Chapter 111
Chapter 111
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 111
Chapter Title: Into the Corrupted Forest
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A silvery white bordering on pure white—that was the color of the world Travania once possessed.
Even among the colors of various world lines, there were some similar hues.
“……”
But a line this perfectly evocative of Travania was a first.
The things that appeared alongside Chul Jung-bae and the new dwarves.
Taaang!
The moment Go Yohan tried to connect the silvery white world line to the warp gate, it trembled with a fierce sound as if rebelling.
Of course, it was a tremor only Go Yohan could hear and feel.
“……!”
Only Yoon Seung-ah vaguely sensed a chill and clenched her fist.
“……Fragment of the World.”
Go Yohan said.
“Fragment of the World!”
He shouted the name of the fragment he had left in her care for investigation.
Quick-witted Yoon Seung-ah vanished and reappeared instantly, holding the fragments in both hands.
Woooong!
Right—the silvery white world line hadn't appeared solely because of Chul Jung-bae and the dwarves.
Those things given as rewards.
Ziiing.
Go Yohan realized that faint silvery white world lines were now visible emanating from them.
Swish.
Go Yohan's hand moved.
It was like the frenzied dance of one entranced by something.
Or the sword dance of a keenly sharpened blade.
Woooooong!
It was an act akin to a ritual offered to the gods.
‘One wrong move, and the world line snaps.’
The silvery white thread was microscopically thin.
It was the finest, frailest line Go Yohan had ever handled.
Drip.
Sweat beaded on Go Yohan's steely forehead and trickled down.
All the apostles watched the scene in tense silence.
For this was something no one else in the world could do—only Go Yohan.
At that moment.
Swish.
Go Yohan lowered his hand.
Ripple.
The mana spreading out behind him took form, drawing in the world lines the instant it did.
Woooooong!
The warp gate's brilliant light pulsed as if devouring the world itself.
Everything happened in an instant.
Paaat!
The light went out.
Saaah.
It was like a small ember flickering.
Fwoosh!
But soon it blazed intensely, as if to incinerate the entire warp gate.
“……Kuh!”
A handful of blood trickled from Go Yohan's mouth.
“Captain!”
“Captain—!”
The apostles rushed over in alarm.
But.
Sssk.
Seeing the smile on Go Yohan's lips, they breathed a sigh of relief.
“……We did it.”
Success.
He had succeeded in linking those frail threads.
[You have achieved the unbelievable feat!]
The goddess's praising voice rang through his mind, tearing it apart.
[You have successfully opened the gate to a destroyed world.]
[A destroyed world….]
Kukukuku!
[Connecting to Travania.]
Chwaaaaa!
Silvery white threads poured from within the warp gate.
They were still faint beyond measure, but Go Yohan knew they would one day become clear and thick.
But this wasn't enough.
Right now, ‘Travania’ wasn't what mattered.
In the deepening divine sight, the moment Go Yohan reached out entranced toward the line of something he had found.
Kung.
The warp gate emitted light and began stabilizing once more.
“…Did it work?”
Chul Jung-bae said in disbelief.
Nod.
Go Yohan nodded in affirmation.
“Huh!”
Chul Jung-bae sat down right there, unable to believe it.
“…The Elf Queen….”
Go Yohan said.
“…We found the World Tree.”
It was an undeniable success.
*
*
*
[You have entered the Forest of Corruption.]
[You have entered a severed world line.]
The goddess's warning echoed in Go Yohan's mind.
[You have acquired the unbelievable feat: Visitor of the Severed World.]
[Your stay in an unconnected world is extended.]
[The Forest of Corruption repels you.]
In the heavily sinking sensation, the goddess fretted over her knight without rest.
Ggggrrrk.
The sensation enveloping his entire body was less a repulsion, as her warning suggested, and more like being drawn in.
[100 hours are granted.]
[Time doubled due to feat.]
[You will be expelled from the Forest of Corruption after 200 hours.]
And.
[The World Tree on the brink of death rejects all impure beings.]
Kwaduduk!
Agony tore through him as if his body were being crushed and ripped apart.
A force that shook and shredded his insides.
Drip.
Go Yohan could only stand motionless like a nail driven into wood, feeling the blood trickling from his eye.
The curse boiled, and the sin surged.
All senses vanished, leaving only the feeling of being endlessly pulled into a deep mire.
But.
[Faith stat activates.]
With the goddess's voice.
Paaaaat!
Brilliant light poured from Go Yohan.
Kwaaang!
The mire that had been sucking him in boiled and burst from the intense aura, allowing Go Yohan to regain his senses.
Ta-at.
Go Yohan's movements were immediate.
