Three months had passed.
The temperature gradually warmed, and the lengthening days heralded the arrival of spring.
In the Kaise forest of spring, Emmy continued to wander, frequently changing her base.
Her stomach growled. She had just eaten, yet she felt hungry. This hunger was a side effect of magic transformation. It should subside after a while, as the voice in her head had once explained. However, it persisted. She was always hungry.
The reason was simple: Emmy was living in the magical wilderness.
The magical creatures inhabiting this wilderness were formidable beings to humans. Emmy fought them daily, narrowly escaping death many times, and survived by consuming their flesh and blood.
Before the hunger from magical transformation could subside, another transformation would occur. Thus, to satisfy her hunger, she had to fight new magical creatures, defeat them, and consume their flesh. Then, another transformation, and the cycle of hunger continued.
In the half-year she spent in this magical wilderness, Emmy’s body had significantly strengthened. However, in terms of resolving her constant hunger, there was no improvement. In fact, it was getting worse, a vicious cycle.
Suddenly, Emmy stopped in her tracks. In front of her was a frog. It was quite large, about the size of her head, with a striking red body and green spots.
Emmy had unoriginally named this frog the “Akamidori Kaeru” (Red-Green Frog), not knowing its official name, which might not even exist. The voice in her head said, “I have never seen this frog in otherworldly reincarnation broadcasts, so I don’t know what kind of creature it is.”
Her first encounter with this frog was recent, probably emerging from hibernation as the weather warmed. She began to encounter it frequently with the rising temperatures.
This frog, despite its poisonous appearance, was edible and reasonably tasty. Emmy discovered this because, upon first encountering it, she was extremely hungry and ate it without considering the possibility of poison. She bit into it raw and experienced no adverse effects, thus learning it was edible—a simple conclusion.
However, the truth was that this frog was highly poisonous. Due to repeated magical transformations and the development of a resistance to various poisons through her diet, most poisons no longer affected Emmy. Hence, she could munch on this highly poisonous frog without any issues. Neither Emmy nor the entity in her brain realized this truth.
Back to the story.
When the Akamidori Kaeru locked eyes with Emmy, it immediately understood the difference in their strength. It also sensed that this black-furred creature didn’t care about its poison. It might be a “stupid but strong” creature, a natural predator for beings like the Akamidori Kaeru, who rely on their toxicity for defense. Stupid because they eat them without fear of poison, leading to a tragic end for both.
The frog knew it had to escape.
It kicked off the ground with its strong hind legs, trying to flee from the black-furred creature. By hopping, it could create a substantial distance from slower creatures, but this black-furred creature was different, faster even. The frog had survived so far because the dense foliage of the Kaise trees hindered the creature’s movement. It was lucky.
But the black-furred creature, Emmy, was persistent in pursuit.
The frog, in sheer terror, hopped frantically.
Then suddenly, the dense Kaise trees disappeared from its view. As it prepared to leap again, it found that the ground was gone.
The frog had burst through the Kaise thicket and plunged into a vast and seemingly bottomless ravine.
Flapping its limbs in a panic, the Akamidori Kaeru fell deeper and deeper. Emmy, the black-furred creature, watched from the cliff’s edge, expressionless but filled with frustration for losing her prey.
◇ ◇ ◇
The valley Emmy had stumbled upon is officially known as the “Serengi Great Ravine.” At the bottom of the valley flows the rapid “Jakobe River,” originating from the deepest parts of the Kaise forest. The valley was so wide that Emmy didn’t even consider leaping across it with 【Locust Leap】.
So, Emmy had reached the Serengi Great Ravine. One fact became clear from this: she had finally reached the boundary between the middle and deepest layers of the magical Kaise forest.
Three months had passed.
The temperature gradually warmed, and the lengthening days heralded the arrival of spring.
In the Kaise forest of spring, Emmy continued to wander, frequently changing her base.
Her stomach growled. She had just eaten, yet she felt hungry. This hunger was a side effect of magic transformation. It should subside after a while, as the voice in her head had once explained. However, it persisted. She was always hungry.
The reason was simple: Emmy was living in the magical wilderness.
The magical creatures inhabiting this wilderness were formidable beings to humans. Emmy fought them daily, narrowly escaping death many times, and survived by consuming their flesh and blood.
Before the hunger from magical transformation could subside, another transformation would occur. Thus, to satisfy her hunger, she had to fight new magical creatures, defeat them, and consume their flesh. Then, another transformation, and the cycle of hunger continued.
In the half-year she spent in this magical wilderness, Emmy’s body had significantly strengthened. However, in terms of resolving her constant hunger, there was no improvement. In fact, it was getting worse, a vicious cycle.
Suddenly, Emmy stopped in her tracks. In front of her was a frog. It was quite large, about the size of her head, with a striking red body and green spots.
Emmy had unoriginally named this frog the “Akamidori Kaeru” (Red-Green Frog), not knowing its official name, which might not even exist. The voice in her head said, “I have never seen this frog in otherworldly reincarnation broadcasts, so I don’t know what kind of creature it is.”
Her first encounter with this frog was recent, probably emerging from hibernation as the weather warmed. She began to encounter it frequently with the rising temperatures.
This frog, despite its poisonous appearance, was edible and reasonably tasty. Emmy discovered this because, upon first encountering it, she was extremely hungry and ate it without considering the possibility of poison. She bit into it raw and experienced no adverse effects, thus learning it was edible—a simple conclusion.
However, the truth was that this frog was highly poisonous. Due to repeated magical transformations and the development of a resistance to various poisons through her diet, most poisons no longer affected Emmy. Hence, she could munch on this highly poisonous frog without any issues. Neither Emmy nor the entity in her brain realized this truth.
Back to the story.
When the Akamidori Kaeru locked eyes with Emmy, it immediately understood the difference in their strength. It also sensed that this black-furred creature didn’t care about its poison. It might be a “stupid but strong” creature, a natural predator for beings like the Akamidori Kaeru, who rely on their toxicity for defense. Stupid because they eat them without fear of poison, leading to a tragic end for both.
The frog knew it had to escape.
It kicked off the ground with its strong hind legs, trying to flee from the black-furred creature. By hopping, it could create a substantial distance from slower creatures, but this black-furred creature was different, faster even. The frog had survived so far because the dense foliage of the Kaise trees hindered the creature’s movement. It was lucky.
But the black-furred creature, Emmy, was persistent in pursuit.
The frog, in sheer terror, hopped frantically.
Then suddenly, the dense Kaise trees disappeared from its view. As it prepared to leap again, it found that the ground was gone.
The frog had burst through the Kaise thicket and plunged into a vast and seemingly bottomless ravine.
Flapping its limbs in a panic, the Akamidori Kaeru fell deeper and deeper. Emmy, the black-furred creature, watched from the cliff’s edge, expressionless but filled with frustration for losing her prey.
◇ ◇ ◇
The valley Emmy had stumbled upon is officially known as the “Serengi Great Ravine.” At the bottom of the valley flows the rapid “Jakobe River,” originating from the deepest parts of the Kaise forest. The valley was so wide that Emmy didn’t even consider leaping across it with 【Locust Leap】.
So, Emmy had reached the Serengi Great Ravine. One fact became clear from this: she had finally reached the boundary between the middle and deepest layers of the magical Kaise forest.
