Episode 70
Chapter 12 – Forest Defiled by Demons
The place they reached was a small cave.
Such a cave that you can find at most beasts.
“Looks like it’s inside.”
Undoubtedly.
Because this cave was implemented in the game as well. The familiarity is proof of that.
Upon entering, we were immediately greeted by an unusual door.
A door filled with crimson miasma.
If you’re an ordinary human, your skin will melt and become sore just by touching it, as if you’ve received a terrible burn.
“I told you not to go in this openly.”
The more dubious it is, the more it advertises here.
“draft. Shall I purify?”
While saying purification, for some reason, Alpine clenched her fist tightly and breathed in.
Why did you clench your fist after saying purification?
Anyway, good suggestion.
“open it.”
When I nodded, Alfine caught her breath and slammed the door with her fist.
Fain!
With a sound like a muddy bell being struck, the venom that was blocking it disperses and disappears.
“Did you hit the divine power to neutralize it? It’s a violent method, but the effect is good.”
“When in a hurry, this method is the best!”
“But did you really need to punch me?”
“… … Think about it!”
Well, punching was pointless.
Having a decent conversation like that, we went inside the door.
[Here!]
The little dryad shouted while tapping the crown of my head.
What made us come here?
Even if I didn’t say anything, the party who looked around the scene realized it at once.
“All dryads… … .”
“Why are there so many tree sprites in a place like this?”
The environment of the cave could not be called beautiful even in empty words.
Dry, mummy-like old trees without even leaves.
And many dryads trapped in that old tree.
“It’s literally a prison for the tree sprites.”
It’s like the guys who should have been protecting this forest are detained in a place like this.
《You have found the prison of the tree sprite.》
Reaching this point is the first condition for completely clearing Chapter 2.
One of the conditions to completely clear Chapter 2 would be met only after completing some kind of quest here.
I gestured to the still surprised party to be quiet for a while, and I spoke to them as the representative.
“Are you the ones who sent this kid?”
Communication will be possible.
Shortly after I spoke, I heard the voices of other dryads.
[A human wearing the coat of arms of the agreement… … .]
[I want to make a request to those who signed an agreement going back a long time.]
It’s an agreement… … . Unlike me who knew the meaning, the two tilted their heads as if asking what the hell they were talking about.
“convention?”
“Is there such a thing?”
“It’s not really a secret, but that’s what we’re talking about in our school uniforms.”
Embroidery on the academy’s uniform.
The Imperial emblem attached to the school uniform to prove that you are a student at the Imperial Academy.
A stylized figure of a wolf with wings.
“It’s a story about the history of the Empire, but hundreds of years ago, His Majesty the Emperor of the time devised a plan to maintain the richness of the Empire’s territory.”
It was mentioned in the game days, so I know it to some extent.
“Did you make a pact with the wood nymphs who are nestled in the forests of all the territories held by the empire?”
The purpose is to help the people of the empire enjoy the resources of the forest, and also seek the stability of the forest to maintain a fertile territory.
That is the pact with the tree nymphs.
“Promise to maintain the forest, and at the same time, humans are promised safety in the forest along with extraction of some resources.”
“Is that possible? Wood sprites must hate humans.”
“His Majesty the Emperor of the time said it was possible. … … I don’t know why.”
The secret was deliberately not said.
Because it is related to the secret of the imperial family that has not been recorded.
“Anyway, their attitude is proof of that.”
That’s why dryads, who would normally be reluctant to humans, sent the youngest individual as a lion to ask for help.
“A human wearing this will benefit from the Dryad’s Friendship as long as they don’t commit any violence.”
At least, it was to make sure they weren’t attacked first or that they were moved out of the forest if they lost their way.
“If you say the opposite, you will have an obligation to listen to the story when it is difficult.”
“I heard it first… … .”
“Because it is still too early for us to learn. Even if you can’t do it, you will have learned it in about a year and a half.”
I moderately said that I found out about it by reading related literature.
“Anyway, these guys are looking for help from us, and we’d better solve it if possible.”
