episode_0039

I felt wronged.

Strictly speaking, it was due to my skills, but luck was also on my side.

There was only one troll that appeared.

I heard that trolls usually come in groups of two or three.

So, I considered myself lucky.

But to be labeled as arrogant was beyond belief.

I was taken aback.

ㄴReallyPathetic: Why am I being called arrogant?

ㄴReallyPathetic: What’s with the unwarranted criticism?

ㄴ: Ugh

Feeling like there was no need for further conversation, I closed the gallery and pulled out Donatas from the tree.

Since I wasn’t particularly weak, I could say that it helped me a little.

“Oh, thank you. I almost ended up stuck in the tree.”

“No problem, we’re comrades after all.”

It’s only natural for comrades to help each other.

Thinking that, I spoke to Donatas, and Hartz came running towards me with a tearful expression.

[Haste]

I quickly increased my movement speed, escaping from Hartz’s jurisdiction.

I didn’t want to be embraced by a man, unlike with a woman.

Although I did like Hartz, at the moment, he was sweating profusely.

Even though I liked Hartz, I couldn’t stand the sweat smell of Western men.

There was nothing in this world to suppress the smell of sweat.

Smiling towards Hartz, I said, “Haha… I appreciate it, but I’m naturally a bit frail.”

I indirectly mentioned that Hartz’s body smelled of sweat.

In response, Hartz nodded understandingly and said to me, “Got it! Let’s move forward then.”

Fortunately, Hartz didn’t try to embrace me after that.

So, I was slightly grateful.

As a gesture of gratitude, I lightly used Frost on Hartz.

It probably felt like the air conditioning was on.

I had felt that way before.

With that in mind, we continued to move forward.

Perhaps the smell of troll blood from our bodies kept the hesitant creatures away from us.

It was fortunate that they didn’t approach us.

“It’s a relief that the weird ones aren’t coming out.”

“Yeah. It’s a hassle when the weird ones show up.”

Here, by “weird ones,” we meant the mutated monsters.

Ordinary monsters were annoying enough, but mutated monsters were even more irritating.

They had additional abilities on top of their existing ones, which was really annoying.

It was a relief that they didn’t come out.

How long had we been walking?

I was starting to get bored.

So, I turned on the gallery and checked out various posts.

I usually turned on the gallery once a day to gather useful information.

[Today’s Research Results…jpg][14]

[It’s so convenient to experiment with magic on the battlefield][8]

[Looks like the Kultoom cleanup is almost complete][16]

There were only three interesting posts today.

But they were all top-notch.

The people on the gallery always provided high-quality information.

Thinking that, I checked the posts.

Starting with the first post.

[Author: Cocoman]

[Title: Today’s Research Results…jpg]

[Content: (Picture) Completed the Chimera, isn’t it cute?]

L: Ah, damn, this is disgusting.

ㄴCocoman: Yeah, if you don’t like it, don’t look, lol

ㄴCocoman: And what’s so disgusting about it? It’s just cute

L: Finding this cute is a serious mental illness, right?

ㄴ: Yeah, seems like there’s a mental illness here

L: At least make it in human form before going to kill it, damn it

ㄴCocoman: Come and find me

ㄴCocoman: 1v1, okay?

ㄴ: F*ck

Kutlu: LOL, being born as a man and getting rejected by a necromancer

N: Confidence is key, haha

N: Mr. Confidence

N: But if he’s confident, he might win

CocoNanNae: That person is a bit ambiguous; muscles even in the brain

“Yikes.”

I involuntarily saw a horrifying meme.

So, it wasn’t in human form.

Ears where eyes should be, nose where ears should be, and toes where hair should be.

I didn’t want to describe it further.

It was that strange of a picture.

So, I left a comment too.

ReallyShittyGuy: Please keep this to yourself

Soon, a reply followed.

CocoNanNae: If he’s from Matap, he might see this often, right?

Hmm.

I’ve heard some stories about such experiments being done in Matap.

But it wasn’t confirmed. Seeing discussions like this made me think it might happen in that direction.

