100. What Was in the Black Forest
100. What Was in the Black Forest
The Black Forest was a place the academy could not control.
Because the school had been built near it, the forest wasn't completely uncontrollable, but the Black Forest—which covered half the large island—was home to monsters that humans could not control.
If the demonic beasts from the depths had not settled in the Black Forest and had instead frequently charged out, the academy would never have been built on this island.
The Black Forest was a dangerous place, but it offered many benefits.
Rare flora and fauna, hard to find elsewhere, lived there, making it an excellent place to acquire the materials needed for research.
The deeper one went into the Black Forest, the more the danger skyrocketed, but if one carefully tread the line in the right spots, it was a land where golden treasures sprouted.
The more people harvested the rare resources in small, necessary amounts, the more a desire to conquer the Black Forest welled up inside them, and there had been several attempts to subjugate the forest.
Once before the academy was established, once after it was established, once when only the arm of a student who had cluelessly wandered deep into the Black Forest was discovered, and so on.
There had been approximately 10 attempts in history, but all ended in failure.
Dozens of hunters, knights, mages, and rangers who were confident in hunting monsters entered, but they either came out dead, or if they returned alive, they were crippled.
The first four or so times were thwarted solely by the monsters.
Monsters that required an army to deal with, such as basilisks and ogres, appeared constantly and without warning, as commonly as goblins appear outside a village, so conventional troops could do nothing.
Thus, from the fifth attempt onward, two knights at the level of 'top-tier Expert,' capable of defeating an ogre single-handedly, accompanied the expedition.
Those attempts also failed completely, however.
To the top-tier Expert knights, the monsters were a secondary problem.
As they defeated basilisks and ogres and ventured deeper, the environment changed into something completely different from the forest outskirts, teeming with countless insects and poisonous plants.
The insects carried pathogens that caused fevers or dysentery, or possessed various types of venom that caused extreme pain, paralysis, or thickened the blood to induce thrombosis.
It would have been a heaven-like place for those who practiced witchcraft or assassins who crafted poisons, but unfortunately, that wasn't the case for the brave hunters who went to conquer the forest.
They weren't idiots either.
Hunters who had seen plenty of such venomous insects in other forests entered the woods with solid countermeasures against them.
Namely, hiring a mage capable of using insect-repelling magic.
No matter how potent their poisons and pathogens, in the end, bugs are bugs.
The hunters entered, reassured that the bugs could be repelled with magic, but they did not know that deep within the Black Forest, there were plants and monsters that emitted mana wavelengths, making magic difficult to sustain.
And so, after failing another five times, a final subjugation force that included one 'top-tier Expert' swordsman, a master who could focus their aura to repel venomous insects on their own, set out... but that too, failed.
This time, however, they were not annihilated.
About two-thirds of the subjugation force were killed, and only about a third barely returned alive.
The top-tier Expert swordsman who returned with the most survivors... Lainer Kruger, who was the captain of the 'Fierce Tiger Knight Order' at the time, warned in a haggard state.
'It's not worth the cost. Do not touch that forest from now on.'
Lainer Kruger, who had broken through all the monsters, venomous insects, and poisonous plants to reach the deepest core of the Black Forest, witnessed an unbelievable sight.
According to the testimony of the Fierce Tiger Knight Order survivors, monsters that should not exist in the same place lived within the deepest core of the Black Forest.
The 'Hydra,' an immortal monster with nine snake heads that endlessly regenerates, the 'Orthrus,' a demonic hound with two fire-breathing heads,
the 'Cyclops,' a one-eyed giant monster far more powerful than an ogre that required an army to face, and so on... monsters that only appeared in legends were protecting their own territories within that narrow forest.
It was incomprehensible how such monsters could all live together on this single small island—in just one forest, no less.
Lainer Kruger stated that a 'balance' was maintained within the Black Forest, so as long as one didn't enter, there would be no problems, and there was no need to disturb it.
Even if they tried to recklessly subjugate it, the Black Forest would be devastated... and then all of the forest's crucial resources would be ruined, so it wasn't worth the cost.
After that, no one dared to bring up conquering the Black Forest again.
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I slowly recalled those memories from that time.
I had entered the forest not long after enrolling in the academy.
I knew about the Black Forest to some extent because I had seen it in the original story.
The description of the Black Forest in the original went like this:
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That forest was black.
It was black because the giant trees stretching high into the sky greedily spread their branches to catch sunlight, allowing little light to reach the ground.
The soil, rich from the many rotted branches, was black.
