The contents of Germain's phone weren't anything secret, nor was there anything to hide. He naturally spoke about it.
"Don's 'Journey to the New World' left behind a wealth of valuable experiences for those who came after. It helped them avoid many unnecessary detours."
"However, unfortunately, 'Journey to the New World' currently only has the East Edition, and it's incomplete. Whether the scrolls Ging obtained are truly the West Edition remains a matter of further study."
"In any case, the book 'Journey to the New World' gave us inspiration. It made us want to complete and expand on it in various aspects."
"Ging mainly focuses on 'relics.' For example, the exploration of the ancient labyrinth, inside and out, was something he was the first to thoroughly investigate."
"Menchi and Buhara focus on 'cuisine.' They're currently working on compiling recipes for dishes from the Dark Continent."
"Sanbica focuses on 'viruses.' Whether it's 'Botanical Weapons: Brions,''Herb for All-illnesses,' or the 'Immortality Disease,' she's deeply interested in all of them."
"Bisky focuses on 'gemstones.' But due to the limitations of the areas she's explored, she hasn't yet found any beautiful gems worth taking back."
"Hmm…" Shizuku pulled her legs together, wrapping her arms around them. She pursed her thin lips and nodded. "Actually, she has found a 'gemstone.'"
"Huh? She has?" Germain was a bit surprised. "Oh, you mean 'Blue Planet' from Greed Island? That was indeed a remarkable find for her."
"Ah… that counts too, I guess." Shizuku shook her head. "But the 'gemstone' I'm referring to is actually… you."
"Me?" Germain paused what he was doing, one hand still on his keyboard, the other chatting casually with Shizuku.
"Yeah." Shizuku nodded. "She often tells us when you're not around, 'Germain is the finest gem I've ever found. There's no comparison.'"
Germain could already picture Bisky's proud, smug expression as she bragged about him, her nose high in the air.
Shizuku continued, "She's always so happy and proud. Last November, she found you. She didn't give up, even when it would've been easier to."
Germain couldn't help but recall what happened last year. At that time, Bisky had come to him asking for the "Promise Ruby." Since she said it like that, then it must be true.
"She always says, 'You're like a raw jade stone. When I found you and helped you, it was like gambling on a stone, hoping that what would be revealed after cutting would be a high-quality jade.'"
Shizuku tilted her head slightly and looked at Germain. "She's so strange. You're not a stone. If you were cut, it should be your organs and bones, right?"
"Heh." Germain let out a soft laugh.
Meanwhile, Bisky was beside Sanbica, discussing techniques for therapeutic massage, which was one of the few common skills between them in their field.
She was speaking excitedly when she suddenly shivered.
Not knowing that Germain and Shizuku were discussing her, she thought it was just the night wind making her feel cold. So, she grabbed a blanket and wrapped it around herself and Sanbica.
Sanbica, who was already wearing thick clothing, felt unbearably hot but, due to her personality, didn't dare to refuse Bisky, fearing it would upset her.
It wasn't until later that Bisky noticed Sanbica's face was flushed so badly that even the mask couldn't hide it.
On the other side, Shizuku seemed to have forgotten the reason she had originally sat beside Germain, just staring up at the flickering sparks.
Germain, however, took the initiative to explain, "I plan to contribute to the 'New World Chronicles,' just like they are."
"My focus is mainly on the various creatures of the Dark Continent, and I've made three major categories. They are: 'Beasts,' 'Corrupt,' and 'Otherworldly Demons.'"
"Scela told me that the name 'Moose Centaur' wasn't self-chosen. Their original tribe name is much more obscure and longer."
"At the time, to make it easier, Don named them based on their appearance, calling them 'Moose Centaur.' After one or two hundred years of contact, the Moose Centaur tribe accepted the name and took pride in it."
"I plan to use this as a foundation to make a simple classification of creatures encountered in the Dark Continent."
"For example, the Moose Centaur would be 'Beast · Small Species · Subhuman · Deerfolk · Moose Centaur Tribe.'"
"The vengeful spirit we saw in the Wasteland would be 'Corrupt · Vengeful Spirit,' with both 'Small Species' and 'Medium Species' among them."
"As for the Bloodthirsty Apostle and the Disease Spreader, they belong to the 'Otherworldly Demons·Large Species'."
Germain actually has more to say, but for now, we'll leave out the "Wallfacer" encountered under the real World Tree, as they fall under the 'Otherworldly Demons·Giant Species'.
'Small', 'Medium', 'Large', and 'Giant' are categories Germain uses based on size to classify them.
Shizuku turned her head, looked at Germain, raised her hand, and pointed to herself, saying, "You should know, I don't really understand what you're saying, right?"
Germain smiled again.
Shizuku pondered for a moment, then said, "I was thinking just now... should I write something like you guys do? But then I thought it would be too troublesome, so I gave up. After all, I'm not a Hunter."
"Mm. If you were a Hunter..." Germain thought for a moment, then answered, "You'd probably be a bounty hunter or something. Different fields, no need to force yourself to write something you're not good at."
"That's true..." Shizuku looked at Germain, blinking, "A bounty hunter, huh... If I ever get the chance to take the Professional Hunter Exam, I might give that a try."
"Mm." Germain nodded, then raised his phone again and started typing.
At that moment, a hand reached over, blocking his phone screen. He looked up and saw Shizuku's hand extending towards him.
Shizuku's eyes behind her glasses looked strange, showing a peculiar light. Her movements were even more confusing as her fingers lightly touched Germain's lips.
She pinched it, then quickly widened her eyes and pulled her hand back.
Her expression was like she had just done something incredible.
"I... I've always wanted to touch it..."
Shizuku wasn't sure what she was trying to explain. Her face turned uncharacteristically panicked, even fearful.
In reality, Shizuku touching Germain's lips wasn't such a strange thing; it's something Shizuku could easily do.
But the problem was, Shizuku had realized something was wrong with her action. That made it a bit abnormal.
She shouldn't have acted so startled, right? Normally, she would have shown no reaction at all.
Germain had never seen Shizuku's usual expressionless face show this much emotion before, almost as if he was realizing for the first time that she, too, was human.
He even saw an emotion on Shizuku's face that could almost be called "shyness."
Germain was about to say something when he suddenly felt something off in the air.
Soon, he heard a figure running back from the watchpost not far away. It was a centaur with antlers.
"The night monsters… they're here!"
Upon hearing this, everyone stood up and went on high alert.
Germain, Ging, and the others didn't need to ask what the "night monsters" were because they would soon see for themselves.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh—
Boom, boom, boom—
From the dark, shadowy forest came the sound of rustling, growing louder and more chaotic, mixed with many heavy and light footsteps.
The smell of beasts filled the air from all directions, and pairs of glowing eyes, some red, some green, shone like countless will-o'-the-wisps.
The first creature to enter the campfire's light was a pitch-black monster, its outline blurred, almost flowing like water.
It had three heads, each with a pair of antler-like jaws. Three tongues forked out like snake tongues, flicking in and out.
Germain almost immediately recognized these features. It was an old acquaintance of theirs.
"Beast, Mid-sized, Night Stalker type!"
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