TEOCH 52

After a simple meal of mushroom rat meat, we waited for the weather to cool down before setting out to explore.

Just in case, I asked Damian to cast a large-scale detection spell, but fortunately, there weren’t that many monsters outside. It seemed my worry that the surviving monsters might flock near the mountain, making even exploration impossible, was unfounded.

However, we still needed to be careful. In a situation where our range of movement was already narrowed due to the island’s collapse, encountering monsters would make it difficult to escape.

“Maybe it’s because we ran so frantically yesterday, but I feel completely drained today… I even had a strange dream earlier.”

“Come to think of it, what on earth did you dream about? You were talking nonsense to His Majesty the King as soon as you woke up.”

“Hm, did I do that? Now that I’m awake, I don’t really remember. I remember up to the part where I was being eaten by a snail.”

“It seems the ordeal was so harsh you were plagued by nightmares. We’ll only be doing a light reconnaissance today, so don’t worry.”

Still, everyone looked much more relaxed, perhaps thanks to the rest. Not only Tristan and Rehas, but also Damian and Rikiel, who had seemed quite exhausted just a while ago, now appeared to be in good enough condition to walk without difficulty.

Of course, that didn’t mean we could explore for long. Damian’s mana was nearly depleted from using magic excessively yesterday, and Rehas’s arrows were also almost gone because he had fired them indiscriminately for suppression purposes. The conditions were not very good for engaging in combat.

“At least for the duration of our stay on this island, we’ll live as quietly as a dead mouse. We need to conserve enough strength to run away on the next island.”

“Do we have to go through this chaos on the other islands too?”

“It can’t be helped. Still, since we’ve experienced it once this time, we’ll be able to handle it better in the future. I will be careful to ensure that a parasite nest doesn’t form on your body like it did yesterday.”

“No, I’m fine. But…”

“You are not fine. I don’t want to see you in danger either.”

“…”

“Now, let’s go.”

Rikiel merely nodded his head silently, as if lost in thought. We explored the forest, being as careful as possible to avoid encountering other monsters.

The sky was empty, as if most of the birds had left for other islands, and the tree roots that had writhed to bind our feet until last night were now perfectly still without the slightest tremor. Rehas looked at the tree roots with a strange expression and asked me.

“Can I kick this thing once?”

“I thank you for at least asking me first, but no. It will retaliate immediately.”

“Tch, what a shame. When I think about how much trouble this caused yesterday…”

Although he said that, Rehas didn’t actually seem very disappointed, and I just shrugged my shoulders lightly and quickened my pace.

After moving diligently for about 20 minutes, we arrived at the lowest reaches of the river. Of course, to be precise, it would be more appropriate to call it ‘what was the upper reaches of the river until a few hours ago,’ but that was a meaningless distinction now. Tristan, with a weary look on his face, muttered under his breath.

“This is incredible. To think that an island that was so enormous is now only this big.”

“Indeed. At this rate, we could probably explore the entire island in two days.”

While my companions briefly watched the stream of water falling off the island, I looked around, searching for anything useful.

After rummaging a bit through the bushes near the river, a few dirt-caked, soiled bone fragments turned up, and I picked them up with the intention of making more arrows for Rehas. As I was putting the bone fragments into my pocket, my companions approached.

“Ahem, we should look for something too. What should we find?”

“If you find any usable bone fragments, please find some more. Or, tree nuts that can be used for food or monster carcasses are also good. Things like medicinal herbs or sap could lead to poisoning if handled incorrectly, so there’s no need to push yourselves to collect those.”

My companions nodded silently and began their search, and I too found some useful items on my own. I pulled up a few roots of a medicinal herb that could be applied to minor wounds (that is, when purified, of course. Left as is, it’s no different from a poisonous plant), cut off a bit of vine sturdy enough to be used as a rope, and picked up a handful of tree nuts that seemed edible if cooked well.

Most importantly, I discovered the best resource available on this island right now.

“This is quite a good harvest.”

“But it looks like an ordinary tree at a glance.”

“The tree itself is certainly not very useful… but the important thing is the sap that comes from this tree. Damian, could you bring a bowl and hold it here?”

I took out a small dagger and peeled off the tree bark. When the reddish flesh was revealed, I plunged the blade into it with all my might. Then, an ominously colored sap, like blood, slowly seeped out from the wound. Seeing that its color was vivid and its viscosity was high like honey, it was probably…

“This is ‘berserker fluid’.”

“It’s not particularly glowing, though. Is it structured to glow when it’s night or when mana is infused into it?”

“It doesn’t mean glowing in that sense. In any case, this is a pretty rare type among the saps you can get here. We’re very lucky today.”

“…Name aside, what is that sap used for?”

Instead of answering Rikiel’s question, I rummaged through my bag and took out the parasite pouch. Rikiel flinched, as if reminded of the fight with the queen spider, but I pretended not to notice his reaction and took out one parasite from the pouch.

