Chapter 32 …
Anyway, the forest was absolutely perfect.
“Good. From now on, this forest shall be called the Demon King’s Forest!”
I shouted proudly, and the three orcs behind me grumbled.
“Honestly, the Demon King’s sense of naming has always been a bit… off.”
“What did you say?”
“Ah, nothing at all!”
Those little rascals…
“Uh, uh, over there! Look, Demon King!”
“What is it?”
“Isn’t that the herb we saw last time? It can be used for potions! There’s so much of it!”
Orc #3 quickly changed his words, pointing to some herbs. I widened my eyes as I looked where he pointed.
Sure enough, deep in the forest, the herbs we had seen before were growing in clusters.
“Oh, this is…”
These were the herbs that had helped regrow flesh when an orc’s arm was pierced by a spear.
They’re valuable herbs said to be the main ingredient for potions, right?
[Mantargo (High Grade) Cluster.
Mantargo is a fundamental herb for healing.]
And it’s high grade. No wonder it helped new flesh grow on a pierced arm.
“Wow, if we sell this on the continent, it could fetch a high price!”
“Exactly. Collect as much as you can. Whatever’s left, we can dry and sell at the market later.”
“Yes!”
I was pleased to have discovered an unexpected source of income.
Now, from the gold mine, we could get gold, and in the forest, we could harvest high-quality herbs as valuable as gold.
Herbs are inherently an important resource for everyone.
“Kyu!”
Even Kyu got excited and went with the orcs to collect the herbs.
I naturally took a seat next to a tree trunk.
After all, a king doesn’t do menial tasks.
The moment a king does menial work, the country collapses, the household falls apart, and the nation’s dignity is damaged…
I sat under the shade of a tree, watching the orcs and Kyu happily picking herbs. Even just watching this peaceful scene was healing.
Those little rascals… they seem to have gotten pretty close without me.
Then, I suddenly turned my head to the side…
“Hm?”
I noticed a cluster of mushrooms near the tree roots.
Wow, the mushrooms were beautiful. Bright red with white polka dots.
Anyone could tell that this was…
‘Poisonous mushrooms.’
Ugh, disgusting. Poisonous mushrooms in my dungeon.
Their bright red color looked so menacing, they’d be perfect to neatly arrange and gift to an enemy.
But I couldn’t risk kids coming along and touching them, so I decided to pull out every poisonous mushroom I saw.
However…
[‘Poison’ attribute mushrooms.
Coexists harmoniously with the Demon King.]
Huh? Harmonious coexistence?
“Ah, because I’m the Demon King, these poisonous mushrooms might act like a kind of nutrient…?”
Just like how Joanna’s holy power clashes with me, poison or dark attributes might be compatible with my nature as the Demon King.
Soon, another blue window popped up with additional explanation.
[Consuming a certain amount unlocks a new skill.]
“!”
I gasped in surprise.
A new skill… Could it be…
‘Gigantification?’
The majestic, Demon King aura?
The moment I saw “new skill,” my heart started pounding with excitement.
I pulled the bright red polka-dotted mushroom straight from the ground.
Now that I looked at it closely, it didn’t seem like a terrible poisonous mushroom—it looked almost like a cute strawberry.
These mushrooms were the path to my ‘Gigantification’ skill.
Without hesitation, I popped a mushroom into my mouth.
“Gulp!”
The taste was…
“Delicious.”
Chewy with a tangy kick. Quite a delicacy.
I chewed the poisonous mushroom raw. The first taste was slightly sour, ending with a bitter-sweet flavor reminiscent of licorice. Not inedible at all.
But eating it straight was too strong—better to have it with meat instead of kimchi or pickled onions.
By the third mushroom, my jaw moved almost automatically, mindlessly.
I wondered how many of these mushrooms I’d need to eat to unlock the new skill.
As I absentmindedly put the fourth mushroom in my mouth…
Plop.
Something fell, and I turned my head.
