Chapter 17
It feels like we’ve caught the attention of quite a few people, but we easily reached the swamp.
I feel calm whenever I come here, like I’m back in my hometown.
“Mu?!”
Not long after our arrival, Veno and Muu are working together to detect enemies.
A scourge of Spray Green Mosquitos—more than 10 of them—are flying about.
Occasionally, they appear in a scourge, like a mosquito swarm.
Their sting is insanely painful, but they die after being in contacting with my own toxin.
Their numbers might be few and it would be easier to wipe them out, but, maybe to nobody’s surprise, I don’t really feel like charging in there.
I’ll use Poison Release and scatter a poisonous mist to slay them all.
“Mu!”
“Ah, hey! You’re gonna get hurt; you’re only level 1!”
Muu charges into the scourge of Spray Green Mosquitos with his sword held high.
I thought that it would be fine. The Spray Green Mosquitos seem like they were unsure how to deal with us—rather, they seem like they’re confused about whether we’re a threat. They go to surround and swarm Muu.
“Muu! Muuuu!”
It swings its sword randomly and haphazardly. It really makes me wonder if he’d hit anything or not.
But no, with even a graze, the mosquitos fall dead. Still, there’s too many of them.
Just as soon as that thought passes through my mind, Muu wildly bounces up and down and, with a poof, spread its spores.
Right after, the Spray Green Mosquitos fall down face-up on the ground, defeated.
‘It seems like they have been done in by the spores.’
Veno calmly analyzes the situation.
Next, I look over at Muu who has been stung many times over by the Spray Green Mosquitos.
... in an instant, his wounds close up.
Since it’s originally a mushroom, maybe that’s why it has that Self-Regeneration skill.
However it maybe, it seems like a tough one.
Incidentally, he was excited the whole way here and bouncing around.
What are you, a stamina monster?
“Muu muu!”
With audible snaps, Muu crushes the recently deceased Spray Green Mosquitos underneath his feet.
“Mu!”
Muu shows off with a little victory fist pump.
The joke of a battle was over in a flash.
Ahh, there was a Spray Green Mosquito fortunate enough to not have breathed in the spores yet. It targets me and draws close, but I kill it with a poisonous mist.
The next thing that comes up are three Terracotta Poison Zombie Dogs... I don’t get to see the wolves I encountered the first day.
I’m curious of the dogs’ relationship.
‘That smarter one of them is the alpha of the pack. If you wish to defeat them, you ought to search for its leader and to not let them know your intentions.’
Ahh, if they know I’m hard to pin down, they won’t come attacking.
As expected of wolves, how clever.
“Mu!”
Naturally, Muu takes point and charges into the pack of zombie dogs with his sword in the air.
“Woof!”
“Ga!”
“Woof woof!”
“Mu?!”
Ah, the one leading the pack rushes and bites down on Muu; the other two surround them.
Muu counterattacks by shaking his spores again. Unlike against the Spray Green Mosquitos, it clearly has no effect on the opponents this time.
I help out too by aiming at one of them with my crossbow and bolt.
It strikes hard with a good sounding thunk.
But since they’re undead, they’re a little tough.
Poison doesn’t really work well either.
‘If you are able to procure holy water, they should be easy opponents. If not that, then salt.’
That salt purifies evil is true even here too, huh?
But why is that salt is always so expensive in parallel worlds?
“Mu! Mu!”
Ah, for some reason, Muu’s angry. With a shlunk, Muu stabs with all its might one of the zombie dogs in the throat. After, he dispatches the second one with a body blow.
Then, the one with the bolt stuck in it, Muu charges with his cap forward.
It slams all three zombie dogs into the pool of poison.
Splashes of water jump out.
By the way, zombie dogs don’t breathe, so you can’t drown them.
But since they hate the water, they panic and swim away from Muu in a hurry... however, Muu swims like its gliding through water, chasing the zombie dog with sword in hand.
This guy’s fighting style is straight offence.
It doesn’t even consider damage to itself one bit. Is it really gonna be okay?
‘Though it does have Self-Regeneration, it does cost a bit. Of course, if it does not control its stamina usage, it will have no choice but to suddenly stop.’
Oof...
Since it’s trying to escape, I shoot the zombie dog right in between its eyes.
“Mu!”
Once again, Muu strikes a victory pose.
Seems like Muu took... one down by himself.
‘Perhaps you still do not fully understand how to fight or perhaps that you feel as if this pace is fine... whichever it may be, you ought to be careful.’
“Umm. I’d like to say that you’ve done a good job, but you do know that you’ve taken a lot of damage, right?”
“Muu?”
“You should have a better grasp of your opponents before you engage them. If you don’t, you might not make it out alive like you did just now. That, and you gotta beware that you don’t deplete your stamina.”
“Mu!”
Whether it heeded my warning or not, Muu looks downwards, nods, and shows me his fighting spirit.
Mm, if I had to say, I’d say my words got through to him.
“Alrighty then, be careful next time. Try your best to not get hurt, okay?”
“Mu!”
With that said, we looked for our next opponent. A wild Khaki Snake appeared.
Muu obediently followed what I had said and distanced himself just out of reach of the Khaki Snake. He looks back at me and makes eye contact.
Good going!
I carefully aim and then launch a bolt at the Khaki Snake.
While the Khaki Snake recoils in pain from a clean hit with the bolt, Muu seizes the opportunity to lop its head clean off.
“Muu!”
“Ahh, now that’s what I’d call a total victory.”
