Chapter 16 – 016 Flood – River
“Emergency food.”
Kkuh?
The emergency ration turns its head toward Hwanin, as if he knows that he has been called.
I’ve never called emergency food emergency food. No matter how you look at it, thinking that it was not an ordinary animal, Hwanin spoke to the emergency food with honesty.
“You must help me.”
Without waiting for an answer, Hwanin lifted the emergency rations and cut the vine stems that bound the emergency rations with a dagger to free them from restraint.
After confirming this, the certainty of the program, the situation decided to release emergency food.
Originally, I was going to release him in a situation where he had to escape the jungle or wait for his death after failing to escape, but today, as I went through a few things, I changed my mind.
Emergency food may die before you in an accident of injustice.
Just look at the tsunami experienced by the lake during the day. If the emergency rations were swept away by the tsunami, the emergency rations tied to the body would have flown away and died without moving.
I thought about it even when fighting the lizard man.
If the monster you encounter gets stronger, or if you encounter an unexpected situation, the chance that even emergency food will die increases.
The jungle was strangely free of snakes. Even so, it is impossible not to have a single one, and there is a high possibility that there are small carnivores that Hwanin has not seen.
What if, while you are fighting a monster, such an animal takes the tied up emergency food?
What if poisonous insects or snakes bite emergency food?
So once, after receiving help for the last time, I decided to release emergency food.
According to the conviction, there will be no harm to the emergency rations, so there will be no problems with survival.
Hwanin, who grabbed the eye-popping emergency food with both hands, gave an order to the ghost of a lizard man with his deer antlers stick over his shoulder. Come to ‘Emergency Food’.
Then, the ghost of the lizard man moved like a ghost and approached the emergency rations, turning into a light gray bead and permeating the emergency rations chest.
Queet?
“…… !”
The eyes of the crying emergency food start to glow lightly in gray, wondering if he felt that something had changed in his body condition.
Hwanin smiled in repentance.
I was about 92% sure, but with this experiment, I became 100% sure, and other questions that I was longing for were also convinced.
That certainty was the fact that he had acquired the same abilities as the green monster holding the antler staff.
Even now, the coolness and warmth are flowing into the body, turning into coldness and warmth. That means that energy gradually accumulates in the body, which means that there is a possibility of improving one’s abilities.
Also, through this experiment, we learned what role Hungi and Cold play.
‘Hungi must have played a role in protecting the body from the coolness of the spirit when moving or manipulating the ghost or soul.’
Even when I met animal ghosts, I felt a sense of coolness. And he also felt a slight drop in body temperature the moment he gave the emergency food the ghost of a lizard man.
It is certain to see that warmth flows into the body and the changed warmth protects the body from the coolness of the soul when dealing with the soul.
‘If I abuse it blindly, I could die of hypothermia or whatever.’
The coolness converted into coolness is likely to be an indicator of the quality of the soul that can be controlled, or the strength and weakness of supernatural powers.
The deer antlers staff should be considered to have a function that supports the ability to manipulate the spirit. It is clear from the fact that the green monster cherished and carried a staff that was almost meaningless as a weapon.
Suddenly, in Hwanin’s memory, the scene of the green monster floundering came to mind.
The monster had swung its staff every time it attempted to explode.
Considering the staff’s uniqueness, it must have been an attack using the soul as a catalyst. However, the monster that was about to set off the third explosion was struggling with a staff.
If it’s because the loaded souls ran out and the explosion didn’t happen, then everything would be explained.
Then…….
‘This means that multiple souls can be stored in the staff.’
The feeling of several questions being solved one after another, like pieces of a puzzle, was similar to a tickling feeling in the chest.
Hwanin nodded his head slightly, hiding the smile on his lips with his hand.
If you can handle this ability well, you will not only escape the jungle, but your chances of survival will increase.
It seemed that death was right around the corner even when he was stabbing his thighs with a heated knife in fear of tetanus and disease infection, but now the possibility of survival feels like the warm sunlight of spring.
In the meantime, the gray light that flowed from the eyes of the emergency food disappeared. It was about six minutes after the command.
“It doesn’t last long. The effect of the Code must be experienced and verified…… Well?”
A faint energy escapes from the chest of the emergency rations and slowly rises to the sky like a haze in midsummer.
Is that the soul of a lizard man?
After putting emergency food on his side, holding a cane, he gave the command, “Come.”
‘Can’t a soul be recycled once it’s been used?’
Hwanin wondered how much soul the cane could store and looked at the emergency food.
The color system has not changed, and there are no abnormalities such as feathers falling out or body temperature changing.
For now, it seems that there are no side effects of the code, which adds to the satisfaction.
