Chapter 59: Forest Wave Interlude (1): The Great Heizen Forest

The First Wave had ended.

Nabel had nearly died against an unexpectedly powerful enemy, but somehow we got through it.

No one knew when the Second Wave would begin.
So, we used the time to prepare and entered the Great Heizen Forest.

The main members of the subjugation party were:
me, Wof; Bid; Hoss; Galad;
Nabel; Pakira; Liv; and Lupinas.

However, “Torquetum” had already gone ahead, focusing solely on hunting Crystal Beasts.

Also, the hunt for the “Marked Ones” was being handled separately by the Gouro Subjugation Unit and Coon Hunt.

We had been together partway, but the Coon Hunt members treated me like I was something dangerous.
Araya seemed to know the situation and intentionally kept them away from me.

“So this is the Great Heizen Forest…”

Entering for the first time was shocking.

First, the trees were massive—easily over ten times thicker than normal trees.
And they grew with only small gaps between them.

“They’re as hard as stone.”

Bid lightly tapped a tree.
The sound that echoed was heavy.

“This air… brings back memories.”

Hoss had already started gathering white mushrooms growing at the base of a tree.

“What’s that?”
“Shiroumaitake. Best sliced and added to a hot pot.”
“You can eat that?”

Nabel asked with interest.

Hoss nodded and picked another mushroom—this one red and fan-shaped.

“This one’s edible too. Best in a hot pot. But that blue one next to it is poisonous.”
“This one?”

I used [Danger Detection].
The long blue mushroom showed up as black—definitely dangerous.

“Yeah… that’ll kill you.”
“Seriously?”
“Can’t just pick things carelessly.”

Galad chuckled.

Thanks to my ability, I could tell what was poisonous.
But normally, identifying mushrooms wasn’t easy at all.

In my past life, I once went mushroom picking and filled two baskets—
but only half of it was actually safe to eat.

Most weren’t suitable for consumption, though truly poisonous ones were fewer—
apparently because experts had already weeded out the dangerous ones beforehand.

Even then, mistakes still happened.
That’s how difficult it is.

Hoss relied on experience—he only remembered a few safe types and ignored everything else.

Even that was impressive.

Though, once he told me a “funny” story—
years ago, he accidentally ate a mushroom that caused paralysis for three days straight.

I remember being speechless.

That same Hoss now stepped into the grass and gathered some wild herbs.

“These are edible too. Good for hot pot.”
“They just look like weeds.”
“They’re herbs.”
“Hot pot… like mixed meat soup?”
“Yep.”
“Nice. I like that.”
“Mixed meat soup?”

Nabel and Galad tilted their heads.

Ah, right—they’d never had it before.

Then they’ll get to taste it today and see why even a witch approved of it.

I suddenly got curious about something.

“Galad, when subjugators go deep into the forest, what do they eat?”

“Mostly preserved food.”

“Heizen’s preserved food is pretty good.”

Hoss spoke while gathering mushrooms.
Nabel watched him closely.

“There’s a lot of variety now, and the taste has improved compared to before. But it’s still not exactly delicious. And we also eat monsters.”

“Monsters?”
“Well, yeah.”
“My favorite here is something called Bat-Modoki.”

Galad scanned the surroundings cautiously.

“…Modoki?”

Bid tilted her head.

“It looks like a bat, but it’s not.”
“So it’s a monster?”
“Technically, yeah.”

That sounded like those “pseudo-creatures” I knew—like land catfish.

They’re not clearly animal or monster either.

Speaking of that, I wonder how Alexander is doing…

“What does it taste like?”
“Like chicken thigh. But the whole body.”

“That sounds good.”

I’m not a fan of chicken breast, so that got my attention.

Just then, [Danger Detection] lit up with red points.

A lot of them.

Through the gaps in the trees, I saw something black approaching.

A bird? It looked about the size of a crow, but its shape was different.

“Oh, there they are. Bat-Modoki.”
“So that’s them…”
“They’re coming straight at us.”

As Nabel said, they charged without hesitation.

Enemies.

Bid raised her composite bow, Kimkwi.

“Here I go.”

She fired.

A single black arrow shot forward at incredible speed—
then blurred, multiplied, and spread out.

[Area Shot]—everything she fired turned into a wide-range attack.

The swarm of arrows devastated the Bat-Modoki flock.
Several fell, and the rest scattered.

“Nice one, kid.”

Garado whistled.

“I’ve always been good at this kind of thing.”

Bid smiled, glancing at the sword at her waist.
Behind her, a strangely folded rod—actually a spear—was attached to her belt.

It was something we found in the hideout’s junk pile.
An out-of-place artifact, and Bid had synced with it.

The Bat-Modoki really did look like “bat-like” creatures— fat, black bodies, bat wings… but with crow-like heads.

A very strange appearance.

“This one’s good. A nice, plump Bat-Modoki.”

Hoss grabbed one firmly.

“What are you going to do with it?” I asked.

“Cook it for lunch.”

So we’re eating that.

I already knew bats could be eaten—from something I read in my past life.

A story where explorers trapped in a cave survived by hunting and eating bats.

So yeah, edible.

Even if this is just a “modoki,” I’m curious.

“I’ll help.”
“Alright, I’ll count on you.”

“I’ll help too,” Nabel said.

Hoss and I agreed.

“Not helping?” 

Galad asked Bid.

“Three people are enough.”
“Fair enough. We’ll gather them instead.”

Galad and Bid started collecting the fallen Bat-Modoki.

We moved a bit further and took a break.

While preparing the meal, something felt off.

“It’s quiet…”
“You think so too, Wof?”

Nabel noticed it as well.

“Yeah… it’s strange,” Bid added.

The First Wave had ended.
This was the gap before the Second Wave.

And yet—

the Great Heizen Forest was eerily silent.

“I get why it feels strange,” 

Galad said.

“This place usually overflows with monsters. But during this gap, it goes quiet. That’s one of the mysteries of the Forest Wave. When the Second Wave begins, though, the forest suddenly fills with monsters again. If this were a dungeon—and the Forest Wave an EVENT—then it makes sense.”

“Why?” 

I asked.

“Because the monsters are generated for the event. Somewhere, they’re being created right now. We just don’t know where. Maybe they’ll pop out of these trees.”

He laughed and tapped a nearby trunk.

I see… so they might appear from the ground—or even from the trees.

Soon, lunch was ready.

Bat-Modoki soup and black bread with beans.

“Oh—this tastes like chicken.”

A nostalgic, rustic flavor.

The meat had been made into meatballs and added to the soup.
The Bat-Modoki’s skin, rich in collagen, turned the meatballs black.

There were also plenty of mushrooms and herbs.

“This is… luxurious.”

Galad muttered.

Bid and Nabel nodded, and Hoss looked puzzled.

“What’s wrong? Is the Jinryu family poor or something?”
“No. It’s just… subjugator etiquette. You don’t bring chefs into battle. It looks bad.”
“Yeah, that’s true.”
“But you still cook Bat-Modoki like this?”
“Not like this. Usually just gutted and roasted whole.”
“No seasoning?”
“Maybe some salt.”

Rough—but that’s the way of subjugators.

“Tonight, we’ll make fried Bat-Modoki.”

Hoss muttered, clearly in a good mood.