Chapter 4
Chapter 4
The moment I stepped into the pepper field, a cold sense of unease crawled up my spine.
…
It was empty.
Just yesterday, the peppers had been hanging heavily from their stems, plump and full. Now, they were gone without a trace. Only the abandoned stems swayed pitifully in the wind.
“Was it a thief?”
That was my first thought, but unfortunately, it wasn’t.
If it had been a thief, it would at least mean the peppers had grown properly. But what I found in the soil after crouching down were tiny footprints—prints belonging to a lifeform I knew very well.
‘Sigh… so it’s this again.’
Blood Peppers. Normally, peppers are not supposed to grow legs.
But for some reason, the peppers in my field always mutated into Blood Peppers whenever I wasn’t looking.
They had been normal peppers just yesterday. So what on earth happened overnight?
“Let’s follow them first…”
With a sigh, I followed the footprints into the forest. It had gone quite far—the trail led beyond the outskirts into the deeper woods.
Honestly, there are people who go after livestock when it runs away, but I’m probably the only one who has to chase down crops that run off on their own.
“That’s…”
When I reached a clearing in the forest, I saw it.
A Silver Ent.
The Silver Ent was a race covered in silvery bark, possessing strength far beyond humans. But the one in front of me had its body half-torn apart, its supposedly steel-like armor scattered lifelessly across the ground.
‘What’s going on here?’
On top of the Silver Ent were dozens of red shapes clinging tightly.
Thin root-like legs. Smooth pepper-shaped bodies. Ends split like sharp teeth.
Without a doubt, they were the Blood Peppers that had escaped from my farm.
Like farmers harvesting ripe crops, they were relentlessly gnawing at the Silver Ent’s body. The Ent was unable to resist, slowly leaking faint mana as it died.
‘Should I take it back?’
It was somewhat absurd that a Silver Ent had been taken down by Blood Peppers, but if it was a creature I had raised, then it was my responsibility.
So I stepped into the swarm of Blood Peppers and lifted the Silver Ent onto my shoulder.
In protest, the Blood Peppers unleashed their breath attacks.
“Hmm.”
Warm. Not particularly alarming.
This wasn’t my first time being attacked by my own crops.
So I already knew how to deal with it.
“Lightning.”
From my skeletal fingertips, electricity burst forth and shot into the Blood Peppers.
“Kiieeek!!”
They twisted violently as the lightning pierced through them.
Well, this was normal.
Any plant grown in my field went through this kind of “education” at least once.
“Ke! Kek!!”
A few stubborn ones tried to resist and rush me, but the more they did, the stronger the current became.
The electricity only stopped when all of them folded their legs and lowered their bodies in submission.
I pointed toward the direction of the farm.
“Run.”
At the command, the wobbling Blood Peppers slowly stood up.
Dripping unpleasant fluids from their eyes, they began running back toward the farm.
‘Were they starving?’
The Silver Ent was lighter than expected. I had hunted one during my human life, and I clearly remembered it being much heavier than this.
Lying it down inside my coffin-like house, I noticed its limbs were thinner than I remembered.
Seeing a Silver Ent alone, despite them being a group species, made me think it might have wandered out here due to hunger.
“Ugh… ngh…”
Perhaps due to the steam, the Silver Ent groaned with clenched jaws.
In the corner of the room, a group of Blood Peppers were diligently brewing Mandragora tea.
It seemed the heat they were producing was too much for the Silver Ent to bear. At my glance, the Blood Peppers poured the entire teapot over its face and quickly fled the room.
“Geh—!? W-what!?”
Startled, but apparently revived by the hot Mandragora tea, the Silver Ent regained consciousness.
The first thing it did was look around.
Strangely, it was looking everywhere except at me.
“Where… am I…”
“Oh, you’re awake? You were collapsed in the forest, so I brought you here. Good thing you’re conscious.”
“Skeleton?”
The Silver Ent locked eyes with me.
Its pupils widened as it stared at my skull.
Well, it made sense. Encountering an undead in a forest like this wasn’t exactly common. Undead usually formed in places saturated with death energy, like graveyards.
