Chapter 103
Chapter 103
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 103
Chapter Title: Wherever We Go, Trouble Follows
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Checking my wristwatch, my sister and I had already been walking for over an hour in the direction the Matrimonial Necklace was pointing.
I kept scanning our surroundings as we pressed on, hoping to spot something—anything—in that direction.
But no matter where I looked, it was all just green, brown, and black.
The same monotonous landscape stretched on endlessly. I couldn't even tell if this place was real or if I was heading in a straight line.
Every now and then, we'd come across items that seemed like they'd been dropped by people who'd wandered into this forest and gotten lost. But nothing useful. Just plastic bottles filled with rotten water, shattered liquor bottles, and non-corrosive trash like vinyl bags or plastic scraps.
"Joon-ah. Over there..."
"Yeah... looks like suicide."
Beyond the scattered trash on the ground, far off in the distance, a dead body hung from a tree by the neck.
Dressed in hiking gear, so probably a modern person like us. How the hell did they end up all the way out here?
Could it be... maybe this forest is connected to the real world somehow? Like, if you get lost in Jukai Forest, you might end up here.
"This place gives me the creeps. Let's keep moving."
"Yeah. Wait a sec... Joon-ah. Look what was in this guy's bag."
"A cassette tape...?"
"Yeah. Joon-ah, seems like something's recorded on it. Should we play it?"
"I'll do it."
I pressed the button, and with a click, a voice that sounded like the suicide's recording poured out.
But it was Japanese—I couldn't understand a word. I vaguely caught "watashi" and such, but that was it. Hee-sun Noona was the same.
"No clue what he's saying."
"Yeah... Eun-ji studied in Japan, so she might get it. Let's take it. Oh, and a notebook too."
I nodded at Hee-sun Noona's words, pocketed the cassette and notebook left by the suicide, and stuffed them into my military bag.
With that, we walked another hour or so.
Being untouched primordial forest, the trees grew so densely packed that visibility was a nightmare.
So the moment we transferred here, I'd summoned the Ebony Cockroach to scout for unusual buildings nearby and report back if it spotted any people. No telling what kind of bastards might be lurking in this forest, so we had to stay vigilant.
That's why the Ebony Cockroach had been circling us since earlier, but no real finds. Just a few more suicide corpses. Nothing noteworthy—no clues or odd items. Just bodies that hadn't fully rotted yet.
While I was at it summoning the Ebony Cockroach, I'd considered calling the Shadow Moth too. But it was still daytime, and it'd just spew scale powder without much help, so I held off. Planning to summon it at night to hunt for the shrine and exit.
Though the Shadow Moth's dumber than the Ebony Cockroach, so who knows if it'd even find anything.
'Still, it has some intelligence...'
I pinned a sliver of hope on it. The forest was so vast; aerial recon was essential.
'Man... keep feeling drained...'
Staring at the same scenery nonstop was making my head spin a bit.
Maybe it was the ominous, unpleasant aura this forest exuded. Or the sinking ground piled with decaying leaves, the damp moss-covered floor blocking out sunlight.
Everything in this forest felt hostile toward me, messing with my mind. Yang Ji-sang, the evil spirit shaman, was thrilled, claiming spirits lurked everywhere. But I was just depressed. The Missing Persons' Forest and I didn't mix well. I'd take the black market over this.
"Noona, you okay? Not tired?"
"Huh...? I'm totally fine. You feeling worn out, Joon-ah?"
"Yeah... kinda dizzy."
Maybe because she's a Druid. Hee-sun Noona seemed unaffected—in fact, invigorated by the forest. The spirits were hyped too, unusually manifesting on their own beside her, giggling like kids as they swirled around us before vanishing.
As expected, Noona's forest guardian nature neutralized the forest's malice completely. Meanwhile, I was... draining in real-time.
Didn't Half-Human Half-Demon have any special perks?
'Feels like death...'
Unlike Hee-sun Noona thriving here, it felt like this insane forest was sucking away my energy, mana, and will.
