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Chapter 28: The Favor of the Magical Beast and the Monkey #2
There exists a white Wildling that lives inside a cold cave. These little guys are rare, timid, and gentle creatures. If you touch them, you feel a refreshing chill, like touching an ice shard.
These creatures that live in cold places slowly vaporize when exposed to external factors like tectonic shifts or beastly interventions that raise the temperature beyond a certain point. The ones that vaporize don’t just d*e immediately; they reach the dew point due to their own coldness and condense like steam. The few that survive this process end up transforming into something cloud-like, no longer just a simple Wildling.
Judah described a principle similar to cloud formation and finally defined their name. “Those that become this way are now called Cloudrings. They are extremely rare, like untouched snow under the summer sun.”
“Hmm, Cloudring.” I squeezed the cotton candy in my front paw.
“Gyuying, eing!”
The little guy caught in my front paw didn’t try to escape. It just quietly entrusted its body to me.
“Gyuying.”
Maybe it was just my imagination, but I even felt a clingy sensation from it, like it was being spoiled.
Having eaten many Wildlings before, I surprisingly found this one cute.
“So, can I have just a little bite? You said I could eat it.”
Judah replied, “Just don’t eat too much.” He shrugged his shoulders.
I carefully removed a piece of the Cloudring with my front paw. It felt like part of an ice-cold spider silk or a section of cotton candy swaying in my paw.
Could this feeling really come from a delicate, finely spun ice fiber ball?
“No, nothing I compare it to would do it justice.”
This was a sensation unlike anything I’d ever felt before.
I put the piece of Cloudring in my mouth. Instantly, I felt a chill so intense it almost made my mouth ache, followed by a burst of refreshing sweetness.
“It’s like grape-flavored ice cream.”
Having had something so cold after a long time made my head feel like it was going to explode. Yet, my lips couldn’t help but smile as I joyfully exclaimed,
“Wow, this is amazing! Truly something worthy of being called a treasure!”
Who would have thought I’d be eating ice cream in a jungle full of bugs and snakes? My body, almost suffocating from the heat and thick fur, instantly cooled down.
Seeing me so satisfied, Judah smiled warmly.
“Just give it some water now and then, pet it a bit, and take it for a walk once a day. The outer cotton-like cloud is just like its fur, so don’t overfeed it, or it might get upset.”
Judah told me a bunch of information like he was giving me a rundown on pet care.
I hugged the Cloudring tightly in my front paw.
“Gyuying.”
A fluffy, cool breeze constantly blew from it, akin to standing in front of an air conditioner during a scorching summer without a shirt on.
“Living air conditioner, I won’t eat you special-like.”
“Gyuying.”
“At least not until summer’s over.”
“Ein?”
*
Leaf and I attended a grand banquet held in the hall at the very top of World Tree’s roots. Just half a day ago, the Monkeys, who had been fighting us tooth and nail, were now flitting about, singing and performing joyous antics.
“They were all under a spell. Kaah fainted, and the spell was lifted.”
Judah brought food to the wooden table set in the hall.
The huge Mighty Monkey, Mihuwang, who was seated at the head of the table, frowned while rubbing the back of his head.
“This is embarrassing. Even with my blessed talent, ‘Firelight Cleaving’, I couldn’t lift the spell of the snake witch, Kaah. My whole clan almost faced extinction because of it.”
Surprisingly, the clear-headed Mihuwang was rather sensible and competent. His deep voice conjured images of a decent middle-aged guy.
“I’m really not sure how to thank you. We’ve got little laid out, but please indulge in what we have.”
Mihuwang’s head kept bobbing in front of the table.
Hearing thanks felt great, but being reminded of it while eating made my stomach feel oddly full.
“Wow, this little guy eats fruit too! Look!”
Leaf was feeding the Cloudring a long fruit-shaped like a banana.
Though it was hard to tell where its mouth was, the Cloudring made a cute “eing” sound and swallowed the whole banana whole.
“Isn’t ‘Yingyi’ just eating well?”
It seemed Leaf had given the Cloudring the cool name ‘Yingyi’.
As I bit into an unknown fruit resting on the table, I said, “It’s not called Yingyi. I decided to name it Omega.”
“Omega? What kind of name is that? Did you think of that in three seconds?”
Leaf made a face clearly not fond of the name I came up with.
He looked at the Cloudring cradled in his arms and said, “If Yingyi is good, then do ‘gyuying’, and if Omega is good, make a ‘grr.'”
“Gyuying.”
“See, it also likes Yingyi.”
Leaf stuck his tongue out at me playfully.
I put down the fruit I was eating and snapped back angrily, “No, that’s not fair. It can only make the ‘gyuying’ sound! Let me ask it once. If it likes Yingyi, make a ‘grr’, and if it prefers Omega, do a ‘gyuying’!”
“Grr.”
“See, it also said ‘gyuying’… wait, what? Did it just make that ‘grr’ sound?”
I couldn’t believe my ears. I thought it could only make Wildling sounds like ‘Yingyi’.
As I blinked in disbelief, Judah provided a quick explanation from across the table.
“This little guy is a being halfway between a living creature and a cloud. It can do most of the things clouds can do. It can even roar like thunder!”
