I Just Traded in the Forest of Monsters, but the World Changed - Chapter 18

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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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Chapter 18
When Se Hui tore open the wrapper, a distinctive nutty-sweet aroma bloomed outward.
“I can’t even find chicken, much less a rice triangle, so I’ll have to make do with this.”
Se Hui pulled out the Portable Gas Burner she’d stashed inside the tent.
‘No gas, and it works just fine.’
Thanks to Utility Supply, she didn’t have to worry about fuel.
Click—the ignition lever turned, and a steady blue flame bloomed upward.
Se Hui held a long, yellow piece of Jjandeugi over the flame.
The Jjandeugi began to brown evenly above the fire.
Crackle—the sound of it roasting filled the air, sweet fragrance rising with the heat.
Erasmus’s nostrils flared.
Looking at the mysterious yellow hide being charred over the flame, he felt somewhat bewildered.
His expression wavered between trying to understand and surrendering the attempt entirely.
“If I may ask, Se Hui, what is that curious object you’re currently purifying over the flame?”
Se Hui flipped the Jjandeugi over and answered without concern.
“Oh, this? It’s called Jjandeugi—a kind of snack. Chewing it helps ease stress when it builds up.”
“A snack……?”
Erasmus’s expression shifted to shock.
He’d never seen anything like it before—not even in his experience with coffee.
‘Remarkable.’
The Jjandeugi in his eyes looked far more like hide than confectionery.
Erasmus swallowed dryly.
Se Hui was unmistakably cooking what she called a snack—the hide of some unknown Magical Beast—over an open flame, neutralizing its resistance properties.
“And you mean to chew and consume it directly?”
“Yes. It’s meant to be eaten with a chewy texture. Your jaw gets a bit sore, but it’s quite addictive.”
“Addictive……. Ah, of course. So you extract the essence of a formidable predator by chewing on its trophy.”
Se Hui ignored Erasmus as he sank into his private musings.
Yet from the serene profile of Se Hui, Erasmus detected something unapproachable—the dignity of a true predator.
Se Hui used chopsticks as a makeshift tongs to lift the Jjandeugi once it had puffed up sufficiently over the flame.
“This is exactly when it tastes best.”
She extinguished the flame and grasped the Jjandeugi with both hands.
And without hesitation, tore it cleanly in two.
The elastic resistance transmitted directly through her fingertips.
White interior revealed itself between the tearing fibers.
The soft yet chewy Jjandeugi stretched long and thin.
Erasmus’s pupils trembled minutely.
‘……Tearing hide bare-handed like that.’
Se Hui placed one end in her mouth without thought and began to chew.
“Mm.”
The nutty flavor spread across her palate.
The surface was crisp where a thin layer of sugar had caramelized.
“This is the taste.”
Erasmus fell silent.
In his eyes, it was anything but a simple snack.
Se Hui offered the Jjandeugi to Erasmus.
“Would you like to try some?”
As Erasmus deliberated, a familiar presence stirred from within the undergrowth.
Rustle—
The sound of paws pressing through fallen leaves.
Se Hui’s gaze shifted naturally toward the forest’s edge.
Moments later, a gray form emerged slowly into view.
“Woof.”
“A wolf!”
Only the alpha wolf appeared; the rest of the pack was nowhere to be seen.
The wolf headed straight toward Se Hui.
It stopped a few paces away and tilted its head once.
After watching this for some time, Erasmus spoke quietly.
“Fascinating.”
“What is?”
“This individual here.”
Erasmus gazed at the wolf as he spoke, his tone explanatory.
“That’s no ordinary wild wolf. It’s a Mana-Devouring Type.”
Se Hui blinked.
“It’s not just a regular wolf?”
“It’s not.”
His eyes narrowed.
“A Magical Beast that feeds on mana and grows. Most magic doesn’t affect it.”
“What?”
Erasmus shook his head and continued.
“It’s nothing to a knight or high-ranking mage, but…….”
He paused briefly, then added.
“For ordinary mages or mercenaries, it’s quite a troublesome creature.”
Se Hui slowly looked down at the wolf.
Its yellow eyes were fixed not on the forest, but skyward.
‘Yet Kassian said nothing about it.’
The thought struck her unexpectedly.
‘Well, Kassian wasn’t in good shape anyway.’
“Drain Wolves have strong territorial instincts and don’t obey humans,” Erasmus said.
“You’ve never encountered one like this before?”
“Of course not. Never once.”
