Chapter 37. Forest Shelter VII
Episode 37.
Forest Shelter Ⅶ
The hunt continued, but unfortunately, contrary to Kria's expectations, the Antworms could not be revived as undead.
The reason was simple.
As a general rule, undead controlled by a Necromancer must be lower in level than the Necromancer.
'The Antworms are level 33.'
Kria's level, on the other hand, was barely scraping 20.
Far too low to make use of them as undead.
"No way......"
Kria despaired, but there was nothing to be done.
This was why leveling mattered more for Necromancers than for other classes.
'So that's one more reason I need to hit 30.'
I preached this point to Kria with great enthusiasm, but she didn't seem particularly convinced.
"Watch out!"
"Aaaah! O-one more came out! Kaindel! Do something!"
That aside, the hunt itself went smoothly.
Even though we'd pushed ourselves somewhat recklessly, since we didn't have much time to spare.
"I-I'm gonna die! Gonna get crushed to death......!"
"Sylph......!"
Why didn't we have much time to spare?
A fair question. The quest didn't have any particular time limit.
Still, considering our current food supply, the rest and sleep we needed, and the accumulated fatigue and stress that would result, it would be hard to push past two days.
"All right. Let's rest for ten minutes."
At my words, the two of them dropped facedown where they stood.
I leaned my back against the wall to maintain a suitable state of alertness and sorted through my thoughts.
"......Seriously, what the hell is up with his stamina?"
"So he really is weird....... I thought all Delvers were like that......."
"How could that be......? I've even gone through hellish training at the monastery, and I've never been run this hard."
I let my party members' grumbling go in one ear and out the other as I watched the Antworm corpses slowly fade away.
'So they really don't drop SEED.'
We'd already killed close to fifty of them, and I hadn't seen so much as a single SEED. It seemed underground mobs simply didn't drop SEED at all.
In that case, I could treat this generous experience gain as compensation for not earning any money.
'I need to keep the balance right.'
Fast leveling was certainly appealing, but in <FoS>, wealth mattered just as much.
In the end, no matter how high your level, if your gear, potions, and other fundamentals were lacking, you could go down in an instant.
'Besides gear, potions, and lodging, there's a mountain of other places money needs to go.'
On top of that, this Supply Route wasn't part of the forest, so we couldn't register discoveries here either.
Which meant there was no way to raise our Exploration Progress.
'If I get blinded by the massive experience and focus only on hunting, I'm practically begging for a game over.'
As expected of <FoS>, I supposed.
Even rewards that looked sweet had traps lurking underneath.
'Antworm' Kill Count
25 / 33
Fortunately, the Antworm respawns didn't stop even after we'd met the quest condition.
In other words, how much more we could hunt depended on how long the party members' stamina held out.......
'Considering the remaining time, and above all these two's stress levels.......'
The maximum time we could stay was, at best, about two days.
And judging by our pace, the maximum number we could kill in a day was around a hundred.
'Level 30 is out of the question.'
So I couldn't just cheese my way through after all.
I looked at the two of them with regret. Wondering if there was some angle to work them even harder.
"Wh-what are you looking at? It hasn't been ten minutes yet, okay? Hey. It hasn't been ten minutes, right......?"
"There's still 3 minutes and 37 seconds left......."
"See!"
"......."
It did seem like it would be tough.
I let out a fresh sigh, but there was nothing to be done. Every companion had their own tempo.
Even if everyone else was perfectly fine, if one person's stress hit a dangerous level, you had to stop hunting immediately in <FoS>.
"I'm thinking of reducing the target number."
"R-really?!"
"Yeah. Let's just kill a hundred."
"......!"
At that, flames blazed in both their eyes.
"Aaaah!"
"We can do this......!"
I looked at the two of them, brimming with fighting spirit, and thought.
'Hmm......'
Could I keep using this method going forward?
First presenting an absurd goal, then coaxing them by pretending to compromise on a realistic one.
'It's the sort of trick only a con artist would use, though.'
At times like this, all that matters is the result.
* * *
Player: Kaindel
Level: 27
Class: Summoner
Stress: 38
Stats
Strength: 10 (+3)
Agility: 10 (+4)
Endurance: 10 (+3)
Magic Power: 27 (+5)
Spare Points: 0
Talents
Body: D+
Mind: D+
Art: F
Intuition: D
Skills
<Taming>, <Scythe Mastery>, <Wild Force>, <Nest>, <Telepathy>, <Blessing of the Ash Moon>
Traits
<Friend of Magical Beasts>
I'd hit level 27.
