Chapter 552 – 545 Giant’s Forest Labyrinth
In the forest of giants where raindrops are falling incessantly.
Hwanyeon, who made a roof and dug a drainage channel to prevent water from entering the entrance, built a cellar with the spirit of the earth and strengthened the walls and floor.
In the basement, which was built in an instant, the women of Hwanin began to decorate the living space.
=Hwanyeon, can you make a kitchen here? I would also like to make the chimney small so that the smoke escapes upward.
“Aren’t enemies attracted to you by the smell of smoke and food?”
=On the way, I found grass and flowers that gave off a strong smell. Put a net made of grass stems at the end of the vent and plant flowers near it and you’ll be fine. I plan to avoid food with a strong smell in the first place.=
“Okay.”
= Yuna. Can you make a workbench over here? The height should be about 40cm.=
“In what shape?”
=I drew a picture here.=
= Yeon-yeon-yeon. Let’s make a place where you can take a bath. After wiping my body with holy water for over 10 days, I want to wash myself.=
“You use spirit power to create water, heat it up, and get rid of it. Hwanin approves that first.”
= I got permission. There is a river flowing nearby, so I will fetch it. Of course, you can’t even heat the water. All you have to do is remove the washing water.=
「Huh. Which side are you going to make it for?」
Seeing that each person created a place for themselves and made rugs and wall hangings on the floor and walls to prevent cold air from penetrating, Hwanin sat down on a chair next to the entrance and weighed his schedule in his mind.
This is the impression I have felt over the past 12 days, but this place is a labyrinth, but it feels like it is not a labyrinth.
The atmosphere of the labyrinth accounted for the largest share of the reason for feeling that way.
As soon as you enter a normal labyrinth, you feel a sense of being touched by an intangible touch.
As the depth of the labyrinth deepens, the sensation rises up to the nape of the neck, and when the depth reaches the 4th or 5th floor, those with normal mental powers or non-professionals cannot withstand such sensations and fall into a negative state.
It is the so-called mental invasion, mental erosion.
For example, Baekryeogang’s self-deprecation and jealousy, which were caught in a labyrinth where light does not reach, are one of the symptoms of mental infringement.
But here in the giant forest labyrinth, I didn’t feel that mind-invading effect.
Although slightly intimidated by the overwhelming enormity, none of the party showed any basic mental disturbances throughout the 12-day march.
Hwanin looked at his female friends who were humming and decorating the residence.
‘There is a possibility that only the atmosphere outside the labyrinth is like this…….’
If you go to the center of the labyrinth, which is a joint form, a mental invasion phenomenon may occur.
“…….”
Hwanin thought while looking at the thick tree roots adorning the ceiling like a deco, and brought Bissar out from the place where the Ques stayed.
“Isilite. Scout around and come. There are a few things I want to check, but it won’t take more than an hour.”
=Master, then I will join you…….=
“No. I plan to fly in an emergency and look around the area, so prepare dinner for you when you return.”
=Yes, Master.=
Hwanin, who looked around first with a sense of humor in front of the stairs leading outside, carefully escaped from the basement and flew up in an emergency.
“Emergency, you never know what kind of monster will appear, so fly quietly and silently. If you see or feel a giant, speak up.”
Kwyuh!
While the rain that fell incessantly hid the small sound of flying wings, Hwan-in caressed Bi-sang’s neck and instructed him to fly closer to the ceiling.
With the gentle sound of the wind, it flies as if riding an updraft, turning round and round with its wings wide open.
As you get farther from the ground, the lower part is plunged into darkness, and it becomes a bizarre sight as if a huge wooden pillar suddenly grew out of the darkness.
Couw.
Hwan-in climbed a little higher while calming the emergency, which complained that it was a bad place, and finally realized how the rain fell inside the labyrinth.
Countless projections like villi embedded in the ceiling. Water droplets formed there fall like rain.
‘Is it taking rainwater from the ground and pouring it inside?’
As a result of testing the surface tension by receiving rainwater on the palm of your hand, it is concluded that you have not become smaller.
If they had become smaller, they should have felt that the surface tension per area had become stronger, but the water just flowed down their palms normally.
Hwanin looked around at the surrounding landscape, which seemed suitable for a test of courage, with dozens or millions of human-sized leaves clinging to it like an island in the dark.
