Chapter 18
Chapter 18
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 18
Chapter Title: I Came to Pick You Up (1)
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The ground grew increasingly muddy the closer they got to the ruins.
Sticky liquid resembling blood pooled in the footprints.
The deeper they ventured into the heart of the forest, the more grotesquely the woods twisted.
Trees, grass, even inanimate rocks lost their original forms, morphing into writhing red masses.
Memories sharpened. The past kept tugging at her ankles.
The air summoned the bygone days.
*
It was from the height of her fame.
Her expedition team, returning from an exploration, discovered a bloodied girl dying in the Forest of Screams.
Before dying, the girl explained the situation.
The tribe members had suddenly gone mad. She'd barely escaped, but they were performing some bizarre ritual. It had to be stopped.
With those words, the girl perished.
From the long gash in her abdomen, tentacles reeking of foul odor writhed.
Her comrades argued fiercely.
Dwarf Mark and human Ron insisted they stop it together.
Such disasters had to be nipped in the bud, or they'd be unstoppable.
Those who'd lived longer than average tended to be bolder in the face of danger.
On the other hand, elves Arvin and Oli.
Her former comrades, now running some ridiculous guild called Blade of the World Tree, advocated caution.
Their long lifespans and loved ones left behind held them back from rash decisions.
And,
"Let's stop it. Who knows what damage they'll cause while we're gone."
She—no, the hopelessly naive elf Adrian—said that.
Was it out of kindness?
'What a joke.'
No, it wasn't, Regen retorted inwardly.
She'd simply been foolish.
Beautiful looks, innate strength, unmatched skill in missions.
Having sailed a smooth path without hardship, she'd lost touch with reality.
'And this is the result.'
The brutal battle dragged on.
With aid from the guardian god the dead shaman had served, they barely managed to seal it.
The Association arrived late and sealed off the entire ruins with a barrier, bringing the incident to a close.
There were no customary welcomes or rewards.
Her strength vanished, her body broken.
All her surviving comrades died except her.
The ones who'd fled treated her like a ghost to cover their mistakes.
Looks, power, honor.
With everything upholding her dignity stripped away, she faced her true self.
A foolish woman with nothing but a foul temper and a drinking habit.
In that sense, this place might be her origin.
If life were a book, it was an ending with neat structural closure.
And so,
"...Still the same, huh."
Just like that day, she stood before the altar.
Around it, monsters of all kinds bowed their heads.
Their bodies teemed with writhing tentacles.
At the end of the worship procession loomed a massive ape-like figure, a paper crown atop its head.
It slowly opened its eyes.
"...I remember you."
"How touching."
The Association forgot me ages ago.
"You who blocked the crashing waves of grace and scarred my palm."
It slowly unfurled its palm.
There was the wound she'd inflicted ten years ago.
"You are the devil incarnate."
"Pfft, nice. Devil."
Better than washed-up corpse handler.
"Hoo."
She steadied her breath.
She squared up against the enemy.
"Let's go."
Her body felt strangely light.
Was the alcohol finally kicking in?
Today, somehow, she felt she could fight without coughing blood or convulsing.
*
"I am the guardian deity of this forest, Elenaia."
The fawn introduced herself that way.
Quite the grandiose title for a baby deer.
"I offer my thanks for freeing me from bondage. Without you, I wouldn't have lasted. Had I succumbed too, the forest's corruption would have reached an irreversible stage."
"Hmm."
I recalled the hamster from my childhood friend's house. It was an adventurous one that always escaped its cage.
One day, unaware it'd escaped, my friend's dad accidentally stepped on it while packing and killed it flat.
"You're thinking something awfully cheeky right now, aren't you?"
"Huh."
How'd she know?
Guardian deity perks—superb insight, I guess.
"...Anyway, thanks again. To you, Tintal, as well. You knew my plight and brought him, right?"
"Myaang!"
Elenaia and Myaang exchanged some words.