I hadn't had a chance to mention it, but I'd been dumping all my spare points into Magic Power.
'It's an extreme build, but whatever.'
It wasn't as if there was no other way to gain stat points.
Once I add the bonus stats from taming Magical Beasts to the extra stats from <Wild Force>, the total should easily surpass an NPC of the same level.
And there was one more thing worth noting.
[You have used <Lowest-Grade Talent Stone>.]
[Your Body grows stronger.]
The fact that I'd used the Talent Stone I'd obtained after beating the shadow octopus hatchling.
And so my Body grade had become D+.
The last time I'd checked it had been D-, which meant it had already risen two stages.
'Not much left until C-grade.'
Talent is an extremely important factor in learning skills.
Once Body reaches C-grade, the range of combat techniques I can learn expands considerably.
That's the point where mid-grade skills become learnable.
'......Of course, getting past the D threshold isn't easy.'
Normally, this is the first wall that puts the brakes on growth.
Lowest-Grade and Low-Grade Talent Stones can't raise it; you need at least a Mid-Grade Talent Stone.......
And those are incredibly hard to obtain.
'If worse comes to worst, I could buy one from the Achievement Shop.'
Even in the Achievement Shop, you can buy only one per playthrough. That means I have to use it as carefully as possible.
"Good work."
In any case, after finishing our meaningful growth and returning to the shelter, Haarim held out a rolled-up old map.
Forest Map
You can learn the approximate locations of <Old Woodman Habitat>, <Spore Kingdom>, <Abandoned Cemetery>, and <Giants' Arena>. You can also find a special path leading to the <Forest Shelter>.
I gripped the map tightly. Even if these were early-game areas, I hadn't expected it to show four whole regions.
'With this, I won't need a guide until the next expedition.'
Finding a guide was hard, and finding a useful one was even harder.
Since a guide was the core of the party, my way was to find someone who met my standards no matter how long it took.
"So, guests? Want to rest one more day before you go?"
We didn't have that kind of time. And rest wasn't that desperately needed.
More than anything.
"Sorry, but I don't have money."
"Huh? I was going to let you stay a day for free."
"We'll stay."
If it was free, that changed things.
Was this one of the quest rewards too? Come to think of it, Haarim's gaze seemed to have turned considerably friendlier.
Meals were separate, so we still had to spend money, but thanks to that we fully recovered our stamina.
"Here. Guests. If you keep going down this path, you'll reach the exit."
The next day, we followed Haarim and left the shelter.
It really was strange.
In the underground tunnels, compasses and everything else were useless, and even experienced guides couldn't get their bearings—yet the Pashu were the exception.
"Travel safely, and if fate allows, we'll meet again. Bye."
Haarim waved a hand indifferently and departed, and we headed toward the exit as well.
"Light......!"
It was daytime outside.
The place we emerged from was a root hollow beneath some enormous tree.
That's right.
The hole dug beneath the tree was the entrance leading to the underground world.
"......Amazing. Ah. Should I memorize this location for now?"
"No."
It was a trick I'd already tried in the game.
For reference, this was the message that had appeared back then.
[You can no longer enter.]
[*TIP: This is an exit, not an entrance.]
Judging from the message alone, it seemed the game distinguished between the concepts of exits and entrances.
Most likely, it wouldn't work in reality either.
Though I'd have to verify it properly later.
"We're not going hunting again, are we?"
Seigrena, now above ground, asked while watching my expression.
"Of course not."
The hunting ended here.
I'd raised my level to 27 on my first expedition, so I'd already exceeded my target. For reference, Kria's level was now 25, and Seigrena's was 33.
"From here on, it's back to some nice, relaxing gathering."
"Healing collection?"
"We just need to fill the Exploration Progress."
"Ah."
The remaining Exploration Progress was about 30%.
If we went to the <Border>, it was a figure we could easily achieve within a week.
'If we pushed a little, maybe in three or four days.'
Was that thinking too far ahead?
As I was considering various factors, Kria, who was following behind, asked.
"By the way, what's the <Border>?"
"A place where two regions overlap."
"Huh......?"
