I Became A Married Man in Another World
Chapter 114
114. Discovery of a Strange Village
The wind whipped and lashed at his face. Juhwan immediately deployed wind mana in front of him.
It was a shield.
It was a relief he was a mage; had he been an ordinary person, his skin would have already begun to crack and peel. Human skin simply couldn’t withstand this kind of speed.
Once he had grown somewhat accustomed to the ride, Juhwan managed to lift his upper body slightly from its hunched position. Having stared at nothing but Yeonhwa’s mane until now, he finally found the composure to survey his surroundings.
However, the moment the world rushing past entered his vision, his body stiffened. The scenery was a blur, whistling by before he could even process it. Honestly, it was terrifying.
He had spent a significant amount of time with Yeonhwa, but this was the first time he had seen the unicorn run at full tilt. Until now, the most she had done was pull the carriage a bit faster than usual.
‘I didn’t realize a unicorn could run this fast.’
This was definitely faster than a car. Since Juhwan was riding her, she was likely moderating her speed to some extent. If a unicorn truly set her mind to it, she might even be faster than a jet.
‘The story about Santa traveling the globe in a single night to deliver presents might not be a total lie after all.’
More importantly, since the being known as Santa actually existed in this world, the countless feats attributed to them might truly be possible.
He didn’t view this in a particularly positive light. There was something slipshod about the way Santa handled things—their follow-through was poor. It had been the same for his parents, and the same for him. It felt as though they took matters that could have been handled much better and twisted them into a tangled mess.
When he first visited the Guild, he had heard that Santa was a being somewhere between a magic beast and a god, and he felt that description was spot on.
“….”
The distance he thought would take days or even weeks on foot was closed in an instant.
Before he knew it, Juhwan realized the scenery had changed. Though it felt like only a few minutes had passed, they had already entered an area dense with tropical trees.
Juhwan, who had been lying flat, lightly patted Yeonhwa’s neck. Recognizing the signal, Yeonhwa slowed her pace.
The surroundings were still flashing by, but the speed had dropped enough for him to identify his environment and cast Mana Detection.
Earlier, Yeonhwa’s speed had been so great that he hadn’t had the mental leeway to deploy the detection spell.
When moving too fast, one passes by a location before even being able to gauge the situation. There was even a sensation that the mana he released around his body was being stripped away by the sheer velocity, trailing off into the void the moment it left him.
He made a mental note to warn Yeonhwa never to go this fast if she ever had to carry Riji and Dorothy.
As if sensing his thought, Yeonhwa let out a soft snort and a rhythmic clip-clop of her hooves. It seemed she was telling him she could handle that much on her own.
“Right, right. You’re a smart girl. My apologies.”
At Juhwan’s soothing words, Yeonhwa gave her mane a coy little toss.
Juhwan spread his Mana Detection in every direction. He sent out ripples of wind mana to brush against the objects around them.
Tall and short trees, grass, stones, animals—various things were caught in his mana net, only to be replaced by new ones as they moved.
As Juhwan systematically identified the objects around him, he suddenly caught his breath.
Something was wrong. Though nothing was visible to the naked eye, the number of magic beasts caught in his Mana Detection was abnormally high.
If there were usually one or two in other areas, there were three or four times that number within the same radius here. There were more magic beasts here than in any region he had seen so far.
As Yeonhwa moved, the detection range shifted slightly. Each time, the number of magic beasts within the range fluctuated. At times, he could sense nearly ten of them.
‘This is strange.’
Juhwan looked around once more. The tropical trees continued to stretch on. He didn’t know exactly where they were, but seeing as there were no other types of trees mixed in at all, they seemed to be very close to the center.
Juhwan’s body suddenly tensed.
Several magic beasts that had been keeping their distance were moving as if checking one another, gradually drawing closer. They were still too far away to be certain, but it seemed they had spotted Juhwan and Yeonhwa and were closing in.
‘Do they see me as prey?’
Juhwan lightly patted Yeonhwa’s neck.
“I don’t think we’ll lose if we fight together, but let’s run the moment things seem even slightly dangerous. Don’t create a risky situation. We have people waiting for us at home.”
Neigh. The moment Yeonhwa let out a soft cry, the magic beasts that had been approaching broke their formation and lunged. They were closing the distance rapidly.
Yeonhwa continued toward their destination. The approaching magic beasts also moved, gradually narrowing the gap as they pursued the pair. It seemed Juhwan had definitely been marked as prey.
A moment later, as if to block Yeonhwa and Juhwan’s path, the magic beasts revealed themselves from between the tropical trees.
