As we stood before the hole, Gun Hye-rin asked,

"Is this it?"

"Give me a moment. I’ll take a look. First, don’t touch anything and step back."

"Understood."

I eased Hye-rin behind me and examined the hole carefully.

"Let’s see."

The hole was so black it felt like even light would get sucked in.

Its color was very close to that so-called Myeolse—the “World-Annihilating” poison the Five Venoms Sect supposedly detonated while fleeing.

No, this was far deeper.

If Myeolse’s color was like a dark night, then the color of this hole felt like the darkest abyss that could exist in this world.

Its size was about that of a baby’s head, and its position was oddly set into the side of the termite mound, its mouth yawning open.

I had never seen anything like this in the Fire-Pagoda termite towers.

Because Fire-Pagoda White Ants are based on cathedral termites, they characteristically open ventilation holes here and there in their tunnels.

But those are positioned low on the mound or set a little away from the tower.

They vent hot air out ❀ Nоvеlігht ❀ (Don’t copy, read here) through the tower’s “chimney” and draw in cooler air from the surroundings.

When it rains, cathedral termites plug the holes so water won’t flow into the tower, and Fire-Pagoda termites cover the tops of their vents so the openings don’t stand out.

Which made it obvious this wasn’t something termites had opened.

If a hole were opened here, not only would the hot air fail to vent properly, it would also become an invasion route for predators and other insects; there’s no way termites would put a hole in this spot.

"It doesn’t look like a hole the termites made."

"Is that so?"

He’s checking whether the owner of the burrow is large.

Judging by the size of the hole, the burrow’s owner was probably overall about the size of a baby’s head.

Bigger than a large bullfrog—by a little.

Well, thinking about it, it made sense for it to be small.

If the owner of the burrow were the World-Destroying Golden Toad—if something with a poison that extreme were also large—wouldn’t that be a disaster?

The poison it shed would turn the entire surrounding area into useless land. 𝙧𝙚𝙚𝔀𝒆𝓫𝓷𝙤𝓿𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝙤𝓶

While studying the exterior, I asked Cho for a favor.

"Cho, could you pick up a tree branch for Dad?"

—Tssrr. "Okay, Dad."

I needed to probe the hole a bit, and bare hands felt like a bad idea.

Myeolse is a poison that makes people melt away—no, vanish as if erased with a rubber eraser, isn’t it?

So I needed a stick to prod the burrow.

And there wasn’t a single branch or blade of grass near the termite nest.

Fire-Pagoda termites are fungus-farming types; they don’t leave fallen branches or grass alone in their vicinity.

Some termites can directly break down cellulose in wood or grass, but these guys can’t, so they raise fungus on finely shredded wood and eat that, which is why the surroundings turn barren.

That’s why I couldn’t see any grass or branches around and had to ask Cho.

—Tssrt! "Here you go, Dad!"

A moment later, Cho brought back a tree.

Its size was... considerable.

"Cho?"

—Tssrt? "Yes?"

I’d asked her to cut off a branch, but she’d gone and felled a tree from somewhere.

Since her body had grown, she still didn’t have a good sense for how big a “branch” should be for me.

She had only just molted, after all.

Judging by the cleanly cut part where sap was dripping, she’d clearly chopped down a perfectly healthy tree.

It’s not something an eco-minded dad’s daughter should be doing, but... have I become a doting father?

I couldn’t scold Cho, so I gave her an awkward smile and said,

"Ah, no—it’s fine. Good job."

—Tssrr. "Hehe."

I cut a branch off the tree Cho set down and rubbed the rim of the hole with that stick.

As expected, a slick sensation came up through the wood.

Fortunately, I didn’t feel any miasma-like sting.

If the World-Destroying Golden Toad’s poison had remained, the stick should have vanished on contact, but it looked perfectly fine.

"Good—seems there’s no poison."

The wall felt somewhat dried; when I carefully touched it with my hand, there was a chill and smoothness.

The hard tunnel wall of the Fire-Pagoda termite mound felt melted by something and turned slick.

Like porcelain.

While I was feeling along the wall, Gun Hye-rin asked,

"Does it seem right?"

"Yes—can’t say for certain, though."

I suspected it was a trace of the World-Destroying Golden Toad, but I couldn’t be definitive.

Because termite nests have plenty of tenants—no, inquiline insects.

By “inquilines,” I mean insects that live parasitically inside termite nests.

Beetles, cockroaches, crickets, centipedes, blind ants—nests like these usually have all kinds of bugs that “rent” the burrow.

Those big underground chambers serve as hideouts for other insects, too.

As you know, heaven silkworms or silver silkworms also parasitize Fire-Pagoda termite tunnels, don’t they?

So I couldn’t be one hundred percent certain.

We couldn’t rule out the possibility it was the trace of some other insect.

For now, I decided to spread my energy through the hole.

In the Realm of Manifestation, thin walls can be penetrated to sense presences on the other side.

But the Fire-Pagoda termite towers are thick, and however the termites make them, energy won’t pass through; I couldn’t sense what was inside.

So I was going to probe through the hole to see if anything was in there.

The burrow’s owner might be inside, after all.

"Hm. Let’s see."

I slowly sent out my energy, but at a certain point it stopped, as if blocked.

After entering the Realm of Manifestation, detecting living presences via dispersed energy isn’t difficult—but even though I sent energy into the hole, it wouldn’t move past a certain spot.

As if something was blocking it, the energy couldn’t advance further inward.

"That’s odd."

"What do you mean?"

Hye-rin asked as I tilted my head.

