I weaved between the trees, sometimes snapping branches, sometimes bouncing between them, but always moving away from the Origin Matter. It wasn’t long before the onslaught of Dark Rays died down. When I looked back, I saw the Origin Matter flying back up into the sky.
Dark Ray was a powerful, relatively low-cost skill, but even so, the Origin Matter couldn’t afford to keep shooting it at an opponent it couldn’t hit. It must have decided pursuing me any further would be a waste of MP.
After another minute or two careening through the trees, I came out of my Roll. I would’ve liked to create a bit more distance between us and the Origin Matter so I could be sure we really had gotten away, but zooming through the forest with Roll put us at risk of being discovered by any number of other powerful monsters.
I gazed back at the massive black orb of light floating away in the distant sky. If I don’t get strong enough to at least beat you, even if I find a way back to my original world, there’s no way I’d stand a chance against the Divine Voice’s Spirit Servants.
So…wait for me. I’ll raise my level and come back stronger before I leave for my home world. Strong enough to free you from the clutches of Ngai Forest.
Part 5
AFTER CONFIRMING WITH Psychic Sense that our surroundings were relatively safe, I lowered both of my Ouroboros heads to the ground and opened my mouths.
‹It’s over. You can come out now,› I said to Allo and Treant with Telepathy.
‹I am glad you made it out of there alive, Master…› Treant, in its tree spirit form, crawled down my tongue and tumbled to the ground. Naturally, it was covered in my saliva. ‹You endured a lot for us… To think such a fearsome monster would roam these lands…›
‹You endured a lot too, Treant.›
I felt bad for putting the other two in such a dangerous situation, even if I didn’t have much of a choice. I really hadn’t been expecting a max-level rank L monster to just appear out of the blue. If all we had to face here was rank A+, a monster of my level wouldn’t have any trouble. Now that we’d encountered the Origin Matter, though, the trees of Ngai Forest loomed even more threateningly than before. If we wanted to survive here, we were going to have to be careful.
But the clock was ticking. If we hesitated, or played it too safe, we’d run out of time to get back to our home world. Even with the dangers of Ngai Forest fully realized, I resolved to strive forward just as fast as before.
Raising my level didn’t have to take long if I found an adversary equal to or slightly stronger than myself. That tight time schedule meant we’d have to take some risks.
My thoughts trailed back to the mysterious tower in the distance. Whatever was lurking there, it had to be dangerous. Going back to our world wouldn’t be easy, that was for sure.
Still, my only choice was to keep moving and hope I was making progress.
Treant attempted to stand up, but slipped on my saliva and toppled over on the spot. It must’ve been a little turned around after all that rolling inside my mouth…
I caught the faint scent of my drying saliva wafting from Treant and winced. Yikes.
‹It is the scent of your mouth, Master. I don’t mind, but…perhaps you should avoid making the same face at Allo.› Treant said, glaring at me from the ground.
‹S-sorry, Treant…› I apologized, then sent a message to my other mouth with Telepathy. ‹Allo…? You okay in there? Can you get out?›
At my prodding, Allo finally crawled out. I ended my Dragon Mirror and returned to my Oneiros form.
Allo turned to me, her pale skin blushing slightly pink, softly stroking her cheek with her index finger. “I…think I’ve finally gotten used to being inside your mouth, Master Dragon.” She raised the back of her hand to her nose and sniffed.
Treant and I both froze, stunned.
‹Miss Allo…are you feeling all right? Perhaps you would prefer if Master used Fake Life on you…?› Treant asked her.
“I-I didn’t mean that in a weird way! I’m glad I’m used to it!” Allo snapped, her face now a bright scarlet.
‹I…I see. Um, well, I’m glad too, and I don’t find it weird. Please don’t be disheartened.›
“I’m not! I’m fine!”
