Chapter 22
Chapter 22
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 22
Chapter Title: Into the Rotten Roots
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“…This is the place.”
“This is…”
Marwen’s party had finally arrived at their destination alongside his uncle.
Rumble—!
“This… isn’t this a dungeon?”
“It seems so.”
Marwen ground his teeth.
“Damn demon spawn! Just as I thought, you had some sinister scheme!”
“That’s right! Even that business in Liudira where we punished those fiends—it was all to lure us here!”
“…Hmm.”
Naturally, the first step upon discovering a dungeon was to report it.
But unlike the others who had been devoured by the Rotten Roots earlier, this party had a powerhouse among them.
“Uncle, what do you think?”
“What are you asking?”
“There’s always the option to turn back…”
Marwen posed the question, though he already knew his uncle wouldn’t agree. He had only asked out of formality himself.
“Turn back… Hm, very well.”
“…Pardon?”
“Of course, just you lot.”
“That means…”
“I’m not turning back.”
As expected from his uncle.
“I won’t run away either.”
“……”
“My father met a meaningless end at the hands of those vile demons. How could I, his son, flee with my enemy right before my eyes?”
Marus’s gaze shifted to the others behind him.
The vanguard Dale, the priestess Fria, and the mage Roem.
All mere novices.
But having shared every peril with Marus, their judgment might be skewed by inexperience.
“Uh… um…”
“What should we…”
As the two in the rear hesitated, Dale spoke up.
“Would you still pursue Fon—no, Faust—even at the risk of grave danger? Is there some reason?”
“…Never again.”
Marus’s face twisted in a mix of sorrow and fury.
“Never again will I let hesitation cause a repeat of that night.”
“……”
“If we let him slip away here, more victims will appear someday when I least expect it. I… must stop that.”
Whether swayed by his speech or swept up in the emotion, everyone nodded.
“Then I won’t back down here either.”
“And as long as we have you, Marus, taking down a mere demon should be a breeze, right?”
Marus drove the point home.
“Nothing is more foolish than underestimating the enemy before battle… But I promise you this: as long as you stay by my side, I’ll protect you no matter what.”
“Then we’ll go too!”
“Together, let’s eradicate evil!”
Nod…
At that moment, Marwen had never trusted his uncle more.
Sizzle…
Sizzle…
Whoosh—!
The moment the torch flared to life, the five figures vanished into the depths of the Rotten Roots.
* * *
“Lord Faust.”
“……”
“Intruders.”
“I see.”
The intruders had slipped into the Rotten Roots.
‘They came after all.’
It was expected.
He hadn’t thought they would back down.
The warning he’d left Marwen across that rain-lashed bridge had been a declaration of war.
Anyone who pursued him would be killed without mercy.
For those who ignored that warning, he would ensure they regretted it with every fiber of their being.
Shooo…
Spreading both hands wide from his core, the dungeon’s terrain materialized like a hologram.
Five red dots marked the map.
Zooming in revealed the figures as clearly as CCTV footage, down to the shapes of their mouths.
The dungeon, linked to his heart, was truly another body of his own.
Which meant they were now inside his gut.
Groooan—!
- The door! The entrance we came through—it’s gone!
- I see it. More importantly… what’s a forest doing underground…?
- “Gigantic” doesn’t even begin to cover it. At a glance, it’s indistinguishable from a primeval woodland.
Every word they uttered became information for him.
A diviner or shaman could ward against eavesdropping.
Even a fledgling monk or priest could manage it.
That meant their level was below even that.
Shooo…
- Uncle, what’s wrong?
- …It’s nothing. I just sensed something suspicious. Must’ve been my imagination.
Marus glanced at the empty air for a moment before looking away.
- Then, let’s move.
- We trust only you, Marus.
They chose a direction and began advancing.
They were fairly meticulous, leaving marker stones along their path or slashing the ground with blades to track their route.
Watching them, he recalled his top priority.
‘Eliminating them all in the forest field would be ideal, but the odds of that… are zero.’
Among those five was Carl Kursor, the boss of Episode 1.
Even clearing his preliminary stages without incident would make him a tough foe, but since they hadn’t even properly cleared the priors, one misstep could see the entire dungeon’s lifeforms slaughtered.
…Him included.
‘Reading Carl Kursor’s intentions is simple. The key is how I counter them.’
It had been some time since crossing into the Remegaton world. One chilling realization from his stay here?
Events largely followed the game’s timeline and settings, but not perfectly.
For instance, while familiars’ abilities were summed up in a few lines of text in the game, their actual combat uses were far more varied and freeform.
Phenex spewing flames nonstop in battle, or the Dark Elf Queen arbitrarily manipulating the ancient forest terrain near the dungeon despite its limited range—prime examples.
Agnea’s hidden mailbox was just a UI feature in the game, yet here it was a tangible object.
And that wasn’t all.
