Yarra’s Adventure Notes
Chapter 747 - 12 Tear of the Gods_1

Chapter 747: Chapter 12 Tear of the Gods_1

After understanding the danger of these mushrooms, the swamps transformed in the girls’ eyes. What was initially a beautiful sight had lost its glamorous facade, revealing a hideous face under its original charm. Like Pannis said, dangerous things often cloak themselves in beauty, their enticing appearances masking their true murderous intent, just like the mushrooms they had encountered. If not forewarned, who could imagine that among beautiful large mushrooms straight out of a fairy tale, some were carnivorous species. Indeed, it might be best to keep a safe distance from such beautiful yet potentially threatening mushrooms.

"Actually, it’s not as exaggerated as you imagine, ssst, the swamp is quite friendly." Lizard Lady Galantis was in the lead, guiding the way. To the Lizardman Hunter, the beautiful yet dangerous swamps were home. They could navigate its shadowy world even with their eyes shut. But Galantis preferred her eyes kept wide open. She held several mushrooms in her hands - normal-sized ones, but their surfaces were layered in bright colors - red, green, yellow. The vibrancy that adorned their bodies would compel any sane person to keep their distance. But she held them close and was in the process of popping a mushroom in her mouth. As she chewed and spoke simultaneously, she said, "Especially these mushrooms, they’re yummy. Sst, this one tastes like Bubble Fruit. Ah, this is good. This mushroom tastes like the sprout of a mouse tail. I didn’t realize how much I’ve missed its unique flavor. Has it been too long since I left the swamps? What moments to reminisce, sst."

"Gimme some." Pannis extended her hand towards Galantis, but the Lizard Lady who was usually clingy, protected the mushrooms in her arms, watching Pannis like a dog guarding its food and beckoned her tail as she said: "Not giving, sst. These are mine. I foraged them myself. They are my favorite flavors. Sst sst. You’re going to steal my mushrooms again. You always have, ever since we were little. Not giving them to you. Sst. If you want some, forage them yourself."

"So petty." Pannis pouted her lips and out of nowhere performed a leap in the air, plucking a few mushrooms from a suguwood tree three meters high, tossing one into her mouth. After a few bites, she held her throat as if in pain and began to cough violently. Unfortunately, no one responded to her plight. Only Vivian, seemingly empathetic, lightly kicked Pannis from behind and sneered, "Quit faking it. You’re not very convincing. And no one would believe that you of all people, would get poisoned by a mushroom. Just walk properly will you."

"So boring." Pannis immediately recovered, popped another mushroom into her mouth, and said with a full mouth to the girls, "Do you want to try some? These mushrooms are one of the specialties of the swamps. Many of them taste like various kinds of fruit, and they carry the unique flavor of mushrooms. They are delicious. I suggest you guys try some."

The girls shook their heads vehemently. Catherine, feeling a slight numbness on her skin, tentatively asked, "Are you sure these mushrooms are edible? Usually, mushrooms with bright colors are highly poisonous. These mushrooms cannot be more colorful. Are you sure they are not poisonous?"

What Catherine was referring to was common knowledge to adventurers in Yarran World. Mis-eating poisonous mushrooms is troublesome for adventurers, as it would require priests to cast mana to detoxify. Some really poisonous mushrooms can kill Gold Rank professionals within a minute. If an ordinary person were to consume these, they probably wouldn’t last three seconds. Unless one possesses the constitution of a demigod to resist these toxins, no other professional would risk eating wild mushrooms given the high stakes of resulting in a fatal outcome.

"That’s just typically the case. Many non-poisonous mushrooms purposely grow such bright exteriors for self-preservation. However, they are hard to distinguish, and depending on the origin, mushrooms of the same kind can be essentially different. For instance, Dragon Parasol mushrooms are considered a delicacy in the deep mountains of Kulan but are extremely poisonous in Falar Empire and Neutral Land. Therefore, it’s hard to differentiate a poisonous mushroom from a non-poisonous one unless one is extremely familiar with them. To prevent mis-eating, safer to assume all brightly colored mushrooms as toxic, except for those plain ones that are certainly harmless," Pannis opened her hands showing a few yellow mushrooms and patiently explained, "Moreover, don’t forget this is Whispering Swamp. The ecosystem here is quite unique. Whether these mushrooms are toxic or not, the lizardmen have spent thousands of years to figure it out, and I learned to make this distinction from them. So, rest assured, I would never choose a poisonous mushroom."

