NOVEL NEXT Chapter 6
Translated by: il0vecats
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Chapter 6: Third Day in the Forest
The third day in the forest began with a blanket of mist covering the ground. Hwanin, having survived another night, woke up in his cramped hideout beneath the tree roots. His primary concern was whether the unknown predator had marked him as prey. If it had, he expected it to show up last night. Fortunately, no such unwanted visitor had arrived, and he had spent nearly 14 hours in the dugout-space beneath the tree roots.
As he crawled out of the cramped hollow, Hwanin let out a sigh unconsciously. Staying vigilant and sleeping lightly had left his body stiff and aching.
While safety was paramount, being stiff during a potential fight was counterproductive.
“I need a proper shelter.”
Continuing to sleep in cramped spaces would lead to physical deterioration. The more he learned about the jungle, the more uncertain his plans to quickly find civilization seemed. There was no guarantee that the only monsters here were green creatures or the mysterious feline predator. The jungle’s vastness was still unknown.
Hwanin felt the strong need to devise a long-term plan and move slowly, with caution.
“…Hmm?”
As he stretched to loosen his stiff joints from the previous night, Hwanin noticed that his limbs felt surprisingly better than expected. Despite the accumulated fatigue from the day before— crafting weapons and shields, fighting seven green monsters, and running a marathon in formal wear—his muscles felt only mildly sore, akin to having ridden a bicycle for a few minutes.
“…”
While his bodily state was a welcome surprise, deviations from his knowledge brought a creeping unease. Pushing his worries aside, Hwanin ate two handfuls of corona berries for breakfast and soon discovered a specific concern during his morning routine.
While a lack of substantial bowel movements was understandable given his limited diet, the smell of his urine had shifted from ammonia to a sweet, fruity scent.
Two days of subsisting solely on berries would cause nutritional imbalance over time, potentially leading to waning stamina…
He pulled out the makeshift emergency rations from their pouch.
Phewik— Fieek—
The emergency rations, the one-horned bird, remained relatively well-behaved, even under captivity. When outside sounds like leaves rustling or wind blowing were audible, it would freeze, stopping its breathing sounds.
Exchanging gazes with the bird, Hwanin untied its beak. It immediately started clucking and making noise, but a few gentle taps on its beak with the dark club quieted it down.
‘Intelligent, perhaps?’
Attempting to quell the bird’s wild instincts with minor strikes wasn’t intended for behavior correction, but it seemed to take effect. The bird’s reaction to just a few taps on the beak was unexpected.
It was fed some leftover corona berries, identified as under-ripe, and greedily gulped them down, despite making choking noises.
Did the one-horned bird comprehend its situation?
It seemed unusually intelligent, behaving almost pet-like, despite most likely realizing its life was at risk.
It glanced at him with curiosity, tilting its head.
“…”
Though Hwanin was not picky about food, the one-horned bird, by chance, had become a crucial protein source in the wilderness.
Until absolutely necessary, he decided to keep it alive, well-fed, and healthy.
Before setting off, Hwanin gathered a few long vines and fashioned a makeshift satchel to carry the bird. He planned to throw it into a nearby brush if he had to fight, retrieving it afterward.
Yet, he pondered what kind of creature the bird might be. It had given up resistance swiftly and now sat quietly as it was carried like a bundle, turning its head this way and that to observe its surroundings.
Sometimes, its eyes met his.
Quack?
It seemed to ask, “What are you looking at?”
“…”
Clearing his mind of unnecessary thoughts, Hwanin powered on his smartphone, now at 65% battery, to check his distance and direction.
He estimated another couple of hours would bring him back to where he first arrived. Though no further signs of the predator had been found, it was possible he had exited the predator’s territory.
Quack! Quack! Quaaack!!
The sudden racket from the emergency rations made Hwanin frown slightly. He tried to calm it by tapping the beak with his dark club, but to no avail.
Considering the approaching possibility of monsters drawn by the noise, he decided to tie its beak but hesitated as a faint scent reached his nose with the breeze.
‘The smell of a wild beast.’
In an instant, Hwanin leaped back, setting his shield and club ready, eyes fixed on the dense underbrush swaying ahead.
Rustle, rustle—
From the brush emerged a bipedal beast about 100 cm tall.
The gutteral growl emanating from it stopped Hwanin in his tracks.
Grroarrrr.
The creature, resembling something he had read about in stories called kobolds, was covered in splotchy fur with a head somewhat akin to a dog or hyena. Its legs were bent backward like a ungulate, and its front paws were slightly developed, each with four digits, hinting at potential dexterous use.
From behind the bushes, two more of these creatures emerged, each brandishing wooden sticks as weapons. Unlike the green monsters whose waists were wrapped in tattered leather, these creatures…
…wait, leather?
Hwanin compared the green monsters’ leather garments with the appearance of the beastly creatures. They bore a resemblance.
‘The leather resembles the skin of these creatures’ heads.’
Grrr.
Grrrrr.