Like it was slurping up my life's essence. The tree roots and mossy stones tripping my feet, nameless wildflowers blooming haphazardly—all attacking me with energy drain. Every plant sprouting where I stepped was feeding off me as fertilizer.
By now, it hit me. This rotten forest hated me. The Missing Persons' Forest was outright hostile toward me. The world was straight-up bullying me.
'Never thought I'd be the dead weight...'
Was this weird phenomenon just me? Noona's fine as a Druid, sure. But would Eun-ji or Ha-rin struggle like this?
Maybe that world tree I burned pulled some curse just on me. Or my Cultist class just doesn't vibe with nature.
"Kinda tough going. Hey, Noona..."
"Yeah? Aww~ Joon-ah wants to sniff Noona again?"
"Sorry. Just a bit."
"Hehe... Joon-ah's turned into a total baby since entering the forest. C'mere."
Hee-sun Noona spread her arms wide. Mentally exhausted, I halted mid-stride and buried my face in her chest. Inhaling the thick scent gathered in her cleavage calmed me a little.
Sniiiiif...!
Her infinite embrace weakened my resolve. For some reason, I just wanted to act spoiled with her.
Meanwhile, she stroked my hair. Her scent soothed me. I quickly rallied, pulled away from her embrace. Couldn't delay linking up with the others because of me.
"Noona, gonna scout the area quick."
"Okay... I'll wait."
With focus restored, I used the floating stone necklace to rise into the sky.
The Ebony Cockroach was sweeping the ground for threats, so I hovered above, checking for odd buildings or terrain. But nothing promising anywhere.
Horizon to horizon, all forest.
I considered flying in the Matrimonial Necklace's direction, but flight wasn't that simple.
Imperfect wing membranes plus floating stone necklace made balance a bitch. Even holding steady solo was hard; carrying Hee-sun Noona too? Impossible.
Extreme mana drain on top of shaky balance. Windswept skies, barely managing myself—flying with someone? Ridiculous high-difficulty stunt.
Couldn't leave Noona alone, so I scrapped flying.
"Find anything?"
"Nah. Nothing."
"Hmm... I just asked the little forest critters if they'd seen any buildings... Nothing. Hell, they don't even know what a building is..."
"Sheesh..."
Every time I lifted off, Noona chatted with small beasts in the forest. Vast place, plenty of lizards scampering trees or squirrels— but they all claimed ignorance.
'Tiny brains, low IQ... Sigh. How long to find the shrine in this damn huge forest...?'
True to its name, Missing Persons' Forest. Animals here only knew their local turf; clueless about the broader woods. Animal intel was useless.
And bugs everywhere. All kinds of flying insects, leeches—blink, and they're on your clothes, biting. Bug repellent with Ha-rin and Eun-ji. Needed to regroup ASAP.
"Noona, you haven't gotten bit once?"
"Nope. They avoid me...? Weird?"
Forest guardian prestige.
Her scent repelled bugs. Living insect repellent. So I stuck close to Noona while moving.
Stray even a bit, bugs swarmed to devour me. Made me wanna scream. Had to be that world tree plotting my death. No reason for my difficulty to be this jacked up solo.
'Black market sounds better...'
Even the black market with Cheshire's guidance beat this madhouse. Plus, near Botamilli—might get her support.
'Wanna finish and GTFO...'
As I grumbled inwardly, an alert popped up.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ [Player entry: 2 hours elapsed.] [All beginner protections lifted.] [Missing Persons' Forest event now begins in earnest.] At the same time, sirens blared across the entire forest.
WEE-OOO!! WEE-OOO!! Warning!! Warning!! All sealed monstrosities are released!!
WEE-OOO!! WEE-OOO!! Warning!! Warning!! All starving forest beasts are released!!
WEE-OOO!! WEE-OOO!! Warning!! Warning!! Dormant missing persons now wander the forest!!
"Shit...!"
Figures it'd been quiet for two hours. Now the real deal starts. Monstrosities, wild beasts... missing persons?
Uwaaaah!!
The moment I questioned it, one of those decapitated-suicide corpses dangling ahead convulsed and thrashed.
"Joon-ah... we gotta find Eun-ji and Ha-rin fast."