Above the head is a ceiling that at first glance looks like the intestines of a rock creature. Giant leaf islands floating around in the dark.
In the scenery that is not worth seeing for a long time, Hwanin said as if he was nervous, brushing his feathers on the half-streaked Bishui’s neck.
“Let’s go down until we can see the ground. Flight follows trees and branches to conceal their appearance.”
Que~
The green feathers of the flight are indistinguishable from the green leaves of trees when viewed from below. Even if giants appear, the soaring flight won’t be discovered right away. Even if you find it, you’ll think it’s an ordinary bird.
Hwanin, who came back down enough to see the ground, flew silently through the huge forest where the trees stretched out like skyscrapers, inspecting the surroundings.
As a result, it was possible to discover a variety of creatures that had not been seen on the ground.
A green ant as big as a dog running in a row with a human-sized piece of flesh.
A man-sized green rhinoceros beetle sucking sap from a tree the size of a skyscraper.
A spider’s web the size of a man in black, red, and green, made of web as thick as thread.
All of them are ridiculously large, but small and insignificant insects in the forest as a whole.
I see an animal that eats such insects, a green three-eyed fox that hides its presence and lowers its posture to hunt it, a six-legged black wolf, a truck-sized wild boar that digs up grass and tree roots, and eats tree branches. There is also an owl sitting and closing its eyes.
There were frogs the size of cars with long tadpole tails around the huge river, which cannot be compared to the Han River, and freshwater fish as big as fishing boats are swimming in the water.
If this forest was formed based on giants, wouldn’t the height of the giant start at least 20m?
The horse is 20m, almost the height of a 15-story apartment building.
‘A creature that huge wouldn’t be physically able to live on land.’
It may be exaggerated to some extent, but there is a story that all legs are broken when an elephant falls from a height of 50 cm.
But a 20m tall bipedal creature? According to the common sense of earth science, if you have a normal skeleton and skeleton, it would be impossible to stand or walk…….
‘This is Nionebreth.
After flying from tree to tree for about 20 minutes, birds of prey the size of a fighter jet flew in, considering this as prey, but most of them were frightened by Hwanin’s killing projection and ran away, and some with poor survival instincts were bloody in the emergency wind drink. And fell down
‘Is there no heterogeneous species at all? Everything I’ve seen so far seems like an ordinary animal.’
A distinctive feature of the heteromorphic species in the labyrinth is the colorless body. It has gray or white fur, body hair, and skin color.
Moreover, if it is a heterogeneous species, it will not run away to live, but will explode and run as if to kill.
Hwanin, who had been watching with cold eyes the black-green irrigation systems falling down with blood and feathers, lifted his eyes again and looked around the entire forest.
When Gulliver entered the country of giants, the scenery that would be like this is filled with eyes.
‘The reason why I can’t see a giant even after walking around like this…… Is it because they are few in number or are they hiding somewhere because of the rain?’
No matter how large the Giants Forest Labyrinth is, if you climb up into the sky several hundred meters and look down, the viewing distance alone is over 60 km.
Of course, because of the rain, the entire labyrinth’s light level is slightly brighter than on a full moon night, so the visibility is less than 1/3, and the huge tree blocks the view quite a bit.
However, it took an emergency and flew for more than 20 minutes.
Moving along the tree rather than a straight line is confusing, but if you set the search range by sight, you have confirmed half of the labyrinth.
However, the fact that the giant was not found is more credible than the fact that there was no giant.
“…… Let’s go back in an emergency.”
Quit.
At this point, Hwanin decided to end his search.
The current location is quite close to the deepest part of the labyrinth. If you fly a little further in, the position is about to reach the deepest part of the field of vision.
I don’t know where the core is. And near the core, there is a core that can be said to be the boss of the labyrinth.
I don’t even know the characteristics or shape of the core, but going deeper than this is no different from walking through a swamp with an unknown bottom.
As Hwanin returned to the labyrinth entrance for the last check, he looked at the ground calmly once again with the enhanced spirit vision.
‘The fantasy detection ability is desperate.’
He only found out again that his detection skills were poor.
In the end, Hwan-in, unable to find the giant, got down at the beginning of the stairs leading outside, recalling several cases in his mind.