His tone was firm.
“Without Contract Magic, such behavior would be nearly impossible. Yet you haven’t formed a contract with it, have you?”
Se Hui nodded in agreement.
“No. It was just…… here, so I left it.”
Erasmus looked between the wolf and Se Hui in turn.
“That’s highly unusual.”
A flicker of curiosity passed through his eyes.
“It’s likely that this individual follows you for reasons other than simply seeking food.”
“Well, I’ll figure it out as I go.”
Se Hui spoke casually.
Yet her gaze remained fixed on the wolf, reluctant to wander.
Then, a familiar window appeared at the edge of her vision.
[This Magical Beast may be contracted.]
Se Hui glanced down at the text for a moment.
‘I’m torn.’
It was already staying with her just fine; there seemed no real need to bind it through a formal contract.
‘And if I contract it, I’d have to put it to work—but what work would that be?’
If she set it up in front of the tavern carelessly, the customers would flee in terror, which would only hurt her business.
* * *
Shadows swept across the forest canopy.
Beneath the low clouds, massive wings cut slowly through the air as their bearers banked and turned.
[Screee!]
They were Wyverns—upper-tier flying Magical Beasts.
As the lead Wyvern slowed its pace, those behind it naturally widened their spacing.
[Scree!]
Their gaze fixed on a single point.
The tent at the forest’s edge.
The shadow of clouds drifted across it like a passing thought.
The lead Wyvern’s nostrils flared.
It was not the scent of lower-tier Magical Beasts—common prey.
This was a scent it had never encountered before.
A strange odor had begun to waft from somewhere at the forest’s edge.
It had seen goblins and kobolds swarm in that direction, fill their bellies, and return.
There was no reason for it to covet the scraps of lesser creatures.
But today was different.
[Scree!]
The lead Wyvern cried out as if suggesting they descend for a closer look.
Its wingbeats slowed slightly.
The spacing between the Wyverns suspended in the air suddenly compressed.
The tips of their wings drew dangerously close to one another.
It was the moment when the entire flock moved as one will.
[Screeeee?]
At the unexpected signal, it stretched its neck as if questioning, slowly scanning the surrounding air.
But no clear form appeared.
The lead Wyvern’s tail swayed once, broadly.
Then the lead Wyvern slid downward without warning.
The Wyvern flock circled widely above the clearing.
Shadows layered down, and the light upon the ground diminished.
Because of it, the human below lifted his head.
“What’s this? Why are there so many all of a sudden?”
Another human, watching from beside him, opened his mouth.
“If they’re bothering you, I could clear them out.”
The air pressed down, suddenly still.
The wingbeats of several circling Wyverns stopped simultaneously.
It was a human whose presence they recognized.
[Screeeee…….]
The formation’s circle briefly wavered.
Seeing the Wyverns’ movements, the human shook his head.
“No, it’s fine. We’ll be leaving soon, anyway.”
The Wyverns circled at no great height, watching the scene.
Several of them subtly shifted their wing angles, tightening the circle’s radius.
These were not the movements of hunting prey, but of surveying territory.
As if alternating between checking wind currents and the feel of the ground, their heads moved slowly.
The small human had placed a long yellow object atop blue flames.
As the heat touched it, the surface puffed and writhed.
The human before it flipped it without hesitation.
The Wyverns watching from above all tilted their heads downward at once.
A moment later, the human lifted it.
The only tool was a thin stick.
They shook it as if testing its bending texture, then pulled without hesitation.
A long torn cross-section was revealed.
The stretching grain showed clearly even from the air.
The wingbeats of the hovering Wyverns trembled simultaneously, delicately.
The large formation’s circle briefly fell out of sync.
The lead Wyvern immediately raised its tail, sending a signal.
* * *
“Should I roast one more?”
Se Hui ignored the Wyverns in the air and placed another Jjandeugi on the flame.
Just then, the ears of a wolf lying prone in the shade beside the tent moved.
At the sound cutting through the air and descending, golden eyes slowly turned upward.
The fur along the wolf’s spine bristled like needles.
Because of it, the flight of the Wyverns following the lead fractured for the first time.
Grrrrr―
A very low growl flowed from deep within its throat.
Dozens of Wyvern wings synchronized their speed at once.
Massive shadows began descending toward where Se Hui stood.
Each wingbeat pressed down the wind and altered the flow of the earth.
They concealed themselves in the brush not far from the tent where Se Hui was.

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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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