Chapter 285

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Episode 285

Short Leisure #7

By the time we finished dinner, two moons had risen in the sky. Both were full, round moons. In this world, such a day is commonly referred to as the Twin Full Moons.

On days like these, the eerie energy grows stronger, and all sorts of unpleasant things tend to happen—or so they say.

Because of this, the people of this world avoid wandering the streets on nights when the Twin Full Moons appear. They stock up on food during the day, hide under their blankets, and munch away while waiting for the night to pass. Of course, I don’t believe in such superstitious nonsense.

But then, why did I even bring up the Twin Full Moons?

It was because the thick pillar standing tall under the two moons was horrifyingly reminiscent of something.

“What the hell is this?”

That was, without a doubt, my club.

My club, which had been about 1 meter long—a perfect size, like a baseball bat—had grown so much that it wouldn’t be strange to call it a pillar now.

Its height surpassed my head, and its thickness was greater than Luna’s waist.

“What the hell? Where’s my d*mn club?”

Even if I pulled it out now, carrying it around as a weapon would be a problem. It’d be no different from lugging around a wooden beam.

A Samaritan walking around with a beam? Hell, I’d definitely be laughed at everywhere. Or maybe it’d be oddly impactful?

Luna, who had been digging around the roots, suddenly shouted.

“Hassan, look! The roots stretch all the way to the bottom of the well! It must’ve drunk a ton of water and grown!”

Seems like my club had been parched all this time. It must’ve extended its roots to the bottom of the well, absorbed all the water, and grown this huge.

That makes sense, but—hell, is it even possible for a club to be alive and drink water? The more I thought about it, the more baffled I felt.

What do I do now?

If this keeps up, the well might dry up. That’d be a real disaster.

In this world, wells are precious communal resources. Polluting a well or rendering it unusable is considered a major crime.

“The Samaritan poisoned the well!” “He dried up the well!”

Those shouts seemed to echo in my ears, and I couldn’t help but feel a chill.

First, I set the city on fire, and now I’m sabotaging the well? Am I some kind of savage who wreaks havoc with both water and fire? That’s beyond forgiveness.

“Hey, you d*mn club! Stop it and come out of the ground already!”

I grabbed the waist of the massive pillar and tried pulling it this way and that, but the d*mn thing had only grown heavier and refused to budge.

“What the hell?”

This might sound ridiculous, but I could sense some kind of will from this club. Like it just wanted to stay buried in the ground, right where it was.

Well, this spot had water and plenty of sunlight—a good place to be.

But did it not realize that if it kept sucking up water, the well would dry up, and it’d wither away too?

“Stupid d*mn club!”

“Hassan, move aside. Let me try something.”

Luna gently pushed me away. Then, with the skull amulet hanging behind her head like a hood, she placed it over her face and began circling the tree in strange, ritualistic movements.

“Luna, what are you doing?”

“Offering a prayer. You can’t just recklessly cut down or uproot sacred trees like this! You have to pray first!”

Luna’s words made sense. It’s said that cutting down sacred trees without proper rites invites misfortune.

Stories about ghosts appearing after cutting down guardian trees for redevelopment are so overused they’ve become cliché.

Come to think of it, didn’t that old lady tell me to water it and say some kind of prayer?

d*mn, I forgot.

So I joined Luna, circling the tree and mimicking her prayer. Then, something incredible happened.

Creeeak—

The tree pillar, which had been firmly rooted just moments ago, began tilting precariously with an ominous sound before finally toppling over completely.

Sploosh—

A massive amount of water gushed out from it. The way it shriveled as it expelled water reminded me of a sea cucumber, which was somehow infuriating.

“Got it!”

Luna picked up the now-uprooted club, but she immediately dropped it in surprise.

“It’s so heavy!”

“Really?”

I reached down to pick it up myself. The moment I tried lifting it, I was genuinely shocked.

It felt like a solid block of steel. And given its length—about my height—it was more like a metal bar than a club.

“What the hell is this? How am I supposed to carry this around? Can’t it shrink? Do I have to cut it?”

As I struggled to lift the massive pole—

Shhhk.

As if sensing my will, the club shrank back to its original size. Luna gasped.

