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12. The Frenzied Magical Beast (Scene Caution)
036 – Frenzied Magical Beast #3
━━ Huh?
I frowned at the strange words floating before my eyes.
【Achievement ‘¿¹¾à´ãÚ!’ has been attained?】
【Skill 《Frenzy》 has been acquired.】
This felt distinctively different from anything I had seen before.
It was as if a computer system had just thrown a tantrum due to some unexpected glitch.
I was starting to get used to the game-like text popping up, but now—
I shook my shoulders anxiously at the bizarre scroll of characters that had unexpectedly appeared.
‘What on earth is this? It seems I’ve unlocked an achievement and gained a skill, but…’
Based on what had happened so far, I could roughly deduce that this was indeed the case.
To dig into the details, I summoned more text.
Race: Magical Beast Lv. 10
Strength: 33
Agility: 31
Stamina: 33
Skills: 《Omnivore》 《Sturdy Claws》 《Low Frequency》 《Stealth Movement》 《Courtship Dance》 《Inter-species Breeding》 《Frenzy》
‘Looks like the skill has indeed been added. Was the previous text just broken?’
No matter how hard I thought, there was no clarity.
The word “Frenzy” looked particularly ominous.
I had no clue what sort of skill it was.
Could it be a technique that helps when causing havoc?
“Something’s definitely off, isn’t it?”
Witch Eve was looking at me with a worried expression.
I stepped away from the Duoksini and wiped the green slime off my mouth.
━ What’s this thing? It seemed to have an eye on you.
“Yeah, while I was out cold, you were keeping an eye on me. Almost a disaster, really. I’ve been a bit careless with all the fun things happening lately.”
Witch Eve placed her hand on the Duoksini’s head. Then, its bizarre and enormous head vanished, scattering into dust.
“This is the language of all beasts. It serves as a fine demonstration of what happens when an unworthy individual grasps the Fruit of the World Tree.”
There was a hint of bitterness in Eve’s voice.
━ Why was it targeting you?
“I have no idea. Maybe it was drawn to a similar energy. I’m also in a weak state, after all.”
Eve gazed at her own palm.
Her palm, with holes in it, was slowly mending itself.
━ Are you saying you might turn into one of these monsters?
“Not sure. I can’t say for certain, but I doubt it would be in this form. However, for now, I have no worries. Thanks to your appearance, I’ve managed to replenish my magical energy.”
Witch Eve ruffled my hair affectionately.
“No matter what happens, it’s not something you should worry about. But, I do want to tell you one thing: if you encounter those things in the forest again, run away. Their bl**d and flesh can corrupt the minds of beasts. Only a beast as strong as Yan-Mite could endure it.”
━ Mind corruption…
I retraced my memories.
Since the moment everything went black while fighting the Duoksini, I couldn’t recall anything.
‘Guess it must have been some powerful drug.’
Not a pleasant feeling at all.
From now on, I thought it’d be best to avoid the Duoksinis whenever possible.
Avoiding due to fear and avoiding due to disgustingness are two very different things.
‘The taste was abysmally bad too.’
A bitter aftertaste lingered unsettlingly in my mouth.
Even though I had eaten all sorts of things since coming to this world, I could easily say that the Duoksini’s body was the worst.
*
As I stepped out of the witch’s house, the foggy forest outside was gradually being painted by the sunset.
At this time, wimpy and weak beasts would return to their nests while monstrous creatures would start creeping out into the world.
‘Should I head back now?’
Whether it was due to the crow I had swallowed or the Duoksini I had feasted upon, my stomach felt uncomfortably bloated.
I decided to return to Leaf’s treehouse.
Having a place to return to made me feel as solid and stable as if I had set a pillar in a corner of my heart.
‘Hope Leaf picked some fruits or something.’
As I walked the path from the Foggy Forest to the grand tree forest where Leaf’s house was located, I was feeling quite at ease when something rustled beside me, sending a shiver down my spine.
‘What’s that?’
Since I could encounter dangerous creatures around this time, I remained on high alert.
After some rustling, a brown figure burst forth from the bushes.
‘A pig?’
With its striped brown fur, the massive beast could only be called a pig.
Its tusks were notably long, but I thought that was a unique trait of the forest beasts.
━ What are you?
I spoke up to the pig.
“Ugh!”
The brown wild boar jumped in surprise and fidgeted at the sight of me.
It was a big guy, but perhaps it was surprisingly skittish.
The rustling sound continued beside the boar.
Soon, two more pigs, similar in size, appeared from the underbrush.
‘Should I hunt one? It would be nice to have something to eat for tomorrow.’
Some said that in times of peace, one should prepare for war.
Indeed, those who prepare for hunger when full are certainly wise and clever.
‘Since they’ve come right up to me, I should consider it polite to hunt one.’
I stood on my four legs, bristling my fur. Perhaps startled by my threat, the pig group became chaotic.
“Hey, do something…! Didn’t I say not to come this way?”
“Don’t make a fuss.”
“They could be gentle beasts, you know.”
The pigs seemed to be quietly murmuring amongst themselves, as if holding a meeting.
Given they could talk, it was clear they were quite intelligent.
‘Being a pig means there should be plenty of meat. It’ll taste good.’
