Chapter 31: The Female Knight’s Counterattack (4)
Chapter 31: The Female Knight’s Counterattack (4)
When my vision cleared, we were standing in the middle of a dim, gloomy forest.
Grace immediately summoned a sphere of light to illuminate our surroundings, drawing her sword and raising her shield in a defensive stance.
Shring.
I followed her lead, drawing my own sword and staying alert.
The cold ring of metal echoed through the air.
Since I was still learning the basics from Grace, I was equipped with the same sword and round shield she used, clad in silver full-body armor just like her. Thanks to the Manager App provided by Tiamat, I was automatically geared up like this whenever I entered a portal.
The forest revealed by the light was filled with massive trees. On the surface, nothing seemed particularly wrong.
However, this was a dungeon inside a portal. I couldn't afford to let my guard down.
Normally, entering a forest should provide a sense of refreshment... but this place felt damp and unpleasant, leaving me with nothing but a lingering sense of unease.
'It's too quiet...'
In any normal forest, you would hear the sounds of countless creatures, large and small. It’s a space where so much life thrives.
Yet here, there was none of that. It was deathly silent. There should have been at least the chirping of insects, but there was nothing. Despite being a forest, it didn't feel like a place filled with vitality at all.
In this moment, the only presence I could sense was Grace's and my own.
I quietly scanned the surroundings further.
In the area illuminated by Grace, I could see that the trees making up this forest were exceptionally large. Their girth was so wide that a grown man couldn't even wrap his arms around them; they were thick enough to make me wonder if one could hollow them out to make a shelter.
Hmm... at that size, you could probably fit four people inside to sleep...
That also meant there was a high probability that monsters were lurking behind those trunks, waiting for us. For Awakeners like us, it was a threatening environment.
I needed to figure out what we were up against first...
"Han Shin-nim. I suspect... this forest is home to the Tree Evil Spirit Lesh."
"Could you explain?"
Grace briefly explained the characteristics of a Lesh.
They were corrupt spirits inhabiting trees. Originally, they had resisted humans cutting them down, but eventually, they became addicted to slaughter and turned into fallen spirits that fed on the blood of living creatures.
Ultimately... since any tree in this forest could potentially be a Lesh, I couldn't lower my guard.
The biggest problem with a Lesh was that, despite being a tree, it wouldn't burn. Grace said that in her world, Nippur, even when villagers tried to burn the forest down to deal with them, it was useless. Apparently, any fire in a forest inhabited by them would be extinguished almost instantly...
"They mainly launch surprise attacks using vines and thorns, so you must always watch your flanks and rear."
"Got it."
Once Grace finished her explanation, we began to move forward slowly.
She mentioned that unlike normal trees, a Tree Evil Spirit Lesh would splatter red blood instead of sap. Grace and I checked the surrounding trees one by one, striking them with our swords.
We advanced while checking each tree, tense with anticipation. As the silence suggested, we hadn't encountered a Lesh yet.
Whew...
It really did feel alien. A forest where no sound could be heard exerted a significant amount of pressure. Moreover, since a surprise attack could come at any moment, I had to stay more alert than ever.
Grace and I continued to scar the trees as we ventured deeper into the forest.
Had it been about twenty minutes?
As I moved cautiously, I felt a prickling sensation at the back of my head.
Clang!
I spun around and raised my shield, bracing my arm where my senses warned me. Sharp vines slammed into the shield, sending sparks flying. They felt more like steel than wood, and the weight of the thrusting attack pushed me back slightly.
Grace immediately rushed to my side and severed the vines that had attacked me in a single stroke. Red, blood-like sap erupted from the severed ends.
Gwaaaaaah—
A low growl that seemed to vibrate through the entire forest pierced my ears. I could sense its rage; it seemed furious that its attack had failed and that it had been countered so quickly.
The two of us immediately moved toward the source of the vines and the growl. Before long, I found the culprit—a tree that looked normal on the outside but was connected to the vines that had attacked us.
The Tree Evil Spirit Lesh.
Crack, snap.
Gwaaaaaah—
As we approached, the creature revealed its true form. Realizing it had been discovered, it shed its disguise as an ordinary tree and lunged at us. Vines shot out from all directions, thrusting toward us or swinging like whips.
I frantically blocked with my shield and slashed with my sword, fending off the relentless assault. Severed vines littered the ground, and blood-red sap splattered everywhere.
As I watched, it seemed the vines were constantly regenerating. I had cut away quite a lot of them, yet the attacks showed no sign of stopping, leading me to that conclusion.
"Han Shin-nim, we must get close to the main body."
Perhaps wanting to let me finish it off, Grace moved closer to me and helped me advance. Naturally, the closer we got, the more violent the attacks became. It swung its branches at us and sent its roots snaking through the ground to attack our feet.
Strangely, I could see and feel it all coming. Was it thanks to Grace's training? I hopped over the sharp thorns erupting from the ground, sliced through the branches, and kept moving forward.
Grace assisted me by parrying the smaller vines and said, "There is a core within the Lesh's body. You must destroy it."
Grace didn't explain how to find the core. But once I stood before the Lesh's trunk, I understood why she hadn't bothered.
Looking at the body from up close, the location of the core was immediately obvious. The thickest part of the lower trunk was the core, and I could feel a powerful surge of mana emanating from it. Although I couldn't use mana properly yet, I was capable of sensing it, and the flow was visible to me.
The problem was that I couldn't attack the core right away. The Lesh's body was as thick as the other trees; even if I thrust my sword in, it wouldn't come close to reaching the core. I was still a half-baked Awakener who didn't know his own abilities, possessing only superior physical strength.
Grace, who had followed right behind me, already knew this. The sword in Grace's right hand was now glowing with a faint light. Using Sword Energy, Grace swung her blade in a diagonal upward arc.
As if by magic, the Lesh's thick bark was stripped away. No, more like a third of its entire trunk had been carved out...?
"Han Shin-nim. Please, finish it."
Steam was rising from Grace's body; it seemed she had once again exploded her latent potential using Tiamat's divine power.
"Right."
She had pushed herself for my sake. Even though she could have killed it herself, she had set it up perfectly so that I could deliver the final blow.
Without hesitation, I thrust my sword toward the Lesh's core.
Thwack!
It didn't feel like wood; it felt like stabbing through flesh. I pushed harder... until I finally felt the tip of my blade catch on something.
The branches, roots, and vines flailing around us suddenly went limp. As I pulled my sword out, blood-red sap splattered over me.
"Ugh..."
My armor was now stained, the crimson sap dripping down the metal. This might look a bit weird... I look like I'm covered in blood.
As I flicked my sword to clear the sap, Grace approached.
"You did well, Han Shin-nim."
"Thanks, but you did all the work..."
Grace smiled and shook her head at my words.
"Not at all, Han Shin-nim. You handled the Lesh's attacks quite well on your own."
"Hmm... you think so...?"
Hearing such direct praise... my face grew hot, and I awkwardly looked away.
"Anyway, I'll absorb the Dungeon Core now."
"Yes."
I quickly reached out and gathered the mana from the shattered Dungeon Core. I could feel a larger amount of mana than before flowing into my body.