“I think we should investigate that cave. It looks incredibly suspicious.”
It was the cave where the insect monsters born from eggs were walking into, as if drawn by something.
Among the monsters we had seen on our way to this Pit of Tnalpria, none were mutated like the ones attacking from the pit.
Even while we were talking among ourselves, insect monsters were hatching from their eggs.
Fortunately, there were no flying monsters, so they didn’t attack us.
- Hmm? There is something suspicious in the center.
“Something suspicious? Where?”
The Elf’s eyes were certainly good.
Whether it was finding the cave or this instance, I couldn’t see anything until Kasia pointed it out.
Only after squinting my eyes could I faintly see what Kasia was talking about.
“Huh? It looks like some kind of smoke is billowing out from over there.”
Just as Suyeon noticed, something in the very center of the pit was spewing out purple smoke.
The smoke was the poison mist that Pa-rongee had worked so hard to breathe in and detoxify.
I could be certain because my vision was gradually turning purple again, just like before.
“The monsters at the edges seem fine.”
Unlike the others, Park Janghyeon was looking at the edges.
It seemed he didn’t know there was something in the center because he was the only one who couldn’t understand Kasia’s words.
“I see. The eggs are white, too.”
Just then, Jinsu’s exclamation hit my ears.
“Oh? Wow! It’s, it’s evolving! Amazing!”
I didn’t know why he was so excited, but just as Jinsu said, a normal ant monster twisted its entire body and shed its outer skin like it was molting.
The single pincer on its jaw had become two.
It appeared thicker and more massive than before.
“We’ll keep watching. We need to gather information.”
I searched every corner of the pit to make sure I didn’t miss a single detail.
Then, I found a commonality.
The monsters at the edges were born from white eggs and none of them had undergone a mutation.
And unlike the mutated monsters, they did not head toward the cave.
However, once they wandered around and entered the center of the pit, they suddenly molted, mutated, and headed toward the cave like the other mutated monsters.
“That makes thirty of them. It’s safe to say it’s certain by now.”
The information gathering was over.
Now we just had to go down, deal with the monsters, and collect the Trnalpria, but….
“Brother, please help with the detoxification.”
Because of the poison mist that had filled the pit in the meantime, we couldn’t go down immediately.
Pa-rongee, having recovered in the meantime, took a deep breath again and sucked in the poison mist.
After a moment, as if Minjun had made a decision, he gestured to the party members.
As if telling them to prepare for battle, they gripped their respective weapons tightly, increasing the tension.
“We’ll go down first, so stay here with Kasia.”
“The poison mist is still billowing out; will you be all right?”
“Hmm….”
“Don’t do that, take Pa-rongee with you.”
Even if Minjun is an S-class Hunter, smoke is a different story.
His body might have become sturdy, but that didn’t mean his internal organs were just as tough.
And we had to consider the other party members as well.
“Fine. We’ll give you a signal once it’s safe, so come down then.”
I placed Pa-rongee, the living air purifier who was slumped over after exhausting himself sucking in the poison mist again, on Suyeon’s shoulder.
Suyeon, being in the rear rather than the vanguard, would be safer.
Minjun and his party slid all the way down the sloping walls of the pit.
The insect monsters that noticed the sound began to rush toward them one by one, making unpleasant noises.
Kieeeek-!
“If I had known this would happen, I would have brought the other Peanut Guardians too.”
- Still, is it not a relief that Pa-rongee is here?
“You’re right. If it weren’t for Pa-rongee, we wouldn’t even have been able to go down there.”
The Minjun Party slid down for quite a while because the pit was so deep.
Soon, the battle began.
The fortunate thing was that most of the mutated individuals had already entered the cave.
It would be safe once the insect monsters at the edges were dealt with.
As they got closer to the monsters, Minjun charged toward them.
In an instant, a blue aura exploded from his body.
Attention shifted to Minjun, who had lunged out alone, and the monsters rushed at him.
Minjun collided straight into the chest of the monster in the lead.
The monster flew backward as if it had hit a giant boulder.
Keeeeek!
The creature became entangled with the monsters following behind it and flailed about.
Of course, the Hunters wouldn’t miss that opportunity.
“Haat!”
Behind Minjun, Jinsu and Park Janghyeon leaped forward and slaughtered the monsters.
Minjun tore the limbs off monsters with his bare hands, while Jinsu performed a sword dance in the enemy camp with flaming twin swords.
And even Park Janghyeon, who had a long attack range, dealt with the monsters while leisurely switching between offense and defense.
They were a terrifying trio.
At that moment, a flying monster approached Suyeon, who was in the back.
“Suyeon! Watch out! A monster above you!”
