Chapter 25 – 025 Twin Mountain
Hwanin, who was resting at the entrance of the cave, started moving when the soul orb came out with less than 30 minutes left.
It’s close to midnight, but if you wait until morning like this, there won’t be any soul orbs left.
Even while under the effects of the Code, there were several crises in which he could have been seriously injured. It is still dangerous to deal with wild beasts and beasts without the body strengthening effect of the spirit.
‘I guess I need to have 24 soul marbles to be able to afford activities.’
Hwanin, who took his weapon and the meat of the spiked tail pig, was about to go down the cliff and suddenly realized that the height of about 5m did not feel very high.
It feels like nothing will happen even if I jump down.
After thinking for a while, Hwanin looked around the valley and confirmed that there were no beasts or monsters approaching, and threw down his luggage, weapons, and staff.
Then he turned around, measured the distance, and jumped away.
Immediately after a short floating sensation, the moment your feet touch the ground, you roll back lightly to relieve the impact of the fall and get up.
“Well.”
He rolled over the gravel, but his body was undisturbed. Even if I stand up and tap my knees and thighs, I don’t feel shocked.
‘I didn’t even need to use the landing method.’
The younger you are, the more flexible your body and the more elastic your muscles.
This is why children can jump from the same height, while adults can sprain their ankles or break bones.
Hwanin was also exposed to various sports and had good flexibility and stamina compared to his peers, but it was not to the extent that there was not even a slight aftereffect of his bones ringing from the shock of his fall.
“As expected, while gaining superpowers?”
No matter how much I think about it, I can only conclude that I have acquired supernatural abilities and my body has also become stronger.
Resilience, strength, flexibility, resilience, endurance, and more.
When I got the ability, I didn’t feel it because it was right after I got seriously ill…… No, because my body became stronger, I was able to work like that right after I came back to life.
‘Roast and eat the meat of a spiked tail pig at a suitable place during the day…….’
After that, you can carefully explore the surroundings and look for signs of beasts or monsters.
Hwanin packed his bags, put emergency food on his shoulder and walked along the river into the gray darkness.
Five days had passed since they were active in a cave in a valley between two towering mountains like twins.
In the meantime, Hwanin focused on identifying the types of animals, food webs, and ecosystems inhabiting the mountain without leaving the cave.
First of all, the twin mountains (tentative name) were as wide as any national park.
And there were many edible plants.
It wasn’t as much as the mountainous area that looked like carnivorous plants, but if you look closely with your soul’s vision, there were edible grass roots, tree bark, and small fruits resembling acorns all over the place.
Maybe that’s why, a peaceful ecosystem like any other mountain in Korea was created, especially with a lot of small herbivores.
If there are many herbivores, predators that feed on the herbivores also come.
As a result of practicing the stealth behavior skills of the blue leopard for three days, it was confirmed that the blue leopard sometimes came down to the riverside to drink water during the day, and it was also found that a yak-like cattle with strong aggression was active.
Around the mountain, herds of bison and horses that suck the blood of the beasts they hunted with vampire-like teeth lived, and at night, beasts resembling hyenas appeared.
Among them, there was an animal that Hwanin put at the top of the watch list, and it was the animal he had guessed based on the fur brought by Emergency Food.
That’s a wild boar.
If it was an ordinary wild boar on Earth, it wouldn’t have been a problem for the current Hwanin.
However, the wild boar that Hwanin witnessed was as big as a small bus and had a lightning-shaped blade sprouting from its forehead. In short, it was a monstrous beast.
Hwanin, who confirmed the blade boar (tentative name), climbed the eastern twin mountain again the next day, wondering if he was passing by.
Kwagwagwang!!
It came down from the mountain quietly and without a sound.
I don’t know if it was showing off its strength or just marking its territory, but it was because I witnessed a razor-sharp boar striking and breaking a thick tree with its lightning-shaped horns that could be as long as 1m.
With the sound of thunder, the tree that seemed like it could only be surrounded by three adult men was broken and fell…… It served as an opportunity for me to decide not to enter the realm of the bladed boar.
Fortunately, the blade boar’s territory is the top of the eastern twin mountains, so it hasn’t come down to the valley even once for three days.
The eastern twin mountains seemed to be owned by the razor-sharp boar, but the western twin mountains didn’t seem to have a beast worthy of being the owner of the area.
Instead, two groups seemed to bisect the mountain, one group of five savage yaks and the other a group of three blue leopards.
While obtaining this information, Hwanin increased his experience of lower-level spirits by hunting animals alone or in pairs.
The added experience of the three days was the mantra of a spiked pigtail, a three-eyed dog, and a rhinoceros, a beast that looks like a cross between a echidna, a velociraptor, and a rhinoceros.
