But… when Ethan happily recited his poem and stepped into the poison fog once again, he froze in confusion.
Because, it was as if everything inside the fog had suddenly been refreshed.
The Green Giant Ants that had been chasing him moments ago were all gone, completely gone, not a single one left.
But if they had retreated, then the corpses Ethan had killed should still be lying around. Yet the ground looked far too clean, nothing like a battlefield that had just seen a fierce fight.
"Where did the Green Giant Ants go all of a sudden?"
Ethan stood there, baffled.
He walked forward a bit more in disbelief, only to find that not just the monsters had refreshed, even the terrain had changed along with them.
The ground that had been firm enough to gallop on had now turned into something like a swamp, soft and spongy underfoot.
One step, and his foot sank straight into a patch of mud.
And when he tried to use his other leg to pull himself out, that leg started sinking too.
The harder he struggled, the faster he sank.
"Damn it!"
"What the hell is this?"
Ethan cursed in frustration.
In the end, he could only imitate that survival trick, spreading his limbs and pressing his whole body flat against the mud, increasing his surface area to boost buoyancy and keep himself from sinking further.
But just as his upper body touched the mud and he was about to push himself up, he suddenly felt something beneath the surface wrapping around his leg.
[Swamp Ghost Grass: A carrion-eating plant that grows beneath dark, damp mud. When a creature falls into the swamp and touches the glandular hairs on its leaves, it drags the prey into the mud, drowning it alive before feeding on the corpse.]
"Damn it!"
Ethan kicked hard.
But being stuck in the swamp felt like having hundreds of suction cups clinging to his body. Forget breaking free from the ghost grass, he could barely move at all.
'Annoying!'
This thing was perfectly hidden beneath the swamp.
No matter how he thought about it, Ethan couldn't come up with a way to deal with it. If he used something rigid, he'd end up solidifying himself in the mud along with it.
But if he used something soft, he'd just sink faster.
As for the Great Fireball, not even worth considering, the poison fog would explode.
And even if it didn't, the fireball wouldn't have the penetration to strike the ghost grass beneath the mud.
"Looks like… the only thing I can try is the Eight Forms of God-Slaying."
Ethan swung his sword.
But his posture was all wrong, and he couldn't release the technique at all.
Without sword energy, the blade had no force behind it.
After struggling for a while, all he managed to do was leave a shallow scratch on the surface of the mud.
It had no real power whatsoever.
Whoosh!
Left with no choice, Ethan blew a whistle, calling the Bone Horse in.
But the moment the Bone Horse stepped into the fog, the ground beneath its hooves began to collapse as well. Ethan quickly stopped it from coming any closer, then hurled a Ghost Claw that latched onto the horse's rear.
Then he shouted, "Bone Horse! Run out! Hurry, get out of here!"
"Neigh!"
The Bone Horse cried out.
Then it bolted toward the edge at full speed.
With the pull of the Bone Horse, Ethan finally broke free from the ghost grass in the mud.
"Damn it! Even a patch of grass thinks it can screw me over!"
Once dragged clear of the swamp, Ethan was furious. He pulled out his staff from his storage ring and started blasting the ground like crazy.
"Harden!"
Whoosh!
"Harden!"
Whoosh!
With a rapid barrage, he turned the entire muddy swamp into solid concrete.
The poisonous grass beneath was sealed under it.
Only then did Ethan finally stand securely on solid ground.
He then slashed downward with the Draw Sword Form, cutting out a large chunk of the concrete. Lifting it up, he brushed off the dirt with his sword and finally saw what the ghost grass that had trapped his foot actually looked like.
It resembled something like a turnip, white, tuber-like.
But on its root was a human face.
Its leaves and roots were trapped in the concrete, but its facial features were still wriggling, giving it an eerie, ghost-like appearance.
Ethan pried its mouth open with his sword.
It was full of sharp teeth, but had no tongue.
Its mouth was like a black hole, empty inside, except for the stench of rotting flesh.
"Chaotic Sword Form!"
With one strike, Ethan chopped the ghost grass into pieces.
From its wounds flowed a sap that looked like human blood, though it smelled spicy, like freshly cut chili.
"Can I eat this thing?"
As an easterner, that was naturally Ethan's primary concern.
Sure, it looked a bit human, but there were things that looked even more human than this.
Besides, eastern cuisine had everything.
So… who cared if it looked human? What mattered was whether it tasted good.
"Bone Horse, you try it?"
Of course, Ethan wasn't foolish enough to shove an unknown plant into his own mouth.
He wasn't Shennong, after all.
And besides… Didn't Shennong die from poisoning in the end? Better to be cautious.
"Neigh!"
The Bone Horse, though a herbivore, jerked its head away the moment it saw the swamp ghost grass, clearly refusing to eat it.
If even a horse wouldn't touch it, Ethan decisively tossed it aside.
[Swamp Continent: An endless expanse of marshland. Beneath the swamp lurk numerous hidden dangers. Enter with caution.]
"Damn it!"
Only now did the prompt appear.
'What kind of broken system is this?'
Though Ethan couldn't be sure what exactly was wrong, he suspected it had something to do with how everything inside the poison fog kept refreshing. On top of that, the monsters in this swamp were troublesome to deal with, and didn't even drop anything valuable.
Shaking his head, he lost interest in exploring further.
No monsters to farm, no treasure chests to open.
A place like this wasn't worth the risk. Better to leave.
Without hesitation, Ethan led the Bone Horse along the concrete path he had created with Harden and exited this cursed place.
After stepping out of the poison fog once more, curiosity seeped in again.
If he went in again, would it refresh yet again?
BOOM!
However, the moment Ethan stepped back into the poison fog, he was forced to retreat immediately.
Because the area he had just entered had turned into a land filled with lava. Something massive was swimming within it, splashing molten rock that nearly burned him alive.
Good thing he backed out fast.
Otherwise, he would've gone from raw to cooked in an instant, and not even fully cooked, more like thirty percent raw, thirty percent medium, thirty percent half-done.
═❀═❀═❀═❀═❀═❀═
[email protected]/AmbitiousTranslator
🥳Joining P@treon keeps me motivated and eager to work diligently, so please consider joining.🥰 You can access upto 20 advance chapter through P@treon.