As expected, my prediction was right.
[Fruit of Vigor]
◆ Consumable Classification
―Fruit
◆ Detailed Description
―A fruit that Pakit Apes enjoy eating. It is also used as an ingredient in potions.
◆ Effect
―Upon consumption, restores 50 MP.
I was able to find the fruit in places where Pakit Apes appeared.
A blue fruit that looked similar to the Fruit of Vitality, but differed in color.
I plucked one of the fruits hanging from a tree.
Crunch.
When I bit into the Fruit of Vigor, sweet juice flowed out from within.
‘The Fruit of Vitality had a refreshing texture, but this one’s on the thick side.’
It felt exactly like tasting a sweet fever reducer.
It was an experience impossible to have in the game, where you could use the fruit on a character by manipulating it from the character slot.
After swallowing the juice, I could feel my mana recovering.
‘I can head for the lake like this.’
Licking the juice off my fingers,
I picked the fruits I could see nearby and stuffed them into my pouch.
With this much, it seemed I wouldn’t have to worry about stamina or mana consumption.
Tap!
I ran along the tip of a branch and leaped straight onto the branch of the tree ahead.
In that way, I tried to cut down the time it would take to reach the lake by jumping between trees.
‘I wasted time looking for the fruit. I need to make up for that time like this.’
Since I had to jump between trees, I couldn’t ignore the mana consumption.
Each time, I ate a Fruit of Vigor to replenish the mana in my body.
Whoosh!
Crackle!
Every now and then, hidden Pakit Apes would wait for the moment I jumped and throw stones at me.
But they weren’t a threat.
Clang!
…Kieek!?
Because my Evasion Instinct activated.
Twisting my body in midair, I returned the stone the bastard had thrown with my scabbard.
‘There’s no need to chase those guys.’
Even without looking back, I knew it had hit.
After stepping on a branch far lower than the one I had been aiming for, I didn’t even properly glance in the direction the stone had flown from.
As long as it hit, that was enough.
After all, the clear condition for this Gate wasn’t the extermination of every monster, but simply defeating the water spirit.
Going out of my way to kill them would only waste time and strength.
Tap!
I turned without hesitation.
Before long, the jungle’s ecosystem changed.
‘The trees are shorter. The leaves are broader. And the ground seems muddy.’
The world inside a Gate deviated greatly from common sense, to the point where, in extreme cases, tropical and frigid zones could coexist.
It wasn’t rare for the surrounding environment to change all of a sudden.
‘In the game, when the environment changed, the monsters that appeared changed too….’
I advanced while suppressing my presence.
Since there was a high possibility I might run into monsters other than Pakit Apes, I had to pay attention to my surroundings.
Not long after that….
Kero, kero.
I discovered monsters.
Toads that looked as if they were wearing yellow hats were moving around on the squelching ground.
‘So those things were in this Gate too.’
With my memories from my past life, I was able to identify the things below me.
Mud Kero.
A monster that had all of its speeds increased by one stage in humid environments, and one that belonged to the stronger side even among Rank 1 monsters.
‘If I want to head to the water spirit’s lake, I have no choice but to pass those things.’
But that wasn’t the only troublesome thing about Mud Keros.
They could spit the mucus in their mouths to launch ranged attacks, and their accuracy was high.
If you were hit by their mucus, there was also a certain chance of being paralyzed.
They were quite annoying.
‘I’m confident when it comes to dodging, but the problem is I don’t know how far their habitat extends….’
Even if their attacks weren’t strong, paralysis was a headache.
Fortunately, there was a method.
‘I’ll have to look for antidote herbs whenever I get the chance while moving through their habitat.’
In muddy areas where Mud Keros mainly made their habitat, there was a flower that grew by feeding on their energy.
A white flower that bloomed from the mud.
The root of that flower had an antidotal effect that cured paralysis.
So I decided on a course of action: search for that flower.
From now on, I planned to move while looking for it.
Right then.
Kero, kero.
“….”
Sensing a presence, I raised my head.
Beneath a broad leaf, hiding its body, there was a Mud Kero pressed flat against a tree trunk, puffing out its cheeks.
[You have encountered a monster.]
[Mud Kero (Rank. 01) x 1]
Its amphibian eyes looked at me.
“Shit.”
Come to think of it, in the setting, Mud Keros were known to be skilled at concealing themselves in jungle environments.
It hadn’t been properly reflected in the game, so I hadn’t remembered.
