Diary of the Improper Monster Girl Transformation.

Chapter 432 The Imminent Crisis (4.5K views, please subscribe!)
To be fair, Misser considered himself a seasoned businessman.

To be fair, she has traveled extensively and is quite knowledgeable, having visited many places and seen many different landscapes.

From the permafrost glaciers of the far north to the singing coral reefs of the southern islands, from the sand cities that roam the western deserts to the swarms of fluorescent jellyfish floating in the eastern rainforests.

I've encountered all sorts of scenes, from once-in-a-century slave rebellions to the love-hate relationship between the last members of the royal family, to a raging dragon destroying a city...

The merchant identity was merely a convenient way to travel among mortals; Misser had always considered himself an excellent explorer.

They have a strong sense of adventure and are willing to dedicate their time and energy to it.

Having traversed the mortal realm for hundreds of years, she was more than qualified to boast to others in casual conversation, "Haha, what's so special about that? Just kidding, what haven't I seen?"

Before arriving in Elda, Misser thought she had already seen most of the world's scenery and had witnessed all sorts of wonders, so she was no longer particularly moved by anything special.

She even began to think that the so-called mystery was nothing more than mortals' excessive imagination of the unknown.

However, when she was "forced" to follow her employer here unwillingly, the naive mushroom merchant realized she was wrong.

Big mistakes.

My previous arrogant ideas were so naive! So childish! So foolish!

She had never seen such a strange and magical place before.

The rocks here breathe, the shadows have substance, and even time flows irregularly.

The familiar laws have been invisibly distorted, preventing them from exerting their original power.

The outside world could not see in, and the internal sounds could not escape; the entire mountain range seemed to be isolated from the world.

Although on the outskirts of the mountains, there are always reckless idiots who come to their deaths, one after another sacrificing their precious lives in an attempt to challenge this place.

Those people, through their deaths, etched fear and awe into the hearts of the world.

At first, Misser thought so too.

I felt that this place was a dangerous place where a weak mortal would have a slim chance of survival, and that it was best to stay far away from it rather than venture into it lightly.

However, when Misser personally entered the mountain range, he discovered that... this mysterious mountain range had never revealed its true face to the world.

Or rather, that seemingly terrifying appearance is merely its outermost, most superficial layer.

The truth is far more terrifying than the "truth" that people perceive!
A narrow escape from death?
No, no, no, it's a certain death.

Even a legendary figure as powerful as her could risk dying suddenly.

This place is like a forgotten corner of the world, a hidden treasure trove, and a prison that holds the past.

The more Misty Mountains Misty, the more Miser understood the meaning behind what outsiders called this place.

A place abandoned by God.

A forbidden place that even the gods are unwilling to enter.

The more Misser tried to spy and investigate, the more he felt small and powerless, and the more oppressed and uneasy he felt.

A voice inside her kept reminding her:
"Run away!"

"Forget about contracts, survival is the most important thing!"

"Get out of here!"

"If you don't want to die, you absolutely cannot stay here any longer!"

"Run away!"

However, while she instinctively felt fear and wanted to run away, another emotion was also growing in her heart—excitement.

"We've come to the right place!"

"Haha! Yes, yes, this is exactly what I wanted!"

"Hehe, if we can figure out the truth here, it would be worth dying for!"

"Can't leave!"

"We absolutely cannot leave here!"

"Elda is safe. Once I leave this place, I'm sure to die!"

Miser felt incredibly fortunate for his decision to submit to Herbert and accept his offer to come here.

You did a really great job back then!
Misser disguises himself as a human merchant and works as a wandering trader in the mortal realm. Is his purpose to earn money in exchange for resources?

no.

She really likes humans and wants to be one of them.

The incredible creativity that burst forth from the short life of an ordinary person is a miracle that is difficult to achieve in some respects.

But her initial and most important purpose has always been to satisfy her curiosity about the "unknown".

Throughout history, the exploration of the unknown has changed the destinies of countless people, captivating and driving them to madness.

For the mushroom people, who are subterranean creatures, everything on the surface is unknown.

Everything in the outside world held an endless attraction for Misser.

Misser wanted to witness it all firsthand.

