Dokgo Minsu Throws Himself
Dokgo Minsu hurled himself forward.
Thud!
"Ah—Mister? You okay?"
"I am unharmed. See to yourself."
"I wasn't even the one getting hit. Grumbling really is your default passive, I swear. Anyway, what is this? Feels like the whole forest is attacking us."
"We need only complete the commission we were fortunate enough to receive. And once that item is in our hands... heh heh."
"Your personality's changed a little, hasn't it? You never used to covet items like this."
"It is not my personality that has changed, but my values."
"And why'd they change?"
"Watching young Yujun has given me much to think on."
"You're hilarious, Mister. When I tried to explain how important items are, you wouldn't even pretend to listen."
"Consider it carefully. Do you truly believe it is the same thing when the rank-one character says, Do this, and you will grow stronger, as when some middling, half-baked user offers advice and counsel?"
"...No. Still, I was a ranker too. I'm not some middling user."
"The comparison was only a metaphor. This is not talk of the game. Consider the present alone. Could you so much as stand beside young Yujun? In the days of War of the Gods, perhaps—but now, absolutely not."
"But that's the same for you, isn't it, Mister?"
"Indeed! That is precisely my point. One may say that possessing fine items was a principal reason he grew so strong. I, by contrast, trained only body and mind, and have never once properly equipped a worthy item. Only after seeing him did I finally grasp how important items are."
"A pretty late realization."
In truth, Dokgo Minsu had known all along how great a weight items carried in this world. It had simply never struck him with full force, because of that stubborn resolve to grow strong without relying on them.
"So that's why you accepted this job so readily?"
"They are offering Mythic-grade equipment. How could I refuse to go?"
"Sertiphs said it wouldn't be dangerous. This looks plenty dangerous to me, though."
"......"
Then another enormous stem came whipping toward them. The giant plants of the forest lashed out with their stalks almost like whips, and there were so many that Kim Yohan and Dokgo Minsu had no choice but to struggle.
Whoosh! Boom!
Slash!
True to his mastery of the sword, Dokgo Minsu sheared the thick stems away in great clumps, but the plants' stalks came on without end.
"Hold on. We're not going to die here, are we?"
"You ask the obvious. We will die here."
"Why say something that grim so calmly? You're joking, right?"
"Confirm it with your senses. No—simply look around you this instant, and you will know we cannot escape this place."
"Then why are you so relaxed? That's what I'm asking."
"Relaxed... As if I do not fear death. I am only thinking of how we might break through."
"How about calling Mr. Yujun?"
"A fine idea."
"Not even a moment's hesitation."
"We are on the verge of death. What would I not do?"
Boom! Crash!
"Kh—!"
A sharp thorn at the tip of a stem grazed Dokgo Minsu's shoulder. Poison must have coated it; strength drained from his body all at once. He hastily activated a shield skill to buy time, drew an antidote potion from his inventory, and drank it down.
Kim Yohan shouted, "I'll get a message off first—!"
That was when it happened.
Slash! Slash!
Someone appeared and cut down every stem pouring toward the two of them. It happened in the blink of an eye, and Kim Yohan's eyes went wide.
"Mr. Yujun?"
"What are you doing here?"
"I just sent—no, I haven't sent it yet. How?"
"Sent what?"
"The message."
"I was coming here anyway."
"To this forest?"
"They say it is called Lerltrang Forest. An extremely dangerous place. I heard a terrifying monster lives here."
"I didn't know. I just thought it was a strategic chokepoint sitting between the Moderate Faction and the Hardline Faction."
"Did you run into the monster?"
"Not yet. But the forest itself attacked us, like it was alive."
"I can see that."
"Could this forest be the monster you were talking about, Mr. Yujun?"
"I don't know either. But it does seem likely."
When he messaged Sertiphs again to ask, the reply was that the place was ordinarily nothing more than an ordinary forest, and that when the monster woke from sleep, the forest assumed a combat stance. In short, the forest itself was not the monster. He explained as much to the others.
"This is grave."
Atradeon muttered it, his face solemn.
"Why? Do you know something?"
"That the forest stirs to life is proof the creature has awakened."
"What in the world is it, then? What does the thing even look like?"
"I cannot describe its form."
"Because you've never seen it?"
"Each time it is revived, its body changes. There is no knowing what form it will take."
"...What was its last appearance?"
"It wore the form of a beautiful elf. Without a single thread of clothing."
"Mm..."
"A man. Do not misunderstand."
"Does it usually turn into that sort of race?"
Atradeon shook his head.
"Each time, it becomes something entirely different. Unpredictable, to that degree."
"Then even finding it will be a chore."
"Well, in truth, if one's senses are keen, one may find it quickly enough. One need only follow its aura."
"So it doesn't particularly try to hide."
"It is the Lord of the Forest. It has no need to conceal its power. The problem is..."
"The problem?"
"It is strong. Strong enough that, were it loosed beyond the forest, the entire course of the war would be overturned."
"Then isn't there no problem so long as it stays in the forest? I thought it couldn't come out."
