episode_0037

So, when did it start?

A faint but chilling sensation was felt from behind.

Should I say it was felt since we entered this forest?

There was no sign of presence, but a very faint flow of mana was felt.

At first, I thought it was just mana passing by, but when we moved, it moved too.

When we stopped, it stopped as well.

They were targeting us.

So, what should we do in this situation?

There are several ways.

One way is to inform our comrades about the current situation.

Another way is to handle it alone.

I didn’t want to unnecessarily worry others.

That’s why I decided to ask the gallery for advice.

“Hmm… They don’t seem to have any intention of attacking.”

It seemed like they were waiting for us to fight the monsters, as there were no signs of an attack yet.

They probably planned to ambush us when our formation was disrupted during the fight.

But just in case, I wrote a post on the gallery, stating that I would be ready to cast a barrier on our allies at any time.

[Author: RealTrash]

[Title: Even the color of Jujis changes when chameleons mate]

[Content: There are assassins hiding around, what should I do? The location is the forest]

Well, I didn’t expect a very productive answer.

If a good answer comes up here, I will follow it, but that doesn’t mean I blindly believe it.

I intended to follow the most rational judgment from my perspective.

With that in mind, I walked.

“By the way, I heard that the Illusion Flower is very useful, have you ever used it?”

The person I asked was, of course, Hartz.

Because he’s a holy knight.

He probably had touched many precious things.

But-

“Well, of course I’ve touched it a lot. I used to be a popular blacksmith back in the day, you know.”

An unexpected person replied.

I didn’t expect Dontas to answer.

Honestly, I was a little embarrassed, but I laughed it off.

There was no need to make the situation awkward by saying that I didn’t talk to Dontas here.

“Huh? What does a blacksmith have to do with the Illusion Flower? I don’t know.”

I didn’t know much about these materials.

Of course, if there were books with information about these materials, I would remember that information, but such books were rare.

Knowledge is power.

Medieval people tended not to share information with others unless necessary.

As I said that, Dontas started to tell his story with a smile.

“When I was famous in our village, beautiful ladies used to throw themselves at me…”

“Dwarf, stop talking nonsense and get to the point.”

When Violet gave him a hint, Dontas looked at her discontentedly, then saw the shining aura in her hand and started talking about the main topic.

“Well, you see. The Illusion Flower is not used as it is, but when it is refined for weapon forging, it’s really good. It becomes stronger and lighter. It also defends against mana well.”

“Oh… That sounds pretty good?”

“It’s not just pretty good… What should I say.”

As Dontas was thinking about what to say, Violet interjected.

“It’s damn good, just. I reinforced my dagger with Illusion Flower.”

What?

Am I the only one wandering around without a wand?

I felt a bit pathetic.

I also wanted to show off a bit.

With that thought in mind, I asked.

“How much does it cost? That’s what I’m most curious about.”

I was curious about the price.

Our rewards depend on how much Illusion Flower we collect.

He had said he would take off 10 percent of the selling price.

As she spoke, Violet seemed to hesitate for a moment before speaking.

“Wouldn’t one flower be worth around 80 gold these days? It’s still a valuable item.”

“…Is that so?”

“It is. It’s an item that can enhance equipment that is crucial to adventurers and knights.”

“Ah… I see.”

Honestly, I didn’t quite understand from my perspective.

It’s like people spending tens of millions of won to buy limited edition shoes.

With that thought in mind, I checked the gallery.

[Author: RealTrash]

[Title: Even the color of the chameleon changes when mating]

[Content: There are assassins lurking around, what should I do? The location is the forest.]

L: Ah, I came in with high expectations.

ㄴ: ?

ㄴ: What’s wrong with this guy?

ㄴ: Clearly trying to provoke, haha.

L: Why would you post that on the gallery, seriously, come up with a response quickly.

ㄴ: Seriously, why post that on the gallery?

L: This guy is really weird.

L: How expensive does something have to be to be attacked in the forest? Just get attacked, haha.

L: If it’s in the forest, burning the surrounding trees isn’t a bad idea.

ㄴ: Ooh, an environmental criminal.

ㄴ: Yeah, I’m not an environmentalist.

ㄴ: Seriously, whether it’s environmental destruction or not, am I an environmentalist?

L Perus: Hmm. Seems like you’re sincerely asking, so I’ll answer.

ㄴ Perus: If the other party doesn’t know that you’ve caught on, it’s better to strike first.

ㄴ: Mr. Know-It-All, you comment too much on provoking posts.

ㄴ Perus: I’m not a know-it-all. Anyway, first, carefully check the flow of mana and target the one with the largest amount of mana to increase your chances of winning the fight.

There were a lot of useless comments in the comment section.

Well, I knew that would happen.

Of course, there were also useful comments among them.

Perus, who always provided useful information, was like a tree wiki service for the gallery.

He was almost always present in the gallery, and if you asked something, he would explain it in great detail.

The accuracy was unquestionable.

Of course, the questions had to be related to adventures.

With that thought in mind, I felt the mana again.

Who among those above us has the most mana?

[Sensory Amplification]

Using Sensory Amplification, I felt the faint flow of mana more clearly.

Then, I began to see the mana levels of four people.

Three of them were average.

But one had a slightly larger amount of mana.

It was about half of mine.

He seemed like a mage, but also like a swordsman.

Whichever it was, they were a threatening presence, so I decided to finish it as quickly as possible.

[Brainwave]

[Explosive Thunder]

[Lightning]

[Lightning Chain]

[Gravity]

I simultaneously cast five spells and infused mana into them.

And a moment later.

The person with the largest amount of mana was struck by lightning and fell, lifeless, with broken bones.

And a moment later.

Thud.

The remaining three quickly descended from above.

“What’s going on!!!!”

“It seems like an ambush?”

Hartz was flustered, but Violet seemed unfazed.

Perhaps she had experienced such situations many times before.

With that thought, I left the rest to my comrades.

It would be a hassle if I tried to handle everything on my own.

Violet dodged the enemies’ sword strikes with smooth movements, slashing their vital points to incapacitate them in one go.

Dontas, if he was ignorant, charged forward boldly and swung his axe to split throats.

Hartz used clean swordsmanship to take down the enemies.

The key point seemed to be taking down the guy with a large amount of mana in one go.

The others didn’t seem to have much to offer.

“Heh, how did Eugene know! Even he didn’t know himself.”

“..I just had a feeling, you know?”

That was actually true.

It just felt like it.

That the enemies were up in the trees.

Should I say mana was automatically sensed?

With that thought in mind, he approached the fallen enemies.

Those who originally intended to plunder others must also be prepared to be plundered themselves.

“But hey, were we right to attack them? If you think about it, we were the ones who initiated the attack.”

“Oh, that’s not true. They clearly chased after us.”

In the city, if you secretly follow someone, a fight breaks out immediately, but in a life-and-death fantasy forest, secretly following someone is allowed?

With that thought, he approached the first fallen enemy and searched his belongings.

It was a bit disgusting, but he could endure it after opening his eyes and looking around.

How many were there who had fallen like this?

“Huh? Isn’t this a fantasy flower?”

“Yeah, that’s it.”

After searching the belongings of the four fallen individuals, three fantasy flowers were found.

Of course, only three came out of the belongings of the one who seemed to be the leader.

Perhaps he didn’t trust his subordinates.

But they were the ones who immediately stepped up when he fell.

Thinking it was ruthless, he delved deeper.

Caw-! Caw-!

The sound of crows echoed from all around, creating a gloomy atmosphere.

And then.

-Shiver…!

A chilling sound came from behind us.