NOVEL NEXT Chapter 4
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It’s surprisingly not that painful.
When I think about it, I’ve got an E-rank skill, so there’s no way I can’t take on a mere chicken. Just imagining the real monsters in this darn worldview later…
Of course, that doesn’t mean this chicken is an easy opponent right now.
I took a moment to steady my heart. If I can’t run away, then I have to fight.
“Cluck cluck cluck!”
It seems the chicken noticed that I wasn’t as easy pickings as it thought, and it approached cautiously.
I can’t win in speed. I need to bind its feet right when it comes in. For that, I first need to prepare. I carefully extended my tentacles behind it.
Only those who prepare first can survive. The chicken seemed ready to engage with its sharp claws, but it was completely hidden from view. I wouldn’t even know I was hit until I felt it. Their quick attacks were impossible to see or dodge with my weak eyesight.
‘It’s manageable.’
With physical damage reduction and my weak regeneration increased to E-rank, my torn body quickly healed. Realizing that attacking me just once or twice wouldn’t take me down, the chicken lowered its stance and shifted its weight forward.
But my tentacles, already prepared in advance, were ready to ensnare its ankles. Now, all I had to do was pull.
“Cluck! Cluck cluck!”
It flew up into the air, as if it found me amusing.
Then it landed gracefully some distance away. I didn’t expect a chicken to be able to fly. Well, upon reflection, wild chickens could probably fly a bit. It was a mistake not to consider that earlier.
It even realized I had my tentacles out. “Know your enemy, know yourself, and you will win every battle,” right? I immediately used my observation skill.
[Cheonggye 724g: The chicken’s field of vision is nearly 360 degrees.]
A 360-degree field of vision means it can see everything around. Surprise attacks are practically useless.
Ambushing won’t work. I’m too slow.
Feeling small in the face of the wild’s amazing reflexes, I quickly came up with a plan.
I used my tentacles to shape some dirt into a spoon-like form and scooped a decent amount of dirt. I hurled that at the chicken.
If it wants to fly, it better be a slingshot…!
The scattered dirt hit the chicken like a shotgun blast. The chicken, unable to hide its surprise, seemed to realize that keeping distance was a disadvantage for it. Still, it wouldn’t run away, fluffing up its feathers and trying to look tough like a lion.
‘Is that a chicken or a lion?’
To me, it looked like a lion. No matter how much it tried to evade, it was impossible to dodge all the thrown dirt. The furious chicken flapped its wings and charged at me once more.
Of course, maintaining distance would be advantageous, but if it’s faster than me, there’s no way to stop its advance. It was going to be a head-on battle. Even though my skill level had risen to Lv.4, my tentacles were still weak. Throwing dirt would just annoy it without causing real damage. Plus, lacking surface area, suffocating it was also out of the question.
I needed a different weapon.
The weapon that came to mind was blackjack.
A blunt weapon used by police and guards in the 19th century for maintaining order.
‘I’ll make that.’
I pulled out my tentacles and rounded the ends. But I couldn’t stop there. Otherwise, it would just be a squishy mass of slime. I needed something far more formidable to deal damage.
Thus,
[Available Skills]
1. Tentacle (F)
…
6. Weak Hardening (F)
I acquired Hardening. Using it on the round blob made it take shape and solidify.
“Cluck?”
[Tentacle (F) Lv.4’s proficiency has maxed out. Tentacle (F) Lv.4 → Tentacle (F) Lv.5]
At just the right moment, my tentacle level increased. It became a bit harder and stronger. I spun my whole body like I was doing a hula hoop, and the blob that extended from my head spun threateningly.
Using centrifugal force, I could compensate for my slight lack of strength.
As I transformed into something resembling a game’s slime, the chicken looked at me with a fierce glare.
“Cluck cluck cluck…!”
It shouldn’t be angry for just a chicken; it had a keen gaze like a predator preparing for a showdown. The moment our distances closed, it leaped up. With a flap of its wings, it jumped up 50 cm from its spot, trying to dive down on me.
But I wouldn’t go down without a fight.
A menacing blob broke through the air aiming for the chicken. It tried desperately to dodge, but changing direction in mid-air wasn’t easy. When hit directly by the blob, the chicken crashed to the ground.
