Chapter 65
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 65
Chapter Title: Records - 4
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The trait relentlessly bombarded me with messages, shoving me toward the forest depths.
But I didn't budge an inch, holding my position.
'Not yet.'
There was only one path into the forest.
Getting in without the guards spotting me was next to impossible.
I needed a proper way.
'Now that I think about it... why not just go around?'
Of course, there was only one official entrance.
But did I have to go through the designated spot?
Especially since I needed to sneak in—there was no reason to stroll right up to the gate like I owned the place.
The now-useless strategy guide had let me grasp the village's layout and terrain from its first-floor section.
At the center of the circular map was the starting point where adventurers first opened their eyes upon entering the tower.
Surrounding it were parks, and heading east revealed the shopping district and restaurants.
To the west lay Ellie's request office, Raymond's inn, and Tiana's swordsmanship training hall.
Heading south brought you to the blacksmith, and oddly, the potion shop was run not near the shopping district but down there as well.
There was a mine nearby too, I recalled.
North led to the assembly hall, with the gate to the second floor inside.
Beyond that was the forest entrance.
Crossing it took you into the damp woods encircling the outer edge of the circle.
On my first day venturing into the forest, it had taken ages to find surviving slimes because adventurers had swept through in droves.
Recalling that, even trekking from one end of the village to the other wouldn't have taken that long.
The forest might even be larger than the village, fully encircling the outer rim.
I didn't have to use the entrance; heading to the outskirts from any direction would inevitably lead into the forest.
'Am I a genius?'
Unlike the sixth floor surrounded by mountains or the eleventh with its encircling walls, there were no barriers here.
Detouring around the entrance would take a bit longer, but that was its only downside.
'Has no one thought of this until now?'
By the time my thoughts reached that point, my body was already moving a beat ahead.
I'd struck out and was heading back toward the forest entrance.
"There's always a reason no one does something."
My ambitious expectations had been blocked by a transparent wall.
Literally—an invisible wall.
It was absurd.
It seemed designed so no paths led to the forest except through the entrance.
The first floor was so flat there wasn't even a slope to speak of.
Without buildings, nothing obstructed the clear line of sight.
Yet no matter which direction I faced from the village outskirts, the dense green of the forest never appeared.
There was endless sky and flat ground, making it impossible to imagine woods beyond.
"Given the forest's size... it doesn't make sense that it wouldn't be visible from other sides."
It looked like two separate spaces unnaturally linked by a bridge at the entrance.
Not exactly magic, but structurally like a game portal.
From inside the entrance, the vast forest was perfectly visible.
'Haa... I just wasted time.'
Back where I started, I couldn't even vent my frustration aloud and had to swallow it down.
From here on, any noise might alert the guards.
'Still, he's human. There has to be a gap.'
With no other options, my only choice was to wait for an opportunity.
He wasn't distracted by anything else; he was just standing guard at the quiet entrance in the dead of night.
As I'd said before, I had no stealth skills.
The dark sky might hide my body, but at arm's reach, I couldn't erase the rustling sounds or presence.
I was waiting for the guard to step away.
No human could stand frozen in one spot without a single second's break.
The village had only two guards, splitting shifts to cover half the day each.
So if one left their post during duty, there was no replacement.
Their goal was village safety over guarding valuables anyway.
And this village was tediously peaceful.
No need for constant tension.
"Yawn... Getting sleepy. Maybe grab a potion."
The opportunity came quicker than the wasted time suggested.
Not a long absence, but in the late night when even residents rarely stirred, stepping away briefly was plausible enough.
I'd been waiting for this.
【Trait - Record Viewer《RARE》】
- Entry. Entry.
'What's got it reacting so intensely?'
The trait's messages accounted for more than half the swelling curiosity.
It shunned my senior's records for trivial reasons and barely glanced at most residents, yet showed more fervor for a single first-floor guard than a mage who'd reached the sixtieth—how could I not wonder?
Sure, the potion shop was in the opposite direction, and the guard had just left his post.
Residents here treated potions like real-world coffee.
Ironic, since they had tea but no coffee—maybe other floors sold it while climbing the tower?
The moment the guard vanished from sight, I moved.
Crossing the unguarded entrance.
- Grrr rumble...!
A deafening roar echoed.
Just before crossing, the surroundings had been dead silent, but now it felt like an earthquake.
"Wh-what's that sound?"
Startled by the noise, I pulled my foot back.
Stepping out beyond the entrance quieted everything again.
I gingerly pushed my foot forward once more.
- Grind...!
"It's only from inside?"
It wasn't just sound.
Vibrations tingled through my toes.
The ground was truly shaking.
'Is Koon really in there?'
【Trait - Record Viewer《RARE》】
- Agreement.
'Doesn't feel like he's alive and well.'
The trait had no tracking ability.
It had simply read the records of the guard on duty that day.
Did Koon enter the forest in this state every night?
- Grr rumble...!
I witnessed something bizarre.
The ground shifted, cracks forming evenly between.
Something crawled out from the fissures.
"Grass...?"
Before it could fully emerge, the leaves withered.
The stem melted away.
The roots vanished unseen, the cracks sealing into pristine earth.
This happened across the entire forest, every inch or so.
【???《COMMON》】
【Lumentia《RARE》】
【Orph《COMMON》】
【???《RARE》】
【Basperia《EPIC》】
In the process, the trait displayed names of these fleeting plants.
Half were unknown, marked with question marks, but the fact that I recognized any was surprising.
【Trait - Record Viewer《RARE》】
- Guard, Gathering.
Now I finally understood the trait's repetitive, boring phrases.
The info on those plants came from Koon's records.
And I'd seen some of those names myself.
I might not know their full forms, but the ones in the tea pouches...
"Lately, all these exotic tea leaves keep showing up at the shop, so I bought a few here and there, and now look at this."
The neatly stacked tea leaves at Ellie's request office—those were definitely them.
Too many to remember all, but the third one my senior recommended as safe and brewed was unmistakably 'Orph leaf.'
"How did he even get those? No joke, they were visible for like five seconds before vanishing."
Gathering them wasn't foraging; it was whack-a-mole.
So... Koon collected and supplied them himself?
"How low is a guard's pay?"
Twelve hours a day, plus side gigs?
I felt it every purchase, but prices here were ridiculously low.
Hunting five slimes a day covered three meals.
With inn rooms, leisure, and shopping, you'd need more, but starvation wasn't an issue.
If even here life was tough, Koon's income must be brutal.
"Eek. What's that?"
Some plants didn't vanish.
Leaves didn't wither, stems didn't melt.
They grew rapidly, bearing fruit in seconds.
And when the fruit split open, inside...
"Slimes?"
Slimes emerged!
"They... spawn like that?"
No matter what happened yesterday, forest monster numbers always reset to normal.
All along, like this.
Slimes didn't plop from the sky, but fruit-spawning? Unimaginable.
Ignoring my shock, the trait still clamored hungrily, and my goal—Koon—was nowhere.
"Gotta go deeper—"
- Thud!
A sensation on my shoulder.
With a metallic clink.
"Finally caught you."
A guard stood behind me.
Not the sought-after Koon, but the other one.
Finally got the excuse, he spouted incomprehensibly.
"I've sensed a presence since earlier. The second I pretended to step away, you waltzed right in."
"Uh, uh..."
"Don't give me that hunting excuse. Entrance is closed this hour. And you..."
The guard tilted his head.
His eyes scanned my hair.
"Huh, not red?"
"Pardon?"
"Who... are you?"
Wh-what?
Why stop scolding midway?