In the midst of a bad mood because the number of cases was not very good, Issilite found a place where he picked a soothing dish like green onion.
“Also…….”
Couw?
Isilite showed the place where she had pulled out her appeasement to Bisang, who poked her head in, asking what was wrong.
Her rain also fell and it was buried over time, but when she pushed it away with her hand, the spot where Dalrae was pulled out is revealed again.
“Perhaps this labyrinth is the singularity that first occurred in Nionebreth.”
What?
Returning to the base after 40 minutes of scouting, Hwanin sensed that the underground base was filled with a delicious smell.
You can’t tell whether the menu is a mushroom saute with meat or a meat sauté with mushrooms.
“I have been.”
= Oh, welcome, master. The meal preparation was just finished.=
Hwan-in, who sat down at the long rock table with 1 character, probably because of her welcome, heard her ghost fly alone and tell him into his ear.
“It is a lie. I finished it less than 20 minutes ago, but she tortured us with food saying that we couldn’t eat until Hwanin came.”
As they are laughing, Anne, Yurpa, and Baekryeogang also come and help carry the food.
And at the meal that started, Hwanin let out a small admiration. A large steak weighing 1 kg was placed in front of her.
When you taste it by slicing a piece, the unique texture of the sirloin and the sweet yet salty taste of the sauce spread throughout your mouth.
“Is this the meat of an animal caught in the labyrinth?”
=Yes. This is the sirloin of the Bladewing buffalo I encountered three days ago.=
“It tastes great.”
Hwanin, reminding himself of the bison that used to be the size of a 10-ton truck, tasted the steak again, which had little to no odor, and then turned his attention to the food that caught his attention earlier.
As big as a wild boar…… Grilled Mushrooms.
=Master, here.=
Isilite cuts only the well-roasted part, and the size is as huge as a 1kg steak.
As with most mushrooms, there is nothing special about the taste, but when you sprinkle a little pepper and salt, the umami explodes and blends with the chewy texture, giving a great impression.
After dinner, enjoying the feeling of chewing a mouthful of mushrooms after cutting them into large chunks, Hwanin called his girlfriends who were full and informed them of the reconnaissance results.
“The ecosystem here appears to be largely untouched by labyrinths.”
Traces of healing that have not been reproduced even after 12 days have passed.
Food chain excluding heterozygous species.
A mind-invading effect that does not work even if you advance into the depths of the labyrinth.
They wondered if they might have gotten smaller, but there are several factors that prove otherwise.
“I thought that the giant might not be a heterogeneous species, so I tried to check it, but I couldn’t find a single giant either because of the rain or because of the time, so I couldn’t confirm that.”
= Ugh. Didn’t see a single giant? The same goes for Hyungjong Lee?=
“Okay. Because of that, it is difficult to calculate the exact grade of the labyrinth…… In a situation where there is no information about the core, I decided that it was dangerous to approach the depths of the labyrinth, so I returned.”
= That’s a wise decision. Usually, unless the labyrinth breakthrough unit is in a hurry, it is enough to set a schedule of at least 6 months and spend more than a month to understand the capabilities of the core.
Then, raising both arms on the table, he murmured, slightly narrowing his forehead as if serious.
= You have to believe it, but it’s a story that’s hard to believe, so it feels like your head and heart are fighting. =
=Why?=
Baek Ryogang, who had been sitting quietly listening to the story of Hwanin and her older sisters, revealed her curiosity, and Anne knelt down on the table and weakly put the answer in her mouth.
=Doryeong says that the labyrinth does not exploit phase power and life force as soon as it comes, and only recovers resources generated from the ecosystem cycle, but that is a story that shakes the foundation of the labyrinth.=
= Ah. I’ve heard that story too. People of the Land God Church think that the Labyrinth is a place that has the nature of constantly growing to make the land fertile because it was created with the blessing of the Earth God.=
= Exactly. The results of Doryeong’s scouting are completely contrary to what I learned in the church…….=
=Anne. Have you ever found a labyrinth like this before?=
=At least not in my memory.=
= Apart from the fact that this labyrinth is an unprecedented case…… It seems that he hasn’t brought up the important story yet.=
After hearing Yurupa’s story, the women sat in the seats of honor and looked at Hwanin with their arms crossed.
