057 – Nymphs Eating Apple Pie! #1
In a situation about to escape, the nymphs stopped in their tracks.
“The inscription on this tree…! It’s really like the words of Inoi, the language of the nymphs…!”
The ‘tree’ that becomes the Rift Core.
There were indeed letters inscribed as if carved by a sculptor.
Rather than being letters, they were closer to pictures, drawn with leaves or round apples.
Would it be better to express it as hieroglyphs?
“This Inoi hasn’t learned much about fairy language from the master… It’s harder to read than I thought…!”
“This Coris knows a bit about letters…!”
“Muhuh, that Illinois was called the language magician of the Illinois tribe…! Let’s try reading it…!”
Illinois stood in front of the tree, receiving the nymphs’ expectations.
Clearing his throat, Illinois said, “I don’t understand any of it…! I need a lawyer to call over…!”
From what I’ve experienced the last few days, Illinois was loud but lacked substance.
How did such a guy become the head of a gang?
Anyway.
The nymphs gathered in front of the tree, thinking hard.
Meanwhile, the distance of the F-grade cadets was getting shorter.
Aren’t we going to get caught?
Staying like this might lead to defeat.
At that moment, Inoi spoke.
“Ah! This round shape must be an apple…! And this fire clearly means to bake the apple…! This is the method to make an apple pie…!”
“Ah-! Now that you mention it, it does look like that…!”
“This Inoi remembers that the master sometimes drew such pictures on trees…! Perhaps this picture was drawn by Inoi’s master…!”
Inoi was very happy.
Inoi’s master was said to be Inoi’s mother.
Finding a tree that might hold traces of family, Inoi was naturally delighted.
“When you bake the apple and mix it well with the flour dough while chanting a special spell, a wonderful apple pie will be complete, and this special spell is written here….”
Inoi focused intensely.
“Dorang dorang dorangmul, little dorangmul─.”
Inoi said something familiar and was greatly surprised.
“Ah-! This is the lyrics to the nymphs’ song…! While singing the song of the dorangmul and baking the apples, a delicious apple pie will be completed…! Indeed the secret of the apple pie was the song…!”
“I, Coris, had no idea about this…!”
“Muhuh, then we can finally enjoy this so disgusting golden apple baked deliciously…! The golden apple pie is said to be incredibly delicious…!”
With that, the nymphs raised their hands.
The mention of golden apple pie piqued my interest as well.
To think I could finally enjoy that horrendously tasteless apple.
If the nymphs say it’s delicious, it must truly be tasty.
Just then.
Swish-.
The tree shook.
“Is the screen weird? Ari, what’s going on?”
Is the camera the nymphs were wearing malfunctioning?
At my words, Yu Ara replied.
“No, the camera is normal. It looks like the tree is moving, right? The tree is really moving!”
Just as Yu Ara said.
The tree, positioned in front of the nymphs of the Rift Core, was truly alive and moving like a creature!
Roots.
It lifted them like legs and spread its branches like arms.
“Ah, now I see it’s not an ordinary tree but a Stump…! The Stump is a friend of the nymphs…! So very nice to meet…!”
Stump?
What’s that?
Not knowing what it was, Inoi looked truly happy.
Coris and Illinois felt the same.
“I didn’t know I’d meet a Stump in a place like this…!”
“A tree that moves like a creature…! It’s been a long time since I’ve seen one…!”
Swoosh-.
The moving tree wrapped its branches around Coris and Illinois’s waists.
Coris and Illinois were pleased.
“It looks like it wants to carry me on the branch…!”
“Muhuh, the Stump is very friendly with us nature-loving nymphs…!”
Is that so?
I watched with slightly anxious eyes when suddenly.
Squeeze-.
The tree monster Stump squeezed Illinois and Coris tightly.
“Eek…! Let me go…!”
“I, Illinois, will not just stand by and watch this act of violence! If you don’t put me down, I’ll make you taste my angry honey fist…!”
The struggling nymphs.
Soon, Inoi trembled.
“This Stump must be the guardian that keeps the secrets…! It’s clearly awakened from a long slumber by me chanting…! Eek…!”
Swoosh, swoosh-.
There wasn’t only the tree that held Illinois and Coris.
Around them, one by one, tree monsters were rising from their spots.
━Mooouuutt-.
━Mooouu-.
━Naamuutt-.
Are they crying because they are tree monsters?
No, that’s not the important part.
“Inoi! Hurry and escape!”
I shouted into the walkie-talkie strapped to Inoi’s waist.
But it seemed Inoi had already been caught.
“Eek…! I’ve been captured…!”
“Screw it, I’m going!”
I immediately ran.
# # #
At the backup base for trainee number 51.
The F-grade boy and his group discovered that the nymphs were still present at the entrance.
Soon someone told the backup base.
“I don’t know what’s going on, but they haven’t escaped yet! We can go out first! What luck!”
That was correct.
But the backup base sensed something was strange.
The nymphs seemed to be caught by something.
“Hey! None of you get out! We need to rescue them! It looks like a real situation!”
That was very right.
Rescuing people from the Rift was the basic duty of a Rift Hunter.
