I Became a Veteran Who Has to Stir Up Trouble to Survive - Chapter 101

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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[101] Ancient Primordial Forest #1
A massive creature—a grotesque fusion of mantis and countless insects—swept across my vision.
[Ancient Primordial Forest]
The moment I grasped my current location, the world seemed to drain of color.
What kind of place was the Primordial Forest?
‘A green hell….’
The Ancient Primordial Forest was Belheim’s so-called ‘ultra-high-level hunting ground’—a place exclusively for the elite.
Lethal flora lay scattered everywhere, deadly enough to kill with mere contact, while monsters that served as final bosses in other regions roamed here like common rabble.
No, even calling it a high-level zone fell short of the truth.
‘After all, even when I was a top-ranked player, I avoided this place…!’
Most games calibrated their difficulty with players in mind, but Belheim was an exception.
Belheim contained regions whose difficulty made you question whether this was truly a game at all, and the Primordial Forest stood among them.
The outer edges spawned manageable creatures, but venturing deeper? Impossible.
Moreover, the monsters here were bizarre and infuriating—even I had grown to despise this place.
‘A Primordial Forest of this scale… it must be inside the Northern Great Water Desert.’
A place so distant that traveling from the Royal Capital on horseback without a Portal would take over two months.
As I pondered why the woman impersonating the Kelenor Family would abduct us here, a familiar chime echoed in my mind.
The Main Quest—silent for some time now—had returned.
｢Main Quest has been updated!｣
｢You have been abducted to the Ancient Primordial Forest by the machinations of Lenar, Queen of Flowers! She will stop at nothing to steal your ■■ stat!｣
｢To survive, you must evade her pursuit and illusions, then escape this Primordial Forest!｣
｢You are currently in an awakened state of ■■ ability!｣
｢With fortune, you may absorb the abilities of primordial monsters, dramatically enhancing your power and that of your party members!｣
｢During your escape, you may receive ‘special assistance’!｣
｢Main Quest Failure: Death｣
｢Success Reward: ???｣
‘The Queen of Flowers…?’
She approached me targeting my hidden stat?
Damn it.
The situation overlapped with when I was hunted by that demon.
The one saving grace was that this enemy wasn’t nearly as formidable as a demon or god.
‘Based on her title and abilities… she must be one of the higher spirits?’
I was grateful her objective wasn’t to kill me.
She probably intended to trap me in that bizarre flower and slowly drain my power.
I didn’t know why she coveted my strength, but now that I understood the true nature of my threat, my course of action was clear.
I waited until the monster completely vanished beyond the ancient tree, then released Radi, who gasped in shock and muttered.
“D-did you see that just now? What was that thing? H-how could such a creature even exist…!”
“Calm yourself. We’re safe for now. And thanks to that, I’ve figured out where we are.”
“…W-where exactly?”
“The Primordial Forest inside the Great Water North of the Kingdom. It’s incredibly far from the Royal Capital… and if we’re to escape alive, there are certain rules we must follow.”
First, extinguish all light sources.
I stamped out the torch that had fallen to the ground, and as Radi covered it with moss, she asked me a question.
“Are you worried that insects and monsters will swarm toward the light?”
“Exactly. The predators in this place are extremely sensitive to light. The moment we ignite a flame, massive insects will converge from kilometers away.”
In truth, our survival up to this point had been nothing short of divine fortune.
“But without the light, how will we find our way? Right now there’s at least some daylight filtering through, but soon the sun will set completely… Oh!”
“Right. If I use my monster’s ability, we should be able to maintain visibility even in darkness. And second… we’ll need to prepare countermeasures against the cold soon.”
Because this place received minimal sunlight, the temperature plummeted with terrifying ferocity once the sun descended.
We might endure a single day, but repeated exposure to such cold would rapidly drain our physical stamina.
And finally….
“…we must avoid flowers.”
“Flowers? Why flowers…?”
“The entity that ensnared us appears to wield abilities related to flowers. Brilliant blooms could be her traps. Even when we rest, it would be safer to stay near colorless rocks or dead moss rather than near vibrant flora.”
Spirit abilities were so diverse that it was difficult to be certain, but if we were being hunted by a flower spirit, it was wise to avoid areas with abundant blossoms.
In truth, even if we adhered to all these precautions, our chances of escaping this Primordial Forest unscathed remained slim.
At best, odds that had been 0% had merely risen to 0.5%.
Yet even this felt like a glimmer of hope.
‘I’ve survived under far worse conditions than this…!’
Ding—!
「Your current level is 62! Your basic stats are sufficient—through Chaos, you can now activate one of your monster’s abilities without raising your stats!」
「However, your human body may not be able to fully manifest the monster’s true power.」
‘Perfect.’
The moment I activated Radgit’s ability, my vision brightened as though it were early dusk, despite the absence of any torch.
I pressed forward through the Primordial Forest with all my senses heightened.
But it wasn’t long before we encountered a problem.
‘I can’t build up speed….’
My feet sank deep into the moss with each step, making it impossible to move quickly.
And while I could manage, Radi couldn’t see properly ahead, stumbling with nearly every footfall.
As a desperate measure, I transformed into the Night Stalker, whose night vision was exceptional, and carried Radi on my back as I ran—but it didn’t last long.
The Night Stalker possessed good agility but lacked endurance and raw strength.
