I Became a Veteran Who Has to Stir Up Trouble to Survive - Chapter 38

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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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[038] Mangrove Island
As the morning sunlight pierced through the water mist, the form concealed within that mystical veil was finally revealed.
Gnarled trees twisted in chaotic tangles, their roots draping across the water’s surface, and the accumulated roots imprisoned soil to form an island.
「You have entered the Unknown Mangrove Island!」
「While it is ideal for shaking off pursuers, even fish lose their way in this natural labyrinth! Only your future self will know whether stepping foot here was the right choice.」
Malton surveyed the island, its surface blanketed in tree roots, and spoke.
“Do you intend to lose the Kokokurah Horde’s pursuit in this place?”
“Yes. They’ll chase us relentlessly. But the water here is shallow, making swift swimming difficult, and the mangrove thicket will keep us hidden from easy detection.”
The Cococula Tribe’s attacks would undoubtedly continue.
Though we had managed safely thus far, I could not endure their ever-growing numbers and increasingly ferocious assaults indefinitely.
If dozens of them gathered to ram our raft, we would be annihilated outright.
Therefore, the way to safely pass through the Cococula Tribe’s numerical onslaught was not to stop them by force, but to delay their pursuit as long as possible.
And this island was optimized for binding their feet.
“But… the waterways here are far too intricate. The water currents, twisted and warped by the mangroves, are tangled as complexly as a river’s tributaries. Should we venture carelessly into such a place, we would find ourselves unable to escape easily.”
“True.”
“…Do you have a solution? Surely someone like you would have prepared a contingency.”
“Of course I have.”
This place was like a natural labyrinth.
Countless water currents scattered and shifted according to unforeseen variables.
Moreover, since the heavy rains had passed, new pools might have formed, and collapsed embankments could have blocked passages.
Even I, who memorized dungeon terrain meticulously, could not possibly recall and calculate all of this.
Therefore, we needed a ‘guide’.
“A guide?”
“Yes, do you see that red creature over there?”
At the spot I indicated, a small creature was swimming beneath the water’s surface.
Just as Malton and Radi approached curiously, the red form kicked up a cloud of sand and vanished like an arrow.
“That is….”
“A creature called the Red Sand Crayfish.”
“Ah… a native species of this place?”
“Yes. Those crayfish normally build their nests outside the Mangrove Swamp, but when hunting for food, they venture inward like this. The current here is slow, making organic matter abundant and food easy to find.”
“In other words… if we follow the crayfish as it returns home with a full belly, we can escape this place.”
“Exactly.”
In truth, that crayfish was merely an ordinary creature, not a monster, but in Belheim, one can gain considerable advantage by utilizing such elements well.
“However, that crayfish is too fast to capture alive.”
“Right. So to keep that creature nearby, we need bait.”
“Bait?”
As Radi tilted his head in confusion, I chuckled and hurled the Cococula’s hind leg I had prepared beforehand into the water.
With a splash, blood spread outward, and aquatic creatures of all kinds swarmed from every direction.
After waiting a moment with patience, a single red crayfish cautiously gnawed at the flesh, then wagged its tail and suddenly began swimming toward the opposite side.
“Everyone, chase it! We cannot let it disappear from sight!”
“Did you hear that?! Everyone, follow that red crayfish!!”
As we hurried after it, a sudden chase erupted in the previously quiet wetland.
By the time we’d ventured deep into the island following the red sand crayfish, something caught my attention.
“Hmm…?”
Radi’s nose twitched suddenly, and his expression twisted into something unpleasant.
“What is it?”
“It’s nothing… just that a strange smell seemed to drift over on the wind….”
“What kind of smell? Flowers? Fruit?”
“No, nothing like that… it’s an absolutely revolting stench.”
Radi furrowed his brow and spun toward me sharply.
“It reminds me of when Doran came back from the Dungeon without washing and collapsed in place….”
“….”
So he was just calling me a stinking mess.
I shot Radi a curt look before addressing the Guild Members.
“Everyone, listen up. There seem to be monsters ahead, so stay alert.”
“Monsters? Could that frog creature have chased us all the way here…! Everyone, draw your weapons!”
“You heard that, didn’t you?! We need to protect the ship!”
The Guild Members gripped their weapons and braced for combat.
As we watched beyond the rustling reeds and aquatic plants swaying in the breeze with wary eyes, a sharp tension settled over the raft.
Just as we rowed onto the expansive sandbar─.
A sudden roar erupted, and at least twenty soot-covered men came scrambling toward us in a frenzy.
“”Uwaaaaaa!!!””
