The Final Desperation

The morning after, the group gathered outside the castle gate and received the standard exploration equipment. The guards gave each of them a map of the surrounding zones, a wayfinder’s compass enchanted with a spell to always point toward an anchor in the castle, and a companion prism the size of a keychain accessory.

Due to how zone crossings work, these items were the bare minimum for explorers leaving their homes. Without them, it would be easy to lose their way within the maze of boundary teleportations. The map warns of nearby dangers, the compass helps one return, and the companion prism detects if there are any nearby prisms.

Genji also learned that only monsters directly spawned from the zones were restricted to the area. All other inhabitants were free to leave their home zones.

Genji strapped the prism stone to his waist and set off with the team. Edwin, the spearman, and the warrior led the group while Genji, the lumberjack, and Lynn covered the back. Everyone else stayed between them, with the thief on the lookout and the hoodie guy acting as commander.

The formation wasn’t optimal, but it was the best they could do with their current roles. Genji wasn’t too keen on taking the initiative, so he allowed the hoodie guy to arrange everything. They trudged through the city and approached the zone’s boundary. Their gazes focused, and they stepped through, ending up on a dirt road.

This area had already been cleared, so they passed through without disturbance. Like this, they followed the information on the map and cleared any recently spawned monsters. Because they knew what dangers they would encounter ahead of time, the hoodie guy was able to provide the optimal strategy moving forward.

Situations like the sleep-inducing cabin and grouping deer that required their victims to be unaware never stood a chance against them. Eventually, they appeared in a jungle that bordered a swamp. A river separated the two biomes and provided life to the animals.

They were clearing a way forward when Genji suddenly felt his stomach lurch. Something wasn’t right about this zone.

“Stop!” he called out, pointing his saber at the surroundings and taking a fighting stance.

Edwin and Kathleen instantly copied his actions while the others followed shortly after. Genji warily scanned the surroundings, searching for the source of his unease. A few minutes passed with no results, and the team began doubting his actions.

After ten minutes, the lumberjack became impatient and asked if Genji was being overly paranoid. “Why are you getting so worked up? There’s nothing around.”

The others also felt the same way but kept silent and watched the situation. The only ones slightly on guard were the realm members, who had experienced their fair share of dangers, and Genji’s original teammates, who trusted his judgment. While he might be annoying at normal times, Genji was very dependable when it came to dangerous situations. That was their impression of him.

Genji disregarded the lumberjack’s complaints and maintained his vigilance, further riling him up.

“Hey! Don’t ignore me! I’m talking to you!”

Genji glanced at him and said, “If you have time to yell at me, help me look for the trap.”

“I’m telling you that there’s no such thing. Stop showing off here!”

Right at this moment, a black arrow ripped through the air and beelined at the lumberjack’s head. Genji immediately slashed out and destroyed the projectile while Kathleen returned fire. Genji confirmed their attacker was invisible and stabbed his weapon into the ground.

A ripple of cutting intent flooded the area and traced the surroundings, revealing their silhouettes. Due to how far he spread the attack, the cutting intent dealt no damage and only felt like a cold breeze.

Regardless, the strike did its job and forced their attackers out of hiding. Countless shadow people without features appeared in the distant treelines. Each tree supported five or six people, with no end in sight.

But most importantly, these people were above the team’s intended path. Had the team continued going, they would have been surrounded and ambushed by these beings.

Everyone clenched their weapons and prepared for combat. Their enemies jumped down and charged at them, slinging strange spells and discolored weapons.

Genji fell into formation and supported his teammates with wide slashes. The melee fighters at the front stepped forward to confront the incoming tide while the long-ranged fighters bombarded the crowd. The mage was especially noteworthy because of how clumped the enemies were.

But in exchange, his mana pool depleted rather quickly, and soon he became helpless to the group. Meanwhile, Lynn pulled out her twin pistols and delivered countless headshots. The hoodie guy was also forced to take action and confirmed Genji’s suspicions about his strength. Wielding a massive scythe, the man slashed through the crowd like cutting wheat.