Hwanin put the emergency rations on the ground as decided in advance.
Quack?
Was the sudden freedom given awkward?
The emergency rations, which tilted their heads, fluttered their wings full of green, straight, smooth feathers a couple of times…….
Quew. Quack.
As if the softest spot on the fur mat was their nest, they sat down and squawked contentedly.
“…….”
I let go to find freedom, but what is it doing now?
Kwu~.
I was a little shocked to see her carelessly crying, but well, she’ll leave on her own when the time comes. Thinking so, Hwanin cleaned up his surroundings and sat down next to the emergency rations.
As the sun set in the west, the surroundings were tinged with darkness.
After a while, when complete darkness falls, nocturnal animals will begin their activities.
Although it is hidden by bushes, this place is open in all directions. I have no intention of resting comfortably in an unsafe place. So tonight, I thought to collect warmth and warmth, coolness and warmth.
Hwanin placed his staff on his thigh and calmly closed his eyes.
My mind is focused, and the sound of grass bugs around me approaches a little louder.
‘The green monster wrote…… Soul Explosion, I want to reproduce that too, but I’ll have to put up with it. It’s because the first thing to do is to check how long the soul attached to the embodied deer’s antlers can be maintained.’
Thinking that tomorrow he will travel along the river, killing monsters and collecting souls, Hwanin kept his ears open and began to focus on the warmth and coolness of his skin.
In the jungle, the sky is obscured, and at night it gets really pitch black.
However, he is a hallucinator who has been active for the past few days and has learned that opening his hallucinatory vision makes his night vision brighter.
Hwanin, who was wary of his surroundings with the help of his hallucinatory vision, hid his regret as he saw the darkness receding after an uneventful night.
He had been meditating and concentrating all night long with a stag antler staff, but he hadn’t gotten any of the results he had hoped for.
‘It’s not bad though.’
Instead, there were a few gains on the other side.
First of all, the ability that was arbitrarily called hallucination vision was changed to soul vision.
Since the color system can see inanimate objects, it may be strange to call it soul vision, but the importance of this ability is to see the spirit rather than the color system.
It is natural to follow the one with the highest importance.
Anyway, I found out two things last night.
Even if the soul sight is maintained for 9 hours, there is nothing wrong with the exception of a little sore eyes.
And the heat and cold continue to circulate in certain parts of the body like blood flowing through the veins.
Thinking that the more coolness and warmth he absorbs, the stronger he must be, and Hwanin sat cross-legged and took a nap for about an hour to fill up his lack of sleep.
‘I’ll have to camp in a place where I can rest today.’
Hwan-in, who had relieved himself of a bit of sleep and woke up by stretching, lowered his pants to examine the wound on his right thigh.
When the bandage made from the running shirt is removed, it is revealed that the crushed golden bell flowers have hardened.
“Hmm.”
The refreshing feeling of golden bell flowers has long since disappeared.
The wound area is a bit tight, but there is almost no pain, so I wonder if there is an anesthesia in the efficacy of the golden bell flower.
I wonder if it may have adhered to the wound. When I touch the golden bell flower, which has been crushed and hardened while slightly frowning my eyebrows, it comes off smoothly as if the applied paste is falling.
Hwanin widened his eyes at the appearance of the affected part.
The sore and swollen wound that had been cut with a heated knife had healed overnight, as if it had been a month.
“The green monsters weren’t looking for a flower that would bloom for nothing.”
Considering the knowledge on Earth, this is a phenomenon that will never be understood, but Hwanin accepted it meekly and crushed the golden bell flowers he brought, spread them on the wound, and covered them with leaves of the golden bell flowers.
It’s a pretty good feeling to have a refreshing feeling caressing and wrapping the wound.
Hwanin, who wrapped the wound again with a bandage, began to organize the campsite.
Quack, quack.
After hitting the emergency rations that are still sitting on the animal skin as if hatching eggs with the palm of your hand, send it to another place, roll the animal skin, and inspect your weapons and belongings.
‘It’s disappointing that the duration of the soul orb is 6 hours.’
Six hours after starting the meditation, at midnight, the soul of the animal-headed monster that was attached to the antlers of the antler staff ascended to heaven in a haze like the soul used in the sermon.
It means that if you do not use a skill within the duration of the soul orb, the soul will be released as it is.
Hwanin slightly furrowed his eyebrows at the fact that he had to spend the night and save his soul anew at the risk of the next day.
‘Six hours is too short. If the ability gets stronger, will the duration of the soul orb increase?’
If not, in addition to training his abilities, he needs to train his body.
The monster you meet for the first time the next day will have to be dealt with entirely with your physical abilities.
