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Chapter 6

‘Hey! Snap out of it! Watch out!’

As if it were mocking my carelessness, something agilely rushed towards me. With a thud, it stabbed me in the arm.

“Ow!”

I look at the place that suddenly became painful.

There was a fist-sized mosquito monster stuck into my arm.

It pierced right between the gap in my Smoke Armor.

Spray Green Mosquito

“What the?!”

Before I fully grasped its name, I swat it off by reflex.

The Spray Green Mosquito nimbly dodges my swatting hand, hovers, and sways in the air before coming towards me again.

My arm throbs. I look down at the scar where his stinger pierced and realize that pain is actually streaking through my arm.

The mosquito monster stung me and sucked my blood, huh?

Ugh, there are monsters like this? Am I gonna be alright having been stung?

‘Did I not tell you to pay attention?!’

... gotta focus on the battle.

This one’s definitely more of a nuisance than the whatever Poisonwhip I fought just now.

As I aim my sword... the Spray Green Mosquito twitches then wavers. It’s plain to see that his movements are becoming sluggish.

It’s almost like it’s telling me to aim carefully, please. But... that movement reminds me of something.

It reminds me of when I was a kid and a mosquito had flown inside the house.

Because it was a particularly quick mosquito, killing it was very difficult.

It was easier to exterminate it with a can of insect killer. The Spray Green Mosquito is behaving exactly like how a mosquito would after being sprayed by pesticide. It fluttered and then fell face-up on the ground.

“... but why?”

After stinging me once, it was trying to sting me a second time. But all of a sudden it just falls over? What is that?

Speaking of which, it really hurts where I got stung... damn it.

Some words popped up, saying I’ve earned 6 EXP.

I level up to lv 2.

As expected, leveling up doesn’t also give me a full recovery... if it did, the pain in my arm would’ve faded immediately.

‘What in the world was the reason for its death...? It might be possible that it died to the vaporized toxin the poisonwhip had released. Or perhaps because of your Poison Absorption (Weak), the swamp toxin is still in your system, and it died from sucking your blood. To put it in other words, pesticide is poison, correct?’

Yeah... I’m happy that I won without having to do anything, but it’s kinda disagreeable of an experience.

Maybe it wasn’t so bad to space out after all.

But this wound... how should I heal it? Will it heal with some rest?

‘I shall teach you how to concoct potions afterwards. You could harvest some medicinal herbs along the way too.’

Do you not have any potions, Veno?

‘Unfortunately, I have none on hand. Though not potions, if you wish to quickly cure your wounds, then you can pay a practitioner of healing magic with the money you will earn from this request.’

It’ll probably cost all the money I’ll earn though.

Gah... that just seems like a total waste.

‘However... the part stung by a Spray Green Mosquito should not only itch, but also be accompanied by paralysis... yet you have none of those symptoms.’

Itchiness and numbness... seems like it’s the same in this world.

I think the pain is already starting to fade.

‘It is nerve palsy, you know? For humans, the affected area should swell up and, within moments, cease to be able to move. Does your world have the same type mosquitos?’

Not to that extent.

But actually, it just hurts normally.

... is this, too, the effect of Poison Absorption?

‘Perhaps. If it is simply painful, it should subside soon. We should prioritize dealing with the monster’s carcass first.’

Deal with the carcasses?

In front of me is the face-up corpse of a Spray Green Mosquito.

What should I do with it?

‘The monster is already dead. I shall store it up with my Compression Storage Magic. If you do not need it, then it shall be food for me.’

Dude, you eat fuckin’ insects?

‘Does it seem to you like I have a choice in these circumstances of mine?! Though even that I had Forced Possession Summoning cast upon me, it is not as if my body has disappeared. Well, truthfully speaking, I cannot move my body, so it does not need much fuel either.’

He’ll eat anything and everything to survive, huh?

Well, at least he’s not storing the bugs in my belly.

So, because of that and with his storage magic, Veno took care of the monster defeated this time.

Without encountering any more monsters, I safely arrived at the poisonous swamp where I regained consciousness.

I wonder if it’s due to the Robe of Concealment +3.

If you think about it carefully, aren’t the monsters more dangerous than the poison?

I have no choice but to hope my armor does its job well.

“I was soaking in this...?”

Back again at the poisonous swamp... and it’s purple.

It’s almost as if the it’s saying I’m poisonous! out loud.

Bubbles rise up from the water, with a light haze covering the surface.

The air doesn’t seem too awful, but I’m not out here to enjoy a lovely walk in the woods.

“Alright then... so I’ve arrived here at the destination. Whereabouts does marphina grow?”

It may seem like I’m speaking to myself, but I’m speaking directly to Veno.

‘Over there. I shall indicate it—along with the herbs with which I am familiar—with a marker for you.’

As he said that, I looked out over and saw a big round sign, symbolling what I should harvest.

It’s nice and easy to have things so simple to understand.

It feels like a game all of a sudden, but simple is best.

Since I’m here already, might as well pick some of that fuzz-like herb.

Pogneuk

A poisonous plant whose pollen will induce labored breathing once breathed in. The stems, too, are poisonous and will cause a burn-like inflammation on contact.

“Hey, this stuff is poisonous!”

‘It is an ingredient in the compound. Even with medicinal herbs, they may be beneficial to humans, but often poisonous to monsters.’

They do say that you can’t feed animals stuff like chocolate and onions.

