Into the Forest 2

A soft crack of a breaking branch shattered the stillness of the quiet forest.

It was a tiny sound—so faint you would miss it if you weren't paying attention—and Grace slowly raised her hand. As if on cue, the rest of the party tightened their grips on their weapons and dropped into combat stances. From the shadowed undergrowth, a mottled, filthy wolf burst into the open.

GRAAAAH—!!

Its jaws bristled with teeth sharp enough to strip flesh from bone in a single bite. Those savage fangs, however, never got the chance to sink into anyone.

"Got it. Move!"

"Yes, sir!"

What I caught wasn't a lunging beast so much as a woman settling gently into my arms. Worried that a counter-damage effect might trigger, I pinned its snout firmly under my armpit, then seized both thrashing forepaws with my hands.

The wolf's hind legs scrabbled wildly against the forest floor, kicking up dirt, but with its only real weapon—its jaws—clamped shut, resistance was pointless.

Through the rising haze of dust, a long one-handed sword flashed in. The keen edge slid along the inside of the pinned forelegs and carved a deep line down the wolf's chest and belly. At the same instant, a sharp whistle of air cut from behind me as an arrow streaked in.

As if to prove how easy a stationary target was, the arrow threaded the gap under my arm and punched clean through the Moss Wolf's nose. Last came something slower than an arrow but incomparably more destructive: Hanna's Magic Missile.

"…Moss Wolves die this easily?"

With a heavy thud, the magic curved in from the side and slammed into the Moss Wolf's flank. A low, pained groan escaped it, and the creature in my arms dissolved, leaving only a Mana Stone behind.

"They're not dramatically stronger than Horned Wolves. The moss in their fur just makes them better at stealth, and they're a bit smarter—that's all. Raw combat power isn't that high. Link your attacks on the vitals the way we just did, and forest monsters go down easy."

"I see."

Grace's bow, bought with a premium markup; Hanna's staff and extra skill points, rewards from slaying the Full Moon Wolf; and Caden's sharp sword strikes, packing the solid attack power you'd expect from a 4-star—against a single trash mob that wasn't even a named monster, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠it was overkill and then some.

Caden, though, who had once climbed as high as the 14th floor alone, looked almost moved. Soloing the Tower meant poor scouting, which meant getting ambushed by Moss Wolves and grinding through brutal fights afterward.

Having a scout who could pierce a Moss Wolf's stealth ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠and a tank who could stop a charge with his body made the whole experience feel completely different. Hanna nodded at my explanation and picked up the thread.

"Then there's no reason to linger on the 11th floor. We should take it slow, let Grace lead the scouting, and make climbing the Tower our goal."

"Indeed. This party does seem rather overqualified for the 11th floor."

Standing next to a 6-star, a 5-star, and a 4-star made the 3-star Grace look relatively weak—but considering most players started out paired with a 2-star, Grace was still an above-average archer by a comfortable margin.

Caden's mouth twitched as she realized the party she'd joined wasn't elite just because of me, the guide—every other member was top-tier too. Both Hanna and Grace looked pretty pleased that their attacks were landing cleanly.

"Moss Wolves and Helmet Deer, I'll grab the same way I just did. Keep doing exactly what you're doing. Like I said, though, I'll let a few slip past on purpose, so don't completely drop your guard."

"Yes! Then on those occasions, it would be my duty to protect the sisters, correct?"

Irene, who had been left without much to do, answered at once to my follow-up warning. As someone from the Temple, she seemed to hold some belief about ascetic hardship—being too comfortable apparently sat poorly with her. Still, once we ran into packs of kobolds or goblins and the fighting turned chaotic, she'd have plenty of work. No issue there.

We pocketed the Moss Wolf's Mana Stone and pushed deeper into the dense forest with Grace's scouting at the front. Unlike the plains, the forest terrain actively fought every step. It wasn't mountain-steep, but roots snagged at our feet and branches clawed at our vision.

In the thickest shade, camouflaged Moss Wolves crouched in silence. In the slightly more open clearings, Helmet Deer charged the moment they spotted us, thundering in like mounted cavalry.

"O Goddess, grant us your protection!"

"I'll strike from behind—cover me!"

Even when I deliberately let a monster slip past, what stopped it was a 5-star priestess's absurdly overpowered barrier. A blessing of holy power far sturdier than anything Hanna's shield could manage casually turned aside a Helmet Deer's razor horn.

Enraged that its charge had been stopped dead in midair, the Helmet Deer snorted rough bursts of breath and slammed its head again and again, jabbing its horn into the barrier like a battering ram.

The price of fixing its gaze on the three women safe inside the shield was Caden's clean cut through its hind legs. A sharp shhk—the blade severed the rear legs, and the creature toppled over still mid-swing with that long, massive horn.

Caden didn't even need a follow-up. An arrow punched between the fully exposed forelegs and drove straight through the heart.

