NOVEL NEXT Chapter 15
Euna sighed in front of Jirisan. She knew it was a stupid and reckless thing to do. She was also aware that it could cause trouble. But still, she just had to check.
Was the last thing I saw a dream or was it real? Did that slime really save me, or was I just imagining it? With her thoughts all jumbled up, she felt compelled to find out.
She knew it was wrong. It might be dangerous too. But… well, she had made her own preparations to some extent. So, just for a bit.
She thought to just check the place where she last collapsed and slowly began to ascend Jirisan.
Still, the memories from the hospital flooded her mind, leaving only a message for someone behind.
***
[Experience has reached its maximum. Lv.6 → Lv.7]
As a result of searching for food all night, she managed to reach level 7. And sure enough, as morning came, the bear arrived.
“Grrr~”
To the creature asking if she slept well, she replied, “Woof!” It had become familiar like a daily routine.
After all, it was good to have a buddy like him. While he sauntered around looking for food, she was scanning for edible animals with D-grade detection. They were not interrupting each other.
As her level increased, the disappointing part was her magic power. It did go up, but only slightly. She reached level 7 but had only 15 magic power—just 2 points per level. Compared to that woman from before, she was significantly lacking.
Was there a good way to increase her magic? The only thing that came to mind was an elixir, but where would she randomly find something like that in Jirisan?
If luck was really on her side, maybe she would find something like ginseng, which could boost her magic, but where would she even find such a thing? Those thoughts soon flipped.
‘…Is this for real?’
[Ginseng consumed. Magic Power increased by 2]
[Ginseng consumed. Magic Power increased by 3]
There was no mountain ginseng, but there was regular ginseng. Sure, it was inferior to mountain ginseng, but time is gold. No, more like a scam.
[54-year-old ginseng: planted for cultivation but left unearthed for a long time]
After planting ginseng, a dungeon appeared, and monsters showed up, so the farmer had no choice but to abandon the ginseng field. Maybe because this ginseng was about 50 years old, the embedded magic power was quite significant.
Grown by humans and nurtured by nature for 50 years? I couldn’t resist.
“Grr? Grr?”
This guy was the one who led her here. Was he actually smart enough to listen to human words? Even if it wasn’t an elixir, he guided her to the herbs she needed, following her as she ate something.
Never had she eaten ginseng before. The only thing she ever tasted was red ginseng candy. Or maybe if mixed in ginseng chicken soup.
As she finished gathering ginseng, her magic skyrocketed to 30. There were still plenty left, but it seemed there was a limit to how much could be raised with the same elixir, so she decided to save the rest for later.
After hitting level 7, she had grown slightly larger than a Shiba Inu. If she gained one more level, she might stand a chance against a Worg—a monster wolf. It was about time she pinpointed that creature’s location.
Being D-grade, her detection range skyrocketed to a full 5km radius. Combining heat detection and presence detection created a mini-map in her mind—it felt like being in a game. Naturally, the information gained varied with distance; within about 1km, she could even identify what it was.
This gave her a sense of security. It was somewhat different from what hunters used for magic detection, but her magic was growing day by day.
By the way, if one only had magic, nearly everything could be done. So, what’s the point of skills?
‘Efficiency.’
Just because she lacked magic detection, it didn’t mean she couldn’t sense magic with her own. Not having magic armor didn’t mean she couldn’t make armor with magic either. However, having skills allowed her to drastically reduce performance and consumption. In the end, the more skills and stats one had, the better.
None of the characters, including the protagonist, could check their status or levels. Sure, some skills for emotions existed, but even those couldn’t check stats. It was only her who had that exception. They weren’t fools; they surely understood that just because they couldn’t check didn’t mean it didn’t exist.
From the start, the system existing in this world was different from the one helping her. The system in the novel didn’t possess a self.
[…….]
What exactly is this system… so many questions that she had tried to push aside came flooding back, but the system remained silent. She didn’t expect much either.
“Grr!”
The bear’s roar snapped her out of her thoughts. He was holding something strange in his front paw that looked bizarre. It resembled an insect but felt like a half-serpent, half-insect hybrid. She didn’t know all flora and fauna but it felt odd to have such a creature in South Korea.
Offering her the bug like a gift, she tilted her head, wondering if it was safe to eat. Using her detection, she found out,
[Dragon Worm: The weakest monster and a fairy-type larva…]
Despite the description of it being a monster, it didn’t look like one at all. Imagining that she might earn some experience by eating it, she was about to try.
“…?!”
Suddenly, it exploded.
She felt a strange sense of déjà vu. Before she gained sight, it was clear that something like this had happened. Like when that slime had burst on her before. Shouldn’t it have warned her if it was going to explode?
[Dragon Worm: The weakest monster and a fairy-type larva that causes magical explosions when stressed]
[Length 2.5cm][Height 0.6cm] [Weight 6.2g]
[Strength 2] [Agility 2] [Vitality 3] [Magic Power 17]
…Ah. I had forgotten this. Guess I should listen to all of what’s being said in Korean till the end.
