Chapter 143
Chapter 143
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 143
Chapter Title: Forest Wraith
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Rumble—!!
Thunder roared as if tearing the sky apart.
In an instant, the entire forest was bathed in dazzling light, only to be charred pitch-black right after.
The ancient trees blocking Lev's path turned to ash in a heartbeat and crumbled away.
“Zzz…….”
A snoring sound utterly devoid of any sense of reality.
Unlike his suffering master, Mikurebi was limp and draped over Lev's head.
【…….】
Bahamut wasn't much different.
Plastered to Lev's shoulder, it would occasionally crack an eye open before closing it again.
“…….”
Lev trudged on in silence.
He silently crossed the ground still radiating residual heat.
And then—
- Kee-eeek!!
A massive beast ripped through the air, lunging straight at Lev.
But... Lev didn't even turn his head.
Clasp.
With one hand, he casually grabbed the beast by the scruff of its neck.
That tiny hand halted the beast's momentum dead.
Only then did Lev slowly turn his head.
“......Red?”
The beast in Lev's grip... was covered head to toe in crimson.
Of course, it was 'blood.'
Originally a blue beast, it had been dusted with the soot from the ancient trees Lev's lightning had just scorched, resulting in this tragic hue...
But Lev jumped to the brutally simple conclusion: 'Red = red beast.'
“......”
Lev pondered for a moment.
Eyes half-lidded, he stared blankly at the beast, seemingly mulling over what to do with it.
Then... he extended his remaining hand forward.
Whoosh.
A line where divine power and mana overlapped and flowed.
A small pattern drawn in midair.
Geometric trajectories intertwined and layered in multiple folds... spreading out with delicate precision.
And soon...
─────!!
The completed magic circle erupted in explosive light.
The entire forest flashed for an instant.
The beast clutched in Lev's hand should have been engulfed in light, screaming into oblivion amid the brilliant blaze...
- Kee... kee-eek?
...But the beast was fine.
Not a single patch of skin scorched. If anything, it blinked in confusion, wondering why it was still alive.
Lev realized his mistake a beat too late.
“......Ah, oops.”
He'd forgotten the final line needed to complete the circle.
Without that one line to finalize the mana flow, the high-powered 'Erasure Magic'...
Had just turned into... 'Super Bright Light Magic.'
- Kee, kee-eek!
The beast was full of vim and vigor.
Thrilled to have survived, it bounced around wildly, struggling to escape Lev's grasp.
But Lev met its thrashing with an utterly icy blank stare.
“...Shut up.”
Rumble—!!
As if the heavens themselves were enraged, sky and earth flipped at once.
The thunder didn't fall from above—it surged up from the ground, tracing a reversed arc that shredded the sky.
“……….”
Not even a scrap remained of the beast.
Lev stared at where it had been for a moment, then impassively dusted off his palm.
...How many more minutes passed like that?
The dense underbrush suddenly thinned—
“Hello.”
And an open vista unfolded before him.
A radiant lake.
A colossal tree reaching for the heavens.
A mansion quietly nestled beside it.
And...
“Congrats on first place.”
Thud.
The voice of Veronica, lying on the grass and rolling her eyes.
Lev lowered his gaze.
Veronica lay on the grass, rolling a lollipop with one hand.
Their eyes met, and Veronica smirked.
“Stick around here and play till the others show up. Or head back into the forest if you want. Your call.”
“......”
Lev silently turned away.
He walked straight to the lake, crouched down, and gazed at the sky reflected on its surface.
“......”
And then the second arrival: Sharlot.
She emerged utterly still as she adjusted her scabbard, drawing Veronica's gaze.
“Congrats on second.”
“......?”
“Hang out here till the others arrive... or go play in the forest.”
“...I'll take a look around.”
Sharlot slipped into the shadows to scout the inner area's perimeter.
And next...
Rustle.
Neru appeared.
Yawning with half-lidded sleepy eyes, she hopped in—
“Nya-aah....”
Letting out a sound like she was on the verge of passing out.
Veronica raised an eyebrow at Neru.
“Unexpected...”
“Nak?”
“Nothing.”
Neru wagged her tail with a clueless look and flopped onto the nearby grass.
Soon after—
“Hmm......”
“This must be... the World Tree.”
Erwin, clutching his book, and Rufus, dragging his greatsword, arrived at the inner area and lost themselves in the unprecedented sight.
A moment later.
“Waaah—!!”
Patter patter!
Seros came sprinting full tilt toward the inner area.
“Huff... huff... Thought I was gonna die...!”
“Ugh, idiot.”
“Third Place! You ran too.”
“I fled with grace.”
Lapia, following close behind Seros.
The two started bickering the moment they arrived.
Whoosh!
The sound of grass blades slicing.
Violet, broadsword in hand, carved through the ancient trees.
“Huff... Karnel, look at that. The World Tree.”
“......”
Karnel, having already moved past a whirlwind of emotions, silently lifted her gaze to the World Tree.
Then the student council members arrived one after another.
Sweaty, but all unscathed.
Thanks to Violet clearing the path ahead.
And...
“Phew... Why do I have to do this crap?”
“The professor's slower than the students?”
“You never said anything like that, Headmaster.”
Delphine arrived, looking deeply aggrieved, dark circles under his eyes even heavier.
He grumbled as if to vent his injustice... but Veronica just rolled her candy, pretending not to hear.
“Almost everyone’s here.”
And so...
Everyone except Adel and Klaus had reached the inner area.
