Jungle.
Honestly, I wasn’t much of a fan of jungles or forests.
Living up to its name, the jungle would be full of trees and dense thickets.
And naturally, that dense jungle would become the nesting ground for various insects.
Which would mean there would be a ton of baby spiders building webs to catch those insects.
“Ugh! Spiders!”
There certainly were a ton of them.
Looking at the trees, each one had about five or six spiders the size of my palm attached to it, making me think this place might be hell on earth.
Slurp.
Some of them even jumped with their eight horrifying legs and latched onto my shoulder or head.
Keng Keng.
Keng Keng.
Grrr.
Judging by the barking, these seemed to be a kind of wolf spider resembling Keng Keng, but unlike the iridescent Keng Keng, these had a black background with yellow stripes like hornets and were incredibly terrifying.
The combination of black and yellow is nature’s warning sign.
These were undoubtedly terrifying spiders.
“Spider!”
“d*mn it, be quiet! What if other beasts come?”
Elfride struggled to cover my mouth.
“What the hell, why are you so strong all of a sudden?”
It was impossible for her to hold me back now that my strength exceeded 16. I told her,
“There’s a spider on my head! I think three of them are stuck!”
“Wait, I’ll remove them for you! Ah, this guy, you seemed to have the situation under control but ended up like this.”
Slurp.
Elfride, seemingly unfazed by the spiders, gently grabbed the ends of the legs of the palm-sized creatures and threw them back into the jungle thickets.
Psssh, Psssh.
Finally, all three spiders fell off, and I could somewhat relax.
“d*mn, I thought I would d*e.”
“You, who can endure Hydra venom, won’t d*e from a spider’s poison. Stop exaggerating. Didn’t you overcome your fear of spiders?”
“I thought so too, but apparently not.”
Given the giant spider down in the graveyard, I thought my fear of spiders had lessened somewhat.
Even so, handling this many spiders was definitely beyond me. More rustling footsteps approached me.
When Elfride shone her staff’s light into the darkness, at least a dozen wolf spiders were seen approaching me.
I trembled as if about to faint and said,
“This d*mn thing, they keep coming towards me.”
Elfride squinted her eyes and nodded.
“That’s true. You might have a constitution that attracts spiders or something. Are you maybe the god of Spiders and Insects? Insects and spiders always seemed to gather around you. We’ve used that to our advantage in many traps.”
Recalling Elfride’s words, I brought up numerous memories. Indeed, insects seemed to target me from the very beginning.
Could it be that I smell like honey because I’ve sucked so much of it?
Could the nymphs gathering around me follow a similar logic?
“Anyway, can you do something about it? Drive the spiders away with magic or something!”
“Magic isn’t a solution for everything.”
“d*mn it, Elfride, you’re not helping much.”
“But there is a spider-repelling spell. Though it’s not one I particularly want to use.”
“Elfride, you’re extremely helpful after all!”
“Alright, brat.”
Elfride clicked her tongue and started muttering something reluctantly.
“Ladybug, centipede, stag beetle. Bugbugbug—”
It was unclear whether this was a spell or a strange song of some sort.
Noticing me squinting at her, she paused briefly.
“And what? This is how the spell works.”
“I said nothing.”
Hwurrr, Hwarr—!
Odd blue flames resembling will-o’-the-wisps hovered on both sides of Elfride. They emitted excessive, murky smoke.
Grrr….
Grrr…!
The spiders, which had just been creeping toward me, seemed to detest the smoke and retreated, crawling back into the thickets until they disappeared completely.
Only then could I breathe a sigh of relief.
“-Phew, we’re alive.”
Contrary to the thought it was a small island,
Ideope’s islands were surprisingly large. The current island I stood on seemed significantly bigger than Sodomora, the large city.
Thus, I started feeling increasingly exhausted from the endless jungle and thick darkness intermingling with the growls of beasts.
Squelch, squelch.
