S-Class Hunter Heals with Monsters - Chapter 199



Only Noblemtl

199. The Relationship Between the World Tree and the White Swamp

* * *

A forest area can be seen from afar. When Cheon Do-un saw it, he pulled the string and pulled up the dodak.

When I placed it on my palm, the fluttering leaves stopped.

-Huh… Huh.

Dodaki wiped the sweat from his forehead with a tired face.

He lay down on the palm of Cheon Do-un’s hand and rested his tired leaves.

Anyone who saw him would think he was really flying.

“Are you tired?”

-Okay, okay.

“Okay. Lie down. I’ll give you a massage.”

Cheon Do-woon turned the mop over and rubbed the leaves.

I also rubbed the roots of my arms, which must have been tired from doing the Superman pose.

I also rubbed the roots of my feet that had been stretched out to maintain my balance.

I didn’t fly it myself, but it must have been hard to balance in the air.

With that in mind, I gave her a careful massage.

Finally, when I patted his stomach, Dodak’s eyes closed tightly.

“You must be tired. Get some sleep.”

-Huh… .

As the juice circulation massage ended, Dodak’s breathing became more ragged.

Meanwhile, Blue lowered his altitude towards the distant rib dome.

‘They’re all here.’

The return home was imminent. He smiled as he prepared to land after putting Dodak to sleep.

* * *

Joseph, who was watering the mandragora, glanced at one side of the yard.

There, Gu-u was enjoying sunbathing.

Around it, young chimeras were taking a nap together.

‘A yard where monsters and chimeras run wild. Every time I come here, I can’t get used to it.’

Joseph looked at the goblins and chimeras and thought.

At that moment, Gu-u opened his eyes wide. His gaze turned to Joseph’s shoulder.

Joseph followed the gaze and smiled brightly when he saw Blue flying towards him.

“You came!”

Joseph ran into the house and grabbed his suitcase.

It was luggage that was packed so that it could follow Cheon Do-un whenever he came.

‘You came to pick me up, right? You need me as your attending physician.’

Joseph’s eyes widened in anticipation as Blue landed in the yard.

Cheon Do-woon passed Joseph and went to Gu-woo.

“I came to pick you up.”

-Me? I’m not close to the sea.

Guu, who came from a volcanic area, did not get along well with the sea.

There’s no way Cheon Do-woon wouldn’t know that. If he came to pick me up anyway, there must be a reason.

When Gu-u looked puzzled, Cheon-do-un said.

“I found the white swamp.”

-What, what is that… .

“There’s that swamp you mentioned before. There’s one on the island too. Let’s go.”

The words came out calmly. At those words, Gu-woo’s thoughts stopped for a moment.

Cheon Do-un lifted the bonfire and burned it on Blue.

“I told you that if you go into that swamp, you might find strength.”

-That’s… that’s true. Did you remember that?

“uh.”

As expected, a calm answer came out. Gu-woo’s face became blank.

The days when I had lost my strength flashed through my mind.

He once possessed such great power that he was classified as a disaster-level monster.

However, after his death, he lost most of his strength.

With a body like that, he was unable to hunt and was on the verge of starving to death.

If I hadn’t met Cheon Do-un, I would have died.

He was able to live safely thanks to the shelter he had in his yard.

A life of leisurely sunbathing. A life of caring for young chimeras.

It was a satisfying time. It was to the point where I thought it was okay to live like this.

Cheon Do-woon was trying to open a new path for himself.

“Why is your expression like that?”

Cheon Do-woon asked. Gu-woo couldn’t answer. He just opened his mouth and barely managed to utter a single word.

-thanks.

It was a short statement. At the same time, it contained all of Gu-woo’s emotions.

“Please say hello after you’ve found your strength. I don’t know yet if that swamp will be effective.”

-No. It’s okay if your strength doesn’t come back. This is something I’ve wanted to say for a long time. I’m just saying it now.

He smiled as he looked at the burning Cheon Do-un.

-thanks.

Gu-woo said again.

Thank you for providing me with a safe living space.

But more than that, I was glad that the loneliness was gone.

