Chapter 316: Surplus Man (5)
gi gig u geu geu geug –
A sound unpleasant to hear, as something hard and dried twisted.
Exactly 24 hours later, the giant cannibal flower awoke.
<Daylily of Blood Tree>
Danger Rating: S
Size: ?
Found in: Deep in the polar hell, 'Inaccessible Zone (Blood Swamp, Flesh-splattered Zone of Area 4)'
– Also known as 'Blood Swamp Daylily' or 'Blood Swamp Nightmare'
A mysterious plant that floats on the churning waters of the Bloodswamp, at the mouth of the 'Blood Lake' in the depths of Hell.
Even in the blood swamp, where everything sinks because there is no buoyancy, you can somehow see them floating.
It is the strongest and most ferocious of all the creatures that inhabit the Blood Lake, and its endless appetite and gluttony make it an object of fear even to fellow monsters.
It is said that a single Daylily, sprouting from a single seed of this plant, once grew so large that it brought humanity to the brink of destruction.
A Daylily of considerable size and weight. It would have to be at least several decades old to grow to this size.
[Oomph, oomph, oomph, oomph!]
The noise emanating from the Daylily's mouth resembled the sound of a rusty clockwork being forced to turn, but it was a much louder and more unpleasant groan.
Thud, thud, thud!
The ruins around him crumbled as the creature rose to its feet and slammed down on the clock tower.
All it took was for the sprawling vines and roots to shift slightly to the side.
[...gigigigig!]
Daylily moved the vines and roots around hungrily, groping for the ground.
But there was nothing to touch.
It must have intentionally raised its body temperature in the cold field to attract prey, but nothing was caught in its trap.
Fumbling...
The Daylily stretched out its dried-up root tips and pawed at the ground.
But the prey had already fled into the distance.
They're probably hiding all over the ruins by now.
[giggle- giggle-]
Daylily felt more and more hungry the more it moved.
It couldn't wait to get into the warm waters of its hometown's lake to warm up and quench its thirst.
It was so cold and thirsty here.
Just then.
...Pop!
Something touched the end of the dry root.
It wasn't cold concrete or rebar or anything like that.
Warm and soft leather, chewy and juicy meat inside, and savory and crunchy bones inside.
But most irresistible of all was the blood inside. Blood, that sweet, refreshing nectar!
shaking...
After so much cold and thirst, Daylily had found the perfect treat for its taste buds.
It's a different texture than the cold, rotten food it had been reluctantly swallowing.
The Daylily groped for its prey by the tip of its roots, which trembled with excitement and thrill.
It felt the tiny sphere that must be the head, the dense brow, through the delicate root tip.
The roots trailed down the slender neckline that connected the head to the body, licking the smooth cleavage, and the waist and hip lines next to it.
It climbed back up the straight, outstretched legs and now came to the hands, the only part of the body that looked quite rugged compared to the rest of the smooth body.
And down past the hands was a long, hard... this?
Daylily was just about to decide what this was.
Tsk-.
The sensation was abruptly cut off.
A searing pain shot through the tip of the root.
[kki-gigigigigig!]
Daylily suddenly realized.
The tip of the root had been cut off by a long, hard sword.
"If you're awake, you should be moving."
Vikir muttered in dry tones.
The Daylily of Blood Tree in front of him casts down a flower that resembles a face.
The wrinkles of the flower were horribly distorted, and the gaping maw was filled with misshapen teeth that had sprouted out at will.
Vikir already knew a bit about this grotesque creature.
"Daylily of Blood Tree. It's a plant-type monster that lives in the depths of the oil fields. During the Age of Destruction, the lakes were overgrown with them, and we had a hard time finding water.
How many of his friends and men had lost their lives trying to exterminate them.
So Vikir had a better sense of the situation.
'This is the degraded version.'
It wasn't just Vikir, but anyone who had lived through the Age of Destruction would have recognized it.
Daylily of Blood Tree are basically aquatic plants. Aquatic plants don't thrive in places without water.
Only a lake filled with nothing but blood, deep in the depths of hell, can sustain this terrifying plant to adulthood.
'... If not that, at least a place full of water.'
When the war began, the demons brought the seeds of this plant into the human world, and sowed them.
There were no lakes filled with blood in the human world, but there were many lakes filled with clear, clean water.
The Daylily of Blood Tree drank from the waters of these lakes and thrived.
Although they were smaller than the ones from the mainland of Hell that had been fed on blood, they were still large and fierce.
'However, this one in front of me has been suffering from hunger for a long time.'
It's small and dwarfed for a Daylily of Blood Tree. It looks slow and weak, like it hasn't had blood or water in a long time.
... Of course, this was not to be underestimated.
Qua-kwa-kwa-kwa-kwa-kwak!
