Chapter 8

    The Devastated Illusion Forest

    "Ouch..."

    Möbius groaned after he had collapsed for about an hour. He was still dazed by the events that had transpired just before he passed out. The only thing he could remember was seeing a round, fair, firm shape that did not resemble that of a mother who had given birth, though his view was somewhat blurry.

    And unless one looked closely, one would not notice the tiny, adorable red moles at the center of those two round shapes. Möbius reiterated that he didn't see it clearly as it was too close to him. He looked around to assess his current situation and realized he was on a bed in the two foxes' home. Möbius removed the cloth stuffed in his nose.

    It was half soaked in red, indicating he had lost a lot of blood. But why was it coming out of his nose? Möbius chose to ignore that fact and immediately pushed himself up from the bed.

    Möbius’s hand felt something incredibly soft. He tensed up again before slowly turning to see what he had grabbed.

    "Oh, it's just the arm."

    Möbius muttered to himself as he shook his head to dispel the odd thoughts when he realized it was Gumiho's arm. He thought that if it had been something else, he might have fainted again.

    "Are you awake, Möbius? Have some red potion first."

    Inari approached with a bottle of red potion in hand. Although Möbius had already rested, his life force had not fully recovered. He immediately took the red potion and drank it.

    "Nothing was seen just now, right, dear Möbius?" Inari asked, twisting awkwardly with embarrassment.

    "Foof... Cough, cough, cough."

    Möbius, who was drinking the potion, choked and sprayed the red liquid from his mouth as he tumbled out of bed. The vivid image flashed before his eyes again, and a thicker stream of red than the potion flowed from his nose. Möbius bent down to let the blood from his nose drip beside the bed, thinking he couldn't deny it any longer given the severity of the symptoms.

    "Uh... I saw it, mother."

    Möbius admitted truthfully as blood trickled from his nose. Inari, not expecting the young man to admit the truth so easily, decided to ask another question immediately.

    "So, Möbius, whose do you prefer more, mine or Gumiho's?"

    Inari asked, squinting slyly at Möbius.

    "Mother, you're teasing Möbius again. You didn't even wait for me."

    Gumiho, who had been awake for a while but pretended to be asleep, got up and retorted to her mother with a pout.

    "Möbius has never seen mine, how can he compare?"

    The fox girl made a gesture as if she was about to really open her kimono.

    “Stop, Miho, or I'll faint again. Remember, the village is still in danger."

    Möbius grabbed both of Miho's hands to stop what she was about to do, before hastily leaving the cave with his face beet red, thinking how truly dangerous this mother and daughter duo were. It's no wonder they say cunning women are like foxes, and they were foxes that could spin his head until it almost came off his neck.

    As he walked out, he saw nearly the entire tribe of celestial foxes had been eavesdropping on what the three of them were doing inside the house. When they all saw Möbius, they immediately scurried away. Möbius remembered that he had gained a new ability and decided to check it out.

    Ability Window

    No.

    Name

    Ability

    7

     Auto reload

    Can load bullets into the gun automatically, provided that the gun and bullets are in the same location. Cannot be used while the gun or bullets are in a bag (Uses magical power equal to the gun's level x 10) (No delay)

    "Finally, I have a useful ability, at last. Phew..."

    Möbius sighed with relief that he had solved the issue of slow bullet loading. Although it might consume some of his blue power-enhancing potion, it was worth it. Möbius then checked his gear in preparation for his journey to eliminate Giga Rafflesia. The task wouldn’t be easy since the tree boss was located in a pond filled with life force that could enrich the entire forest. But for the Celestial Fox tribe of Gumiho, who had taken good care of him, he was determined to give his all.

    "Before we go, let’s eat. I've made it with all my heart."

    Inari walked out of the house with Gumiho, both of them with messy hair. Just by looking at them, one could tell that the mother and daughter had been roughhousing. They invited Möbius to a large clearing where a huge pot was set up. As he approached and smelled the wafting aroma coming from the pot, he immediately held his head. It was the smell of blueberry, pineapple, and this time, strawberries too. Möbius thought that at least there were no poisonous mushrooms or monster bones in it. However, as he looked closer, he saw large pieces of bone-in meat floating around, and the broth, vibrant with blues, yellows, and reds, soaked into the meat, changing its color to something unrecognizable.

    "Eat plenty, Möbius, so you'll have the strength to fight that tree."

