By Zephyria “Hoo….”
After moving for a while, Yohan let out a sigh. The black forest hadn’t been a particularly pleasant place to travel, but this jungle was truly beyond imagination. It wasn’t just the stuffy air, but the strange, overgrown plants all around.
Even now, as Yoon Seung-ryong cleared a path with his weapon, Yohan felt his limbs breaking out in a rash. Fortunately, thanks to his purification ability and the regeneration of a High-level Awakener, he recovered quickly, but he didn’t feel great.
It was about half a day later, with that stinging and tickling sensation, when it happened.
“Huh, it’s a road?”
When Yoon Seung-ryong lightly stamped his foot, there was a sound of it hitting a hard surface. Black concrete pavement was visible between the tangled plant roots. Lee Hyun-muk tore off a nearby vine, and the purple plant that had been covering the building scurried away like a snake. Soon, a building with an exotic architectural style was revealed.
“It seems like at least two different zones have merged. The city zone appeared first, and then the jungle zone nearby must have appeared and covered the city.”
At Yoon Seung-ryong’s explanation, Yohan looked around with curious eyes. As they advanced along the sparsely visible roads, they soon saw several buildings covered in plants and trees. Standing in the center of an intersection that must have once been a bustling street in some country, looking at the modern buildings being conquered by strangely wriggling plants, felt peculiar.
“We rest here today.”
At Lee Hyun-muk’s declaration, Yohan relaxed his shoulders in relief. After spending half the day navigating a jungle full of stinging, sticky plants, his fatigue was immense. The three of them searched the surroundings for a building they could use as shelter. Yohan, who was looking inside the buildings for anything salvageable that he could purify, was disappointed.
“Is it because of the plants, making things rot? These buildings look like they’re hundreds of years old.”
Even in the Ruined City, it was hard to find usable items in the older sections, but it was worse here. The furniture was so old it had rotted; it crumbled at a touch, and all the metal items were rusted. He barely managed to find a building that looked like it had been a grocery store, but all he found were rusted cans. Cautiously, he purified them and opened one, only to find less than half its contents remaining.
“It must have been heavily contaminated or decayed….”
Yohan clicked his tongue as he looked at the thick, porridge-like contents. Usually, when purified, substances harmful to humans turned into harmless powder or disappeared. That’s why the cans were almost empty. As Yohan sighed, Yoon Seung-ryong peeked over.
“Let’s see. …It doesn’t taste bad?”
Yoon Seung-ryong boldly dipped his finger in and tasted it, smacking his lips. Yohan bravely followed suit and tasted it. And he was amazed.
“It tastes like corn porridge…!”
In any case, it was too good to throw away, so they scraped together the contents of the cans and decided it would be their meal for the day. Meanwhile, Lee Hyun-muk had found a building suitable for shelter.
“Let’s stay here tonight.”
Lee Hyun-muk said, sending electricity through the plants covering the building to burn them away. The shelter he chose was in relatively good condition compared to the other buildings, with no crumbling walls. First, Lee Hyun-muk cleared out any monsters inside with a blast of electricity, then Yohan purified the area. Afterward, Yoon Seung-ryong set up mattresses and tents, transforming it into a reasonably comfortable place.
After finishing their meal of rusted cans consisting of corn porridge, unknown fish porridge, and fruit porridge, Yohan examined the interior of the building. The exotic-style building was now old and faded, decorated with some unknown paintings. After observing closely, Yohan tilted his head.
“It looks like an Asian building. Maybe… India?”
“Oh… I’ve never been to India…”
Yoon Seung-ryong mumbled, flopping down as soon as they had settled in. Thanks to Yohan’s purification, it had improved a lot, but he still had moments of sudden lethargy and laziness. He seemed determined not to get up unless something major happened. Yohan, meanwhile, peeled a chocolate bar, put it in his mouth, and sprinkled purification like a watering can on the wilting plants. Lee Hyun-muk returned after scouting the surroundings.
“There don’t seem to be any major threats nearby.”
“You worked hard! Come here. I’ll purify you.”
Lee Hyun-muk ambled over and sat nearby. Then, Yoon Seung-ryong, who had been flailing his limbs, suddenly became still. Yohan offered Lee Hyun-muk a chocolate bar as well and sprinkled purification on him. While traveling through the jungle, he wanted to avoid either of them turning into a Madman as much as possible. Just imagining it was a headache.