The trees visible all around, soaked with moisture, were black.
It was a forest like a monster that lured people in with rare resources and silently devoured those who entered.
Just like the color black that absorbs light well.
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I began seriously considering searching the Black Forest because of Shara Frigia.
I had gone deep into the Black Forest to lure the assassins hired by Shara, and in the process of dealing with the assassins, there had been clashes with the monsters that got tangled up in it.
It was even worse when I kidnapped Shara and went deeper into the Black Forest after that.
She hadn't yet fallen asleep after her bath, so she was fluffy and gave off a sweet scent; the monsters that smelled her charged at us madly, and I gritted my teeth and hunted them all down.
Shara's sweet fragrance must have been incredibly alluring to the monsters.
After all, a monster looking like a knockoff Cerberus with two heads even showed up, intent on devouring her.
I had felt immense irritation rise as I slaughtered the endlessly charging monsters until they were too scared to approach anymore.
I think the frustration that built up then made me put even more effort into Shara's 'education.'
So many monsters were killed that night that Shara Frigia expelled all kinds of bodily fluids overnight, but the slaughter was so great that no monster dared to approach out of fear.
Even when I later found out that the dog-shaped monster with two heads was the legendary monster known as 'Orthrus,' I just felt, 'So it was just a slightly fast monster, huh.'
'Was that really the best plan he could come up with? Using a monster like that to kill me?'
The Orthrus had been annoying, but it was just a monster.
It was a bit fast, could breathe fire, could talk, and could even use magic, but in the end, it was just a monster.
I didn't even use the Aura Blade; I just split all its heads vertically and drove a stake into its heart.
'No, I guess it was a good idea, actually.'
Thinking about it objectively, it was quite a good method.
Now, it would be very burdensome for them to try and expel me.
By this point, unless I voluntarily dropped out, getting me expelled would be very difficult.
I heard before that the Director had hinted something about me to the Headmaster before leaving... and the heirs of the Five Pillars were also supporting me.
A few were ambiguous, but at least two were favorable, so that was enough.
If anyone openly messed with me, it would mean they intended to pick a fight with them, so no one would do such a thing unless they were out of their minds.
My martial strength was also high, so physical harassment was impossible.
Then what remained was assassination, but hiring an assassin with skills above top-tier Expert just to kill one student would be an enormous burden even for someone like Buckingham, who was at best a professor.
That was because assassins were fundamentally reluctant to even enter the academy in the first place.
So that was why he planned to hold an event prone to accidents and quietly deal with me there.
It was a very rational way of thinking.
In the end, it didn't become a major issue, but... if what Buckingham planned had actually happened, considerable damage would have been inflicted on students other than me.
There was no way to prevent simultaneous attacks from monsters living deep in the Black Forest without casualties.
Thinking about it, rage boiled up inside me.
"You are not innocent. You know that, right?"
"Yes..."
The plan to rig the Hunting Festival, which should have proceeded safely, for personal greed and turn it into chaos was illegal.
I didn't think Buckingham was connected to demons now, but even if he wasn't connected to demons, he was a criminal.
However, there was no point in arresting Buckingham right away.
If we arrested Buckingham, who was only being used, those who actually orchestrated this would quickly hide and wait until another chance fell into their lap.
In that case, it was better to use Buckingham as bait and wipe them all out at once.
"I'll give you a chance."
"A... you mean you're giving me a chance...?"
The haggard Buckingham's eyes flashed at the words 'giving a chance.'
"Make a contribution to catching those who approached you and tempted you with a serpent's tongue, those who tried to throw the Empire into chaos. Prove your usefulness that way."
"Yes... yes!!! Definitely!! I will meet your expectations!!"
Buckingham resolved to sell them out in exchange for handling this incident secretly and preserving his social standing.
For Buckingham, who valued his social status above all else, the mere circulation of such a scandal was a fatal blow.
"Then, we'll communicate with this from now on. Report in detail."
I handed him a parchment.
It was a top-grade communication parchment I had personally purchased beforehand.
Buckingham grabbed it frantically, as if it were his lifeline.
"Don't forget. The Empire does not forget its traitors."
"I won't entertain any foolish thoughts...!!"
I gave him a chance.
Instead of going to prison, a chance to be endlessly exploited without pay for the peace of the Empire.
Buckingham probably thought this incident would be over once this matter was settled, but his sin was too deep to be let off so easily.
His work would not end until those who sought to throw the Empire, which spanned the world, into chaos had completely vanished.
I needed a slave... no, a subordinate who was good at using magic anyway.