Chapter 29 : Pride

“How fascinating.”

Unexpectedly, the first one to speak was Amitel.

Was it the dog instinct engraved in her genes?

She was looking around, surveying the surroundings.

‘We’ve barely walked a few steps.’

As she said, this place was certainly peculiar.

It seemed unbelievable that the city was only a 10-minute walk from here.

Countless leaves greedily blocked the sunlight, darkening the area.

Fortunately, perhaps because it was just the entrance, there were no monsters nearby, but if you listened closely, you could occasionally hear

strange cries.

Teperi was right beside me, holding onto my arm.

I wanted to shake her off out of annoyance.

“Hey, can you back off a little?”

[Ah, sorry…]

At my sharp words, she reluctantly moved away from me.

What’s she going to do if she’s already scared?

‘It really is a peculiar forest.’

I didn’t know exactly what the Demon Realm was like, but excluding that place, this was probably the most alien location on the continent.

A forest that just died.

If I had to define the Black Forest in one phrase, that would be it.

The coniferous trees densely surrounding the area stood stiffly.

The fallen leaves on the ground weren’t decaying or moldy; they retained a faint moisture as if they had just fallen.

This entire place was a preserved forest.

[It’s quite amazing that life exists even in a place like this. The air itself is incredibly strange.]

Teperi, true to her countryside roots, was sensitive to the change in the air.

Instead of the usual scent of trees found in a typical forest, a faint smell of blood wafted through.

Luckily, it wasn’t strong enough to be bothersome.

Perhaps due to the high concentration of mana, breathing felt strange.

“But it’s a suitable place for f*cking bastards to live.”

It might be hard for humans to live here, but it was a good environment for monsters.

Fcking bastards belong in fcking places, after all.

A moment later, I remembered this was where Professor Aram had lived, but I didn’t bother correcting myself.

A professor who gives out assignments like this is a f*cking bastard.

“Where should we go?”

“Eastward.”

In a typical dungeon, you could just forge straight ahead without thinking, and you’d find the way.

Here, we had to find the path ourselves.

No matter how I thought about it, the difficulty was far too high for newly enrolled students.

I definitely had to say something when I got back.

It’s a huge relief there are no bugs.

Due to the high mana concentration and overwhelming killing intent, this forest has relatively few insects for its type.

I really don’t understand how the ecosystem is maintained.

“It’s a river.”

Amitel, walking at the front, discovered a flowing river.

It was the first obstacle we encountered since entering the Black Forest.

Although it was spring now, the area around the river felt a bit chilly, likely due to the dampness.

The river wasn’t that large.

In narrower spots, it could easily be called a stream.

However, the sound of the flowing water was stronger than a mere trickle.

The water wasn’t very clear, but plants were growing nearby.

[It should be okay to wash our feet, right?]

Everywhere we stepped was filled with decaying leaves and mud.

No matter how careful we tried to be, mud inevitably seeped into our shoes.

Thanks to that, I wasn’t feeling great either.

I didn’t have any particular attachment to my shoes, but stepping on sticky ground made my mood sticky too.

“No.”

Of course, it only looked like an ordinary river on the surface.

Even if it seemed like normal river water, most things here were inherently poisonous.

“Look over there.”

Where I pointed, a cluster of crimson flowers bloomed.

They were colorful flowers with four thick petals.

Yellowish fluid seeped here and there from the green stems, and sharp protrusions, like teeth, lined the area around the pistil.

“That’s Serajin.”

Corpse Flower Serajin.

It’s a flower that grows by consuming the corpse poison emitted by dead bodies.

The fact that so many of these flowers were blooming meant there was a continuous supply of corpses nearby.

Amitel knelt by the riverbank and sniffed the air.

“There’s definitely poison in the water.”

It would have been embarrassing if my guess was wrong, but fortunately, the river water was poisonous.

If it had been ordinary river water, that would have been a huge problem, phew.

“Did you figure it out by smell?”

“Yes… If you’re going to say something weird again…”

“Absolutely not.”

Tch, after teasing her a few times, she’s gotten sharper.

No fun.

Teperi looked around and spotted something.

[Then, what’s that bird?]