Well…I’m just glad they’re both okay. I looked around, trying to find a place for Allo and Treant to wash up, when I realized something odd. When we were flying over Ngai Forest, I hadn’t seen any rivers anywhere. All I saw were the thousands of strange trees coating the ground below me. Were there no bodies of water anywhere here? If so, that meant we couldn’t secure any fresh water to drink. Well, we should be fine for a few days if we rationed our food and water, but…
‹Aqua Sphere!› A large sphere of water appeared above Treant’s head. It burst like a popped bubble, dousing Treant in water. It shook its body like a dog getting out of a river, spraying water droplets everywhere, then stepped out of the puddle. ‹Ahh… That’s better.›
I stared at Treant, shocked. ‹T-Treant…you can use Aqua Sphere?!›
‹Hm? Can’t you see my skills, Master?›
Now that Treant mentioned it, I did vaguely remember Aqua Sphere being on its skill list. I just hadn’t seen Treant use that spell in so long that I forgot.
Well, I guess that solves our water problem. Man, every family should have a Treant.
‹You should probably help Allo clean up too…›
“No need! I can do it myself!” With a flash, Allo dropped to the ground, her features collapsing into a black blob of light before quickly reforming into her original shape. Dang, was that one of Allo’s new Walpurgis abilities? It seemed strong… Even Allo’s dress, which had been in tatters only moments before, was back to normal.
Suddenly, I realized another surprising development. ‹Wait, Allo. Did you…get your sense of smell back?› She seemed like she could smell my saliva before.
Allo smiled. “Actually, I think so. I noticed it a little while ago.”
‹R-really?!› I moved my face closer to hers to look her in the eyes.
“Yeah! My sense of smell never totally went away, but it was very faint at first. But every time I evolved, it got a little better. And this time, it all came back.”
‹Th-that’s wonderful, Allo! I was worried your senses wouldn’t ever come back.› My heart burned with relief, and I felt tears welling up in my eyes.
As an undead, Allo couldn’t sleep, or enjoy eating meals the same way she did when she was alive. I’d always questioned whether I’d done the right thing when I resurrected her as an undead with Fake Life.
“M-Master Dragon, it’s okay! Don’t cry!”
‹Why don’t we stop for a bit and have a meal? We can celebrate the return of your taste buds.›
“R-really? I know we don’t have much time…”
‹That’s true, but…it’s been a while since we last ate. A lot’s happened, and I’m sure we’re all pretty worn out. And we just scored ourselves some ingredients for the job.›
Allo tilted her head. “Um…ingredients?”
‹Yup. I dunno how filling they’ll be, but they’re something, at least.›
I looked back at the trail of shredded grass and trees I’d left with Roll. Then I glanced up at the sky to make sure the Origin Matter was nowhere to be seen. I was determined to come back and fight it again one day soon, but definitely not right now.
And then…there were the kesaran pasarans we killed. I wasn’t sure if their meat would still be any good after it’d fallen from that height, but they were rank A+ monsters. I’d like to think there were still chunks of them left around here somewhere.
Honestly, I wasn’t even sure if the flesh on their bodies could really be considered meat in the first place. But either way…it wasn’t like they were inedible.
Part 6
‹ARE WE…REALLY EATING THESE, Master?›
I turned toward Treant. ‹What? You don’t want to?›
‹It’s not that I am unwilling. It’s just…u-ulp.›
I’d retrieved what was left of the kesaran pasarans, peeled the tufts of something resembling fur from the skin, cleaned the insides of what could maybe be their organs, and hung them on tree branches to drain them of blood. Of course, I wasn’t sure if I could really consider the green ichor inside blood either.
The best way I could describe the kesaran pasarans was that they looked something like giant balls of dandelion fluff. I’d thought they might be some kind of plant-type monster, but its body structure seemed closer to an animal. While I waited for the blood to drain from those, I decided to look around for something else to add to our meal.
First, I checked out a strange, greenish-black weed growing along the forest floor. I sensed a sort of powerful magic emanating from it. Maybe it had some kind of nutritional value?
With a lurch, Treant yanked the weed from the ground and held it out in front of me. The exposed roots trembled and fluttered. But together, the clump of roots resembled a human face.
‹Master! What do you think? Can we eat these?› Treant asked.
I checked out the creepy weed’s description.
Grudgeweed: Value B–. A weed that grows in places where deep-seated grudges still reside. The magic power trapped inside its roots is often used as an ingredient for creating undead, as well as a medium for curses.
Grows in places that house grudges…and it’s a medium for curses, huh?