Chapter 129
Haruto took out a glass of milk and drank it to soothe the burning in his mouth.
Once the worst of the heat subsided, he harvested every Tomato Chili on the plant and stored them away.
He planned to properly experiment with ways to use them when he had more time.
As he continued onward, a piercing bird cry suddenly rang out from above.
Haruto looked up and saw a flock of brilliantly colored birds circling in the sky.
They were Volcanic Hyacinth Birds, creatures native to Wuu Volcano.
Their feathers resembled flickering flames, while their enormous beaks were filled with rows of sharp fangs.
The beaks themselves were hard and razor-edged, giving the birds an exceptionally aggressive appearance.
The moment Haruto noticed them, they spotted him as well.
A vicious gleam entered their eyes.
Screeching loudly, they beat their flame-colored wings and plunged toward him.
Haruto could not help but smile.
They might have been troublesome if they had remained in the air, but by diving straight at him, they were practically delivering themselves as ingredients.
The flock reached him in moments.
Haruto shifted slightly and avoided the first wave of attacks, then swiftly dealt with the birds that had landed before they could take off again.
In less than a minute, more than half of the flock that had charged so aggressively had been captured and stored away.
The survivors immediately fled into the distance.
It was a little unfortunate that he could not keep them all, but Haruto did not bother pursuing them.
After walking for a while longer, he wiped the sweat from his brow and scanned the rocks around him.
A faint patch of green suddenly caught his eye.
A chestnut tree was growing from a crack in the volcanic stone. Its trunk was not especially thick, and from a distance, it looked no different from an ordinary chestnut tree. I
f anything, the harsh environment had left it looking rather thin and frail.
Still, any chestnut tree capable of growing inside Wuu Volcano could hardly be ordinary.
Haruto approached and plucked one of its spiny burrs. The shell was hard and patterned with dark brown streaks.
He peeled away the thorny outer husk, removed the chestnut inside, and cracked open its shell.
The flesh within was not pale yellow.
Instead, it had a smooth, milky-white color and a firm texture, with a faint mineral sheen across its surface.
Haruto scraped off a little powder with his fingertip and tasted it.
There was none of the soft sweetness normally associated with chestnuts.
The first thing to spread across his tongue was a deep, crisp saltiness—clean and pure, accompanied by a subtle fragrance.
It was clearly extremely high-quality volcanic salt.
This tree would be better called a Chestnut Salt Tree.
Compared with the volcanic ash salt produced during eruptions, Chestnut Salt carried none of the raw or mineral harshness.
Instead, it possessed the chestnut’s delicate natural aroma, with the salty and nutty flavors blending into several distinct layers.
Haruto could imagine using it to cure ingredients, season cooked dishes, or simply serve as a finishing salt.
He harvested every chestnut and continued searching through Wuu Volcano.
The environment inside was strange and unpredictable.
Scalding geothermal steam occasionally burst from cracks in the rocks, while shallow streams of dark-red magma flowed through other areas.
Although exploring took a great deal of time, Haruto gathered plenty of valuable ingredients along the way.
There were bright-red Volcanic Mushrooms, Volcanic Fruits that naturally carried a roasted fragrance, and many other ingredients found nowhere outside Wuu Volcano.
After spending two full days exploring, Haruto finally began making his way toward the outskirts, thoroughly satisfied with his harvest.
Once he passed through the final stretch of scorching volcanic rock, the terrain gradually leveled out.
The dry heat weakened beneath the cool breeze blowing from the edge of the Wuu Jungle.
The scent of plants mingled with the damp fragrance of soil, easing Haruto’s mood considerably.
As he considered where to go next, a faint fruity aroma drifted toward him and gently teased his senses.
Following the enticing fragrance, Haruto soon arrived at a patch of soft sand.
At its center stood a peculiar peach tree.
Its trunk was only about as thick as a bowl, yet an enormous peach more than a meter tall hung from the branches at the top.
The fruit was plump and rosy pink, its bright color making it look incredibly tempting.
It was so heavy that the trunk bent beneath its weight.
