WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: ZERO_SUGAR
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ Got a Gallery in the Wild ◈
Chapter 204: Jack-o'-Lantern (1)
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Jack-o'-Lanterns were pumpkin monsters that could be called symbols of Halloween.
Their defining features were their sharply split mouths and hollow eyes and noses.
True to the name “lantern,” they were empty inside but filled with light.
From what I knew, they rarely hurt people and usually just played pranks.
“Kyaaaa! Kyaaaaaa!”
“What the hell is this?”
That was only true when they were small.
The pumpkin head in front of me was as big as a house.
It looked threatening enough to swallow a person whole in one bite.
Its screams were no different. They sounded like something a monster would make.
It was fitting for a fantasy world, but that didn't stop me from worrying.
‘How am I supposed to kill this thing...?’
Unlike an animal, it was a plant. It had no obvious weak point.
Fire was said to be the counter to all plants, but the question was whether it would work on this thing too.
There was something else I found strange.
‘Papa Raccoon wouldn't have given me something weird...’
Until now, Papa Raccoon had brought me medicinal herbs and mushrooms with excellent effects.
That was why I had planted this seed without much suspicion.
Yet after planting it, a pumpkin monster had appeared.
Maybe it only looked like this and was actually a good guy? I couldn't help wondering.
Thump!
As I was thinking that, the Jack-o'-Lantern suddenly leaped high into the air.
I had no idea how something that huge could jump that high, but I only had a moment to wonder.
“Huuuuup!”
The Jack-o'-Lantern threw its head back.
“Tutututututu!!!”
Something shot out of its mouth at incredible speed.
It wasn't so fast that I couldn't dodge it after seeing it, so I predicted its path and moved aside.
Papapapak!
“Kyuuu!”
“Piiik!”
The other animals hurried to dodge too.
Then I saw what it had spat out.
“S-Seeds...?”
The Jack-o'-Lantern had fired seeds.
Seeds as large as the one I had planted.
That wasn't the end of it.
Squirm. Squirm.
The seeds began burrowing into the ground on their own.
I stared in horror and shouted urgently.
“K-Kkobong! Pull those out, now! Hurry!”
“Got it!”
“Wonmo, Tyrano, you too! We're in big trouble if those get underground!”
“Kyuu!”
“Piii!”
At my urgent command, my animal friends hurriedly removed the seeds burrowing underground.
Thankfully, they were slow to sink into the dirt, so we barely managed to get them all out.
Thump!
The Jack-o'-Lantern was still alive, though.
Its massive body... should I call it a body? Anyway, the pumpkin came back down.
Whoosh!
At the same time, Ludwig charged at the Jack-o'-Lantern.
He had a Mislicon sword in hand, though I had no idea when he had drawn it.
It looked like he had been preparing to attack while the animals and I removed the seeds.
Shhhhh.
A green galaxy began flowing along Ludwig's Mislicon sword.
Sharp aura formed around the blade as though coating the entire sword.
Aura Blade. It was a technique he had shown me a few times before.
With a Mislicon sword and Aura Blade combined, it could probably slice through steel with ease.
Shwick, shwick, shwick!
Ludwig swung his sword once, but dozens of slashes followed.
Even I could barely follow them with my eyes.
He couldn't properly control the mana in his body, yet he was still that fast.
Just how strong had he been outside? I was growing more curious.
Thud! Thud!
Ludwig's clean, efficient attacks cut the Jack-o'-Lantern into neat pieces.
It had been as big as a house, but a few swings of his sword had killed it so easily.
Just as I started to relax, wondering if it was over.
Float.
The pumpkin fragments Ludwig had cut apart rose into the air.
Shlick! Shwick! Shlick!
They began returning to their original form.
Ludwig and I both stood still, staring with wide eyes.
Once every piece joined together, the Jack-o'-Lantern's distinctive face appeared on the pumpkin again.
“Kyaaaaaaa!!!”
Ludwig staggered back at its scream.
I was just as flustered as he was.
When Ludwig had shattered it, I had clearly seen inside.
‘It was just an ordinary pumpkin?’
There was nothing inside except a few seeds.
There was no Inner Core or anything that could be called a core.
Then why had the Jack-o'-Lantern regenerated?
Thump!
As I wondered about it, the Jack-o'-Lantern leaped high into the air again.
Was it going to repeat the same pattern? I raised my shield to brace myself when.
Crack!
“Huuuuup...! Guek!”
The Jack-o'-Lantern was struck by something as it threw back its head, then crashed down.
Something had shot it down. I turned to find out what it was.
“Kuong.”
I found the reason soon enough.
Largo had a brick in its mouth.
It looked like Largo had swung that long neck around and thrown the brick like a catapult.
A living catapult, literally. Thanks to that, I had one less thing to worry about.
“Kuuung!”
The Jack-o'-Lantern landed upside down. We couldn't let this chance pass.
Ludwig and I both ran toward where it had fallen without either of us saying a word.
It was frantically trying to right itself. Its size probably made it hard to control.
Shwick! Shwick, shwick!
Ludwig struck first.
Just like before, the Jack-o'-Lantern was cut into pieces.
Then it was my turn to finish it. I brought my sword down on the pieces with its enlarged aura.
Not as if I were cutting them, but crushing them completely.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The broken pumpkin pieces turned to pulp.
It was a shame, but it couldn't be helped. I had to put out the fire at my feet first.
The Jack-o'-Lantern had been shattered, then turned to mush.
It shouldn't be able to regenerate in this state, right?
“...Did we get it?”
“You little bastard!”
The instant I muttered that, Ludwig roared at me.
Startled by his sudden outburst, I looked at him.
