[Author’s Note] Thank you for all the likes, recommendations, comments, and coupons! I’m feeling the itch to write another story for fun. I wanted to try my hand at a gender-bender story, but two works and four consecutive updates seem a bit much, so I’ll drop that idea for now. Let’s power through to the finish!
Chapter 30: Rise of the Magical Beasts and Difficulty Level Up 090 – Magical Beasts and Difficulty Level Up #3
Leaf and Rita stared at me for what felt like an eternity, blinking like owls.
“Pffft.”
Soon enough, Rita burst into a loud laugh.
“Pu-hah!”
The sudden burst of laughter echoed throughout the indoor garden.
“Haha, look at this guy! What do you mean you tear apart someone? You’re still smelling like baby fluff but talking like a seasoned warrior. Smart cookie, huh?”
Tears may have been rolling down the Raccoon’s face from laughing too hard, as she wiped her moist eyes with her front paw.
“Okay, you’re so confident, I’ll tell you. I can’t. With these uncomfortable legs of mine, I’d just be a dead weight in the Night Forest.”
Raccoon Rita flashed her prosthetic leg.
“But I know a guy who can help. I can totally introduce you to him.”
“Is he skilled?”
At Leaf’s question, Rita rested her chin on her paw and went, “Hmm…” for a couple of seconds, stalling before awkwardly grinning and answering.
“Well, he’s a bit strange, but his skills are reliable. The only beast that knows the paths of the Night in the Eastern Forest better than him would be the forest lord Kublai.”
At the mention of the Eastern Forest and Kublai, my face twisted into a frown.
“You want us to head to the Eastern Forest now?”
“Yep, it’s a dangerous forest for everyone, but what’s the problem? The Southern and Western forests are on the brink of becoming a disaster zone. Exploring the relatively safe Eastern Forest is your best bet. Unless you’d prefer to head North, but that’d be quite a detour.”
I had only thought about the Southern Forest where Leaf’s treehouse and Eve’s hut were located, so my mind was shaken by the sudden mention of the Eastern Forest.
“Kublai’s territory, huh?”
I started weighing the power gap between myself, the one-eyed Wolf, and Kublai.
Memories of painful encounters with him before I evolved several times popped back into my mind.
It was no surprise those memories were crystal clear since the events had only occurred about a month ago.
Of course, I had changed so much since then that I could almost say I was a completely different being.
I was now comfortably familiar with this beastly body, and in terms of raw power, I had multiplied my strength several times over.
“Am I ready to take him on? When we eventually cross paths, will I be able to retreat without meeting d*ath?”
As I continued my self-assessment, Raccoon Rita waddled off somewhere.
After what felt like an eternity, she returned carrying a bright red fruit.
“If you give this to the guy I’m introducing you to, he’ll be thrilled. This is a Tabasco fruit that only grows in the South. He loves spicy food. So, can I get the kiwifruit seeds now? It’s like a referral fee.”
Raccoon Rita eyed the seeds held in my front paw. I chuckled softly as I handed them to her.
“Ha, getting paid just for a simple introduction? Lucky you! So, what’s this guy you’re introducing, another raccoon like you?”
“My ex-husband. He’s not a raccoon anymore.”
“Oh.”
Leaf and I strolled through the forest following the waddling Raccoon Rita.
Honestly, moving through the Night Forest at the pace set by this little guy made us prime candidates for becoming beast food.
I raised my head to look at the sky.
The sun was still high, so we had plenty of time.
With summer in full swing, it would take a while for night to fall.
“The East is the wolves’ territory, right?”
Not wanting to walk in silence, I threw a casual question toward Raccoon Rita.
“Yeah, if we’re being precise, it’s the territory of both wolves and foxes. There are some weirdos mixed in too.”
“Any advice or warnings about the Eastern Forest that might help us?”
“Honestly, all forests are pretty much the same. Just stay hidden from dangerous creatures, keep your senses sharp, and don’t overextend yourself.”
“Got it.”
That sounded like basic advice—don’t walk into traffic now, did I?
“I thought you’d have more specifics like which beasts to watch out for or what not to eat.”
Noticing my hunger for information, Raccoon Rita added a bit more.
“I don’t really know the Eastern Forest either. It’s best to ask the guy you’re about to meet. We’re almost there. Do you see that high place with the claw marks?”
Raccoon Rita pointed at a tall tree with deep, scratched marks high up.
Three diagonal scratches on the thick trunk looked less like claw marks and more like the devastating work of an axe.
Leaf trembled as he looked up at the tree.
“So this is it, the Eastern Forest?”
“Yep, Kublai’s domain. Those claw marks are his too.”
Upon hearing Rita’s reply, I had a vivid mental picture of the gigantic Wolf Kublai clawing at that tree.
While I silently stared at the claw marks, Raccoon Rita nudged me with her words.
“Okay, this is as far as I go, so let me ask you again. Are you really going to move through the Night Forest? You two look like you could easily make it through the day without starving.”
“Surviving isn’t enough. We need to hunt and eat the stronger beasts.”
“Wow, you’re a real fight-loving one, huh? Just born and already so fearless. Well, what I can offer you ends here. Here, take this.”
Raccoon Rita handed me a scroll-like item wrapped in leather.
Once I untied the vine seal, I saw patterns and shapes drawn in black on the brown leather.
“Is this a drawing?”
It looked like something a kindergartener would sketch, but I could vaguely make out trees and rocks.
“I can’t go any further than this. I drew a map to the cave where the next guide is. Leaf should be able to read it.”
As Rita explained, I passed the leather scroll to Leaf.