Curiously, the gacha currency—magic stones—dropped more abundantly than in the game.
Unlike the game, where they came only from purchases or daily dungeon defense quests, he was investigating other routes to acquire them.
The world resembled what he knew, but didn’t match perfectly.
This unavoidable truth sometimes brought fatal risks.
Like now, dragging an unprepared Carl Kursor before his eyes.
Thus, he had to withhold certainty at every moment. Endless suspicion was the only way to survive a world that hated him.
‘Preparations are set… but variables could arise anywhere.’
Variables could strike anytime, anywhere.
Normal chapter stages could be handled with preset fields, but exceptions existed.
Especially tough stages or boss fights.
In boss fights, auto-battle often led to disasters.
Players had to manually control the field—hand-con for short.
“Soon, make your move.”
- Understood.
His order went to the Dark Elf Queen controlling the forest.
From her, it cascaded to the familiars under her command.
Rustle…
- Huh?
- What’s that?
- Did you hear something…?
- …Not at all?
- Maybe not…?
As the priestess tilted her head, Marus raised one hand.
- Halt! Ambush!
- Pardon? What…
- Get ready!
Twang—!
The retreating mage triggered a trap he’d set.
“Arrows!”
Thud-thud-thud—!
Dale blocked the arrow trap with his raised shield.
Thwip—!
- Argh!
Prick—!
A goblin’s poison dart struck the priestess’s ankle.
As expected of novices, full of openings.
- Uncle!
- Incoming!
The goblins he’d prepositioned struck from the front under the Dark Elf Queen’s orders.
Emerging from the mist, it was an assault with devastating power if not countered swiftly.
- Damn, a shaman! Marwen, follow me!
- Dale, guard the rest!
Textbook response.
Split into two groups, cover the rear, intercept the shaman.
Up to here, they could handle it easily. If the rear threat escalated, Marus could always pull back to rescue them.
But that wasn’t what he wanted.
- Graaaargh—!
- …Orcs?
- Uncle! Orcs…
- Marwen, fall back behind me!
- But…
- They’re all adults! You’re not ready for this!
What if another threat hit the separated Marus and Marwen?
- Damn it, Dale! Hold on just a bit! Once I finish these…
Their split lasted a touch longer than an instant, and that…
“Begin.”
Ensured no one could reconnect the groups.
- Forest, shift.
Shaaa—!
The forest suddenly churned, warping the terrain. Dense trees filled the gap between the divided groups.
- Wait… what the…
- Marwen! Don’t stray!
- Kyaaaaah!
- Marus! Marwen!
Creeeak…
Creeeeeak!
The forest terrain underwent a massive change.
That change split the intruders in two.
- Goddamn it!
- The goblins got caught in the split too!
- Lucky break, at least… Now what…
It wasn’t just a barrier between them. Lost in pitch-black woods thick with fog and no light, they were truly adrift.
‘But we took heavy losses too.’
Orcs and goblins were his most convenient frontline troops. That single move had shredded them all.
‘The orcs fell to Marus, and the goblins got swept up in the divide…’
As anticipated to some degree.
- Torches?
- One left.
Fwoosh…
- At least we stick together.
- Yeah, Dale’s all we’ve got right now.
- R-right!
- Ahem… Let’s find the other two quick.
As the separated group chattered, he recalled prior intel from the Dark Elf Queen.
- A shift this big will drain me heavily. I doubt I’ll recover before the next fight.
Unexpected at the time.
Expanding the ability’s scope and effect came with aftereffects.
Or perhaps this was another sign of familiars’ enhanced autonomy in this world. Rash certainty here equaled recklessness.
- How much force can you spare?
- Less than half.
…Abandoning the follow-up fight was a huge risk.
- Then time? How long can you keep them apart?
- Consciously separating them? Max ten minutes… After that, they could run into each other anytime.
- …I see.
Ten-minute limit.
- Plenty.
For his plan.
Snapping from his thoughts, he spotted Dale and the two women still rooted in place.
- The forest moving… Hard to believe even seeing it.
- Is this hellish forest really that Fon—no, Faust demon’s domain?
- …Time to find out.
Fearfully clutching the priestess’s hem, the mage pointed at a distant tree.
- Look, a light there…
- Careful!
- We have to find Marus and Marwen somehow, right?
- Yeah, this situation’s even more dangerous.
- Let’s check it out. Might be them.
- Why not shout?
- Wanna die together?
- Get closer. Could be Marus’s torch.
Drawn to the light, they approached the thickly wooded area.
- This light… a spirit.
- Tree spirit?
- D-dangerous?
- Not sure… I don’t know exactly…
Then, something moved through the trees, piercing the glow.
- Marwen? Marus?
Crunch…
The trees shook as a massive body emerged.
A forest troll raised its club high to greet them.
- Th-this…
- Ruuuun!
The club plummeted vertically.
Kablooey—!
Something crushed, shattering the forest’s silence.