I cursed.
At that moment, battle broke out.
The ones below reacted as well.
[You have encountered monsters.]
[Mud Kero (Rank. 01) x 4]
* * *
“…Damn it.”
The fight wasn’t easy.
Two of them kept firing mucus to restrict my movements, while one, despite being an amphibian, was smart enough to drive me into a corner.
And the remaining two kept trying to keep me in check with their long tongues.
‘They expect kids to do this? Isn’t the difficulty too high?’
I could understand if it were people who had become middle schoolers, but for me, who was still only an elementary school student, it was quite a difficult evaluation battle.
‘Or am I just unlucky?’
Maybe that was the case.
Mud Keros were monsters that acted alone rather than forming groups.
And yet, due to my bad luck, I had happened to encounter five of the ones acting alone all at once.
‘Is it because my Luck is low? In the game, Luck affected critical chance, evasion rate, drop rate, and things like that….’
Perhaps in a world where the game had become reality, the Luck stat might have some kind of influence on other aspects as well.
‘Not that I can raise Luck….’
I clicked my tongue.
The Luck stat wasn’t easy to raise, and for me, who possessed the trait Evasion Instinct, its importance was lower.
Stamina, Agility, Strength, Endurance, Magic Power.
As far as priorities went, Luck was the stat I cared about last.
At any rate, I somehow managed to end the battle.
“Those things are getting cocky.”
Kero, kero….
It was a play impossible in the game.
I realized that their coordination wasn’t as perfect as I had thought, and disrupted them.
As a result, they fell apart after being hit by attacks from their own kind.
“If you stay like that, you’ll become good friends.”
I chuckled as I looked at the ones whose tongues had become tangled together.
They couldn’t untangle their tongues and were unable to move from the spot.
“Let me just take a verification shot.”
Kero, kero….
I left them like that.
If I cut off their tongues as they were, they would keep picking fights until they died from blood loss.
I wanted no part in anything troublesome.
That was why, after taking a picture, I turned away without lingering regrets.
Soon, I found the flower I had been looking for.
“…Found it.”
A white flower growing from the mud.
After checking the flower’s information, I carefully dug up its root.
Then I roughly wiped off the root and swallowed it.
“Bitter….”
[You have consumed a Mud Spirit Grass Root.]
[Paralysis Resistance increases by 11% for 30 minutes.]
[If you consume Mud Spirit Grass repeatedly, Paralysis Resistance can be increased up to a maximum of 15%.]
Depending on the flower’s condition, the amount by which paralysis resistance rose differed.
I consumed other Mud Spirit Grass as well and raised my paralysis resistance the rest of the way.
“This should be enough.”
If I raised my paralysis resistance to 15%, I wouldn’t be paralyzed by a Mud Kero.
After that, I advanced through the jungle while looking for Mud Spirit Grass.
How long had I gone like that?
“Hm?”
“If—if my body would just move properly….”
In the middle of advancing forward,
I saw one person down below.
“…Kugh!”
That person was fighting a Mud Kero that looked as if it were wearing a dark red hat.
‘That’s….’
Ruddle Kero.
A Rank 2 monster.
In the game, it was at a level where a character’s main stat had to exceed 50 to be able to handle it to some degree.
‘I don’t know who it is, but no wonder they’re struggling.’
Just as Grandfather had explained beforehand,
most of the monsters in the Gate had been weakened.
The Ruddle Kero seemed to be the same.
At a glance, it might have looked like sweat, but blood was continuously flowing from its slick, wet-looking skin.
Deep cuts from a blade were visible here and there as well.
The bastard was nearly dead.
“Hmm….”
Even so, the bastard was Rank 2.
Though it had been weakened, its combat sense couldn’t be ignored.
‘Looks like that one’s paralyzed.’
Meanwhile, that relative with their back turned to me seemed unable to fight properly because their body wasn’t moving as they wished.
‘What should I do?’
Even if I didn’t go out of my way to help, the Hunters who were surely watching nearby would come to help at the appropriate time.
“Mm….”
But it didn’t feel right to just pass by.
‘I guess it can’t be helped.’
I decided to help the relative whose identity I didn’t even know.
“D-don’t come!”
The Ruddle Kero’s attention was fixed on that relative.
It hadn’t noticed my presence.
I intended to use that opening to approach it and end its life in one stroke.
For that reason….
“Phew….”