Cheon Do-woon can hear his own voice that no one else could hear.

The mere existence of such a being was a great comfort to Gu-u’s life.

Gu-u’s ‘thank you’ was a greeting that included all of those things.

Cheon Do-woon snickered and climbed on top of Blue. Joseph, who saw that, quickly approached him.

“Me, me too!”

“store?”

“I’m going!”

“I said I wasn’t going.”

“No, I’ll go. People’s hearts are changeable. And you mentioned something about the White Swamp earlier. I know something about that swamp too!”

He spoke without even breathing, fearing that Cheon Do-woon would leave.

At that, Cheon Do-woon smiled with a subtle expression.

Joseph is a man with a strong desire for knowledge.

He would rather die than share what he had discovered with others.

Joseph was volunteering to reveal the information.

‘The branches of the World Tree have already been taken away. The leaves have also been taken away. The research data has also fallen into that bastard’s hands 17 times.’

I took a lot out of it, but I definitely gained something too.

The exclusive right to research the fruit of the World Tree. This would be a world first.

The doctor of the wild mandragora garden. This was also the same.

When you are by Cheon Do-un’s side, you lose a lot, but you also gain a lot.

Knowing that, he had let go of his desire to monopolize knowledge with Cheon Do-woon.

“I saw a white swamp where the World Tree was discovered long ago. My guess is that the swamp is related to the World Tree. If you take me with you, I’ll tell you everything!”

Joseph spoke quickly, trying to strike first so that he wouldn’t be told no.

There was no sign of a lie. Cheon Do-woon smiled after confirming that.

“get on.”

“Hey, here we go!”

Joseph climbed onto Blue’s back, cheering.

After coming here, I started hearing strange noises, but I wasn’t aware of it.

Before leaving, Cheon Do-un covered the area with mana.

I made sure to create a safe zone by leaving the house empty, leaving only the young chimeras behind.

“Is this enough? Let’s go now.”

Cheon Do-woon tapped Blue’s nape twice. At that signal, Blue leaped up and flew.

* * *

Upon arriving at the island, Cheon Do-un went straight to the swamp.

“There it is.”

As Blue landed, Cheon Do-un and Gu-u jumped down.

Joseph prepared a vial to hold the sample and waited for them to finish their work.

Cheon Do-woon and Gu-woo stood in front of the swamp.

“How is it? Is it just like the swamp you know?”

-Yeah, I think so.

Gu-u answered. Gu-u couldn’t move even though he was facing the swamp.

I had mixed feelings. It felt strange.

He looked down at his own body. His body, which had shrunk to the size of a soccer ball, looked pathetic.

‘If I go into that swamp, will I be able to return to my former self?’

I have complicated feelings.

At that moment, my feet felt stuck in the ground and I couldn’t move, and my body floated up.

Cheon Do-un lifted Gu-woo and brought him over the swamp.

-What, what are you doing?

“What are you doing? You’re just trying to put it in.”

-Wait a minute. I’ll enjoy this after I’ve enjoyed the emotional aftertaste a bit more… .

“Enjoy that after you get your strength back. You don’t know what will happen yet.”

Cheon Do-un put Gu-woo down in the swamp.

As I let go of his hand, his round body sank into the swamp.

It was different from the time of the swamp or the grass roots. The swamp actively sucked in the goo.

The white mud rose up like a whirlwind, rippling.

The swamp enveloped Gu-u’s body and sank it.

There is no hostility or murderous intent. It is simply the active reaction of a creature that has discovered a feast.

After absorbing the impure energy accumulated inside, Guwoo will spit it out.

The question was whether Goo could breathe inside it.

-There won’t be a problem.

Gu-u said, as if he noticed Cheon Do-woon’s worries.

-If it’s breath, I can hold it for about three hours. If it doesn’t come out after that, then I’d like you to come save me.

“Okay, I got it.”

With those words, Gu-woo completely calmed down.

Cheon Do-woon looked at it and sat down on a nearby rock. His gaze turned to Joseph.

“Now tell me. You said you knew something about that swamp?”

“Yeah. I know.”

Joseph scooped up some white swamp into the glass bottle he had prepared.

