The Record of Unusual Creatures - Chapter 201

Chapter 201: The Otherworldly Visitor

A chill ran down his spine as he saw the strange flesh beasts. They were not clearly visible when he looked at them from afar, but as they came closer and both sides engaged, Hao Ren vowed, if given the chance he would never want to meet these beasts again.

Their severely twisted and soft bodies resembled a lump of deformed flesh with a pair of toothy, barbed tentacles hanging from the back. As they died, they emitted a very unbearable, stinky smell. Without a weapon in hand, engaging in close quarters combat was all the more disgusting.

To avoid being splashed by the beasts’ stinky body fluid, Hao Ren managed to borrow a “demon sword”—made of demon stone—from Y’zaks.

Luckily, these beasts had a very obvious flaw—they were afraid of fire. Vivian could easily scorch them with her Lightning Strike, it was so much easier than the rock monsters.

Wielding her sword, which was burning with magical flames, Becky zigzagged between the flesh beasts. The flesh beasts howled in pain as lumps of scorched flesh were pierced off their bodies. Though ineffective against the rock monsters, her sword and magic worked like a charm against the seemingly “traditional” monsters.

Meanwhile, Lily was also having a field day with her Frostfire Claws; inspired by Becky, she emulated Becky’s strange sword skills, which involve of spinning and striking. With her superior physical strength, Lily’s pirated copy of Becky’s sword move was equally devastating. Both Lily and Becky became the brightest stars of the battle; fire and ice storms revolved around them like a pair of out-of-control tornadoes, striking the enemies with enormous speed and strength. Not long, only a few half-dead and hapless flesh beasts were still left standing. There was no need for Hao Ren to intervene. He stood by and exclaimed, “What a revolving duet!”

Lily shouted mid-battle, “Landlord, stop the crap!”

It did not take long for the flesh beasts to be KOed completely. Even though these creatures looked strange, they were just average-ranked monsters in the Gnarled Grove. Meanwhile, Y’zaks was almost done with the tree giant as well.

Although the ten-metre-tall tree giant looked frightening, it did not possess any regenerative abilities. As long as it could not regrow, it was a walk in the park for Y’zaks.

A loud blast was followed by a huge fireball, which landed on the tree giant. Y’zaks was up in flames. As if he just walked out a pool of lava, he had conveniently blew the tree giant up with the explosion, and scorched it with an endless flame. The tree giant of almost three-storeys tall was left helpless and it did not stand a chance to fight back. Despite the devastation, Y’zaks had actually used restraint to prevent an uncontrollable forest fire. The tree giant’s weakness was apparent—it feared fire. Though its body contained a vast amount of fluid, it was like fighting fire with just a drop of water—it was futile. In just a few minutes, the battle was decisively over.

The tree giant was up in flames and smoke. Fire burned from within it. The violent giant was down amid a round of creaking sounds. The earth trembled and sparks of fire spread everywhere as the dying tree giant fell to the ground.

“Siren maiden, please put out the fire! Quick!” Y’zaks called Nangong Wuyue for help as the enemy fell. “The fire is spreading!”

A large cloud of water and ice crystals gathered around the burning tree giant and suppressed the burning flames. Visibility was only restored once Vivian summoned a draft of strong wind, blowing away the steam. All that was left of the strange tree giant was char. It was barely recongnisable as it was totally scorched from the inside out.

Concurrently, Lily had just come out from her daze. She gasped as she took a closer look at the scene, marvelling at the charred body. “What is this thing? A mutant like the rock monsters?”

“I have a feeling that they’re forest warriors summoned by the elves.” Becky came up to them too, but she was still a little dizzy. “I’ve seen tree giants summoned by the elves, the tallest was about four metres in height; it’s hard to form anything bigger than that.”

Hao Ren looked around, the whole place was a mess. The flesh beasts were easy to deal with, but the tree giant was really nasty; if it had not been for the Y’zaks’out-of-spec combat abilities, he would not have been able to fight it. Now, he could roughly understand why the forest was unusually quiet. “This giant could be the reason why other monsters didn’t show up earlier.”

“Hard to say,” said Y’zaks as he frowned. “During the battle, I found something strange; this thing was unusually violent. Normal tree giants are gentle, at least that’s the case in my hometown, where tree giants are just protectors of the forest. They would never attack indiscriminately. But, what we saw here was totally different; it attacked us like it was out of its mind.”