And thanks to the previous two beasts, I learned that even lower spirits may not have skills.
The soul of the three-eyed dog greatly enhanced eyesight, and the soul of the spiked pigtail greatly enhanced endurance and physical strength.
Hwanin broke into a cold sweat when he commanded the spirit of the Three Eyed Dog.
The enhanced eyesight was enough to count the leaves of a tree hundreds of meters away, as if the world had increased its sharpness hundreds of times in an instant, it was because a great deal of pain came along with a tingling feeling.
If it was used during a battle or before a battle, it would have been a big disappointment.
I didn’t encounter the beast until the maintenance time was less than 1 minute, so I used it because I wanted to use it for experience rather than throw it away, but I couldn’t help but be glad.
Anyway, the effect of the three-eyed beast’s necromancy was complied with.
Because they were able to freely adjust the range of vision, they were able to check the ecology around the Twin Mountains for about 8 minutes, albeit roughly.
It was also at this time that he discovered herds of blood-sucking horses, blood-sucking horses, and herds of buffaloes inhabiting the hills and basins near the Twin Mountains.
The spirit of the spiked pigtail was used when a group of yaks attacked the mountain, considering it a thorn in the eye.
Effect increases stamina recovery for the duration.
During the duration of the program, I learned that no matter how violently I move, I don’t get tired.
From then on, Hwanin ran rampant like a madman without distributing physical strength, giving all five yaks big and small wounds, and even cutting off the horns of one of them.
But that was all I was able to do.
It was because when Hwanin read the gap and tried to kill one, he could hardly take advantage of the opportunity because two of them attacked from the left and right.
In the end, the Yak group admitted defeat first and withdrew, and Hwanindo did not pursue them because the duration of the program was less than one minute.
If it weren’t for the decree effect of the spiked tail pig, Hwanin would have avoided it first.
The connection shown by the five yaks in the size of a medium-sized car was frightening.
It wasn’t that nothing was gained.
After the fight with the yaks, not a single one approached the valley, as if it had been acknowledged that ‘the valley is your territory’.
Before that, I used to come down to drink water once a day.
Pretty much.
“Wait.”
Quack!
“Uh huh. Wait.”
Quack…….
Hwanin, who was roasting the meat he had hunted by the riverside in the valley and calming down the impatient food supply, looked around and nodded slightly.
‘It’s worth exploring the western twin mountains and their surroundings for four days.’
The Blue Leopard group met on the second day and showed the difference in strength with Soul Explosion and Necromancer.
A group of yaks were also successfully defeated, thanks to the spiked tail pig’s necromantic effect.
Perhaps because the two groups that actually controlled the Western Twin Mountains were defeated, none of the beasts that roamed the Western Mountains descended into the valley.
The beasts outside the twin mountains do not even enter the valley in the first place.
In the eastern twin mountains, there were no beasts that could be called beasts. Probably because he couldn’t handle the savage nature of the razor boar and ran away.
Hwanin, who had been able to understand the food chain and food web of the Twin Mountains for five days, was able to light a fire by the river with much more peace of mind.
Slap.
Queek.
When I lightly tap the back of the emergency rations that sneakily sticks its beak into the uncooked meat of the fire, he shrinks his neck and sits down by the fire.
Hwanin smiled slightly at the emergency rations reacting like an innocent child of five or six years old. He took out the unseasoned meat from the cooked meat and cut it with a multi-tool knife.
After learning that reddish-brown deodeok-like root vegetables taste spicy and bitter, I collect them whenever I find them and use them as a seasoning sauce.
If you add a little bit of water and mash it, it becomes a spicy and slightly bitter sauce.
However, I do not know if the body of emergency food can accept the sauce or not, so I deliberately give only baked food without applying anything.
When I put sliced meat in a large leaf and put it in front of the emergency food, I looked up at it as if I could eat this.
“Eat.”
Quack!
Hwanin, who prepared emergency food first, grabbed the spear on his right and stood up, looking down at the valley.
Then, like a frightened cat, a brown jaguar crept toward the river, and was stared at by Hwan-in, who then froze.
As she moves toward the jaguar, she jumps in surprise and runs away.
Hwanin, who had followed the traces of the jaguar that had disappeared into the mountain in an instant, put down his spear and sat down, smearing the meat with seasoning sauce and grilling it.
‘The surroundings have been cleaned up, so now all I have to do is start smoking…….’
As for meat, killing just one bison that lives in the fields near the Twin Mountains can secure enough meat to eat for two weeks.
As for smoke chips and smoke chips, there are many trees in the western Twin Mountains that seem to have died because a herd of yaks ate their roots.
Ingredients are sufficient. The problem is the smoking method.
