episode_0022

Foggy Forest, Day 51.

I quietly pondered.

While Volkan’s creation of the Mu-gu had strengthened the elves of Shinmok, if asked whether I had become stronger, the answer would be no.

I need proper combat skills.

Although my core has grown, I cannot rely solely on instincts and poison to fight forever.

Therefore.

[I want to learn how to fight. I want to borrow your knowledge.]

I asked the elves for help.

Tada!

Pababapak!

“I will teach you martial arts!”

“I will teach you how to shoot a bow!”

“I know how to anticipate the enemy’s movements!”

“Infiltrating the opponent’s movements!”

In less than a minute, the elves of Shinmok swarmed into my house.

First. Illian.

Second. Tinia.

Fifth. Messiah.

Seventh. Jermeon.

Shuk!

“I am a spirit-”

“That’s enough. The rest can go back.”

“Ugh… I’m late for this.”

I sent back the elves who tried to come in.

Their slumped shoulders as they turned back were worth watching.

“Shaela, I’ll practice and come back.”

…

Swoosh, swoosh~

I stroked the back of Shaela’s hand as a signal that I was leaving for training.

Soon, Shaela’s head nodded up and down.

“Go.”

“Yes!”

I headed to the backyard with the elves.

It might be embarrassing to teach martial arts to those born from me, but I need to become stronger.

Without hesitation, I asked what I was curious about.

“Can you break something with your fist?”

“It’s possible. By adding rotation to the fist and compressing the power at the moment it hits the target, pushing the center of gravity forward as if it were a wall, you can make the compressed power explode-”

First, I learned how to use my fist from Illian.

It sounded plausible, but I questioned whether it was really possible.

Nevertheless, it was too early to give up.

After watching Illian’s demonstration, I followed suit.

I had to keep trying until I succeeded.

Whoosh!

Crash!

Unexpectedly, my hair fluttered in the wind.

With a soft popping sound, the wind rushed forward.

“As expected of Lord Shinmok!”

“So cool!”

“I already saw it coming.”

“Truly a great person.”

“It worked…”

It was easier than I thought.

Illian is a part of me and my clone. I could feel how he swung, and I followed suit perfectly.

In fact, it wasn’t difficult at all.

“If you can infuse mana into it, you’ll see even greater effects.”

I swung my fist again.

I had already mastered mana on my own.

I surrounded my arm with blue mana.

Whack!

Boom!

A more powerful explosion.

If someone had been standing in front of me, they would have been blown away.

It all felt amazing.

The movement of the muscles.

The concentrated power.

The direction of the force and the rotating sensation.

Even the way to strike again.

This was also a sense. Something beyond the lost five senses.

Everything became clear.

Refreshing and cool.

“I’m not much, but next time I’ll teach you how to use my bow!”

“Sure.”

Next, I received the bow from Tinia.

It didn’t take long to understand and follow all four of their teachings.

Even if I failed, by possessing them, I could instantly mimic any movement.

“It’s fun.”

It was fun.

I spent the night mastering the movements taught by the elves and even creating new ones.

But the goal was Shaela’s fist.

It was a distant goal, but that’s why my motivation was strong.

I practiced the movements, cursing and rehearsing, reminding myself of my inadequacy compared to his fist.

It’s not over just because I followed once.

Ten times.

A hundred times.

A thousand times.

Ten thousand times.

For a while, I will focus only on what I have learned.

As much as I have practiced my skills, I will become a different person.

Only then can I reach it.

The realm of Shaela.

Let’s train all night.

*

Foggy Forest, 54th day.

Already two months have passed.

I slowly looked around the farm.

I see more than before.

Expansive farmland.

Several houses and people.

The village population is about 150 people.

40 of them are elves.

The rest are humans.

Plowing fields.

Picking rocks.

Pulling weeds.

Cutting trees.

Cooking food.

Guarding the village surroundings.

Making clothes and equipment.

There isn’t much difficult work.

In fact, most of it is rest.

So, I assign various tasks such as cooking, making clothes, gathering, and so on. Most of them are capable fighters, but compared to the monsters of the Foggy Forest, they are weaklings. There’s nothing else to do.

However.

“When do we have to live like this?!”

“Right!!”

There’s a problem.

Is it because there are too many people?

Humans have formed public opinion to escape the Foggy Forest together, and it quickly escalated into direct action.

“We are climbers. We came here to climb the Tower, not to sit and die here!”

“I have family waiting for me. No matter what, we have to escape!!”

“I’m tired of this kind of farming.”

“They must have a lot of food stored, right? They might be picking only the bad ones for us. Making us work and eat. Isn’t that like slavery?”

The will to leave is unanimous.

