I tried pulling on the cactus. It slid out from between the flesh. The roots were longer than I thought, reaching deep into the skin, into the dermis. When I peered into the hole where I pulled the root out, I could see walls of flesh that had crumbled into mush.
This wasn't just damaged by the roots. The nearby cells were destroyed, spreading out from the roots. The blood flowing from the wound was darkened. Necrosis of cells, and a unique foul odor mixed in the blood. Without a doubt, it is a reaction caused by the mineral-derived poison produced by the Red Plant.
My Main Body can also use this poison. It has the characteristics of both neurotoxin and necrotic poison, injected into prey from the fangs by biting. The poison glands are differentiated into two, so I can use the two characteristics separately or combine them.
Originally, the native soldier ants of the Chimera Ants could also use a neurotoxin to paralyze prey alive and deprive them of freedom for a long time. In that respect, we who adapted to the Red Plant, which possesses powerful toxins, have evolved beyond the native species in terms of poison attacks and resistance.
That said, there are few opportunities to utilize this poison attack. Our staple food is the Red Plant, and we never used poison for hunting. If anything, it was one of our means of defense. For us slow-footed creatures, our best attack was this poisonous bite.
After the destruction of my home, having been thrown out of a peaceful environment, I naturally tried to incorporate this poison attack as a means of self-defense. However, approaching close enough to bite often put me in dangerous situations instead.
Running away is basic. When forced to fight, there were too many enemies with skin so hard my fangs couldn't penetrate even if I wanted to bite. Increasing the level of aura reinforcement and hitting them physically dealt damage far more efficiently, so I had never relied on poison until now.
That is why I was surprised by the result that this poison defeated the dinosaur. Did it possess enough toxicity to kill if I could just get it inside the skin properly? I had assumed that since the enemy was too strong, using the poison I had would be useless anyway.
In other words, the 'Cyst Shot' is the optimal attack for efficiently delivering poison into the enemy's body.
"...This is different from what I thought."
In the end, killing with poison means the virus aspect is mostly meaningless.
Although it was different from what I imagined, I succeeded in defeating a superior enemy on my own. The fact that I defeated an absolute strongman head-on, when until now I had no choice but to hide or run, gave me great confidence.
I was able to kill various monsters other than the dinosaur type with poison. I even initiated attacks on threats that weren't hostile. I am convinced that my status as prey in this forest has been reversed.
That power completely changed the world I see. I taste the superiority of being counted among the strong for the first time. I had told myself I was weak and used every nerve just to survive. My depressed spirit finally regained enough composure to take a breather.
Currently, I am gradually expanding my exploration area centered on the ruins of the machine site. In the past, the human survey team that landed on the Dark Continent took about a week to reach those machine ruins. That means there is a sea nearby.
If it is a distance that a survey team moving while hiding from monsters could reach in a week, then for me, who can now walk the forest freely, it should be possible to explore in an even shorter time. Since the attaché case containing materials like maps rotted at the bottom of the spring, I don't know the detailed distance or direction, but if I search thoroughly, I should be able to discover the landing point.
With some leeway, I am also searching for hope (returns) while looking for the path to the sea. regarding the 'Soul Water' I already found, I destroyed the spring without a trace using 'Cradle of Sacrifice', but actually, I discovered a mysterious stone from the ruins of that site.
If this were just an ordinary stone, I would have passed by without noticing. That small white stone, about the size of a gravel pebble, had a condensed presence resembling Nen. It seems the components seeping from this stone dissolved into the spring water to create the effect. I call this stone the 'Soul Stone'.
Its condensed power is considerable; just one lick makes my aura production and output jump by digits. However, the side effects are equally intense. When the effect time of about 1 to 2 minutes runs out, my potential aura amount drops drastically. It is like a loan on aura, so it is difficult to find the right time to use it.
However, as a trump card, it is an item that can be fully utilized. If I search, there might be other useful returns like this. That is why I am looking around for various things, but it seems they are not found so easily.
I have obtained enough power to fight the enemies around here, but basically, I continue to use 'In' without fail. Battles that can be avoided should be avoided. As I walked with the Main Body riding on Quinn's head, I found a beautiful flower.
It is a flower that looks close to a lily. The gradation of red and white stands out. Something like a round fruit the size of a marble is hanging from the depths of the petals; I wonder what this is. It looked delicious, so I had Quinn try eating it.
"!!"
A supreme sweetness spreads in the mouth. It is so delicious that everything I have eaten until now seems like garbage. I intended to just lick it a little to check the taste, but I involuntarily devoured it. If I were to describe it, it is... truly an angelic drop that can only be thought to have fallen from heaven...!
