Chapter 230: Exploration

230 – Exploration

I’ve decided that I’ll go explore the forest with the wight. For the time being, the objectives are finding food, evolving the wight, my own levelling… and, if time allows, making contact with the Lithovar people.

I hope we’re able to find something tasty. There was rice and boar in the tribute, so if we look around, we should be able to find them.

As for evolving the wight, the objective is for her to gain flesh. That’ll work, right? It would be beyond pitiable if she were to be stuck as bone forever.

And for my own evolution…

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[Irushia]

Species: Ouroboros

Condition: Normal

Lv: 61/125

HP: 1555/1555

MP: 1505/1505

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Nice, my HP has a run of 5s. That’s meant to be lucky, I think. Not that I care all that much.

My level still hasn’t reached the turning point. The amount of experience needed will be even more from here on, so my next evolution is still a long way off… When I evolve, what’s going to happen to my partner? Are you going to disappear?

“Gaa?”

When I look at her, she lets out an idiotic cry… She’s not one to think about things like evolution, this girl.

For time being, it’s probably for the best that she’s not worrying about it, but I’m curious all the same. If we were to go from two to one, would she return to being inside me? Would it be like killing her? Or it could be that I’ll keep having two heads in all my future evolutions. Ah, there’s also the possibility that I’ll sprout a third head. Even with only one other head, it’s hard enough to set goals and keep my mood high, so with a third head I’d just die from stress.

Suddenly, I stop to think. The Lithovar settlement should be close. If I were to go visit them from here, they’d get scared, right? But then they didn’t come to visit me this morning. So if I don’t do something, won’t I just fade into obscurity? But but, if I mess up and they see me as being aggressive, I’ll become unable to meet them at all.

But but but… While I’m fretting by myself, my partner stares at me with cold eyes.

“Gaaa…”

She shakes her head in exasperation and looks ahead. “Hurry up and walk”, she says in my mind, indicating the way forwards with her jaw.

S-somehow I feel like I’ve lost. Was I really making that much of an absent-minded expression just now?

Anyway, the wight’s with us today, so making contact with the Lithovar tribe might be a little bad. It would be difficult for her to meet her friends as she currently looks. I’ll focus on hunting for today. That’s for the best, yeah.

“Gaah! Gaah!”

When I start walking, my partner again pulls me in a direction with her head. Drool is flying from her mouth. What is it? Did you see something? You could have told me telepathically like you did a moment ago, you know. The skill level has increased after all.

“That looks tasty! That looks tasty!”

Whether its her thought or her cry, it doesn’t make much difference. The ball rabbit was able to use telepathy a lot more useful things though.

I follow her line of sight to see something pulsing with light. It’s humanoid, but quite small. Around the size of a small animal. Not wearing any clothes, its smooth, featureless skin is visible. It looks kind of like a clay doll made in the shape of a human.

It seems to have spotted us from its hiding spot behind a tree root.

That’s… not something you’d want to eat, right? I for sure don’t want to. What even is that thing?

【[Raran]: E-Rank Monster】

【From its peculiar appearance, it has been called names such as ‘guardian of the forest’, ‘forest child’, ‘spirit of the forest’. Each name carries the superstitions of that area with it. 】

【Possessing a docile personality, it lives by absorbing the magic power of trees. 】

【If it gets angry, something terrible will happen. 】

Touching this guy’s definitely off limits.

“It looks tasty! It looks tasty!”

Stop that, we’re not gonna eat it. No, with this much of a difference in rank it should be ok. Even though it’s the perfect rank for raising the wight’s level, I don’t want to get involved with it. Sorry, but we’re searching for a different prey. It’s not like eating that would fill your stomach anyway.

“Gaah! Gaaaah!”

How much do you want to eat that thing, seriously? I really don’t get what’s so appealing about it.

I don’t know much about this raran thing, but won’t it go away after seeing her rampage like this? I glance back and see that the single raran has become three. The three little humanoids are peacefully lined up, emitting a pale green light. Do they want to be eaten, those guys?

Their eyes meet mine, and the three of them shrug their shoulders in unison. Then, the light flashes and they disappear.

“Gaa…”

My partner hangs her head dejectedly. You really wanted to eat it that badly? Sorry, but I’m not gonna make something that creepy my enemy. To get me to lower my guard, just one of those guys… no, just one of those things came by itself.

While searching for some other monster to hunt, I hear a rustling sound and spot an abyss in the distance. I don’t want to go near one of those if I can help it. Even if I defeat it, I can’t eat it. Ah, but then exterminating it might be a good idea. It’s C-rank, so if the wight were to help, she’d earn a ton of experience. Hmm… Even so, I don’t want to fight it…

While I’m worrying, [Presence Detection] picks up on something on the opposite side. This presence feels human. I think it’s Lithovar.

I’m a little bit curious. I want to check in on them though… No, I’ll just be stumble across them. After all, if I’m close by I shouldn’t go out of my way to avoid them… Yeah, I’ll just go show my face. Only for a bit, only for a bit. I need to thank them for the tribute after all, yeah. I can’t run away here.

…However, there’s the problem of the wight. Letting her and the Lithovars meet would be bad.

I glance behind me to see the wight looking up at me, appearing lonely.

Uuuu… Just seeing them from a distance should be ok, right? I’ll just greet them, then if they come closer and it looks like they’ll see the wight, we’ll sneak away.