As Yohan began purifying, a look of peace spread across Yoon Seung-ryong and Lee Hyun-muk’s faces. Their sharp gazes, which had been tense throughout the journey, softened, and their eyes relaxed. After purifying for a while and feeling tired, Yohan yawned, and Lee Hyun-muk gently tapped the back of his hand, saying, “That’s enough.”
“Heh heh…” Yohan, retracting his light, smiled silently, feeling proud. The result of his purification, infused with care, showed two people who looked as clean and fluffy as if they had just bathed.
Lee Hyun-muk was on watch tonight. Yohan had insisted on taking turns standing watch himself, but both of them had brushed him off, telling him to do it next time. Since then, Yohan’s turn for watch had been indefinitely postponed. The logic that it would be better for him to get a good night’s sleep and recover his abilities seemed plausible even to Yohan, so he was now making an effort to sleep as deeply as possible.
Yohan, now accustomed to sleeping sandwiched between the two, crawled into the center of the mattress. He leaned against the wall, holding his long spear, glanced once at Lee Hyun-muk, and then peacefully drifted off to sleep. Thus, the first day in the jungle passed without incident.
If there was one thing Yohan couldn’t get used to in the Abyss, it was the lack of day and night. Even upon waking, there was no bright light, so he never felt refreshed from a deep sleep. Rubbing his eyelids, Yohan looked alternately at the two people sitting very close beside him.
“Are you two even sleeping…?”
Except for the one time he saw them sleeping in the Ruined City, Yohan had never seen them sleep. Yoon Seung-ryong, who seemed even lazier than yesterday, waved his hand and said, “It’s okay not to sleep, we don’t die. We don’t die.”
While insomnia was a major Contamination Symptom, these two seemed to have it much worse. Yohan slowly got out of bed, sprinkling the purification he had recharged overnight.
Looking around, the interior of the building, which had been gloomy and dirty yesterday, now had a rather warm atmosphere. The mattresses they used on the floor looked as clean as if newly purchased, and there was almost no foul odor. Even the light seeping through the cracks in the walls looked like sunlight. Yohan, with eyes still heavy with sleep, rubbed the back of his neck and said,
“I feel like my abilities are getting a little stronger.”
“It’s not just a feeling; it’s actually true. Abilities grow the more you use them. Not all Intermediate-level Awakeners have the same abilities, do they?”
Yoon Seung-ryong was right. Although uncommon, there were instances where the abilities of Low-grade Awakeners surpassed Intermediate-level ones through training. This phenomenon had already been interviewed about and published in papers by various Awakeners, stating that abilities could grow with use. Lee Hyun-muk nodded in agreement with Yoon Seung-ryong.
“Since you haven’t been Awakened for long, your growth rate will be especially high. You’re still in your prime for growth.”
Yoon Seung-ryong looked at Yohan with a fond gaze, like an older brother looking at a much younger sibling. As he absentmindedly stroked Yohan’s head, Lee Hyun-muk said calmly,
“Stop touching him. He’ll wear out.”
“Our Yohan mustn’t wear out and disappear, no, no.”
Even as he said that, Yoon Seung-ryong ruffled Yohan’s hair until it stood on end, but when Lee Hyun-muk gave him a steady look, he quietly let go. In any case, Yohan felt good with the warm atmosphere among them. That was until after breakfast, before they left the building.
“Haa, this already sucks….”
Yoon Seung-ryong’s tone was quite rough, but Yohan inwardly agreed. Coming out of the building, which had been so comfortably purified, made the unpleasantness and discomfort of the contaminated environment feel twice as strong. Even the mud on their shoes felt unnaturally sticky. No, sometimes clumps of mud seemed to crawl, so perhaps it wasn’t just a feeling….
Looking back at the building they had stayed in for about half a day with a wistful gaze, Yohan trudged along behind Yoon Seung-ryong.
“Later, when we find a large building, how about we settle down and decorate it? Grow fruit trees in the yard, cultivate a field, dig a well…”
Just thinking about it made him feel good. While having happy, optimistic thoughts, Yohan looked at Lee Hyun-muk, who, unusually, was smiling brightly.
“Yes, whatever you want to do, do it as you wish.”
Such an infinitely generous answer made Yohan feel inexplicably shy, and he scratched his cheek, avoiding his gaze. It was a big problem. The more time passed, the more he seemed to like Lee Hyun-muk. …But how could anyone not like someone like Lee Hyun-muk? He was the strongest Awakened in Korea! He was so handsome! And he was cool and kind too!