Amidst all this, the ground had turned to quicksand, swallowing me with every step.
“Look, my boots are getting dirty. They keep trying to come off.”
Elfride appeared quite annoyed at the land swallowing her long boots as if trying to bite them.
Swoosh, squelch.
I too was struggling, getting knee-deep with each step. Luna did warn me that Ideope had plenty of swamps, but experiencing it firsthand was certainly less pleasant.
How much farther until we reach the village?
Is this even the right island?
As I thought about these things, struggling through the muck,
Gererrr—
Erigerrr…
A low growl familiar yet evocative of PTSD-like anxiety rang out. Where had I heard a sound like this?
But soon, seeing the creatures floating in the muck, it all came back to me.
Elfride whispered quietly,
“It’s an alligator. And it’s sleeping—”
Indeed, as Elfride said, beneath the lantern light, the alligators, blending in with the swamp colors, were floating eerily.
Alligators.
They reminded me instantly of my Iron Tier adventurer days in Kalin’s Swamp, engaging in fierce battles with alligators, causing me momentary dizziness.
Of course, I am far stronger now than in those days.
Even back then, I managed to defeat a few; surely I wouldn’t lose to these ones now.
However, the creatures before me were far larger than those encountered before.
“d*mn, are these dragons? No way is this the size of an alligator?”
Gererr—
These were huge alligators, akin to massive trucks, sleeping peacefully. Gazing upon them, I almost swayed.
Gyudai Max alligators.
These appeared to be Gold Tier alligators. Elfride lightly tapped my shoulder from behind.
“Shhh… Let’s quietly sneak by without waking them—”
I agreed with her suggestion. Waking these colossal beasts on this dark swamp would certainly make finding Luna impossible today.
So, without breathing, I concentrated on silently slipping through the spaces between them.
Direrrr.
Erigerrrrr—.
Truly, their sounds are always so grotesque.
Anyway, both Elfride and I managed to slip past the alligators, exiting the muck safely.
After escaping the muck, Elfride removed her boots and shook them upside down.
“Ugh, mud got inside my shoes. Hassan—”
Clumps of mud stuck to her white bare feet as well, just like mine.
“Hassan, can you pass me some water?”
Ultimately, Elfride took the water flask from my waist to clean her boots and muddy feet.
Chrrrr…
“Feels so disgusting.”
As the clear water ran over Elfride’s soft, white toes, I looked on silently. She whispered quietly,
“Covered in sweat, mud, I look absolutely terrible. I want to clean up. Warrior of Auras, can you sense anything nearby?”
“Wait. We’ve been walking far. We should be able to sense something now.”
I focused on the surrounding environment. The sound of the wind, the sound of the waves, the rustling of tree leaves and branches. Beyond all that, my concentration grew deeper.
Post-watch—
Let’s just drink some wine—
As I focused, the sound of rustling and murmured conversation reached my ears.
Is there a house nearby?
Hope rose in my chest.
“There seems to be people nearby.”
Hearing my words, Elfride stretched her arms wide, relieved.
I thought the voice sounded nearby when focusing, but we walked a long distance without sighting any people or houses.
Nevertheless, I knew there was either a village or some people nearby.
Guided by this knowledge, I cut through the thickets without hesitation. Soon, a bright light came into view.
Ta-dak, Ta-dak-dak—
It was a bonfire.
A bonfire made by humans. Even though it was located in the middle of the thickets, it was an evident sign of civilization.
Slurk.
I swiftly looked around for any human presence. Glancing around, I spotted a flickering light far away.
Back view.
A human’s back.
“Human! Elfride, there’s someone over there!”
After nearly a whole day since entering the jungle, nearing the moment when the morning sun might rise, suffering greatly in the jungle made the sight of a human truly heartwarming.
As I approached the figure, I saw a back view with pink hair braided in two parts. Small stature, fluttering attire.
It had to be the person I was looking for.
Is it Luna?