"That looks pretty good."
The fresh fragrance immediately caught Haruto’s interest.
In truth, he had already guessed what it was the moment he saw the tree and its oversized fruit.
A Peach Squirrel, Capture Level 5—a plant beast that specialized in camouflage and ambushes.
The "peach tree" was not a real fruit tree at all, but a tree-shaped organ growing from the top of the Peach Squirrel’s head.
The creature used the fragrant peach as bait, luring in prey attracted by its delicious scent.
Any animal unable to resist the temptation would eventually step beneath the fruit and awaken the Peach Squirrel hiding under the sand.
The beast would then burst from the ground and trap its prey in a crushing embrace with its powerful limbs.
Haruto knew it was a trap, but he did not care.
Now that he had found it, there was no reason to leave the peach behind.
He narrowed his eyes and subtly adjusted his position.
Pressing his fingers together, he tensed his arm, lowered his body slightly, and gathered strength in his legs.
The sand beneath his feet exploded.
Haruto became a blur as he charged directly toward the massive peach.
In the blink of an eye, he reached the tree.
Without slowing, he rotated his wrist and struck the stem connecting the peach to the branch with a razor-sharp hand blade.
Crack.
The enormous peach broke free.
Haruto caught it smoothly, tapped one foot against the sand, and shot backward, returning to his original position almost instantly.
At nearly the same moment, the ground beneath the tree began shaking violently.
With a sharp shriek, an enormous squirrel-like Peach Squirrel burst from the sand and wrapped its arms around empty air.
Worse still, the peach on its head was gone.
The Peach Squirrel twisted around and quickly spotted Haruto holding its bait.
Its trap had failed, and its precious fruit had been stolen.
Enraged, it released a furious howl and kicked off the ground, its huge body surging toward Haruto in a gust of wind.
Haruto watched it approach with a calm expression and casually raised one hand.
When the Peach Squirrel reached him, he delivered a seemingly effortless slap directly to its head.
Bang!
The charging beast looked as though it had been struck by a sledgehammer.
Its enormous body flew backward and crashed into the sand several meters away, rolling repeatedly before coming to a stop.
Haruto had not used his full strength, so the Peach Squirrel soon climbed back to its feet.
Even so, the power he had displayed made the creature sense a fatal threat.
The anger vanished from its eyes, replaced entirely by fear.
It gave a frightened squeal, hurriedly dug into the sand, and disappeared underground.
Haruto paid no attention to the fleeing creature.
His gaze fell upon the peach in his hands.
Its skin was smooth and delicate, with a faint coolness beneath his fingers. The sweet fragrance around it had grown even richer, powerfully stimulating his appetite.
Haruto drew the Melk Knife and lightly sliced the enormous peach in half.
Clear, sweet juice immediately flowed down the blade and dripped onto the sand.
The rosy flesh inside was plump and full of moisture, its fibers clearly visible. At the center sat a dark-brown pit roughly the size of a fist.
Looking at the pit, Haruto suddenly had a question.
When the pit of an ordinary fruit was planted, it grew into another fruit tree.
This pit, however, had come from the tree-shaped organ on a Peach Squirrel’s head rather than a real peach tree.
So what would happen if he planted it?
Would it grow into a peach tree—or hatch into a young Peach Squirrel?
Curious, Haruto removed the pit from the flesh, wiped it clean, and stored it away. He would find a suitable place to plant it later.
Once that was done, he cut off a thick, juicy piece of peach and placed it into his mouth.
An extraordinarily pure sweetness burst across his tongue.
It was refreshing rather than cloying, mellow and crisp, while the tender flesh released an abundance of juice with every bite.
Haruto nodded in satisfaction.
The flavor was excellent—sweet, crisp, juicy, and intensely fragrant.
It certainly deserved to serve as bait for the Peach Squirrel.
The fruit would be perfect for pies, juice, or all kinds of desserts.
Unfortunately, he would need to capture another one if he wanted to experiment with any of those recipes.
Haruto had already eaten the entire peach.