NOVEL NEXT Chapter 8
8 AM. As announced, all members of Search Team 3 gathered in one place, except for the Vice Team Leader.
“Now that everyone’s here, let’s get started. We’re going to hunt the Worg. If you spot one, let us know. That’s all.”
During the brief meeting, one team member looked puzzled.
“Do we really need to go this far for just one Worg?”
“So, are we just going to let it be? We’ll catch it now. Any other questions?”
“…None.”
“Then let’s go.”
With that, the hunters began searching the Jiri Mountain.
***
Below the valley, I gauged the number of fish with heat and presence detection.
From now on, I was taking a life-risking gamble. It was not a confident hunt but rather a hesitant adventure. However, it was an adventure necessary to survive.
As I submerged in the water, the fish became curious. The little ones, like minnows, quickly panicked and fled, but the bigger ones showed their teeth, as if saying, “This is a good catch.”
When the black wolf appeared, the terrified attitude I’d had vanished the moment I thought, “I can eat that.”
[The proficiency of Threat (F) Lv.1 has reached its maximum. Threat (F) Lv.1 → Threat (F) Lv.2]
I puffed up to intimidate them, and they all fled except for one.
‘The owner of the eel cliffs.’
I already knew about that giant eel. Having watched it burst like a balloon after dealing with a young raccoon, I realized that my current form wasn’t the real me.
My threats were in vain. As I reverted to my original form and dove into the water, the monster seemed confused by my actions but eventually opened its jaw, probably thinking of me as soon-to-be dinner.
[Remaining skill points: 2]
My skill points poured into hunting it.
Transforming my body into a streamlined shape, inspired by dolphins, minimized resistance in the water. Swimming and diving skills acquired with skill points allowed me to move underwater. I used my tentacles like fins to change direction and barely managed to dodge its first strike.
This gave me confidence. “I can do this.”
With the observation skill at level 6, I confirmed the eel’s swimming speed was about 6 km/h. Slow on land but fast in the water.
The eel seemed prideful of its swimming skills, showing its displeasure at my successful evasion.
It didn’t hide its intention, rushing at me for a second strike. Its large frame cutting through the water became a huge threat by itself.
‘…!
I barely dodged it but wobbled under the fierce current. I couldn’t show off my swimming skills against a creature born and raised underwater.
The eel smoothly turned its body, ready to swallow me whole this time. In that moment, I extended my tentacle and used it like a rubber band to propel myself away. Considering the resistance of the water and the lack of strength in my tentacles, it shouldn’t be possible, but the elasticity skill I’d acquired beforehand made it happen.
I was getting used to the underwater environment bit by bit.
After twice failing to attack me, the eel changed its tactic. Cutting through the water, it coiled its long body to constrict me.
Dodging with elasticity would only work a couple of times; I couldn’t keep avoiding a persistent foe. Until now, I’d only evaded by timing the attacks, and I wasn’t faster than it.
‘…’
Grabbing attacks have three meanings. One is to suffocate, the second is to crush bones and flesh. Neither would work on me.
But the last one, restricting my movements, had meaning.
The eel, like an anaconda, tried to constrict me with its long body and swallow with its enormous jaws, but I released my hardening and transformed my rigid body back into a form made of amorphous gel, slipping out of its grasp.
[The proficiency of Physical Damage Reduction (E) Lv.1 has reached its maximum. Physical Damage Reduction (E) Lv.1 → Physical Damage Reduction (E) Lv.2]
Before I could rejoice in the first level-up of an E-rank skill that had barely risen, I had to dodge the charging eel’s assault. Reeling under the relentless attacks alongside the water pressure, I eventually took a hit.
‘…!
Even just a single collision made me feel like I’d lost about 30% of my surface area. Thankfully, it didn’t cause more damage thanks to the physical damage reduction.
[Swimming (F) Lv.1 has reached its maximum. Swimming (F) Lv.1 → Swimming (F) Lv.2]
[Diving (F) Lv.1 has reached its maximum. Diving (F) Lv.1 → Diving (F) Lv.2]
With timely gains, moving had become easier. I began to grasp how to navigate underwater. I didn’t intend to keep taking hits.
The moment I was attacked, I realized I couldn’t dodge.
Using hardening to mitigate damage was the right choice, but I didn’t want to. So, I chose retaliation.
