110
110 — If You Answer Well
It was strange. Looking at the momentum of the fire, it seemed like it would burn down the entire forest and still blaze fiercely, but it didn't.
Rather, the forest was extending its roots and vines to extinguish the fire and invade its territory. To prevent this, the fire was desperately raising its momentum and burning itself.
At the boundary where fire and forest met, a fierce battle was unfolding as each side fought to protect their territory, looking no different from a war.
"What kind of place... Oh my!"
A spark that had bounced off rippled toward Kalesian and Jin-woo in the sky. Not only that, but rapidly growing trees were behind them, extending their branches and rushing forward.
The two quickly dodged and continued observing. The fire and forest that had been attacking them weren't specifically targeting them.
They had simply gotten caught up in it because they were at the fierce boundary where the two sides were fighting.
Realizing this, Jin-woo and Kalesian moved away from the boundary and landed on intact ground. Naturally, it was on the forest side, not the fire side.
"Right in front of us is burning like that, yet this place is so refreshing."
"Just one step away and it's a completely different world."
From the ground where they had landed, they could see the boundary between fire and forest right in front of them. It wasn't even a few steps away.
Yet they felt neither the heat of the fire nor did the smoke make their throats burn.
Rather, they could smell the forest's characteristic freshness and moist, cool scent very clearly.
"So this is the Spirit Realm..."
Kalesian looked with fresh eyes at the surging waves of fire and, conversely, the forest's offensive covering that area.
The spectacle itself was new, but not particularly surprising. As someone from the Dragon Star Realm who had seen all sorts of bizarre dragons' territories, the sight of a forest spreading toward fire wasn't amazing to Kalesian.
However, the fundamental environment, like the air and mana particles floating in the Spirit Realm, was what surprised him instead.
"Now I understand why my medicine storage feels like the Spirit Realm. This world itself is a world that holds immense mana."
"Thanks to that, I benefited a lot when I came here before."
He remembered what had surprised him when he came here before.
Just by breathing, mana would fill up, and even the fruits he picked along the way or the fish had mana gently dwelling within them.
'The magical power of the cloak I just used to fly through the sky is quickly filling up too.'
Jin-woo was currently wearing the black cloak he had received from Kalesian, and it had consumed considerable mana just from flying once.
Originally, being magic meant to lift a dragon's massive body; the consumption was substantial, but that much mana was already being replenished to some degree.
Gauging the amount consumed and replenished, what could barely fly for an hour on Earth could easily fly for over three hours here.
"Not only that, the taste of the ingredients was considerable too. I still remember it."
"Is that so? This would be perfect for training, so why did you come back?"
"Why did I return to Earth? Well..."
As he was about to answer, he felt a chilling sensation. Kalesian must have felt similar, as he turned to look in that direction almost simultaneously, and they discovered vines and tree roots attacking this place.
If the earlier attack was merely getting caught in the crossfire at the fierce boundary, this one was clearly targeting them.
"Leave it to me!"
Kalesian stepped forward first and set up several layers of barriers in front of them. Though hastily deployed, it was a barrier created by a dragon. It was a comprehensive defensive magic that could withstand not just ordinary attacks, but even missiles.
Creak and groan!
Tree roots struck and squeezed the barrier. With a spine-chilling sound, the crushed barrier shattered in an instant.
"Ugh!"
"Let's dodge!"
Kalesian cried out in shock and flew up, with Jin-woo following using the cloak's magic.
The roots still followed, surging upward to strike them down. Even in the urgent situation, Kalesian showed his wit by making the barrier into a sharp spike shape this time.
Crrrrrack!
With the heavy impact of strong mass, the tree roots split and were deflected.
Chased back into the sky, the two had no choice but to head back toward the boundary. This place was equally dangerous, but at least it wouldn't directly attack them since it was busy fighting the fire.
"Phew. Just because it's a refreshing forest doesn't mean it's safe."
"Let's catch our breath."
If they landed in the forest, they'd be attacked by monster tentacle-like roots, and crossing over to the fire side was also problematic.
In the end, this dangerous boundary was the only space where they could breathe.
"About that question from earlier, I don't need an answer to understand now."
"Question? Oh, you mean that."
Why had he returned to Earth when there was such a good place for training?
The recent experience was enough. Training was good, but first, you had to be safe to survive.
"That aside..."
Leaving Kalesian to understand on his own, Jin-woo looked at both sides.
The view from the sky stretched far into the distance, allowing him to see the horizons on both ends clearly.
One side was an endlessly spreading forest. It stretched so far that no matter how much he looked, he couldn't see the end.
The other side was also covered in fire, burning endlessly. Whichever direction they went, there was no place to rest comfortably.
"For now, shall we look around following the boundary?"
"That seems good."
Kalesian agreed with Jin-woo's opinion. Following this boundary where fire and forest fought, they might discover something.
Jin-woo landed on relatively intact ground while Kalesian positioned himself in the air beside Jin-woo's head. Thus, the two began walking along the boundary.
***
Small flames flickered in the forest. The rapidly running flames came from the tip of a tail.
There was someone with red tail and ears swept back by the wind, running urgently. At first glance she looked like a beastman, but her true identity was a spirit.
Born from a small campfire, she had formed a cat-like shape and eventually evolved into something close to a beastman.
The absolute majority of spirits existing in the world were merely small clusters of light, but some formed shapes like this.
Especially since the Spirit Realm was a world blessed with mana's grace, there were quite a few individuals like her. One of those spirits was running through the forest.
"...Kyaah!"
Suddenly, she tripped over a root and fell. Under normal circumstances, this would be impossible. Beastmen don't trip over obstacles clearly visible in the forest.