Besides, it is necessary to solve the situation here.
[We hope for our liberation.]
[I want you to drive out the monsters in this forest.]
The dryads conveyed what they wanted to ask for.
“… … Liberation?”
“Looks like they’re trapped here.”
In keeping with their identity as tree elves, dryads possess and exist based on the greenest tree by default.
“The trees inhabited by the tree fairies are beautiful, and as a material, they are of the highest quality and are traded at high prices.”
But right now, the tree they were nesting in could not be called beautiful even with empty words.
I am tied to a withered old tree with a rotten smell.
“Is that some kind of seal?”
[The monsters who stole the forest imprisoned us.]
[I imprisoned them in a terrible tree and absorbed their power to reduce our number and distort the forest.]
The request I want to make right now is to be freed from it.
“That’s why I sent this little boy.”
[That little kin is a peculiar kin among us.]
[In exchange for being small, you don’t have to nest in a tree.]
“Hmm, that’s unusual.”
Come to think of it, was this little boy a mutant object among dryads?
[It’s special!]
“Yeah, that would be nice.”
I reconfirmed the request of the dryads while adjusting it appropriately for the proud little boy.
“I want you to get me out of there first.”
《Acquire a sub-quest.》
“The Tree Fairy’s Prison”
《Goal: Free the dryads to solve the transformation of the forest》
《Compensation 1: The field effect of Forest of Blood is alleviated.》
《Reward 2: Obtain ?????》
Yes, the quest has also appeared.
The flow is as expected.
In order to clear Chapter 2 of the main scenario, I had to find these tree fairies, and I had to do their favor.
There’s no one else to do this, so I’ll have to do it.
“Yes, there is an agreement, and we are just in trouble as we are trapped in this forest. I will help you.”
The solution is not difficult.
* * *
In order to free the dryads, it was necessary to destroy the medium that sealed them.
“Is there a way?”
“It’s not that simple. That’s a very easy way.”
Mango’s truth.
You can break it!
“Do you see the terrifying old tree in the center?”
An old tree that is the most gigantic yet somehow has a terrible energy concentrated in it.
It is the only tree where dryads are not imprisoned.
“That tree must be the core of the seal that holds the tree sprites.”
“You know me? Can you figure it out just by looking at it?”
“If you look closely, you can infer it.”
“indeed… … . A warlock’s eyes literally see the terrible truth.”
Is that prejudice?
In any case, this seal was not simply detaining the wood sprites.
It was playing the role of playing with the environment of the forest by absorbing and transforming power.
“That tree is the center of the seal.”
“Then I’ll burn it right away.”
“Oh, wait.”
I grabbed Celdia’s shoulder as she was eager to step out right away.
It’s dangerous to approach it prematurely.
“That’s a monster.”
The development is that when approaching, the monster guarding it opens its eyes and must defeat it.
“It must be quite strong since it sucked up a lot of the power of the dryads.”
“Then we should work together.”
“Are you all going to jump together?”
I asked, anticipating a coordinated attack, but I shook my head.
From noble mtl dot com
You don’t need a regular method.
“No, I alone am enough.”
I show one finger.
“I’ll solve it in just one shot.”
I declared that I would show you a trick.
* * *
A monster that oppresses the Dryads in the Forest of Blood.
《Blood-Stained Essentials》
In fact, it’s a bit tricky to attack if you fight with the straight attack method.
This is because it is stronger than most field boss level monsters in terms of classification.
It has more HP than normal monsters, but it’s more troublesome than that.
‘This guy has a continuous recovery pattern.’
First of all, according to the setting, he seals the dryads and continuously sucks mana so that they cannot recover.
Furthermore, it mutates it and uses it as its own power.
If it is not defeated within a certain number of turns, a recovery pattern is activated. Recover all the way and have full stamina!
I don’t want to fight all kinds of status ailments on top of that, if possible.
“draft? Then, if we fight head-on, can we win?”
“… … don’t support But it will be pretty exhausting.”
