A Trash Novel's Only Reader-Chapter 32: Something Worse

The demon woman stood by the window with one hand resting against her arm while the hooded figure knelt behind her, waiting for permission to speak.

She had been in a poor mood since Serpent’s Pit failed, and that mood only got worse after hearing that the planted core had not been recovered. A ruined test was annoying enough, but not knowing who ruined it was worse.

"Well?" she asked, her voice calm in a way that made the warning inside it even clearer. "You said you found the one I was looking for, so speak."

"I found him," the hooded demon replied, keeping his head lowered. "The one who cleared Serpent’s Pit is a human named Shu."

That answer did not impress her.

"And?" she asked, finally turning halfway toward him. "You went all the way there just to bring me a name?"

The figure paused for a moment, then lowered his head a little further.

"I did not find much else on him," he said. "Very little, actually."

Her eyes narrowed, "very little?" she repeated. "You were sent to observe one human, not lose him in a crowd."

"I observed what I could," he said, still careful with his tone. "But the situation around him is strange."

That made her stay quiet for a second, which was more patience than most people ever got from her.

"Go on," she said.

"He lives within a strange Domain," the hooded demon said. "At first I thought it was some kind of hidden barrier, but the closer I looked, the less it made sense."

The annoyance on her face eased just enough for interest to slip in.

"A Domain?" she asked.

"Yes," he said. "I could not find a visible anchor, weakness, or distortion anywhere around it."

He lifted his head slightly after that, just enough for her to hear that this part of the report bothered him more than he liked.

"From one look, it seemed indestructible."

Silence followed that line.

The woman said nothing at first, though the change in her expression was immediate. A moment ago she had only been mildly irritated, but now her full attention had shifted onto him.

’Indestructible?’ she thought, her eyes sharpening a little. ’A human has something like that?’

"You are sure?" she asked.

"As sure as I can be without forcing the issue," he replied. "I found no point in testing it recklessly after seeing that much."

She turned fully this time, the faint boredom in her face gone now.

"Interesting," she said softly.

That one word was enough to make the hooded demon lower his head again, because he already knew her mood had changed. What had started as an irritating report had just become something worth her attention.

She looked past him for a moment, though it was clear her thoughts were no longer on the room.

’So that is what you are hiding, Shu,’ she thought, a faint smile touching her lips. ’Now you have my attention.’

"Keep observing him," she said after a moment, her voice calm again. "Do not push or provoke him, and do not touch that Domain unless I say so."

The hooded demon lowered his head at once.

"Understood."

She rested one arm over the other and looked back out the window, the small smile still on her lips.

"This human might prove useful," she said. "And if that is true, I would rather not break him before I understand what I am looking at."

The order had been decided, and from now on Shu was no longer just a loose end from a failed test.

He was something worth watching.

......

Shu dropped from the branch and landed in a crouch, then rolled one sore shoulder before glancing through the trees around him.

’Alright,’ he thought, tightening his grip on the bat. ’No more picking fights with giant bullshit gorilla trees if I can help it.’

He had already learned his lesson from the brutes, or at least enough of it to stop charging after the first thing that looked worth hitting. Strong monsters were nice for EXP, sure, but getting folded in half every ten minutes was a stupid way to farm.

’Weak monsters first,’ he thought, moving through the fog at a steady pace. ’I can leave the ugly heavyweight nonsense to the guild for now.’

That answer felt a lot more reasonable with his body still aching from the earlier fights. His leg had stopped throbbing as badly, but every time he pushed off too hard, the reminder came right back.

’Yeah, definitely the weak ones,’ he thought. ’I am trying to get stronger, not collect injuries like achievements.’

A rustle came from the bushes up ahead, followed by a low wet growl that sounded familiar enough to make him grin.

"Please be those dog things again," he muttered, raising the bat a little.

Three Bloodwood Hounds stepped out through the red fog with their yellow eyes locked on him, bark-covered jaws opening as the vines under their skin pulsed. They looked nasty, but after the brutes, the sight of them almost felt refreshing.

"Ah, there you are," he said, sounding way too pleased about it. "See? This is good. I can manage if it continues like this."

The first hound lunged and he stepped aside at the last second, bringing the bat down across its spine in one clean motion. The body snapped, hit the ground, and turned to ash before the other two fully closed the distance.

[Kill Registered: Bloodwood Hound]

[Objective: Clear the Crimson Forest (47/150)]

’Nice,’ he thought, turning into the second one.

That hound came lower, trying for his leg, but he lifted his knee just enough to ruin the bite line before smashing the bat into the side of its head. Bark split, red sap sprayed, and the thing tumbled into a root before dissolving with a weak choke.

The third hesitated, which only made him laugh under his breath.

"What happened?" he asked, stalking forward while it backed up a step. "A second ago you all looked pretty brave."

It turned to run the moment he closed the gap in a few strides and drove the bat straight through the side of its ribs, launching it hard enough to break a nearby trunk before it vanished into ash.

[Kill Registered: Bloodwood Hound x2]

[Objective: Clear the Crimson Forest (49/150)]

He stood there for a second with the bat resting on his shoulder, then let out a satisfied breath.

"See?" he muttered, shaking bark and ash off the bat. "This is how it should be."

’Maybe I should have done this from the start,’ he thought, stepping over a root as another system line flashed in front of him.

[Objective: Clear the Crimson Forest (58/150)]

’Yep, this is the life,’ he thought. ’Free mission progress, easy monsters, and no giant tree gorillas trying to cave my skull in.’

He had just started thinking the dungeon finally stopped being a scam when a chill ran straight down his spine, making his whole body lock up.

The air behind him had changed, turning so heavy and twisted that even the red fog seemed quieter around it. Every instinct in his body screamed at him, making the small bit of comfort he had built over the last few minutes vanished on the spot.

’No way,’ he thought, grip tightening around the bat. ’W-what is this ominous presence?’

He turned slowly, his eyes landing on the thing standing in the fog, ’what the hell is that massive thing?’ He thought, taking a few shaky steps backward.

The red mist rolled away from it in slow waves, revealing a body so huge it made the trees around it look small. It stood on two thick legs with a torso covered in bark and black-red growths, while both arms hung low enough to drag through the ground.

Its shoulders were wider than a truck, and it looked almost as big as the serpent queen from before. The difference was the pressure coming off it, because this monster was giving off a different kind of vibe.

’No, this thing is stronger,’ he thought, his throat going dry while the bat felt a little too light in his hands. ’Way stronger.’

It roared, releasing a strange wave like pressure that send him back a few steps.

"Fuck."