Elqueeness [EN]: Chapter 424

424.

“Ugh, damn it!”

Having a goat’s head with bared teeth thrashing right in front of my face wasn’t exactly good for my mental health. The way it kept swinging its huge claws was annoying, too. The only fortunate thing was that, compared to its appearance and size, its strength and speed weren’t all that impressive. It kept trying to snatch the branch that was blocking its path, but it couldn’t overcome my strength. After a brief struggle, I managed to create an opening and kick the monster.
Of course, I wasn’t expecting a big result since my goal was just to knock it away for a moment.

“Kieeeek!”

But the monster I kicked went flying quite a distance. The monster that got hit was probably surprised, but I was surprised too. It seemed my strength was quite a bit stronger than I thought. Still, I just considered it fortunate up to that point. Until I saw the next scene.

“……Huh?”

The monster that had fallen to the ground was convulsing while foaming at the mouth for a while. It seemed the impact was greater than expected, as it couldn’t regain its composure easily. Then, suddenly, it slumped and became still. As someone who was firmly gripping a branch in preparation for a counterattack, I couldn’t understand the situation in front of me at all. With a suspicious feeling, I kept watching, but even as time passed, there was no sign of it getting up. It wasn’t just unconscious; it seemed like its life force had completely disappeared.

With a doubtful heart, I cautiously approached the monster, abandoning my guard. When I pushed its crouching body with the branch, the goat head with its eyes rolled back was exposed without any resistance. As expected, it wasn’t breathing. It really died from that one kick.

How could this happen?

I sat down in front of the dead monster and pondered seriously for a long time. Of course, I did kick with all my might, at least in my own mind. If I were still in my original body as the Spirit King, this would have been a natural result. But now I was human (though not entirely sure yet). My physique was also slender, so there was no way I could have delivered such a huge impact. Was the part I kicked just a lucky vital spot? Or maybe it fell and hit something badly.

After numerous confusing thoughts, I barely came to a plausible conclusion. It only looked ferocious, but it was actually a very weak monster. Just because it’s big doesn’t necessarily mean it’s a strong monster, right? Considering its strength wasn’t that great, it was definitely a low-level monster, even among the lowest. Yes, there was no way this could have happened otherwise.

However, the world didn’t seem to want to let me escape from reality. I happened to look down and saw the branch I was holding. I had just snapped any old branch, and I was too distracted to examine it properly, but now that I looked at it, I couldn’t understand how I had broken it so easily, as it was quite thick. Moreover, its condition was a bit strange. It was natural that the part where the monster’s teeth had touched was crushed, so there was no need to worry about that, but somehow both ends were just as mangled. That was exactly where I had been holding it.

‘……Could it be that I made it like this?’

No, there’s no way. It was like that from the beginning, but I was too distracted to notice. While ignoring the thoughts that were flooding in, I tried gripping a normal part and giving it a good squeeze. And a little later, I had to look at the equally crushed lump.

“…….”

Ellyen, what kind of body did you give me?

After shaking off my palm, I let out a deep sigh. I didn’t have to worry about self-defense in the future, it seemed.

* * *

A person who has never enjoyed something doesn’t know what it’s like to lack it. Therefore, perhaps the cruelest punishment in the world is to let someone enjoy something and then take it away.

……The reason I’m saying this is because I’m in that exact state right now. It’s been several hours since I fell into this strange world. As I wandered aimlessly through the forest, the surroundings had already become completely dark.

In the meantime, I learned to appreciate the things I had enjoyed. I had always been grateful, but I should have been even more grateful. When I went from human to Spirit King, I didn’t think much of it, but going from Spirit King to human had so many inconveniences. It was even more so in this endless coniferous forest. Since I couldn’t communicate with other spirits or fly in the sky, I had no way of grasping the size of the forest, let alone confirming whether I was heading in the right direction. I could clearly feel my energy draining with every step. But the most fatal thing was…….

“I’m hungry…….”

That I could feel hunger.

This was so unexpected that I was very embarrassed. Come to think of it, any creature with a physical body, whether human or otherwise, had to consume food. It was such an obvious fact, but since it was an area that didn’t concern me, I had forgotten even that obviousness. I was so dumbfounded at myself for having carried out this journey with such recklessness.

