I Became a 6★ Gacha Character

Chapter 283: Surviving in the Jungle 3

TL/Editor: raei

Schedule: 5/Week Mon-Fri

Illustrations: Posted in discord.

Join the discord! Here

In front of overwhelming violence, the carcasses of bugs were shattered and disgustingly scattered around.

However, only I, Han Se-ah, and the viewers witnessed this gruesome scene.

More precisely, the viewers watched through the stream.

I stepped forward to push back the bugs, and the dense trees obscured the view of my companions behind me.

Thus, the viewers got a clear view through the camera, experiencing the debris of bug carcasses flying towards their faces.

Among them, viewers looking for a good clip to capture screamed beautifully over the chat.

"Roland! Are the creatures retreating?"

"Perhaps it was instinctive due to the massive mana."

Then, the swarming beetles and carapace bugs lurking around stealthily disappeared.

Despite decimating tens of meters in front of us, it was annoying how many were still left.

The quest design I, as both adventurer Roland and gamer Lee Haneul, detest the most: not strong enemies appearing, but rather an overwhelming number of minor mobs pouring out, dragging out time in a war of attrition.

It would be somewhat fun if a strong enemy appeared, offering a real challenge.

But no, it's giant beetles and other bugs instead.

"There are so many of them."

"There are more deeper inside. It wasn't this bad before I left."

Despite annihilating hundreds with a single strike, the sound of clicking and branches breaking as the swarm of insects retreated caused Silbang and Gaspard to panic.

Naturally, the path we were walking on was a route connecting a lord's territory to a village, secured for various reasons including the collection of herbs, by barbarian warriors and adventurers...

Even if we were floating down the river on a raft, we wouldn't have imagined encountering such a massive swarm of man-eating bugs near a village.

"For a monster created by black magic or evil sorcery, it's quite cowardly. It all ran away after sensing Roland's mana, right?"

Fortunately, the creatures were intimidated.

Seemingly of intermediate level, they could sense the wave of mana with their large antennae.

Blasting a big one scared them all off like the tide receding, which was quite the sight.

After a dirty fight in a hot and humid environment, where we got dirty without gaining anything, the battle finally concluded.

It left a bad taste.

"There are so many monster carcasses, and we get nothing? Really?"

"Moth dust and beetle carapaces might be bought by the Adventurer's Guild. But scraping off just the powder from their wings to gather about 500g won't even earn you 1 silver, that's the problem."

"...Let's just leave it."

Grace, always frugal, was regretful about the loot, but upon hearing that collecting moth dust wouldn't even earn 1 silver, she decisively turned away.

In this fantasy world, the ones converting monster by-products into money are naturally the mages of the Magic Tower, who have no use for insect monster by-products like moth dust.

Weak creatures with large numbers aren't appealing since the mages would rather breed them themselves if needed.

So, profitable items are always those with more demand than supply, like mana stones or rare monster by-products.

This is also why no one bothers to dissect goblin or orc corpses.

Leaving the bug carcasses behind and starting to organize her arrows, Grace left, while Han Se-ah approached me, kicking aside a smashed tree to clear a path.

"Um, Roland? I have a question."

"What is it?"

Curious, I sneak a peek at the hologram window, seeing a mission through a donation asking her to pose a question.

Han Se-ah was neither uncomfortable nor burdened by the question's content.

The question was not bizarre or rude but rather close to basic knowledge that adventurers should know.

"Didn't you say these insect monsters' carcasses aren't worth any money? So, does that mean they don't have mana stones inside them?"

"Um...?"

Roland pondered for a moment upon hearing Han Se-ah's somewhat out-of-the-blue question.

Mana stones, huh...

They might have them.

For Han Se-ah, who had come to the city of adventurers by tutorial carriage and entered the tower to become a mage from the start, it was a reasonable question.

After all, hadn't Han Se-ah's battles been confined to the inside of the tower?

There was a brief moment in a side story where she chased after orc warriors who had fled the tower, heading to the western Morris Territory, but that was it.

Even there, she hunted wolf riders who dropped mana stones instead of corpses, having been infected by the orcs inside the tower.