‘There’s a lot to do. I have to kill monsters to collect souls, and I have to recreate the techniques used by the green monster.’
Thinking that he should invest the day in checking and verifying his abilities, Hwanin took out a pack of food for breakfast and unfolded it.
For breakfast, a few grassroots that taste bitter and a few plants like sprouts that don’t taste like anything. 2 half-dried coral mushrooms and 2 corona berries in a bit of chewy tree bark.
And 7 various insects the size of a finger.
Emergency food has been waiting in front of Hwanin ever since he unpacked the food package.
Quack.
Hwanin laughed in a slightly astonished mood and handed over all seven insects the size of a finger, bits of coral mushroom, and unripe corona berries.
And yesterday, I unwrapped the leaves of two steamed jade crabs.
“Is it high?”
In the spirit’s vision, the jade crab, which was white when it was just fattening, was now slightly reddish. When I smell it, I smell a faintly sour scent.
‘The retention period is less than a day. It must be because the temperature in the jungle is high.’
Thinking that from now on I should only catch as much as I can eat, I handed out the steamed jade crab to the emergency rations. Quite good! Cry and flap your wings.
‘Is it edible?’
Let’s put down the steamed jade crab! Pajik, Kwajik! It is an emergency food that begins to eat passionately while breaking the shell.
He’s smart enough not to bring his beak to something he can’t eat, so it’s okay.
Watching the emergency rations, which are almost smashed and eating the flesh and skin together, my feelings are complicated.
No matter how you look at it, it doesn’t look like you’re going to leave, but I’m sure you’re thinking of following me.
It’s already been 11 days since I’ve been with emergency food.
There was a period when I lost my mind, so I don’t know the exact number of days, but that’s about it.
If it was a dog or a cat, he would think that he could have developed a rapport with him during that time, but Hwanin could not understand why the bird he had been carrying as emergency food behaved like a pet.
Did you forget everything you did to yourself?
Getting hit by a paralyzing orb.
Tied up and treated as emergency food.
Being used as bait to divert the monster’s attention.
If he had been in the position of emergency food, he would never have been alone.
The moment he was free, he must have retaliated by luring all the monsters around him.
…… Anyway. Hwanin, who puts the last remaining corona berry in his mouth and shakes his butt, gets up and packs up his belongings. The emergency rations that have finished eating together trim feathers with a horn the thickness of a black finger on their beak and forehead, and stare at Hwanin.
Before long, the emergency rations that flew up quickly sat down on the animal skin pack that he was carrying on his shoulder as if this was his seat, quack! Wept.
“…….”
Let’s look at him, and the emergency food also tilts his head after looking at Hwanin.
Quack?
“…… Done. Take care of your own life.”
Quack!
Do you understand or not understand? ….
Hwanin, who left the camp and returned to the riverside, was unable to go down.
Until yesterday, there were only 7 lizard people nearby, but the number nearly tripled overnight, and 20 lizards were scattered all over the river and in the water.
I can guess why the river is infested with monsters.
It must have been washed away by the tsunami caused by the strange creature – the horned whale – and returned to its territory overnight.
I let out a small sigh and moved south along the river at a density that seemed like six or seven would flock if I lured one, but the situation was similar to the upstream.
No, not only lizard people but also frog people appeared, increasing the number of monsters.
After growing a colorful tree frog in green and red to 1.5m, the front and hind feet were slightly strengthened to make it look like a frog human standing upright.
Frogs are amphibians and lizards are reptiles, so why don’t the two species fight?
Maybe that lizard man is not a lizard, but a salamander man, so they are related to each other, so they recognize them as the same kind.
Come to think of it, the color system is also the same blue.
“Hmm.”
After that, I walked 10 km for 2 hours, but I saw a total of 60 lizard people and frog people.
Hwanin thought for a moment about what to do.
“The actions to be taken are decided.”
This is Hwan-in, who was a substitute pitcher for the office worker’s baseball team.
Standing on top of a cliff holding a stone the size of a fist, Hwanin aimed for the closest and isolated frog man, and threw the stone with all his might.
Shh- Puck!
Gerruk!!
The stone that escaped from Hwanin’s grasp flew much faster and straighter than expected and blew the frog man’s eyeballs.
Hwanin’s face gradually hardened as he thought that an angry frog man would attack him.
Gerrrr! Geek!! Gegrr!!
Whoops! Kwaaaaa!!
Go go go go!!
Gegureureuk! Geek!!
Every time the eyeballed frog man howled, nearby relatives reacted and gathered one by one, croaking.
Hwanin ran away without looking back at the sight of a frog man with burst eyeballs leading a lot of his people to find an uphill road.