It was a step that was different from before. And this single step made a clear difference.
“―――!”
Part of my body, ripped by its gills, was entangled.
Using transformation, I had turned my tentacles into a hook shape, making it difficult to pull out. Unable to properly expel water from its gills, it writhed in pain.
Even at this moment, weak regeneration was restoring my body. I could prolong the situation to make it more favorable, but I didn’t want that. No, I shouldn’t.
With the elasticity throughout my body and using swimming and diving, my instantaneous speed reached 20 km/h. Before the eel could regain its sense, I aimed for its gills.
Even if I aimed for the opening, my tentacles were still weak. Considering the resistance of the water, I couldn’t inflict effective damage.
So, what I needed to target was suffocation. I had to cling persistently without giving it a chance to breathe. If not now, I wouldn’t get a better opportunity.
Having only evaded until now, when I clung tightly, it seemed genuinely surprised, twisting its entire body in an attempt to shake me off. I responded by wrapping around itself like a rope, but holding on to its slippery amorphous body wasn’t easy.
I somehow forced my tentacles inside. Several tentacles squirmed inside its gills, thoroughly wrecking things.
The rigid tentacles that had solidified blocked the water flowing from its delicate gills. As water began to flow backward, the creature that had been groaning in pain seemed to realize it had no other choice but to crash its large body against a boulder.
‘…!
Despite all my efforts, the damage was so huge that even my physical damage reduction couldn’t cover it. I was almost crushed, and nearly half of my surface area vanished in an instant.
On the flip side, it seemed undamaged by my being a cushion. Although a part of my body had entered inside its gills, it seemed as if it had no advantage anymore.
While I was recovering in real-time through weak regeneration, it was struggling just to breathe.
For now, I might find myself in a disadvantageous position, but the longer it went on, the better my prospects looked. Thus, waiting for an opportunity wasn’t an option.
It was the monster that should make the first move, pressing the attack to time my counter, and I acquired the skill to do just that.
[Remaining skill points: 0]
I transformed.
The creature, wanting to finish things quickly, swam toward me with its long body over 2 meters.
This time, it wasn’t a graceful glide through the water but a raging bull charging while burning with rage, not even considering the aftermath.
While it seemed hopeless as the wall loomed closer, it was actually the moment I had waited for.
With my eyes wide open, I stared at it. Not only my vision but hearing, heat detection, and presence detection combined allowed me to pinpoint its exact location. At a moment where only 30 cm remained, I used elasticity to bounce my body significantly. With the slingshot-like launch, my remaining surface area drastically reduced.
’20 cm…’
The diameter of my remaining surface area. My body shrank down to the size of my first slime form. I had barely a quarter of my original size left. In terms of weight, I might barely weigh 1 kg now. The remaining body could almost be called debris.
However, this wasn’t due to being attacked.
[Weak Hardening (E) Skill Acquired]
[Weak Hardening (F) Lv.4 has merged with Weak Hardening (E)]
[Weak Hardening (E) Lv.1’s proficiency has reached its maximum. Weak Hardening (E) Lv.1 → Weak Hardening (E) Lv.2]
Finally, I checked the notification for the skill I had just acquired.
Looking back, the creature was gasping for air, showing hints of distress. It had a long gash near its gills, bleeding all over its body.
I pulled out a long tentacle, transforming it thin and smooth to make a sharp blade with my E-level hardened tentacle. With perfect timing and releasing the elasticity, it had no chance against my attack, thick skin or not.
However, the thinner and sharper the blade, the more one must be ready to break it.
For that price, I had sacrificed a good portion of my surface area.
I planned to take it down in one hit, but… I failed.
The creature’s spine was thicker than I had imagined. The spine of a 2.5-meter-long monster eel couldn’t be sliced easily, even with my hardened blade.
Now, while it was near death, I was too. Having lost most of my surface area, my methods of attack were severely limited. Trying the same strike would be fatal.
I couldn’t use the hardened blade anymore.
“But I’m not giving up.”
Neither was it. It sensed its own impending death and prepared for a final strike. It seemed as if it would settle for taking me down along with it. Our eyes met, and it charged at me with unprecedented speed.
It wasn’t even considering the back situation.
The current in the valley was already overwhelming, but with the creature approaching, I lost balance in the rushing waters. No, I could turn that around, after all, if it’s impossible, I should just let the swift currents carry me.