It was a parasite that combined the functions of ‘Shock Absorption II’ and ‘Swiftness I,’ and it was an extremely useful fellow in the sense that it allowed for fast movement without taking damage even when falling from a high place. Though I had left it alone because the parasite’s level was insufficient.

“Now, place the bowl on the ground and step back a little. You could get hurt if you’re too close.”

“Wh-what are you going to do?”

“You’ll know when you see it. Now, then…”

The moment I put the parasite into the bowl, I quickly pulled back. Immediately after, the liquid in the bowl shot up with an explosive force. My companions’ eyes widened at the sight of it thrashing violently as if it were a living creature, but I calmly observed the liquid’s state and reassured them.

“Wh-what is that?!”

“Stay still! If you leave it alone, it will calm down soon!”

Although it was rampaging with the intent to pounce on us at any moment, the liquid itself didn’t actually exhibit any aggression. As long as no one provoked it from the side, there would be no problem.

My companions hesitated, waiting for the liquid to calm down, and I tensed up, worried that nearby monsters might hear the noise and approach.

About one or two minutes passed. Fortunately, no monsters came, drawn by the sound, and the liquid, which had been thrashing for a while, began to slow its movements as if it had lost its energy. Only then did I get up and approach the bowl.

By now, the parasite should have drunk all the ‘berserker fluid,’ so there was no need to worry. All that was left was to harvest the result.

“There, it’s all done.”

I picked up the bright red parasite inside the bowl and shook it. The parasite, which had been limp just a moment ago, was now thrashing about excitedly, as if brimming with energy.

When I checked the item information, the name ‘Berserked Parasite’ and the stats ‘Shock Absorption IV’ and ‘Swiftness III’ greeted me. This was quite good.

A parasite’s level is a really important factor. For example, ‘Shock Absorption I’ at best only mitigates the impact from a 5-meter fall, but ‘Shock Absorption IV’ mitigates the impact from a fall of a whopping 20 meters. That’s a difference that could mean life or death.

Of course, forcibly leveling up a parasite through berserker fluid comes with side effects. For instance, the calories it consumes become slightly higher, and the speed at which the parasite creates an egg sac in a critical situation also increases. But having a strong parasite also increases the chances of saving one’s life or escaping a critical situation.

“The parasite… uh… it’s become red.”

“It’s become stronger. If you put a berserked parasite like this in your body, the effect is much better.”

“It’s berserked, not enhanced? It sounds dangerous for some reason.”

“That’s true. It is a bit dangerous. But the effect is so good that this level of side effect is worth enduring.”

Rehas frowned faintly, but I paid him no mind and took off my boot and rolled up my pant leg. It was truly a fortunate turn of events to come across such luck just when I was starting to need an auxiliary parasite.

In a situation where we must constantly flee from the island’s collapse, the ability to absorb the impact on my feet and ensure swift movement will be a great help to my future survival. So…

“W-wait a minute? What are you doing right now…?”

“I’m left-footed, so it would be better to put this in my right leg. Putting it in the less-used foot will prevent unnecessary overuse.”

“You’re going to put that in?! W-wait, think about it for a second…!”

“Huh? What is there to think about? Let’s hurry up and insert this thing and get moving.”

As soon as I plunged the dagger into my exposed leg, a familiar pain came over me and my face contorted. After I struggled to even my breathing and pulled out the blade, the bright red parasite was sucked into the opening and began to parasitize my leg, settling into the gaping, bleeding wound.

I didn’t stab it that deeply, so the wound will heal quickly, and I can test the performance of my enhanced leg by walking for another hour or two before heading back. That would wrap up today’s exploration nicely. So…

“…Rohan.”

Just as I was about to stand up after confirming that the parasite had been fully absorbed, I frowned at the displeased voice coming from behind me.

Why is he suddenly acting like that? Puzzled, I looked back at Rikiel. He had seemed to be in a decent mood until just a moment ago, but now his expression was completely distorted, as if he were deeply upset.

“What in the world did you just do?”

“What do you mean? Why all of a sudden…”

Startled, I tried to stand up, but Rikiel’s movements were much faster than mine. As the large man suddenly lunged at me, I couldn’t get up properly and ended up falling on my bottom, and Rikiel used that opening to roll up my right pant leg again. When he saw the leg where the wound had already completely healed, he frowned even more.

“You, just now.”

“What are you so unhappy about?”

“Don’t tell me you’re asking because you don’t know? How could you be so reckless…!”

“What on earth did I do? Why are you suddenly shouting!”

I looked at the faces of the people around me, and it seemed they were just as bewildered as I was. But there was a problem. No matter how I looked at it, the reason for their bewilderment was completely different from mine, and they seemed to be agreeing with Rikiel instead.

It was a situation that felt like something I had experienced a few times before, and my face stiffened. Wait, this isn’t good…

“How could you so rashly insert a parasite? Is it okay for you to act so willfully on your own like that, without saying a single word to us?”

I shut my mouth without realizing it.

I still didn’t understand what he was angry about, but in any case, it didn’t feel good.