He took a sample and saw Cheon Do-un.

“Did you know that the World Tree first appeared about 60 years ago?”

Cheon Do-woon nodded.

I didn’t see it myself, but I heard about it from Nam Ki-seok. I also saw a picture posted on an occult site a while ago.

In response, Joseph continued:

“When I heard that the World Tree had appeared, I wanted to study it. I knew it was crazy, but I kept crossing the gate. I was young and full of energy back then.”

“Just the main point, without the editorial.”

As Joseph was about to enter flashback mode, Cheon Do-woon stopped him.

At that Joseph coughed and said,

“I saw that white swamp where the World Tree appeared. At first, I didn’t think much of it. The Demon Realm is full of strange things. I thought that swamp was one of those things. But then I picked up the World Tree branch.”

Joseph pointed to Cheon Do-un’s fanny pack.

Joseph nodded as Dodak took out a stick that he used as a walking stick.

“Yes, that one. It wasn’t that small originally. When I first picked it up, it was thick and the branch was much longer than it is now.”

“Then why is it like this now?”

“The sap was flowing out of that branch. When it all drained out, it became so small.”

At the word ‘Jin-ak’, Cheon Do-woon saw a swamp.

“Is that it?”

“Yes, that one. My guess is that it’s the sap of the World Tree.”

Joseph said, looking at the white swamp.

“You know the rubber tree? It’s a tree that oozes white sap when you break its branches. It’ll be easier to understand if you think about it like that.”

Joseph looked at the mud in the bottle.

“It must have crawled on the ground for a long time and mixed with the dirt. That’s why it’s now transformed into a swamp.”

“That swamp seemed alive.”

“Because it is the sap of the World Tree. Its life force will not go anywhere. It may not have an ego or anything, but it will continue to absorb impure energy.”

Joseph said, rubbing his chin.

“The World Tree that appeared 60 years ago suddenly shrank in size and disappeared. I think… it got hurt for some reason and its sap spilled out in all directions. The sap spread everywhere and turned into a swamp.”

That was what Joseph thought the White Swamp was.

Cheon Do-woon looked at the swamp and laughed.

“It’s the sap of the World Tree. Is that why Dodak reacted?”

Cheon Do-woon took out the sleeping Dodak from his fanny pack.

Joseph’s eyes widened when he saw the dodo.

There were three fruits hanging between the leaves on the top. The new shoots that had grown on the back had now spread out like wings.

“Hey, can I take a look?”

“okay.”

Cheon Do-woon handed over the dodak.

It was to find out the change in Dodak. He didn’t tease Joseph by pretending to show it like that.

“How does it look?”

“This… I don’t know either. It’s the first time I’ve seen leaves growing on mandragoras, or them wandering around with fruit like this.”

Once the mandragora starts bearing fruit, it hides in the crevices of the rocks and does not come out.

Dodaki broke that common sense.

To begin with, living on the ground was beyond common sense.

“Actually, it’s amazing that Dodaki uses the power of the World Tree branch. When I was studying that branch, I put it with a Mandragora. That didn’t happen.”

“Really? So is Dodak really the number one candidate for the world tree?”

Joseph laughed at the casual mention of something that would cause a worldwide uproar.

Yeah, that’s the kind of guy he is.

Even if Dodaki suddenly becomes the world tree one day, it wouldn’t be any different from usual.

‘Is it better than that guy being the world tree number 17?’

Since Cheondoun is also a descendant of the World Tree, he is a possible candidate.

When I think about it, it seems like the way for the world is for the World Tree to become a toad.

As they talked, the surface of the swamp rippled.

They both saw the swamp at the same time. The swamp began to bubble and swell.

The white swamp was about to spit out the goo.

“It’s a different size than when I first went in.”

Quite different. Quite different.

When he entered the swamp, the goo was clearly the size of a soccer ball.

But the swelling swamp appeared to be several meters across.

“It comes out.”

Swish, swoosh. White mud poured down and a round creature rose up.

Guu, once classified as a disaster-level monster.

The monsters of that volcanic area were trying to regain their strength.