"Pyau!"
Quinn's vision twisted, and the space fell while rotating like a spiral staircase. Lines of light flew about, drawing fractal structures. Severe hallucinogenic symptoms. Floating sensations due to paralysis of the semicircular canals, intoxication, abnormal euphoria, sharpening of senses—unable to withstand the surging neurological effects, Quinn let out a strange cry and collapsed.
I immediately cut the sensory sharing. Since I have a separate consciousness, I can objectively view my condition calmly, but the intense hallucinogenic experience remained burned into my memory. Quinn convulsed while incontinent and lost consciousness. Detoxification by aura repair didn't make it in time, and perhaps due to acute poisoning, she died.
It is not limited to this flower, but there are many poisonous plants on the Dark Continent. The Main Body has high poison resistance so I can eat without worry, but for things that are suspicious or rare, I sometimes have Quinn act as a poison taster. It is for precaution, and also because Quinn, with her developed sense of taste and smell, might be able to sense danger beforehand.
There have been times when Quinn was hit by fast-acting deadly poison before, but this was the first experience accompanied by such outstanding hallucinogenic effects. Even now that my senses have returned to normal, I can recall it vividly.
That was certainly a dangerous state. However, there is a part of me that cannot deny it. Did I not find that sensation unpleasant? How should I put it... it is true that I felt an indescribable exhilaration. It was a sweet nectar I had never tasted before. I felt a pleasure as if the suppression accumulated in this closed environment was released all at once.
Quinn's corpse quickly dissipated and vanished. In the traces of her vomit, there were the remains of the flower she ate. For a while, I couldn't take my eyes off it.
I manifested Quinn anew and resumed exploration to shake off idle thoughts, but my concentration wouldn't work. I was supposed to be looking for the sea or returns, but I was searching for something else. And, fortunately or unfortunately, I found the object of my purpose.
"Ah."
Not so far from the point where I found the flower earlier, there was a marsh in a place where the trees opened up a bit. Beautiful flowers blooming in the center, catching the sunlight filtering through the trees. Swaying in the wind as if fairies were dancing.
I ran over and harvested them immediately. I plucked the fruits from the center of the flowers and gathered them. I put them in my satchel. This bag was made using the throat sac of a monstrous bird I killed recently. It is thick, durable, and stretches well like rubber. It is highly airtight, so I can even carry water, which was useful. usually, I tie it to the Main Body.
Inside my head, multiple consciousnesses are demanding self-restraint. What do you intend to do by gathering those fruits? It is obvious that they are poisonous. No matter how delicious, there is no need to proactively eat them.
Even with the Main Body's poison resistance, I didn't know what effect it would have. No, considering it caused such psychological effects just by feeding it to Quinn indirectly, there is no doubt it is dangerous.
My hands stop. Trampled petals are scattered at my feet. Let's calm down for a moment. There is no need to harvest everything. If I take the fruits from this flower field by the roots, the natural habitat I went through the trouble of finding will disappear.
No, that's not it. That's not what this is about. Let's throw them away. Should I... discard these fruits right now? However, there is a non-zero possibility that they are some kind of useful return. I should take them back once and verify them carefully. It is not as if I am presupposing that I will eat them. Whether to eat or not can be decided after careful consideration.
The conclusion was reached. Quinn stood up after finishing packing the fruits into the bag. And then, her eyes met with something standing in front of her that looked like a withered tree.
"..."
"..."
What is this? It wasn't there a moment ago. Since when? Why didn't I notice? My thoughts turned white for an instant. My body froze.
I am using 'In', but there is no way I haven't been noticed at this distance. I didn't intend to let my guard down, but I was too distracted by the flowers.
...No, this is clearly negligence. Considering the location near the water, layering caution upon caution shouldn't have been enough. A natural habitat of flowers existing unnaturally there. If I looked closely, there were no weeds only around these flowers. It is maintained. This is not a metaphor; someone intentionally created this flower field. I overlooked an abnormality I would have noticed immediately if I had paid a little attention.
The thing that appeared suddenly looked like a blackened withered tree. If it stood still in the forest, one might not notice it. But seeing it up close like this, it has long, thin limbs. There were three holes that looked like a face on the upper part of the trunk. Two eyes and a mouth, perhaps? A bipedal withered tree human.
In its hand, a bucket-like object was grasped. A container with water in it. Did it scoop water from the nearby marsh? Perhaps it grows and manages the flowers. The fact that it uses tools means it has a corresponding intelligence.