“So, can you read it?”
“Hmm. This tree drawing with three lines represents this claw-marked tree, right? Then the rock drawing next to it must be this rock to the right.”
Leaf nodded as he compared the drawing to the surroundings.
“This should be enough to find our way without needing Rita’s help. Thanks!”
Leaf purred, hugging and squeezing Rita in a warm embrace.
Seeing a raccoon and a raccoon hug felt like stepping into a fairy tale where everything was peaceful.
“Leaf, you’ve been such a goof since forever. Sneaking into the Monkey’s territory and stealing food from Yan-Mite’s cave.”
“Ew, sis, that’s a secret!”
“But this time, thinking of hunting in the Night Forest is too reckless. You don’t even eat meat! Are you really fond of the white-furred one?”
“No, I…well…”
“Yeah, it’s time for you to find a partner. Whether male or female, when in heat, they become reckless.”
“That’s not it!”
Watching Leaf fluff up in embarrassment made Rita go “Hehe” in a strange way.
I turned my gaze from the raccoon and raccoon’s touching moment.
My head was raised high, and in my sight lay the territory mark scratched by Kublai.
“Kyuying.”
Popping up on my neck, Cloudring Yingyi let out a cute little sound.
“Right, Yingyi? You’re thinking the same thing?”
“Kyuying.”
“Alright, let’s give it a shot then.”
I sank my claws into the tree marked by Kublai’s territory, slowly climbing up.
After climbing high enough that his claws couldn’t reach, I firmly sank my front claws deep into the bark before sliding down like it was a slide.
And just like that, my claw marks carved a deep, sharp trail across the entire tree over Kublai’s territory mark.
“Y-You crazy fool! What the heck are you doing!?”
Rita shouted at me, mouth agape in shock.
Her mouth moving like she had seen a horrific scene muttered, “Oh my…”
“You insane creature! You’ve completely lost it!”
Raccoon Rita continued to chastise me in a loud voice.
“Do you even know what you just did!?”
“What’s there to be surprised about? It’s just a declaration of war, at most.”
“You just challenged the lord of the forest, and you’re saying ‘at most’? Wow. Even if he’s not as trained as Yan-Mite, Kublai excels at tracking. He’s a wolf with a fantastic nose!”
“And that’s why we’re hiring a guide. A great guide knows secret paths to sneak by the forest lord and other beasts, right?”
“True, but it’ll only last a week. I can’t tell if you’re just foolish or brave.”
“Both.”
I spread my front paws wide.
“I’m going to carve my claw marks into not just this tree, but every tree in the forest.”
Leaf and I examined the sketch as we wandered through the Eastern forest path.
The animal fur scattered on the forest floor made it clear that this wasn’t the Southern land of reptiles but the territory of the four-legged beasts.
I grabbed a gray tuft caught in the bushes with my front paw and rubbed it.
“Was this dropped a long time ago? Or was it recently pulled out? Do you think something is nearby?”
Leaf tilted his head in curiosity, asking me.
I fell into deep contemplation and finally tossed the tuft into the air.
“I wouldn’t know.”
I wasn’t a professional hunter, nor did I have any skills or knowledge in tracking beasts, so there was little I could infer from just the hair on the ground.
“Either way, there’s a lot of fur around.”
“This path is probably what the wolves mainly use. I’m not sure, but it must be a patrol route.”
Leaf’s deduction made me look at the paw prints stamped into the ground.
The underbrush was scratched, and the grass was trampled, showing that this path had been developed by beast traffic.
When I lifted my gaze, I noticed branches of tall trees that had been broken.
Unless someone intentionally climbed up and broke them, it seemed a giant creature had knocked them over with its massive body.
“They were mostly swept from left to right. Looks like they walked in a direction similar to where we’re headed.”
I stared at a huge paw print deep enough to show it was at least four or five times larger than my own paw.
“Forest lords planned to rain down destruction and devour everything. I’ll be the first to take a bite out of you, Kublai.”
I couldn’t forget the day Kublai shattered my home and gave me deep, painful scars.
I resisted fiercely, bl**d roaring in my veins, but that fight was clearly a loss for me.
“I’ll debut dramatically through a revenge match. Soon, every beast in the forest will tremble at my name. My name will reach the ears of mythical creatures and divine beings. They, too, will find themselves in my belly. Surely delectable morsels they will be.”
With grand plans swirling in my mind, I chuckled quietly.
“Why are you suddenly laughing? We’re almost there. Just twenty steps left to the left near that rock and there should be a cave.”
Leaf’s voice snapped me back to reality.
I had almost slipped into endless delusions due to overly positive survival thoughts!
“Nineteen, twenty. Hmm? According to this drawing, there should be a small cave nearby?”
Leaf’s puzzled voice drifted in as he alternated looking at the leather scroll in his holding and the surroundings, his tail wagging with confusion.
“Did you come here correctly? Is there something off about the pace of your steps or something?”
“Rita and I match strides. We’re of similar size, you know.”
“Hmm. Then let’s see if there’s anything around.”
Leaf and I began searching the area, looking for anything nearby.
After all, Raccoon Rita had made a secret passage in the cliff, so her ex-husband, the guide of the Eastern Forest, might have hidden an entrance to a cave somewhere.
“Couples tend to have similar traits.”
I heard Leaf’s voice a few meters away.
“See anything?”
I pulled some dirt up with my front paw and replied casually.
“Nope, nothing here. Did you find anything?”
“I don’t know either!”
At that moment, from somewhere, a distinct “ding” sound echoed.
