Chapter 12
Chapter 12
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 2
Chapter Title: Castle Entrance
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Gulp-
Doren sipped at my recovery potion bit by bit, gradually regaining his strength. But this alone wasn't enough to heal his severed wounds or staunch the bleeding.
Even so, Doren kept greedily downing the elixir filled with golden hope. Only after emptying three bottles in a row did he finally bow his head to me in gratitude.
"Th-thank you, sir..."
I placed my hand on the gravestone again and refilled the glass vial with hope.
It seemed this was a recovery potion granted only to us Mortals, something only we could use.
Even when Doren held it and touched the gravestone, nothing filled up. And when he gripped it directly in his hand, he felt a stinging pain. So I had to personally tilt it for him to drink, and I was handling the refills myself too.
But with every sip, life returned to Doren's eyes.
This was the Golden Hope Elixir.
True to its name, a single hope welled up in Doren's heart.
"M-maybe... since you're so strong... y-you could take down that Gardener..."
Thanks to that, he even walked a little ahead of me now, as if trying to show me the way.
"I'll be your guide, sir!"
His stammering improved a bit too. Giving himself the title of "guide" seemed to excite him even more.
"Does the title of guide hold some special meaning?"
"O-of course! Great people who accomplish big things always need a guide! Especially those with immense power!"
His emaciated, gaunt body didn't match his enthusiasm at all.
"S-someday, you might even get an official guide, sir. Who knows? I hear you have to be recognized by someone truly extraordinary..."
For some reason, I found myself smiling too. I didn't like the multi-player system much, but interacting with NPCs like this? I loved it.
"I've already got a guide. Do I really need official recognition on top of that?"
"Ahaha, h-hee... Y-you're right! I'll do my best as far as it goes! If you get a real guide later, I can just be your servant!"
But watching Doren from the side, he struck me as the pitiful kind of NPC.
Whenever he spoke, he bowed and scraped to me. Even when talking about his own dreams and hopes, he never strayed beyond servant or attendant.
"J-just leave the chores and odd jobs to me. You just keep walking straight ahead, sir!"
"Got it. Thanks."
"Hee-hee, n-no need to be so polite to a wretch like me. Y-you're too kind..."
But there was one problem.
Doren would chat amiably with me as we walked along like this, but the moment enemies appeared...
"Kyaaack!"
"H-heeek!"
He bolted right away.
Whoosh-
He'd hide behind a large boulder, or clamber clumsily up a tree, or topple backward and huddle up trembling.
Once I swung my greatsword in earnest and picked them off one by one, he'd sneak back from behind and peek out cautiously. He was zero help in combat.
"S-sir..."
After the fighting was done and I turned around, Doren would be drenched in sweat, practically kowtowing as he said,
"I-I believed in you the whole time-!"
The first couple times, I thought he just didn't trust me yet. But even in the third scrap with some trash mobs, he fled far off and only poked his face out.
I didn't find it annoying or pathetic. But every time combat ended, Doren would come crawling back teary-eyed, clasp his hands together, and beg.
"D-don't abandon me...! I-I'll be useful somehow! Don't leave me here...!"
"I'm not abandoning you. You're doing a great job guiding me. Why would I?"
"R-really...?"
Tell him that, and Doren would perk up again, grinning from ear to ear as he walked ahead of me.
Of course, the next enemies to approach would send him scampering off to peek at me anxiously.
Still, it was fine. Doren knew the layout of this eerie forest, and he was leading me straight to the castle at its heart.
"N-next fight, I'll really give it my all! Don't worry! I promised to help you, so I'll fight with my bare hands if I have to!"
"It's fine. Just keep showing me the way."
"No! I mean it! Until the moment I guide you out of this forest, I'll give it everything I've-"
"Hold on."
But even on our peaceful journey, a variable arose.
"Quiet."
"Y-yes...?"
I felt an ominous presence again.
"Doren. How much farther to the castle?"
"N-not far now."
"...Then it's about time for another boss."
"Huh? B-boss?"
"If you spot any gravestones, let me know."
Something felt off. I'd cleared the first boss I met in the Screaming Forest without taking a single hit, but who knew what this one would bring.
No room for carelessness. No matter how used to the game I was, I could die at any moment—I had to remember that.
"G-gravestone! Sir! There's a gravestone!"
"Good."
So first, with Doren's help, I found a gravestone and placed my hand on it, etching my name.
I didn't forget to invest my accumulated Blessings in a level up either. For now, I'd pump points heavily into vitality to better withstand enemy attacks.
Preparations were complete...
"Besides the Gardener, do you remember any other enemies here?"
"N-no, not really... I fled far away when the Gardener went mad, then got captured by those horrific sculptors..."
No info on the next boss, huh.
Too bad. I'd have to face it head-on.
"Got it. That's enough."
"S-sir? Is something...?"
"Seems like there's an annoying enemy blocking the path to the castle. You don't have to help fight—just wait here. Got it?"
I did my best to calm Doren and prepared for the boss alone. I filled up on elixirs, checked my weapon...
"Siiiir!"
But Doren raised his voice instead.
"I-I can be useful! Trust me!"
He pounded his bony, muscle-less chest like a valiant warrior, spouting fervently.
"I-I'll take the hits for you! This is my chance to prove my worth!"
"Yeah?"
So I let Doren take the lead. Sweating buckets, he saw this as his big opportunity and gave it his all.
"Th-this is your chance. Make a good impression on him. Y-you can do it..."
He even muttered to himself like a prayer. Part of me ached for him—I wanted to tell him to just rest by the gravestone—but Doren mustered his courage to the end.
But with every step, the forest's atmosphere grew darker by the moment. The space, shrouded in shadow and blood, reeked of death.
Kiyaaaaak-
Even the eerie screams grew louder. No small beast could survive in this forest; only a chill, unpleasant wind whipped through.
At the wind's end, we faced the castle's outer wall. Built under Lord Magius's rule, it was more fortress than castle.
Flaming torches belched acrid smoke, and ominous noises and screams echoed endlessly from the grim space within.
But more importantly, a massive flower bloomed at the castle's entrance.
To pass through the grand gate behind it, we'd have to get by that flower first. Even from afar, it gave me a profound sense of unease.
Doren, walking ahead of me, had already frozen in place. His feet stuck to the grass like they'd been tied down, his frail body shuddering in convulsions.
"Th-this... what is..."
But his eyes weren't on the flower—they were on the castle itself. The grayish-white stone walls were overrun with vivid red that drowned out their drab hue.
"Ahh, Lord Magius... in the end..."
It looked like vines, but it wasn't. More than half the plants rooted here were made of people.
"Doren."
But we had no time to admire the castle and gather intel. That was Doren's job. Mine was simpler.
"Fall back."
"Y-yes... y-yes..."
With my greatsword slung diagonally across my back and shoulder, I advanced slowly. The crimson flower turned toward me like a sunflower facing the sun.
Only after locking eyes with me did the flower rise from its spot.
All the other beings I'd faced had arms, legs, torsos, or backs turned to flowers. But this one facing me had every part needed for battle intact.
Except its head, which had become the flower.
The rose-like bloom had no eyes, no mouth, no nose...
No facial features at all. Every bit of flesh formed petals.
Only its stark white skull waited for me at the flower's center.
Thorn Rose Belmont
He gripped a rapier jutting like thorns and blocked my path.
...My blood began to boil in response.
Design-wise, this thing could pass for a named boss no problem.
Did that mean the Gardener was even more impressive?