As if he was thinking about something, his profound yet deep black eyes and an indifferent expression.
“It is a giant.”
=…… Giant?=
“It doesn’t matter if the giant is a heteromorph. Kill them all, break their cores, and escape.”
At those words, Yurpa gave a short exclamation.
=You think that even a giant might not be a heteromorph.=
= Wait, wait. The giant in the labyrinth could be a Gilliant, not a heteromorphic species? How do you come up with such a hypothesis…….=
While speaking, Anne’s expression, which has been enlightened, becomes dazed as if she has gone crazy.
It was in the story of Hwanin.
A labyrinth without heterogeneous species. An ecosystem composed entirely of ordinary flora and fauna. Creatures that have become gigantic as if they came in from the outside and mutated.
“If the giant here is not a heterogeneous species but a human that has changed, or if the labyrinth created a hybrid of a heterogeneous giant and a human giant, there are very few options for us to choose from.”
=…….=
“This is a yard where a pursuer has already come to the vicinity. If each country knew the characteristics of this labyrinth, they would certainly try to investigate it in detail. And I don’t think there are any natives who would want to see their lands taken over by strangers.”
= Doryeong is…… Even if the giants here are humans and not xenomorphs, are you still going to destroy the labyrinth?=
When Hwanin nodded slightly, Anne and Baekryeogang let out a faint salivation while Isilite and Yurpa maintained calm expressions.
“If they are communicative people, all I can offer them is migration. Of course, this is only a story when the giants amicably accept our proposal.”
=That, taking care of them so that they can live a normal life in the future…….=
“I don’t like optimistic views that fools think. I have no intention of leaving so that others will come and mess up the labyrinth later. If I do, I will do it, and if I have to receive resentment and curses, I will receive it.”
Anne becomes sullen at Hwan-in’s knife-like attitude, who gave priority to accepting when his girlfriends raised their opinions without rejecting them.
She, too, understood with her head. This situation was not intended by him with malice, and it is likely that nine times out of ten it will end up the way he wishes.
Unsatisfied with Anne’s visibly downcast appearance, Yurpa placed her hand on her arm and opened her mouth.
= Uh… Miss Anne? The law that giants must be human…….=
“Yurpa. Such hopeful observations only lead to despair and anger when the truth is reversed.”
Yurpa, who tried to comfort Anne with the resolute story of her phantom, shut her mouth like a clam.
=~~~.=
With her eyes closed, Hwanin stares blankly at Anne, who is agonizing over her troubles as if fighting something in her heart.
Isilite and Yurpa are women who will silently follow if you ask them to do it, saying that there must be a reason for the massacre of civilians in a big city.
However, although Anne was heavily influenced by Hwanin, she was still a woman with values and thoughts that could be called a priest.
After a while, as if a conclusion came from within, Anne took a long breath and asked her Hwanin.
= Doryeong. If the giants are human and there comes a situation where you have to convince them, I want you to entrust that persuasion to me.
“Is this your opinion as a priest of the Church of the Earth God?”
=…… Yes.=
“Okay. When that happens, I ask you.”
=Thank you.=
Hwanin also relaxed his expression and gave a small smile at Anne’s answer, which was literally full of gratitude without any unpleasant or dark feelings.
Day 6. The labyrinth exploration went smoothly.
As if the appearance of an irresistible enemy in the labyrinth was known, the attacks of wild animals decreased day by day, and combat was limited to insects and small amphibians that could hardly think.
Thanks to this, instead of exploring the labyrinth, only time passed like an exploration of an unusual unexplored region.
When the sun rises, they make a map and make their way through the forest, marking only conspicuous places.
And when the sun goes down, they approach a huge tree that looks like it might be a child of the world tree, and makes a basement under the root to rest.
When the sun rises, the underground base where they stayed is covered without a trace and the exploration begins again.
When it was repeated six times.
Hwanin’s women thought that his judgment and reasoning might have reached the realm of transcendental intuition beyond the limits of the family.
= Intruder! Get out!=
A 30m tall female giant who was more like a country girl than a city beauty. The first giant she encountered gave a roaring shout at the Hwanin party.
His voice was imbued with hostility like that of a native who faced the Conquistadors invading with guns, germs and steel.