Suyeon is a Healer, but perhaps because she had a lot of battle experience in dungeons, she skillfully moved her body and responded to the monster’s attack as soon as she heard my warning.
“Brother! Thank you!”
The way she expressed her gratitude so calmly made her look like a complete professional.
However, because the insect monsters flocked over after hearing the sounds of battle, it took some time to deal with them all.
“Come down!”
Minjun called out to Kasia and me, judging that it was safe.
- Sliding down earlier looked like it would be fun.
“Let’s go down quickly.”
As we slid down the slope, the pit looked much wider than it had from above.
The eggs, which looked like densely packed protrusions, were also massive, matching the size of the insect monsters that would be born from them.
“It’s easier to breathe down here.”
- I think so as well. My body feels lighter, too.
We joined the Minjun Party, who were resting after the battle.
“Hmm….”
Minjun stared at Kasia for a moment before speaking.
“Let’s deal with all the eggs before we go.”
I was actually going to ask him to deal with them, so it was a relief.
Kasia nodded once with her mouth tightly shut, as if she were grateful.
“Once we remove them all, we move to the center.”
We moved to the place where the smoke was billowing out while destroying the eggs.
I was surprised by the fact that the closer we got, the thicker and more abundant the smoke became.
Slowly, the surrounding eggs were also taking on a purple hue.
“Everyone, stick close to me. Won’t it be okay if you’re next to Pa-rongee?”
Everyone gathered around Suyeon, who had Pa-rongee on her shoulder.
And we continued to advance while destroying the eggs.
When we reached the very center, the eggs now had a completely deep purple color.
“Oh my god….”
“Is this a bug too?”
These were the reactions of those who saw the true identity of what was emitting the smoke.
I couldn’t help but have the same reaction.
Because the things spewing out large amounts of smoke weren’t machines, but insects.
- These are… Bombardier Beetles.
“Bombardier Beetles? What are those?”
“I’ve heard of them! I think they were bugs that spewed toxic gas, also known as ‘Stink Bugs.’”
The smoke wasn’t being emitted by just one, but by several of them simultaneously.
Someone had tied the Bombardier Beetles together and hung them upside down.
“Who on earth…. So the toxic gas is because of these things, but why are the other insects mutating?”
- These are purple too. Originally, they are a mix of black and yellow.
“Then does that mean these are mutated too?”
After some deduction, we reached a single hypothesis.
That someone had caught the Bombardier Beetles, mutated them, and intentionally created this environment.
Or, they might have caught already mutated Bombardier Beetles and abandoned them here.
Either way, it seemed clear that there was intervention from someone with intelligence.
“Let’s collect them and head back before the Owner who made this returns. It could be dangerous.”
Just as Minjun said, it seemed better to finish up quickly and go back.
Time would be tight if we wanted to collect the Trnalpria, destroy the eggs, and even investigate the cave.
“Kasia and I will do the collecting. The rest of you, take care of the eggs.”
After seeing Park Janghyeon freeze the Bombardier Beetles and break them with his spear, I started collecting the Trnalpria with Kasia.
- Lady Crea said we must collect them carefully so the air bubbles do not burst.
“Yeah. It means everything inside there is air. I should dig up the roots too.”
As I crouched on the ground, the air felt strangely different from when I was standing.
It felt like my breathing had slowed down.
And my vision, which had been slightly blurry, was now clear and vivid.
“Kasia, around… here? It’s blurry above this point, right?”
I didn’t know when I was standing, but there was a point where the difference between the blurry and clear parts was visible, as if the air layers were divided.
- Oh? It is so. Hmm. It seems the poison mist from earlier remains above… it does not settle.
“You’re right. Will Minjun and the others be okay?”
Since we were sitting and breathing clear air, I was worried about the Hunters who were walking around standing up.
- Since Pa-rongee is there, will it not be fine? Once he recovers and sucks it all in, it will be all right.
“I guess so.”
After finishing our small talk, I looked at the Trnalpria in front of me.
Round air bubbles the size of a 500-won coin were hanging from each lateral branch extending from the thick vertical main stem.
Its appearance resembled a lily of the valley.
‘Should I try eating one?’
I plucked just one air bubble and brought it to my lips.
I tore one corner with my teeth and inhaled the air inside as it was.
Hoooop—
It wasn’t just air; it felt refreshing and my head felt clear.
This is good.
Phew.
Surprisingly, even though it was small, air kept leaking out from inside.
I wouldn’t need many?
Still, since they were small, it wouldn’t be a problem to carry them, so I planned to pack plenty.
- Hurry and collect them. It seems they are already finishing up over there.
“Uh-huh. I should.”
When I touched the surrounding soil, it was very soft and fine.