    Gumiho scooped a large piece of meat for Möbius and handed him the bowl. Like the last time Gumiho made porridge for him, Möbius ate as quickly as possible to avoid tasting it for too long. The rest of the foxes gathered around to share the tricolor meat together.

    Möbius, who finished first with great speed, quickly went to drink water from the village pond before returning to his original seat, now flanked by the mother-daughter duo.

    "Here, Möbius, comb my hair."

    Gumiho said, turning her back to him. The young man, who had just finished eating, immediately picked up a comb and started combing the fox girl's hair. When Inari saw this, she looked at her daughter with surprise, then turned her back to Möbius before saying,

    "My hair is messy too, dear one, Möbius."

    Regretting he had only bought one comb, Möbius alternated between the left and right sides until the entire celestial fox tribe finished eating.

    "Before it's too late, Miho, let's set off."

    Möbius hurriedly suggested to Gumiho to deal with the poisonous tree because he feared that something else would happen and delay their departure for another day or two, which seemed highly likely given everything that had happened since he arrived in this village.

    "Umm, leaving early in the morning should get us to that pond by noon."

    Gumiho, who had just finished eating, got up and stretched lazily. She was also eager to start the journey, especially since any delay would mean less power-enhancing potion left upon her return.

    "Dear one, Möbius, the sacred pond is called the Moonlight Pond. It’s at the far western base of the mountain in Illusion Forest, not hard to find at all. Just head towards where the yellow pollen is denser, and you should be able to find it. Normally, there are moonstones in the pond, which have been bathed in moonlight for years, and have enough power to sustain the entire forest. To deal with that tree, the stone must be destroyed first."

    Inari stood as well, informing Möbius of what the scouts had observed before hugging Gumiho and gently patting her head.

    "Take good care of yourself, my dear. If you can’t fight, just run away, and take care of Möbius too."

    Inari looked at Gumiho with a concerned gaze, giving her a scroll to teleport back to the celestial fox village if needed.

    "Do not worry, Mother. I will keep the promise I made with my life. And what will become of the Illusion Forest if the Moonlight Stone is no more?"

    Möbius, impressed by the bond between the mother and daughter who seemed always to be playing, but who in truth loved each other deeply, worried about another matter. If the Moonlight Stone, the energy source of the forest, were destroyed, the entire forest might perish as well.

    "But as long as the Moonlight Stone remains, those who release the toxic plants will continue to do so, Möbius. Don't worry, my dear. No one in the territory of our village can stand against the Celestial Fox tribe."

    Inari explained. Because of the village's borders, the Celestial Fox tribe has grown stronger, to ensure this peace-loving tribe can safely remain in this world. Yet, in his heart, Möbius still disliked this solution and had to seek a better way. He tried to find an answer as he waved goodbye to the Celestial Fox tribe.

    "Me and Gumiho will be back soon."

    "Sure, and hurry back, my dear, Möbius."

    At this moment, Inari hugged Möbius and gently patted his head before waving goodbye, just like the other foxes in the tribe who came out to encourage them both.

    It didn't take long for the two to enter the area with the toxic plants. Initially, they thought to rush straight to the Moonlight Cave, but judging by the obstacles in front of them, it seemed that the justice system would not allow it, so it sent a large number of poisonous insects to block their way.

    Amidst the yellow pollen that was so thick it was almost like fog, Möbius and Gumiho were blocked by a swarm of insects: knee-high black spiders, large yellow wasps with black stripes the size of car tires, and numerous brown moths of a similar size.

    Unfortunately for the insects, their enemies were a gunslinger spraying bullets and a celestial fox partner adept at casting large-scale magic spells.

    "Squeak..."

    The black spider at the front emitted a loud scream before charging towards the duo standing ahead, signaling the other insects to attack Möbius and Gumiho as well.

    Not waiting, Möbius took out his light Thompson machine gun, firing bullets to buy time for the fox girl to gather her magical powers, testing his new ability, auto-reload, in the process. But the overwhelming number of insects made it impossible for a single gun to stop them all.

    "Looks like I'll need to get some grenades soon."

    Möbius complained, as despite the large and numerous enemies, he didn't need to aim to hit them, but given the Thompson's attack power of only 35, the insects kept approaching closer to the two.

    "Get down, Möbius."

    The fox girl, in human form but with golden fox ears and a tail, told the young man next to her to duck down. After she had gathered her magic, she chose to concentrate the power at the tip of her golden tail and released nine fireballs.