The lumberjack channeled his anger and crushed any incoming foes with brutal ferocity. Nothing he targeted could withstand a single blow.

Halfway through the battle, Genji realized his energy had a suppressive effect on the enemies. And it was quite drastic as well, like the oppression of a higher life form to a bottom feeder. The difference in tiers was that prevalent.

‘Now this is unexpected.’

Genji flared his shadow flames, and everyone felt a rapid decrease in pressure. Not only did it deter the whole army, but his flames also absorbed their inherent energies for themselves.

Within moments, many of the shadows combusted and flickered out of existence. Their enemies realized their precarious situation and quickly dispersed, leaving everyone wheezing for air.

“Dammit, that was way too close,” the lumberjack said between breaths.

When everyone regrouped, they noticed the spearman and Edwin sporting worried frowns.

“What’s wrong?” the others asked.

“It changed,” Edwin answered. “The dangers.”

“It used to be lurking crocodiles,” the spearman continued. “There were no mentions of shadow people.”

“Maybe they were hiding when the maps were drawn,” the warrior said. “You never know what these zones are hiding.”

“Maybe.”

But as they continued, they realized how wrong they were. The closer they got to their destination, the more the actual situation diverged from the recorded information. At first, it was only the monsters, but soon it was the terrain, until finally, the principles. In some situations, they entered a completely different zone despite following the same directions.

“Either the zones mutated or the teleportation patterns changed. Neither is good for us,” the hoodie guy said. “Let’s decide, do we continue or should we go back? I’m personally in favor of continuing, but I need to hear your opinions.”

“We’ve come this far. Why should we give up now?” the lumberjack asked.

“Nothing risked, nothing gained,” said the warrior.

“I haven’t finished the queen’s order,” said Edwin.

“I have no complaints here,” said the spearman.

“Then we’re all in agreement? Continuing toward the village?”

Genji nodded, and they stepped through the border. The next moment, they found themselves on a giant leaf that seemingly stretched for kilometers. As far as the eye could see, there was green. Suddenly, they felt a vibration ripple through the leaf. Turning to the source, they saw a giant green caterpillar with a red head breaking out of its cocoon.

The creature paid them no heed and bit into the ground. A violent shake hit the leaf, and the group felt the air destabilizing. The caterpillar took another bite, and this disturbance intensified. Everyone's faces changed for the worse, and they charged at the creature. If their guesses were correct, once the caterpillar finished eating the leaf, the zone would collapse, and they would die with it.

*Crunch*

Another bite, another upheaval. The caterpillar also grew larger with each chew, amplifying the next bite. They didn’t have long. The leaf might be big, but exponential growth would eventually overwhelm it.

Attacks landed on the caterpillar, but an invulnerable shell blocked everything. It wasn’t even physical defense but the zone’s laws. The world had decreed that the caterpillar would not be harmed, and they had no choice but to obey.

Realizing this, the team immediately changed their strategy and rushed to escape. They could not stay in this area. However, even this option was blocked by an invisible barrier.

‘Can’t leave, can’t kill it. How do we solve this?’ Genji’s thoughts raced with possibilities, desperate for an answer. The others were no different and equally desperate.

Finally, Lynn shouted, “It’s food! It’s hungry and needs to eat. We need to feed it something else so it doesn’t destroy the zone.”

Then, without waiting, she threw her rations at the caterpillar’s mouth. The creature began chewing without sparing a glance at its meal. After a few seconds, it finished its meal and began working on the leaf again.

Having confirmed Lynn’s idea was feasible, the others followed her example. This delayed the caterpillar for five minutes, but it soon ran out of alternatives.

“Not enough! Not enough,” Lynn shouted and searched for other replacements.

“I think anything will do,” Genji said. “It just needs to eat.”