But I had heard about the dangers of wild boars.
Charging at them would pack a punch that felt like being hit by a car.
If those guys charged at me with their sharp tusks, I could end up with a hole in my belly.
It was probably best to attack first before they could charge.
━ Growl!
I made a threatening sound and lunged at the smallest boar in the bunch.
Going for the weakest member of the group had proven to be the most effective strategy in several attempts.
“Gwah, gah!”
The pig screamed and fell backward.
I grabbed its hide and shook it back and forth. Then, I suddenly realized something odd.
‘That’s not meat!’
Though I bit down hard on the pig’s hide, I found the sensation in my mouth to be unusually off.
It felt like tearing into a scarecrow or a curtain.
As I ripped away the hide, I was met with wide brown eyes staring back, and I was thoroughly taken aback.
━ What the heck is this?
Beneath the pig’s skin was something curled up—a human being, drenched in sweat.
Without a doubt, it looked like a human.
“W-we’ve been exposed! sh**t! I said we should move at night!”
“Nights are crawling with even more dangerous beasts!”
“Shut up!”
The pigs continued bickering among themselves.
Only then did I realize that they were not pigs at all, but humans clad in animal hides.
“Well, this just got out of hand. Let’s capture this one. Quickly retreat before causing a ruckus.”
The ones hidden beneath the pig skins stood up.
Their imposing stature revealed thick limbs concealed underneath the hides.
They were adorned with accessories and armor made from animal bones and skins.
As they tossed aside the leathers used as hoods, a fearsome weapon emerged behind a man’s back.
‘A sword…?’
That man towered at least twice my size, about 2 meters tall.
A weapon of a similar size emerged from his hand, slicing the air like a half-moon.
To call it a sword seemed far too soft; it was more like a massive slab of iron or a blunt weapon.
Weapons such as small daggers and bows were also gripped in the hands of the other men as they shed their hides.
The guy wielding the dual weapons scratched his head.
“And what kind of beast is this? Would the lord be pleased if we brought one back?”
“Dunno.”
The man with the great sword pointed it at me coldly.
A man with a bow trained his weapon on me, responding, “If you’re not sure, this must be an incredibly rare creature. Smooth white fur too… Could fetch quite a price.”
My head spun from the sudden turn of events.
One thing was clear: I had to run for my life if I wanted to survive.
━ Eek.
I immediately turned tail and bolted.
“Hey, that thing is running away!”
“Now we have to catch it!”
An arrow flew past me, grazing my side.
Whizzing through the air, it was fired from a powerful bow.
All the fur on my body stood on end as a shiver rushed through me.
I couldn’t help but recall how I had worried about what to do if I ever met a human ever since arriving in this world—it seemed downright absurd now.
‘I’m being hunted!’
I desperately moved my legs.
“Hey, look at that thing! It’s zigzagging to escape! Try to hit it!”
“It’s smarter than most beasts! It’s hard to hit!”
I could feel the humans’ voices fading away.
It seemed that my dodging skills from countless FPS games were coming in handy.
As long as I kept running like this, I would be fine.
But in that moment of relief—
Whoosh! A gigantic something flew through the air and blocked my path.
It was the sword wielded by the enormous man.
If I had been just a moment faster, I would have found my head skewered by the blade.
“If you’re a hunter, don’t make a fuss over a single animal.”
A shadow loomed over me as I sat there stunned.
Maybe it was the backlight, but his blue eyes gleamed menacingly.
He grabbed the back of my neck with a firm hand.
“Those are spikes.”
He treated my sharp spikes like toothpicks, totally unfazed.
His thick palm seemed completely immune to my spikes.
“Truly a captain. The tales of you hunting dragons in the south must be true after all.”
The fellow shouldered a bow, casually praising the man.
“Goodness! This one keeps showing its fangs like it’s some ferocious beast. It looks adorable, but raising it as a pet would be a challenge.”
The guy wielding the dual swords snickered while spinning around me.
“Most creatures from the Ancient Nest feel similar. Particularly the residents of this Great Forest are never tamed by humans.”
“But plenty of nobles enjoy that aspect. Rich folks’ hobbies are strange… lets see….”
The bowman boldly started touching my belly.
I froze in shock, incapable of responding.
“Wel, be nice now.”
Upon closer inspection, the bowman turned out to be a short-haired woman.
Her sleek appearance and features had made me mistake her for a man.
“Wow, your fur is so soft. When looked at like this, you’re quite adorable.”
“Really? Let me feel too.”
The swordsman reached his hand toward me.
━ Growl!
I snarled as loudly as I could, attempting to bite him.
“Whoa! You scared me! Why does this thing only act up towards me?”
“Looks like it’s a male. Eric, you wouldn’t be comfortable if a man was touching you either?”
“Of course not.”
As the trio erupted into laughter, I was desperate to think of a way out of this situation.
With fierce determination, I clawed the arm holding my neck.
“Ugh!?”
The man panicked even more than I expected and dropped me to the ground.
‘This is my chance!’
I rolled on the ground and quickly regained my footing, darting into the forest.
‘Humans…! Real humans…!’
[Review] Finally independent and living alone as of July.
I didn’t have time to write two episodes while unpacking and moving. ㅠㅠ..
