The Monster of the Deep Forest, Part 4

"There’s only one answer here."

With my emotions under control, I set my mind to work. Agares had clearly given me a hint. To bring this game completely under my control, I needed true dominion.

Frankly, there was no reason to say something like that about the other minions, who had no will of their own. The real problem was Lena, who did possess a self of her own, and whose personality had even begun to veer off in a slightly strange direction.

Thinking about it calmly, she was an extremely unstable existence from the start. Betrayed by the villagers she had trusted, forced to watch her mother die before her eyes, and nearly killed herself, she had finally taken revenge by destroying the village with her own hands. But after that, there was nothing left for her.

"So now, for Lena, my avatar is her entire world. The Grand Lord is everything to her."

"Have you found the clue? If so, make your choice."

"What she needs, in the end, is affection."

After turning it over in my head, I chose option two. At this point, she was the only proper warrior I had, and I judged that giving her this kind of "reward" was essential if I wanted to dominate her.

I would have to accept that her rampages and outbursts were part of the package, while broadening and solidifying my influence over her, the one who genuinely served me.

From the screen, I watched Lena bow her head and pray, gazing up at the sky. If she was loyal to me, I would repay that loyalty. So long as she kept that in mind, she would never turn against me.

My avatar fed her essence again, just as before. Kneeling there, hanging from the Grand Lord’s massive fangs and catching the essence that dripped from the tip, Lena looked utterly enraptured.

Seeing that from the Grand Lord’s point of view made the whole thing strangely surreal.

"The enemies have all been eliminated, and your avatar has recovered all of its power. Now please decide on your next action. What will you do now?"

"That really is the part I hate most."

Once I’d finished infusing Lena with essence, Agares immediately pressed me for my next move. Hearing that, I let out a dry laugh and clicked my tongue.

This game had no clear content or goal. Compared to other games, where I’d be told to defeat a certain enemy or reach a certain level, here I had to find everything myself. That was what irritated me the most.

"For now, I’ll head out and..."

But just as I was about ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠to switch back to the third-person perspective and move my avatar, Lena was the one who spoke first, even popping an exclamation mark over herself.

"Looks like your loyal warrior is planning to put on an event for you."

I could hear Agares snickering. At this point, I had no choice but to change my selection. I canceled the Grand Lord’s action and listened to Lena.

Lena’s rage practically radiated through the text. She still hadn’t finished her revenge, and she wanted to see it through completely.

Even a quest was generated from her suggestion. But unlike the last one, this was not a quest I could approach casually.

If we attacked a nearby village or city and then got counterattacked in return, could we really hold out? The image of Zack, the mercenary leader who had once driven Lena into a corner, was still vivid in my mind.

"Will you accept the quest?"

Sensing my hesitation, Agares asked me once more whether I would take it.

And in the end, I accepted it.

"But I’m not attacking right now."

"Oh? Then your direction of movement is exactly the opposite of a village or city. What exactly are you planning?"

"I need to increase our strength as much as possible."

I’d accepted the quest, but whether I carried it out was my decision. So I led all my forces, including the Grand Lord, out of the cave.

"We’ll make the most of the traits we already have."

I had already made up my mind. I had no idea what kind of avatars other players had, or how they would build up their factions.

But during this time, I had confirmed what I, what we, were capable of. I also knew exactly how we needed to move forward.

"I’d like to split Lena and the Grand Lord apart, though..."

"If you want the choice to appear of your own will, touch this side."

I frowned at the sight of the units all moving together in the same direction with the Grand Lord. Come to think of it, the only unit I could directly control was the avatar, the Grand Lord.

That was when Agares informed me of a new function. A button at the corner of the screen. When I touched it, a set of choices sprang ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠up.

"What the hell is this?!"

"Try pressing it repeatedly. Within a few tries, the choice you want will appear."

As my trembling finger hovered in confusion, Agares laughed under his breath and told me to keep tapping the button.

And somehow, as if he could actually read my intent, the exact choice I wanted appeared within just a few presses. That was the method: issuing the command I wanted, at the timing I wanted, to units other than the Grand Lord.

I chose option two.

From here on, my units would split into two groups and completely conquer this forest. Beast, monster, or human, none of them mattered. We would feed on all of it and infuse it with essence until they became minions.

That indiscriminate, merciless method was how our faction would grow.

"Your avatar and units begin acting according to your orders. Before the war, they’ll gather as much nourishment as possible through hunting and increase the number of their comrades."

"Good... that means I’ve got some time, right?"

I tore my eyes away from the units as they dispersed to begin their tasks, then casually powered on the computer.

"Might as well play some games."

There was no need to keep watch over every little thing with this much time on my hands. Agares would be watching and reporting back to me anyway.

So, while I had the chance, I planned to finish the ranked match I’d left hanging yesterday. My pro debut had been delayed by nearly ten years, but after playing again after such a long time, it was absurdly fun.

"You’ve finally adjusted completely, it seems. Leaving the game on and going AFK."

"You told me to live the real life, didn’t you? This is my real life."

I ignored Agares’s sarcasm. There was no way he’d neglect his duties anyway.

"That makes ten now."

In the deep forest, where ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠human hands had barely ever reached, mournful cries had been echoing through the trees without end.

With a vicious grin, Lena transformed a tentacle into a spear and drove it straight into the heart of a magical beast, a triangular black bear, piercing it clean through.

The massive bear collapsed at once, and Lena used the spear embedded in its body to convert the black bear’s flesh into nourishment, absorbing it into her own body.

"Not yet. I need more. Much more."

Lena turned with an excited expression to look behind her. She had taken the lead and finished the kill in a single blow, but the number of minions following her had already increased to more than four times the original number.

Most of them were beasts and magical creatures from the forest: wolves with two heads, giant centipedes, and the like.

All of them had been turned into minions through essence infusion.

But Lena did not stop. Whenever she achieved results, he praised her and then ordered her to keep moving.

They were even discovering stronger predators and areas corrupted by magi like this one. But Lena liked that even more.

When a quest like that appeared, he would order her to eliminate the source of corruption. This time was no different.

Reward!

Lena’s mind was full of thoughts of racking up a major achievement and receiving a fitting reward for it.

Hobgoblins.

"You again? Good."

Soon, defensive forces were summoned to guard the mana stone that had activated the erosion. They were hobgoblins, the same ones she had faced before.

Lena had unpleasant memories of those bastards, so she glared at them with bared teeth.

"Ki, kiiit?"

The summoned hobgoblins, by contrast, flinched in confusion as they looked around at the dozens of troops surrounding the corrupted zone. No matter how they looked at it, Ascalas’s minions showed no fear of them at all.

They obeyed orders alone, and influenced by the emotions of their commander, Lena, they instead burned with rage and fighting spirit.