“Grr.”
“Oh, so that’s the thunder it makes. But can it sh**t lightning too?”
“Well, there’s a legend about a huge Cloudring that went up into the sky and shot lightning before. It was said to be very fierce and aggressive for a Cloudring.”
“Interesting.”
I pictured the gentle, timid Yingyi unleashing lightning in anger.
Just then, Mihuwang spoke from his seat.
“That Cloudring is named Eve. She’s a creature hiding in the south. You came to this Bewitching Forest on Eve’s errands, didn’t you?”
Upon hearing Mihuwang’s words, I felt I had uncovered the identity of the witch Eve. I had thought she was an unusual Wildling, but I never imagined she could sh**t lightning too.
“Oh, right. I came to this forest to make a potion.”
I finally remembered the potion bottle in my vine bag.
In a hurry, I rummaged through the vine bag and pulled out the glass bottle, breathing a sigh of deep relief.
“Wow, glad it didn’t break.”
Despite all the rough movements, it seemed the glass bottle was sturdier than I expected.
After a large cough, Mihuwang said solemnly,
“Very well, then I shall now give you the sap of the World Tree that you sought. It’s not something I give to just anyone, but on a day like today, if I don’t give it to you, it’ll just go to waste.”
“Hey!” Mihuwang shouted.
Soon, multiple Monkeys brought a large clay jar.
Seeing the golden waves rippling inside, I smiled at the sharp scent tickling my nose.
“Go ahead and drink as much as you like. This is the sap of the World Tree.”
One of the Monkeys brought me a huge ladle filled with the golden liquid from the jar.
As I gulped it down, the nutty and refreshing carbonation flavor sent a thrill through my entire body.
“This is incredible! The best drink I’ve ever had! It’s so refreshing!”
As someone who loves alcohol as much as water, I really enjoyed the sap of the World Tree.
Mihuwang burst into laughter watching me down the sap one ladle after another.
“You like it, huh? Good. There’s plenty of sap, so drink as much as you want. Oh, and bring me some meat. Hey! Are Gold and Silver here?”
One of the Monkeys, serving nearby, bowed and replied, “Your Majesty, the twin brothers are at the entrance of the forest, guarding it.”
“Oh, is today their turn? d*mn that spell robbed me of my sense of time! Then just fetch me any meat!”
“Yes.”
A few Monkeys backed away and disappeared somewhere, and I couldn’t help but wonder if Gold and Silver were the little guys who had gone into my belly.
“What it is, I guess I’ll just stay quiet.”
I stuffed my mouth with fruits continuously being served on the plate.
【Experience points gained.】
【Experience points gained.】
Words indicating experience points kept popping up.
“At this rate, I might just level up again.”
Like a beast that hadn’t eaten for a week, I devoured all the fruits placed on the dish.
After finishing all the fruits on the table, as I awaited a refill of the next dish, I noticed Judah, Leaf, and Mihuwang, along with the other beasts, looking at me with astonished expressions.
Especially Mihuwang, who clapped his hands gleefully.
“You eat very well! It’s like looking at my younger self. A true hero should have a good appetite! Oh, here comes the meat.”
Two Monkeys brought a whole roasted beast to the wooden table.
“Yikes!”
Leaf turned pale, and his face turned green upon seeing the hearty dish.
“This is the pride of the Bewitching Forest: grilled chili raccoon. The taste of their meat is notoriously terrible, but if you marinate it in the sap of Mother Tree for a day, it becomes a delicacy unlike any other.”
“Ugh.”
Leaf trembled at the sight of the raccoon meat on the table, looking extremely uneasy.
“Oh, and your fellow said he transformed from a raccoon, right? I apologize for the insensitivity. We don’t get along with raccoons. We’ve been catching so many that it became our staple.”
Realizing his blunder, Mihuwang scratched the back of his head awkwardly and clicked his tongue.
With a clap of his hands, the raccoon meat disappeared from the table, soon replaced by another roasted dish.
“This is the salsa lizard. It’s a species that only exists in the Bewitching Forest, so you probably have never tasted it before.”
I tore off a leg of the salsa lizard and casually threw a question toward Mihuwang.
“Why don’t you get along with the raccoons?”
I glanced at Leaf, who was still trembling in fear.
Even though the raccoon meat was removed, Leaf remained soaked in dread.
‘Well, for me, it’s like a cannibal chief offering human flesh. Right now, we’re in the situation where the Magical Beast Behemoth’s meat has come out.’
As I sank into thought, Mihuwang chuckled lightly.
“It wasn’t always bad bl**d. Ten years ago, one raccoon sneaked into this forest and stole one of my treasured swords. So, to catch that raccoon, I started luring the others into this forest and hunting them down throughout this Ancient Nest.”
“Oh, is that so? So what’s this treasured sword?”
“The treasured sword is a weapon made by humans, forged from hard iron. It was a fine item with a carefully crafted red jewel at the hilt. It was something I worked hard to obtain.”
“I see.”
I nodded appropriately.
The blade that suddenly came to mind was the one beautifully displayed in Leaf’s wooden house.
‘Surely, it can’t be that one.’
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