Moreover, just as I had warned earlier, the temperature plummeted the moment the sun set.
Radi and I trudged forward, exhaling white breath as the bitter cold assailed us.
We hadn’t expected to be stranded in the heart of the Primordial Forest, so we still wore the thin clothes we’d had on when we left the Royal Capital.
Even a pair of wool gloves would have made a difference.
“…Are you alright? You’re shaking quite a bit.”
“I-I’m fine! If I keep running, my body will warm up….”
Radi answered, trying to sound composed, but her teeth chattered audibly.
Scratched and covered in wounds from tripping over tree roots, she was a pitiful sight.
‘I need to find a place to rest soon….’
As I hurried to find shelter for the night, something glimmered faintly in the distance.
Beyond the towering trees, a cool, pale white light shimmered.
Radi must have noticed it too, gently tugging at my arm.
“Over there… do you see it? Something bright in that direction…?”
“Yeah, let’s check it out.”
‘A lake, perhaps…?’
It could have been a settlement. I’d heard that even in this barren Great Water Desert, a small number of beast-folk secretly carved out lives for themselves.
As we quickened our pace and drew closer, the light grew increasingly vivid.
Advancing cautiously between the ancient trees, the moment our vision opened up, we both stopped breathing.
Pure white snow.
From the massive branches overhead to the scattered boulders below, to the rotting fallen ancient trees—everything before us was blanketed in pristine white snow.
In the depths of darkness, the snow-covered expanse reflected the moonlight with an ethereal radiance, beautiful as an illustration from a fairy tale.
Yet it was precisely because of this beauty that I froze in place.
‘What’s the temperature right now?’
Cold. Cold enough to see my breath.
But not cold enough for snow to accumulate.
Then what in the world was this pristine white substance before my eyes?
Suddenly, as if a swarm of insects crawled across my entire body, my skin prickled with dread.
｢The spirit of Radgit dwelling in your soul has been seized by extreme terror!｣
｢The ‘Cave Sight’ ability is sealed! Your stats are decreasing!｣
Following my instinctive fear, I looked up to see a Giant Spider the size of a dump truck hurtling toward me, its crimson eyes blazing.
Despite charging ferociously across the web-laden ground all around, it made not a single sound.
As if the very space itself had been muted—an eerie, uncanny sight.
“Damn it! Move!!”
The instant I grabbed Radi and rolled to the side, something sharp grazed past my ear.
The tree that the spider’s claw tips had brushed against was severed like a leaf.
The falling trunk, engulfed in soft moss and webbing, crumbled silently—a sight so surreal it defied belief.
‘That white… it was all spider web?!’
From the branches above to the ground below, this entire visible area was its nest.
“Run!!”
I seized Radi’s arm and bolted with all my strength.
Shrieeeek—
Web shot from the creature’s rear came hurtling through the air.
Dropping low, a thick strand passed overhead, ensnaring the branches ahead, while a log pile that fell from above blocked our path.
“This way! Run!!”
I dragged Radi along, desperately changing direction.
My foot slipped on the slick moss and I stumbled, pain flaring through me, but I couldn’t stop.
Gritting my teeth, I ignored the agony and ran with desperate intensity.
As I charged through the world patched with white, a massive shadow appeared at the edge of my vision, swinging between the trees in pursuit.
‘…Is it herding us toward the center of the nest?!’
Like a predator tightening its grip on struggling prey, I could feel the creature savoring this moment.
But at that moment, the rotten ancient tree trunk beneath my feet crumbled away.
Radi and I screamed as we tumbled down into the pit below.
As we rolled across the damp floor, a sharp pain shot through me and the stench of earth filled my nostrils.
I groaned in agony and spat out the cold soil from my mouth, but there was no time to catch my breath.
A massive shadow descended upon us in an instant, crawling down the branches and stems.
‘At this rate, I’ll die…!’
The moment those blood-red eyes loomed before me, I acted on instinct and unleashed my power.
「Leviathan’s Blessing [Water Stream Manipulation] has been activated!」
Whoooosh—!
The moisture pooling in the pit transformed into a torrent of water that struck the Giant Spider’s face.
The water caused no real damage, but it was enough to startle the creature and make it pause.
“There…! Beneath that ancient tree—!”
Radi gasped for breath and pulled at my robe’s hem.
Where he pointed, beneath the half-rotted ancient tree, a dark opening gaped before us.
“Get in!!”
Without hesitation, Radi and I threw ourselves into the tunnel.
The moment we squeezed our bodies inside, the spider’s legs caught on the tree roots.
Each time it thrashed violently through the tunnel, dirt rained down upon us.
After raging in fury for what felt like an eternity, the Giant Spider suddenly stopped and thrust its head inside.
Seeing those eight crimson eyes gleaming before me, my legs trembled with fear.
“….”
Click—.
It stared at us for a long moment before finally withdrawing its gaze.
The sound of something massive slowly circling outside the tunnel reached our ears.
Soon, without a single footstep, only the vibration of the spider web trembling grew fainter and fainter, gradually receding into the distance.
After a long while, Radi whispered in the smallest of voices.
“…D-did we survive?”
Rather than answer immediately, I slowly leaned my back against the wall and squeezed my eyes shut.
“No, not yet….”
We hadn’t survived.
We were now
trapped
here.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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