There were four wolf-like magic beasts, two that resembled badgers, and the remaining one looked exactly like a rabbit, but it was enormous. Its head, excluding the ears, was higher than Juhwan’s waist.
‘What is that? A monster?’
To his eyes, the giant rabbit magic beast was the most shocking. Its size was impossible.
Unlike Orthos or the unicorn, many of the magic beasts here seemed to be ordinary animals that had mutated. From the bear magic beast to these creatures, their appearances made it easy to tell they had transformed from beasts.
The numbers were too high for it to be a mere coincidence. Something was turning the animals living here into magic beasts.
He’d had that inkling ever since he saw the bear magic beast, and seeing these creatures now strongly confirmed it. It was almost certainly the case.
‘Thanks to Yeonhwa and Oz, it seems magic beasts don’t come near the cabin.’
Still, he felt an underlying sense of unease. Even if the distance was great, if magic beasts continued to be created, the area might eventually reach a breaking point.
‘I should definitely find out the cause.’
Thinking this, Juhwan patted Yeonhwa’s neck.
“I’ll handle the first strike, so wait a moment, Yeonhwa.”
After saying that, Juhwan took several bamboo arrows in his hand. He channeled a light flow of mana into his palms.
The bamboo arrows were simply sharpened to a point without metal heads. He had made several of them after using one to kill the bear magic beast. With mana, a metal tip wasn’t strictly necessary. This was enough to produce sufficient power.
‘Besides, I’ve made some preparations this time.’
He had applied a bit of thick pine resin to the arrows. There was a fairly large pine forest some distance from his home. This was the resin he had collected there.
The forest was exceedingly generous to humans. If one just looked around, countless things were laid out like gifts, enough for one to survive even with nothing but their bare body.
He tossed four arrows into the air to match the number of magic beasts. The four arrows flew in a straight line toward their targets.
However, their speed was slow. It looked as if invisible hands were holding the arrows and moving them slowly through the air.
When the arrows reached the magic beasts’ noses, Juhwan waved his hand, causing his mana to vibrate.
The four arrows suddenly accelerated, burying themselves in each of the magic beasts’ necks.
Screams erupted from the beasts, who hadn’t even realized what was happening until the arrows were right in front of them. However, a strike of this caliber wasn’t enough to kill a magic beast.
Juhwan pinched a bit of pine resin powder with his fingers and sparked a flame.
Upon his palm, the pine resin powder created tiny flames, one for every grain. It looked as if a cluster of miniature, brilliant torches from a land of tiny people were gathered on his palm.
Fire mana does not harm its master when it is first created and still in contact with their body. It only inflicts wounds on the master after it leaves their hand.
Once it left his hand, the mana fire that had felt like a part of his body only moments ago would become a completely different entity—a weapon that threatened everything. Even the mage who created the flames was no exception.
But now, while in contact with his palm, it wasn’t hot or painful at all.
Juhwan infused mana into the flames, which were as cute as a fairy’s toy. The flames flared up. They looked adorable, but the mana contained within was staggering compared to their size. With just a slight vibration of mana, the flames would instantly expand in an explosion.
As Juhwan flicked his hand, the tiny, bomb-like flames flew in all directions.
The flames, which had been smaller than peas when they were on his palm, instantly devoured the air and grew.
By the time they reached the magic beasts, the once-cute flames had grown massive, large enough to swallow a tiger the size of a house.
The flames instantly engulfed the magic beasts’ bodies. There was no time to dodge or flee.
As the fire wrapped around them—Boom!—the arrows lodged in the magic beasts’ necks exploded with a sound like bursting air.
Due to the explosions occurring within the fire, the magic beasts’ necks were half-severed.
The heads of the magic beasts twitched and thrashed in the fire, each in a grotesque manner.
Unable to bear the pain, they screamed; some rolled on the ground, while others collapsed forward.
But they weren’t dead yet. Though they were in agonizing pain, they were still alive. A magic beast rarely dies unless its Mana Stone is destroyed.
Juhwan levitated more arrows in the air. Eight this time. He had doubled the number.
Using wind mana, Juhwan gripped the arrows and fired them at the magic beasts’ feet.
But unlike before, the speed was inconsistent. One or two were fast, while others were slow. Some flew in slightly off-target directions.
‘Is four still my limit?’
It seemed his concentration was still insufficient to command the arrows properly.
Juhwan maintained the arrows at as similar a speed as possible before lodging them into the forepaws of each of the four magic beasts.
Just as before, he scattered pine resin powder to trigger the explosions, and three of the four magic beasts died with agonizing screams.
‘Just as I suspected.’
Like the bear magic beast, Mana Stones had formed in their paws.
