Chapter 209 - 151: Skeleton Forest (2)

Seeing this, Guagua chuckled to herself but kept her thoughts to herself.

’It’s perfectly normal for a naive young guy to try and act cool in front of a pretty girl.’

’Guagua knew the feeling all too well. After all, she was that pretty girl, hehe.’

"The Spirit Candle is guiding us this way. Let’s go."

Guagua felt for the Spirit Candle’s guidance and confirmed their direction.

Thankfully, the Spirit Candle provided some direction. Otherwise, they would have had no idea where to even begin exploring the Skeleton Forest.

On the way, Guagua started to feel that something was strange.

Skyrim kept noticing things for no apparent reason and would just wander off in their direction. She had to correct him several times.

’Maybe the minds of experts just work differently than normal people’s.’

Soon, the two followed the guidance of the Spirit Candle into the Skeleton Forest.

After making their way over the tangled roots of the Corpse Bone Trees, they encountered a new type of monster.

With a sickening tearing sound,

The trunk of a Corpse Bone Tree, noticeably thicker than the others, suddenly split open.

A spherical monster, a tangled mass of shattered bone and flesh, fell out, dripping with slime.

After a moment of writhing, it took on the familiar appearance of the Parasite they’d seen on the crow before.

This monster, a [Parasite Sac], sprouted several tentacles from its body and, with a strange shriek, lunged toward them.

Guagua’s heart leaped, and she instinctively prepared to roll.

She was a Prison Player, after all; she wouldn’t just freeze up on the spot.

But before she could even start her roll, Skyrim once again flicked his Dagger, precisely piercing and bursting the creature’s eyeball.

The Parasite Sac collapsed to the ground.

"You’re amazing, Skyrim—" Guagua began to praise him, only to see him strike again.

The Parasite Sac hadn’t died instantly upon falling like the smaller Parasites. Instead, after a series of frantic convulsions, its body suddenly burst open.

In that instant!

Like a mother spider’s egg sac being stomped on, countless Parasites burst from the corpse and scattered in every direction.

Some of the Parasites swarmed directly toward them.

Both their pupils contracted, their skin crawling with horror.

Skyrim’s reaction was lightning-fast. His Warfire ignited as he used a combination of fists, feet, and his Dagger to quickly kill two of the Parasites.

But due to their sheer numbers, a large number of Parasites still got past him.

As the Parasites wriggled forward, their single eyes remained locked on Guagua and Skyrim.

The next second, one of the Parasites caught Guagua off guard. It coiled its body and launched itself onto her face, frantically trying to burrow into her mouth.

Guagua’s pupils constricted. The slimy, horrifying sensation on her skin made her mind go blank for a second.

Acting on pure instinct, she ripped it off, slammed it to the ground, and stomped down hard!

"AHHHH!!!"

A scream tore from her throat.

SPLAT!

The Parasite was stomped into an explosion of black blood that splattered all over the ground.

[You have killed a Parasite]

"..." Skyrim silently lowered his Dagger.

’Her fighting style was a bit crude, but at least she killed it.’

"Are you okay?" Skyrim asked.

"Of course I’m not okay!" Guagua wailed, frantically wiping her face.

She was really starting to lose it. Even though she was considered brave for a girl, that scene just now...

Forget girls, even a full-grown man would have let out a high-pitched scream.

However, before they had a chance to catch their breath, a new crisis was upon them.

The Parasites that had scattered moments ago wriggled over to the nearest Corpse Bone Trees, leaped onto their trunks, and burrowed inside.

Less than two seconds later, a single eye burst through the bark of each tree. The trunks and branches began to writhe and transform, sprouting one tentacle after another.

Bones coalesced into blades and heavy fists.

The next moment, after a violent shudder, the parasitized Corpse Bone Trees pulled themselves out of the ground, revealing four legs made of bone, and charged toward the pair.

[Parasitized Corpse Bone Tree]

[Tier: Molten Slag]

[Level: 21]

[Talent: None]

[Skill: None]

[Explanation: A Corpse Bone Tree possessed by a Parasite. Where on earth did such a disgusting monster come from?]

Even though it had no Skills, it was still a Molten Slag Tier monster!

BOOM!

Without hesitation, the four Parasitized Corpse Bone Trees attacked them with their assortment of condensed bone weapons, making the ground tremble violently.