I shouted in triumph. It was far more effective than I had imagined.
In some fighting manga, it’s said that destructiveness = speed x weight x grip strength. Even adding the downward force, the damage it received would be beyond imagination.
If it didn’t get up this time, that would be great, but like an indomitable warrior, it twisted its wings, trying to stand up somehow. Without waiting, I approached while maintaining centrifugal force.
Just one blow. Just one hit is all I need.
That would be enough to knock it down. It squeezed out its last strength and dodged my attack, but it was literally the last of its effort. I, on the other hand, wasn’t done.
Breathing heavily, the chicken was gasping for air. It had no energy left. In its wild instincts, the cornered chicken decided to give up the fight and fluttered upward for an escape.
Yet, with its fallen stamina and the mud sticking to its wings, it struggled to take off.
I had no intention of letting it go. I extended my tentacles to bind its feet and pulled. Down it went, now too late to run away.
“Cluck cluck…”
With centrifugal force, I swung the spinning blob like a mace. The more I did it, the more threatening the sound became.
Was it shocked? Afraid? The chicken, resigned, charged at me. But a direct charge like that wouldn’t succeed against someone who was prepared from the start.
The heads of the exhausted chicken and the large blob collided with a loud bang.
“Cluck cluck cluck cluck…”
Finally, Cheonggye collapsed.
It was indeed a strong opponent, but it was reckless. If it hadn’t recklessly flown up in its first attack, it would have been a much tougher fight. With a touch of respect, I smashed the chicken, which was on the brink of death, ridiculously.
The still-warm meat was more tender and delicious.
As I physically tenderized it, I began to slowly devour the chicken, which looked rather pitiful with its eyes dimming.
[Consuming Cheonggye… 12%]
Just like a snake swallowing a large prey, Cheonggye began to digest in my gullet, bit by bit.
***
“Damn it. Hiking during these times…”
“It’s all part of the job.”
Woo Taek admonished his complaining teammates. Last time there were only two, but now, with the additional teammates assigned by the Team Leader, there were a whopping sixteen of them. It was like half of Search Team 3 had come to Jirisan. Woo Taek clapped to draw everyone’s attention. Having climbed enough, he was thinking of dividing them into teams. There’s no way to search this vast Jirisan all together.
‘Dividing them may still be a stretch.’
It would be better than all sixteen looking together, though.
“Alright. We’re going to split into pairs from now on.”
“Woo Taek-ssi.”
“Yes? What is it?”
A teammate had her hand raised shyly, and Woo Taek tilted his head in confusion.
“I haven’t heard what we’re supposed to be looking for since I just got back.”
“Ah, my bad! Let me brief you again. …But before that.”
Woo Taek approached Euna, who was squatting and searching while squinting. He affectionately messed up her hair. Did she really think she could find that slime again in this vast Jirisan? A special species of slime… I’ve never even heard of it. What in the world was going on in her head? If given the chance, I’d love to open her head and take a look.
“Are you really not going to focus?”
“No! There really is a special species of slime…”
“What special species… Ugh. When will you grow up? When?”
“Just wait until I find that slime!”
“For the love of God, find a Worg instead! If you find a Worg, I promise I’ll never call on you again, okay?”
“Really? Are you serious?! Deal! Deal!”
As Euna rejoiced, Woo Taek started the briefing again.
“Okay, as mentioned before, the target of the search is the Worg. Pair up, and report back as soon as you find it. No need to capture it alive.”
“Worg? That black wolf?”
Woo Taek nodded at the teammate’s question.
“Yep, that Worg. We received a sighting report.”
“Surely that’s not just another false report, right? Last time someone claimed to have seen a yeti in Seoraksan…”
“No, it seems it slipped out from the Plateau.”
“Ugh. It’s always like this. Without our Team Leader, you’re stuck in the middle, Woo Taek-ssi.”
Woo Taek forced a smile at his teammates who were feeling sorry for him.
“Regardless, we are looking for the Worg. Let me know as soon as you spot it.”
