Episode 32.

Forest Shelter II

I thought I had hit my limit plenty of times before.

I'd been dragged into the world of <FoS> out of nowhere, and I'd faced life-threatening danger over and over.

But now I understood.

I had never truly been pushed to my limit until now.

Because being on the verge of death and being pushed right up against your limits might look similar, but they were completely different.

[Warning! Your body has reached its limit.]

[Rest immediately.]

My thighs burned.

My knees and ankles trembled as if they'd been beaten with a hammer, and with every step I took, my calves ached like they were about to tear apart.

'I want to wash.'

My whole body was drenched in sweat.

I wanted ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠to soak myself in lukewarm water, wash my matted hair, clean myself up, and maybe spray on a favorite cologne.

Then maybe this godawful stench soaked into my body would fade a little too.

[Warning! Your body has reached its limit.]

[Rest immediately.]

I ignored the warning and kept walking.

Unsteady, as if I might collapse at any moment, carrying two dead weights.

'So heavy I could die.'

An unconscious human body was no different from a log.

Carrying two such logs, it was no wonder my whole body was creaking.

'What are you doing?'

I asked myself, but no answer came back.

I didn't really have anything to say to that.

'Hey, you idiot. Are you out of your mind?'

The voice in my head was cursing at me now.

Still, I had nothing to say.

What I was doing right now was the exact opposite of how I normally played.

[You have wandered the same area for a long time without a guide.]

[You are afflicted with the status ailment <Wandering>.]

How much time had passed?

I had a pocket watch in my pocket, but I didn't even have the leisure to take it out.

Right now, I needed every ounce of concentration just to keep taking these precarious steps.

Thud.

'Shit.'

But apparently even that wasn't enough.

In the end, I tripped and fell flat on my face.

As the tip of my nose stung, I tasted gritty mud on my tongue, as if I'd gotten dirt in my mouth.

"......."

What a goddamn mess.

I needed to get up, but my heavy body refused to move.

This was the first time I'd simply had no strength left in my body, and it threw me off.

I thrashed a few times, then collapsed again.

[Warning! Your body has reached its limit.]

[Rest immediately. Permanent impairment may occur.]

Rest, my ass.

If I stay sprawled here, it's no different from being dead.

If a monster jumped out right now, I'd literally be a dead man.

'First, breathing.'

I steadied my breath.

After several breaths in through my nose and out through my mouth, my breathing settled a little, and I somehow hauled my creaking body upright again.

"Hah......."

I slung Kria over my shoulder again and tucked Seigrena under my arm.

For now, this position had the best balance.

"......Kaindel."

That was when I heard Kria's voice.

When did this one wake up?

'Ah. Just now, when I fell?'

The impact of hitting the ground might have woken her.

"That's enough......."

What is?

I was about to ask, but it felt like a waste of stamina, so I shut my mouth.

But I couldn't let the next words pass unheard.

"......You can just leave me and go."

"What?"

"If you're alone, you can walk much farther."

You're making it impossible for me to keep my mouth shut.

"So what, you want me to abandon you and go?"

"......I'll hide somewhere. Up a tree, or in the bushes. You go to your destination alone first, catch your breath, and then come back for us in the morning."

"Don't make me laugh. You're not stupid enough not to know how absurd that sounds."

The habitat was changing right now.

Even I couldn't guess what this territory would become later.

Naturally, there was no guarantee we'd remain safe until morning.

"Then......? Does it make sense for you to keep carrying us and walking like this?"

"......."

You sure can talk.

Barely conscious, and you don't even have the strength to twitch a finger.

"......You said it yourself, Kaindel. Our relationship is just a contract. There's no loyalty to die ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠for each other. In the end, when danger comes, the top priority should be your own life."

Saying that in a trembling voice didn't make it any more convincing.

"In the forest...... you always said to act rationally......."

I did say that. That was how I played.

Then why am I doing this right now?