There were cases in which beginner players had difficulty or failed to attack afterward because they took it easy and used up all the supplies.
In fact, the majority of players say that the difficulty here is uniquely high.
If it’s the second round, you can crush it with specs, but at the point of the first round, you’ll have a hard time even if you level up steadily.
If it were me now, I wouldn’t suffer that much because it’s higher than the specs of the playable characters at the time of the game.
To be honest, the regular method is annoying.
Life shines more brightly when you use tricks and laziness.
“There is a trick to knocking that down. To be precise, that guy’s weakness.”
It was a trick discovered by chance rather than a formal strategy.
It wasn’t even patched.
It was implicitly tolerated because the game developers acknowledged that the difficulty level here was correct.
“First of all, prepare the maximum number of shots that can be hit from a safe distance.”
I took out some scrolls from my bag.
A scroll engraved with buff-type magic.
When I tear it open, the light of that magical power permeates me and Emily.
Magic attack power up.
Max magic damage for 1 time only.
Additional damage occurs only for magic attacks.
Etc… … .
The duration is short, but only those with strong effects are carefully selected and used.
“He is weak against lightning. Let’s deal with it with the most powerful lightning.”
“… … You get that, Xian? The monsters haven’t come out yet.”
As instructed, Emily gathers the mana I provide and prepares her own magic.
-Demon Origin casting.
– Dark Lightning Storm.
As the amount of magical power I can grant increases, the power of Emily’s unique magic will also increase.
I’m counting on it to be enough.
“But where the hell am I going to put this? The monsters haven’t even appeared yet, have they?”
“I have to get out now.”
That’s what I’m calling from now on.
I estimated the distance from the monster’s sleeping spot with a glance.
‘If it’s in this location, I’ll probably start at this point.’
Swoop.
Carefully, I put my foot out and take about half a step forward.
‘okay. There is no response yet~.’
Ignoring the gazes felt in the silence, I move forward cautiously.
One step forward and half a step back.
Sha-sha-sha-sha-sak!
Only the strange sound of dragging my feet resounded, and I continued to measure the distance using steps that could be described as grotesque.
“Poetry, Xi’an?”
“What ritual is that?”
The feeling of seeing a question mark above everyone’s head is probably not an illusion.
Sha-sha-sha-sha-sha-sak!
“good. A little further… … .”
“draft? Are you dancing or something?”
Emily asks in a timid tone if she can’t see it.
“It measures the distance he perceives.”
“recognize?”
“That type of monster opens its eyes when an intruder comes within a certain distance. In short, if he’s outside, he’ll never open his eyes.”
“Does that have anything to do with the dance?”
“What I’m trying to do is try to carefully set the halfway distance that he will recognize and not recognize.”
“I don’t understand.”
I guess so.
This is not an official specification of the game, but rather a phenomenon close to a bug.
There is one error in this combat event.
If the player’s character stumbles at a distance that is less than the distance at which the event occurred.
“done!”
When I shouted, I heard a sound of astonishment around me.
“A monster really came out.”
“But it doesn’t even budge?”
The old tree is cut open and a monster emerges from within.
A snake whose whole body is made of rotten wood.
But he doesn’t even move as if he can’t see us.
It appeared, but it was not recognized as a bug, so the battle did not occur.
“You can get rid of it now! Emily!”
“… … Noona has nothing to say about this.”
When he shouted, Emily muttered incredulously and fired the magic she had finished casting.
Quarreureung!
As the lightning of black magic strikes, the field of vision turns black for an instant.
A black charge of such power that I wondered if it might have collapsed the cave was thrust down.
The monster trembles and then sits down.
A hopeless finalist. sympathy… … I never do that.
“I don’t think we need an additional attack.”
As if the current blow alone was enough for a fatal wound, the monster’s movement gradually stopped and it collapsed into ashes.
《Acquire experience.》
《You have reached level 28》
《Acquire 5pts of level-up bonus skill points.》
It’s easy.
After this trick was known, even a fairly newbie could clear this sub-quest.