"Watch out!"

Seeing that Guagua hadn’t reacted in time, Skyrim didn’t hesitate, kicking her squarely in the rear.

He had no intention of being gentle with the fairer sex; his foot was even wreathed in blazing Warfire...

"Oof!"

Guagua had just snapped out of her daze and was about to roll, but Skyrim’s kick sent her flying, and she landed face-first in the dirt.

Which did, admittedly, get her out of the way of the Parasitized Corpse Bone Tree’s attack...

An intense four-on-two battle erupted!

Guagua shot Skyrim an angry glare as she scrambled to her feet.

But she had no time to dwell on it. She could only activate her Warfire, assume her Iron-faced Warlock form, and engage the enemy.

Now that she wasn’t facing something so disgusting it tested the limits of her sanity, Guagua, the Prison Player, performed at her expected level.

As for Skyrim, his performance went without saying.

The Parasitized Corpse Bone Trees were large, but they were all for show.

And Skyrim quickly discovered their fatal weakness... the eyeball.

The outcome was, of course, predictable.

[You have killed a Parasitized Corpse Bone Tree]

[Acquired: Wax Oil x24]

[Acquired: Corpse Bone Tree Bark]

[Acquired: Bone Shattering Greatsword (Excellent)]

"GREY! SKY! RIM!"

After they finished off the monsters, Guagua stomped over, her face a mask of fury.

"Why did you kick me just now!?"

"Well..." Skyrim paused, looking at her in confusion. "To help you dodge the attack."

’Was there a problem?’

"..." Guagua felt her vision go dark with frustration. It took her a long moment to spit out, "We were standing right next to each other. Wouldn’t it have been better to just pull me out of the way?"

’So those romance dramas really are full of lies!’

’On TV, when the heroine is in danger, the hero pulls her into his arms, and they share a look that lasts an eternity.’

’But what do I get? A kick!’

’How could he bring himself to kick a gorgeous, delicate beauty like me!’

’It’s just infuriating!’

"..."

Only then did Skyrim understand why she was so angry.

He realized that pulling her would have indeed been the better option in that situation.

After all, kicking Guagua away meant she had to scramble back up, leaving her vulnerable to another attack.

"Uh, my apologies, Miss Guagua. I didn’t have time to think..."

Having figured this out, an embarrassed expression appeared on Skyrim’s face.

Hearing his words, Guagua was speechless, but at the same time, she found it a little funny.

’He really is a total greenhorn.’

"Forget it."

Guagua patted the dirt off her rear, deciding not to press the issue.

"Your choice of words is... a little strange... ’Miss’... I’ve rarely heard anyone talk like that..."

"Sigh, are you a time traveler from the ancient past or something? Or maybe from one of those traditional martial arts families with old-fashioned customs? You know, like in the novels and TV shows?"

Guagua couldn’t help but ask, her curiosity piqued.

Hearing her question, Skyrim fell silent for a moment before shaking his head in denial.

"I’m not. It’s nothing like that."

Seeing his classic, reflexive denial, Guagua found it rather amusing.

Although Skyrim’s denial seemed to protest too much, Guagua figured he was probably just a teenager with a bad case of eighth-grade syndrome from watching too many historical and wuxia dramas.

"Fine, don’t tell me."

"This way, my good sir."

Guagua teased, perfectly mimicking his formal tone.

"..."

’Looks like I need to change my way of speaking.’

Skyrim silently started walking forward.

"This way!" Not two seconds later, a speechless Guagua had to grab him and pull him back.

’How does he so precisely manage to walk in the wrong direction every single time?’

In a small clearing, the two finally found the Milestone Spirit Candle and sat down.

Guagua let out a sigh of relief, pouting as she started to complain.

"Damn it, this game is getting more and more horrifying. Can’t they give us something normal for once? Where are the goblins? The Elves? The Dwarves? Why is it all just bloody, terrifying monsters...?"

"Games like that aren’t fun," Skyrim said, shaking his head.

"..." Guagua was speechless. He really was a master of ruining the mood.

’Still, I have to admit, a game like this is pretty intense. It’s disgusting, sure, but it’s also a huge rush!’

"Hm?"

As Guagua watched in surprise, Skyrim’s brow furrowed. He suddenly stood up, as if he had sensed something was wrong.