I gathered mana at the tip of my sword and prepared to jump down.
While rolling my eyes to grasp my position and the Ruddle Kero’s position, I searched for a route to get there.
A few trees came into view.
If I stepped down along those tree trunks, I should be able to fall to the position I was aiming for.
I unfolded my footwork.
Exploding the mana gathered at the soles of my feet, I stepped on the tree trunk I had just marked and dropped toward the ground.
The bastard still hadn’t noticed me.
Lion High Fall (獅子 高落)
An attack form whose power rose in proportion to the height of the fall.
The mana gathered at the tip of my sword responded.
The mana, rotating in a spiral, rapidly swelled in force and wrapped around me.
Kiiiiik!
I heard the sound of the wind being torn apart.
That sound was nothing but ominous, like a lion’s roar.
And around then,
…Kero?
[You have encountered a monster.]
[Ruddle Kero (Rank. 02) x 1]
The bastard heard that sound too.
But by the time it raised its head, it was already too late.
I drove the sword strike, as if tearing the wind to shreds, into the crown of its head.
──!
The mana that had enveloped my sword and me had, at some point, engulfed the bastard.
A storm of mana.
A storm like a lion’s claws raging swept over the bastard.
First, the crown of its head burst open, and then the bastard was ripped apart from top to bottom.
With that,
“Phew….”
“Y-you’re….”
The Ruddle Kero met its end.
Having raised a barrier to keep the bastard’s flesh and blood from splattering onto my body, I let out a sigh of relief.
I had consumed quite a bit of mana.
Crunch.
I bit into a Fruit of Vigor.
Then I turned to look at the relative, who was in a terrible state because they hadn’t been able to raise a barrier in time.
“Are you hurt anywhere? Eat this….”
“Do Gyeonu….”
Since I had done a good deed anyway, I was going to take the opportunity to share the Mud Spirit Grass and fruit that cured paralysis.
“Ah, fuck.”
But after confirming the other person’s identity, I immediately frowned.
“What the hell, it was you?”
It was Do Seungwoo.
I couldn’t help but click my tongue as I looked at the guy who had the Ruddle Kero’s eyeball sitting on his head like a hat.
Then I immediately withdrew the pouch I had been about to give him.
Meanwhile, he also scowled deeply.
“When did I ever ask you to help me?”
“Who was it who told me not to come while trembling in fear? And you’re saying that?”
“…Even if you hadn’t come, I could have taken it down on my own. But you shamelessly aimed for the last hit….”
“Oh, yeah? I’m really sorry about that.”
To think I had saved Do Seungwoo.
It didn’t feel good at all.
No, it was the worst.
I had committed a grave mistake.
To make up for that mistake, I quickly looked around.
“What are you doing?”
“I feel bad about taking your last hit, so I’m going to drag some monsters over.”
“What?”
“I’ll recreate a situation almost exactly like the one from earlier, so this time, fight on your own.”
“….”
“Don’t worry, I won’t interfere this time. I’ll just be on my way.”
“…You’re joking, right?”
“Why would I joke with you? It’s not like we’re that close.”
Conveniently, there was a Mud Kero over there.
I picked up a pebble nearby and threw it at the bastard.
Kero?
At the attack, which didn’t inflict any real damage,
the Mud Kero tilted and turned its body.
It discovered us.
[You have encountered a monster.]
[Mud Kero (Rank. 01) x 1]
“Then I’ll be going now.”
“Hey! Hey! Wait, stop! I said stop!”
“Stop what? That thing already recognized you, you know? I’m off. Bye!”
“Hey! Do Gyeonuuuu!”
I couldn’t kill a relative with my own hands.
So I borrowed the help of a monster.
Wasn’t this what they called killing with a borrowed knife?
‘Well, with that guy’s skills, there’s no way he’ll die, and if he does get in danger, the Hunters will come out and help him.’
Still, it felt good.
My steps were lighter than ever.
“Come back! You bastaaaard!”
From behind me, I heard Do Seungwoo shouting something at the top of his lungs.
Unfortunately, I couldn’t tell who he was calling, and I couldn’t hear it well either.
At the same time, it was just foolish.
‘What’s he doing, shouting that loudly? Is he trying to call over every monster in the area?’
Of course, that wasn’t any of my business.
He could deal with it himself.
If anything, it was good for me, since I could pass by without encountering monsters.
I left the area without looking back even once.
I Became the Childhood Friend of the Mid-Boss