I'd abandoned countless companions while playing the game. I deceived them, betrayed them, stabbed them in the back, and was especially wary of the ones who approached with a smile.

Even after I'd done my own verification and decided someone was trustworthy enough, it was the same. Even if I could trust them now, there was no guarantee it would last to the end.

'I killed so many.'

There wasn't even a grand reason.

I turned a blind eye to a dying man to save a single potion, and I pestered a mage coughing blood to preserve one bar of my mana.

I sent guides ahead into places where traps were obviously lying in wait, and I struck from behind when I coveted the equipment someone was wearing.

There were plenty of times I acted first just because something felt off, even when all I had was a hunch.

What did they say to me each time?

"You godforsaken bastard!"

"Lord Abel will never forgive you."

"Go to hell....... You filthy criminal......!"

And when I was the one backstabbed first?

"You actually believed that, you moron?"

"Haha! You naive fool. Guys like you die first in the forest."

"Don't take it too personally. Out here, the one who gets fooled is the idiot."

They'd spit out formulaic insults like these.

Actually, the important thing here isn't the curses. It's that they were 'standardized.'

Like drinks from a vending machine, the words spat out by the betrayer or the betrayed were so uniform they made you yawn.

So.

"Now that I think about it, there wasn't a single one."

"What......?"

Not one person who, in this kind of situation, told me to leave them behind and go.

Yeah.

If I had to put it into words, that was probably the reason.

"Hey. Kria. Promise me one thing."

"......Promise?"

"If we survive this, you follow my orders unconditionally in the forest."

"Orders......."

Kria was sharp.

Rather than pointlessly comforting her here, it was better to make sure she understood her own value.

"......I will."

Kria said.

"If we survive, I'll listen to everything you say, Kaindel."

"Good. Now rest."

"Okay....... Thank......."

[Companion Kria's Trust increases.]

Maybe she'd passed out as the tension left her.

For a moment I lost my balance and nearly fell, but I still snorted.

'Should've done that from the start.'

Who in the world wants to die?

Even if she said to leave her behind, there's no way she actually wished for that.

Knowing her personality, she was probably afraid of being abandoned, so she'd preempted me by telling me to leave her first.

"Hah......."

To reveal one truth, there was also a practical reason I was willingly putting myself through this hell.

Meaning this wasn't an act of pure goodwill.

[You have wandered the same area for a long time without a guide.]

[You are afflicted with the status ailment <Wandering>.]

The path to the Forest Shelter only opens after spending more than 50 hours in the Wandering state.

The remaining time was about two or three hours. The trick I was aiming for there was <debuff stacking>.

In <FoS>, some debuffs can stack.

A classic example is <Confusion>.

If three or more party members remain in Confusion for a long time, the status window changes to display <Confusion(3)>.

'And naturally, the effect is tripled too.'

I checked my status window.

[Current status: <Wandering(3)>]

Right now, the <Wandering> debuff was stacked on me.

It had happened almost at the very end, and in that moment I was essentially forced to choose between two options.

First, should I push on alone for three more hours?

Second, should I carry these two dead weights and push on for just one hour?

The former was low risk, low return—

The latter was, needless to say, high risk, high return.

In the end, what I chose was the latter.

'There really shouldn't be much time left now.'

No matter how dulled my senses were, I could tell that much without looking at a clock. The pain in my body was proof.

Everything is hardest at the very end.

Even in a marathon, they say the last two kilometers feel far longer and more grueling than the entire 40 kilometers before them.

'How much farther can I walk?'

It felt like walking a tightrope.

I was in such bad shape that I could have collapsed before taking another step and it wouldn't have been surprising.

And at the same time, I realized.

If I fell one more time, I wouldn't be able to get back up.

But something was a little strange.

My body had long since reached its limit and my mind was exhausted, yet oddly, my senses felt far sharper.

Heh, heh, heh.......

Maybe that was why. I sensed a presence along with a low, nasty laugh. I rolled my eyes slightly and saw a green shape hidden in the shadows of the underbrush.

