Ch.104104. The New Continent (1)

I wonder how long I had been unconscious.

“……..”

Sophia, who had barely regained consciousness, groaned at the feeling of exhaustion that seemed to pound through her entire body…. when suddenly she felt something strange about the sensation against her skin.

The humid air that felt sticky. The mystical nature and magical energy so abundant it was hard to believe this was the “Desert of Death.”

And a touch of mystery that felt different from her “Nature’s Hut” where she had been staying.

What was going on? What situation had she found herself in?

As Sophia bombarded herself with questions, she finally realized that her eyes were closed and opened them….

“……..Huh?”

Faced with the alien landscape before her, Sophia naturally let out a dumbfounded response.

It was an incredibly dense tropical rainforest.

The ground was covered with all sorts of strange plants, powerful life energy could be felt everywhere, and faint animal cries echoed through the space.

A forest so thick with countless tall trees that barely any sunlight reached the ground below.

‘Where on earth is this……’

It was a place completely different in nature from any forest Sophia had experienced or visited before. A place far removed from her common sense.

Overwhelmed by the vast nature spread before her, Sophia momentarily fell silent……

“……..Sophia?”

A familiar voice of her companion reached her ears.

“G-Gregory! You’re safe!”

The figure that entered Sophia’s vision as she hurriedly turned her head was her companion Gregory.

He wore a robe that was not only bloodstained but visibly damaged, though fortunately he didn’t seem to be missing any body parts.

“You’re awake, Sophia! Are you hurting anywhere?”

“No. The Prophetess is fine. ……More importantly, where are we?”

Hearing Sophia’s question, Gregory briefly made an expression as if something was troubling him, seemingly considering what to say next….

“This might take… a bit of explaining.”

Then, Gregory began a detailed explanation, carefully covering every point.

According to Gregory, while frantically fleeing through the desert, they had been caught in the collapse of an underground ruin.

As it happened, there was a teleportation magic circle in the underground that still had enough magical energy to activate, and during the collapse, it malfunctioned, teleporting their entire group, including Sophia, to the middle of this jungle.

“……..”

Thanks to his explanation, Sophia could roughly understand the situation, but separately, she wanted to know their current location….

As if responding to her thoughts, Gregory, almost as if reading her mind, immediately continued his explanation.

“….So, where we’ve been teleported to seems to be the New Continent.”

“The… New Continent?”

Sophia, naturally, knew the name of this recently discovered continent.

Separate from what people collectively called the Old Continent—comprising the Eastern, Western, and Southern continents—was the continent recently discovered by an expedition from the human kingdom in the southern part of the Western Continent…. commonly referred to as the New Continent.

A continent that had developed its own civilization without interaction with the Old Continent, characterized by natural environments so harsh they bordered on cruel.

And this New Continent was known for having different environments in its southern and northern regions……

The southern part of the New Continent, in particular, was notorious for its vicious biosphere and dense tropical rainforests.

It was said to be even more dangerous than the terrible Great Forest of the Western Continent.

The fact that the creatures making up the ecosystem were “on average” intermediate-level was a clear indication of this jungle’s danger.

“Still, we’re fortunate it’s here at least……”

“Right. This is better than the alternatives.”

However, Sophia and Gregory could actually feel reassured by the abundant natural mystery in this jungle.

Intermediate druids like Sophia and Gregory could demonstrate higher levels of nature harmonization abilities in places rich with natural mystery and magical energy.

Of course, the richer the magical energy, the stronger the creatures living there, but the enhancement of nature harmonization far outpaced the strengthening of creatures.

In other words, they could navigate this place as if it were their home.

“Does the communication device… work?”

“Yes, fortunately it does. I’ve already contacted the Order.”

Not only was there a way to communicate with the outside world, but it also meant they weren’t completely without means of escape.

As Sophia was inwardly relieved, Gregory calmly continued.

“And even without the Order, we’re not without ways to leave here.”

“……Really?!”

“Yes. My mother…. that is, my druid master, is an incredibly powerful person. I can call her, and if I ask, she’ll come running immediately.”

“That’s a relief!”

Sophia smiled brightly upon hearing my words, and Gregory was about to smile back at her reassured expression when…. at that very moment.

-─KWAAANG!!!

With an explosive sound, in front of the druid group resting in the “Nature’s Hut”—

[─■■■■■■■■!!!]

A red monster covered entirely in blood-colored scales and leather. This native monster of the Southern New Continent revealed itself, dropping its camouflage.

※ ※ ※

The powerful beast that appeared before our eyes had an extraordinary appearance even at first glance.

Its entire body was densely covered with red scales that looked as sturdy as those of a Draconoid (dragon-kind), and upon closer inspection, its features resembled those of a Draconoid.

The distance between the creature and us was quite far, but… looking at it, one could feel not only its pulsating heart but also the waves of magical energy pouring out from that heart.

And decisively—its appearance was very familiar to me with my memories from a previous life.

‘……..A Tyrannosaurus?’

Tyrannosaurus Rex, or whatever classification it belonged to…. Theropod, was it?

Anyway, this magical beast, which resembled what we commonly think of as a “carnivorous dinosaur,” carried itself with the aura of an apex predator.

Its entire body exuded an intimidating presence sometimes called Fear.

The teeth occasionally visible between its open jaws were tinged with a dark red color toward the tips, and this one was no exception.

The beast’s forelegs were far from the seemingly useless ones of a Tyrannosaurus.

They were long enough to reach the ground with just a slight lowering of its head, and though thinner compared to its hind legs, its arms were packed with muscle.

And its combat power… I’d guess it ranked among the highest of intermediate magical beasts.

[■■■■■■■───!!!!]

As the Tyrannosaurus (tentative name) released its camouflage with a roar and revealed itself, it bit at the empty air.

Suddenly, the scenery in that empty space distorted… and then a strange magical beast resembling a mix between a chameleon and a lizard appeared.

[■■■…. ■■ ■■■■──!!]

With the Tyrannosaurus beast’s teeth piercing the chameleon beast’s neck, the chameleon beast struggled a few times before collapsing to the ground.

That chameleon beast must have also been of intermediate rank.

“”……..””

Therefore, the two of us who had been blankly watching the scene soon returned to the Nature’s Hut and came to the same conclusion.

“….If we go out without a plan, we’ll get caught up with creatures like that?”

“The Prophetess agrees. …..We would definitely get caught and die.”

In truth, if it were just that red Tyrannosaurus beast alone, even in our current battered state, we could handle it.

But according to my magical detection, there were about 50 life forms with similar levels of life energy to that beast in the vicinity.

That means in this area, there are at least 50 intermediate-level beasts that could potentially become “masters of another world” if they were in an outside dimension.

Adding the subpar intermediate and lower-level beasts, there could be an uncountable number of magical beasts swarming around.

Of course, we druids were confident in our ability to remain undetected through nature harmonization, but the problem was that not being detected didn’t guarantee survival.

In other words, we needed some kind of plan.

Since our lives were at stake, we couldn’t help but be cautious, so we decided to take our time and carefully consider our options to find an answer….

-Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!

Around that time, as the Tyrannosaurus beast finished its meal and left… our eyes fell on the carcass of the chameleon beast that it had left behind.

Of course, the internal organs rich in magical energy and nutrients had been completely devoured, and more than half of the flesh had become the Tyrannosaurus beast’s meal, so it didn’t seem to have much value.

Besides, the human-sized maggots that had started to swarm the carcass were something we didn’t want to deal with.

But at this point, it didn’t matter.

“……..Oh.”

“……..Ah.”

Looking at the abandoned carcass of the chameleon beast, a very good idea occurred to both of us.