Watching the monster approach, I clenched what little there was to clench.
Truthfully, if I closed my eyes, I could probably turn back at this point.
I spread my body wide to increase my surface area and resisted the current. As the distance closed, it opened its jaw wide to the max. Just as I wished. Instead of fleeing, I leaped straight into the very mouth it had opened using elasticity.
“――?!”
Just as it was about to snap its jaws shut, I managed to slip down its throat.
It tried to expel me, thrashing around, but there was no way it could throw me off with merely that.
It attempted to push me out through its gills, but with me flailing about, no expulsion would be happening. The sheer size was just making things worse.
Facing a real life-and-death situation, the frustration I’d felt surged within me again. Feeling unjust and angered, I fought fiercely to survive.
I had to do this to live. I needed to, even like this.
With my hardened tentacles, I pounded on various parts of its body. The only way for it to resist was to writhe from being beaten. The outcome had already been determined. I pushed deeper and tore through its stomach.
The now E-ranked Gluttony skill became a weapon itself. My entire amorphous body turned into a consuming mechanism as I slowly devoured its body. Even from my perspective, it was a grotesque sight. It looked like its organs were melting as if they had been touched by a vile mountain.
[Gluttony: Converts the sense of fullness into experience, allowing consumption by mere touch.]
“I want to live…!”
That was all there was to it. Not wanting to relive the death threat when I encountered the black wolf, I paradoxically threw myself into a life-threatening situation to ensure my survival.
To become stronger, even if that meant flailing around like this.
There had been no pain from the beginning, but because there was none, fear overtook me. I was uncertain of where the limits of this body lay. Without pain, I lacked a signal of mortality.
In silence, the end would find me and silence me.
The situation was dire. Even if I found myself in a favorable position, it wouldn’t be strange if I were to die at any moment.
It seemed as though the creature had resigned to death, expressing a will to die alongside me as it rammed its massive body against the rocks, growing weaker and more shattered through the shocks that traveled to its insides.
[The proficiency of Physical Damage Reduction (E) Lv.2 has reached its maximum. Physical Damage Reduction (E) Lv.2 → Physical Damage Reduction (E) Lv.3]
15 cm… 10 cm… As I shrank further, terror washed over me, beckoning regret.
Was I foolish? Was this a hasty thought? Was it really necessary to change my thinking all of a sudden? …Anyway, those kinds of thoughts.
But amidst everything, I still wanted to win and survive.
The rage stemming from fear, and the yearning born of that rage, overwhelmed all my other questions. My body kept chipping away. Eventually, the creature would die anyway. But would there be any value in a victory earned by waiting or running away? To survive, shouldn’t I boldly face the line I could cross to live?
“I want to win…!”
Desire, faith, and anger overpowered the regrets. I wanted to win in a form that could put these feelings to rest.
So, I endured and endured. Even when it felt like I’d die. Even when my remaining body was no larger than a fingertip, I persevered until the end.
A feeling stirred within me, one I had never experienced throughout my life, swirling into a knot.
If I didn’t resolve this feeling this time, I felt certain it would remain tied forever.
The knotted emotions ignited into a singular yearning.
And finally, I took my first step beyond that.
[Lv.10 achievement conditions met]
[Experience has reached its maximum. Lv.9 → Lv.10]
[Status has been fully unlocked]
‘……!’
I gripped my extended tentacles tightly.
The joy of having won against it. The sense of accomplishment for having taken a step forward. The relief of not having died mixed together, creating a new feeling within me.
And that feeling was certainty in myself. I had finally taken my first step not in a hunt, but in an adventure. What I had gained from a gamble that put my life at stake was victory and joy. The fear and terror washed away as if they’d never existed, and regrets receded like a tide.
It felt like the world that constituted me was shattering to pieces. As that sense of achievement approached like an indescribable ecstasy, I almost mindlessly opened my status.
[Owner of the Eel Cliffs (Amorphous Gel) Lv.10] [EXP 2926 / 3821]
[Length 2.4m] [Height 10.8cm] [Weight 29kg]
[Strength: 44 (68.7%)] [Agility: 31 (46.5%)] [Stamina: 116 (-)]
At that moment, the Owner of the Eel Cliffs had changed.