The three orcs and Kyu were standing there. It was the sound of the herbs they were holding spilling out of their arms.
Why did they look so shocked?
Curiously, unlike my indifferent expression, their faces were gradually turning pale.
“Uh, uh, uh.”
It looked like they were watching a puppy chewing on something it shouldn’t.
Then the orcs’ hands trembled, and they screamed.
“……Aaaah! Demon King, what on earth are you eating! Just for a moment!!”
Before I could even react, the three orcs rushed to grab my limbs.
A foreboding energy wrapped around me.
“Why are you eating poisonous mushrooms?! Do you want to see someone’s heart drop and die?! Spit it out immediately! Right now! Now! Nnnnow!!”
“Uh? Uhuh?”
“Kyu! Kyukyu! Kyu! Kyuukkku! Kkukkukk!!”
As the orcs grabbed my arms and legs, Kyu shoved his face into my mouth and started digging through the mushrooms.
Then I realized…
These little guys were seriously misunderstanding the situation.
“……Ugh, ugh, ugh!”
But I couldn’t explain myself—the slime filling my mouth was poking my tongue and the roof of my mouth mercilessly.
Ugh, wait. I feel like vomiting…
“I can’t survive! I’d rather die than be sick! I knew it was too quiet… and you were secretly eating this!!”
“Ugh! Uhhugh! Eugh!!”
The mushy mass hit my throat. Everything after that followed naturally.
“Ugh, uweeaaack…”
I vomited all the mushrooms I had eaten. Excuses came afterward.
By evening, we moved to the yard of a house for dinner.
I sat apart from them with a sulky face, grilling the halved poisonous mushrooms on a grate.
The orcs glanced at me awkwardly and chuckled.
“Ah, you should have told us, Demon King, that these mushrooms are medicinal. We had no idea.”
“Hmph, did I even give you the chance to speak?”
“Ahh, we had no idea and were scared stiff. We were picking herbs and turned around, and the Demon King was secretly eating something weird…”
So don’t call me a silly pup chewing on strange things during a walk.
After vomiting all the mushrooms I ate in the herb cluster, I was so upset that I ignored them completely.
Thanks to vomiting all the poisonous mushrooms, my progress toward the new skill had reverted to 0%.
The mushrooms tasted fine, but their strong flavor made it hard to keep eating them.
I glanced at the huge pile of mushrooms far away in the forest. After clearing up the misunderstanding, we had nearly harvested all the poisonous mushrooms.
‘Ugh, when am I going to eat all of that?’
How long until I reach 100% and unlock the new skill?
The puppet show lady, who had heard the story, just chuckled and handed me a freshly grilled fish.
“Eat it with the mushrooms, Demon King. It’s nicely grilled!”
“No, I don’t need it.”
I was already a glutton who loved protein, so when I refused, the lady looked puzzled.
“Eh? Why? Are you only going to eat mushrooms? There’s very little fish. You should eat it.”
Of course, I love freshly grilled fish. A plump blue-backed fish like this costs 50,000 won in Jeju, and I could only dream of it in my tiny apartment.
But I couldn’t help it…
I glanced at my status window, visible only to me.
[New skill unlock progress: 2%…]
I had to keep eating mushrooms to unlock the new skill.
Even though I had been eating mushrooms for a while, progress was still slow.
The golden-brown grilled fish looked tempting, but the skill was a priority.
One mushroom was urgent; I couldn’t fill up with fish instead.
So, I had no choice but to refuse the fish.
“Fine. There isn’t much fish anyway. Let the kids eat first.”
“B-But…”
“The kids need to eat and grow fast. I’ll grill some for myself later.”
If the kids ate well and grew quickly, they’d become the labor force of my village, like little bean sprouts.
Of course, freshly grilled fish looked enticing, but it wasn’t like it was an unattainable delicacy. I could eat it anytime.
So there was no need to feel regret now.
I refused the fish and popped a golden-brown grilled poisonous mushroom into my mouth, making the lady’s eyes widen in surprise.