"For example, where <Woodman Habitat> and <Spore Kingdom> overlap, a special ecosystem forms. Naturally, the discoveries you can find there tend to be higher grade."
"Aha."
Of course, the monsters that appeared there were correspondingly stronger, but at our current level, they weren't a big problem.
'Or would it be worth checking out <Old Woodman Habitat>?'
According to the status message, the ecosystem there was changing, so we might be able to find a 'First'.
'Hmm.......'
But it seemed like the ecosystem would need a certain amount of time to change. And as the ecosystem changed, the map's recommended level might jump up sharply.
Even if we stopped by, it would have to be on the next expedition.
"Found one! <Golden Beetle>!"
"Is this a <Mutant Four-Leaf Clover>? The one with one white leaf."
"<Zombie Mushroom Spores>, huh....... Ugh, they look disgusting."
We beat down the occasional mushroom creatures and smoothly explored and gathered collectibles.
The one who contributed the most here was—
Screeeeech—!
—the Weaselly I'd summoned again.
For reference, Weaselly had also been quite useful in the battles against the Antworms. Thanks to that, I'd fully mastered how to use <Telepathy>, and Weaselly's level had risen considerably as well.
As a result.......
[Registered the discovery in the <Exploration Crystal>.]
⁝
Lowest-Grade Exploration Crystal
A tool that records Exploration Progress in <Eternal Forest>.
Current Exploration Progress: 100.0%
Time remaining: 14 days 10 hours
We'd managed to fill the Exploration Progress—something I'd never expected—in about three days.
"......Did you really fill it all?"
Kria said, sounding dazed.
What a suspicious little thing. I waved the Exploration Crystal in front of her eyes and said.
"See this? This number, at least, can't be faked."
"Ah, sorry. I wasn't trying to doubt you, it's just......"
Just?
"......I've heard that the survival rate for a new Delver's first expedition is under thirty percent."
"Ah. I've heard that too. They say thirty percent, but if you include Delvers who went missing, it's cut in half from there."
It did seem like there was a setting like that.
"So are we returning to the royal capital right away now?"
Kria asked, watching my expression. From the look on her face, I could roughly guess what she wanted to say.
'She's wondering about Kazen's whereabouts.'
But searching for Kazen in this impossibly vast forest was literally like finding a needle in a desert.
"First, let's secure a <Return Point>."
"Return Point......?"
These two really didn't know anything.
I looked at the two of them making stupid faces and explained.
"The <Return Magic> built into the crystal can't be used just anywhere. There are conditions that have to be met before it can activate."
According to the lore, <Warp> magic is extremely delicate. Which is only natural, since it moves a body over long distances.
"Ah....... Then finding one of those will be work too."
Normally it would be, but not anymore. Because we'd gotten our hands on the map.
"Just follow me."
I unfolded the map and moved toward the Return Point.
In fact, during the several days we'd spent filling the Exploration Progress, I'd unfolded the map and tried to memorize the routes whenever I had a spare moment.
In case the Trait I'd been hoping for might manifest.
'As expected, <Guide> doesn't manifest that easily.'
I knew the probability of it manifesting was practically decimal-point level. And to raise that pitiful probability even a little, you needed a high <Intuition> Talent.......
'D-grade isn't going to cut it.'
I let out a sigh and looked at the map again.
The distance to the <Return Point> was about half a day from our current location.
The level of the monsters that appeared wasn't particularly threatening, but even so, carelessness was forbidden. You never knew what could happen in this forest.
Rustle!
And should I say it was as expected? An unforeseen situation occurred.
"Hahh, hahh, hahh......!"
It wasn't a monster. The one gasping for breath, drenched in cold sweat and frozen with terror, was a man in robes.
But that face, rigid with fear, somehow looked familiar.
This bastard, no way.......
"Alon?"
Seigrena said the man's name with a stiff face.
Right. He was the Spiritist who had been part of the White Knight Laurent's group.
"Y-you all......? How on earth—"
It was obvious what he'd swallowed back: 'You're alive?'
But the next moment, this guy's action was even more unexpected.
Thud.
Alon dropped to his knees on the spot and shouted at us.
"P-please......! I beg you, save me!"
Kria, who had been staring blankly at the sight, muttered.
"Is his conscience fucking dead.......?"
......Who taught you to say things like that?