this endless hundred years together.
The junior began speaking in a calm tone like a mechanical announcer from the radio.
“What happens when you eat spaghetti on a hot day? You get humidity.”
“Oh my goodness.”
“What if you pick up a tree on the street? Wood-duck. What happens when you cook soup with a lion? Animal Kingdom.”
“Okay, okay, stop! I can’t take any more; time’s dragging on!”
I desperately interrupted his rambling before I completely froze over. Trying to be clever clearly wasn’t working.
“What on earth am I supposed to do to last a hundred years here?!”
I banged my head against the wall and even jumped around the empty space, flapping like a madman. But the world stayed resolutely peaceful while the second hand of the clock moved at a snail’s pace.
“If this keeps up, I might seriously lose my mind…”
As I was munching on dirt, a revelation struck me. Was this what Adonai meant when warning about losing one’s sanity?
“Terrifying. This place is hell.”
In this tiny ammo depot space, truly a minuscule world inside a jar, I was like a fish flopping around.
“Maybe all of this is just a dream. Am I…?”
Zhuangzi once wondered whether he was a man dreaming he was a butterfly or a butterfly dreaming he was a man. I was now questioning whether I was a soldier dreaming of becoming a magical beast or if the beast was now dreaming of being a soldier as my sanity wavered.
“Just thinking is exhausting.”
The easiest thing would be to switch off my brain and become one with nature, emptying my consciousness like some zen master.
I settled into a meditative pose, blanking out my thoughts as if I were a rock or a pebble.
At first, I struggled against a flood of distractions, but as a week, a month, a year, and then ten years passed, I felt as if I’d reached a state of complete harmony with the air around me.
Yet, I still had over 80 years left.
Tick, tick.
Glancing at the clock mounted at the outpost, the steadfast second hand just felt like a cruel joke.
I could vaguely sense that when that second hand hit ten while pointing at two o’clock, this hellish ordeal would finally end.
“Aaarg!”
Becoming one with nature had finally hit its limit. Like a lunatic, I started thrashing around, smashing my rifle into the ground.
The ground and my rifle seemed made of steel because no matter how much I slammed them, not a scratch appeared.
“I give up! I’m done! Get me out of here! Hey, Adonai! Are you listening? Let me out!”
I yelled up at the sky, but of course, no answer was forthcoming. It seemed I’d have to endure this hundred years, like it or not.
“What do you call a singer who can’t get any answers right on a quiz show? Monday Kids.”
“Ha.”
The faceless junior kept dishing out unfunny punchlines like a quiz machine.
I swung my rifle upside down and whacked him as hard as I could, but he just bounced off like a resilient object made of indestructible material.
“Gundam talks Gundam.”
“For the love of— please stop…. Hihihihi! Gundam talks Gundam!”
Straddling the fine line between laughter and crying, I had already transcended into the realm of madness.
“How long has it been since I ate an orange?”
“Stop it, you rascal! Do you think my words are funny?!”
Ping, tang. Ping, ping!
Every time I swung my rifle at him, it sounded like steel clashing together. Rage filled me, yet I couldn’t stop battering him even though I knew it was pointless.
“d*e, you b*stard! Just d*e!”
Swoosh.
“…”
After far too long, the junior finally turned to look at me. That shadowy face sent a chill down my spine.
“What? What is it?”
“No matter how you look at it, if you keep hitting me, it’ll hurt.”
The faceless junior stomped toward me, causing me to step back instinctively.
Swoosh.
He raised the bayonet of his rifle high like a swordsman preparing for a deadly strike and then brought it crashing down toward me.
Crunch.
“Cough!”
All the absurdity I’d inflicted on him led to my downfall at the hands of the junior’s bayonet, my head pierced and punctured. While I’d hurt myself bashing my head against the wall earlier, this made my vision go blurry.
“Is this… the end?”
I smiled at my fading vision, my world darkening.
“Gundam talks Gundam.”
“What the?!”
Reality hit me as I found myself lying back in the ammo depot, realizing it was still only two o’clock.
“d*mn it! Even dying doesn’t end this! You think you can k*ll me?! That hurt like hell!”
Once again, I lifted my rifle and resumed my relentless assault on the junior.
Ping, tang, ping, ping.
Swoosh.
As I neared my breaking point, the junior turned his head toward me.
“No matter how you look at it, if you keep hitting me, it’ll hurt.”
