As Expected, My Hunch Was Right
[Fruit of Vitality]
◆ Consumable
A fruit favored by Packet Apes, also used as potion ingredients.
Effect: Restores 50 MP upon consumption.
I found the fruit where Packet Apes roamed—a blue fruit similar to the Vitality Fruit but distinct in color.
I plucked it from the tree. Crunch. Biting into the Fruit of Vitality, sweet nectar flowed within. The Vitality Fruit had a refreshing bite, but this one was rich and syrupy. It felt like sipping sweet antipyretics—something impossible in games where you merely assign items to character slots.
After swallowing the nectar, I felt mana replenishing inside me. This should do. Licking the juice from my fingertips, I plucked nearby fruits and filled my pockets. With these, I wouldn’t need to worry about stamina or mana drain.
Thud! I sprinted to the end of a branch and leaped to a neighboring tree. By hopping between branches, I aimed to shorten my journey to the lake. I’d wasted time gathering fruits; I needed to make up for it. Though leaping between trees consumed mana, I countered it by munching on Fruits of Vitality.
Whoosh! Crack!
Occasionally, Packet Apes lurking in the shadows targeted me mid-jump, hurling boulders. But they posed no threat. My evasion instinct kicked in. Twisting midair, I batted their rocks back with my sheath. No need to chase them. Without looking back, I landed on a lower branch than intended, ignoring the direction the rock came from. Hitting them was guaranteed—after all, this gate’s objective wasn’t to exterminate all monsters, just to defeat the sovereign. Chasing them would only waste time and energy.
Thud! I turned without hesitation.
Before long, the forest’s ecosystem shifted. The trees grew shorter, the leaves broader, and the ground squelched underfoot. The world inside the gate defied common sense, where tropical and frigid zones coexisted. Sudden environmental changes were common. In the game, when the environment changed, so did the monsters. I moved stealthily, alert for new threats.
Not long after… Croak, croak.
I spotted monsters ahead—蟾蜍-like creatures with yellow caps hopping across the damp earth. Were these also from this gate? Drawing on memories from my past life, I identified them: Mud Kero. Amphibian monsters whose speed increased in humid environments, they were among the stronger Rank 1 foes. To reach the sovereign’s lake, I’d have to pass through them.
But Mud Kero weren’t just annoying—they spat viscous mucus for ranged attacks with high accuracy. Being hit had a chance to paralyze. Evading their attacks was manageable, but their habitat’s extent was unknown… Paralysis was a headache.
Fortunately, there was a solution. I’d need to find antidotes while navigating their territory. In the mudflats where Mud Kero dwelled, a flower grew, feeding on their aura. A white bloom rising from the muck, its roots neutralized paralysis. I decided to prioritize finding these flowers.
Then, suddenly. Croak, croak.
I froze at a presence. Under a broad leaf, clinging to a tree trunk, a Mud Kero inflated its throat.
[Monster Encountered.]
[Mud Kero (Rank 01) x 1]
Its amphibian eyes locked onto me. Shit.
In the game, Mud Kero were known for camouflaging in the jungle—something not fully reflected in gameplay, hence my lapse. I cursed myself.
That moment, battle erupted. The others below reacted too.
[Monster Encountered.]
[Mud Kero (Rank 01) x 4]
Damn it.
The fight wasn’t easy. Two spammed mucus to pin me down, one cleverly cornered me, and the other two tried to restrain me with their long tongues. Is this what they call “child’s play”? The difficulty’s way too high. For a middle schooler, maybe, but for me, still an elementary student, this evaluation was brutal. Or is my luck just shit?
Mud Kero usually acted alone, but I’d unluckily stumbled upon five. Low luck must be to blame. In the game, luck affected critical rates, evasion, and drop rates… Maybe in this game-turned-reality, luck influenced other aspects too. Can’t boost luck, though… I clicked my tongue. Luck was hard to raise, and with my evasion instinct, it mattered little. I prioritized stats like health, agility, strength, endurance, and mana over luck.
Anyway, the battle somehow ended.
“These pests are getting uppity.” Croak, croak…
Impossible in the game—yet here, I exploited their poor coordination, turning them against each other. They collapsed under friendly fire. “That’ll teach them to play nice.” I snickered at the tongue-tangled foes, immobilized and squirming.
“Let me grab a quick snapshot.” Croak, croak…
I left them to their fate. Severing their tongues would make them bleed out, endlessly fighting till death—too troublesome. Instead, I snapped a photo and left without a backward glance.
Soon, I found the flower I sought. “…Got it.” A white bloom in the mud. Carefully uprooting it, I wiped the roots clean and swallowed it. “Ugh, bitter…”
[Consumed Mud Herb Root.]