“......”
Lev tore his gaze from the lake's reflected sky and looked around.
After a full day.
The group, each isolated and surviving in the forest, had gradually converged here...
But Adel was nowhere in sight.
***
Stab!
He pierced the head of the last remaining Dream Phantom.
Its madness-glazed eyes shook violently before stiffening, its body going limp as it tumbled to the ground.
[ Achievement 'Know Thyself' unlocked! ]
A system message flickering in the corner of his vision.
I just caught my breath raggedly and yanked 【Leviathan】 out from deep in the Dream Phantom's skull.
Drip.
As the blade withdrew, the beast's viscous blood oozed out.
A bluish glow spread faintly... then scattered into ash without a trace.
I didn't even bother watching the ashes scatter before collapsing onto the small mountain of Dream Phantom corpses.
‘How long has it been?’
I'd fought without any sense of time.
Longer and more brutal than expected.
My body throbbed everywhere.
Not a single spot left unscathed.
Hair that should be white was soaked red with Dream Phantom blood.
Splash!
I roughly conjured a basin of water over my head using 【Leviathan】 and basic magic.
Water summoned from the abyss... but it couldn't be dirtier than beast blood.
‘Phew...’
My long exhale sank to the ground.
I flicked my dripping wet hair back and checked the achievement I'd just earned.
✦━━━━━━━━━━━━✦
【Know Thyself】
Have you ever doubted yourself?
: Intelligence and Mental Strength +1.
Who are you?
Beyond others' gazes, what face stares back from the mirror?
✦━━━━━━━━━━━━✦
Boosts to Intelligence and Mental Strength.
Wondered if these stats even mattered... but better than nothing.
Any increase meant something to me right now.
‘Know Thyself...’
Did I come to know myself?
No.
Still don't.
‘Tch.’
I glanced down.
Hundreds... no, nearly a thousand Dream Phantoms strewn across the ground, dissolving into ash.
‘Who's the real beast here?’
I'd been little more than an animal myself until moments ago.
Pure instinct to kill, hurling my body forward.
In the end, between the Dream Phantoms and me... hard to say who was more beastly.
I shook my head and opened my status window.
✦━━━━━━━━━━━━✦
[ Adel ]
Limit Breakthrough: ★★☆☆☆
Stats
: Stamina: 15 (D)
: Strength: 5 (F)
: Intelligence: 30 (A)
: Mental Strength: 33 (A)
: Mana: ■ ()
Talents
: 【All talents fixed at 'Lowest' due to 「Brand」.】
✦━━━━━━━━━━━━✦
Stats rising after what felt like ages.
And a substantial achievement to boot, one I'd earned after quite some time.
Most achievements in Yuram suited 'swordsmen' with their traits and skills.
The game 'Akajaeang' systemically favored the swordsman class.
Thus, Yuram's achievements were all sword-centric traits and skills.
Useless for me now, pivoting to mage.
Embarrassing, considering how I'd planned to sweep them up pre-enrollment for quick growth.
That's when it happened.
“Adel?”
A familiar voice.
I whipped around on reflex.
“Whoa... what the hell is this?”
Klaus.
Traces of his own grueling fight lingered all over his body, just like mine.
Whirr—
I pulled two recovery potions Caramel made and one prototype from my inventory.
Potions with a faint pink glow.
I dumped one straight over my head.
Sizzle—wounds vanished in a hiss.
“...Huh?”
I tossed the remaining potion to Klaus.
Fizz...
His wounds faded too amid the sizzling.
“O... thanks.”
I healed up adequately, then gulped down Caramel's prototype in one go.
Now I could speak for a day...
But no need to use my mouth.
[Let's hunt beasts]
“Beasts? Sounds good.”
I'd prepped it for ambushes—not to chat right now.
“But did you take out all those numbers solo?”
[Probably]
'Probably' because my memories fragmented midway.
Shards of recollection left.
Honestly... even I could hardly believe I'd cleared that many with this pathetic body.
Just glad to be alive.
“But what are we hunting?”
[Red]
“...?”
Field boss in the Great Forest.
The red beast enters after at least a week inside.
Only then does it get active.
‘......’
Yeah.
Had to be.
Game rules. My knowledge.
───────?
“......!!”
“......!!”
Whoosh!
Klaus and I ducked low simultaneously, pressing our backs to the nearest tree.
The foul wind... had crept too close sometime ago.
Squelch. Squelch.
Unpleasant, sticky footsteps.
Not treading earth—but squelching rotten flesh.
─────?
Language? Wail?
A sound indistinguishable from a scream.
A voice twisted from the throat, neither human nor beast.
“Adel... that can't be a beast, right?”
Klaus cautiously peeked through the tree's gap.
Then... his face hardened.
“Yeah, it is.”
“.........”
Klaus shut his mouth.
A rare sight...
Hesitation gripped the hand clutching his sword.
“That thing...... a beast?”
I shifted my gaze.
A short distance away.
A silhouette emerging from the darkness.
“That......”
A fleeting gleam illuminated strands.
In that gap, I glimpsed...
Ashen hair bearing traces of former brilliance.
Long, dangling ears.
It was—
“...An elf.”
No.
No longer an elf.
Remnants of the past.
Light crushed by the forest's shadows, warped at last into a wraith.
“No.”
[ Encountered Field Boss 「Persia's Dirge」. ]
“A beast.”
What stood before us.
Was merely a monster stripped of its radiance.