Chapter 23
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Translator: Wjin
Chapter: 023
Chapter Title: Fog Forest and Standing Alone (1)
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On the way to Horace's Tomb, Master shared stories related to it.
"Horace's Tomb is just a name. No one knows if he's actually buried there."
"Then why is it called that?"
"Because that's where his traces were last discovered. After that, his whereabouts vanished, so people started calling it his tomb."
"Oh ho."
Our conversation naturally shifted to tales about Horace himself as we discussed his tomb. True to his legendary status as a necromancer, there were countless unbelievable anecdotes. Stories of him single-handedly defeating over a hundred knights, or successfully reviving the dead right in front of crowds—tales that sounded utterly absurd.
Yet they weren't entirely impossible to believe.
This was a world of magic, after all.
If he truly was an extraordinary mage, achieving such feats wouldn't be so strange.
'Horace, I envy you!'
A week passed like that, filled with various stories during our journey. Finally, Master announced that we were nearing our destination.
"Heros, we need to be careful from here on."
"There's fog."
"Right. This area is shrouded in fog year-round. That's why people call it the Fog Forest."
"Oh ho."
The forest ahead looked hazy.
Definitely fog.
But there was something odd about it. It lingered only within a fixed boundary, as if an invisible line had been drawn. The foggy zone and the clear zone were sharply divided.
"Heros, this fog is a mystery. It turns the dead inside it into undead."
The grimoire hidden in the Fog Forest.
This fog was the mystery it manifested.
Was it turning corpses into undead that wandered the area to keep out random intruders? We couldn't know its intent, but one thing was clear.
The magic contained in that grimoire was extraordinarily powerful.
'Otherwise, it couldn't manifest something this impressive.'
Not content with blanketing such a vast area in fog, it even transformed the corpses within into undead? There had to be hundreds of them.
An incredibly potent mystery.
"The undead in the forest vary in strength. If you're unlucky, you might encounter one stronger than an average knight."
"Understood."
As Master briefed me on precautions, a question popped into my mind.
"But with such an obvious mystery manifesting, why hasn't anyone claimed the grimoire yet?"
Master was strong, but across the entire empire, there were surely many stronger than him. For no one to have targeted a grimoire broadcasting such powerful magic all this time? Mages were obsessed with collecting grimoires—it was hard to believe.
"Because no one's pinpointed the grimoire's location."
That was Master's answer.
Honestly, I couldn't wrap my head around it. Sensing a grimoire's position was trivial if you could detect mana properly.
So I closed my eyes and focused my mind, searching for a presence subtly different from the fog—the mystery manifesting here.
Nothing.
'Is it because we're too far?'
The mana in the fog wasn't concentrated in one spot; it was evenly diffused throughout. That made it hard to zero in on the grimoire's location.
Grimoires usually emitted denser mana concentrations where they were, but right now, I couldn't detect any such point.
So then?
"Looks like we need to go deeper. I can't sense a thing."
"I was just about to head in anyway."
Master nodded.
At that moment, the golem's body crumbled away.
And from within emerged a skeleton.
Prepping for combat before entering, it seemed.
'Pulling out Gilbert right away.'
Gilbert was the name of the skeleton Master commanded.
He rarely summoned it, yet here he was, deploying it immediately? Clear proof he was wary of the undead lurking in the fog.
Ten minutes after entering the Fog Forest.
We had already fended off three ambushes—no, make that four, counting this one.
Five corpses shambling toward us.
Their states of decay were all different.
Some were bare bones like Gilbert, while others still had chunks of flesh clinging to them.
It meant many had died here over time, and people were still losing their lives recently.
Slash!
The approaching corpses were neatly dispatched by Gilbert's swinging sword anyway.
His skill was always astonishing, no matter how many times I saw it.
'The fog's getting thicker.'
Checking again, it wasn't my imagination.
The fog had definitely densified since before.
We could still see around us, but the reduced visibility worried me. It'd only get worse deeper in.
And the fog wasn't the only thing bothering me.
Rustle rustle.
The presences stirring throughout the forest.
They grated on my nerves.
Undead making noise.