Hao Ren looked at Becky, and asked, “Have there been any tree giants in this forest from the beginning?”

“No.” Becky shook her head. “If it existed here, other monsters would have not survived till this day.”

Just as Hao Ren was about to continue with his questioning, crackling sounds, like someone stepping on leaves were heard nearby.

Before their adrenaline waned, everyone once again braced themselves for the incoming danger. However, what came out of the forest was not something they had expected: A woman clad in white was walking towards them.

She was slender, wearing a weird-looking, white robe with a hood. It was actually a long wind coat, which the wearer shortened and added a belt for ease of movement in the forest. The unknown woman was roughly Vivian’s age. She was delicate and beautiful, her chest-length blonde hair visible despite the hood being on—she perfectly matched the description of the otherworldly visitor that the mountain people had mentioned.

She looked worried as she appeared from the south of the forest. She was taken aback when she saw the group. But quickly, her eyes landed on the smoldering corpse of the tree giant.

When Hao Ren saw her, he almost recognised her instantly: this was the otherworldly visitor he had been looking for.

Before he could ask any questions for confirmation, the woman came up to them hurriedly. She pointed at the corpse of the tree giant and said, “You guys did this?”

Hao Ren nodded inadvertently.

“It was my treeguard,” the blonde said softly. “But, it was out of control.”

Hao Ren felt a bit perplexed. He never thought this was how the tree giant came about. He wondered if she was going to claim compensation for it. “I’m sorry about that. It attacked us—”

“I know.” The blonde woman nodded. “It lost its mind and became violent. I was tracking it and thinking of putting it down myself—and now, you’ve done me a favour. I apologise for all the trouble caused. Are you people hurt?”

Hao Ren breathed a sigh of relief after learning that the woman was not after compensation. As he cleared his throat to identify her, she said, “Please excuse me. I have to go now.”

She turned around and left before the others could give their response.

Vivian immediately ran ahead, blocking her way. “Wait a minute! We’ve got something—”

“Please excuse me. I have an emergency,” said the blonde woman as she nodded politely, expressing her regret to Vivian while swiftly walking past her. Hao Ren glanced at Becky and then, said to the blonde, “Wait a second! Are you looking for a way to go home?”

The blonde woman halted.

She wheeled and stared at Hao Ren, bewildered. “How do you know that?”

Chapter 202: Hilda

Based on her reaction, Hao Ren was pretty much certain: The woman before him was the foreign visitor they were looking for.

Since Becky was around, Hao Ren had to go in a roundabout way to hint at his motives. “We came from the village of the mountain folk. We heard of your story there. We are researchers, specialising in teleportation magic…”

That very last sentence had Hao Ren feeling guilty, so much so that he did not have the heart to face Becky, who had a puzzled look on her face. Even if she was dumber than Lily (she is not), she would have at least treated what Hao Ren said about teleportation magic with a wee bit of suspicion. But for the blonde woman, it was more than enough. She was almost about to turn and leave before Hao Ren’s words froze her in place. “You are…researching teleportation magic? What sort of level has this place reached?”

“Pretty strong I’d say. More than enough to help you out at the very least.” Hao Ren laughed drily. “Truth be told, we actually heard the details of your story from the wolves in the plains. Let’s just say your tale caught our interest and we’ve been chasing after you ever since.”

The foreigner did not actually tell anyone in the mountain village about another world, but she did share it with the wolves by accident. When Hao Ren brought up the wolves, the dots were immediately connected. However, a suspicious look still appeared across her face despite her apparent eagerness for aid. “You would just help me? What for? What’s the price?”

When the lady was that blunt, Hao Ren was relieved. She no less had the sense to not trust a stranger she just met. And of course, her suspicion of a group of strangers claiming to be masters of teleportation magic was well founded. With such bluntness, the chances of her being from another world was much higher.

Vivian gave her a warm yet confident smile. She was the most well-versed in communication among all of them. “What if I told you it’s just a researcher’s curiosity…”

The blonde woman slightly raised an eyebrow. Apparently, something within her was triggered by Vivian’s words. Seemed like this story would work.