In any case, the hunger I felt after so long was more painful than I had imagined. Even when I was Kang Ji-hoon, I didn’t eat very well, but it seemed strangely harder than I remembered. Considering my brute strength, it might be because this body’s basal metabolic rate [the amount of energy your body uses at rest] was too high.

While we’re on the subject, let me add an explanation: since then, I’ve encountered the same kind of monster a few more times, and I beat them all up. I did encounter some monsters that seemed a bit too strong, but I avoided them as much as possible by hiding or running away. Once, I ran into a persistent one, and I had to engage in a chase for quite a long time.

‘Ah, so that’s why I’m even hungrier.’

A sigh escaped me as I belatedly realized this. If I had known this would happen, I would have conserved my stamina a bit more. It was too late to regret it, but my mouth felt bitter. At this rate, I would definitely collapse from exhaustion before I could even get out of the forest. It would be nice if I could find something to eat, but there wasn’t anything suitable since it was a winter forest. I saw rabbits and deer from time to time, but I didn’t have any tools to butcher them, and even if I did, I didn’t have a fire, so how would I cook them?

‘No, I can just make a fire, can’t I?’

Among the primitive ways to make a fire, there was one that used the frictional heat of wood. I’ve never done it before, but I thought I could somehow manage it. Fortunately, there were dead trees lying around nearby, so it wasn’t difficult to find dry branches. First, I went around and caught a few rabbits using the slingshot method. It was so easy to catch rabbits with the strength to beat up monsters that I even felt a sense of self-reproach.

The rest of the process went smoothly as well. After preparing a spot for the bonfire, I quickly rubbed the branches together, and white smoke rose, and flames burst into life in an instant. It was what I had expected, but seeing the vigorously blazing flames made me feel a little complicated.

This shouldn’t be this easy originally. What were the humans I had seen like? The Champagne mercenaries were out of the question since they could create fire with aura, but the soldiers I saw in the army seemed to take quite a long time even with flint. There was even a soldier dedicated to making fire. To succeed in that without any trial and error… Just looking at this, it was clear that my body wasn’t an ordinary human. It was nothing new to be surprised now, though.

Anyway, after transferring the created embers to the bonfire, I began to cook in earnest. I gave up on skinning them and decided to just roast them whole and carve out the meat. The finished roasted rabbit had a slightly gamey smell, but it was edible. It had been a long time since I had tasted something with my tongue, so I probably felt like anything would taste good. At least, filling my stomach, which had been empty all day, made me feel like I was going to live. The mood that had been sinking endlessly improved a lot.

It was around the time I had almost finished eating that I faintly heard a familiar sound in my ear. At first, I thought I had misheard, but I hadn’t. The sense of distance was vague, but it was definitely the sound of water. Without thinking twice, I moved in the direction of the sound. The sound of water became clearer and clearer as I walked. When it became so clear that I couldn’t think of it as a delusion anymore, I could also smell water. My expectations were not wrong; after walking a little further, my vision cleared, and I could see the rippling waves. It was a fairly large stream.

“Thank goodness. There was a river.”

I felt much relieved. There’s a high probability that there are houses where there is a river. If I followed the direction of the water flow, I might find a village or meet people. First, I scooped up some water and quenched my thirst. I wasn’t too worried because the smell wasn’t bad, and as expected, it was very clear water. After resolving my urgent thirst, my gaze went to my reflection faintly visible on the water. It was dark, so I couldn’t see it well, but somehow it didn’t seem much different from my original face.

‘Well, I’ll be able to check when it gets brighter.’

Should I spend the night here today? Come to think of it, I’ve been walking non-stop. Once I realized it, I became rapidly fatigued, so I laid my back straight on the floor. Then, a sight I had never seen before came into view.

“Ah.”

A group of stars, like jewels, adorned the jet-black night sky. Just looking at it felt like I was being captivated by the brilliant spectacle of light. It was a beautiful sight that wouldn’t be a waste even if I paid money for it. It had been quite a while since it became night, but I was only now realizing that the sky was so wonderful; it really hit me how little time I had all day today. I pretended not to be, but I was actually scared of the unfamiliar world and the changed environment.