So, after thinking for a long time and preparing for even longer, a total of about two hundred years, she finally left the dark region and came to the surface.

She still remembers being so shocked when she first witnessed the sunrise that she stood frozen in place.

He achieved his initial wish and successfully started doing business with the outside world.

Although we encountered many problems and troubles during the process, they were all resolved smoothly in the end.

Misser thought her wish had been fulfilled and felt that her life was already quite good.

But now she knows she was wrong.

She realized what she had overlooked before, forgetting the greatest unknown—the gods!
Misser had indeed seen many sights of the mortal world.

However, she did not delve much into the realm of the divine.

Gods are mysterious and high above.

It is beyond the reach and exploration of ordinary people.

While the legendary figure's strength was considerable, it was still far from sufficient to impress those high and mighty gods.

Trying to contact them through normal channels requires solving many problems and overcoming a lot of trouble.

And here, in the Misty Mountains, a world-renowned forbidden zone for deities, was a blind spot of knowledge she had never explored.

Misser was happy.

Cool!
At first, Misser was just secretly exploring the surroundings.

As Herbert's personal employee, she obeyed only her employer, Herbert.

Although she wasn't officially very cooperative with Sophia's orders, she was always very cooperative with the tasks Sophia assigned her—all in order to achieve her own goals.

To be precise, after completing the minimum tasks Herbert assigned her each day, she spent the rest of her time "slacking off."

This statement is inaccurate—she was conducting more important research that just happened to overlap with her responsibilities.

A true paid slacking-off, a salary thief who takes his phone to the toilet as soon as he arrives at work!
—Although Herbert had signed a long-term contract with her, slacking off for a while wouldn't have much of an impact.

But secretly indulging in personal hobbies at work and indulging in them in private time are two completely different experiences.

The latter is great.

The former not only enjoys the experience but also receives a salary, making it doubly enjoyable.

Enjoy it twice!
In this respect, her thinking was already quite human. Misser spread her mycelium everywhere, radiating outwards from the Elda territory.

Those mycelial spores transformed into her eyes, ears, and nose, constantly gathering more and more information to satisfy her curiosity about the unknown.

In addition, through this, Misser also managed to keep watch over the area around Eldar, preventing the three-headed chimera from getting too close again.

Now, Misser even had a legitimate reason to slack off, and he had the confidence to explain himself even if Sophia discovered it and reported it to his employer, Herbert.

So, Misser simply stopped pretending.

She instructed all those who went out to investigate to take with them a mycelium of hers—which looked like a poisonous mushroom the size of a fist.

Everyone must cooperate.

Even the ghost wolves patrolling the area had colorful little mushrooms on their heads.

Aet, who was crowned "Wolf King" by Herbert, chose the largest seven-colored mushroom to highlight his special status.

In this way, she can quickly rush to the rescue if her companions encounter danger while out and about.

On the other hand, it was to satisfy her desire to explore—well, that was the main reason.

With the help of his companions, especially the ghost wolves, who explored the area, Misser learned more and more about the outer reaches of the Misty Mountains.

Her maps are updated daily, with different areas marked with danger levels, anomalies, and potential gains.

It can only be said that the Misty Mountains truly deserve to be called a forbidden zone for gods!
This place, hey, you know what I mean!
How amazing!
A three-headed monster, machines with flesh and blood, a legion of zombie-like heroic spirits, and lakes drifting aimlessly...

Here, it seems that everything can be controlled by its own will.

Eggshells with long legs that can run on their own, centaur-like heroic spirits that can be physically touched, lake water that can dart around everywhere...

Freedom, it's just too much freedom!

What scene haven’t I seen?

This scene... hey, I've never seen anything like it before!
Learn something new, and remember it!
Furthermore, this place seems to be fraught with danger, yet there is also a way out everywhere.

Although outsiders may suffer a lot of harm here, as long as you understand the rules and are cautious enough, you can still find a way to survive—maybe!

There are ways to survive, but not many.

And dead ends... there are dead ends everywhere.

Even the native Mist Wolves would sometimes disappear silently into the mist.

No one will notice, and no one will care.

If Misé hadn't suddenly lost contact with the mycelium, even she wouldn't have noticed the disappearance of the ghost wolves.