“Hassan! The club shrank! It spat out water and got thinner and shorter!”

“Holy hell, you’re right. That’s insane. It was huge just a second ago.”

I was amazed. Just moments ago, it had been as tall as me, but now it was half my size. Could I make it grow again?

Testing the thought, I pulled at both ends, and the club obediently expanded.

“d*mn, that’s awesome!”

A club that could grow and shrink at will! Sounded ridiculous, but its potential was incredible! Being able to adjust its reach as a weapon had no downsides.

Thud.

That said, it was still heavy as hell.

Even for me, swinging this waterlogged, dense club took considerable effort.

Whether it shrank or grew, its weight remained the same—maddening.

“This is like the fucking Ruyi Jingu Bang.”

“Hassan, what’s the Ruyi Jingu Bang?”

“It’s a staff that can grow and shrink.”

But like I said, it’s still insanely heavy.

Even for someone like me, who’s used to pulling millstones, the weight was staggering. How many kilograms was this thing? It felt like one of those legendary weapons weighing hundreds of pounds.

I hadn’t felt lacking in strength lately, but this made me realize just how weak I still was.

Should I invest my next stats in strength again?

I wanted to focus on agility—higher agility would help me master the footwork techniques Kalidur taught me. But my weapon’s too heavy. Tough choice.

Soon, probably next week, I’ll have to embark on a long journey to Delphi. If my weapon’s like this, it’ll be a problem.

“Luna, can’t you make a totem?”

“If you need a totem, we can go hunt bees with Paranoi tomorrow! That weird Nymph of Honey Water can come too.”

The next day.

“Hassan-nim, I’m so thirsty…! Can’t we rest for a bit? I, Paranoi, am drying up and dying here…!”

“Seriously? We’ve barely been outside the city for ten minutes. And you already drank all my water, so my canteen’s empty.”

“But I’m really, really thirsty…!”

“d*mn it, hold on a little longer.”

Paranoi slumped dejectedly at my words, but there was nothing I could do.

She had already drained her own water and mine, yet she was still whining about being thirsty. What else was I supposed to do?

“Nymph Paranoi of Ditch Water! I shall share my water with you!”

Just then, Nymph Doris of Honey Water, who had been quietly walking behind us, handed her canteen to Paranoi.

“Truly, only a fellow nymph sister would understand…! Someday, I shall repay you with at least 1% of my share…!”

1%? What the hell kind of percentage is that? If Paranoi’s share is about 7%, then 1% of that is—hell, I can’t even calculate it.

But Nymph Doris of Honey Water didn’t seem to care.

“I don’t know what that means, but don’t drink it all! Ah—! I told you not to drink it all! You drank it all!”

With two noisy nymphs together, my ears were practically bleeding.

But Paranoi was happy to have a nymph friend, and Doris, who had been trapped in a rift for so long, was quickly socializing with her new companion. At least there was that.

“Hassan, they’re too loud. My ears are ringing.”

“Luna, cut them some slack. They’re nymphs.”

“Still, having two nymphs is nice. We can rotate shifts! Rest improves efficiency!”

Luna cheered about now having a two-shift system.

She seemed thrilled to have another free laborer. Nymphs are useful in many ways.

Maybe I should start capturing wild nymphs whenever I see them? Luna would love that.

As I pondered, we soon arrived at a dense forest.

Beyond the southern gate of Sodomora lay a forest—commonly called the Deer Forest—where countless deer roamed.

Why so many deer? Legend says the Goddess Diana, who symbolizes hunting, purity, and the moon, released them to create her hunting grounds.

“Ah, friend. Long time no see.”

As we entered the forest, a handsome man guarding the entrance greeted me.

Dressed in what looked like a bathrobe tied only at the waist, his exposed chest bore a golden necklace—making his identity obvious.

“Actaeon. Long time no see. Guarding the Deer Forest?”

“Indeed. This is the Goddess’s hunting ground. I’m here to ensure no more unfortunate souls meet my fate.”

Actaeon was the man who had offended Goddess Diana and been turned into a stag, disappearing into legend.

Despite his laid-back demeanor, he was a Gold-tier adventurer whose skill rivaled Hippolyte’s. Back then, I hadn’t realized how strong he was, but now—

Ssshh—

Having learned to sense auras, I could faintly grasp just how powerful he was.