But this place is also just one of the intermediate realms, after all. It must be connected to the God Realm or the Underworld, which are higher dimensions. When my thoughts reached that point, I felt surprisingly at ease.

“I arrived safely.”

I don’t know where here is yet, but it seems like a good place if the sky is pretty. I was a bit troubled because I was hungry, but fortunately, I solved it well. I found a stream, so I’ll be able to meet people soon. I’ll get more and more skilled in the future. So, everyone, don’t worry too much.

I showed my fist to the sky, swallowing numerous words inside. It was both a resolution and a ritual for myself.

“I’ll be back soon.”

* * *

“El.”

I seemed to have fallen asleep at some point. Someone was calling my name from beyond the hazy consciousness. It was a very familiar and longed-for voice.

“El, wake up. El?”

Could it be that they had something urgent? I barely opened my eyes at the urging voice, and I saw red eyes looking down at me. Hair as red as those eyes was overflowing. It was a sight I thought I would never see again. My mind flashed in an instant.

“Lapis!”

Reflexively, I reached out and hugged him. Lapis flinched a little as if surprised, but he didn’t push me away. A good scent came from the embrace. It was a smell that reminded me of roses full of moisture and warm sunlight on the day after it rained. This was also a familiar scent, so I felt like I was going to cry. Really. It really was Lapis.

“Thank goodness, I met you!”

I couldn’t believe this moment, and my whole body was trembling. I had so many things I wanted to say to him when I met him—how worried I was, why he died and made me sad, whether he was okay after being dropped alone in this strange place—but none of them came out. I just repeated the word “thank goodness” over and over like a broken machine.

But something was strange. Lapis, being a Red Dragon, usually had a high body temperature. Now that I had become human, I should have felt a more definite warmth. But the embrace I was in now was so cool that it was almost chilly.

“Lapis?”

With a surge of ominous premonitions, I slowly raised my head. The figure of Lapis that had been there just a moment ago was nowhere to be seen. Instead, what was in front of me was a huge, drooping dragon. Deep shadows were cast over his tightly closed eyes. An eerie aura flowed from the bloodless skin.

“Ah…….”

“That child’s soul has already departed.”

I turned around blankly at the voice I heard. The Goddess of Fate was standing there. Eyes filled with pity were directed at me.

“It means he’s dead.”

“Heok!”

As soon as I got up, a bright light penetrated. The scenery that brushed against every place my gaze reached was all unfamiliar. A clear blue sky with not a single cloud, a forest full of trees surrounding me, and a clear river flowing right in front of me. Nowhere could I see Lapis’s corpse or Radeka’s figure. What is it? What happened? With a confused feeling, I looked around, and suddenly, the spot of the bonfire with only ashes left came into view. Only after remembering that I had personally lit it before going to sleep did I come to my senses a little.

‘……It was a dream.’

The tension slowly drained from my body. I felt like I knew that my face was distorted without even looking at it. I had a pretty bad dream. A dream that stirred up painful memories that I never wanted to recall again. I still felt like my body was trembling, so I curled up, hugging my knees. My heart was beating so fast that it hurt. Even slowly exhaling to wait for it to calm down was difficult.

It was quite a long time before I barely got better. Only after realizing that I was no longer having trouble breathing did I shake off my seat in a tired state. My hair and whole body were so damp that I desperately wanted to wash. I approached the waterfront and put my face straight into the water. The resistance that started as the air was cut off was clearly telling me that I was no longer a spirit, but rather, that was more welcome now. Because this body itself was proof that he was somewhere in this world. After being like that for a while, I raised my head again when I felt like I was running out of breath. After coughing roughly a few times, I felt a little better.

“It’s okay. I can find you.”

I’m going to find Lapis. I’ll definitely find him and go back together.

While repeatedly making resolutions, the agitated mind also completely calmed down. Then, the figure reflected in the water came into view.

A boy with sparkling blonde hair was making a dumb expression. Seeing that figure, I frowned. The face surrounded by unfamiliar hair color was too familiar.

“What is this.”

When I hurriedly touched my cheeks, the shape in the water also moved accordingly. It was indeed my appearance being reflected. It wasn’t a hallucination or delusion. That’s why I was even more embarrassed.

“It’s the same as my original face?”