00738 Meadow of Screams. ————————————————– ———————-=
– I have a question: Why do you keep following me?
– Hey, Prince Lung. Where are you going now?
– I didn’t ask first. Didn’t you save me?
– It’s not?
– Huh, really. I wonder if a man who is known as a barbarian king can do quite a few things. … Well, that’s it. I’m currently on my way to meet the Flower Witch.
– witch? Why witch?
– I plan to meet him and ask for help. like this… . Ah, you’re here just in time.
– where… . huh? What happened to this forest again?
– A forest with black fog… . It’s a mysterious place. Anyway, I think I’ve come to the right place.
– Mystery is a piece of cake… . Hey, are you really planning on going in here? Can’t we just tell that witch to come out?
– It’s definitely a good idea, but I think the likelihood is significantly low.
-What… . I can’t believe it. People live in this gloomy forest?
– Not an ordinary person, but a witch. Anyway, I’ll just go in now. I won’t stop you, but it would be better not to follow me from here.
– why?
– I heard that witches really reject outsiders and are very mischievous. No one can predict what will happen to her the moment she enters the forest.
– … … .
New Continent Atlanta (North City Secret Library), ‘Annals of the Victorian Dynasty – 18th Emperor (147~147)’, ‘Prince Lui and King Yaman, facing the forest with black fog.’
*
After the surprise incident in the grassland, we started marching at high speed. No, it would be safe to say that it was a movement rather than a march. While marching, you use the transport ability, and while marching, you use the transport ability. When I felt something was a little strange, I looked at Jegal Haesol without hesitation. Then, Zhuge Haesol continued to sigh (in fact, he was grumbling throughout the march), but activated his transport ability whenever necessary. Perhaps because it’s still 0 years old, there was a significant difference from what I remember, but it’s still something. We were able to escape the grassland at an incredible speed, and as a result, we achieved the feat of shortening a distance that would have taken 35 days to a whopping 20 days. Of course, we haven’t reached our destination yet, but if we march diligently, we can get there within today. Jegal Haesol, who provided such a huge time reduction, suddenly emerged as a star within the expedition team. His melody showed that he was anxious to learn transportation skills, and even Han So-young expressed deep interest.
After using our transportation capacity once more around lunchtime and marching diligently, we were finally able to arrive near our destination. A huge mountain range appeared before our eyes. Once you cross this mountain, your long journey comes to an end. Of course, if you go back, that’s an exception.
The mountain boasted a considerable size, but after climbing for a full two hours, I was able to easily climb over the peak. And I succeeded in getting over it completely in a similar amount of time. As I came down from the mountain and entered flat terrain, a vast field spread out before my eyes.
After about another hour of marching, I was finally able to stop. In the fields that extend endlessly to the south, there is a forest of enormous size.
Is it because it’s been a while? Although it was a place I had no connection with in the first place, seeing it up close like this made me feel awkward for no reason. Although it cannot be compared to the Steel Mountains, the forest boasted a considerable length, and was especially dense, so much so that visibility was severely restricted. And above all… .
“What happen?”
“Have you arrived?”
It was then. When the march stopped, the comrades walked forward one by one. Instead of speaking, I pointed toward the forest with my index finger. There was still some distance left, but it was enough to be seen with the naked eye. Also, I had no intention of going in today.
“performance… ?”
Someone muttered in a voice that seemed lost.
It was like that. Above all, the forest was covered in a cloud of faint, cloudy white smoke. What is unusual is that although smoke sometimes rises high into the sky, it eventually returns to the ground and never escapes to the outside. The peaceful flow centered around the forest was not only mysterious, but also seemed somehow wonderful.
“A forest with smoke flowing… . “Do you have any information?”
Han So-young asked in a quiet voice, as if she sensed something unusual. I tensed up and turned around. Because from now on, even the slightest mistake in speech will not be tolerated. If you just throw things out as they come out, there is a very high chance that you will be caught by Han So-young’s ‘extra senses’. So, I must tell the truth as much as possible and maintain the stance that I am also here for the first time.
With that thought in mind, I took out a record from my pocket. Of the two records I brought, it was one written as an afterword rather than an annals.
“Let me tell you this record first.”
Eventually, I started reading the records out loud. Of course, noble families were appropriately excluded.
『… The name of the place began to rise when historical records about the only deceased crown prince of the Victoria Dynasty were discovered. Since he was a king who had been on the throne for a very short period of time, there was no historical data available, which would be of interest to anyone interested in history.
… As expected, the controversy about Prince Destroyed, the Savage King, and the Flower Witch, which were only told in folk tales, arose greatly, and everyone wanted to determine whether it was true or not. Eventually, an investigation team under the supervision of the kingdom was formed and set off for the controversial location, and this was the first expedition.
… There were countless hardships before reaching their destination, but the expedition did not give in and eventually arrived at the forest with flowing smoke. However, the expedition team that entered the forest did not return even after several months, and the kingdom was late to understand the situation. In fact, the kingdom knew that some parts of the kingdom had secretly dispatched an expeditionary force. Nevertheless, the reason why he quietly tolerated it was because he was shocked by the lack of news from each expedition team that entered.
… As a result, many of the expedition members who entered the forest did not return except for one, and rumors spread that it was an ugly place that preyed on people. It is currently designated as a no-access area, but this is a warning to anyone who may enter this forest in the future.