"I’ll try it first." Lina, the most curious one, could no longer hold back. She took a mushroom from Pannis, held it up against the sky, then remembered that there was no sunlight and it made no difference whether she held it up or not. She chuckled awkwardly and brought the mushroom to her nose for a sniff, then bit cautiously after ascertaining that the smell was not off. After a moment of savoring its flavor, her eyes sparked with delight, and she stuffed the whole mushroom into her mouth and mumbled as she chewed, "It tastes surprisingly good. It really has a fruity flavor and does not have the bitterness that usually comes with raw mushrooms. It’s excellent; you guys should try."

All of a sudden, the mushrooms in Pannis’s hands were all gone, even before the Lizard Lady could mock her again. Lina had taken every last one, leaving Pannis stunned to the point of grinning. She leapt onto the suguwood tree once again. Minutes later, she hopped down with a small bag of mushrooms. After cramming one into her mouth, she said, "When I was on the tree just now, I noticed a lake not far off. It looks familiar. Is it the Tear of the Gods? I hardly remember."

"Yes, that is Tear of the Gods, sst, one of the deity’s gifts to the swamps." Galantis nodded happily while wagging her tail, "Tear of the Gods is an easy-to-reach resting spot for those who enter the swamp through this route. It’s perfect for spending the night. This place is also my favorite region. When we were little, you used to bring me here to play, sst, no wonder it feels familiar."

"Ah, I remember," Pannis tapped his forehead, "One time, your Knight sister and I were fishing at the Tear of the Gods, and we caught a vicious fish weighing over 200 kilograms. I didn’t know whether we were supposed to eat it or if it would eat us. It gave us quite a scare when it came out of the water all at once."

"Haha, Mum warned you guys when you went fishing, huh. She told you there might be giant vicious fish in the lake," Galantis’s laughter was crisp, his yellow-green vertical pupils rounded with amusement. "But you insisted on saying it was no big deal, and ended up soaked from the fish splashing you. You nearly laughed Mum and me to death."

Vicious fish are a rare breed of carnivorous fish. Some of them can live up to a thousand years, and if the body of water is big enough, they can grow astonishingly large. Their aggressive nature and large appetite make them dangerous predators. They lurk just under the water’s surface and pounce out swiftly to snatch prey near the water’s edge. Most adventurers are not adept at underwater combat, so unless there is a tremendous power discrepancy between the two, survival is highly unlikely if one is dragged into the water by a giant vicious fish.

The girls walked on, listening to the conversation between Panis and Galantis. A few minutes later, their eyes were suddenly blinded by a burst of light they hadn’t seen for a long time, causing a sour ache. After rubbing their eyes, they finally found the source of the light. A huge lake, so large they couldn’t see the other side, was spread out before them. The absence of suguwood trees allowed the setting sun to shine splendidly on the lake, illuminating the entire body of water. Reeds in abundance grew along the lakeshore. The reeds have grown tall in this uninhabited area, providing such good cover that creatures are hard to spot, even at close range.

The rare breeze from the swamp blew freely over the expansive lake. The rippling surface of the water reflected the red setting sun, casting a soft red hue over the entire lake. Under the gentle breeze, the reeds on the lakeshore swayed, creating a rustling sound. The soft sound, off and on, ongoing then breaking, was like the whisper of lovers. Mischievous fish leaped toward the sunset, and the water droplets they brought up glittered like impressive pearls under the sunlight. Their silver scales reflected the sunset from various angles, displaying a rainbow of colors. A few white water birds plunged from the sky and dived into the crystalline water. When they resurfaced, each had a juicy fish in their beak, scattering countless water droplets over the lake surface.

"It’s stunning. I’ve never seen a lakescape like this before," even though Freya knew the more beautiful something was in the swamp, the more dangerous it would be, she couldn’t help but marvel. Hands clasping her chest, she spoke with a passionate tone, "What a sight to behold; it’s like a beautiful dream you never want to wake up from. The soft sunlight is sprinkling over the tranquil surface of the lake... Hey, stop raising your magic staff; I’ll stop talking. Can’t you just let me express my feelings once in a while, you dummy?"

"Now is not the time to express your feelings," Catherine rolled her eyes at Freya and spoke with a frown, "Galantis, did you say earlier that we were going to spend the night here?"

"Exactly," Galantis nodded, "Isn’t it nice here? Just being here calms the mind."

"But... spending the night near a water source..." Catherine hesitated. In the survival habits of the wilderness, the campsite should ideally not be close to a water source; such places would be teeming with magical beasts at night.

"Don’t worry; there’s a special camping technique in the swamp," Pannis explained, "You’ll see soon." (To be continued. If you like this work, please recommend it and vote for it on qidian.com. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please visit m.qidian.com to read.)