“People! People!! Real people have appeared! We’re saved!”
“Can we finally escape this place…?!”
Radi poked his head slightly over the gunwale and muttered.
“Freshwater pirates…?”
“No, they’re….”
I gently pressed down on his crossbow with my hand and sighed.
｢We’ve encountered stranded Adventurers!｣
｢They’re so desperately starved that they’ve eaten even the leather from their shoes! It’s no illusion that some of the Adventurers are barefoot.｣
｢If you rescue them, the Adventurers will be deeply impressed by you and spread word of your kindness far and wide.｣
‘As expected… they were all gathered here.’
I’d been certain that if the missing Adventurers were alive, they’d be hiding in this place.
Though I hadn’t anticipated their numbers would be this great.
One of the Guild Members, seeing the pitiful state of the Adventurers, lowered his weapon with a relieved sigh.
“G-good grief… I thought they were monsters.”
“Are they Adventurers stranded while crossing the wetland? Um, what should we do, Doran?”
As the Guild Members hesitated, glancing between the departing crayfish and the Adventurers, I found myself conflicted.
I had no obligation to help them. However….
‘…this complicates things.’
Their presence here meant they had already been driven back by repeated attacks from the Kokokurah Horde.
The men bearing wounds as if carved by rusted metal and suffering from infection bore testament to this fact.
Then the moment we emerged from the Mangrove Swamp, we would surely face the Kokokurah forces, already heated to their boiling point.
‘At minimum dozens… no, possibly even hundreds….’
The Kokokurah’s numerical assault grew exponentially fiercer the more we repelled them.
Abandoning them here meant fighting a monster army with only a handful of Guild Members.
I needed to recalibrate my strategy.
“…People come first. Let’s pause for a moment.”
“T-They’re coming this way!”
“Please, just give us some food! We haven’t had a proper meal in days!”
“…Wait. I understand the urgency, but please don’t approach any closer than necessary. And for our safety, I’d appreciate it if you’d disarm yourselves completely.”
After mooring the raft and drawing my sword, the approaching Adventurers hesitantly retreated.
Adventurers encountered in dungeons could turn into bandits at any moment, so after confirming they weren’t attacking, I rummaged through my pack and pulled out bread and jerky. The Guild Members approached and asked.
“Doran, are you planning to share food with them?”
“…There’s no choice. If we don’t help them, they’ll surely perish. Besides, we have provisions the Merchants gave us before leaving the Wetland… wouldn’t our consciences be troubled if we simply ignored them and departed?”
In truth, I planned to restore their strength to use them as both shields and reinforcements, but it was better to frame it as goodwill now that I’d committed to helping.
Offering the provisions with the most genuinely kind smile I could muster, the starving Adventurers wept and bowed their heads repeatedly.
｢The Adventurers are deeply moved.｣
｢Help encountered at the cliff’s edge cuts deeper than any blade! They will spread tales of the savior of Mangrove Island when they return home!｣
｢That is, if they return safely!｣
｢Due to the gratitude of those moved by your kindness, Strength and Agility each increase by 2.｣
｢You are progressing toward the conditions for the Hidden Stat ‘■■’.｣
‘…Wait.’
“What did you say?”
I froze, staring at the glimmering text string in the log window.
I checked again to make sure I hadn’t misread it, but it remained the same.
｢You are progressing toward the conditions for the Hidden Stat ‘■■’.｣
‘A Hidden Stat….’
In Belheim, there are only four primary stats.
Strength, Agility, Luck, and Intelligence.
Beyond these, there are supplementary attributes like Insight, Charisma, Dexterity, and Faith, but their direct impact on combat is relatively minor.
And then there are ‘Hidden Stats’.
Hidden Stats include negative ones like Sloth and Fastidiousness, but they often exist as wild cards with absolutely absurd effects.
For example….
[Indomitable]: You gain immunity to all status abnormalities!
[Immortal]: Once per n days, you can recover from the brink of death.
[Divine Avatar]: All skill values increase dramatically, and all stats increase by n*100% for n seconds.
And so on—stats with utterly insane cosmic horror-tier effects!
This was precisely why I had called Malton an S-rank talent and actively recruited him as an ally.
That man had been draped in such things every single playthrough.
Though weakened by the curse’s lingering effects, the Evil God still conceals several hidden stats as trump cards.
Yet now, in this situation, I too possess hidden stats.
But instead of elation, my mind rang with sharp alarm.
‘What in the world is ■■…?’
I have no memory of any entry blacked out like that.
Can I even call that text?