Hwanin, watching the three beastly monsters displaying clear hostility, threw the emergency rations, the one-horned bird, behind him.
Quack.
The startled bird emitted a single, sharp cry upon landing. All three monsters turned their gaze towards the sound.
“Ha!”
Taking advantage of their distraction, Hwanin lunged forward, shielding himself with the wooden shield, and struck down on the center monster’s head with the black club.
Crack!
The monster’s skull caved in, and it fell to the ground with its tongue lolling out, dead. The two remaining beasts immediately attacked from both sides.
Baring their yellowed teeth, the left monster lunged first. Hwanin swung his shield hard against it.
Thunk!
Yelp!
Simultaneously, he smashed the right monster in the face with the black club and then kicked it hard.
Thud!
Yelp!
‘They even make dog-like cries.’
Though smaller in stature than the green monsters, these creatures were no less dangerous. Expecting them to be weaker due to their shorter forelimbs, Hwanin realized their weight was comparable, thus his anticipatory force rendered them helpless.
‘Their bites and filthy claws are the main risks.’
Seeing the creature knocked back by his shield struggling to stand, Hwanin switched to his stone axe and beheaded it.
The monster sent flying by his kick lay whimpering with likely shattered internal organs. Hwanin stomped on its neck, breaking it instantly.
“I don’t know whether I’m strong or these monsters are weak.”
Though he disposed of three foes more easily than expected, Hwanin stayed cautiously tense, imagining himself in their place—head crushed and neck severed. A lapse of focus could mean his demise.
If their breeding habits were dog-like, these kobold-like creatures might give birth to multiple offspring at once.
Individually weak perhaps, but numbers were not to be underestimated. A pack of ten or twenty would be lethal.
Complacence would mean death.
Quack.
Approaching the emergency rations, which had remained silent during the fight, Hwanin found it making a low, uncertain noise. Reflecting that he might need to tie up its beak at night, Hwanin continued through the jungle for three days, meticulously scouting his surroundings.
His aim was to escape the jungle slowly but carefully. The further he ventured from the arrival point, the more the terrain varied from flat to rough, uneven land, teeming with more green and beast-headed monsters.
Beasts seemed more concentrated as he progressed in his intended direction, increasing combat frequency and depleting his stamina significantly. Additionally, the decrease in corona berries exacerbated his food scarcity since these creatures also consumed the berries.
Lack of adequate meals amid frequent fights took its toll, leaving him physically weaker. Thankfully, the monsters were nocturnal, allowing him a break at night. Had they been active at night, he might have risked returning closer to where he first encountered the unknown predator.
Squeak…
“Whew.”
Out scavenging for food, Hwanin killed four more beast-headed monsters with his black club. His right wrist throbbed from taking a hit.
Dropping stamina slowed his movements.
Two days ago, he might have dispatched them without injury, but today saw his guard falter. He barely escaped with his arm intact; a bite would have cost him dearly.
Massaging the bruised area, Hwanin reflected on his clumsy moves and touched his sunken cheeks, feeling prominent cheekbones.
If seen by someone now, he would appear menacingly savage.
Quack.
The emergency rations habitually squawked when Hwanin shouldered it, looking straight into his eyes.
‘Time to eat it?’
He felt no particular attachment though it had been with him for days. Not one for sentimentality, he contemplated using the paralysis spheres if truly necessary for hunting food.
Hwanin pulled the stone axe from the back of a felled monster and wiped the blood off on its fur before heading towards his temporary shelter.
Returning to the shelter without finding more corona berries or other food meant having to consume his emergency rations.
The shelter was a concealed trench, U-shaped, with exposed tree roots, found by accident. Hidden among dense brush, it couldn’t be easily spotted, making it a perfect refuge.
Killing and cooking the emergency rations at the shelter would be foolish. He planned to find a spot to build a fire and cook it before returning.
Turning on his smartphone to check his recorded path was unwise since its battery was below 20%. Saving the power for possible escape attempts, he left it off.
‘If escaping is even possible.’
In the past three days, Hwanin’s multiple marks and trails circled around a vast area, large enough to encompass a decent-sized city. He encountered monsters thrice daily, still unable to gauge the jungle’s expanse. With scarce water and scant food, his situation seemed dire.
Negative thoughts naturally crept in, a common reaction for most. Unusually resilient by nature and thought, Hwanin had managed thus far where ordinary people might already have perished.
While wandering tiredly, Hwanin’s rations squawked unexpectedly.
Looking down, he saw it staring fixedly in one direction. Knowing it wasn’t alerting him to monsters, as it would make ear-piercing cries, he looked towards the indicated direction.
“…?”
Hwanin saw nothing but dense foliage. Tapping the bird’s beak with the club made it squawk and return its gaze to the same spot. He turned his back towards where it was looking; the bird twisted its head around to the same direction, giving up only reluctantly.
Carefully considering it, Hwanin decided to investigate its fixation.
No particular reason directed his decision other than curiosity.
If he encountered an uncontrollable monster, he thought it might be his fate.