He didn’t expect much either. Jirisan wasn’t exactly a pet’s name, and finding it in just a few days was unrealistic. Even if the Worg exists, searching for it with just sixteen people is absurd. As the divided teammates scattered, Euna grumbled.
“No! Why do I have to partner with a sunbae?”
“Because I worry if you’re with someone else. It’s out of concern!”
“Oh! Wait, do you have a crush on me?! ”
Woo Taek shot her a deadly glare.
“Me? Have a crush on you? No way! I only paired you up because I didn’t want to burden the others! Burden!”
“Whatever. Why are you so upset? So, where are we going?”
“To the place we went last time. And don’t go crazy claiming you saw a slime, okay? Understand?”
“Tch. The sunbae always picks on me.”
***
[Cheonggye has been consumed. Experience and satiety increase.]
[Satiety has reached maximum. Satiety is converted into experience through Predation (F) Lv.6 skill.]
[Experience has reached maximum. Lv.1 → Lv.2]
[Experience has reached maximum. Lv.2 → Lv.3]
While eating the chicken, my satiety was converted into experience several times, and I leveled up twice in one go. That just shows how tough an opponent it was, but truthfully, after I started using the blob, it became one-sided. Slime Blackjack? The combination of science and the wild often results in fearsome monsters.
‘With this, I should be around the middle tier of the ecosystem.’
Gross amphibians like frogs or toads, or low-ranking mammals like rats wouldn’t be a match for me anymore.
First, let me check my experience.
[Amorphous Gel Lv.3] [EXP 133/561]
The required experience for level 1 was 324. Now, having reached level 3, it’s jumped to 561, so the experience needed around level 2 would likely be about 440.
‘324 + 440 + 133 = 897.’
That’s roughly 900 experience points earned from one chicken.
When I calculated it, it seemed a lot, but thinking it over, it made sense. To gain 900 experience, I had to take the chicken down and consume it. Honestly, unless the chicken had underestimated me and kept attacking, running away would have made it impossible to catch one.
[Weak Vision (F) Lv.2’s proficiency has maxed out. Weak Vision (F) Lv.2 → Weak Vision (F) Lv.3]
It’s a minor change, but now I can see a little better. If a person were it, it’d be like being terminally colorblind.
To put it another way, it’s like having bleach splashed in my eyes three times.
I could see shapes, but the colors were all hazy, so heat detection was still easier. Once again, I opened the [Available Skills] and didn’t find anything immediately useful.
Rather than that, I thought it might be better to invest points in vision to level it up, but I doubt a slight proficiency increase would bring a dramatic change.
For now, there are no edible animals nearby, so I need to move. Sadly, despite getting stronger, my speed remained slow. That seems to be the only downside of evolution.
Back in my slime days, I grew almost 5 cm with every level-up, but now as Amorphous Gel, I’ve grown almost 10 cm. Of course, gaining size is a good thing, but…
Is there no way to move faster? I thought about curling up to roll, but it had become so gooey that I couldn’t roll. Just as I was about to give up that idea, a good one struck me.
First, I elongated my body to make it look like a tail chasing its own tail. If done right, it would be like Ouroboros, but it just looked like a donut. Using that shape, I employed hardening, and my body stiffened.
‘With this, I should be able to roll if I apply some force…’
I stretched out my hardened tentacles and pushed against the ground. Then I started to roll. I didn’t go far before losing balance and tipping over, but I didn’t give up and kept trying. I got the hang of it after a bit. It was a wild ride, and everything blurred by, but I could just deactivate my eyesight. I didn’t have semicircular canals or a brain, so I didn’t feel dizzy.
[Transformation (F) Lv.1 skill acquired]
While doing this, I cheered for my newly acquired skill.
Because of the stickiness, I still had to push with my tentacle approximately once every ten seconds, but even so, I was moving at a decent speed. It wouldn’t work uphill, but I was likely moving as fast as I used to run on flat ground. I couldn’t wait to see how fast I could go downhill with this.
With my hardened tentacles, I kept rolling by pushing against the ground. I was elated to feel the rush of speed once again. I rolled along merrily until night fell.
Feeling an eerie aura, my skin crawled.
“Aaaaaaaargh!”
Somehow, I heard a wolf’s howl.
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