"Ha, we finished that one without even using magic. Grace unnie, your arrows are stronger than I expected?"

"I replaced the bow and every arrow to celebrate hitting the 11th floor. The Magic Tower covered the armor, so I dumped my entire savings into the rest."

"Definitely getting her money's worth."

After that exchange, Grace took the lead again. We had no lantern that would guide us through adventures on the 11th floor and above. This was pure exploration—relying entirely on Grace's scouting to find the entrance to the higher floors.

Dense as the woods were, Grace ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠was a ranger, a born scout. She caught Moss Wolf ambushes again and again, picked out nearby packs of goblins and kobolds, and steadily walked us in a single consistent direction.

Trailing behind, I snuck a glance at the 20th-floor Guide's Lantern tucked against my chest. The direction she was heading pointed exactly toward the 12th floor. If mages had a sense for mana, maybe scouts had a sense all their own.

"…This way. I think the passage to the 12th floor should show up soon."

"Then let's wrap today's run by recording the 12th-floor passage."

"One floor a day—no, half a day per floor. Miss Grace, you are a far more capable scout than I had imagined."

Caden's genuine admiration made Grace's cheeks flush. Being openly, purely praised for her skill by someone she'd only met that day—no ulterior motive, no malice, just honest awe with her mouth hanging open—was more than enough to make anyone bashful.

And her earlier boast hadn't been empty talk. After a few more minutes of walking, a Tower passage sat alone among the thick trees. Grace drew a Guide's Lantern from her coat, and the previously inert Mana Stone fragment inside slowly rose and floated.

"Twelfth-floor passage, recorded. You said we weren't going up—we're heading back down?"

"Yeah, unnie. If we push into higher floors, we'll have to start thinking about camping inside the Tower. But for now we're still getting the party's coordination dialed in."

"Having a gate really is convenient. Originally, the moment you cleared the 10th ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠floor you had to plan on roughing it inside the Tower no matter what. To finish a forest commission in a single day like this…"

"Caden, you said you climbed to the 14th floor alone, right? So you camped in the forest?"

"Yes. There are a few safe zones inside the Tower where monsters don't spawn. Lady Rebecca's mercenary company has already built a base camp in one of them. Thanks to that, even climbing solo, I could rest at night without standing watch."

What Caden was describing was a kind of safe zone—spaces used by mercenary companies and Adventurer's Guild expedition teams. Rookies who didn't know where those zones were got raided at night and had their stamina chewed down to nothing.

When I'd first learned about the Tower—random monster spawns, safe zones, the whole package—I'd thought it felt exactly like a game. I'd shouted about status windows and the like with zero response, figured that was just how things were, and moved on. Good thing I only yelled about it alone in my room and not in front of other people.

"Then let's call it here for today and head back to the 10th floor."

Just as finding your entry point on the 1st floor let you leave, you could exit from the 10th-floor plains too. I never expected it to be this convenient. Gates like this would probably appear on the 20th and 30th floors eventually as well, right?

After a full day in the forest, we stepped outside to find the evening sun still hanging in the sky. We'd come out because we'd found the 12th-floor passage, but with no need to cross the plains on foot, we'd made it back faster than expected—fast enough that even Hanna, who kept a real-world clock for her stream, hadn't quite calculated the pace.

Of course, who would complain about less work for the same pay? Following her viewers' suggestions, Hanna headed off to explore the city. Grace went to the Hunter's Guild archery range, saying she wanted to break in her new bow a little.

That left Caden and me—two people who'd only met today. Apparently not wanting her cross-dressing discovered, she gave a quick bow and bolted. I wondered if she realized how thoroughly un-mercenary that looked.

If she'd been a real mercenary—especially a fresh recruit from Rebecca's company—she would have glued herself to my side and asked where the good brothels with pretty girls were. Those guys had watched me charm women with nothing but my face often enough.

Left alone, I naturally bought a bottle of liquor and headed for the inn.

My goal, of course, was the board posting privilege I'd earned as a reward for the latest quest. Unlike usual, a new button had appeared in the corner of the webpage hologram floating in front of me. Never in my life did I think the three little words Write Post would look so welcome.

Before writing anything, I browsed the board first.

Heroes Chronicle had a main quest telling you to climb the Tower, but nothing actually forced you to. So instead of climbing, all kinds of degenerate players were out there chewing up, tearing into, and savoring the vast open world however they pleased.

Some joined mercenary companies and wandered the kingdom. Others took jobs at inns. A few signed on as blacksmith or carpenter apprentices. There were even mages who, instead of becoming adventurers, voluntarily enslaved themselves to the Magic Tower.

One player had even tried climbing the Tower from the outside, got caught hanging off the wall, and was arrested by the guards. Watching the two-horse race between Hanna—who'd blasted ahead on the strength of her 6-star partner, me—and Kim Seokhyun, trailing on pure talent, the rest of the player base had apparently switched into casual-play mode.

After browsing the board for a while, I pressed the Write Post button.