Thinking back, Han Se-ah had only faced monsters from the tower.

"Mana stones? It's possible they could have them. After all, mana stones are formed by mana gathering and condensing within monsters. The Magic Tower has stated that humans and monsters gather mana differently."

"Oh, so the monsters we've defeated could have mana stones too?"

"It's similar to moth wing dust. If you slice open about a hundred of those beetle bellies, you might find a couple of goblin-grade mana stones the Magic Tower would be interested in."

"...Is that all?"

Han Se-ah's face quickly fell with disappointment.Re𝒂d updated st𝒐ries at n𝒐velbin(.)com

My words must have been quite shocking since the viewers started to frantically spam the chat.

Well, mana stones are like neidan in martial arts novels.

They are made from mana that has coalesced inside the body to assist it.

While humans have a more fluid form of mana, like dantians, aura hearts, or circles, monsters solidify it, much like gallstones.

Therefore, to create a mana stone, an excess of mana is needed to strengthen the body, similar to how eating protein is necessary to build muscle.

"That's why adventurers initially gather at the Tower. There, the corpses of monsters completely decompose into mana, which then fully transforms into mana stones. Even goblins consistently produce them."

"Ah, I see. So that explains why monsters weaker than goblins don't give out mana stones much?"

"Rabbits and foxes with horns are too small and have too little mana. Even if their entire bodies transform, there's not enough to coalesce. Remember?"

That must have been the explanation I gave on the first day, guiding Han Se-ah as her senior adventurer and making her hunt goblins with a staff.

Someone was replaying the explanation I gave on the first day through a video donation, as if to prove they remembered it.

Cunning is also a kind of skill.

---

Raei Translations

---

After regrouping, we cleared the smashed trees and avoided the bug carcasses, making our way back to the village.

Grace was gloomy about wasting arrows without gain, and Han Se-ah, despite receiving all kinds of praise from viewers for being the world's top streamer, lacked basic knowledge about mana stones.

The village was gradually getting closer.

Knowing that the creatures were scared of mana, I took the lead, imbuing my armor and shield with plenty of mana.

While not as beautifully blazing as Katie's sword, a threatening heavy armored warrior glittered with a strange glow in the dark jungle.

Thanks to Roland's exceptional physique, there was no risk of heatstroke or exhaustion, but to the camera, my appearance was intimidating enough that not just the insect monsters but also other adventurers might flee.

"Aren't you hot? I can't see a thing."

"I'm all wrapped up, fascinating!"

Only our party members and the curious barbarian warrior sisters didn't find this appearance threatening.

The chat quickly shifted from calling them the "Choco sisters" to nicknames like "Silver-haired tanned gems" and "Gemlings."

Still, thanks to the lively sisters, the furrowed brows of the adults worried about the village were somewhat smoothed over.

The sisters chatted away without a care in the world.

My armor, Grace's enchanted bow, Irene as a nun and saint candidate of the Goddess Faith, Han Se-ah as a mage (not a witch) and her inventory magic, and even Katie's cold aura became fascinating topics of their lively discussions.

-If it feels like the main character of the stream has changed

-Was this Han Se-ah's side quest stream or the debut stream of two silver streaming geniuses?

-Look at how they sound, how about hiring them as party members for voiceovers?

-Day 1 of wishing for the debut of the Silver-haired Tanned Gem sisters' stream

-This one's going to go around spreading the word about the hero's inventory magic in the South too lol

Preparing formations and moving in anticipation of monster attacks can be tedious.

Yet, it's entertaining to watch the stream because of the two pretty girls nimbly moving between trees and chatting away.

Unknowingly, the sisters were leading new players on a massive relocation to the South and now pointed out a spot from atop a bent tree.

"It's the village! It's intact!"

"No bugs! Everyone's safe!"

All I can see are dense trees, hanging vines, and moss, but there's a village beyond those trees.

Moving forward, just as the sisters exclaimed, an intact village appears.

The village of barbarian warriors consists of tree houses that blend with the jungle and stilt houses built slightly above the river.

And, noticing the commotion, barbarian warriors and witches alike are looking at us from the clearing.

...Witches?