Toward the Western Edge
It was a little sudden, but I found myself setting out on an expedition with the others. Most of the team came along—everyone except Celion. Given the nature of this forest, where we had to travel by leaping from tree to tree, Nightmare couldn’t come with us.
“Hey… Ceris, was it?”
“Ah, yes…”
The one who spoke up was a tall male teammate. From the way he occasionally unfolded a map to point out directions and keep the group moving, he seemed to be filling in as deputy leader in Celion’s absence.
I trailed off because I couldn’t quite remember his name, but the large scar carved across his face finally jogged my memory.
“That’s right. Dorban.”
“How’d a kid like you end up all the way out here? With Silver Rank at your age, you’d have been better off getting knighted by some noble.”
Dorban’s question drew the eyes of the other teammates. How did I end up here? The answer was already set.
“I wanted to see every corner of this world. And being tied down somewhere just doesn’t suit me.”
“So you’re planning to go as far as Blue Veil or even Grim Shade Kingdom?”
“If I can. What about you, Dorban? Why did you come here?”
“Me? Money, of course.”
“You can make a lot of money here?”
“Obviously. The monster materials you can only get on Monster Island fetch insane prices.”
A few of the others nodded at Dorban’s words. They must have come to Monster Island for the same reason he had.
And so the team and I chatted about this and that as we moved through the forest—leaping from tree to tree, grabbing sturdy vines to swing across long distances.
Monsters appeared now and then, but none of them charged us. Watching one vanish between the hanging vines, I spoke up.
“The monsters are pretty calm, aren’t they? Are they all like this around here?”
“No, not really. We’ve lived here long enough that they know better.”
“Know what?”
“That messing with humans only brings them bigger trouble. Of course, not every monster gets the message, so stay sharp.”
Dorban warned me while absently tracing the scar on his face. His fingers slowly followed the long, torn line.
Maybe that scar on his face was a wound he’d earned right here. I nodded as I looked at it.
Exploring the forest was a constant stream of new discoveries. I got to see all sorts of monsters I’d never encountered before, and I learned about the special medicinal herbs that only grew in this place.
Contrary to what I’d expected, we almost never clashed with the monsters directly.
“Around here, I think…”
Dorban, who had been leading the way without trouble, suddenly stopped and unfolded his map. After studying it for a long while, he nodded and addressed the team.
His gaze stayed locked on me, so it felt like the warning was especially for my ears.
“From here on out we’re in monster territory, so everyone stay alert. Draw your weapons so you can respond the instant they attack.”
I drew my sword as Dorban instructed and scanned the surroundings. As expected of skilled adventurers—not a single person carried an ordinary iron blade. Every sword was forged from special ores or monster materials.
The one I’d brought was my Crodiom sword. I’d wanted to bring Storm Bringer as well, but since I couldn’t move with Nightmare, I’d had to leave it behind.
The moment we advanced with weapons drawn, a strange pressure settled over us that hadn’t been there before. The monsters’ gazes grew sharper, and some of them took on threatening postures, as if ready to leap at any second.
From their perspective it was only natural. In the monsters’ eyes, we humans were invaders trampling through their home.
Along the tangled forest paths were small markers only humans would recognize—artificially carved arrow shapes or crude skull drawings. Of course, they weren’t in use anymore; deep X-shaped cuts had been slashed over them.
After walking for quite some time, I suddenly realized how dark it had become. Looking up, I saw the dense tangle of vines and branches completely blotting out the sky.
That wasn’t the only change. The air in the forest felt far heavier than before, and the flow of mana riding the wind was sinking downward.
Just then Dorban, still in the lead, stopped again.
“We’ve entered the central area. Best we rest for today.”
At Dorban’s order the teammates began unpacking their gear. I tilted my head as I watched them. It had grown a little darker, sure, but night hadn’t fallen yet. I couldn’t understand why we were already stopping.
I approached Noel, who was unpacking, and spoke.
“Um, Noel?”
“Ah… y-yes?”
“Why are we resting already when it isn’t even night? We can still go farther, can’t we?”
“I-it isn’t night, but it’s as dark as night, right? Once we’re in the heart of the forest, we don’t have much time we can safely move.”
“As dark as night…? Ah…”
Only after hearing Noel’s answer did I remember that my vision had long since left the realm of ordinary humans.
The additional changes from Monster Island’s special mana had stopped, but the body that had already transformed remained the same.
I’d grown so used to my altered sight that I hadn’t considered how this forest must look to everyone else.
I gave an awkward smile and nodded.
“I see.”
Night came quickly to the forest. As time passed the surroundings grew even darker, and the monsters’ movements became faster.
Every so often a monster would wander near our campsite, look around, and vanish again—just one more thing that kept the tension high.
It was still far too early to sleep, so most of the team passed the time checking their weapons or reading books.
The campsite, filled with silence and no conversation, felt oppressively gloomy.
A few teammates walked the perimeter with small lamps, jotting notes in notebooks, but they never strayed far from the camp.
“Mm…”
I looked around at the others and let out a soft groan. Everyone kept their mouths shut, so it was hard to just walk up and start talking.
Even while doing their own things, they reacted to the slightest rustle—clearly they’d heightened every sense to the extreme in case monsters approached.
In that moment, a massive monster’s roar exploded from the far side of the forest.
The fear packed into that roar, and the piercing high-pitched resonance, sent a tearing pain through my ears.
I let out a weak groan and clamped my hands over them.