However, one remained alive even after its neck and forepaws had been blown apart. It seemed this one’s Mana Stone wasn’t in its forepaws, but somewhere toward the back.
Juhwan dismounted from Yeonhwa’s back and approached the giant rabbit. Perhaps because of the rabbit’s habit of standing on its hind legs, a round Mana Stone had formed on its right hind heel.
After using mana to pin down the rabbit, which was still trying to lung at him despite writhing in pain, Juhwan struck the Mana Stone with his fist. The stone shattered into pieces with disappointing ease.
The rabbit’s body twitched, slowly sank to the ground, and finally stopped breathing altogether.
Juhwan let out a small sigh.
He felt sorry for causing such pain to beasts that couldn’t speak, but his skill wasn’t yet great enough to target eight forepaws at once.
Though the number of arrows he could move was gradually increasing, his concentration was still lacking. If he had been in the middle of a physical brawl, even this would have been difficult. He had no choice but to attack in two stages.
Looking at the mangled bodies of the magic beasts, he sighed again. At this rate, he would fail as a magic beast hunter. He needed to catch them without damaging the hides as much as possible…. He still had a long way to go.
When he sensed the surroundings with mana, several magic beasts were still caught in his net. However, no more approached him. Perhaps they sensed he was strong because of the mana he emitted and were wary.
Magic beasts that transformed from animals seemed a bit weaker than those born as magic beasts.
The quality of the hides and the power they possessed reflected this. Compared to when he faced Orthos, these creatures were certainly easier to handle. They also seemed to have almost no regenerative abilities.
It could simply be that Orthos was stronger than other magic beasts, but his theory was likely correct.
In dozens or hundreds of years, these creatures that had transformed from animals might become incomparably stronger. If they became magic beasts because a Mana Stone formed, then a magic beast with a large amount of mana gathered in its stone would be that much more powerful.
And in this land…
A gust of wind blew. The smell of charred magic beast flesh drifted on the swaying breeze, spreading in all directions.
“….”
Juhwan knelt on one knee and leaned down.
The air here was no different from anywhere else. But when he placed his palm against the ground, he could tell it was completely different. Mana was seeping into the earth.
‘It seems this land is creating Mana Stones within the animals’ bodies.’
He had wondered if that was the case when he saw the stones forming in their paws. But the ground where he found the bear magic beast had only been slightly warm. He hadn’t been able to feel mana this distinctly.
This place was creating magic beasts. Not every animal would be affected, but if the conditions were right, perhaps….
‘Is this how it became a forest of magic beasts where humans can’t live, because it creates them like this?’
Juhwan climbed back onto Yeonhwa’s back.
“Let’s go.”
Beyond this, in the heart of the tropical trees, the answer likely awaited.
Yeonhwa broke into a light trot, her hooves making a rhythmic tapping sound.
*
The center of the tropical forest was a strange place. Palm-like trees stood alongside barren trees that looked like they belonged in a Norwegian midwinter.
It wasn’t that Juhwan knew the specific species of trees that grew in cold regions. It was just how they looked.
Trees that seemed perfectly suited to standing in deep winter snow were draped in white bark and something like a winter mist.
These were trees he hadn’t seen from a distance. Perhaps it was because the tropical trees were so large and numerous, or perhaps the trees were a mirage or possessed some mystical power. Something like a perception filter. Regardless, it was bizarre.
And the place the trees surrounded was even stranger.
“Was this… a place where people lived?”
Like ancient ruins, traces of a village that once existed remained.
There were houses, large and small, shaped like mushrooms, with pretty chimneys that were either round or square. Some houses looked like flowers, while others were just ordinary cabins.
However, there wasn’t a single house without a chimney. There were chimneys made of brick, others that looked like plant stalks—the forms were diverse.
Though faded, and with some houses appearing slightly broken or decayed, the shapes remained intact. Layers of dust sat upon them, as if to testify that they hadn’t been used in a very long time.
Judging by the size, they seemed like houses where people could have lived, but the atmosphere felt like something out of a fairy tale or where Smurfs might reside. It was a peculiar feeling.
He wondered if Yeonhwa knew of such a place, but she seemed not to. Yeonhwa was also looking around with curious eyes.
The village was quite large. With a big plaza at the center, the houses were clustered together around it.
There were no traces of fields or paddies. In a typical village, such things would inevitably exist, which was also strange. It certainly wasn’t a place where nobles lived, but it didn’t seem like a village for ordinary people either.
There was no outer wall surrounding the village. This forest had existed for a very long time. He didn’t know when the village was built, but clearly, even then, the vast forest would have been inhabited by beasts and magic beasts. To build in such a place without any outer wall at all was truly strange. He felt as if he were being bewitched.