For reference, I put some soil into the sack along with the Trnalpria I had dug up by the roots.
Phew. Phew. Cough, cough.
From a certain point, my breathing became labored.
It was definitely easier to breathe than above, but it was quite uncomfortable since I even started having a dry cough.
- What is the matter? It seems you are constantly gasping for breath.
“I don’t know. I keep feeling short of breath. Phew. I feel a bit dizzy, too.”
- Rest for a bit. I shall do the collecting. Am I not also an Aspiring Farmer?
Thanks to Kasia’s consideration, I stood up for a moment and felt better almost instantly.
Could this be….
‘Is it oxygen toxicity?’
The symptoms were similar to those often experienced when oxygen concentration is high.
Coughing, shortness of breath, confusion, etc.
Rather than just resting, I tried to organize these strange phenomena.
‘Did the poison mist spew out and trap the oxygen layer below?’
Or, the poison mist trapped it and the air generated from the Trnalpria filled it up, increasing the oxygen concentration.
If not that, then conversely, the oxygen concentration was so high that the poison mist could no longer settle.
Whatever it was, it wasn’t a good phenomenon.
Just then, the Hunters returned to the center, seemingly having dealt with all the eggs.
“Did you break them all?”
“Yeah. But didn’t Suyeon come back?”
“She hasn’t come yet.”
Come to think of it, only Minjun, Jinsu, and Park Janghyeon had returned; Suyeon was nowhere to be seen.
We decided to split up and find her quickly.
‘I hope it’s nothing serious.’
It would be a big problem if she ran into a newly hatched monster.
Fortunately, there were no loud noises.
She probably wasn’t attacked by a monster.
“Suyeon!”
“Yes! I’m here!”
Relief washed over me when I found Suyeon looking perfectly fine.
“Thank goodness. Where did you go?”
Suyeon answered with an embarrassed expression.
“I’m sorry. Pa-rongee looked a bit tired, so I wanted to let him rest in a quiet place.”
While returning to the center together, I witnessed a strange sight.
Jinsu and Park Janghyeon were collapsed on the ground, and their skin had turned a light purple.
“Wait, what is that? Jinsu and Mr. Janghyeon are….”
Minjun, who had just returned, also looked at the situation with a flustered expression.
“Kasia, what happened?”
- I, I do not know either! Suddenly they went ‘ugh!’ and collapsed!
Ugh?
As soon as I heard Kasia’s words, I had an ominous feeling.
Could it be related to the symptoms I felt earlier?
Looking closely, Minjun didn’t look normal either.
The only difference was that his skin was smooth, but it was the same light purple color.
“Are you okay? Why is everyone suddenly like this?”
“Poison. It seems… to be poison.”
Thump!
Even Minjun collapsed.
- Qu, quickly do something! What if everyone dies like this!
“Poison, right. Pa-rongee… I need Pa-rongee’s detoxification Ability!”
Pa-rongee was sprawled out on Suyeon’s shoulder, having fallen asleep in the meantime.
“Pa-rongee! Wake up! This is no time to be lying down!”
- Wake up at once! Every second counts!
I pressed his firm belly and shook him here and there, and Pa-rongee showed a reaction.
(Pyaha….)
What’s with that annoyed expression?
Then, as if he grasped the situation, Pa-rongee’s eyes widened.
“Our friends have been poisoned. Can you detoxify them?”
Pa-rongee slowly looked around, then gazed at the fallen Hunters.
Then, he slowly nodded.
“How should we do it? Should I bring them over here?”
Then, instead of an answer, Pa-rongee handed over his weapon.
The Green Onion Spear.
Then he pulled them out one by one from the back of his head and handed over a total of three.
“This? I should feed it to them?”
Pa-rongee nodded.
I quickly approached Jinsu and Park Janghyeon and put the Green Onion Spears in their mouths.
And to Minjun as well.
After waiting anxiously for a moment.
“Ugh….”
- They opened their eyes!
With a small groan, they woke up one by one.
“Is everyone okay?”
Minjun slowly sat up.
“Brother…. smack smack, what happened to—ugh, pui! Why is it so spicy?”
“Minjun, you were poisoned. We detoxified you thanks to Pa-rongee.”
Suyeon explained.
Following Minjun, Jinsu and Park Janghyeon also seemed to be slowly regaining consciousness.
“Ugh, my head….”
Jinsu said, clutching his head.
“Can everyone stand up? I think it’s dangerous to stay here any longer.”
- It is so. It would be best to leave this place quickly.
We supported each other and slowly stood up.
Pa-rongee, who had been glancing at everyone becoming fine, fell back into a peaceful sleep.
In any case, everyone is safe.