This gave the realm members an idea, but they were hesitant to put it into practice. Edwin noticed this and urged them to do it. “We’ll compensate you later. But get us out of here first. Nothing will end well if we don’t stop it.”

Realizing they had no choice, Lynn gritted her teeth and said, “You better! This is very costly for us.”

Then the realm members began chucking the miscellaneous items from their storage into the living black hole. The others watched with amazement and wondered where everything was coming from. The mage speculated it was spatial magic, but he didn’t sense any mana fluctuations.

Only Genji knew the truth, but he made no effort to help. After all, he’d incited this so he didn’t have to feed the creature. The team emptied their storage and watched with bated breath as the caterpillar grew several folds and began devouring the leaf again.

“Please be enough, please be enough, please be enough,” Lynn muttered, her voice mourning her financial loss.

The surrounding space became tumultuous at rapid speeds, and the air took on a darkish hue. The atmosphere waned, the air ran dry of oxygen, and the ground grew shakier. At this point, many of them struggled to stand upright on this unstable ground, but none of them dared to lay down.

With how the situation was turning out, they needed to be on full alert, lest they slip into one of the caterpillar’s eaten parts. By then, everything would be for naught, as they would lose themselves in space, drifting aimlessly until their short life expired.

Soon, the caterpillar grew fat and its pace slowed. There was still about half of the leaf left, so they were guaranteed to survive. Everyone sighed in relief and waited for the final moments to pass.

The caterpillar ate another quarter before falling stagnant and spawning a thick cocoon around itself. At the same time, the barrier obstructing their exit disappeared, and the group charged out.

[You have completed the story of "The Very Hungry Caterpillar"]

[The Very Hungry Caterpillar]

Description: From birth to metamorphosis, a caterpillar needs to eat a lot to grow. Whether it be leaves or fruits, they leave nothing untouched in their quest for glory. This one happens to be gigantic and placed on an even bigger leaf.

Mission Progress: 4/3

 

The next moment, the group found themselves in a damp swamp, surrounded by yellow frogs. The frogs stared at them and croaked loudly, their vocal sacs expanding and collapsing rhythmically. This strange sight roused Genji's unease, but the feeling wasn't as strong as before. There was a looming danger, but it wasn't urgent. Regardless, he warned his teammates.

The others, having witnessed his sharp instincts, kept the warning in mind and moved forward. More frogs appeared in their sights, augmenting the noise. Crickets eventually joined in, making the ruckus even more unbearable.

The lumberjack clicked his tongue in annoyance and complained about the stares. "Fricking creepy eyes. Makes me want to bash their skulls in."

"I don't recommend it. That idea alone made my heart jump."

The lumberjack spat to the side and gripped his axe harder. The tension increased along with the noise, and the chirping of birds soon accompanied their walk. Louder and louder the volume became, merging, blending, and reacting to form a deafening buzz.

The croaks synchronized with the background noise, and their minds started playing tricks on them. The animalistic sounds combined in such a way that syllables formed. Then the syllables rearranged themselves to become vocal sounds, until finally, words rang loudly in their ears.

"Join us."

"Join us."

"Kiss me."

"I'm human."

"We're happy."

"Save me."

"Ah yes, the schizophrenic experience package. I miss having a mental problem, said no one ever," Genji's snarky voice sounded amidst the chaos, awakening everyone from their daze.

Edwin violently shook his head and looked at Genji in surprise. "How are you not affected?"

"I am," Genji replied.

"You certainly don't look like it," Kathleen said, massaging her head.

"That's because I'm used to having voices in my head."

This response drew many weird looks from his team, especially from the realm members, who wondered how he knew the word schizophrenic. As far as they could tell, that word had not been coined yet. However, they quickly dismissed it as a translation quirk from their realm.

"I'm kidding," Genji exclaimed. "Can't you all take a joke?"