For a moment, I doubted if I was creating illusions out of loneliness and fatigue. However, the menthe-scented breeze confirmed it.
No doubt, it’s Luna.
What’s this? She’s safe.
Overjoyed, I raised my hand to call out.
“Luu—”
But the rest of the words didn’t come out.
My love, did you miss me?
Next to the pink-haired girl, a skeletal man, seemingly from a savage warrior tribe, emerged out of nowhere and casually put an arm around her.
I felt my vision blur, my heart pounded, my hands and feet trembled, and my lips repeatedly parted and closed.
I couldn’t believe that this scene before me was real.
Pausing my steps for a moment, Elfride whispered softly from behind.
“What’s this? Has the brat found a new boyfriend already?”
To which I muttered nonsensically as my mind froze.
“She must know him. A younger brother, probably. Or maybe an older brother. Family. Cousin. Stuff like that.”
“Look at that clingy arm around her. How can it be a younger brother?”
“It’s probably Ideope’s culture! They’re open-minded, see…!”
“Hot d*mn, Hassan, look. Luna is cheating on you. Face the facts.”
Elfride seemed to find the whole situation amusing. She even looked oddly happy.
Meanwhile, each word from Elfride felt like a defense-ignored damage, piercing straight to my chest. The moments, efforts, and suffering up until now to come here for Luna felt like a log of firewood, igniting a blazing rage within me, turning my vision red.
“Hey, hey, Hassan, what, what are you trying to do?”
Even though Elfride was shouting something behind me, I couldn’t stop moving. I strode forward and—
“You little b*stard, what exactly are you doing?”
I delivered a strong punch to the back of the brown-haired man’s head with all my might, slamming him into the ground.
Bang!
“Ahhaaaak—!”
Caught by surprise, the man screamed and collapsed, knocked unconscious. Simultaneously, the pink-haired girl let out a tremendous scream.
“Gyaahh! A monster! A monster! There’s a monster! The White-furred Demon! A monster!”
The girl appeared to be panicking. Her peculiar eyebrow piercings jingled as she panicked.
Only then did I realize the pink-haired girl wasn’t Luna.
“What? d*mn it, you’re not Luna? Who the heck are you?”
This pink-haired female with laughable hair looked just like Luna.
What’s going on? What’s happening?
The sound of flurru’s scream reached my ears.
Soon after, numerous footsteps were heard from above the trees. When I looked up, I noticed aerial houses tightly packed on the trees.
The houses are on the trees. That explains why I sensed people nearby but couldn’t see shadows.
And, descending via ladders or ropes from the tree houses were—
“What? What’s the matter?”
“Flurru! Why are you screaming in the middle of the night? Is this an attack by the Nox Child Tribe? We had an agreement not to fight at night!”
There are so many girls who resemble Luna.
Could this be heaven?
Nevertheless, Elfride seemed dissatisfied as she clicked her tongue.
“Annoying pink-haired girls everywhere.”
The pink-haired girls aimed spears made of woven stones, stems, and branches at us.
All of them wore peculiar mask-like covers on their heads, similar to Luna when we first met.
“You bastards! Who are you? How dare you k*ll a shared asset and treasure of the Tatari Tribe—this isn’t even worthy of discussion in the clan council. It’s an execution offense!”
“Hardly stolen from the neighboring Nox Child Tribe—and there’s a shortage of men! Who are you, White-furred monster!”
Nox Child Tribe.
That’s a name I know—it must be Luna’s tribe. Perhaps they can guide me to where Luna is.
So, I removed the leather covering my head and tried to introduce myself in the friendliest way possible.
“I’m Hassan, son of Pluto. I’ve come looking for someone. Her name is Luna, known as Luna Noxdotti.”
Upon hearing my voice, the girls recoiled in surprise.
“This, this creature is male!”
“It’s a man under that leather! I thought it was a troll because of the height—it’s a man!”
“Hurry, grab him! Before he escapes!”
Then, countless vine nets were hurled at me.