“A bird?”

[It looks like it’s drinking the river water.]

Looking where she pointed, there really was a black bird perched by the riverbank, sipping the water.

The bird, with its very vibrant stripes, just stared blankly at us even though we were watching it; it didn’t fly away.

A poisonous river… a bird drinking river water… a poison-drinking bird?

[Ugh, my head suddenly hurts.]

“That’s probably a Persimmon Keeper Bird. The headache is because of the pheromones it emits.”

I remembered seeing it in a book.

It stays still even when people approach, but if you get within a certain distance, it notices with uncanny speed and flees.

Because of this, many collectors desperately wanted to catch one.

Though none had ever been caught.

All the hunters who attempted to hunt it unanimously described it as a real pain, but equally beautiful.

“Let’s just cross the river.”

Crossing the river itself wasn’t particularly difficult.

Maybe for other people, but our party has many skilled individuals.

With a gesture from me, Teperi’s body floated gently upwards.

There was an old game like that.

A game where dinosaurs shot bubbles; Teperi looked just like one of those dinosaurs riding in a bubble.

Actually, ‘gently’ wasn’t quite the right word.

Most magic used directly on a person’s body is highly unstable.

This is why even high-level mages are reluctant to use teleportation.

If the spatial coordinates are off even slightly, the body could be torn to pieces.

Come to think of it, most high-level enhancement magic was either Dark Magic or belonged to knights.

Those who held their lives cheaply, or those who could withstand the backlash.

Regardless, Teperi arrived safely on the other side of the river.

“Next is your turn.”

I deliberately pretended to lift Amitel’s body, then put her down.

I made a show of her being too heavy, and the look on her face became quite amusing.

“I’ll just go myself.”

Amitel sighed deeply and took several steps back.

She suddenly crouched down, then used a running start to explosively launch herself.

Soaring into the air in an instant, she landed lightly on the opposite bank.

Even though the river was narrow, it had to be well over 30 meters wide, yet she cleared it in a single leap.

It was a feat most knights couldn’t perform.

Monster.

Muttering inwardly, I prepared to cross last.

However, the moment my foot stepped onto the air, something shot up from the murky river water.

Instantly, yellow eyes flashed amidst the river water, and it lunged towards me in a split second.

The river water surged like a volcano, drenching the surroundings.

Trees directly hit by the river water sizzled and eroded.

The creature that shot out like lightning was a crocodile.

A massive crocodile with dark blue-green hide.

Splashing onto the land, the crocodile opened its jaws wide and approached me.

[Be careful!]

Teperi cried out in shock.

I was just as surprised.

To think something this large would burst out of the river that had been calm just moments before.

It was extremely fortunate that I had used magic to move.

A misstep could have resulted in my body being torn in half.

My shields weren’t always active, after all.

Vulnerability to ambushes was a drawback, if any.

“F*ck, hurts my pride.”

Harsh words escaped my lips, thinking no one could hear.

Although I was caught off guard, it was a crisis that could have led to serious injury.

The massive crocodile slowly approached me, unaware of its own situation.

Or perhaps it knew its place all too well?

Ordinary humans were mere prey in the Black Forest, and this beast was easily over 10 meters long, a tyrant of the river.

Of course, that only applied to ordinary humans.

The crocodile was instantly caught by three strands of mana thread extending from me, struggling pitifully in mid-air.

No matter how much it thrashed, the mana threads neither broke nor loosened.

It looked like a deer caught in barbed wire.

As I clenched my fist and applied force, the crocodile instantly became croc/odile, split in two.

It was the end for the crocodile that had lived its entire life as a predator.

“See? No big deal.”

I waved my hand towards the other side of the river.

Teperi let out a huge sigh of relief, while Amitel showed no reaction, as if she had expected it.

This much… didn’t make me look too foolish, right?

Just like Teperi, I floated across to the other side, carried by mana.

After what had just happened, I couldn’t help but be sensitive about safety, so my crossing speed was noticeably slow, even to others.

“Slow. Is it because you’re heavy?”

Amitel looked at me with an expression that suggested I was being foolish.

The noble ducal lady, utterly drained, silently raised her middle finger.