Good thing we'd left the cart outside before entering. Otherwise, the racket would've drawn endless undead swarming us.
'Still can't sense it.'
Even in this distracting chaos, I strained to locate the grimoire.
No luck.
The thickest fog.
The heart of the Fog Forest. I'd have to reach there to find it.
'Thought I'd spot it right away.'
All this time praised as a genius, yet fumbling when it mattered—embarrassing.
Felt like I was letting down Master's expectations.
He didn't seem disappointed, but I couldn't just shrug it off.
Pride, you know.
Clang!
A metallic clash echoed from afar.
Soon followed by another similar sound.
Sounds of battle.
Undead didn't fight each other, so someone else was in the Fog Forest besides us.
And judging by the noise, more of them than our group.
'Best to ignore this.'
We were here for the grimoire.
Those making the racket probably were too.
Why else enter the Fog Forest?
Running into them would be awkward for everyone.
Swish.
Master raised a hand, pointing one way.
The opposite direction from the noise.
He'd made the same call as me.
Seemed our brush with other survivors would end as coincidence.
Assuming they didn't track us.
"They're coming this way."
Master said.
Despite our caution, they'd noticed others besides themselves.
'Not even trying to hide their presence.'
Clangs kept ringing from the survivors' direction.
Undead were heading that way.
Thanks to the volume, I could gauge their distance from us.
The sounds drawing nearer confirmed they were closing in, just as Master said.
"Let's put as much distance as we can for now."
"Yes."
Master glanced toward what we assumed was the unknowns' position, then pressed on.
His pace quicker than before, so I had to hustle to keep up.
But our efforts were for naught; the presences beside us kept closing in.
"They'll catch us soon."
"Yeah. Whoever they are, they're moving incredibly fast."
"Heros, from now on, assume the worst. I'll assign Gilbert to you. When I give the signal, head straight for the Fog Forest's center. Find the grimoire and escape with it."
"Where should I wait?"
"Anywhere. I'll find you."
Attaching Gilbert to me meant he'd stay behind to face the enemies alone.
I wanted to help, but I'd just be a hindrance with my skills.
So I nodded.
"Gilbert, obey Heros's orders from now on."
Master commanded, and our loyal Gilbert nodded in response.
Silence fell again.
We tried to widen the gap with the unknown pursuers, but they caught up soon enough.
Good thing we'd hidden Gilbert earlier; otherwise, they'd have clocked us as necromancers right away.
Thud thud.
Three men emerged from the fog.
All in black hoods, faces obscured.
'Mercenaries? Nah, doesn't feel right.'
Long on the road, their hoods caked in grime.
Simple garb too.
Quilted armor under hooded cloaks, leather gloves and boots.
One thing that stuck out, though.
All carried swords.
"What brings you into such a dangerous place?"
As I sized up the trio, the middle one stepped forward and addressed us.
Master calmly replied while eyeing him.
"Lost our way heading from the east to the central regions."
"Lost your way..."
The man muttered.
He looked up.
Revealing fierce eyes.
Scarred face amplifying his intimidation.
"Doesn't look that way to me."
Master didn't respond.
But the man pressed on regardless.
"You didn't seem like you were searching around earlier, yet here we meet. Must be the Great One's design."
With that, he smiled skyward.
Then glared at Master again.
"Digori the Live Burier, pleasure. Always seen you in portraits... the real thing's much better."
Incredibly, he'd pegged Master's identity at a glance.
'Wait, no way?'
That instant.
The stories I'd heard resurfaced.
A militant group of all knights, operating in threes, dedicated to hunting mages.
The Silent Compliance Society.
And here they were, exactly three.
Realization hit, chills racing over my skin.
Whoosh whoosh.
As I panicked.
Master, hands behind his back, twitched his right hand.
A gesture hidden from the trio.
The signal he'd mentioned.
I bolted without hesitation, sprinting toward the Fog Forest's heart.
Soon after, the ground shook with a massive roar.
'My job is to find the grimoire in the Fog Forest.'
I wanted to rush back and help Master, but my skills wouldn't make a difference.
So I reminded myself of the task he'd given me and didn't look back.