The Monster of the Deep Forest (1)

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

Purify the source of corruption

After the brutal battle finally came to an end, the giant spider extended its tentacles once more. The ominous jewel that had exhausted every chance it had to protect itself was wrapped up at last and dragged before the spider.

Without the slightest hesitation, the spider drove its fangs into it and crushed it to pieces.

As the quest was completed, a huge amount of experience poured in along with the reward. It was enough to let the Great Lord advance by one stage.

Then the next choice was made. The choice of the being who watched all of this and made the decision. The Great Lord left behind the land where corruption no longer spread and immediately began to move.

He extended a tentacle and carefully lifted the black-haired girl, who was still collapsed on the ground, onto his back. Her wounds had healed completely, but she had not yet regained consciousness.

"The numbers may have gone down, but your forces have certainly grown stronger."

Agares said that to him as he watched the moving horde, speaking to the person he knew was watching this unfold through the screen.

Indeed, the number of minions under the Great Lord had fallen by more than five compared to before. But their composition had changed. Even if they were no more than mindless expendables at the bottom of the chain, the hobgoblins who had once been villagers were far stronger than those ordinary people ever ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠had been.

"They’ve piled up a lot ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠of fatigue as well. You should rest... and this time, you ought to take a proper rest."

The Great Lord entered the dark depths of the forest and found a naturally formed cave. Without hesitation, he went inside.

At the deepest part of the cave, the Great Lord activated one of his four skills, Nesting. This was nothing like the crude web he had strung between trees when hunting wolves.

By carefully manipulating the great quantity of silk sprayed from his rear, he constructed a proper nest.

After that, all that remained was to post other minions as sentries.

With a nest thick with spider silk built and ready, the Great Lord returned to the deepest chamber with Lena.

Once safety had been secured, the next option was triggered. As Ascalas's means of growing a body that had reached its limit, they would evolve one stage inside the cocoon.

Both the Great Lord and Lena, who had lost consciousness, entered the black, hardened cocoon that would transform their flesh, and began to rest and grow.

"You enjoyed the game again today. Once your avatar's fatigue has fully recovered... we can enjoy ourselves again then."

"Enjoy? I’m exhausted every time I do anything."

He set the phone down, looked at the grinning rabbit mask on the main screen, and then turned the game completely off.

With that, Agares's voice could no longer be heard.

"...I should eat."

He sat dazed in his chair for a moment, then got up, gathered the emptied coffee cans he had scattered around and tossed them into the trash, letting out a sigh.

Even if it took the form of a game, once you thought about what had been tied to it, calling it enjoyable was absurd.

"Hello? Yes, sir."

He hastily put together a meal and forced it down, then answered the phone as it suddenly rang. It was a call from someone he had known back when he was still playing professionally.

"You haven’t been playing games lately, have you? Are you really retiring?"

"No, not yet. But I haven’t been playing much recently."

"I get how you feel, but if you don’t plan on retiring, you need to keep grinding ranked. Otherwise how are you supposed to even take tests?"

The acquaintance, who now worked as a coach, clicked his tongue with obvious sympathy. Since he was right, he could only listen with a bitter smile.

"I will. I’ve just been busy lately. But I’ve got some time now."

"Good. I hope things work out for you. Let’s meet again for sure."

He smiled and hung up. At the same time, he cleared away the table after finishing his meal. By then the smile had vanished, and his face had gone stiff.

"You’re turning the game back on? Your avatar is still recovering from fatigue."

"But I can still use the shop."

He picked up the phone again and sat down at his computer desk, turning on both the phone and the computer at once.

"I collected 350 Mythic Essence from the quest this time. Thanks to that, I’ve got 500 points stacked up. I’m buying a product with them."

"Please select the item you want."

"Greatly increased reaction speed."

He purchased a 500-point item from the Mythic Essence shop. And at that very moment—

"Tsk."

"...Are you clicking your tongue because I didn’t get beaten up like before?"

"Why don’t you try taking it?"

He took the glass bottle that popped out of the phone in his hand. The rabbit mask tilted its head as if displeased, but after hearing his incredulous remark, it quickly straightened up and shamelessly shook its head.