Soon the kids sprang into action and charged at the tree monsters.
━Naamuutt-.
━Mooouuutt-.
Bang-!
Kaang-!
But the surface of the tree monsters was as hard as steel, making it difficult to deal with using the trainees’ crude training weapons.
“Huh, what should we do now!? Should we escape and call for support?”
The kids asked Huseong.
Huseong seemed a bit dazed by the sudden situation.
“I didn’t hear there would be such a thing! How did they manage the training area? Am I really going to die like this? What happens now?!”
It felt unfair.
It felt like it was wrong.
But I recalled someone said last night that rifts are inherently unfair─.
I didn’t want to admit it, but it was true.
To whom could one complain about the unfairness of the rift’s environment?
“Fine, let’s give this a shot. Don’t all charge in at once! The tree bark is incredibly strong! Assess the bullets and resources you have and conserve them for now!”
Simply charging in would only result in wasted resources.
If they got caught too, the problem would only get bigger.
The F-grade trainees decided to spread out and attract the tree monsters’ attention.
The tree monsters were strong, but their movements were slow, and the F-grade trainees could dodge them.
“No matter how strong the attack, if you don’t hit, it’s useless!”
Huseong felt confident.
If they dragged it out like this, the instructors monitoring would surely arrive.
“Eek…! Help me…! It’s a crazy Stump attacking nymphs…!”
“A Stump is essentially a nymph-friendly creature…! Seeing such a Stump attacking this organic nymph Illinois, it’s clear it’s an invasive species’ trap…!”
The problem was that there were hostages.
If they continued like this, someone might get hurt badly.
“They say both humanoid monsters and humans share common weaknesses, right?”
“Hey! What are you trying to do, Backup Base!”
“Those guys, they don’t look human at all, but those branch-like arms have joints that are bent! If we attack there, we might be able to rescue the hostages!”
Joints.
That was a weakness shared by most creatures, including humans.
If that tree was also a creature, it must have those as well.
Since it was a folding point, its firmness would be less than other places.
“I’ll distract it, so fire your shots!”
“Five rounds-.”
The kids loaded the magazine with magical bullets from their waist.
Soon, while Backup Base distracted the monster, the kids fired at the tree’s shoulder.
Thud—.
Thud-.
“It worked, it worked!”
“Illinois is now free…!”
Illinois was released from the fallen arm.
Now, only Inoi and Coris remained.
The problem was that the trainees had run out of ammunition.
And the Stumps were enraged.
━Mooouuuuu!
━Mooouuuuu!
The air was trembling.
Backup Base told the kids.
“Hey! You guys, take the nymph you just rescued and get out! I’ll handle this!”
“Backup Base! What are you doing! You can’t win alone!”
“I know!”
Backup Base was well aware he couldn’t defeat the tree monster alone.
But something in his heart kept him from retreating.
Was it stubbornness?
Childishness?
No, it felt slightly different, and he felt puzzled by it.
“Sometimes you have to fight even knowing you will die. You’re doing better than I thought.”
Swoosh-.
The joints of the trees fell off.
Soon, a man with a shining lightsaber appeared and said.
“Well done.”
#
The tree monster Stump was quite strong.
But it was at a level where we could inflict damage with C-grade weapons, and when Ari and I combined our strength, it fell easily.
“Senpai, to cut through that course in just 10 minutes. You still have some moves, don’t you?”
Ari chuckled as the tree fell.
I was shocked too.
I didn’t think I could break that long course in just 10 minutes.
But that didn’t matter.
“You guys, are you hurt anywhere?”
I checked the health of the nymphs.
“I, Inoi, was really angry…! We must show our nymph sisters’ wrath to these evil Stumps…!”
“I, Coris, was scared…!”
“I’ll make Illinois taste my honey punch…!”
Boom, boom, boom-.
The nymphs pounded on the bodies of the tree monsters.
The tree monsters, which I thought had died from Ari and my attacks, trembled and groaned as they received the nymphs’ punches, but it seemed the nymphs were healthy.
They didn’t seem to have any injuries.
━But.
Soon, a tree with letters engraved on its body shook its branches side to side.
Even saying short words, it spoke!
The tree can talk!
Seeing this, Inoi said.
“Ah-! It seems it’s regaining its senses…! Our nymph sisters’ hands have the power to clear muddy waters…. There’s also the power to restore polluted minds…!”
It was very curious.
Wouldn’t it be great to send nymphs to prisons to beat up the prisoners─.
Soon Illinois said.
“This Illinois doesn’t let things slide…! I will call a lawyer and file a lawsuit…! I’ll make these wicked Stumps eat tasteless seafood bibimbap every day…!”
Shudder-.
The Stumps trembled, perhaps feeling fear at the mention of a lawsuit or were scared of the situation.
Soon the Stump with letters pointed to the hole it had been rooted in, and inside there was a box.
It looked like a treasure chest.
“Could it be hidden treasure? I’ve never heard there was something like that in the fixed rift of Nonsan. I’d heard many researchers had completely cleared that place….”
Ari was amazed, and I was curious too.
The tree said.
━Treasure-.
