Over the last few months, right around the time Mika encountered humans, the Noxious Jungle had seen an increase in hunters and mercenaries.
Ever since Rodney’s group returned to the Barlton Kingdom with all kinds of beasts, a few herbs, and other resources, people realized there was untapped potential to be plundered in the jungle.
While most people avoided the jungle because of all the poisonous plants and animals, those who were desperate to make money, had a strong team, or a teammate that could deal with the poison found that it was a great place to make some money without any competition.
However, for those who didn’t know how to hunt at night, weren’t sure how to spot camouflaged animals, and differentiate poisonous plants from non-poisonous ones, the jungle would be their final resting place.
Word spread quickly among those in the Black Core Realm and early Red Core Realm about this dangerous yet abundant gold mine.
Obviously, this was bad business for Rodney’s group, but it wasn’t terrible, as not everyone wanted to take the risk. This was especially so after nearly half of the teams who entered the Noxious Jungle during the first week were either exterminated or lost teammates.
Money isn’t helpful when you’re dead; mercenaries understood this best. They put their life on the line for money, but they aren’t stupid enough to walk into a death trap just because someone waved a mana-filled stone in their faces.
Now that more and more people are hunting in the jungle, killing and capturing beasts, the delicate ecosystem has shifted. Due to many beasts being Magical Beasts, they could sense this change and weren’t sure what to do or where to go.
Fights amongst Magical Beasts were constant as they were chased out of their homes. This further escalated the chaos as many, not just humans but Magical Beasts as well, saw this as an opportunity.
While this didn’t affect the entire jungle, as it’s too big and dense for something of this scale to destabilize it, the area next to the border of the Barlton Kingdom was a mess.
Coincidentally, Mika was headed in that direction and experienced the anomalies first-hand.
Mika, who was walking through the jungle, flicked her sword to the side, decapitating a snake that tried to ambush her.
She had a puzzled expression on her face as she stared at the snake's corpse.
“Why are the animals so aggressive lately? Did a powerful beast settle down in the area or something? But if that was the case, the chaos should’ve ended by now!”
It’s been a week since she left the abyss, and by now, she could tell she was nearing the edge of the jungle.
The beasts were a bit weaker than usual, the trees weren’t quite as dense, and dark clouds didn’t lurk overhead 24/7.
However, the beasts seemed to have been agitated and became restless, causing them to attack Mika as soon as she appeared in their line of sight.
Her brows furrowed as there was only one answer as to why this was happening.
“Someone or something has migrated to the area, messing up the ecosystem.”
She didn’t know what it could be, but knowing that information was enough to put her on edge.
Mika stashed the snake’s Mana Core in her backpack and carried on with her journey.
“Sigh… I hope I can escape the jungle without getting into trouble,” Mika muttered, but for some reason, she felt that from here on out, her journey might not be as smooth as she’d like it to be.
A few days later, Mika checked her map and concluded she shouldn’t be more than 50 to 100 kilometers away from the border! The distance on the map was a bit hard to read, but she could tell from major landmarks that she shouldn’t be too far away.
She could run that distance in less than a day with her Body Cultivation! No, it’d probably only take her a few hours at most if she gave it her all.
A smile appeared on her face at the thought of leaving this damp, dark, and bug-infested cesspool!
“But I’m not out of the woods yet. Over the last few days, more and more beasts have attacked me. So, I’m clearly heading in the direction where the source of all the trouble is.”
That’s when a thought suddenly struck her!
“Could it be humans?!”
Her eyes widened as she felt the likelihood of all this mess resulting from humans was quite high. Only they can cause widescale destabilization of an ecosystem in a short amount of time.
“I see. I think I did hear that Rodney guy from a while back talking about how their hunting grounds will be exposed when they bring those beasts back to the Kingdom and sell them. I guess they were from the Barlton Kingdom… Sigh… What a mess.”
Based on the people she met back then, Mika’s opinion of the hunters from the Barlton Kingdom was at rock bottom. She’d be a brain-dead idiot if she ever thought about trusting those people.
From what she saw, those people only care about one thing: money.
Ethics? Honor? Respect?
They didn’t have any of that! At least, not from what Mika observed.
Hell, they chased her around the jungle and even chopped down a tree to try and capture her! Of course, they didn’t know if she was a beast or not, but Mika knew they didn’t care. If they caught her, they’d treat her the same way they treated those beasts!
“Ugh! This is more troublesome than if a powerful beast had migrated to the area! Still, I can’t back off now that I’ve come this far! I’m getting out of this jungle, even if I have to slit a few throats!” Mika’s black eyes shone an ominous light.
She walked over to a tree, latched onto it with both hands, and climbed up like a monkey.
“Fortunately, I’ve lived in this place for over a year. If anyone wants to catch me, they’ll have to exert quite a bit of effort, and if they attack me… Hehe~ My blade is always ready to take a few heads!”
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With a threatening smile, Mika soundlessly hopped from one tree to the next.
‘If there’s one thing I’ve learned from fighting and spectating so many damn monkeys, it’s how to swing through the trees.’ Mika thought, feeling a little conflicted.
She never thought there’d come a day when she’s actually thankful for the monkeys that made her life a nightmare.
***
A few dozen kilometers inside the Barlton Kingdom-Noxious Jungle border, a few dozen teams of people were spread out around the area, hunting and capturing Magical Beasts.
Most of them stayed not too far away from the Kingdom as they could make quick, easy money by hunting the weaker Magical Beasts.
However, a group of five, in particular, wanted to see more of what the jungle had to offer. Thus, they went deeper than the other teams.
“Hey, guys! Look! I found a little cub over here! It seems like it’s the offspring of Stage 6 Black Core Beast! How much do you think we can sell it for?” A young, pudgy man said with stars in his eyes as he held up a small, green cat-like beast.