The united will brings strength and courage.

Strength and courage lead to discontent.

Discontent leads to the amplification of distorted perceptions.

In this way, about 90% of humans, nearly 100 people, gathered together.

They talk nonsense.

If it weren’t for help, they would have died long ago.

“No matter how much I think about it, it seems like this is not where we should be.”

A woman said to Illyan as a representative.

The woman’s name is Letza Magnetra.

One of the strong humans.

Although she is slightly stronger than the monsters, she seemed confident enough.

She is leaving here.

Thinking that if she joins forces with a few other strong individuals, they can escape the Foggy Forest.

Who knows what’s outside.

There’s no problem with that.

There was no restriction on leaving.

They were originally welcomed out of goodwill, not because they were a great help.

But the real problem is.

“Give us food. We intend to take as much as we worked for.”

They demanded food outright.

As if they were asking for a fair price.

Did they have to say it like that?

Couldn’t they have asked for help instead?

It was something that could have been accommodated.

Illyan tried to refute.

“It’s too one-sided… Couldn’t we have discussed this beforehand?”

“How can we trust you? You’ve just been making us work and eat!”

“…Haven’t we had more time to laze around or relax?”

“We just took a break because we were tired, not being lazy. I’m telling you this out of the kindness we shared. We’ve already worked enough. We’re going to leave here now, so prepare the food. Let’s end this relationship as well as possible.”

“That…”

Illyan’s face twisted.

It sounded like a threat that they would go to war if they didn’t listen.

With a large number of people, they appeared arrogant.

Pathetic to the extreme.

They’ve overstepped their bounds.

If they had spoken nicely, they could have helped, but their attitude ruined everything.

Of course, not all humans are like that.

“What are you talking about?!”

“You…”

Floren stepped forward in anger.

Several humans who seemed friendly with Floren were with him.

“You all have seen it too!! The elves here work harder than you and have taught you everything you need to do, so what was so uncomfortable? You are making a mistake right now!!!”

“Yes! No matter how much you want to leave, demanding like this is wrong.”

“Cheoja. Even I can see that this is wrong. Stop forcing strange excuses and apologize now.”

But their words were in the minority.

Magnet didn’t back down and responded to Floren’s words.

“…Are you really asking because you don’t know? Those who climb our tower have their own tasks. You must have come to the tower with a wish in mind, right?”

“Well….”

This time, a few people who seemed to be against Magnet stepped forward.

“Listen. My wife and daughter in my world are waiting for me. We are sorry to say this, but we cannot stay here any longer. Please understand our feelings.”

“I have a mission. We need more hands to save our fallen world. I will return for my homeland.”

“Huh… really….”

Floren couldn’t argue.

His face wrinkled as if frozen.

But there was no need to hold them back.

In fact, his mind felt clearer after making a proper decision on his stance towards humans.

Therefore, approaching the heated argument, Illian placed his hand on Floren’s shoulder.

Tap.

“Just let them go.”

“Lord Shin!!….”

“Lord Moo….”

Eyes looking at the savior.

They turned to look at Magnet, the woman.

“What, what is it. You again.”

“Go. And never come back. I have no more food to give.”

“Huh. Can’t you even give a little food?”

“You said it yourself. You get what you work for. You’ve already received everything, what more are you demanding?”

“You’re being too harsh!! We did all the work as instructed!”

Why is it.

Sheria seems to be overlapping.

And having such a conversation about food.

It’s getting annoying.

With a sigh, he replied.

“Go. If you’re not planning to plunder through fighting, it’s better to leave now. There’s a limit to how much we can endure.”

Thud!

Suddenly, all the elves gathered.

They had surprisingly harsh expressions on their faces, which had been friendly until now.

“Ugh….”

It’s hard to ignore.

They must have seen how strong these elves are when they saved them.

I find this side more comfortable.

If they make a mistake, bury them all in the ground.

Kindness based on humanity ends here. If they cross the line, they’ll become monsters.

Did they sense that?

“Heung! Fine. We can get enough food on our own anyway. We’ll leave, so you guys live well here!”

“Kum… Thank you for your hard work. We’ll be leaving now.”

Magnet turned around without saying anything.

The man who had opposed her gathered people, saying, “Comrades, gather here!” and soon, most of the humans finished their preparations and disappeared into the Misty Forest.

Only 15 humans remained.

It was unnecessary kindness.

Only an uncomfortable feeling remained.

A farewell with nothing gained.

Therefore, he said to Illian and Floren.

“From now on, we won’t accept humans without a reason. Even the ones here are overwhelming.”

“Yes… I understand.”

“I’m sorry… I should have paid more attention.”