"Yeah... let's hustle."
Hee-sun Noona gripped my hand tight.
Then a new alert appeared.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ [Welcome Greeting] Welcome to the Missing Persons' Forest. 4108 teams entered the forest, with Chinese players in the majority. Hope those from similar cultures band together well. [Guide] In about 3 hours, the 'Night of Mountain Sacrifices' begins. Once it starts, the sun won't rise for roughly a week. Forest visitors during this time are treated as 'mountain sacrifices.' Released monsters begin full activity at nightfall. If it seems you'll be caught alive, consider suicide instead. [Escape Method] 1. Head to the forest center within 7 days. A shrine sought by the missing persons lies there. 2. Retrieve the 'God's Idol' from the shrine to spawn 8 tunnels at the forest edge. 3. The moment the idol leaves the shrine, forest monsters pursue it. 4. Evade them to reach a tunnel and exit safely to escape the forest. 5. Finally, maintain physical contact with those escaping together. *The first to exit a tunnel in physical contact teleports the group to their desired location. [Warning] The event stage, Missing Persons' Forest, is ringed by barbed wire—the forest's boundary. Crossing it results in automatic disqualification. Disqualified players can never leave the forest. Thankfully, no monster hordes yet. Revived corpses just twitched—no other actions.
'Problems are the 3 hours left... and the forest packed with non-English speakers.'
System urged cultural unity. Physical contact for group teleport on escape.
Means communicators can team up, snag the idol, bail together. And this forest's crawling with damn Chinese.
'Even they have dialects, but standard Mandarin exists... If they unite, share idol power... fuck...'
They might clique up, slaughter outsiders. System straight-up telling Chinese to team-kill others.
'Alliances'll form soon. Language groups merging, culling rivals. Over a week...'
Forest monsters bad, but rabid Chinese worse.
3 hours till sunset. Had to find Eun-ji and Ha-rin.
Hee-sun Noona and I bolted forward—no time for stamina management. Urgent.
En route, my plummeting condition nearly tripped me over roots multiple times.
Contrast: Hee-sun Noona glided through like roller-skating. She'd have caught me otherwise—huge help.
"Necklace is shaking like crazy... They're close."
After another hour sprinting, the Matrimonial Necklace nearly leaped off my neck. Eun-ji and Ha-rin nearby for sure. Lucky—not scattered too far.
"Joon-ah, call for Eun-ji?"
"No, Noona. Might attract weirdos. Stay quiet..."
KRAAAAAH!!!!
Fwoosh!
As I said stay quiet, Ha-rin's roar echoed, birds fleeing skyward in flurry.
Crack!! Boom!!!
Tree crashing, cold weapons clashing—combat sounds.
Ha-rin, who'd been cautious, roaring meant dire straits. Hurry.
"Warchao!!!"
"Chai jue ni si!!"
Human blood stench wafted from fallen trees.
Grotesque screams in unintelligible tongue—Chinese charging Ha-rin. Blood-soaked Ha-rin shredding one's throat with blue claws mid-swing.
"Those chink bastards!!!"
Summoned tentacles in both hands, flapped wing membranes, dove at Chinese swarming Ha-rin. They burst under my assault, blood mist erupting.
Ebony Cockroach trailing us latched one, laying eggs. Cockroach killer cockroach.
"Ha-rin, you okay!!?"
"Yeah!! This their blood!! No prob! Necklace reacted, roared for oppa."
"Good... Eun-ji?"
"Here!"
Eun-ji peeked from trees, shadow daggers thunking Chinese foreheads, then vanished into shadows.
Relief. All safe. Dead ones: uncommunicative Chinese.
'About twenty. Kashnax feasts tonight.'
Hid Hee-sun Noona behind me, faced off glaring Chinese.
My entrance—wings flapping, tentacles popping allies—panicked her attackers. They'd figured two girls easy; us joining shifted the vibe.
"Tau zhu er!!"
One barked; Chinese bolted.
No escape. Met now, kill or enslave.
Especially couldn't let most populous foreigners loose.
Not one spared. All offerings.
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