By Zephyria Thus, they walked across the urban area covered in vines and trees. Even if it was a slight detour, using the roads was much faster for travel. However, the monsters hiding in rusted cars and buses were a bit of a nuisance.
It was when the three of them were walking over an overturned tour bus. With a crash, the glass windows shattered, and a giant pitcher plant lunged.
“Aargh!”
Since plants had much less presence compared to animal-type monsters, Yohan, who hadn’t detected it, was startled. Almost simultaneously as the quick-reflexed Lee Hyun-muk scooped Yohan up in an instant, Yoon Seung-ryong agilely turned around.
“That was a close call. Are you hurt anywhere?”
Lee Hyun-muk asked in a calm voice, as if nothing major had happened. Yohan pointed with a trembling finger and screamed in surprise.
“Seungryong Hyung was eaten!”
Perfectly timed, Yoon Seung-ryong, who had been trying to pull Yohan out of the way, was sucked into the giant maw of the pitcher plant. As Yoon Seung-ryong struggled and yelled something in anger, Lee Hyun-muk, paying no mind, carefully examined Yohan before flicking off a small leaf clinging to his back and crushing it with his shoe.
“It’s best to keep some distance.”
Lee Hyun-muk, far from worrying about Yoon Seung-ryong, simply lifted Yohan and set him down from the bus. It was a truly cold attitude, but there was a reason for it. Smoke began to rise from the pitcher plant, which was shaking its maw back and forth like a heron swallowing a fish. Then, along with a choking toxic miasma, the plant completely melted away.
“Hmph, damn it, cough… Ptooey!”
Yoon Seung-ryong emerged from the plant, which had been dissolved by poison, spitting out the sticky mucus that had gotten into his mouth with a scowl. After taking out his frustration by stomping ferociously on the dissolving pitcher plant, he then turned to Yohan with a gentle expression and requested,
“Yohan, could you purify this? It smells like fermented food waste that’s been aged for a hundred years.”
Aside from the sticky mucus covering his entire body, Yoon Seung-ryong was perfectly fine. Relieved, Yohan purified the disgusting, foul-smelling mucus, which then turned into sweet honey… Yoon Seung-ryong, now sticky and sweet all over, walked away, licking his own hands.
As they neared the outskirts of the city, they took another meal break. They were eating pre-made, convenient meals. Yohan, chewing on a rice ball, noticed a small monster lurking in his field of vision.
It was so small, only the size of a fingernail, and at first glance, it looked like a rolling dust ball. It crawled around on skinny legs. Because it was so insignificant, neither Lee Hyun-muk nor Yoon Seung-ryong even glanced at it.
‘What kind of creature was that….’
It was as Yohan was wondering this and taking a bite of his rice ball that a clump of rice rolled onto the floor. The monster, which had been lurking near Yohan, darted towards it. Its target was the savory clump of rice. Yohan, who had been watching, surprised that the monster was also coveting food, gasped.
“Huh?”
As the monster diligently ate the rice, its appearance began to change little by little, and after a moment, it took the form of a plump, small lizard! Startled by its own transformation, the lizard grabbed the rice clump and ran away. Yohan excitedly called out to Lee Hyun-muk.
“Lee Hyun-muk-ssi, did you just see that? It returned to its original form after eating my food!”
“Indeed, it was a small lizard.”
Lee Hyun-muk replied in a gentle voice. Yet, neither Lee Hyun-muk nor Yoon Seung-ryong seemed particularly surprised. It seemed they both knew that food contained purification power. Yohan, dumbfounded, asked again.
“You both knew? I didn’t…”
“Well, you handle such large energies, so it’s understandable. But for me, your energy, no matter how small the amount, is felt with astonishing clarity. It’s impossible not to know. The Team leader is probably similar.”
I see… Hearing Yoon Seung-ryong’s explanation, Yohan suddenly looked down at his rice ball. Could feeding food to a monster in an emergency situation be considered an attack? But then he thought that shooting light would be more efficient and faster than feeding it. It was a useless thought.
After finishing their meal, it was time to walk endlessly again. As Yoon Seung-ryong’s irritation, which couldn’t be solved by licking alone, reached its peak due to the sticky honey, they re-entered the jungle and discovered a pool of water.
“While we’re refilling our water, should we wash up a bit?”
Yohan, who was indeed running low on drinking water, was delighted. Although the pool smelled like it would definitely cause stomach trouble if drunk, it was no problem for him, a Purifier. However, Lee Hyun-muk frowned, looked around carefully, and advised,
“Near Water Sources, there are always monster habitats, so we should handle this quickly and leave. Be careful.”