“All of us are researching the theories of interdimensional travel,” Hao Ren quipped as he noticed Vivian’s ploy working. “Well, you could say it’s almost a niche form of study. Not only is the research itself difficult, we’ve also faced a lot of discrimination and suppression of our works. Our thesis was rejected after three hard years of writing, our lecture on the topic was banned too. Heck, our attempts to discuss it with a few other students almost got us labelled as heretics for spreading blasphemy… Research shouldn’t be this difficult…”

Hao Ren waxed lyrical at that point and the blonde lady seemed to understand where he came from. She nodded vehemently. Becky on the other hand was gawking at the “professional researchers” around her. She never though the bunch, which did not seem anything like your typical wizard would have such a tale. This probably explained why they were such a weird bunch. Hanging out with the same lot for 10 years would probably do anyone in…

After a while, Vivian found Hao Ren getting carried away and nudged him on the shoulder. “I think that’s enough…”

Hao Ren quickly regained his composure, ruing that he almost spoiled their chances by over-dramatising. “So, all in all, we’re determined to see our research through, and to us, you are a very rare specimen, provided you’re not lying. Sides, we came all the way from the plains to look for you. At the very worst, our intentions are genuine.”

The blonde woman frowned a little. It was clear that she would not have trusted anyone just from words alone, but her situation demanded that she seized any chance, however miniscule. She was alone in another world and she had yet to meet anyone capable of helping her. The place itself was foreign to her. Even her quest to the Blood Lake was based on a rumour, but it bore a chance for her to return home. Things could not get any worse for her in any case.

Desparate for help, the blonde woman nodded at Hao Ren after regaining her composure. “I can swear that what you’ve heard from the wolves, and in the village is true. If you can bring me home… I’ll pay any price… Anything. What do you need? An immortality spell? Rare gemstones? Herbs and medications? I even have some rare spices and incense from my home. You can choose any of them…”

As the lady spoke, she rummaged through her pouches for the items she had mentioned. She had probably entered this world in a hurry, and was bereft of any form of luggage. But, the items she possessed could have easily made her rich here.

However, Hao Ren was not interested in those things. “I don’t need them…”

She threw Hao Ren a surprised look, and after noticing the composition of his group, she took a few steps back, alarmed. “You already have so many female companions… This is difficult for me… I—I have already taken the vow…”

Hao Ren was dumbstruck by her reaction. “Who was talking about that?! Can’t you stop being so imaginative?”

Y’zaks shrugged with a hearty laugh and he patted Hao Ren on the shoulder. “Seems like I’m being ignored.”

Her eyes immediately widened again as she looked at Hao Ren and Y’zaks. Biting her lips, she went, “This is even more difficult that I thought… If your interest is…”

“… If you are insisting on going that way, I don’t think we can ever cooperate.” Hao Ren was almost green in the face by then. He was taken aback by the astute woman’s imagination and her blunt way of speaking. Who the hell talks like this to people they meet for the first time? Things like this are usually kept to yourself, no? “…Talk of compensation can come later. But rest assured, we won’t demand for something that we won’t do ourselves. Our motive is simple, we are looking for a partnership in research. ”

The blonde woman was late in catching Hao Ren’s displeasure. She realised that she had spoken too much, too directly. “I’m sorry… Our kind speaks from our hearts. In fact, I have come to ascertain that your kind acts very differently from ours.”

Hao Ren noticed her serious look and understood that the lady meant no ill-will. Her kind probably treasured candor over flowery languages. He proffered his hand to her, “Let’s introduce ourselves. I’m Hao Ren.”

The lady looked at Hao Ren quizzically as she returned his handshake. “I’m Hilda. Hilda Vader.”

The group quickly introduced themselves as well, even the ever-so confused Becky. Hilda had only introduced herself by name and nothing else. She clearly had some reservations about the group. Hao Ren was certain that the ice would break soon enough. As soon as they were able to find a time where Becky was not around, they would reveal their true identities.

“…So…what’s next?” Becky still wore a confused expression as she spoke. The group was so relaxed by then that she thought they had completed their quest. “I thought we were looking for the Orb?”

“We are,” Hao Ren said as he waved her off. “But, you know…I’m a scholar…”

Vivian and Wuyue coughed drily by the side.