“Ghhhk…”
“Th-this is insane…”
I wasn’t the only one suffering from the monster’s cry. Most of the team rolled on the ground, letting out small moans. Yet they seemed familiar with the sound.
After what felt like forever, the cry that had filled the forest finally began to die down. The teammates exhaled in relief and sat up.
I looked at them and asked,
“Wh-what was that just now?”
“The King’s cry.”
It was Dorban who answered.
Still rubbing my aching ears, I asked again.
“King? Is that a monster’s name?”
“Yeah. The ruler of this forest.”
“Isn’t that dangerous? The cry sounded like it was right next to us…”
“It’s fine. The thing never leaves the territory it’s claimed—as long as we don’t go poking it.”
“What does this King look like?”
“The King is…”
Dorban never finished the sentence. From deep in the forest came a continuous, thunderous rumbling.
It felt as if something enormous was charging toward us at terrifying speed. Dorban’s face twisted as he stared into the distance. Far off, a white shadow appeared.
The white shadow moved incredibly fast—leaping from tree to tree, closing the distance on our position.
“Everyone! Ready yourselves! Monster approaching!”
Even as Dorban’s near-scream of a command ended, the white shadow kept narrowing the gap. Then, in an instant, the pure-white figure vanished.
The teammates who had been bracing for the approach of the white shadow—the King—scattered their gazes in every direction. Sword tips that had been pointed as one now wavered left and right, and the only sound filling the air was the team’s ragged, tense breathing.
Heavy tension and creeping fear began to spread among them. Fear was an emotion that infected easily.
Just how strong was this King, that it could make at least ten Silver-rank swordsmen tremble in dread?
I swallowed dryly under the natural tension and was lost in thought when—
Kuuung—!
It arrived without warning. A pure-white giant dropped from the sky and crushed the lamp in the center of the campsite, snatching away the light.
The campsite that had relied on that faint glow was instantly swallowed by darkness.
“Th-the King…!”
Puhk—!
The teammate who had spoken first vanished in an instant.
A light, almost cheerful impact, and a long white arm stretching out. The teammate’s final, blurred figure burned itself into my mind.
Only then could I grasp the monster’s full form. It was a gigantic ape covered in pure-white fur. If you could even call something that looked about ten meters tall an ape.
“Everyone run! It’s the King!”
Dorban’s scream of a command tore out. He swung his sword at the giant without hesitation, but his pure-white slash merely grazed the King’s fur.
The counterattack came immediately. The giant’s fist, drawn far back, shot straight toward Dorban. But Dorban didn’t go down easily. Face pale, he barely dodged the punch, then spun and began to run for his life.
Looking at the enormous King, I understood. That thing was not something I could handle alone.
I immediately turned and ran. If we had all attacked together… if Celion had been here… if I’d at least had Storm Bringer…
Countless what-ifs tangled chaotically in my head. The whole time I ran, screams of teammates, the King’s roars, and heavy footsteps mixed behind me.
I poured mana into body reinforcement and even activated the Emblem of the Great Warrior, sprinting at my absolute top speed—
when a pure-white shadow suddenly dropped from the sky with a kung—! and something massive came flying at me.
There was no pain. My mind simply went blank, and the sensation in my body grew faint. The next moment my body floated up, spinning rapidly as it plummeted downward.
My free-falling body suddenly jerked to a stop with a thud, as if it had caught on something.
“Ugh…”
The pain arrived late. I blinked my hazy vision over and over, checking my surroundings. Apparently I’d been punched by the King, then snagged on a vine while falling.
“Cough…”
I’d been lucky, but my body was a wreck. My right eye was so covered in blood I couldn’t see properly, and every bone in my body felt broken—sensation was almost gone.
“Ghh…”
There was no way I could move like this. It was the worst situation I’d faced since setting out on my adventures. How was I supposed to get out of this? Frustration burned in my chest.
After struggling alone for a long while, I let out a deep breath and began to move my mana. I had no idea if it would work. But trying was better than giving up without even attempting it.
My body couldn’t move, but the mana settled in my heart still could. The moment I tried to stir it, a great sphere of starlight began to spin rapidly, forming a long Mana Circle around it.
Originally, magic that healed people was the exclusive domain of priests. Most of the worlds I’d read about followed that rule.
But there were places that didn’t. Mages, too, could use recovery magic to heal wounds.
I didn’t know how the mages of this world worked, but I used magic that didn’t exist here. I built my own inner world and called the mysteries I desired into this one.
That was the magic I used.
This time was no different. I wanted my body to recover, and the mana carrying that wish would move to make it so.
What I needed was a strong image of recovery.
A fictional magic of my imagination, mixed green and gold, slowly began to take shape inside me.
The mana I held melted rapidly into my body and started mending the wounded flesh. Broken bones shifted back into place; torn muscle and skin began to knit together.
But the mana consumption was beyond anything I’d imagined.
“Ugh…”
The moment sensation returned and the pain intensified, the mana I had left ran dry.
I’d drawn it to the absolute limit, yet I still couldn’t move my body.
“Haa…”
I let out a long breath. Replenishing the mana needed for recovery was easy enough. All I had to do was absorb the overflowing mana around me and form a Mana Circle.
But…
I rolled my tongue inside my mouth, feeling the sharp fangs that had grown in.
The hesitation didn’t last long. So what if my appearance changed a little?
Surviving came first.
I exhaled a thin, long breath and began absorbing the surrounding mana.
The mana I took in instantly formed a circle around my heart, then spun rapidly and spread through my entire body.
The unrefined mana of Monster Island began to melt into my flesh.