SQUELCH—SQUEAK!
The moment Sergash's teeth sank into the cool, slimy gelatin, the plump, springy bug-flesh burst in her mouth like the fattest swamp leech.
"Hm?!"
This Moss Monster was far more delicious than she had imagined.
Rich and juicy, with the unique aroma of the swamp.
'Mmm... This is the taste of happiness.'
Sergash felt as if she had forgotten all her troubles, as if she had turned into a Slime, happily bubbling away.
It was like returning to a midsummer from her memories. Back when she wasn't even as tall as the wolf's tooth hanging from her father's waist, she would clumsily bite into a Moss Monster with both hands. The delicious taste of that plump bug-flesh was still unforgettable.
She reveled in the sensation, her body growing warm. Even her wounds began to itch, stirring with the breath of life.
When she came back to her senses, she realized she had unknowingly eaten all the Moss Monsters Chen Yu had hunted.
Sergash's face immediately began to burn.
She understood the importance of food better than anyone, especially in the treacherous swamp. To a Lizardman, food was a second life.
'Look at what I've done.'
'I actually ate all of his stored food.'
She was mortified and overwhelmed with shame.
"So, was it good?"
"If it's not enough, I can go hunt some more."
Chen Yu figured she wasn't full yet, but it was normal for a young girl to be too shy to say so.
He'd finally made a friend in the swamp who could talk; he couldn't let her go hungry.
Sergash quickly waved her hands in refusal.
"No, that's not necessary! I just feel that eating so much of your food is a bit..."
"A lot?"
Chen Yu muttered to himself. He estimated that this wasn't even half a day's worth of food for him.
"Don't worry about it. There are Moss Monsters all over the place here."
"We finish them today, and a new batch will have grown by tomorrow."
This oak tree was right above a Poisonous Sting Bee farm. If the number of Moss Monsters dwindled, his diligent neighbors would go out and capture more to raise here.
There were too many to eat, simply too many.
If he ran out, he could just go ask the Poisonous Sting Bees for more. It's not like it cost him anything.
However, a group of Beetles had recently arrived under the tree, and they seemed to have ideas about competing with him for food.
He planned to find some time to have a "friendly chat" with his new neighbors.
Sergash breathed a sigh of relief. But when she thought about her Lizardman tribe, still starving, while she was here in the Swamp Forest with no worries about food, a strange feeling welled up inside her.
'Maybe living in the Swamp Forest with the Slime would be a good option?'
'But...'
Her gaze swept across the misty woods.
They were already far from the banks of the Reed River. When night fell, beasts with darkvision would come out to hunt.
She had to build a camp and a shelter as quickly as possible, before darkness arrived.
Sergash told Chen Yu her plan.
Chen Yu's soft body bounced, as if he were nodding.
"You'd better not go too far from here."
"Otherwise, I won't be able to reach you if a beast comes."
Although Sergash didn't understand what he meant by "not being able to reach," she nodded obediently. After resting for a moment, she went off to find materials to build the camp.
Chen Yu had things to do as well. He quietly slipped into the water to observe the movements of the Poisonous Sting Bee nest and the swarm of Beetles.
He was gathering intelligence.
His Little Arrow Skill was surprisingly powerful and had good range, but its skill level was too low. The long cast time made it troublesome to deal with large groups of monsters.
He planned to devise a perfect plan of attack and find an opportunity to wipe them all out in one fell swoop.
Originally, Chen Yu had planned to slowly wear down the Poisonous Sting Bees over time.
But Sergash's arrival had given him a new idea.
Perhaps becoming the Oak Lord wouldn't have to take so long after all.
Chen Yu remained half-submerged in the swamp, bubbling occasionally. After watching for a long time, drowsiness washed over him, and he drifted off to sleep in a daze.
「When he woke again, it was already afternoon.」
A knock sounded on the door of his thatched hut in Void Profound Heaven. Chen Yu awoke from his afternoon nap and opened the door to see Shao Qingsong.
"Senior Brother, please, come in and have a seat. I'll go get the medicinal liquid."
Shao Qingsong waved his hand.
"Junior Brother, there's no need to be so formal."
"Actually, the main reason I came this time was to say goodbye."
"Goodbye? Are you leaving the sect?"
"Ahem..."
Shao Qingsong looked embarrassed.
"Junior Brother, your imagination is certainly wild. I never know what you're thinking."
"I'm just planning to go out for some training. I happened to hear that a rare Devil has appeared in the forest outside the Cave of Ten Thousand Poisons, so I'm planning to go take a look with some of our fellow disciples."
"If you're interested, Junior Brother, you might as well come with me."
Chen Yu was thoroughly uninterested. He had no desire to visit any Cave of Ten Thousand Poisons.
Shao Qingsong was good at reading people. Seeing Chen Yu's lack of interest, he changed the subject.
Before leaving, Shao Qingsong said he would send a junior brother to trade in the Bamboo Forest every day in his stead. After a few polite exchanges, his figure disappeared around a bend in the bamboo path.
Chen Yu put the conversation out of his mind. Feeling a bit hungry, he cooked some rice and ate it with pickled vegetables. Once he was full, his consciousness sank back into the Swamp Forest.
His dark form broke the surface of the swamp as Chen Yu blinked himself awake.
His gaze searched for Sergash, finally landing on an oak tree not far away.
In just half a day, the messy patch of rotten leaves had been cleared away. Beneath the oak tree, a shelter covered with broad leaves had been built, with a pile of collected firewood next to it.
Sergash was squatting in the middle of the camp, seemingly trying to start a fire.
Curious, Chen Yu swam to the shore, hopped over to Sergash's back, and gently bumped her tail.
"What are you doing?"
The sudden voice startled Sergash. She let out a sigh of relief when she turned and saw it was the familiar Slime.
"Starting a fire."
"The monsters at night are terrifying, but they're afraid of fire."
"Monsters are afraid of fire?"
Chen Yu had thought only wild beasts had an instinctual fear of fire; he hadn't expected that even powerful monsters would be afraid of it.
Sergash froze. It seemed she had never considered this question before.
Are monsters afraid of fire? Of course they were.
But if asked why, she couldn't give a clear reason.
"W-Well, maybe the power of the flames is very conspicuous in the dark, so the monsters mistake it for the glow of Magic Power..."
She said uncertainly, though of course, this was just a wild guess.
Chen Yu watched from the side. He saw Sergash striking two sharp-edged stones together, the resulting sparks landing on some tinder fungus.
But the forest was quite damp, making it difficult to start a fire. One or two sparks weren't enough to get it lit.
After watching with great interest for a while, Chen Yu turned and went back under the tall oak tree to hunt Moss Monsters for dinner.
The light of the setting sun faded, painting the forest in the colors of late dusk. The woods gradually returned to an unsettling darkness.
Just then, a cry of surprise came from Sergash at the campsite.
Because they were far apart and he didn't have the Sound Transmission Skill, Chen Yu couldn't understand what she was saying at all.
He thought she was being attacked by a beast and rushed back.
But thankfully, that wasn't the case.
He floated in the swamp and looked up.
A flickering firelight danced in the darkness, filling the grooves of the oak's wrinkled bark and bringing a trace of warmth to the surroundings.
The first flame of civilization had been lit in the Swamp Forest.
It was also the first time Chen Yu had ever seen fire in the Swamp Forest.