Just like in the video the fairy had shown earlier, this monstrous creature could collapse buildings in a radius of a dozen or so meters with a single swing of its vines like a whip!
No amount of ducking and dodging will save you from being mortally wounded by that attack.
'It's much weaker now that it's out of the water, but it's still an impossible monster for students to deal with, which means that....'
Vikir's eyes sparkled.
'I didn't place it there to be captured!'
As far as Cerberus was concerned, it had been placed there for entertainment purposes, perhaps in the slim hope that someone would show up to catch it.
But this was no Daylily of Blood Tree.
The students who had just entered the tower, even if they were a thousand strong, would be no match for this single degraded version.
They have created an absolute being that cannot be caught at all and cannot be resisted.
In order to destroy all ethics and laws outside the tower and create a state of anomie through antagonism and discord among colleagues, and even cannibalism!
...Boom! Quack, quack, quack!
A gust of wind whipped through Vikir's back hair.
The vines of Daylily whipped up again, making the surrounding ruins even more chaotic.
Destructive enough to warp the entire terrain!
"Admit it. Give up. As you have deteriorated, so have I."
Vikir held up his hands.
Then he turned and started running.
His destination the meeting place with the randomized boxes of the 68 survivors!
'...Anyone who isn't an idiot wouldn't break a promise.'
Vikir leapt over the rubble of the ruins, dodging the whipping vines.
Now, beneath the collapsed fountain, he could see a black line.
It was a long row of 67 random boxes.
The survivors, including Gordon, had left them behind.
(Not including Grenouille's Mimic.)
'I'm glad there aren't any idiots.'
If there had been any, he would have turned on his heel and run for the hills.
That way, at least thirty people would have died and we'd have gotten through the day unscathed.
[gigig! geugyagyagyag!]
Vikir doesn't have much time, as the enraged Daylily has already spread its roots and is moving toward him.
Vikir hurriedly opened all 67 random boxes.
Puff-puff-puff-puff-!
Random boxes spit out items with a loud explosion sound.
Among them, there were as many as five Mimics.
'There are a total of 68 random boxes and only 7 mimics, so the demon are still in bad taste.'
Vikir quickly scanned the items.
Most of them were junk, not even worth looking at.
Polished bronze swords, shiny beads, fake potions, shoes with holes in the soles, stinking armor....
Vikir sifted through the junk, quickly searching for anything worth taking.
The first thing he picked up were red, green, and blue candies.
<Vikir>
-LV: 1 (%)
-Title: 'Gutter Rat Hunter', 'Hell's Dog'
-Stats.
Strength: 230 (+30) = 260
?Agility: 219 (+10) = 229
?Stamina: 244 (+25) = 269
?Physical Resistance: 1
??: (Locked)
??: (Locked)
By consuming 30 red candies, 10 green candies, and 25 blue candies, Vikir's strength, agility, and stamina stats have increased significantly.
'Definitely, I feel lighter.'
The power of the stats was amazing. His body suddenly felt like it was boiling over with energy.
After collecting all the candies, Vikir picked up the rest of the miscellaneous items.
'These two are useful.'
From the pile of junk, only two items stood out to Vikir.
-<Sunflower Seed Shrew's Tooth Hoe> / Farming Tools / D
A hoe made from the teeth of a large shrew.
If nothing else, it's useful for digging up plant seeds.
-<Oil Paper Pouch> / Pouch / D
A pouch that is quite tough and does not dissolve well in water.
It's good for holding things because it keeps moisture out.
Once Vikir had packed these, he looked into the pile one last time.
At first glance, there was nothing left to carry.
Vikir was just about to turn around.
"...hmm?"
For a moment, Vikir thought he must be looking at the wrong thing.
However, the seasoned veteran knew well that if he ignore this type of sense in an urgent situation, he will end up hitting the ground and regretting it later.
Vikir looked through the junk once more.
...Shiny!
Something silvery and round was buried among the trash.
A candy. Silver glowing candy.
"...!"
Vikir's fingertips trembled for a moment.
He'd quickly dismissed all the other colored items, expecting to find only red, green, and blue candy, but... hadn't expected to find something like this.
Even as the Daylily, mad with hunger, rushed in from behind, destroying everything in its path, Vikir's gaze remained fixed on the silver candy in his palm.
"...Heh. I guess I used up all my luck early on."
Before regression, the great heroes from the tower reminisced about this silver candy, filled with great regret, longing, and yearning.
A treasure that still captivates the hearts of so many heroes, even after so much time has passed since they left the tower.
-<Strange Candy> / Reflexes / Silver
A candy that increases the Reflexes stat by 1.
Tastes fishy.
+1 Reflexes
Vikir never thought he'd find this hidden piece in a random box on the third floor of the tower, which was said not to fall out even after all the monsters in the depths of the tower were captured.
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