Chapter 294
Chapter 294
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 294
Chapter Title: Forgotten Giant's Ancient Forest #1
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I'll descend for a bit.
The blue-scaled dragonkin and devotee of the Forge God, Isbaron, began slowly lowering his altitude. Perhaps the half-day of constant wingbeats had tired him out.
We, who had merely been sitting in the carriage, were just as weary.
At first, we'd giggled excitedly at the unfamiliar sights from high altitude, but staying seated in one spot for so long drained more mental energy and stamina than expected.
I could understand why people prepare all sorts of things to pass the time on long flights. And since we had no safety measures at all, it had even been scary.
Luna, who had dozed off briefly, woke to the loud noise and called up.
"Are you tired?"
A deep grrr rumble from the massive dragon sounded like his reply.
I, Isbaron, can fly for more than two days without rest. Among my kin, I'm confident in my wing power.
"Then why are we descending?"
Because to reach Delphi, we have to walk a bit from over this forest. No one should fly above this forest.
Flap, flap.
Finally, the blue dragon set down the carriage compartment amid a dense thicket of trees.
It was just half a day in the sky, so calling it whining might be fair, but stepping on this earthy ground filled with the scent of grass felt strangely novel and refreshing.
None of us complained much. We stretched out our cramped bodies or did light exercises, savoring our return to the ground.
Only after loosening up for a good while did curiosity arise about where we actually were.
The Stream Water Nymph Paranoia spoke up first, asking the dragon.
"Where on earth is this...?"
"The Forest of Echoes."
But it wasn't the dragon who answered—it was Hippolyte.
"It's also called the Giant's Forest."
The Giant's Forest?
At those words, we all looked up. Trees soaring dozens of meters into the sky were utterly majestic.
The tangled mess of trees and vines looked less like a forest and more like a jungle in itself.
No way—what kind of trees grow this huge? I experimentally punched a trunk.
Thud.
"Whoa, solid."
The weight transmitted to my fingertips.
Naturally, their girth exceeded what I'd imagined for trees, making me feel like an ant. What could suit the name Giant's Forest better?
"The trees are huge! Guys, look at this! The mushrooms are massive too! Since the trees are big, everything else is too!"
I wasn't the only one amazed by these giant trees. Luna shouted in surprise at the bizarre orange mushrooms clinging to a trunk base.
Sure enough, as Luna said, enormous orange mushrooms the size of a person's torso dotted the spaces between trees.
Mushrooms?
Crack.
Then came the sound of something splitting open.
We stepped back a few paces at the massive presence. The blue dragon Isbaron, who had carried us all this way, had snatched up the orange mushroom Luna found and was crunching it down.
It was such a gruesome, brutal scene that my brow furrowed involuntarily. The guy was a natural mushroom butcher.
Of course, the giant reptile paid no mind, shredding and swallowing the huge mushroom before sprawling on the ground, belly down, and curling into a ball.
I'll rest here for about an hour. Feel free to explore the ground.
An hour's rest.
The dragon wasn't some steel-and-oil machine, so rest was natural.
Thanks to him, we got an hour to roam this forest freely.
"Luna, look over here.... There, ants crawling around... they're huge...."
Paranoia pointed in genuine shock at a corner. Sure enough, ants the size of human forearms marched in a line, clattering along.
Each carried leaves and twigs big enough for umbrellas, like they were off to build a dam.
"Giant ants.... I've never seen ants this big...!"
"Look at that! Spiderwebs are huge too!"
What? Spiderwebs?
When Luna pointed between the trees, my vision swam. Just as she said, an enormous spiderweb filled my view.
Exaggerating a bit, it was movie-screen sized. Imagining the spider that wove it was horrifying.
And it wasn't just ants or spiders—the small insects scurrying around were all impressively large.
How to put it.
Staring at these massively bloated creatures felt like cognitive dissonance, as if I'd shrunk. Like Gulliver in giant land.
Kinda creepy.
"Paranoia! Come mushroom hunting with me! Big trees! Mushrooms must be huge too! Rip and pull!"
"All the mushrooms in this forest are now doomed...!"
While I shrank back a little, Luna and Paranoia seemed thrilled. Come to think of it, Luna loved forests.
She was a true nature lover, venturing alone on weekends to dig up herbs and roots. Probably because of her grass affinity.
"Hold on, wandering off alone could be dangerous."
But Hippolyte reined in Paranoia and Luna.
"This is one of the travelers' demon realms. Bronze-tier mana beasts swarm here in droves. It's daytime now, so maybe okay, but as it darkens, who knows what might happen."
As expected of a forest teeming with giant ants and spiders—it harbored plenty of dangers.
Hippolyte seemed against Luna or Paranoia acting separately. I agreed.
Best to rest an hour by the carriage, then advance through the forest using the giant dragon as a shield.
"Too bad. I bet we could've foraged amazing herbs or fruits."
"Then let's rest together. Near the dragon, low-tier mana beasts won't even think of approaching."
