The captain of the ship reached out.

Chapter 13 I was here first

"Mmm...it feels so good."

"I feel so satisfied, and I'm not hungry anymore."

"Thank you, Brother Mushroom..."

Mike initially intended to refuse the thought of personally crawling into the pile of black mushrooms inhabited by maggots, but at Horn's invitation, he reluctantly lay down inside.

Less than half a minute after entering, Mike was completely captivated.

Who would have thought that being nourished by tentacles would feel so good!

It felt like returning to my mother's embrace.

It felt like all the fatigue from the whole day had been wiped away.

In my hazy consciousness, I seemed to hear someone saying—

"I was here first!"

Alice frowned as she looked at Mike lying inside the mushroom.

Ever since Mr. Horn made Mike one of his own, she has had an inexplicable sense of crisis.

These days, Mr. Horn seems to be paying more and more attention to Mike, assigning him all sorts of tasks.

Today, they even let Mike lie on the fungal carpet to absorb nutrients.

This was a privilege she was entitled to before!

Alice is a very intelligent girl.

Naturally, I understand the reason behind this.

For Mr. Horn, at this stage, Mike, who can move freely on the ship, is more useful than himself, who cannot show his face.

Unfortunately, Alice was unable to change this situation in a short period of time.

No!

I can't let myself get so down!

I also need to become more useful to Mr. Horn!

Alice slapped her cheeks hard and turned to look at the mushrooms around her.

"Mr. Horn, is there anything I can do for you?"

"Anything is fine! Just tell me what to do!"

Oh hoo!

Is it rolled up?

As the boss of this tentacle company, Horn was naturally happy to see his employees' infighting.

If they all lie down, how can the company grow?

Of course, it shouldn't be too curly either.

There has to be a limit to this.

However, after thinking about it carefully, Horn realized that there really wasn't much Alice could do at the moment.

Horn has already had Alice work on drilling through the other side of the cabin.

Even with the shovel brought by Mike, it was still a time-consuming task considering Alice's stamina.

Moreover, spending all day chiseling walls doesn't give a sense of accomplishment and wastes the young woman's enthusiasm for work.

After thinking for a moment, Horn tentatively asked.

"Can you... teach me magic?"

"...?"

Monster, want to learn magic?

But since it's Mr. Horn, it makes sense.

Alice had grown accustomed to Horn's unusual behavior, and after a brief moment of surprise, she began to seriously consider the question.

"Hmm...theoretically, it's somewhat feasible."

As a transcendent being on the [Scholar] path, Alice may be young, but her reserves of extraordinary knowledge are not to be underestimated.

"Mr. Horn, can you sense the presence of magic?"

"Yes, you can."

Horn sensed that magic was flowing within his body and could be transmitted through his tentacles.

"That's much simpler. You just need to communicate with the magic in the air and then cast the spell according to the established formula."

"Stop for a moment."

Horn quickly interrupted Alice.

"You mean, the magic of communicating with the air? How do you do that?"

"So...we'll communicate using mental power?"

Alice was somewhat puzzled: "If you can sense magic, you should be able to get a response from it, right?"

According to Alice, Horn tried several times.

All attempts ended in failure.

Each time, I get stuck at the step of communicating with the free-floating magic in the air.

Perhaps it's due to the unique nature of humans, or perhaps it's because they embarked on the "secret path."

Human spellcasters face no obstacles in this step; it's a natural progression.

Horn asked Alice this question.

It's like asking a top student how to solve a math problem—they solve it naturally, and they'll wonder why you got stuck on such a simple part.

There's nothing you can do about it; that's just how talent is.

If it exists, it exists; if it doesn't, it doesn't.

However, this does not mean that Horn is completely unable to use magic.

Some monsters are born with the ability to cast spells.

By integrating their genes, Horn will be able to master the corresponding magical skills.

"I'm sorry, I couldn't help Mr. Horn."

Alice was quite frustrated that she couldn't teach Horn magic.

"Not at all! You've already helped me a lot; this knowledge is my most valuable asset."

"Really……"

"Would I lie to you? Besides, do you even know anything about magic circles?"

"I know about it!"

After failing to find a way to learn magic, Horn quickly changed his approach, wanting to find another way through magic circles.

Time passed slowly between the two as they exchanged questions and answers.

Mike was snoring soundly in the nearby mushroom pile.

……

……

In the blink of an eye, several days have passed.

【Mysterious Island】, swamp forest.

"The time is almost ripe."

Horn's true form stood on a protruding rock in the swamp, looking down at his retinue below, like a general reviewing his soldiers.

A full 150 meat mushrooms!

Fifty of them are equipped with the [Mud Spray] skill, while the remaining 100 serve as suicide squads and meat shields.

In fact, Horn could produce even more dependents.

But with his current mental strength, he can only control this many followers at the same time.

Too much can easily get out of control.

Without needing any pre-battle speeches, with a mere thought from Horn, his numerous followers slipped into the swamp, stealthily advancing towards their target—

A tall bald cypress tree moves forward!

Hidden among the bushes was a huge nest of rotting flesh.

Swarms of vulture bees busily move back and forth, working hard to build their nests.

They were completely unaware of the impending crisis.

Once the main force was in position and a suitable "bombardment position" was selected,

Instead of starting the battle, Horn extended his tentacles and arranged several [Mud Monster] magic cores around the bald cypress in a strange manner.

This is an extremely simple magic circle.

The effect is [group slow].

Living things within the magic circle will be affected without distinguishing friend from foe.

However, this will be even more deadly for the highly sensitive and low-defense [Vulture Venomous Bee].

Buzz... Buzz!

At this point, the poisonous wasps finally realized what was happening and sent a team of members down to investigate.

However, it was too late.

"fire!!!"

The kin emerged from the mud with a roar, their bodies, already soaked in mud, gathering strength before launching!

Plop!

Mud projectiles pierced the air and exploded in mid-air, instantly enveloping the poisonous wasps in mud as they plummeted downwards.

They struggled to flap their wings, but with their feathers stuck to the mud, how could they possibly fly?

Any poisonous wasp that falls into the mud is instantly entangled by seven or eight antennae, and after struggling for a while, it completely loses its life.

A single volley of fire took away thirty or forty [Vulture Poison Bees].

However, the battle is far from over.

next moment.

Enraged, the swarm of bees burst out of their hive and attacked their kin like a dark cloud looming overhead!