Stuff like alcohol too.

Wait... if you can’t even breathe the pollen in, should I really have just normally picked this...?

I check my hand that touched it.

... nothing out of the ordinary. No burns or nothing.

Is this thanks to Poison Absorption as well? Damn useful.

Well, I don’t have to worry about it. I can let Veno handle it with his storage magic.

‘I am deeply interested in how far the extent of your Poison Absorption reaches. Do not worry. I am not looking for you to come in contact with any poison that would be excessively dangerous. You can simply harvest at ease.’

Sure, whatever.

Since he said that, I picked poisonous plants and toxic mushrooms along the way.

... there are less monsters here than I thought.

I tell Veno through my mind, after stabbing a monster that looked like a largeish rhinoceros beetle—a Buff Poison Beetle.

All there were here was that and the Spray Green Mosquito. Kinda a letdown, to be honest.

Nothing but small fry, you could say.

Oh, I leveled up to lv 3.

Things are going fairly well. But I can’t say I’m moved by it either.

‘More amazing monsters are—if I had to guess—either hiding or that we have come right after another adventurer had passed through here.’

Arleaf should be roughly around here.

Perhaps she came and killed them all?

‘Ah, that female human? She had been burning monster-repelling incense; perhaps monsters are concerned about the smell and left. That was quite the offensive smell, you know?’

The ecosystem here... it’s not exactly some backwoods where dangerous monsters live.

After all, a grown man with no survival skills can make it here by foot in 30 minutes.

‘In any case, you have no choice but to use the situation at hand. Quickly harvest the plant you have come for.’

Thus, I followed Veno’s guidance towards the farther end... to a highlighted point in the middle of the swamp facing a cliff.

It’s a place where bubbles strongly rise up from the water.

Is it a geothermically-heated spring? I put my hand over the surface of the water but get no sense of heat.

By the way, though called a swamp, it’s not as if it’s so thick and muddy that you can’t see in.

It’s purplish, reddish, greenish pond; very colorful.

The clarity, though, is limited, making it an ominous yet beautiful and wonderful scene.

‘Look, do you see the moss growing at the bottom on the bottom of the swamp? That is the poisonous moss, marphina.’

I feel like I’m gonna be attacked by piranhas or something if I swim in there.

‘There are fish, but they only feed on things that weak to poison and die in there. Does it seem like there are large fish in there in the first place?’

Just in case, I try observing from above the water.

It isn’t that deep of a swamp but it’s still hard to tell if anything’s lurking on the bottom.

But since it’s a poisonous swamp, if anything is living in such an extreme environment, it’s gotta be really tough, right?

Well... I’m wary about it, but let’s go anyway.

If I remember correctly, in water, my Smoke Armor is weak and won’t activate... but in I go.

Oh? It’s warmer than I thought. It feels just as nice as an onsen.

Isn’t this poison though? I thought to myself as I checked my status screen to find no signs of either my stamina or health going down.

Speaking of which... the numbers seem to be greatly increasing, higher than what I thought my health was...

I found my target, marphina, while thinking about that nonsense.

It’s stiffer than I expected it to be, so I’ll use my Flyiron Sword +4 to scrape it off.

I don’t think I can store it with storage magic unless I do so. It’s not just a pain but also time-consuming.

There’s quite a bit growing though, eh? Would it be alright if I harvested it all?

‘You should do it in a way such that it will not destroy the environment. You might have the chance to harvest here again.’

Kinda like foraging mushrooms or mountain yams, I guess. Knowledge like that is the same in any world, huh?

For now, it’s growing strong, so I’ll take as much as an insect might nibble.

... for some reason, soaking in this swamp feels real nice.

It feels so good, I might just fall asleep in here. Not that I will.

The reason why I was feeling so comfortable when Arleaf woke me up was because of this?

“Hmm? Wait... my wounds...?”

The wound inflicted by the Spray Green Mosquito has now closed up.

There isn’t even a scar to show for it.

‘Poison can go so far as to heal you? I have learned quite some beneficial information about you. It seems like while you are in the swamp, you are granted natural recovery.’

Poison Absorption (Weak) is endless in its bounty.

Furthermore, it feels like my fatigue is fading away too.

The stress and fatigue I’ve accumulated from working in that sweatshop isn’t so easily relieved, yet I feel as light as a feather.

It’s definitely due to the toxins of the swamp. No questions about it.

For the next two hours, I had harvested while relaxing.

‘Aye... harvesting this much shall not be a problem.’

I come out of the pond, with a nod at Veno’s words.

My body feels a little heavy, but it’s just about how I feel normally.

How I felt in the swamp is probably the abnormal one.

‘You were really absorbed in your harvest.’

“And it didn’t even tire me at all.”

Or perhaps I could even say my body is perfect now. Even my sleepiness had faded away.

Healing my wounds was a bonus on top of it. No matter how much I overwork myself, I can still fully recover with this.

It was a curious sensation, like I was exercising while sleeping.

“Now then... what should I do?”

I was able to obtain marphina.

All I have to do is return back, but since I’m all the way out here, I wanna keep harvesting or exploring.

‘Aye... the process has gone well up until this point. It may perhaps be wise to expand your area of exploration too.’

Maybe because Veno is in a good mood as well, he signaled with an arrow symbol.

‘The miasma over there has grown thick. If it proves to be too dangerous, then you should fall back. However, a little scouting should not pose a problem.’