This increased her sense of awe, and she gradually restrained her unrestrained exploration.

After being shocked many times, she began to let go of her insignificant arrogance and, with the utmost humility, recorded everything she discovered, like an apprentice.

So when the Ghost Wolf advance team, which had been lagging behind for three days, spotted a thousand-meter-tall tree moving at an extremely slow pace, Misser didn't find it strange.

She'd seen so many strange things that she was no longer surprised by them.

Oh, it's just a big tree that moves.

The rating is so-so.

So, Misser didn't take it seriously at first and didn't immediately tell anyone else. Instead, he categorized the matter as a "regular report" and gave it to Sophia as usual.

As it turned out, the speaker meant no harm, but the listener took it to heart.

Upon hearing the news, Sophia rushed to Misser immediately, bombarding him with questions about the details.

Mushroom Merchant: Huh? What's wrong?
Sophia's reaction at this moment was somewhat unexpected by Misser, making her realize that something was wrong.

She controlled the mushroom puppet to scratch its head, and asked uncertainly, "Eh... Could it be that this matter is actually quite unusual? Do you know the origin of that tree?"

Miser Herbert has said that he is aware of Sophia's current condition.

This guy must have lost his memories of being a heroic spirit under the god's command due to an accident, and now he only has the memories and knowledge of being Herbert's servant.

Sophia shook her head and said, "No, I know nothing about the origin of that big tree."

Misser was even more puzzled and pressed on, "Then why are you so nervous?"

"Because the point is not where it came from, but where it is located."

"Location?"

Sophia's expression was serious as she said in a deep voice, "Have you noticed that, according to the map you drew, it is not in the outer area, but in the unexplored inner ring?"

Oh!
Misser exclaimed "Oh!" in realization, finally understanding the part he had overlooked—location.

That tree... it's in the heart of the Misty Mountains!
It was because of its striking height that I noticed it from a distance.

"Although it's not moving much now, and only you happen to notice it, as it continues to move, it will definitely attract the attention of other beings."

The centaur spirit frowned deeply, his expression grave, and said in a deep voice, "If its target is indeed us, then it will likely expose our current location and draw the attention of the beings deep within the mist."

They all knew what it would mean if Elda were exposed.

Although Eldar has temporarily established a foothold on the edge of the Misty Mountains and begun to develop steadily.

However, compared to the unknown and powerful monsters deep in the mountains, Eldar's strength is still far inferior.

If they were to actually draw out some being from the depths, it would likely be another fierce battle for them.

How far away is that big tree from us now?

Faced with Sophia's question, Misser also became serious, controlling the mycelium and carefully analyzing and thinking.

"...At its current speed, it is estimated that it will take another month to reach the boundary between the inner and outer areas."

The ghost wolf was accidentally caught by a strange bird and hung up in a tree as a food reserve, remaining in one place for three days before Misser noticed the tree's movement.

Logically speaking, it shouldn't be so easy to discover.

However, Misser was not so optimistic. Instead, he cautioned, "But if we take the standard that it won't attract other people's attention, then we estimate that there are less than half a month left."

"If we're not lucky, we might not even get noticed by others in half a month."

The mushroom merchant guessed that Sophia wanted to know what she was asking, so he continued:
"If you want to take people to investigate, you only have a maximum of seven days of absolutely safe time. Once that time is exceeded, there will be a risk of being exposed."

Seven days, that's the time Misser calculated in his mind.
For more than a week, the risk of exposure increases significantly with each additional day.

"Seven days?"

Sophia pondered quietly for a moment, then smiled at Misser's surprised gaze and nodded, saying, "It seems the situation is better than I expected. It hasn't reached the worst point yet, and we still have time."

“My lord has sent me a message that he will return soon.”

Upon thinking of that person, the centaur spirit's expression relaxed, as if all problems had been resolved, and he said softly with a firm tone:

"Yes, everything will be resolved smoothly once he returns."

That person seemed to be omnipotent.

……

……

At this moment, the master whom Sophia held in boundless trust and adoration was pondering a question with a serious expression.

"..."

Herbert frowned, pondered for a long time, then turned to Kretty and asked:

"You said... that gods are omnipotent?"

(End of this chapter)