Chapter 85
Haruto had not gone far before discovering another Basilisk behind a crumbling stone wall.
It was a large, healthy specimen with a thick serpent body, currently crouched beside a pile of rubble as it preened its feathers.
Haruto walked straight toward it.
The moment the Basilisk sensed his approach, it became alert. Once it saw that he was smaller than itself, both sets of eyes gleamed with hostility, and it charged.
For some reason, Haruto suddenly remembered the method Laios had used to deal with the previous Basilisk.
He immediately threw that thought out of his mind.
His figure blurred, and he appeared beside the monster in an instant.
Before the Basilisk could react, Haruto severed both its chicken head and serpent head.
After carefully storing the carcass inside Gourmet Restaurant, he searched the surrounding area. It did not take long to find its nest hidden in the grass beside the ruined wall.
Six Basilisk eggs lay inside.
Their shells were gray and surprisingly soft to the touch.
Haruto collected all of them without hesitation.
There was little reason to leave one or two behind.
Basilisks were plentiful throughout this region, so there was no shortage of eggs.
Besides, without an adult to protect the nest, any hatchlings that emerged would most likely be eaten by other monsters.
He might as well take them all and put them to proper use.
Haruto continued hunting until he had captured four adult Basilisks and more than a dozen eggs.
Only then did he stop, satisfied with his haul, and resume his descent toward the lower section of the tower.
After rapidly descending several dozen meters, he reached the lower half of the Golden Castle’s tower.
This area consisted primarily of enormous fallen trees tangled across one another.
The ancient trunks had begun to decay with age, and layers of accumulated soil covered their surfaces.
Grass and other plants had taken root there, leaving the fallen timber unexpectedly lush and green.
Haruto’s gaze swept across the area and settled on several broad-leafed plants growing atop one of the trunks.
A thought occurred to him.
He walked over, crouched down, and lifted the leaves to reveal the roots beneath.
Understanding immediately flashed through his eyes.
They were Mandrakes.
In this world, Mandrakes were common foundational ingredients in both magic and herbal medicine.
They were also delicious when used as food.
Harvesting one, however, was not simple.
The moment a Mandrake was pulled from the earth, it released a piercing scream.
That cry appeared to contain some form of mental attack. A mild exposure could cause temporary insanity, while a more powerful one could kill a person outright.
As a result, the mages of this world had devised a method involving trained dogs.
They would tie the dog’s collar to the Mandrake with a rope, then move a safe distance away and call for the animal.
The dog would run toward its owner, pulling the Mandrake from the soil.
The price, of course, was the dog’s life.
Another method was to cut off the Mandrake’s head first and dig out the remaining root afterward.
That prevented it from screaming, but the plant’s flavor suffered considerably.
In fact, a Mandrake’s scream expelled impurities from its body, improving its taste.
Haruto had no intention of using either method.
Sacrificing dogs was far too cruel and hopelessly inefficient. More importantly, he did not have a dog in the first place.
Nor did he want to compromise the flavor of the ingredient.
If he was going to harvest something, he wanted it in the best possible condition.
After thinking for a moment, Haruto decided to pull the Mandrakes out himself and store them inside Gourmet Restaurant before they could finish screaming.
Retrieving them later would not be a problem.
Ever since mastering En, one of the advanced applications of Nen, Haruto had discovered that he could release any ingredient stored within Gourmet Restaurant at any point inside the area covered by his aura.
He had never found much use for that feature before, but it was perfect for this situation.
His En could now stably extend ten meters around him.
That meant he could release a Mandrake ten meters away.
He would still be exposed to the scream, but with proper preparation, it should no longer pose a serious threat.
Haruto drew a deep breath and gripped the Mandrake’s leaves. His fingertips clearly felt the fine fuzz across their surface and their slightly cool texture.
Then he yanked upward.
The entire Mandrake came free, roots and all.
The instant its roots left the soil, a piercing shriek erupted with enough force to feel as though it were tearing through the air.
Haruto had been prepared.
Within a tenth of a second, the Mandrake vanished and was transferred into Gourmet Restaurant.
Even so, the brief scream was far more powerful than he had expected.
Haruto’s brows drew together as his right hand instinctively pressed against his forehead.
It felt as though a red-hot steel needle had been driven straight into his brain, the sharp pain spreading through every nerve in his head.
He needed quite some time before the dizziness finally began to fade.
"That scream is terrifying. It has to count as a mental attack."
Haruto shook his head, secretly astonished.
Attacks aimed directly at the mind were far more troublesome than ordinary physical damage.
At least for now, he had no reliable way to defend against them.
Then a spark of inspiration suddenly flashed through his eyes.
’If a Mandrake’s scream is this powerful, wouldn’t that make it a natural sonic bomb?’
If he encountered a particularly powerful prey animal or enemy in the future, he could simply release a Mandrake beside them.
The results would undoubtedly be impressive.
Once the idea entered his mind, Haruto could no longer suppress his curiosity.
He immediately looked around for a suitable target.
His attention soon settled on a hollow in a nearby tree.
The opening was deep and dark, and a scattering of droppings surrounded its entrance, releasing a faintly foul, animal smell.
It was clearly a nest belonging to Giant Bats.
Giant Bats were common monsters on the dungeon’s second floor. Their wingspans could reach two or three meters, and both their claws and teeth were dangerously sharp.
Worse still, they usually lived and hunted in groups.
They should make excellent test subjects for the Mandrake’s actual power.
Haruto silently moved to a position ten meters from the hollow and stopped.
He drew a deep breath, then released his Nen outward from his body.
The invisible aura quickly spread across the surrounding area.
Through En, the interior of the tree hollow became perfectly clear within his awareness.
Five Giant Bats hung upside down inside, producing faint snores as their wings occasionally twitched in their sleep.