    Numerous fireballs scattered and fell upon the dense swarm of poisonous insects, and the moment they made contact with their targets, the fireballs exploded in a wide radius with immense destructive power, leaving no insect within the blast radius alive. Möbius, seizing the opportunity created by Gumiho, immediately tried to use his new ability.

    Auto reload

    “...”

    After attempting to activate the ability, nothing happened; the magazine of his Thompson remained as empty as before. Möbius swallowed hard when he saw that his ability was ineffective, but the swarm of insects didn't give him much time. They slowly crept closer to both of them. Even though his pistols weren't ideal against numerous foes, he had no other choice. He quickly stowed the Thompson in his left hand and summoned a new gun in his right.

    He immediately fired bullets from the Ivory & Ebony, and although the attack power of dual pistols was much higher than the Thompson’s, due to the even smaller amount of ammunition, Möbius exhausted it in the blink of an eye. He immediately looked towards the fox girl's tail, remembering well that it too was a formidable weapon.

    "Möbius, are you really going to use my tail to stab those insects?"

    Gumiho looked at Möbius as if she knew exactly what he was thinking. He didn't want Miho's tail to be sullied like this either, but options were too few. Despite feeling that he had gained a useful ability, he wondered if they should use a spell scroll to return to the Celestial Fox tribe, which they had left not long ago. Even now, as the fox girl used light magic that didn't require much time to gather power, it couldn't eliminate the insects faster than they approached. The situation was getting worse.

    "Damn it, why won't it work?"

    Möbius was immensely frustrated with the ability he had almost traded his life for. Although he had seen some good come of it, he believed that the previous owner of the dual pistols wouldn't have entrusted him with a useless ability. Möbius tried to use it again.

    Auto reload

    ‘Thomson m1927A-1 custom ammunition reloaded successfully.’

    A voice from the system rang in his head, letting Möbius know that this time, using the ability was different.

    "So that's how it works."

    In just a moment, he realized that the ability required both the gun and ammunition to be together. Initially, the Thompson was in his hand while the ammunition was in the fourth dimension; that's why the ability didn't work. But now, both were in the fourth dimension, allowing it to function. He stowed the dual pistols in the fourth dimension and summoned the now reloaded Thompson, pointing its barrel towards the enemies in front of him, who flinched slightly when they saw the black gun aimed at them.

    "It's time to die."

    Möbius smiled, pleased that he had solved the biggest problem a gunlinger could face. Risking his life for this had been worth it in many ways, and with this new ability, the trigger of the Thompson was pressed without hesitation of wasting bullets.

    "Though you can reload continuously, be careful not to exhaust all the ammunition in storage,"

    Gumiho was concerned that if they used up all the bullets on these insects, what would they do when they encountered the giant tree? She then released another nine fireballs, as before, at the insects before picking up a blue potion to drink while gathering the power again.

    "I understand, Miho, I'll save 2,500 rounds then and use them sparingly. And don't forget to keep some of the blue potion as well."

    Möbius smiled as he reloaded the now empty Thompson and drew his dual pistols to shoot at the nearby insects. By now, the fox girl had consumed three bottles of the blue potion.

    " Don't worry, these insects will also give the blue power-enhancing potions, but not the bullets."

    The fox girl playfully retorted, biting back at Möbius with a childlike demeanor.

    "You don't want to use your tail to stab the insects, but you're fine with collecting the potion that was once inside them?"

    Möbius started to enjoy spraying bullets and chatting at the same time because he didn't need to aim anyway. If the bullets ran out, he would switch to another gun. He was already thinking of getting a machine gun to alternate with his Thompson and looking for bombs and stronger ammunition than the standard ones.

    The two had killed a large number of insects, which was beneficial as these insects provided a good amount of experience since they were on average level 25 and used poison as a weapon, making their life force less than regular monsters, allowing Möbius, whose attack power wasn't very high, to kill them quite easily. The duo continued to eliminate the insects as they slowly made their way towards the western side of the Illusion Forest.

    Möbius began to notice some changes. By now, the swarm of insects was thinning, and the yellow pollen fog seemed to be dissipating.

    "Miho, try releasing ordinary fire over there."

    Möbius pointed to where the yellow fog was densest, and the fox girl released fire from her tail like a flamethrower as he directed. Möbius observed the changes in the fog, which seemed to be drawn towards Miho's fire and slightly expanded when the pollen hit it. He concluded that the pollen was flammable, which was why the fox girl's magic was slightly stronger than usual.

    While Möbius was researching the fog,

    "Möbius, watch the ground."