As the only survivor who survived, if you want to survive, you should go into the forest exactly and come out. I dare to guess that the forest is just a warning of sorts. If you go further than that, things await you that cannot be compared to the experiences you experienced in the forest. Only the sneer of a spiteful young witch will greet you.
Warning, warning again. The inside of the forest is a place where the secrets we are curious about are buried, but it is also a Pandora’s box that should never be opened.』
After I finished reading, I took a moment to clear my throat. Then he slowly looked around and opened his mouth.
“Let’s camp around here today. “To be exact, right in front of the forest.”
Then three or four people raised their eyes and looked at the sky. A lot of time had passed, but the sun was still hanging high in the sky. I continued speaking as I touched the record and put it back.
“I have something to test.”
“A test?”
Ha-yeon Jeong asked back.
“yes. From what I heard from the boy who came back to life, he experienced some interesting things while passing through that forest.”
“Interesting?”
“Of course, by my standards. First of all, let’s summarize what we heard… . That smoke has the effect of completely limiting the user’s magical power, and is said to have an effect on the human body.”
“… yes?”
I was careful not to include anything I remembered, and only summarized and relayed what I had heard from the boy. And the colleagues who heard the explanation all responded in disbelief.
“I’m not sure about anything. So, it may be impossible to check everything, but I plan to visually check as much as I can. There is a saying that seeing is worth seeing.”
“If it’s confirmed… . no way?”
Jeong Ha-yeon opens her eyes and looks around Hwi-hwi. I smiled and shook my head.
“Do you really think they would use the same colleague as an experiment? All you have to do is prepare a little bit.”
Leaving behind the continued puzzled looks, I glanced at Han So-young.
Han So-young was quietly staring at the forest with expressionless eyes.
*
As for preparation, there was nothing special about it. I just told them to bring some small beast or monster of appropriate size that was wandering around.
My colleagues couldn’t erase their curiosity, but they still followed my words steadily. While waiting for him to return, I took out three or four ropes from the Chaos Mimic.
“Merchionary Lord! “I saved you!”
At that time, I heard a melodious, cheerful voice. Seonyul approached with a smile and carefully placed something on the floor. The colleagues who quickly gathered looked down and exclaimed. That’s because three small wild animals were clinging to each other and shivering.
Their heights were all different, but they were roughly the size of a woman’s forearm. Her small eyes, dainty pink paw pads, and soft white fur covered her wild animal look quite cute at first glance. I guess you could say she looks like she’s looking at a rabbit. Except it doesn’t have elongated ears.
“Kkiing… .”
As I take a step closer, I start to tremble and flinch. The largest animal is hugging the other two animals, so I think it might be a close-knit animal family.
“I got it pretty quickly.”
“I was lucky. While I was looking hard, I happened to see a family of animals eating the Osundosun fruit. So I quickly caught it.”
“Thank you for your hard work.”
“iced coffee. How pitiful. Originally, I was only going to catch the cub, but the remaining two chased after me, crying mournfully. So I had no choice… .”
… shit. It’s making me feel weird for no reason.
Eventually, I caught an animal that looked like a baby and tied it up with the rope I had prepared. Of course, the part to be pulled was left behind. Then the parent rabbits started a fuss, but they calmly tied them up one by one with a rope. The animal family, unable to move, whined and became extremely anxious.
“Oh, brother… .”
Ansol waved his hand with a sad expression on his face, but I walked on without hesitation. I felt a figure coming behind me.
After that, it was all smooth sailing. The closer the animal got to the forest, the more it began to protest, howling loudly and writhing its whole body, but what could it do when it was already tied up? As I grabbed them one by one and threw them away, the three animals soon disappeared into the smoke that flowed like water. Eventually, after carefully lowering the rope that led into the forest, I quietly looked back.
“Boo… .”
“hmm.”
And I felt a little interesting.
Some were staring at the forest with faces full of worry. In particular, in the case of Ansol, people openly look at him with resentment. On the other hand, some others had a markedly different reaction. Jegal Hae-sol and Han So-young are staring at the forest with curious eyes.
‘I guess now is not the time to worry about animals… .’
Smiling bitterly to myself, I ordered the camp to be set up.
Anyway, I’ve arrived this far without any major accidents, but at the same time, the worry that remains in a corner of my mind doesn’t go away. That’s because the full-scale attack hasn’t even begun yet.
It was not designated as a no-access area for no reason in the first round. Even though they said they finally conquered it, no one said it was a success. The forest we had to break through tomorrow was just such a place.
So far, I was confident that I would somehow succeed based on the user information I had… .
From now on, it is an unknown world that I do not know much about and cannot be confident about. Therefore, harmony was emphasized and combination was given priority. This is because I thought the answer was for everyone to cooperate and get through it rather than trying to do it alone.
To do that, from here on out, I need to tell and confirm what I know as indirectly as possible.
… Actually, I have some expectations.
If we put our heads together and think about it together, maybe someone will come up with a solution that I didn’t think of.
‘Is this such a weak idea?’
After thinking about it like that, I helped set up the campsite, finished eating, and went straight into my sleeping bag.
And, the next morning dawned.
—————————= Review of the work ——————– ——-=
Ah, I was surprised. I guess there was a delay after the update. I was quite embarrassed because I couldn’t see it right away. haha.
Well, I hope all readers have a nice day. 🙂
fantasy,