From what I gathered, Myaang had seen her friend caught in vines and brought me as someone who could help.
Good kitty.
"Anything else I can help with?"
"...I'd love to ask you to slay that freshly awakened demon right now, but that's impossible."
"Yeah, no way."
I answered instantly.
Demon? No thanks!
Looked like no easy foe.
Whatever it was, a mere mortal like me couldn't handle it.
"I could call some helpers, though."
Bald lab rat Mike or Fey.
They had solid power; they'd be useful.
"Useless. It's too late now. Ten years ago, we barely contained it with their help..."
Super pessimistic.
"Then nothing else I can do?"
"...Right. You freed me, so you've got skill, but still impossible. Get out fast. This place will become hell soon."
The fawn spat grim warnings.
"Got it. I'm out."
I nodded and decided to bail.
Locals know best—don't mess where they say not to.
No need to play hero.
Then,
"Huh?"
A massive shadow appeared on the cave wall.
Hulking body, unnaturally long arms.
Against the wall thick with red flowers, it looked utterly eerie.
"Demon minions... Already?!"
What?
Isn't this dangerous?
"Grrr..."
Myaang growled, baring teeth at the shadow.
It approached.
The grotesque shadow twisted, filling the wall.
My legs shook. Heart pounded with the dread of death.
"It's coming."
As Elenaia finished, the shadow's owner revealed itself.
"Keeek."
And there it was—
"Keeek! Kiiiek!"
"Eh?"
A monkey.
Plain old monkey, no doubt.
"Whoa."
Red face, big nose. The kind at Japanese hot springs.
"Already?! Run! I'll hold it!"
"Myaang! Myaang!"
The animal friends freaked out noisily.
What?
This the demon?
"Kiiieeeek!!"
Then, the monkey charged me with bloodshot eyes.
But,
"Take this, punk."
"Kek!"
My sheathed sword smacked it. It clutched its face, rolling on the cave floor.
"..."
"...Keeek, kiiiiek..."
The monkey's groans clutching its nose echoed.
"Impossible! Demon minions downed so easily...!"
"Myaang! Myaang!"
The two critters hopped in awe.
'Ah.'
I got it.
'To them, this is a catastrophe.'
Perspective difference.
To ants, a baby's step is apocalypse.
Bullfrog's an ogre-dragon to local puddle toads.
Likewise, for tiny beasts that die tripping on roots, a neighborhood monkey raid is world-ending.
"Don't let your guard down! More coming!"
Elenaia shouted.
A few monkeys crept toward me.
'This level? Piece of cake.'
Worth a shot.
"So, chase these off, right?"
Human vs. monkeys.
Doable.
"Ki, kiiiek—!!"
One monkey lunged.
"...Hya!"
I took stance, swinging the sheath like a baseball bat.
The arc aimed for its shoulder—
*
-콰드드득!!!!
폭포수처럼 뿜어지는 피와 함께 괴수의 어깻죽지가 뜯겨나갔다.
"Kraaa!!!"
"Shut it."
-Puk!
Regen jammed her rapier into the beast's jaw.
The tip pierced its brain, halting its movements.
"Hah, huff."
Despite downing several, enemies remained plentiful.
Twisted nether apes, covered in ceaseless writhing tentacles, slashed with long claws.
"Haa."
Regen spun, dodging the claws, then climbed its arm and stabbed its throat again.
-Clack.
She twisted the hilt to extend barbs—
-Splash!!!
Swinging hard, she tore off its left arm completely.
"You're the last."
Minions cleared.
-Crunch.
Bracing her core to suppress pus-laced coughs, Regen popped pills from her pouch.
Mana flow aids. Forced vitality boosters. Every last painkiller.
-Drip, drip.
Black liquid poured from mouth, nose, ears.
How many years of life did this cost?
Finger sensation faded.
Her elf longevity, chipped away for a decade, neared its end.
But,
"Wasn't gonna live long anyway."
This body, soon a corpse even at rest—didn't matter.