“Hmm. So I was helped, was I? Thank you. I am Bark, servant of Queen Melina of the Eastern Ant Nest.”
Introducing himself as Bark, he stood up and extended his hand.
“I will repay this debt of gratitude.”
I took his hand.
His bark-like skin felt rough, like tree bark rather than flesh.
“Hmm?”
Bark tilted his head, then nodded slightly and released my hand.
He probably didn’t recognize the name “Lugnis Kingdom.” Then again, I didn’t know anything about the Eastern Ant Nest either.
That’s just how interspecies communication worked.
“Apologies for the sudden request, but I must ask something.”
“Go ahead. If I know it, I’ll answer.”
“You are straightforward, skeleton. I am currently searching for the Green Dungeon.”
At the words, his silver jaw clicked with excitement.
But I couldn’t feel the same.
Green Dungeon… I had never heard of it.
To me, dungeons were basically like territories, as Canis had explained. So maybe it meant Green Territory? Green… something? I wasn’t sure.
“I understand it is a rude request. I have heard rumors of it. It is important for my race and my queen.”
“If you could help me…”
He bowed his head deeply.
But I simply didn’t know.
“If I knew, I wouldn’t hide it. I’ve never heard of it.”
“…I see. I was told it was nearby. Then may I ask where this place is?”
Where this place was…
I could explain it in coordinates, but I doubted he would understand.
“Well…”
“This is my farm. I grow crops here.”
At my answer, Bark stared at me in silence, as if wondering what kind of skeleton farms at all.
After a moment, his shoulders slumped. He seemed deeply burdened by his mission.
Maybe I should help him a bit.
“I can help you look for it.”
Bark’s antennae straightened, then drooped again.
“…The Green Dungeon is said to be extremely dangerous. I cannot bring my benefactor into such a place.”
His hands trembled slightly. It seemed he truly understood the danger.
But so what?
“If it’s dangerous, what about it?”
I shrugged my shoulder blade.
Danger is not something to avoid. It is something to face.
Where in the world is there anything easy?
“Igrifa… you really are…”
Bark’s eyes began to well up with tears.
I had never seen a Silver Ent cry before, not even in my human life.
“Let’s walk and talk. Tell me everything you know about the Green Dungeon.”
“Very well… thank you. First, the Green Dungeon is not its official name. It is called that because its scenery is said to be overwhelmingly green.”
We walked out of the hut.
The vast field stretched before us, filled with various plants rooted along the paths.
“Anything else? Everything around here is like this.”
“…This is the Silent Forest region, so it makes sense. There is said to be a giant tree-like monster living here. Extremely powerful.”
A tree-like monster… there were many of those.
Too many, actually.
“Do you mean the Giant Greenbell?”
“…I apologize. I do not know the exact species name.”
“Wait here.”
There had originally been 51 Giant Greenbells, and I had given 48 to Canis.
That meant there were still three left here.
I walked up to a large tree by the path and tapped it lightly with my hoe.
“Hey. Wake up.”
Sure enough, the tree slowly pulled its roots out of the ground.
It wrapped its branches around itself, forming a humanoid shape.
“Is this it?”
“…Yes, but…”
Not very helpful.
There didn’t seem to be a Green Dungeon location nearby.
We needed more information.
“Anything else? If something like that lived nearby, I would know.”
“…A green monster with wings and spikes on its skin.”
A flying green monster with spikes?
“That one?”
I pointed at the flying Dracumri overhead.
It had originally been an ordinary cucumber I planted four months ago. Then it grew wings and became a Dracumri.
Bark’s entire body began to tremble.
“W-wait… how long has this place been inhabited?”
His pupils shrank and expanded rapidly.
“About a year. Why does that matter?”
Then suddenly, Bark dropped to his knees and slammed his head into the ground.
Maybe it was a side effect of the Mandragora tea earlier?
This situation made less and less sense.
“…I have been disrespectful.”
“Hmm?”
“I failed to recognize you… Lord of the Green Dungeon.”