He moved like the wind, swiftly grabbing two figures.
Ta-at.
Like a bird of prey, he landed atop a massive tree with them in hand.
“……Captain….”
Yoon Seung-ah called to Go Yohan as she regained her lost senses.
Mana crept from her, enveloping her protectively.
And beside her.
“Argh! Damn it!”
An irritated curse burst out.
“Ptoo! This feels gross!”
Originally, Go Yohan had intended to bring only Yoon Seung-ah here.
The World Tree was notorious for its harshness toward visitors, and its methods resembled tricky magic.
He thought Yoon Seung-ah's magic would help pierce the World Tree and learn something new.
“Ugh!”
And in Go Yohan's other hand.
Ta-at.
Kim Sion, who regained his senses first, steadied himself but wobbled.
But only for a moment.
Saaah.
He quickly assimilated with the surrounding energy, fully recovering what he had lost.
The other one was Kim Sion.
“Captain! This place is insane!”
Kim Sion said, looking rattled.
“What the hell is this?”
It was a forest filled with withered, twisted trees, blanketed in thick darkness overhead.
The stale air tried to seep in like toxic smoke, poisoning the lungs.
Bubble bubble.
The ground they had just been on had turned entirely into a swamp, feeling like the maw of a monster devouring all life.
“Elfdain.”
Go Yohan said.
“The elves’ sanctuary.”
A scene that denied all past memories.
Elfdain—the sanctuary where all elves of old Travania were born and protected.
*
*
*
“Captain… I’m fine.”
Yoon Seung-ah said, steadying herself atop the tree.
Was it because she had been held by Go Yohan?
Whoosh.
Her cheeks flushed bright red.
“Sis, you don’t care about time or place?”
At Kim Sion’s words.
Tukang!
Sparks flew.
“Ack!”
Kim Sion dodged immediately, but a faint scratch on his cheek was unavoidable.
“You witch!”
Yoon Seung-ah wordlessly swung her hand again.
“Calm down.”
As Go Yohan intervened, Yoon Seung-ah instantly returned to her usual composed self and stood by his side.
“Sorry.”
The sight made him chuckle despite himself.
That swamp devoured and consumed the senses of anything standing in it.
The Corrupted Mire had the power to devour even Go Yohan and the apostles’ senses.
But even without Go Yohan, Yoon Seung-ah or Kim Sion wouldn’t have fallen victim.
Saaah.
Yoon Seung-ah had already layered multiple barriers and spells around herself.
“Hmm.”
Kim Sion’s keen senses were too sharp to be numbed by anything.
Sssk.
Kim Sion grinned.
“Can I kill them?”
The subject went unspoken.
Saaah. Saaaaah.
It sounded like the withered branches of the forest rustling in the breeze.
Kim Sion sensed it first, and Yoon Seung-ah quietly cast shadows.
“Captain, long time no see—let’s make a bet.”
Kim Sion said.
“Who kills more….”
Even without Go Yohan’s permission.
Pssst!
Kim Sion’s form shimmered like dust and vanished.
“See ya!”
In the next instant, his figure flashed atop a nearby tree, swinging his twin daggers.
Kakakang!
Sparks flew, followed by green blood.
“Go ahead.”
Yoon Seung-ah said, stepping back one pace.
“You sure? Mana might not flow right here.”
Go Yohan said worriedly to Yoon Seung-ah.
This world was unlike any black gate they had conquered or the hollow domain of a grand demon.
Limited mana, a forest and winds that deceived the senses.
“I appreciate the concern, but….”
Yoon Seung-ah gave a slight smile.
“I’m fine.”
Go Yohan’s worry—and the affection inherent in it—felt good.
Shadows already extending from her began devouring the surrounding trees.
“Aaagh! What? Sis is joining too?”
“Envy, this isn’t a game.”
Kim Sion’s form kept flashing.
“Approach it with more seriousness.”
“Tch! Nag nag!”
The third time Kim Sion flashed.
Quaaak!
Headless corpses plummeted futilely toward the swamp.
‘Impure beings.’
The World Tree had branded him and his apostles as such through their curses and sins.
And it unleashed everything it had to suppress and strip them bare.
But it wouldn’t stop them.
Kwaaaa!
After all, they were his apostles.
“Twelve!”
Minutes later, Kim Sion boasted proudly, holding up fingers after slaying twelve foes.
“……I’ve got twelve too.”
Yoon Seung-ah, who had erased enemies below like the swamp itself with her shadows, spoke up with her own competitive spirit.
At that moment.
Kwaduduk!
The world tore with a sound.
“Twenty.”
Part of the forest before Go Yohan’s eyes ripped away and shattered.
“Cheat!”