Having taken the form of a beastman, she also had similar characteristics and could run even faster in the forest than on flat ground.
Yet she tripped because the root had suddenly grown to catch her.
"Ugh!"
The roots that had been chasing her struck down at her as she fell. When she waved her hand, flames formed the shape of a sword, cutting and burning the roots.
Using the same method, she also removed the roots wrapped around her ankle and got up to run.
—Kiiiiiii!
A terrible sound, like scraping metal, came from behind. Goosebumps ran down her back as if electricity was coursing through it.
They were right behind her. All forests' mother. The Dragon Tooth Soldiers of the Water Dragon Silvern.
Twisted warriors born from a mixture of dragon teeth and forest wood fragments were chasing her to capture her.
'No!'
Her already urgent steps became even more urgent. Yet her speed didn't increase much because she had to be wary of roots suddenly springing up from underfoot.
If she let her guard down even a little, she might trip again at any moment. Then it would be over. If she fell even one more time, she would definitely be caught this time!
However, despite being extremely careful, she tripped once more. Due to running urgently and suddenly getting caught, she tumbled and fell face-first.
Her face was torn and her nose bled, but there was no time to fix her appearance. When she lifted her head while holding back tears that seemed ready to burst out.
A terrifying dragon was staring down at her from close range.
"Kyaaaaaaah!"
Not a Dragon Tooth Soldier, but the dragon itself! She was so shocked she might faint and fell backward without being able to get up.
But something was strange. When their eyes met up close, she hadn't noticed, but falling backward and looking again, something was... Smaller than expected. It was a modest size that didn't seem like a fearsome dragon.
Like a hatchling rather than an adult...
"Spirit miss, could you explain what's so urgent?"
"If you're going to stop someone in a hurry to ask questions, how can you expect a proper answer?"
"We can't help but ask. We need information."
The dragon, small like a hatchling, was having a conversation with a man. For her, whose heart had been beating as if it would burst, it was leisurely to the point of frustration.
And for just a moment. Because she was distracted by the strange party, they had caught up.
—Screech! Screeeeech!
A Dragon Tooth Soldier with bark-textured skin burst through the bushes and thrust a spear toward her.
***
At first glance, he thought it was a beastman. But the fact that her tail was on fire and, more than anything, the aura he felt.
'A spirit?'
It was closer to a spirit than a beastman.
'Weren't spirits supposed to be in the form of small clusters of light?'
All the spirits Jin-woo had seen so far were like that. The spirits handled by Ego Sword were like that, and so was the spirit Rona had attached to him. Other spirits he had occasionally seen in the Elf world were also just small lights like candles.
This was the first time he'd seen a spirit with a different form, especially one with a proper human shape.
And the Dragon Tooth Soldiers that chased after her, too.
"Hmm. This forest seems to have been a dragon's territory."
Kalesian spoke leisurely and flapped his wings. His wingbeat spread wind, separating the spirit and Dragon Tooth Soldier.
"Which side should we help?"
"The one we can communicate with would be better."
After separating the two, Kalesian asked, and Jin-woo answered. They were on neither the forest's nor the fire's side, and all they needed was information.
So they needed someone more cooperative and communicative.
"He-help me! Please help me!"
—Croak... Grrrrr...
It was clear which side was communicative. Jin-woo drew his sword and cut down the Dragon Tooth Soldier along with its spear shaft.
Crack! Crackle!
The outside looked like a golem made of wood, but the cutting sensation was similar to a skeleton. However, it was incomparably harder than a skeleton.
"To cut through dragon teeth so easily, truly worthy of the sword that cut the Red Cliff."
"Teeth?"
"Dragon Tooth Soldiers. Artificial life forms born from dragon teeth."
"Are they really life forms? They feel more like undead."
In Jin-woo's eyes, the Dragon Tooth Soldiers had no blue flames signifying souls. Like the skeletons he'd seen in the 2nd floor, beings that moved without souls.
—Kaaaah!
—Kaaaaaaaah!
Two more similar creatures followed, roaring threateningly. Saliva sprayed and a foul breath like rotten wood wafted out.
They also attacked with spears, and Jin-woo's swinging sword cut through both spear shafts with a single stroke. Then flames deployed by Kalesian instantly burned the newcomers to ash.
It took less than a minute to deal with all three Dragon Tooth Soldiers. The spirit watched this with amazed eyes.
To dispose of such terrible Dragon Tooth Soldiers more easily than a single meal...
"Th-thank you. I'm alive thanks to you."
The spirit immediately prostrated herself and pressed her head to the ground. Even so, her eyes kept moving around, looking for a way to escape somehow.
While grateful for being saved, these were also dragons. Having been tormented by the Water Dragon Silvern for hundreds of years, dragons were objects of caution for her.
Kalesian also knew that she was wary of them and was trying to escape somehow. Rather than soothing and comforting her as a non-enemy, he chose a more convenient method.
"Don't think about running away. A high-ranking spirit that has grown this much should have decent intelligence, so you know well how easy it is for a dragon to tear apart one spirit, right?"
Hic. She looked at Kalesian with an expression of swallowing her fear.
Even if a hatchling, a dragon was still a dragon. Moreover, the magical power he was subtly emanating was at a level that couldn't possibly be considered a hatchling.
Having created a thoroughly threatening atmosphere, Kalesian subtly glanced at Jin-woo.
He's dumping all the troublesome parts on me. Jin-woo sighed and crouched in front of the frightened spirit, meeting her gaze.
"Don't worry. I just have a few things I want to ask. If you answer well, I'll just let you go."
Though his tone was blunt, he was at least in human form. It was much more comfortable than the dragon behind him emanating terrifying magical power.
The spirit nodded several times with a slightly relieved expression.