[Paralysis resistance increases by 11% for 30 minutes.]
[Consuming multiple Mud Herbs can raise resistance up to 15%.]
Depending on the flower’s state, resistance varied. I ate more herbs to max out my resistance. “This should suffice.” With 15% resistance, Mud Kero’s paralysis wouldn’t affect me.
I continued, foraging herbs through the forest. How long had I trekked?
“Hm?”
“If only my body would move properly…”
Ahead, someone battled a crimson-capped Mud Kero. “That’s… a Ruddle Kero.” A Rank 2 monster. In the game, characters needed stats over 50 to handle them. Whoever it is, they’re struggling.
As Grandpa explained, most monsters in the gate were weakened. The Ruddle Kero seemed so too—its slimy skin oozed blood, and deep gashes from blades were visible. It was near death.
“Hmm…”
Yet, even weakened, a Rank 2 monster’s combat sense wasn’t to be trifled with. The other person must be paralyzed. Meanwhile, my unknown relative, facing away from me, couldn’t fight properly—probably paralyzed. What to do?
Hunters nearby would likely intervene when things got dire. But I couldn’t just leave. Can’t help it. I decided to aid the stranger.
“No, don’t come!”
The Ruddle Kero was fixated on its foe, oblivious to me. I aimed to strike swiftly, severing its life in one blow.
“Phew…”
Gathering mana at my blade’s tip, I prepared to leap. Scanning my position and the Ruddle Kero’s, I spotted a few trees. If I stepped on that trunk, I could drop onto my target.
Shuwang Style Attack Form VII
I unleashed my footwork.
Bursting mana from my soles, I leaped off the marked tree trunk toward the ground. The monster still hadn’t noticed.
Lion’s High Drop
An attack style where power scales with falling height. The mana at my blade reacted. A spiraling mana vortex swelled rapidly, enveloping me. Screetch! The sound of wind tearing—like a lion’s roar.
Then… “Kero?”
[Monster Encountered.]
[Ruddle Kero (Rank 02) x 1]
The monster heard the noise. But by the time it looked up, it was too late. I plunged my wind-slicing strike into its crown.
──!*
The mana enveloping me and blade engulfed the beast. A storm like a lion’s claws ravaged it. Its crown burst first, then it was torn from top to bottom.
“Phew…”
Ignoring the gore splattered on me, I exhaled in relief. The attack drained significant mana. Crunch. I bit into a Fruit of Vitality. Then, I turned to the relative whose shield had failed, leaving him a mess.
“You hurt?” I offered the fruit.
“Do Gyeon-woo….”
Having already done a good deed, I meant to share paralysis antidotes too. But spotting my “relative,” I scowled instantly.
“What the hell? It’s you?”
Do Seung-woo, wearing the Ruddle Kero’s eye like a hat, made me groan. I pocketed the fruit meant for him.
He, too, grimaced.
“When did I ask for help?”
“You told me not to come, but who was trembling in fear?”
“…I could’ve handled it alone. You just stole my finishing blow….”
“Oh, really? My deepest apologies.”
Saving Do Seung-woo left a sour taste—worse, it was terrible. To fix this blunder, I quickly scanned the surroundings.
“What’re you doing?”
“Sorry for stealing your kill. Let me lure a monster over.”
“What?”
“I’ll recreate a situation like earlier so you can fight alone this time.”
“…”
“Don’t worry, I won’t interfere. I’ll be on my way.”
“…Are you kidding?”
“Why would I joke with you? We’re not on such terms.”
A Mud Kero was nearby. I hurled a pebble at it.
“Kero?”
The monster turned, spotting us.
[Monster Encountered.]
[Mud Kero (Rank 01) x 1]
“Then, I’ll be off.”
“Hey! Wait! Stop, I said stop!”
“Stop what? The monster’s already targeting you. I’m leaving. Bye!”
“Hey! Do Gyeon-woo!”
I couldn’t kill my relative, so I let the monster do it. This is what they call “borrowing a knife to kill.”
“Well, that guy’s skilled enough to survive, and if things get bad, hunters will step in. Still, feels good.” My steps were lighter than ever.
“Come back! You little shit!”
Do Seung-woo’s shouting faded behind me. Unfortunately, I couldn’t tell who he was yelling at, nor did I care.
On the other hand, it was foolish of him to shout like that. Doesn’t he realize he’s drawing every monster nearby? Of course, not my problem. Let him handle it. Better yet, I avoided monsters altogether.
Without a backward glance, I left.
Leave a Reply