"As helpful as this conversation is, wouldn't it be better to tell us how you're coping with this?" Hoodie guy asked.

"I could, but I don't think you can replicate it. After all, not everyone can be as handsome and cool as me. I mean, just look at me. The girls would drool if I took off my shirt."

"Fuck off, you narcissistic freak!" the lumberjack roared at him. "Why are you always so annoying?"

Seeing this outburst, Lynn realized how Genji was remaining sane. "You're using emotional fluctuations to distract yourself."

"Bingo, though it might have been better not to say it out loud. Now that everyone knows what I'm doing, it's much harder to provoke you all."

"No need. I just need to make myself angry, right?" the warrior asked.

"That's the gist of it. If you have enough emotional control, feel free to try."

Edwin, the warrior, mage, spearman, and hoodie guy nodded, while the thief, Lynn, and Kathleen awkwardly scratched their heads. They were either too calm to be provoked or didn't have enough experience in the task. In a way, Genji did a phenomenal job attracting everyone's hatred.

"Alright, no need to be embarrassed. I know you can't do it, so I'll help you. You're welcome." Genji's dismissive tone sparked minor annoyance within the latter group, despite them knowing his intentions. "That'll be 50 gold coins, by the way. I'll be expecting the payment when we get back. And if you don't have enough, I don't mind taking your rewards from the treasury."

Veins bulged and people clenched their teeth, doing their best not to sock Genji over the head. Like this, they trudged through the swamp under the froggy stares. As they walked, their bodies slowly distorted with each step. Their skin grew warts, their tongues lengthened, their digits became webbed, and their spines shrunk.

This transformation continued until all that remained were ten human-sized frogs, their eyes absent and memories faded. They forgot how to walk and began jumping, joining their smaller cousins. The water soaking their skin washed away all dregs of their past, and they embraced their reptilian fate.

Suddenly, a pricking pain jolted Genji awake. Looking down, Genji saw a blood spike piercing through his chest, right beside his heart. He took a deep breath and scanned his body, noticing that the attack had avoided all his organs.

"Neigh," Bruce called out to him.

"Thanks. When did I fall for the illusion?" Bruce conjured three fingers to represent thirty minutes ago, prompting a dark grimace from Genji. "Damn, how troublesome. A double-layered influence. If one sees through the first layer, they won't be focused enough to detect the second. But even then, there are no attacks. No wonder I only felt a small amount of danger. Seems like I can't rely on my instincts too much from now on. There are actually traps that specifically target strong senses."

Genji chugged a potion and scrutinized his dazed teammates. While they weren't physically injured, the mental influence was just as dangerous, if not more. After all, if they truly believed they'd become frogs, then nothing he did would wake them.

'I hope I'm not too late,' he thought, asking Bruce to prick them as well.

But despite their best efforts, the thief and mage did not wake up. Instead, they dropped onto all fours and jumped away on their hind legs. "Ribbit ribbit," they croaked.

Genji sighed and gave them a merciful death before plundering their items. The melee fighters sobered up around this time and noticed Genji crouching beside two bodies.

Meanwhile, Lynn and Kathleen struggled to understand their surroundings and who they were. They hadn't been completely devoured, but their willpower wasn't as strong as the melee fighters who endured pain on a daily basis. That was the main determining factor in their adjustment time.

"What happened to them?" the spearman asked as everyone cleared their minds.

"They succumbed to the illusion," Genji answered. "Come on, let's get out of here before any more accidents happen."

These words redirected everyone's attention and forced hoodie guy to refrain from his question. Hoodie guy was the first to wake up, so he'd seen Genji looting the corpses. He wanted to ask for his teammate's scarlet card, but Genji gave him no chance.

'Was this on purpose? Does he know about the scarlet cards?' he wondered as the team picked up the dazed women.

However, he could only keep these questions to himself as the situation demanded everyone's full vigilance. Like this, they reached the swampy border and entered their next zone.