Hilda did not seem to be unperturbed by the ruckus. She was only concerned about going home. She took the opportunity to ask Hao Ren, “So, when do we begin? How do you plan on sending me home? I thought you were just theorists and have yet to find any success? Let’s start from more practical tests then. I have expertise in this…”

“Calm down. We don’t need to rush this.” Hao Ren was taken aback by the rapid fire questions and waved his hand to calm Hilda down. “We too have some things to clarify with you before hand. This place is definitely not where you want to talk about it. We are heading to Beinz after this. There’s a rest station there, where we can have a breather. Let’s talk about it when we get there. Even a teleportation gate will need a proper spot, won’t it?”

“The Blood Lake? I’m heading there too.” Hilda heard the mention of the Blood Lake and nodded as she slowly calmed down. “You’re right. We need to exchange information. I’m not even sure if you are able to help… Wait a moment, I need to do something about my treant protector.”

As she spoke, Hilda ran towards the burnt out husk of a tree giant to perform some sort of magical ritual. Hao Ren took the chance to contact his MDT. “Say, can we bring someone out of The Plane of Dreams?”

Chapter 203: The Blood-Coloured Lakeside

As Raven 12345 was unreliable as always, Hao Ren took the initiative to read up on his job manual. He knew that solving issues related to inter-dimensional travelers was part of his job scope. If Hilda really came from another world, he would then need to find out why, and figure out how to send her home. Or, he would have to deposit her at the Space Administration’s designated settlements, or any other places that would be suitable. But first, he would need to get her out of The Plane of Dreams, and into the real world.

The MDT then rang in his head. “No problem, we’ll just use your current position in the real world as the triangulation point. I’ll do the necessary computations and calculations, 100% safety guaranteed.”

“Wow, can we really bring a living, breathing being back into the real world?” Hao Ren was surprised. “How do we do that? For us, we at least have a body there, and when we return, it’s more like our spirits returning to their shells. How do we go about Hilda then?”

“If you have deeper knowledge about Data Unification, you’ll know that ‘transference’ is nothing more than copy pasting a set of data, and this happens to be the most vaunted expertise of Xiling technology. It’s true that Hilda doesn’t have a corporeal form on Earth, but we can use her data from The Plane of Dreams to replicate it in the real world. Remember, The Plane of Dreams is a proper world by itself but, for some reason it’s Actualisation Priority Grade is lower than the Surface World’s. So, to bring something out from the Dream Plane simply requires some complex data conversion. How do you think you managed to bring that tuft of fur out in the first place?”

Hao Ren pondered about what the MDT said for a moment and asked, “So by that, does it mean we can enter The Plane of Dreams without using the sleeping pods? Can’t we just perform the transference for this?” He really did not want to revisit the “coffins” that were now in the basement of his house.

“Regrettably, it’s not possible at the moment.” The MDT shattered whatever hopes that Hao Ren had harboured. “A transference is one-way only. As of now, both The Plane of Dreams and the Surface World exist under a very delicate balance. You could say that the Dream Plane is an old system while the Surface World is infinitely more robust and complex. You can read data from an old system using the new one without much issues but, the old system usually has no way to properly read data from the new system, resulting in errors. As such, entry into The Plane of Dreams will still require the sleeping pod as a guiding beacon. That said, you can always bring loads of stuff, even a spaceship if needed before entering The Plane of Dreams. Also, if Hilda leaves The Plane of Dreams, she’ll need to use the pod if she ever wishes to return.”

The Hao Ren of today could understand such complex theories and he was immediately left disappointed.

The mental conversation only took a few seconds. In the meantime, Hilda had begun performing her magical ritual. She reached the side of the burnt treant protector and pulled out an odd powder from one of her satchels. She spread it all over the tree’s charred husk. As she did that, she started her incantation. The weird powder started shimmering in a greenish light as it slowly covered the remains of the treant. The dead husk, as if through a mircale, returned to it’s former verdant green, as a pod and leaves started sprouting from the outer shell.It was like the protector was coming back to life.

However, it did not. The verdant spell on the protector’s body only covered about a meter wide. After the pod had sprouted to a certain level, it bloomed and a bud popped out of it. Hilda gently took the bud and revealed its content: A seed.

“It followed me all the way from home, the very least I could do is bring its seed back,” Hilda said as she bid a solemn farewell to the protector. Turning towards Hao Ren, “Let us get on our way,” she said.