"I assume you’re already familiar with this by now, but you only need to drink it down in one go. A fragment of a miracle that will fulfill your desire and your wish. When those fragments gather, they become a true miracle."

"...Fine."

He twisted out the stopper sealing the mouth of the vial. It was something he had already done before, exactly as Agares had said. Soon enough, the bottle was drained clean, and he clenched his teeth as he clutched his spinning head.

"Why don’t you test it? See just how much has changed."

"I was planning to do that anyway."

As soon as the burning in his stomach and the dizziness in his head began to fade, he grabbed the keyboard and mouse. The familiar screen of the game he had already left on welcomed him back.

And so he naturally went into a match.

It says greatly increased, but how different could it really be?

Even if he was washed-up, he had once been a pro. Since the season ended he had barely played at all and had fallen two divisions below his original rank, but even so, his rating was still high.

Once the match began, he slipped into it naturally, manipulating the mouse and keyboard as he focused on the game.

There it is.

After a brief moment of awkwardness, the familiar rhythm returned, and he smiled faintly as he played with ease.

Whether it was because his wrist had been healed, or because it was simply in his head, or because a true miracle had actually been made real, he tore through the opposing team without mercy and ended the game in sixteen minutes.

Still not sure.

Feeling as if he needed to test it further, he kept queueing up like a man possessed. With victory after victory, rapid promotion and all the rest, he enjoyed the game with such ease that before long he had won eight straight matches and climbed back into the point range of his original division’s lowest tier.

...Light.Definitely.

It wasn’t something he could measure with a clear indicator, but in the end he was certain. His physical senses had undeniably improved compared to before.

"Maybe..."

He muttered aloud, and his eyes flashed. The corners of his mouth began to lift, too. Experiencing it directly sent a powerful, stoked desire pounding through his chest.

The thought that he might truly be able to fulfill his longing through Pandemonium left him unable to hide his excitement.

Overwhelming joy. And intense ecstasy. Those feelings suddenly came to her, who had known nothing but darkness.

"Interesting. Is that because of the nature of the species?"

Agares, who muttered words no one could hear now that the game had been turned off, gave a snort of laughter as he watched her.

Regardless, Lena, who had been curled up like a fetus, instinctively drew herself tighter. Frowning, she followed the sensation tickling at her heart, searching for what it was.

Great Lord?

It was none other than the emotion flowing in from the Great Lord linked to her. Which was why, startled as she was, she couldn’t quite understand it.

After all, she had never felt anything like this from the Great Lord before.

...But I like it.

She was puzzled, but a faint smile touched her lips. It wasn’t a bad feeling, after all, so the joy and exhilaration could simply be shared.

No matter what the cause was, Lena was simply happy that the Great Lord’s emotions were positive.

The time has come.

That was when cracks began to spread slowly across her cocoon. Opening her eyes, Lena saw the dim light of the luminous stone seeping through the fractures, and ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠slowly reached out a hand.

Then she tore at the cocoon with that hand. But the cocoon was hard. The instant she recognized that, the pure white human hand twisted in an instant, transforming into the hand of a monster clad in black carapace.

She tore through the cocoon and emerged, already changed considerably from before. Looking down at her transformed arms, she then reshaped her entire white naked body.

Her whole body changed into a monster covered in black carapace, just like her arms. If it hadn’t been for the beautiful girl’s face, she would have looked like a wasp or a beetle standing upright on two legs.

I can feel the power.

This was nothing like when she had been a mere minion. Lena let the power flooding her body tug the corner of her mouth upward.

She wasn’t merely satisfied with becoming stronger and growing.

A life spent as the weak—always protected, always losing, always having things taken away. She had shattered that life and, for the first time in her life, thrown her body into battle in order to protect someone else.

She thought this growth was proof of herself, and that she had received the price she was owed.

"Thank you."

Lena dropped to her knees right there and offered up a prayer. To whom, and how—those were entirely the feelings of one who had been the first.

She had once found it hard to understand the command to thank a god whose existence could not even be known. But not anymore. Now her god definitely existed.

"!!!"

That was when the Great Lord’s will flowed into her.

Of course, it was an order she could not refuse.

But she still rose to her feet, eyes blazing red. Even without being forced, she had long been ready to throw away her life if that was what it took to fulfill her duty.