“Well.”
I read in a book that if it is salted and smoked a couple of times for 10 hours each, it becomes a preserved food that can be eaten for 2 to 4 weeks.
But the most important salt is not available here.
It was written that in the interior of Africa, natural drying and smoking were carried out at the same time without salt, but that was the only mention. After that, the cold smoking method was introduced.
‘There’s no reason to explain or explain how to smoke without salt.’
Nothing is solved by worrying.
Because of the seasoning sauce, you pick up a well-ripened meat skewer and take a bite. The slightly spicy and savory taste goes well with the unique savory taste of the meat.
Hwanin, who quickly ate about 1 kg of meat, cooked the remaining meat well enough to drain the fat, and then prepared the bonfire to secure charcoal separately.
Enough meat was obtained from unknown beasts hunted during the day. Now that the stomach is full, it’s time to challenge the smoke.
‘The method uses a pit…….’
There is a way to set up a tripod, wrap it in cloth like setting up a tent, and then light a fire, but there is no airtight cloth for yourself.
It could be used by weaving leafy branches tightly together to make a tent, but Hwanin decided to try the method of digging a pit and smoking it.
He is a Hwanin who has a bit of digging skills thanks to using the soul of a scaly mole for necromantic rather than soul explosion.
First, after falling from the riverside, he digs out the ground as if scraping it with his black club, which has now become an ebony spear.
Depth is 1m. Divided into 1st and 2nd tiers, the inside of the 1st tier was dug in a cylindrical shape up to a height of 50cm, and the remaining 50cm, the 2nd tier, was dug slowly to widen.
Pak, Pak! Card win.
“Whoa.”
Even though the black club had durability comparable to that of iron, the tip was a blunt awl, so digging the ground was heavy labor, but with a bit of skill and strengthened body strength, it was brutally solved.
After that, chop the thigh meat into small pieces with a multi-tool knife.
‘They said the most suitable thickness for smoking is around 6cm.’
It’s my first try, so even if it fails, it’s not a waste, only about 10 pieces.
Trim the branches with a skewer and string the cut meat. After that, I cut off a lot of tree branches full of leaves and tied them together like a huge fan with a string made from vine bark.
This will serve to prevent smoke from escaping from the pit.
Hwanin spread the charcoal he had made while making a bonfire under the pit, blew lightly to keep the embers alive, and then roughly soaked the leaves and bark in water, brushed them off, and placed them on top.
After a while, as expected, white smoke begins to rise from the wet leaves and bark.
Hwanin fixed a 60cm long skewer with meat threaded at a height of about 50cm from the fire, and then covered the pit with smoke billowing with a board made of twigs.
“Hmm.”
I was a little nervous when making the plate, but sure enough, smoke flows out little by little through the cracks.
I went up the mountain again and collected more leaves and twigs and covered them a little more, and then the smoke stopped coming out.
No, it’s leaking out little by little enough to be barely visible, but this should be fine.
Quack?
Hwanin, who is exhausted from preparing for smoking for four hours, sits down near the pit, and as emergency food approaches, he tilts his head.
“…….”
Hwanin, who stroked the head of the emergency ration, had a break while looking at the tree leaf cover that covered the pit.
He is a Hwanin who has searched the Twin Mountains for five days and searched the surroundings, increasing the limit on the number of Soul Orbs from 8 to 9.
I spent 7 hours preparing the smoke and doing the first try, and in the meantime I spent 5 soul orbs on the necromantic due to the retention time limit.
All you have left is 4 soul orbs with holding times varying from 2 hours to 20 minutes.
Hwanin confirmed that if he replenished the pit with tree bark and leaves of a tree once, smoke would flow out for about three hours.
And Hwanin, who secured 6 of the lowest souls for 2 hours, felt the anxiety gradually becoming a reality.
No matter how aggressive a beast it is, if it is judged to be an enemy it cannot handle, it will not fight.
The Hwanin, who had been active in the Twin Mountains for five days, suddenly ranked at the top of the food chain nearby, and the beasts, recognizing the strength of the enemy instinctively, began to choose to avoid or hide instead of attacking the Hwanin when they saw it.
It was also easy to notice.
The terrible smell mixed with countless smells and the strange feeling of making one’s hair stand up just by looking at it could be recognized from several tens of meters away.
As a result, the supply of soul beads became difficult.
This time, I secured 6 soul beads with the stealth action skill obtained from the search for emergency rations and the soul beads of the blue leopard…….
“It would be impossible to stay in the valley like this.”
Since the number of creatures is fixed, they cannot stay in the valley indefinitely. I have to go on the road again by somehow succeeding in the training.
Hwanin made up his mind and returned to the valley.