“Nice catch, Fatty! Such a nice young Jungle Cat should be able to fetch us a few dozen Spirit Stones,” A tall, gruff man gave the pudgy young man, Fatty, a thumbs up and threw the cat in a cage.
“Really?! Then, let’s go find a few more! Hahaha!” Fatty laughed and ran off to find more Jungle Cats.
“Hey, don’t run too far! It’d be a shame if a leopard ripped off your head and ate you!” The leader shouted, causing Fatty to stop in his tracks and the fat folds on his body to tremble.
“Wh-What do you mean by that, Leader? You’re in the Red Core Realm. How could you allow me to get eaten?” Fatty turned around and asked the leader in fear.
The Leader walked up to him and knocked him on the head, “This is a jungle, Fred. Who knows how powerful or what sort of creatures live here? If you run around like an idiot, even I won’t be able to save you.”
Fred, the fatty, hung his head low in dejection. He knew the Leader was right, but it was so boring to wander around the jungle like some sort of burglar.
“Alright. Go easy on the kid, Colt. It’s his first time in this kind of environment. He’s just a newbie. He doesn’t know any better.” A lean man with a gentle voice came up to Colt, the leader.
Colt clicked his tongue in dissatisfaction, “Tsk. I still don’t understand why the Mercenary Guild made me take this kid along with us. I get that he needs the money and wants to gain experience, but how is that my problem?”
The man didn’t say anything as he was also a little dissatisfied, but there was only so much they could do.
The group marched forward in silence, and a few hours later, Fred, who was staring into the trees, saw something.
“Ah! I think I saw a big monkey just swing through the trees!” Without hesitation, he circulated Wind Mana around his feet and jumped into the trees to chase after it!
“Fatty!”
“You fucking idiot! Don’t go running off like that!
“Fred! I swear, if you don’t come back right now, I’ll kill you myself!”
Veins popped in Colt’s head as he seriously considered leaving him, but when he thought about the reparations he’ll have to pay to the Mercenary Guild for allowing a team member to die, he cursed under his breath and turned to the rest of his team.
“We’re going after that idiot! However, once we catch him, throw that fat bastard in one of the cages so he can’t cause any more trouble!”
“Yes, Leader!”
Then, they darted off in the direction Fred ran, each with a deep frown.
***
Meanwhile, Fred, who was chasing the afterimage he saw in the tree, caught a glimpse of what he saw.
“A little girl?!”
That’s right! He caught sight of a little girl, no older than ten, with fiery red hair and a backpack.
‘Why is there a little girl in the jungle?’ He wondered, but soon his expression brightened.
‘If we capture her, I’m sure we can sell her for a lot of money! Those rich noble bastards love cute little girls like her the most. Hehehe~.’
He licked his lips in anticipation and activated one of his techniques.
‘[Cloud Boots]’
Illusory green boots appeared around his feet. He bent his knees and hopped to another tree branch to chase after the girl.
‘Heh! Sit tight, little girl. Daddy’s come to save you!’ He smirked.
However, there were two things he failed to notice.
How was she traversing the trees as if she lived in them? And how come he needed to use his [Cloud Boots] to catch up to her?
***
On the other side, Mika scowled when she noticed someone had spotted her and was now chasing after her.
‘What the hell? How did that fatty see me? Even his leader didn’t spot me, so how did that bastard see me? Was he just moping around, blankly staring into the trees?!’
Then, she felt a presence catching up to her, and her frown deepened.
‘Fuck! Why are these assholes so relentless?! Can’t they just leave me be?!’
She knew his teammates were probably coming after him, most of whom were more powerful, causing her mood to drop even further.
Mika wanted to keep running as she had no plans of being caged, but that fatty was like a beacon lighting up the jungle for his comrades to follow.
If she didn’t take care of him now, it’d only be a matter of time before his teammates captured her!
Not one to hesitate, Mika stopped and turned around. Around 25 meters away, she saw a dough boy gliding through the air.
She felt the urge to throw up hearing his fat holds flapping in the wind but managed to control herself.
She didn’t take out her sword yet, as she knew her current appearance was extremely deceiving. Mika wanted to finish this in a single strike, and the easiest way to do that was to catch him by surprise.
She waited until the young man came within 10 meters of her before she dashed in his direction.
When Fred saw her running in his direction, a large smile appeared on his face, and he spread his arms out wide.
“Little girl, what are you doing out here in this dangerous jungle? Where are your-”
Before he could finish his sentence, he realized something was wrong. Terribly wrong.
‘She’s moving way too fast for a little girl!’
Mika ignored him, and when she got within 3 meters of the guy, she bent her knees and used a tree branch as a springboard, flinging herself at him.
While she was flying through the air, a sword appeared in her hand, causing Fred’s eyes to widen as fear overtook him.
“What-?!”
*SHING*
His head flew through the air, his mouth still wide open, and his eyes stretched as if he had just seen a monster.
Mika didn’t even bother to check his dead body as she put away her sword and continued running.
‘Since I can’t leave quietly, I’ll try and leave quickly!’
She could’ve immobilized Fred, but she felt it’d be better for her future if nobody knew her strength just yet. While she’s still wearing the necklace her parents gave her, which could hide her Mana Cultivation and unique bone structure, people aren’t stupid.
If they saw her fighting against someone in the middle stages of the Black Core Realm, they’d naturally think something was a bit weird.
Fred also saw a sword appear out of thin air. If he were to spread rumors about that…
Mika shivered at the thought.
However, it seemed luck wasn’t on her side today as a few minutes after she killed Fred, she heard a powerful and overbearing voice behind her, forcing her to a halt.
“STOP RIGHT THERE, LITTLE GIRL!”