“Don’t be disheartened. It’s not your fault. They were never meant to be here in the first place. Or maybe I was too lenient. So from now on, I’ll do as I please.”

“What?”

Shururur.

Kugugugu!!

The ground shook.

After gathering enough power for 50 days.

The main body became the size of 40 beans.

With the power I have now.

Kugwagwagwagwag!!!!

A giant stem rose from the outside.

Radius of 200m.

A massive trunk appeared, entwining and blocking all paths, forming a circular barrier, and the trees and obstacles between the trunks became pillars. With this, humans cannot come and go as they please.

“Amazing….”

“It’s nothing. Since the elves can come and go as they please, it’s just a suitable measure.”

“I am in awe of the power and wisdom of the Divine Tree.”

“Illian, convey to everyone what just happened and my instructions. Only elves can come and go as they please, and humans, including you, Floren, cannot enter without my permission.”

“Understood!!”

Illian replied loudly and approached the group of elves gathered at the farm.

Now, humans are not welcome.

Unless they are trustworthy individuals or not going to be raised like slaves.

There was no benefit in the first place.

As long as we get along well with each other, that’s enough.

That was sufficient.

But before that….

“Floren.”

“Yes.”

“How about you? You must have come to the tower with a goal in mind, right?”

This incident made me realize one thing.

Those abandoned in the junkyard each have their own circumstances and goals.

Floren must be no different.

“I, I….”

“Don’t worry about it. I don’t hold any grudges against humans who leave this place. I never expected anything from the start. But you’re different. Since we’ve spent time together, if you need to leave this place for your goal, I can help you a little.”

Floren hesitated at my words.

As expected.

He also has a goal in mind.

So he must have come to the tower. It wouldn’t hurt to let him go now.

But.

Sigh.

Floren shook off and smiled as he spoke.

“Do you know? The worst kind of person is the one who stirs up false hope.”

“Am I that bad?”

“You are!! I really wanted to leave just now. But… I already know. The tower is a cruel place. It holds the world hostage, incites climbing and ravages people. It deceives them by saying they can escape if they climb. It always stirs up false hope.”

“…Sorry. I didn’t mean to stir up hope.”

“Oh, no!! I’m not asking for an apology. I’m letting you know that you were trying to help without knowing anything about this ridiculous hope! Can you handle it?”

“No, I can’t.”

“Ugh, you’re too honest with your answers.”

“Did you want me to lie?”

“Uh… No. Oh no!! I messed up.”

“In short, you’re saying not to help because it’s dangerous.”

“I do want help honestly….”

“……”

“Well~ It’s not the right time yet. I know my place well. If I become as strong as Sir Muchan, maybe I’ll reconsider. If that happens, I’ll think about it again.”

“In the end, you’re saying you’ll stay here. You really like to talk a lot.”

“…Ugh!! Can’t you just let it go! I was trying to lighten the mood!!”

“Next time, I’ll let it go.”

“Ugh!!….”

Floren feigned anger at the discomfort.

He accepted it and turned away.

“Your child seems worried about you. How about going to see her now.”

“Huh? Oh!! Lian!!~”

“Sister.”

A high elf who lives with Floren.

He embraced Floren with a worried expression.

He had grown much larger than Floren in how much time had passed.

By the way, false hope….

I once thought that way too.

A future of working all your life and then dying.

That you can’t escape from it.

No matter what you do, it’s all false hope.

But.

Humans are beings who cling to that false hope, risking their lives and committing evil. It seemed plausible, but they couldn’t completely shake it off.

If possible….

Ah.

Suddenly, I realize.

I too had dreamt of false hope just now.

What made me think I could destroy the tower.

Shivering.

I turn my head and look back.

Let’s go for a walk, Shaela.

Let’s live in the present.

With that thought in mind, she took a step forward.

…

Something was wrong.

It didn’t take a week to realize it.

They had left the elf village, defeated the monster together, solved the food problem, and moved on through the Misty Forest.

Everything seemed to be going smoothly.

Crack!!

“Clang!!…”

Swish!!

“……!!!?”

Two figures appeared.

They didn’t engage in any conversation and mercilessly slaughtered the man with overwhelming force.

Resistance was futile.

Attacks were ineffective.

Mangled bodies.

Flying heads.

With a blink of an eye, blood was spraying all around.

There was no use in running away.

Getting lost and wandering in this vast Misty Forest was also death.

It was just a massacre.

Trembling in fear, she cowered.

Her legs trembled uncontrollably.

She wanted to go back.

To where everyone was waiting for her.

She believed that if she left this place, new hope would be waiting for her.

“Ugh……”

Helpless, Magnette was captured by unknown slave hunters.

And so, as she had hoped, they escaped from the Misty Forest.