Volume 2 Chapter 4 (1/2)

There are two reasons why we came to this dungeon.

First would be to collect Pork (Average) for a quest that we accepted. Pork (Average) can be obtained by defeating the Horned Boars that can be commonly found in this forest.

Second, we have to look for any hints or information about the spawn location of the Magic Egg. Sometime this month, out of the numerous God Trees present in this forest, only one of them will spawn the Magic Egg. Back in the game era, we had to battle against a party of 5 non player characters (NPCs) in order to obtain the hint, but it was still possible to obtain the egg without a hint.

However, the scale this time is much different. There are at least 50 other parties competing for the egg, with over 200 opponents. We won’t be able to guarantee our victory without having any advantage over that number of opponents, at least not without knowing which tree out of the hundreds that will spawn an egg. Especially when there are adventurers who have been here numerous times to obtain the egg. Those adventurers are likely able to grasp when the egg will spawn based on their past experiences. We could obtain information from them by eavesdropping on their conversations, however that information could be unreliable to throw off any other potential competitors that they are expecting to be listening.

Thus, it is more reliable to obtain information on our own. From the beginning, if you are capable enough, you will be able to obtain information about the spawn without leaking any information. In the location where you can obtain this information, the monsters provide a decent amount of experience points and have valuable drop items and equipment as well, making it an extremely efficient place to train and hunt.

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[Youya, there are so many people here.] (Luna)

[Ugh, at this rate there won’t be any prey for us.] (Til)

There were many people in the forest of God Trees who were frantically looking around for the Magic Egg. Only a handful of adventurers can estimate the day when the Magic Egg will spawn, however other clueless adventurers are desperately searching and investigating each God Tree hoping to find some signs that could lead them to the egg. In addition, many of these adventurers are hunting monsters while searching for the egg. As a result, the number monsters in the dungeon were rapidly dwindling. The quest was probably issued around this period knowing that drop items would be easily available due to the large number of adventurers hunting.

[It’s alright. There is a place where a lot of monsters are still around.] (Youya)

If you were a perfectly sane person, it is a place where you will never enter. Unless you are attempting suicide, that place is a perfect location to hunt monsters in the current season. It is also the place where it is possible to get information about the magic egg spawn. We would be able to raise our level, complete the quest while obtaining information about the egg. We would be able to kill three birds with one stone.

[Amazing, Youya. Let’s hurry up and head there!] (Luna)

[That’s right. We won’t be able to make a decent hunt in this kind of place.] (Til)

[Ah, you’re right.] (Youya)

I smiled bitterly at their responses. If the two of them knew what the entrance to the location was, the two of them would definitely be filled with terror.

At that moment, we could hear whispering among the other adventurers, and the chance for our hunt to start had appeared. The surrounding adventurers began to scream.

[Uwaaaaaaaaa, It’s here, the devourer of the forest.]

[Run away!]

[It’s a God Tree! Run to the God Trees! It’s the only thing that it will not eat!]

The ground began to tremor as it appeared. A giant caterpillar with a body length of about 30 metres. It’s main body is divided into around ten segments covered with a green-coloured shell resembling the larva of a citrus swallowtail butterfly. It’s body was covered with a pattern resembling a large eye that looks poisonous and inflicts fear into anyone that looks into it.

It’s legs aren’t visible so it’s uncertain how it is moving, but based on the vibrations of the ground, it is likely that there are multiple small legs carrying it’s large body. However, what makes it even more terrifying is it’s large mouth. Its mouth was capable of reaching from one God Tree to another, swallowing everything in its path. Whether it was the earth, monsters or mere stone, nothing was spared. It was the monster unique to the Forest of God Trees, the Starfish Larvae. It is a symbiote of the God Trees that devours everything around the God Trees.

Note: I don’t understand it’s name nor can I find out through the dictionary so I’m going with google translate on this one.

In this world, it was thought that nothing couldn’t be defeated. There were twenty pairs of level 50 adventurers who attempted to defeat the Starfish Larvae and after a close battle, with only 5 survivors, they managed to defeat it. Normally, defeating powerful monsters would yield strong materials and amazing drop items. I can understand their sentiments of wanting to defeat the monster as it isn’t easy to encounter this level of monster often. After they defeated the monster, apparently there were many drop items that could had fetched a high price. There were materials made of its outer shell and eye that could be used to make powerful equipment. In addition, there were rare magic swords and magic armors that were dropped. It isn’t an understatement to say that the quality of drop items was very high.

However, the rewards for defeating the monster wasn’t worth the effort to defeat it. The price for defeating the monster was the lives of 35 first-class adventurers. There isn’t any treasure that could be worth that sacrifice. Furthermore, the battle didn’t end there.

After the Starfish Larvae was defeated, it’s green shell began turning red, it’s eyes shifted upwards, appearing to grow larger and more violent. As if it was enraged, the monster began rampaging throughout the dungeon for an entire week. The dungeon became uninhabitable until it’s rampage was over and no one could enter the dungeon. Surprisingly, at the end of the week it returned to the typical Starfish Larvae and it became possible to return to the forest of God Trees.

If the normal Starfish Larvae could drop such high-quality items, there is the possibility that the enraged Starfish Larvae would drop even better items. There are even rumors spreading that there are special benefits that can be obtained for the Tower of Trials by defeating the enraged Starfish Larvae. However, the rumor was never confirmed as no one was willing to test it. There were no adventurers insane enough to attempt to defeat the enraged Starfish Larvae.

Since I possessed the knowledge of the game in my previous life, I can remember clearly what were the rewards gained by defeating the enraged Starfish Larvae. The rewards were as amazing as the rumors put it out to be, however just like the first battle, the compensation for defeating the monster was massive as well. Back then, the entire party could easily be revived so there were no actual casualties. However, attempting it now would merely be suicide. It was common to revive and retry the battle multiple times until it was defeated. That was how powerful the enraged Starfish Larvae was.

It is a simple task to escape from the normal Starfish Larvae. So long as they aren’t coerced into their enraged state, they have the characteristic of never harming the God Trees, making it easy for people to stick to the trees in order to escape from the monster.

[Uwaaa, it looks disgusting.] (Til)

[Youya. Can’t stop trembling.. It’s too strong,] (Luna)

Although their responses are slightly different, both of them feared the Starfish Larvae albeit for different reasons. That is troubling as it is the key for us to enter the hunting ground.

[Both of you follow closely behind me.] (Youya)

[Youya, wait a moment. You are walking in the direction of the bug.] (Luna)

[You’ll get eaten!] (Til)

Although the two of them often followed my instructions silently, the two of them voiced out their opinions this time, telling me to stop.

[Of course I’ll get eaten. The reason I came here was to be eaten by that thing. Truth is, it’s stomach is the best hunting ground in this entire dungeon. Plus there are many treasures as well. I understand that both of you are scared, but if you don’t want to enter then the two of you can head back to the inn.] (Youya)

I laughed as I stood in front of the insect. After a few moments, Luna came up to my side.