"It can come out. It simply has no particular wish to leave the forest. And to advance upon those Moderates, one must pass through this vast forest. If the forest moves of its own accord like this, far from advancing, an army of the heavenly race would be annihilated. The same would hold from the other side."
"Everyone has wings, don't they? Just fly over it."
"Useless. A barrier is laid over the forest; one may enter only on foot. One cannot fly above it."
"And if someone gained the power to control the Lord of the Forest at will?"
"Many have attempted as much in the past, yet not one has ever succeeded. But if the Moderate Faction were to gain control of the Lord of the Forest, it would be nothing short of a catastrophe."
"We'd be at a serious disadvantage?"
"A disadvantage, merely? Our Hardline Faction would simply be defeated by the Moderates."
"Then we'll have to put the Lord of the Forest back to sleep somehow. Or kill it."
"It is an immortal being. Killing it would be difficult."
Yujun turned to Kim Yohan.
"How were you planning to put it to sleep? Did they give you an item?"
"Yes. This. They said to open the lid and hold it up to its nose."
Kim Yohan showed him a small glass vial filled with white liquid.
"Correct. Only with that can the creature be put to sleep."
"Even if it's already awake?"
"If it has woken from sleep, one must first render it powerless."
"And that was possible before, right?"
"Countless of the heavenly race lost their lives. Without that sacrifice, it would have been difficult."
"There aren't even ten of us. Do you think it's possible?"
"With you here, what could possibly be impossible?"
"...Aren't you trusting me a little too much? It's a burden."
"No. If it is you, it can be done. Of that I am certain."
"......"
He could not refute it, for Yujun himself did not feel any great sense of crisis. Paranet had kicked up a tremendous fuss, but that was also simply the fellow's nature—he was given to making a scene. Every time Paranet warned of danger, they had come through it without much difficulty. Even now Paranet was glancing about with an uneasy look, yet Yujun was not particularly worried.
"There's a barrier limiting the senses."
"That, too, is a barrier the forest itself bears."
"It forbids flight, and even restricts the range of one's senses... Who made it?"
"The heavenly race of ages past, or the doing of the Lord of the Forest—or else a property the forest possessed from the beginning. One of those, I should think."
"Isn't that a few too many possibilities?"
"I myself know nothing for certain. In truth, once the Lord of the Forest is put to sleep, it is little different from leaving the place neglected. Until now, there was no need to take an interest."
"But it woke from sleep earlier than expected."
"A thing that has never once occurred."
"Sertiphs didn't know either."
"I have just reported the situation by message. He will soon attempt some measure. For now, with you here, we may well resolve the matter ourselves first."
"I told you, it's a burden."
"What am I to do about a fact? To my eyes, as a sage, you seem almost an Irregular who ought not to exist in this world. And for that very reason, you will be all the more able to accomplish the impossible."
"An Irregular... Sim Sanghoon is dead."
Strictly speaking, he was not dead. Yujun had handed him over alive to the Abyss King. But he did not think the king would let Sim Sanghoon live, and so he put it obliquely: dead.
"Hm? Sim Sanghoon?"
"There is one. A true Irregular."
"Ah. You mean that human who went to the Abyss."
"You knew?"
"I know that you fought him as well. Even that you subdued him without killing him."
"...How do you know that?"
"Did I not say it with my own mouth? I am a sage. That does not mean I know all things."
"Were you spying on me?"
"I was not. I merely came to know it naturally, in the course of investigating the things that occur in the world."
Atradeon said it with a meaningful smile.
Yujun had been slightly startled when Atradeon mentioned Sim Sanghoon. It felt as though some shame that ought not to come to light had been exposed. But he himself had committed no crime. Sim Sanghoon had been a notorious wanted man in the Abyss, and the man had tried to kill him just the same.
"I also knew that he arrived at the Tower of Infinity sooner than the other humans. That is why I investigated him all the more. He was an Irregular."
"And in doing so, you came to know about me as well?"
Atradeon smiled and nodded.
"But I did not know you would grow this strong. Not so very much time has passed since Sim Sanghoon died, and that is why you felt all the more like an Irregular. It has not yet been a year since you came to the Tower of Infinity. No—not even half a year. And yet to possess martial power of this level now... I cannot help but feel that some god is showing you extraordinary favor."
"A god? Do you believe in gods, Atradeon?"
"Gods exist."
Atradeon spoke as if he were certain.
"Have you actually seen one?"
"I have not seen them. But that they exist, I feel. I cannot explain it in words. Still, unless one has seen them with one's own eyes, even hearing my tale, one would find it hard to believe that beings called gods exist."
"Mm... That's true."
Yujun, who had actually seen a god, gave an awkward smile. He had even met Ner, the goddess who sponsored him. There had also been a 6th-Rank God who tried to kill him. He had survived only because Ner barely managed to banish that god, and the dizzying experience remained a memory he would never forget.
Lost in that memory, Yujun suddenly drew his sword. Kim Yohan, who had nearly been touched by the blade, startled and leapt back.
"What is it?"
"It's coming."
"Finally. Is the boss monster showing up? I'm kind of shaking. Brr."
"No. The stems."
"Ah..."
The forest had begun to move again. Sheepish, Kim Yohan drew his weapon.