So, I decided not to leave a comment.

I didn’t want to accidentally reveal that I’m not from Matap.

‘Wait, if I don’t reply here, it means I’m admitting it.’

If I don’t reply here, it means I’m admitting that I’m not from Matap.

But what if I reply and it turns out to be a lie?

That would also be evidence that I’m not from Matap.

After contemplating, I decided to leave a comment.

It seemed like such things might happen in Matap.

But I didn’t confirm it outright.

ReallyShittyGuy: Heard it as a rumor

And with that, the conversation moved on.

I didn’t want to waste more mental energy on this.

I wonder how much time these people spend on the gallery.

They always seem to be posting on the gallery whenever I visit.

[Author: IllegalDie]

[Title: Experimenting with Magic on the Battlefield is so Convenient, Seriously]

[Content: (Picture) Since they’re all monsters, there’s no need to worry about civilian casualties, perfect for research, seriously]

L: Going viral, no no

L: Even if you say that, I’m not going to the battlefield

L: Those who can’t even go to the battlefield, don’t comment, it’s funny ㅋㅋ

N: Seriously, unbelievable

NIllegalDie: Seriously, lol

L: But are there really that many monsters on the battlefield? Then there will be a lot of by-products, seriously

NIllegalDie: We take what’s left, but the expensive stuff doesn’t come out

N: Expensive stuff doesn’t come out (from the perspective of someone with skills at the forefront of the battlefield)

From my gut feeling, this person seemed like a grand wizard.

I heard that there are wizards who dislike using fire magic among grand wizards, and the probability was high for that person.

From the posts they write on the gallery, it seemed like they had no intention of hiding.

Like, if they get caught, they’ll be popular – that kind of feeling.

With that in mind, I checked the last post.

As expected, the best information was in Mr. Perus’s post.

[Author: Perus]

[Title: Kurotoom seems to be getting organized]

[Content: (Picture) Luckily, many mercenaries came to help clean up the battlefield. Thank you, everyone.]

LNotTrustworthyIsASin: I also express my gratitude.

CocoNanNae: The nerds are just sleeping, haha

LNotTrustworthyIsASin: It’s a good day today, so let’s not argue.

CocoNanNae: Yeah, planning to attack chimeras in Kurotoom today, haha, defend well

N:?

N: Is this for real?

N: Oh, stop it, we barely defended, if they come, we’ll kill them

CocoNanNae: Try to kill them, haha

L: I can’t believe they’re announcing an attack in the middle of this, lol.

ㄴ: Is that crazy person for real?

ㄴ: That’s how necromancers operate, I guess…

ㄴ퇴폐적인: Don’t lump me in with those shady necromancers, dark wizards don’t stoop that low…

ㄴ: Suspicious dark wizard caught trying to sneak away from their hideout

ㄴ: If the dark wizard is startled, it’s hilarious lol

L코코낸내: Just so you know, this is serious, so everyone stay alert

ㄴ코코낸내: I’m seriously getting chills from that comment

Putting aside the necromancer causing chaos, for now, Kurotum seemed to have calmed down, which was a relief.

Although it seemed to be hanging by a thread, the fact that the situation had calmed down was crucial.

With that in mind, I moved forward.

By the way, Violet seemed like she might have been in Kurotum.

Seeing her staggering around, I had a feeling she had been there.

So I asked her right away.

“Violet, have you ever been to Kurotum?”

Surprised by my sudden question, Violet answered with a start.

“Huh!? Um, yeah.. I’ve been there before. Why?”

“Oh, I heard there are a lot of adventurers in Kurotum, so I thought about checking it out.”

After saying that, Violet sighed and spoke to me.

“That’s not a place for people to go. What are you trying to do by going there for no reason?”

“Maybe it’s good to make some connections there. As you know, I have very few connections.”

“We’re fine just the way we are. We have a paladin, a warrior, an assassin, what other connections do we need?”

“..I guess you’re right.”

I tried to ask about Kurotum while we were talking, but I failed miserably.

And so, we walked towards the center of the enchanted forest, unaware of what we would encounter there.