    The fox girl's keen senses warned her that something was under the soil, and there was a lot of it. Möbius switched the gun in his hand to the dual pistols, I & E. As they both stood still, the noise also stopped. Möbius, staring at the ground unblinkingly, then threw a bullet ahead of him.

    "Hmm...!!!"

    A centipede, about 1 foot wide not including its ghastly orange legs, leaped up and bit the bullet Möbius had thrown before burrowing back into the soil. This type of enemy was one of the hardest to deal with because it would only come out and attack when it knew exactly where the target was and would retreat to the soil after a missed attack.

    (Miho, help me look for a large rock around here, and don't make any noise.)

    Möbius sent Gumiho a telepathic message. Now, neither of them could move a step, not knowing which direction these giant centipede would attack next.

    (There aren't any, Möbius.)

    Even the fox girl, who had better eyesight than Möbius, couldn't see a single large rock. Or if there were, they were small rocks that were unlikely protect them from the giant insects that was about to attack.

    Möbius racked his brain hard because the sun was already high above the western horizon. He didn't want to fight a boss-level monster that controlled the Moonlight Stone when the moon was shining brightly. He had to find a way out of this situation.

    (Miho, how many are there?)

    Möbius asked the fox girl before she closed her eyes and used her fox ears to listen to the sounds of their surroundings. Möbius observed that the ears, which seemed ordinary on a fox's body, looked quite adorable on a beautiful woman, especially one with a fluffy, golden tail that looked so huggable.

    (About eight of them, Möbius. They're burrowing slowly around this area, about 2 feet deep.)

    Gumiho's voice brought him out of his reverie, pushing him to think harder about how to kill these centipedes. Möbius glanced at the densely packed dead trees around them and suddenly got an idea.

    (Miho, do we have much of the blue potion left?)

    Möbius had a plan to escape from here, but it would require some effort from the fox girl.

    (Combining the old and new, we have about 20 bottles left.)

    Given that the fox girl had only brought five bottles from the village, Möbius nodded in response. According to his plan, 5 bottles should be enough.

    (Miho, knock down that tree over there towards that direction.)

    Möbius pointed towards a tree on the right, trailing ahead. The fox girl released fire that was as thin as a saw blade into the tree, and it fell precisely where Möbius had indicated. As soon as the tree fell, the centipedes came out and bit the tree almost immediately, but when they touched the flesh of the 2-person-wide tree, they quickly retreated back into the ground.

    Möbius directed the fox girl to knock down several more trees according to his instructions, eventually forming a circle around them with a diameter of about 10 meters, with the two of them close to the trees at the 3 o'clock position. Now, the fox girl had already consumed three bottles of the blue potion.

    (Once they all gather inside the circle, Miho, use several soft fireballs to set the trees on fire at once, that would be even better.)

    The fox girl could guess what Möbius was aiming to do and gathered her fire powers, maintaining a high heat but low explosion strength at the tips of all nine of her tails. Möbius tossed 5-6 bullets towards the 9 o'clock direction to lure the giant centipedes into the trap he had set, and it worked. Several centipedes scrambled to bite at the bullets like fish fighting over food.

    At that moment, the dry trees around Möbius and Gumiho caught fire simultaneously. When the fires started on the surface of the ground, the soil underneath heated up as well, similar to underground chicken cooking by creating a fire directly above the buried chicken. It's in the nature of all creatures to dislike heat, and these centipedes were no exception. They now clustered in the center of the circle Möbius and Gumiho had created, the surface soil cracking open to reveal shiny black shells and disgusting orange legs moving.

    (Handle it now, Miho.)

    Möbius instructed the fox girl to finish the game, which she was already prepared to do. The fox girl used a type of fireball that exploded when it hit its target, but this time she didn't use nine fireballs. Instead, she used a single, extra-large one and stuffed it into the hole where the centipedes were crowded together.

    The attack was more effective than expected. The giant centipedes all died together underground. The battle against the insects had significantly increased the levels of both Möbius and Gumiho, but now the sun was starting to turn orange. If they didn't move quickly, they would surely face the system's justice for having too much fun with the insects and losing track of time.

    Window: Status (Summary)

    Name

    Möbius

    Level, Occupation

    27, Gunslinger

    Health, Magic Power

    895/895,435/435

    Partner Window

    Name, Race

    Gumiho, ??? (Celestial Fox)

    Level, Age

    33 , 183 years

    Health, Magic Power

    3300/3300, 1650/1650

    Relationship Level

    45/100