He was staring at me like I had just said the forbidden words.
Only then did I realize what I had said wrong.
Float. Float.
The price was ruinous.
The Jack-o'-Lantern, which had been crushed to pulp, was slowly regenerating.
Why was it regenerating? I could have understood if it were an animal.
There had been the Saber-Toothed Tiger, after all. It had a heart comparable to a Dragon Heart, which enhanced its regenerative ability.
But this thing was a plant. There was nowhere for it to absorb nutrients from.
‘Because of the soil? No. That can't be it. It doesn't have roots...’
The moment I remembered that the Jack-o'-Lantern had no roots, my mind cleared.
It was like lightning flashed through my head. I immediately turned around.
I looked directly at the vegetable garden where it had grown.
It was a hypothesis that completely defied common sense, but this was a fantasy world.
And it was the Forest of Four Seasons, where even fantasy-world common sense did not apply.
Rather than think logically, it would be more fitting to follow my instincts.
“Mister! Keep that bastard busy!”
“Where are you going?”
“I've got an idea! And you guys, stay behind me just in case!”
Instead of grabbing my sword and shield, I picked up a shovel.
Then I started digging through the vegetable garden where I had planted the Jack-o'-Lantern.
And then.
“Found it!”
Not long after I started digging, I found the Jack-o'-Lantern's roots.
I had no idea how, but its roots were continuously supplying nutrients to that pumpkin.
‘Does this world have Bluetooth roots too?’
At this rate, Bluetooth showerheads might show up next.
I pushed aside the pointless thought and grabbed the root stalk tightly.
Shlrrrk!
Plants had wills too. And this one was a monster.
The moment I grabbed its roots, vines sprang out and desperately tried to bind me.
At first, one tried to grab my neck, but I barely dodged it.
“Hey! Kkobong, grab this!”
“Uo!”
“You guys grab one each too!”
I ordered Kkobong and the other animal friends.
Once they each grabbed a root or vine with their hands and mouths, I shouted.
“Puuuuull!”
“Kyuuuuuu!”
“Piiiiii!”
I didn't know whether the roots went incredibly deep or were simply holding on.
Even with one person and four animals pulling, the roots showed no sign of coming out.
Ludwig was keeping the pumpkin head occupied behind us, but I didn't know how long he could hold out.
Shlrrrk!
“Ghk!”
To make matters worse, another root stalk remained.
Maybe it had noticed that I was the key person, because it wrapped around my neck.
The pressure around my neck kept growing stronger, and my vision gradually blurred.
Still, I didn't give up.
I could feel the animals holding the roots with me refusing to give up too.
There was no telling what it might do if we failed to pull it out.
Crack!
The result of our effort slowly began to show.
I felt that distinct sensation that came when pulling up roots.
I could clearly feel it struggling to avoid being pulled out, but it was already too late.
The soil had already let go of the roots. Even while being choked, I shouted.
“Ghk! Now! Pull!”
“Uoooooo!!!”
Crackcrackcrack!
As we suddenly put all our strength into it, the roots slowly began to come loose.
The pressure around my neck grew even stronger, but it was too late.
Before long, the entire root system was pulled out of the ground.
Crack! Swoosh!
We yanked out the Jack-o'-Lantern's incredibly tough roots.
They wriggled as if alive, but the roots themselves were even more surprising.
“Kieeeeeee!”
It wasn't a root. It was a miniature Jack-o'-Lantern.
And it was a Jack-o'-Lantern shining brilliantly.
Was the little one controlling the big one?
Either way, we had found its weak point. All that remained was cleanup.
Thud!
“Guek!”
I punched the Jack-o'-Lantern hanging beneath the roots, and it screamed.
It looked like it felt pain. Similar to an Adult Mandrake.
That made things easier.
“Kkobong! Beat this bastard up!”
“Uo!”
Kkobong's martial arts were more refined than mine. What did that mean?
Tututututututu!
“Guek! Gueek! Gueeeek!”
It meant Kkobong beat it up like a sandbag.
Kkobong seemed to be taking out all the stress that had built up so far, pounding away with gusto.
The more Kkobong hit it, the weaker the pressure from the vine around my neck became.
The same went for the pumpkin head Ludwig was facing. With its main body getting hurt, it could only twitch and could not move properly.
Saaag.
As Kkobong's flashy barrage of punches continued, the entire root system went limp.
The main body's screams faded too. It seemed to have fainted.
When I looked at its face, its mouth, nose, and eyes had all disappeared as if they had never existed.
Just as I thought that was enough and told Kkobong to stop.
“Bleurgh.”
Something fell out of the Jack-o'-Lantern's main body's mouth.
It was an orange-glowing orb. It looked exactly like an Inner Core.
It was quite large too, about half the size of a fist.
If I swallowed it whole, it would probably get stuck in my throat.
‘The Inner Core is one thing, but could this be useful too?’
This was the Jack-o'-Lantern's main body. I didn't know whether I could use it.
After spitting out its Inner Core, it might have become an ordinary pumpkin.
Still, there was a very high chance it contained energy comparable to an Inner Core.
The fish had been like that too. Things that carried Inner Cores were usually valuable.
“#%@^?”
Once things were over, Ludwig came over and said something to me.
He pointed somewhere, so I looked where he was indicating.
The main body had vanished, and the giant pumpkin head had become an ordinary pumpkin.
An ordinary pumpkin, except for its size. How was I supposed to use that?
“Eat it, I guess.”
“Eat it?”
“Yeah.”
Pumpkins had long been considered a winter delicacy.
“Should we steam some pumpkin later?”
We had plenty more food now.
Footnotes:
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