‘Aye. I am glad that it possesses high learning capabilities.’
“Mu!”
Being praised by us, Muu strikes a victory pose and jumps around.
If we keep this up, we’d be invincible against these small fry.
“Alrighty... what to do next.”
It’s certainly gone well, but I’ve gotta mind Muu’s condition.
“Muu, you alright? If you’re tired or anything, speak up, okay?”
“Mu...”
I hear a grumbling noise coming from Muu.
“You’re hungry, eh? What kind of stuff do you eat anyway?”
Since mushrooms eat mold, was there something nutritious about my moldy robe?
Or perhaps you can siphon nutrients from the poisonous waters in the swamp?
‘Indeed... it is a Mutated Myconid after all. This is stimulating my desire for research. You, what do you eat?’
“Muu muu.”
Uhh, it looks like a cat munching on food.
Then, it waves both hands, seemingly trying to tell me something.
After that, he makes a roar... at first, I thought he was trying to signal water, but I think I was wrong.
‘Aye, it’s that.’
Veno made the corpse of the Khaki Snake reappear after storing it away with storage magic earlier.
As soon as I was thinking Muu would grab it, it opens its mouth on its cap and starts chomping down on it.
Whoa... that’s kinda gross.
It waving its arms was the snake slithering, I assume.
“Mu! Burp.”
As if to signify it finished its meal, Muu licks its lips and belches.
‘It seems like it can eat from both its mouths.’
“Mu!”
That’s a gesture I can understand.
‘His first gesture meant that it could eat with that mouth too. For some reason, it got through to me.’
Is that right? That was a toughie.
‘After all, I do have an understanding of the ecology of myconids. It is to what extent it had mutated that I must measure. It is likely that... it must be standing on something rotten for it to eat. Otherwise, its mycelium—what can be considered the roots of fungi—cannot spread.’
“Mu!”
Muu nods in agreement. Though I didn’t ask for such an in-depth biology lesson.
I mostly get how Muu works and it seems like it doesn’t have any special dietary needs, so things should be simple enough.
It’s tough anyway.
“Now then... what should we do now?”
That’s the second time I’ve said that today.
Things are going well, but I want to raise my level to get stronger.
“Shall we go deeper into the swamp? Or maybe go explore the dungeon?”
‘My suggestion would be to good to venture into the dungeon since you have Muu with you.’
“Why is that?”
‘When you return home, Muu may be able to change classes. When monsters become a property of a human, they must need their master to change or evolve. A human’s assistance is another story, however.’
Ah, I see.
It’s just that... I only got to that point on my second day. All my thunder would be stolen by Muu...
Should I allow Muu to do that, so it could fight better?
‘You have a strange sense of pride... to grow and develop quickly is a good thing.’
I mean, I get that.
Well, I guess I can be proud that I was able to get a newbie to advance classes in a day.
‘Good grief... let us head to the dungeon.’
“Alright, alright. Let’s go.”
“Mu!”
Muu nods... and then he sticks his little hand out and looks straight at me, as if he wants to walk together.
“... hah. If you insist.”
It’s just like a little kid. But while it was created from many different elements, in the end, you could say it was because of the poison I made... so I guess you could call Muu my child?
I gave birth to a mushroom. That’s a very loaded sentence with really complicated meanings.
I head onwards with the thoughts going through my mind.
“Which reminds me, when I came here with Arleaf, I had come in contact of mushrooms.”
In the dungeon, there’s these mushrooms growing that give off light. The stuff Muu’s from that touched my robe was probably around here too.
“Muu?”
“So that means this is your hometown in a sense?”
‘It seems likely that is true. But, again, mutation. It is no longer the same.’
“Mu.”
Hmm, indeed... oh, by the way, Veno.
‘What is it?’
I was just worried whether if I should pick mushrooms in front of Muu.
‘You worry about the strangest things. With that said, though, I am slightly curious too.’
“Muu?”
Ah, Muu stepped on a shining mushroom beside me without so much a thought.
“Muu, are mushrooms not brothers to you?”
“Mu? Muu?”
Muu then plucks the mushroom it stepped on... and sticks it out to me.
“No, I didn’t mean I wanted it.”
“Mu...”
It’d be wasteful otherwise, so I take it.
‘Perhaps it was transformed from another species, so it doesn’t seem to feel intimate with these ones. I think you need not think about it too much.’
Oh, is that right?
‘In your world, humans share a common ancestor of apes. I have scanned that from your knowledge. However, let me confirm the following with you. Are apes humans? Do you feel oneness with them? Would you feel safe with them together?’
After having that said to me, I feel like I think slightly differently now.
Indeed, I wouldn’t feel cautious around apes or feel like I’m allies with them if I see them at a zoo or safari.
I don’t really feel pity for the monkeys who are solitarily confined in a zoo.
I see. Whatever our origins may be, we are different now.
‘Certainly, there exists some connection. However, plants and monsters think very little about that. You need not ponder on it so hard.’
But maybe Muu feels like it’s one of the mushrooms. There’s a chance of that, isn’t there?
‘Hey! If you stress about it so much, you shall lose all your hair! Human males worry about that, correct?!’
Don’t you snap back at me! That, and I’m not going bald.
‘Muu itself is not worrying so much, so it is safe for you to ignore it. As well, Muu is growing and can make unlimited copies of itself.’
I’m just imagining Muu shaking his spores everywhere and mass-cloning itself.
I don’t like that sight either.
Rather, it’s good for our fighting strength. And might makes right.
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