‘He’s saying the same thing again! Is this dude an actual NPC?! What’s next…?’
The junior raised his bayonet-equipped rifle above his head. If my prediction was correct, it was about to lodge into mine and cause some serious pain.
Whoosh.
True to my fear, he swung down his rifle with all his might, much like a sword master.
Clang.
I instinctively raised my rifle to block his attack.
“…”
“Once you’ve seen it, you won’t fall for it again. This is getting interesting. Yeah, life needs this kind of thrilling excitement. Little boy, wait until a hundred years from now for your rebellion.”
At that moment, I deflected the junior’s rifle while aiming my own bayonet at his face.
Ping!
However, he resisted my attack as if he were a rock made of steel. My footing faltered, and I stumbled.
Thud.
“…”
Seizing the moment, the junior thrust his bayonet deep into my gut.
“d*mn it, that hurts like hell.”
The searing pain of being stabbed felt like a hot lump of coal burning through my insides. Yet, after suffering countless years of boredom, I embraced the pain with open arms.
Feeling alive again, even if just slightly.
“Next time, I’ll block everything, you little….”
In my fading vision, I promised myself there would be a next time.
“Gundam talks Gundam.”
“d*e!”
Ping, tang.
From then on, it became a cycle of me getting beaten and blocking his attacks.
Sometimes, I rolled to dodge his strikes, while other times I redirected his direct assaults to destabilize his posture.
Whoosh.
With a fierce thrust, the junior, all his weight behind his weapon and forepaw, charged at me, but I took advantage, swung my rifle, and deflected his attack.
Clang.
With a sharp metallic sound, his rifle flew far away, and the junior fell to the ground, unable to maintain his stance.
“I won after all.”
I aimed my bayonet at the back of his neck, pulling back.
“I’ve mastered Roll and Bounce Back. What should I try next?”
“Well done.”
Grabbing my outstretched hand, the junior climbed back up. His face concealed by his helmet now glowed with a bright white light.
“Unfortunately, it’s time for the guard shift to come in. My time is up.”
“Has a hundred years really passed?”
Having honed my skills like a craftsman on the brink of life and d*ath, I finally realized that the hundred years had indeed come to an end.
“It was nice to meet you, and let’s not meet again.”
“When the king greets, it’s Viking.”
“You little rascal, you’re still at it…”
Swoosh.
As I opened my eyes, the bizarre sight of the cave I thought I’d forgotten appeared before me. A tiny shrub and the raging stream of water bursting forth, with a charming fairy, Adonai, perched above, gazing down at me.
“My younger brother, how was your time spent inside?”
━How long has it been since I closed my eyes?
I moved the tail attached to my body, checking my front paws and claws, slowly adjusting to this beastly form again.
It felt a little weird, like trying on a new suit, but thankfully that awkwardness faded within a few seconds.
“Probably not even three seconds have passed.”
━Oh really? That hellish time barely lasted even three seconds. Hah… I thought I was going crazy.
“They say the space manifested in one’s mind presents the scenery one finds the most tedious and taxing. So, not many, even esteemed sages or my brothers, could withstand it. You endured it; that’s admirable!”
━I couldn’t have done it alone. It was because I had comrades in the past and present who suffered together with me.
“Comrades?”
━No, anyway, does this mean my rank has finally risen?
Curious, letters began to appear before my eyes.
Name: White One
Species: Magical Beast lv.21
Strength: 83
Agility: 95
Stamina: 75
Skills: 《Omnivore》 《Sturdy Claws》 《Low Frequency》 《Stealth Movement》 《Invisibility》 《Dance of Affection》 《Hybrid Breeding》 《Speech》 《Riding》 《Destruction》 《Fiery Heart》 《Roll》 《Bounce Back》
“I did it! I got both of them! My hundred years weren’t wasted at all!”
I raised my front paw high, beaming with an enormous smile.
━You’re discharged!
“I don’t know what that means, but if my little brother is happy, I’m happy too. I’m glad you came back without losing your mind. Now I can rest…”
Flicker, flicker.
Adonai’s form flickered with a gentle glow. Instinctively, I recognized that his time was running out. His once bright, radiant body started to become thin and translucent, like clear plastic.
“I poured my last strength into you, brother. Now, I’m liberated from this long and dull immortal life. Those were truly long and boring days…”
Eternal divine beings. The time they spent might have been even longer and duller than the hundred years I endured in my mind. With a faint smile, Adonai bid farewell to his long life.