"Time to sell some nostalgia."
-Fwoosh!
Blue flames danced at her rapier's tip.
Adrian's signature: mana-forged blue fire.
"..."
As if recalling burns from those flames, its eyes gleamed.
-Tap, tap.
It gestured like crossing itself—
Countless tentacles surged at Regen.
-Boom!
She thrust her rapier, but some tentacles whipped her body.
Crashing through trees, she flew back.
"The forces of evil have weakened."
The demon said.
Flat tone, no triumph or mockery.
"That indifferent act... Pisses me off to no end."
Drip—
"?"
From the rapier lodged by its tentacle swing, thick blue slime oozed.
Like an injection, drugs crammed in just before flying packed it.
Sizzle—
Land snail mucus, bird droppings, flame tree sap.
-Fwoosh!
Plus herb mix great for burning pus.
"...!"
Anomaly in the demon's body.
Rapier site swelled blue—
"Burns your flesh like nothing else."
-Roar!!
Blue smoke billowed amid corroding tentacles.
"How's it feel? Burns nice?"
"...You."
Its pupils slit horizontally in the flames.
Finally cracking that smug speech.
"Didn't just play for ten years."
Explorer work: gamble lives for dungeon攻略.
"Occupational hazard. Even like this, can't stop thinking of you."
Poison spewed? Autopsy for antidote.
Electrocuted? Insulators.
Other beasts? Lure for 2-for-1.
Thus, explorer corpses are vital.
They reveal dangers with their lives, keys to攻略.
So the demon's horrific wounds,
"Thanks to you making me this way, I could test flesh samples for effective drugs."
Become weapons to slay the culprit.
"Know this? Famous Nether beasts named after people. Discoverer or top contributor."
Build seas on human lives as foundations.
Tread rolling deaths to depths.
Top rank in that hellscape means one thing.
"So if named after me... You'll be 'Adrian'."
Why did Regen charge the demon's maw ten years ago?
Why linger Nether-side post-trauma?
To help?
Pity the girl?
Justice?
Overconfidence?
Not wrong.
But not the truth.
Truer reason—
'This... is living.'
Hooked on thrill of life-death brink.
Dopamine from razor-edge survival.
"End this, Adrian. You shitty fuck."
Regen staggered up.
Madness flickered in wild eyes.
-Stab! Stab! Stab!
Rapier plunged into 'Adrian' again.
Thrust, stab, roll.
Leap tentacles, stab.
One slip means death.
No mana shield, so desperate.
Yet,
-Spurt!
A tentacle grazed her left cheek.
Blue fluid smeared skin—
-Sizzle!
Left face, eroded by 'Adrian', ignited.
"Aaaagh!!!"
Hellish burn scorched her brain.
Diluted by enemy blood, flames died quick—but halted her.
"Share in this."
'Adrian' said.
Solemn voice, but mocking now.
And,
-Thwack!
Flame-wreathed fist smashed her again.
"Ah."
No breath left to scream.
Her limp body splatted into meat-swamp mire.
'Damn it.'
This the end.
Not bad for impromptu stand.
But momentum had limits.
Headlong void plunge.
'Explorer renewal denied. Sorry.'
-Falling.
'Senior, sorry, but we can't...'
-Falling,
'You think you're still an explorer?! Dream on! You're just a day-labor corpse grubber!'
-Falling—
That's how it goes.
Like comrades gone before. Juniors to follow.
'Still...'
-Join our party?
Last sight was fun. Comforting.
Eyes heavy.
Time to die.
But,
'No.'
Regen thrashed, arm outstretched.
'Truth is, I wanted...'
To go together.
Limbs numb.
Barely raised arm toward sky crumbled.
Darkening vision.
Darkness upon darkness...
-Grab.
"Regen? You okay?"
It came midway.
"Huh?"
Will.
The dimwit I thought dead gripped her arm.
'Why're you here.'
Too exhausted to ask.
Feeling warmth from his palm, Regen passed out cold.