[Lv.15 'Goblin']

Goblins, the poster children for trash mobs.

Those things basically live in packs...... so I should assume there are at least three or four more nearby.

'Damn it.'

Did they crawl over from <Spore Kingdom>?

There were a few greenskins roaming that map too.

If I were at full strength, they'd be small fry not even worth a snort, but right now they were more chilling than when I'd encountered the 'Woodman Avenger.'

Because there's no mob as perfectly embodying "bully the weak, flee the strong" as those bastards.

Kirik, kik, kik.......

The goblin bastards didn't approach right away, instead prowling around the perimeter.

'They're on guard.'

And analyzing at the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠same time. I obviously looked precarious, but I also seemed stronger than them, so they couldn't commit to an attack.

But they wouldn't hold off for long.

Thwack.

For an instant, pain shot through my head and I nearly blacked out.

'Shit.......'

I immediately understood what had happened.

A bloodstained ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠stone dropped and rolled to my toes.

Kehit, hit, kihit.

A nasty laugh pierced my ears.

A laugh that said they were now certain I was weak.

Crunch.

I bit down on my molars and quickened my pace.

Though that only turned me from a grub into a turtle, the strain on my body grew far worse.

"Hah, hah......."

My breath came in gasps.

Maybe from lack of air, at some point my vision went completely black, as if I'd gone blind.

Heh, heh, heh......!

In the darkness where I couldn't tell front from back, my hearing alone grew sharper.

Along with the sound of underbrush being trampled, I felt the goblins' presence drawing closer.

In a split second, dozens of thoughts seemed to flash through my head.

Was I wrong after all? Was it a bad decision? Should I run away alone even now? Would those bastards just stand by and watch?

'......What rotten luck.'

I killed the Woodman Avenger, killed the hidden boss Godrak, and even destroyed the Black Tree that was an invincible object.

And after all that, I was going to end up killed by these pathetic goblin bastards?

That's just too unfair.

"......Ha."

What was I getting so worked up about? This was hardly the first time <FoS> had put me through shit like this.

'It was always like this.'

This game always made players feel how unfair it was.

That's why it never went mainstream, and ended up as a toy only eccentrics would enjoy.

'......But I.'

I found that kind of game fun. It made me want to rise to the challenge, and I saw a chance of winning. I believed I could eventually clear it.

It's still the same now.

I had my pride—the pride of knowing no other player understood <FoS> more deeply than I did.

Even if that player were the only one with higher progression than me—Chris—it would be the same.

'My judgment is right.'

I made the best choice I could in that situation.

So I don't regret it, and I don't doubt it.

If I'd left these two behind and gone, what then? Was there any guarantee that three hours of walking alone would be completely safe?

'So shut up and walk.'

Keep walking, even if it only puts one more step between me and those goblin bastards.

If I do my best and still get a game over, then it just can't be helped.

SCREECH!

Now I could even feel the goblins' breath.

The voices that had echoed from afar were now right behind me.

'What were those bastards' weapons again?'

Ah. Clubs, right.

Would it hurt to get hit in the back of the head with one? Of course it would.

"Heh."

A pointless thought.

The complicated feeling of wondering if this really was the end.

A strange sense of relief.

To leave not even a shred of regret behind, to prove I'd done my best until the very end, I took the next step.

Crunch.

[You have been lost and wandering in <Eternal Forest> for a long time.]

"—Ah."

From deep in my heart, relief—no, something beyond that, elation—welled up.

Because this was the message I had so desperately longed to see.

[Having wandered within a certain area for a long time, you have received the forest's mysterious guidance.]

Kik, kek......?

I heard the goblins' bewildered voices, and soon even those faded into the distance.

My consciousness gradually dimmed. Beyond my pitch-black vision, a bright cluster of light shimmered.

I felt as if a warm ember was wrapping around my entire body, and I thought:

[You are entering <Forest Shelter>.]

Once again, I wasn't wrong.