S-Class Hunter Heals with Monsters - Chapter 227



Only Noblemtl

227. The nest of small candidates

* * *

Yujia’s team opened the gate to go catch D.

Number 49 saw Cheon Do-un before entering the gate.

“If we catch D, can we step on it first?”

“Do that. Just hold your breath.”

Number 49 chuckled at Cheon Do-woon’s words. Seok Woo-hyeok and Yoo Ji-ah, who were next to him, quietly snapped their fingers.

If we do that, it will be delivered while we are still breathing. Cheon Do-woon thought about it, but he did not stop him.

“Then, should we also prepare to go to the cave area?”

We had to be thoroughly prepared because we didn’t know how long the search would take.

The most important of these was armament against the Dodak.

“The cave area is a dry place. We must be fully prepared.”

Cheon Do-woon placed the bowl on the table. Next to it he placed a large bowl of water and a towel.

“Sir, what are you trying to do?”

“Dododak, replenish your water. You lost a lot of plant juice at the sports day. You need to replenish it before going to a dry area.”

Cheon Do-woon soaked the dodak in a bowl of water. He scooped up some water with his hand and sprinkled it gently, and the dodak’s leaves fluttered.

-Huh…?

“Yeah. Isn’t it cool?”

-Ouch, oh yeah!

A bath after exercise. This feels good.

Dodaki closed his eyes in the fatigue that was creeping up on him. He stomped his feet a few times and then fell asleep.

After he had absorbed enough water, he placed the towel on a fluffy towel.

I folded the towel in half and patted the roots of the body to dry them.

-Huh, huh, huh… .

Dodak spread his arms wide while snoring.

There was also a request to wipe away moisture from the part where the roots fold.

“Yeah. You want it to be fluffy here too.”

Let’s just wipe off the moisture with a towel. There’s only one step left.

Cheon Do-woon opened the moisturizing cream container. He scooped up a generous amount and applied it to his stomach, rubbing it in a circular motion.

The coolness of the juice circulating made my feet tremble.

Front done. Side done. Don’t forget to apply it to the plump back.

Cream was also thoroughly applied to the leaves and stems.

“Okay, that’s it.”

Ready to go to the cave area.

While Cheon Do-woon was giving a massage, Kim Na-ri brought Blue.

“Sir, I’m ready to go!”

“Okay. Then shall we go?”

Cheon Do-woon and Kim Na-ri climbed onto Blue. Yoo Beom also spread his wings and prepared to fly.

A five-person expedition to find the habitat of the World Tree. They set out for the cave area.

* * *

Arriving at the cave area was quick.

I’ve been here so many times that I’ve learned the shortest flight route.

“Sir, I can see the cave area. Are you going to get down and search it now?”

“No. Today, I’m going to take Blue and do an aerial search. I plan to go all the way to the end of the cave area.”

Cheon Do-woon looked around.

He found a tall rock and surrounded it with his mana.

The compressed mana soared to the sky and glowed blue.

“Sir, what are you doing now?”

“A safety device just in case. They say that you lose your sense of direction in the cave area. If you lose your bearings and get scattered, use that as a reference point to get out. In case of an emergency, we can meet up there.”

“Oh, I see.”

“Is it okay? I can see it no matter how far away it is.”

Yoo Beom smiled as he saw the blue pillar of light rising through the clouds.

With this, you no longer have to worry about losing your bearings.

“Then let’s start searching. Yoo Beom, you go up and look as far as you can. If you see the end of the cave area, let’s go there.”

“okay.”

The bird spread its wings and flew vertically.

“Kim Na-ri, you scan this area. If you feel any suspicious waves, let me know.”

“Okay. I’ll scan.”

Kim Na-ri looked down at the ground. Her pupils glowed red and she began scanning the area.

‘Should I start too?’

Cheon Do-un spread his mana. The mana, long and thin like a spider web, began to cover the area.

* * *

The search began one hour ago.

Blue, unable to fly any longer, sat on a pillar in the cave area. He felt motion sickness as the same scenery continued.

-Beep, beep… .

“It’s okay. Just rest.”

Cheon Do-woon came down from Blue. Kim Na-ri also tilted her head after coming down.

“Sir, something is strange. There are errors in the scanned images.”

“An error occurred?”

“Yes. I tried to make a map by connecting the scanned images. It doesn’t work. The images don’t connect. It gives an error.”

Kim Na-ri, who had never experienced anything like this before, was flustered and talked nonsense.

Yoo Beom, who had landed next to him, also shook his head.

“Wrong. I can’t see anything from my side either. I thought I would see something if I looked closely… What the heck is this?”

Yoo Beom’s face turned sour. He couldn’t believe that even with his own eyesight, he couldn’t see the end.

Cheon Do-woon looked around quietly.

Far in the distance was the pillar of light he had installed.

Because they had come so far, the pillar of light looked like a thin thread. Cheon Do-woon looked at it and smiled.

“As expected. It’s not my imagination. The position of the pillar of light is changing.”

“What does that mean?”

“I mean, that mana pillar I installed. Its position changes randomly. It was on my left a moment ago. Now it’s behind me.”

At Cheon Do-woon’s words, Yoo Beom saw a pillar of light. Kim Na-ri also looked in that direction with a puzzled expression.

“Sir, isn’t it because Blue lost his sense of direction due to motion sickness? He was planning to fly straight, but he may have actually flown in a crooked manner.”

There was a possibility, but Cheon Do-woon shook his head.

“That’s not it. I kept watching because something was strange. Sometimes, the location changes in less than a second. There was even a time when it was behind me and then suddenly moved forward.”

“You’re moving all of a sudden?”