Magical explosion. At this level of power, it could be dangerous even to a person. Of course, it wouldn’t kill, but it would surely cause burns. Though small, the impact was significant.
If this had happened before she consumed ginseng, her magic would have been even lower. Knowing it was a monster made her realize that monsters were indeed monsters. So, how should she deal with this thing? Eating it probably wouldn’t raise her magic… As those thoughts crossed her mind, she heard voices nearby.
“Hey, isn’t that a Worg?”
“Dude, what monster tags along with a bear? That’s clearly a baby bear.”
“Doesn’t it look a bit different though? Should we try to catch it?”
“Don’t! Focus instead; we don’t need any distractions.”
The voices were quiet enough that she could have easily missed them, but she heard them perfectly. It hadn’t activated her detection, but if she had been any more careless, she could have easily been caught and killed.
…She felt as if she had a close call. Had she not been with the bear, she would have had to run. And there was no guarantee she could have escaped.
“Grr?”
Once again, she was being helped. While pretending to be a baby bear, the dragon worm fled far away, which felt a bit regrettable.
She was planning to leave Jirisan after munching on that monster wolf, so she might not get a chance to see the dragon worm again. Still, it would be nice if she could spot it one more time, but that might be a challenge. After all, it had caused a pretty powerful explosion with only 17 magic power… and then a thought came to her.
‘How exactly does one use magic?’
Using skills wasn’t difficult. If she thought about using them, they came naturally. But magic wasn’t a skill. There was no way she could use something she didn’t even possess naturally.
…She didn’t know. She had never had it before. It seemed she’d have to ponder this a bit more.
“Grr?”
Meanwhile, the bear had climbed up a tree and was licking tree sap. She wondered when he got up there, showing quite a bit of talent.
Having quickly slurped up the sap, he cautiously made his way down. Though he had climbed up with confidence, he was being careful on the way down. Usually, climbing up is harder, right? Leaving the struggling bear, she hurried on her way.
He’d find a way to follow her anyway. So casually hunting for food, by the time noon rolled around, she had managed to do quite a bit of hunting.
[Fear of the Snake Bone (Worg {Negative}) Lv.7] [EXP 6131 / 8932]
Despite her best efforts, she still had a long way to go. After evolving, the experience gained from consuming animals decreased significantly, making it tougher and tougher.
‘I miss the days when I could just catch a chicken to level up.’
Currently, the experience she earned was about 300 from a roe deer. A wild boar was a whole 1000. She could level up by taking down three wild boars, but considering the number of animals she had consumed with the Worg, wild animals had become increasingly rare.
There were probably quite a few animals that fled in fear. Many of them must have given up on living in Jirisan altogether and fled outside the mountain.
After all, the only thing one sees while wandering the mountains is the corpses of animals and the fear of unknown predators. The fear of going from being at the top of the food chain in Jirisan to suddenly becoming prey. It’s only natural to run away.
On the other hand, there was this bear happily foraging for acorns. Watching him, it felt like he was breaking the image she had of bears. She understood that black bears didn’t enjoy hunting, but was he this serene? He surely would have figured out long ago that she wasn’t a bear cub.
Suddenly, the bear stopped eating acorns and turned his head.
“Grr!”
Unlike the usual confused sounds, it was a very threatening one, as if he was trying to scare something off. She heard a voice before she even activated her detection.
“…Stab me in the side.”
Turning to the direction of the voice, she recognized the girl she had seen fighting the black wolf. Was her name Euna? Scanning around as if looking for something, she then gasped when she saw the bear beside her.
“A bear?”
After briefly closing her eyes to focus, Euna lifted her up as if carrying a plane, tilting her head in puzzlement.
“…It really is you. No doubt about it.”
‘What does she mean by “no doubt”?’
She must have been mistaking her for a bear cub since she was next to the bear. She was relieved about that, at least.
“Ugh… heavy.”
“Grrrr!”
To anyone who didn’t know any better, it would look like a mother bear with her cub, and suddenly that cub was lifted up. The bear roared angrily, ready to charge at Euna.
“So cute…”
At that moment, Euna, still holding her, looked around with a strange glint in her eyes. Was she perhaps wanting to take her? She couldn’t help but chuckle.
“Grrrr!”
It was quite a spectacle. With the mother bear threatening off to the side while Euna unbotheredly held up her cub—it seemed like something you wouldn’t even see at a zoo.
“Sorry~.”
Contrary to her apology to the mother bear, Euna scrutinized her seriously.
“It can’t be a slime, right?”
With a deep sigh, she set her down again. Euna’s eyes still held longing. If her yearning for a bear cub was this profound, she might as well aim to be a zookeeper…
***
Something was sniffing around. The unmistakable scent of her rival, one she had never fully caught. The irresistible taste of the meat she had once experienced. Last time she had backed down, but not this time.
Drooling in anticipation, the Worg stretched its sluggish body. Chasing after the scent, the Worg took off running.