On their way towards the lakeside, Hao Ren walked with Hilda out of curiosity. He knew that Hilda had a two day head start but, she was still wandering around the forest before running into them. Hilda did not hide anything as she explained, “All of the known roads are guarded by sentries, and you need a pass to get through. I did not want to face any unnecessary trouble so, I was looking around for any other routes. But, any place that isn’t patrolled or guarded is infested by monsters. I simply could not find a way through easily. I summoned the treant protector for protection, but I never thought it would go berserk. Basically, I was chasing it around for the past two days.”

“Why did it suddenly go berserk?” Hao Ren raised an eyebrow.

From what he saw of the treant protector, Hilda was definitely capable. While he had no idea what level of a spellcaster she was at home, clearly being able to summon a treant by herself was no easy feat. This was probably the reason why she was able to roam around alone, as well as have the confidence to work with strangers. That still did not explain the fact that a treant protector went berserk.

“I’m not sure, but I’m pretty certain it has to do with the soil and water here.” Hilda shook her head. “This area has a very…unusual life force. It allows everything to grow strongly but at the same time, slowly twists the very nature of their being. I thought I had found an incredible seedling, but I did not notice the side effects of this life force.

Before Hao Ren could even open his mouth, the MDT sounded on its own, “I don’t have the data module for this. Don’t understand a word she said.”

By the time the group reached the lakeside, it was almost evening. Even with the roads, it took them a good part of the day to navigate through the forest. And, they were not even moving slowly. Such was the scale of the Gnarled Grove.

A sense of overwhelming awe overcame the group as they approached the crimson lake. From the moment they got out of the Gnarled Grove, Lily was hoping and leaping about at the front of the party. Her excitement however ended when she saw the lake proper. Perhaps, the husky wanted to take a bath there, but the blood-like water put a stop to whatever she had planned. She carefully paced along the lakeside, and only after a while, decided to dip her tail into the water. As it hit the water, she exclaimed, “Whoa, coldddd!”

Hao Ren went up to her and smacked her in the head. “Stop fooling around, what if your fur can’t take it and starts shedding again… Wait! Stop shaking your tail like that! I’m all wet!”

Y’zaks approached the lakeside too. Trusting his veritable constitution, he paid no mind to the strange looking water (it was definitely safer than lava). He scooped up a handful of water and drank it. “…Hmm…tastes normal, a little salty… Seems like your usual salt lake.”

“That’s definitely not blood. In fact, it has nothing to do with blood at all.” Vivian had also sent one of her small bats to take a sip of the water. “Aside from the odd colour, there’s nothing special about it.”

Becky was shocked by Y’zaks guts, that he would simply drink the water from the lake like that. “Don’t drink it! There’s something strange in the water, most people who drink it fall ill!”

Y’zaks was not concerned at all. As a demon, his blood itself was poison. Vivian quickly dispersed her little bat. “You mean to say the water is poisoned?”

“Poison isn’t the right word for it, but it’s definitely not normal.” Becky turned towards the Gnarled Grove behind her. “Well, both the forest and the Virulent Flatlands are both affected by the lake water. You tell me whether that water is potable.”

Lily suddenly started crying and pulling on Hao Ren’s sleeves. She showed Hao Ren her tail. “Mr. Landlord… My fur really did shed…sobs... I think I’m poisoned. I want to eat something good to recover…”

“That’s you shedding, not me!” Hao Ren said as he grabbed the tail. “Besides, you’re just shedding for the cold weather. Do you think I’m so daft that I can’t tell the difference between an allergic reaction and normal shedding?”

Lily just wagged her tail. “Then…I want to eat something good.”

…So, she was just hungry after all and she was looking for an excuse to gorge on food.

Becky simply laughed and pointed towards a small hill in front of them. From a distance, they could see a few simple structures. “Let’s get to the knights’ outpost to report ourselves. There’s a place to rest and get more information about the search.”

Vivian eyed the mercenary lass, “You still want to go about that? Seems like most of the search for the Orb has stopped.”

“Because of that, now’s the best chance! My luck with money is pretty good, chances are, we may find the thing. If not, that’s fine too. There are a lot of rare and valuable herbs around here. If we get some, we might even make a pretty good profit. Hahaha, trust me on that.”

Vivian had just mentioned the search in jest but, what she got in return was a direct stab to her pride. A defeated look was clearly etched on her face as she went back to Hao Ren. “Curses be to anyone who talks about wealth, curses… Just bloody die already you rich f*gs…”

Hao Ren could only look on in silence.