Yoo Beom hesitated. Unless Cheon Do-woon intentionally manipulated it, there was no way the pillar of light would move.

Well then, there is only one thing to think about.

“Our position is being moved.”

“That’s right. I feel like I’ve entered an infinite prison.”

The cave area was not a large area.

No, it was wide, but it wasn’t as endless as the world thought.

“The space here is curved. As you get closer to the center of the cavern, it feels like you’re going around the same place like a Möbius strip.”

Even the location it moves to is random.

Because there was no pattern, I couldn’t even realize that I was going around the same place.

“Did someone carve the maze spell?”

“That can’t be it. This energy isn’t human. This isn’t human power…”

Cheon Do-woon opened his fanny pack. Inside, Dodak was sleeping soundly.

“The spirit of Mandragora.”

If we go a little further, it is the energy of the world tree.

“Is it the World Tree that distorted this place?”

“I guess so.”

“That’s strange. I can’t feel anything. Is there some kind of energy that only the World Trees can sense?”

Yoo Beom looked around.

Although he had a keen sense of humor, he couldn’t even guess what force was distorting space.

“Anyway, I know the cause. What if I break that power and release the distortion?”

“It might be possible, but… if I do that, I feel like I’ll never be able to enter the World Tree’s habitat again.”

Can’t we get them to break free from this infinite prison first?

Cheon Do-woon thought for a moment and then took out a spoon from his bag.

A dodak in the left hand. A branch of the world tree in the right hand.

He used the Dodak as a medium to draw out the power of the World Tree.

“I don’t know if this will work, but let’s give it a try.”

He spread the power of the World Tree. He intended to deceive those who distorted space into believing that they were of the same species.

The branch that resonated with Cheondoun’s mana began to glow.

The moment the entire world was enveloped in light dust, space distorted and opened up.

A gap was created that a person could pass through.

“Ah, sir! That…!”

Kim Na-ri pointed to the gaping space. Cheon Do-woon laughed when he saw it.

“The invitation has arrived.”

The central part of the cave area shrouded in mystery.

A passage leading there opened.

* * *

The group passed through the passage and arrived at the center of the cave area.

There was a large open space there. It was a space with a circular wooden wall.

“Where is this? Is this a tree house?”

No, it’s more like a house, just a wall. A space surrounded by a dome-shaped wall.

The wall made of woven branches looked like a giant bird’s nest turned upside down.

What caught my eye the most was a plump creature rolling around on the floor.

-Huh…?

-Huh, huh?

There were many small, plump roots in the vacant lot.

At first glance, it looked like a mandragora, but there were differences.

“Sir, these roots are kind of shiny.”

The leaves on the roots sparkled at different angles. They were a similar color to the leaves growing on Dodak’s back.

Some plants had only one leaf that sparkled, while others had all of their leaves sparkling.

“That child is also bearing fruit!”

There were also fruit-bearing mandragoras. Like the fruit of the World Tree, the fruit changed color depending on the angle.

“I think it’s certain to this extent.”

The roots gathered here are definitely candidates for the World Tree. Yoo Beom looked at the roots as if they were curious.

“I didn’t know the World Tree could grow like this? I thought it was a rare tree.”

“Yeah. I wonder. Not all of the candidates here may become the World Tree… I don’t know about that part.”

If it doesn’t become a world tree, won’t it just become a regular mandragora again?

While they were talking, the roots gathered around Cheondoun. They circled around Cheondoun as if they were exploring.

-Huh?

-Huh, huh?

This is the spirit of the same race. A new candidate has arrived. Even an adult root with great spirit.

-Whew!

I wish we could all become the world tree. The roots expressed their joy by raising their arms.

At that moment, there was a loud bang and the wooden dome shook.

A large hole appeared in the ceiling and a large monster’s arm popped out.

The hand swung around inside the dome as if fishing for roots.

-Whew, Whew!

-Ouch, oh yeah!

The roots were scattered in all directions. No one seemed greatly surprised, as if this had happened often.

Of course, not everyone was able to evacuate even if they weren’t surprised.

One of the roots that had tripped and fallen was caught in the monster’s hand.

-Phew, phew…!

The captured root was dragged upward. Fear caused plant juice to drip from his eyes.

As the root shook, the creature next to it jumped up and grabbed its leg, hanging on.

The other roots that saw it also ran and started hanging on.

The idea is to make it heavy so that it can’t be dragged around.

Even so, they were just small roots. They were light to the giant monster.

The monster’s hands looked relaxed, as if waiting for prey to hang from them.

“Ah, sir…! If this continues, all the roots will be taken away. We might get eaten!”

“Yeah. It looks dangerous.”

I don’t know what the situation is right now, but let’s find out.

Cheon Do-woon pulled the thread out from his fingertips. He cut off the fingernail where the thread had taken root.

I only cut my fingernails because if I cut my fingers, blood would spill into the dome.

-Phew…!

-Ouch, oh yeah!

As the roots fell, Kim Na-ri began to take off her outer garment.

Yoo Beom also spread his wings and received the falling roots.

As if startled by the unexpected counterattack, the monster’s hand shot up through the ceiling and disappeared.

As the situation calmed down, the roots saw Cheon Do-un.

-Huh…?

-Huh, huh?

-Huh?

The leaves of the startled roots trembled. One by one, the roots gathered around Cheon Do-un.

They gathered together and chatted.

Look, the new candidate is big and strong. He saved them all.

The roots that saw the heavenly clouds had sparkling eyes.

-Whew!

He is the hero of the world’s trees.

The young candidates started jumping around, shaking their bodies from side to side.

It was a dance of joy to welcome the hero.

……. (continue)