And I feel like I’ve seen something similar before….
“…I remember now.”
Right after I used Andira’s Jewel, the artifact governing death, I witnessed something similar to this.
Back then, I was too consumed by pain to pay attention, and when I checked again, the log window had been completely wiped clean, so I thought I’d imagined it….
‘But I wasn’t mistaken.’
There truly exists some system in this world that I still don’t understand.
Given that it appeared when I showed kindness to the adventurers, it doesn’t seem to be a negative stat….
While I contemplated beneath my hood, eyes gleaming with thought, I turned at the sound of footsteps to find Radi and Malton approaching.
“Are you planning to leave this place with these people, Doran? If we split the rafts, I think we might barely fit everyone….”
“Yes. For now, we need every available fighter we can get.”
“Every available fighter… Are you planning to punch straight through the Cococula Tribe?”
“Yes. The moment we leave here, a massive army will pour out. Combat is unavoidable. Though I’ll need to see firsthand how large their forces truly are….”
As I boarded the raft with a grave expression, Radi and Malton exchanged puzzled glances.
* * *
After leaving Malton on the sandbar to guard against any rebellion from the adventurers, I set out with Radi toward the wetlands beyond.
As we navigated through the Mangrove Swamp, winding like a labyrinth in pursuit of the red crayfish, Radi opened his mouth while scanning the surroundings vigilantly.
“Wait—the scent of the water has changed. And there’s an alien stench drifting through….”
“The fishy smell of frogs, you mean?”
He nodded.
I quietly lowered the oar.
The movements of the red sand crayfish we’d been pursuing had noticeably slowed.
Realizing the end of the Mangrove Swamp was near, I reduced my presence, and the view obscured by tree roots suddenly opened wide—revealing the Mist Lake before my eyes.
As expected, countless Cococula warriors writhed there.
｢You have encountered a massive Cococula army!!｣
｢They harbor terrible murderous intent toward the humans who slaughtered their kin! They will not cease until they have shredded the invaders to pieces and drowned them.｣
‘Those adventurers… they really did stir things up.’
Based on their injuries, I’d anticipated something like this, but….
Radi sighed upon seeing the monster horde, then bit his lip anxiously.
“Damn… This is the first time I’ve seen so many monsters gathered in one place… Is it even possible to break through them?”
“…Piercing through without any casualties would be impossible. There will definitely be losses.”
“Is there a way to minimize the damage? Since frogs are nocturnal, if we slip away during the day….”
“That would only make things more dangerous. Besides, frogs aren’t entirely nocturnal to begin with.”
The Cococula are cold-blooded creatures, so their activity levels fluctuate dramatically with external temperature.
When the sun rises, their body temperature increases, meaning their muscles and nerves respond faster.
But then….
“Wait, hold on… don’t those Cococula seem off to you somehow?”
“Off how?”
“I don’t know, they seem to be gleaming or something… and they look much larger than before. There’s something subtly wrong about their silhouettes too….”
Radi caught the sudden gust of wind and sniffed the air, then furrowed his brow with dawning certainty.
“The smell… the smell has changed.”
“Changed? How so?”
“When we encountered that Cococula Horde before, there was a pungent metallic stench, right? The kind that comes from corroded weapons….”
“Yeah, there was.”
When ferric oxide contacts oils, aldehyde molecules are generated after all.
“…But this horde doesn’t reek of metal at all. Even with so many of them swarming like this.”
“What does that mean?”
“It means their equipment has changed from scrap metal to something else….”
That’s when it happened—.
Sunlight that had been obscured by clouds broke through and illuminated the Dungeon, sweeping away the thick mist blanketing the Lake.
And then I witnessed it.
Hundreds, thousands of Cococula stretching endlessly along the horizon.
Their bodies completely covered, without exception, in ominous armaments.
Each piece a decisive-grade weapon worth the price of a manor house or a small fortress.
[Helmet of the Beast That Devours Hatred (Legendary)]
“An otherworldly helmet forged and twisted from the metals of the underworld! It warps space to prevent fatal blows aimed at the head!”
[Breastplate of the Deep That Summons Tidal Waves (Legendary)]
“A breastplate forged from Lamia’s sturdy spine to withstand the pressure of the deep sea, negating 90% of blunt force impacts!”
[Spear of Slaughter (Legendary)]
“A merciless spear carved and honed from the bones of beasts defeated in Lancelot’s Arena! The moment this blade touches human flesh, it will instantly sever soul from body!”
“Crafted by: Master of the Volcano”
“…What?”
Something had gone terribly, catastrophically wrong.

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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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