Still looking into the hole, I said,

"I tried to spread my energy to see if the World-Destroying Golden Toad is inside, but past a certain point it won’t go any deeper. Is it blocked?"

"Shall I just cut it open?"

It did seem we needed to cut near the hole and check inside.

"Shall we? Hye-rin, can you carefully cut here?"

"Wait a moment."

If Bini were here, she’d have dug it out at once—shame she wasn’t.

Instead, I asked Gun Hye-rin to slice the side of the hole with Willforce.

It’s not that I can’t use Willforce, but she’s trained with the sword and is more used to cutting things than I am.

Rummaging in her clothes, Gun Hye-rin drew the dagger I’d bought her in the marketplace.

"Should I cut around here, like this much?"

"Yes. Just be careful to cut only the wall, in case something’s inside. The thickness is..."

If we sliced into the Fire-Pagoda termite wall carelessly, we might injure the bodies or legs of other creatures inside, so I wrapped energy around my finger and jabbed the tower wall.

I wanted to check the thickness, but unlike before, my finger sank straight in like tofu.

In the past, even pounding away with palm strikes couldn’t pierce the hardened nest of the Fire-Pagoda termites, but now a hole opened up effortlessly.

After checking the thickness with my finger, I told Gun Hye-rin,

"It’s about three chi thick."

"Got it."

Three chi—about nine centimeters.

Hearing my explanation, Gun Hye-rin used her dagger to carve a round section a little away from the black burrow.

Then with a tap of her hand, the wall dropped away like a lid.

The inside of the hole was revealed.

As light streamed in, termites swarmed into view from within.

When their home collapses or a hole opens, termites always rush out.

We widened the hole and followed the trace of the black cavity to where it ended, firmly sealed.

"Looks like the termites blocked it."

I figured this burrow had long been abandoned and sealed by the termites.

The end of the tunnel was plugged tight with red earth.

I told Hye-rin and Cho,

"This burrow looks old. Let’s search to see if there are any others like it."

"Understood."

—Tssrr. "Got it, Dad."

For now, this tunnel looked disused.

Since the search might take a while, I caught a few termites for dinner.

"N-no way...?"

Hye-rin flinched at the sight, probably realizing what we were about to eat.

"Was it bad last time?"

"N-no, the taste was fine..."

Honestly, roasted termites taste great.

They’re pure protein. But Hye-rin didn’t seem too fond of it.

Last time she said it was tasty while eating, but looked reluctant.

Still, since she had become So-ryong’s wife, she’d need to adjust her palate.

I skewered a few termites on a branch snapped from the tree Cho had brought, then we resumed searching.

We searched for a long while, but found no more holes.

But that was only after checking one side of the stream that flowed through the middle of the valley, where the termite towers stood in rows.

Crossing to the opposite side, we found that every tower had a hole or two in it.

‘Don’t tell me—more than one?’

Could it be a colony?

My heart pounded like crazy.

***

—Crackle, crackle.

By the fire, termites skewered on sticks and fluorescent mushrooms sizzled.

The savory aroma of roasting mushrooms and meat drifted thick.

"A shame we don’t have salt."

I plucked the head and legs off the best-roasted one, skewered it like a hot dog, and offered it to Gun Hye-rin.

"Here you go, Hye-rin."

"T-thank you, Master."

"These mushrooms will taste good too."

I tore the head and legs from another well-roasted one, skewered it with a mushroom, and bit in.

A big bite, and juicy savor burst forth.

Rich, nutty juices filled my mouth.

"Ahh, delicious."

As I thought—termites are always tasty. While eating, I sorted through today’s search in my head.

‘The first day was a bust.’

The first day was indeed a bust.

On the far side of the stream, there was only one trace, so the search finished quickly. But on this side, with one or two holes in every tower, we had to open them all.

The search dragged on, and we only managed to inspect five towers today.

All of them duds.

Most were dry tunnels.

But today’s search wasn’t a complete waste.

I’d figured out how to identify a burrow actually used by the creature.

Near the end, I found a slightly damp tunnel, and the moment I saw it, I realized.

"Ah! That’s it!"

That burrow hadn’t been fully plugged by the termites. When I saw it, I thought:

If this really is the burrow of the World-Destroying Golden Toad—a frog, an amphibian—then its skin must be kept moist, so its burrow should be damp.

If the surroundings are dry, it would lose moisture.

So if it was in use, the burrow would be moist.

That meant tomorrow we’d be able to find it right away.

All we had to do was touch the entrance of a burrow to know if it had been recently used.

"Tomorrow we’ll find it."

While I spun up that hopeful circuit—certain we’d find it tomorrow—

Gun Hye-rin, grimacing as she chewed a termite, suddenly widened her eyes at me.

And from Cho, who was lying nearby, came a question.

—Tssrr? "Dad?"

"Hm? My pretty daughter?"

—Tssrt? "The friend we’re looking for—she’s like Sister Hwayang, right?"

"Huh? Maybe? But compared to Hwayang, its legs should be longer, and its colors more vivid, I think."

Hwayang is a desert toad type, with short legs. The World-Destroying Golden Toad we were searching for should be slimmer and more colorful.

I had seen it in the Secret Compendium of Venomous Creatures, but the picture was old and faded, so I couldn’t say for sure.

Then Cho pointed her antennae behind my back and asked,

—Tssrt. "Like that?"

"Huh?"

I turned my head—and there, a red, blue, and yellow frog was gulping down one of the termites I’d caught.

When our eyes met, the creature brazenly said,

—Kwaak. "What are you staring at? Never seen a frog eat dinner before?"

An outrageously shameless fellow.