With that, we leaned against the cool tree roots. The hard trunk and soft grass felt pretty good. Not as much as Luna or Paranoia, but I liked forests too.
Something about forest phytoncides really calms the mind, it seems.
Our party's slight agitation from flying had settled into calm.
But this place felt oddly familiar. Had I been here before? When? What— My thoughts cut off abruptly.
Zzzzt.
"Ahh! That mean kid is bullying the poor ant...!"
Even in the forest, one couldn't settle and was bouncing with energy. Paranoia, for instance.
Surrounded by trees, she was like a kid in a toy store, unable to calm down.
"Let the ant go...!"
The Stream Water Nymph yelled at Elfride, who was grabbing a giant ant's waist and inspecting it.
Elfride, unconcerned, even shook its back.
Zzzt, zzzzt.
"As expected of an ancient species."
Bored, she released it to the ground. The ant, seizing the chance, scurried away like a shot.
"I thought it felt like my homeland forest. This is an ancient species habitat."
"What do you mean?"
To my question, Elfride swept her finger at the ants and trees.
"Everything's oversized. This is the vegetation zone of the now-declined ancient species." Or so, she trailed off.
Some huge ancient species race, apparently.
As I nodded, Hippolyte, who had been sharpening her new Jealousy Sword with a whetstone, tossed a comment in passing.
"Traces of the old rulers, the Titans. The forest still breathes with giant god-kin mana. That's why everything grows huge. There was even an experiment where ordinary eggs hatched huge here."
"Whoa, then couldn't we make a fortune just hauling in eggs? Raise hens, get massive eggs nonstop!"
Luna asked in real shock. Her idea was purely pragmatic commerce.
If the forest's mana made things huge, as Hippolyte said, why not raise pigs, chickens, mitchuri here?
My mind flashed to planting ginseng roots. They'd be insanely huge. Solid gold.
But Hippolyte just chuckled briefly, amused.
"Tried it already. All failed. Giant creatures grown here wither and die the moment they leave the forest."
"What? Can't sell 'em outside then."
"Right. Even without that, few dare raise chickens here. The forest's king doesn't allow it."
"King—?"
"Yeah, the king. With a huge dragon flying in, he might know we're here."
Hippolyte paused sharpening and pointed up.
High on a trunk was a scar like something ferocious had torn it. Too wild for sword or axe.
"Claw marks?"
"Right, Samar. That's the forest king's mark."
No way. A being that could scar such a high, sturdy tree? My vision swam.
"Tyrannosaurus?"
"Tyranno—what?"
"Ah, I meant, is the king a dinosaur?"
"Not a dragon, but just as strong. But Samar, don't pick a fight with it."
Talking about the mana beast king, huh.
Just then, the dragon uncurled from the ground. Our chats and rest had eaten up the hour.
Can't fly over this forest's sky because of that guy. Annoying, nasty bastard. Hiding deep in the woods makes even meeting him tough, let alone beating—
Swoosh.
The dragon raised its head slowly. It stared into the distant trees. Precisely, at something standing on four legs amid them, watching us.
My blood ran cold.
It was—a feline or canine beast. White fur waving, a stylish horn on its forehead, looking somewhat divine.
The problem was its size.
A four-legged beast the size of Luna's cabin stared at us with red eyes. Shocking.
Even dozens of meters away, its size shattered perspective, battering my optic nerves.
Shing.
Hippolyte drew her sword into combat stance.
"That's the mana beast king, Omega? First time seeing it up close, but radiating this aura from afar. Impressive presence."
Heh heh heh.
The dragon just laughed at Hippolyte's words. What's so funny? Its thorny fangs bared in a grin were scary enough.
Damn, why's this world full of terrifying beasts? In this huge forest, soft weak humans like me are just snacks.
Wilderness is so damn unfair.
"Ahh!"
But Luna, who seemed least involved, raised her hand excitedly, like spotting a dear friend.
"Hassan! Look! That guy!"
She even smacked my arm.
I know a bit about handling big beasts. Following Dad through mountains, fields, rivers, he'd taught me.
"Hassan, look!"
Worst thing: making loud noise. Beasts might see it as hostility and get riled!
"Luna, calm down a bit—"
"No, Hassan! Look! That guy! Doesn't it spark any memories?"
"What the hell."
"It's a white one! Hassan, our first quest as a party! Finding the cat!"
"What?"
Luna's words jogged my memory. It'd been a while, so fuzzy, but yeah—we'd entered the sewers hunting a cat with her.
A massive lion-like cat named "Cat." Rumors spread: Samar barehanded a lion, Nemean witch and...
Karruk.
"Oh, shit."
That distinctive cry unearthed deep-buried memories.
Nemea's huge white-furred cat-or-dog-or-lion. It looked just like that one.
But no time to dwell.
The giant white furball charged us at high speed—
Thud, thud, thud.
Its footfalls like dry thunder.
"Shit, incoming!"