“Yes, I’ll be careful!”
While Lee Hyun-muk kept watch, Yohan quickly purified the pool, which soon became clear spring water. After swiftly transferring the water into PET bottles, Yoon Seung-ryong hastily shed his clothes. Again, without any shame, the naked Yoon Seung-ryong jumped into the water.
“Ugh, I feel like I can finally live.”
He splashed noisily, washing off the honey that clung to his body. The speed at which he washed his clothes and put them back on was astonishingly fast. It was as Yoon Seung-ryong, now wearing his lower garments, was wringing water out of his shirt to put it on. Suddenly, a nervous laughter was heard.
Kkik-kik… Kkeu-kkeu-kkeu-kkeu…
The sound of unknown laughter echoed and faded into the distance. Seeing Lee Hyun-muk and Yoon Seung-ryong react instantly and tilt their spears, Yohan swallowed dryly.
“You said the weak ones here don’t make noise…?”
This meant, conversely, that making noise in this jungle signified a dangerous opponent. Lee Hyun-muk moved closer to Yohan and muttered,
“We might get caught up in something troublesome… Let’s move quickly.”
They hurried their steps and left the Water Source. However, about ten minutes later, Yohan realized they had indeed gotten caught up in something troublesome.
At some point, distinct presences suddenly began to appear, multiplying into the tens, then hundreds. Kkik-kik… Kkeu-reu-reu… Monstrous creatures whispered and sneered faintly from various places, and soon the sounds grew louder and more boisterous. Yoon Seung-ryong clicked his tongue and started running.
“Yohan, run!”
Yohan, his face pale, ran after Yoon Seung-ryong. Kkarr-r, kkarr-reuk! Boisterous laughter poured from all directions. A horde of furry monsters with upside-down faces moved from vine to vine, chasing them. The mouths on their foreheads, turned into frowns, let out laughter.
…No, on second thought, since the mouths were attached upside down, they weren’t frowning but actually laughing properly. Despite their heavily Corrupted forms, the three of them could clearly tell what their original forms were.
“Ah, this is annoying. I guess there was a monkey temple around here!”
Yoon Seung-ryong’s curses could be heard from ahead. Even while running fast, his spear skillfully cut down grotesque monsters that suddenly sprang out from the sides or vines that blocked their path. Lee Hyun-muk ran close behind Yohan, saying,
“Just keep looking ahead. Conserve your abilities as much as possible.”
Yohan nodded and tried to calm his fearful heart, trusting the two of them as he ran. Suddenly, a long arm shot out from the bushes, aiming for him, but he didn’t falter. He knew well that his role was not to attack but to preserve himself as best as possible. As he trusted, Lee Hyun-muk’s spear blade flashed, severing the long arm that was reaching towards Yohan.
“Team leader!”
Yoon Seung-ryong shouted, as if asking how much longer they had to run. He had already killed dozens of monkey monsters, yet the laughter echoing from all sides showed no sign of diminishing. Lee Hyun-muk, running without even panting, murmured in a chilling voice,
“These guys are herding us.”
At those words, Yohan’s heart plummeted with fear. Individually, they weren’t that threatening, but with hundreds of them, even Yoon Seung-ryong and Lee Hyun-muk seemed bothered. Soon, Lee Hyun-muk made a decision.
“Just keep going like this. It’s best if you handle them all at once.”
“Okay!”
Yoon Seung-ryong replied in a voice devoid of tension. Then Lee Hyun-muk instructed Yohan as well.
“Seung-ryong will use his poison, so be ready to purify at any time.”
“…Yes!”
As soon as Yohan replied, panting, the trees thinned out, and suddenly a flower garden appeared.
It was by no means an ordinary flower garden. Unusually for the Abyss, giant, colorful flowers with incredibly vivid colors and a sweet yet somehow nauseating fragrance fluttered. Their swaying back and forth without a hint of wind was bizarre. It was even more so because the desiccated corpses of monsters were scattered among the flowers.
And as if the purpose was to herd them into this flower garden, the monsters leaped and surrounded them. Their upside-down faces creaked irregularly from side to side, casting malicious gazes. Yoon Seung-ryong stopped at the edge of the flower garden, avoiding entering it, instead of the monkeys. His eyes blazed with anger and annoyance.
“You bastards, you’re all dead!”
As a sinister purple mist emanated from his body, Yohan quickly unleashed his abilities. Yoon Seung-ryong’s toxic aura rose like a high wall. Then, taking the form of a giant wave, it crashed down upon the approaching horde of monkeys. It was a level of operation that Yohan, who could only project his abilities around his body, could not replicate.