Unbothered by my scrutiny, Actaeon glanced at the tiny nymphs.

“Nymph ladies, huh? Here to hunt bees again?”

“With more people today! We’ll capture the Bashkir Queen Bee! We already scouted the hive’s location yesterday!”

“Good. But don’t go too deep. The Goddess’s stags are in rut and unusually aggressive right now.”

“D-deer?!”

Luna trembled violently at the word. Noticing her reaction, Actaeon scratched his head awkwardly.

“Miss Ideope, I’m truly sorry about last time.”

He must’ve been referring to the deer bandits who stole Luna’s wallet.

That incident left her with deep trauma. Being rammed by a stag and flung into a tree branch was traumatic enough—she could’ve been impaled.

Actaeon, knowing this, fell silent and just kept scratching his head. Then, his brow furrowed as he noticed the massive club on my back.

“Oh, is that the club from before? The Fear Sunderer?”

“Yeah, that’s the one.”

“It’s grown impressively. A weapon that grows—rare sight. Mind if I take a look?”

“Go ahead.”

Actaeon had given me this club as a reward instead of gold. So I handed it over without much thought.

(Of course, the real reason I carried it on my back instead of my waist was because it was too d*mn heavy and kept dragging my pants down—but that’s my secret.)

“Incredibly heavy. Didn’t expect it to grow this much. Probably the heaviest olivewood club I’ve ever seen.”

Crrrack.

Even Actaeon’s grip strained under its weight. A Gold-tier adventurer struggling with my steel-like club was telling.

“My Strength stat’s around 14. Even for me, this is tough. Swinging it is out of the question.”

“Then what the hell am I supposed to do?”

“You’ll have to train your Strength beyond mine. Even then, I’m not sure you’ll manage.”

“By the way, the stat cap is 15,” Actaeon added.

My vision darkened. Had I overwatered my d*mn club?

“The stat can’t go beyond 15?”

“Right. Beyond that is the realm of gods. Even reaching 15 is near impossible—14 is already a wall. And I’ve only met one person with 15 Strength, even after the Argo Expedition.”

Actaeon trailed off, muttering, “Though calling him ‘human’ might be a stretch.”

Ah. So it’s like a Pokémon’s base stat limit?

“How do you break past 15?”

“Impossible. Unless you’re a demigod like Hippolyte or her sister Antiope, that realm is untouchable.”

“I see.”

Demigods truly had insane growth potential.

Now even Hippolyte, who’s probably somewhere talking about stocks, seemed awe-inspiring again.

Like a Dragon-type pseudo-legendary with 600+ BST. Or maybe, given her divine bl**d, an actual legendary?

“Anyway, you’ve raised the tree well. Almost as good as the priests of Ceres. Lady Young Ae and Lady Minerva would approve.”

“See you when we leave the forest.”

With that, we passed Actaeon and ventured inside. What followed was a series of misadventures—capturing the queen bee was hell, but I doubt anyone cares about my bee stings.

“Ahh! Hassan-nim! You used the Fatal d*ath Finger on the queen bee!”

“We captured the queen! Even after being stung by Bashkir bees, you didn’t flinch! Truly amazing! If only you weren’t a thief, I’d respect you!”

“Hassan, look! Snake mushrooms!”

A noisy, painful, but oddly relaxing short leisure-time adventure.

Back in the city, after using the two totems Luna made to allocate my stats, I noticed something strange.

[Name: Hassan Lv. 26 → 29

Strength: 12 → 15

Agility: 6

Stamina: 8

Achievements: 420 → 220

Blessings: Blessing of Chaos / Glowing Hand / Armor of Night / Dark Eyes / Charred Skin]

[Strength stat has reached its limit.]

[To break the limit, Nectar of Authority is required.]

[Author’s Note]*

Hassan’s growth feels so slow… I thought we were still in the early-mid stages, but we’re nearing 300 chapters already… T_T… This is all because of Michury’s laziness… My sincerest apologies…!!!

From now on, I’ll improve and move forward with the upcoming episodes…!!!

And thank you to Arcser-nim for the Antiope fanart…!!

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Let me know if you’d like any adjustments!

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