Rioshuko (3)
Chapter 183
Ray, Luna, and Jetteu followed Olda’s guidance to the Forbidden Forest.
Since the terrain wasn’t suitable for horses, they had to enter the forest on foot.
As Ray stepped into the entrance of the Forbidden Forest, he furrowed his brow.
‘The air feels murky…’
More precisely, the mana in the air was tinged with an unusual color.
‘Could the principle be similar to divine power…?’
The corrupted mana influenced by transcendent beings. Divine power also fell under this category.
Fortunately, the corruption of the mana at the forest’s edge wasn’t severe, but it was evident that things would change as they ventured deeper.
Olda turned to Ray’s group with a hardened expression.
“It’s kind of unpleasant, isn’t it? It gets worse the deeper we go.”
“…”
When Ray remained silent, Olda felt awkward and moved forward.
As a guide, his skill at hiding his presence was decent; his footsteps were barely audible.
Since they were still in a relatively safe area, Olda continued the conversation while keeping an eye on Ray.
“The wizards’ abilities aren’t being questioned, but the forest must be approached with caution.”
Ray asked back.
“What exactly should we be cautious about?”
“Obviously, the demons. They don’t pick and choose their targets when attacking, though… Still, having you around makes me feel more secure.”
“What happened when you guided Hophe?”
“Hophe was a good employer. He was skilled.”
Guides lived and died based on the strength of their employers. Naturally, they preferred skilled mercenaries, even if their personalities weren’t great.
And Hophe, whose real name was Ulte, was not only skilled but also gentlemanly compared to other mercenaries.
“Still, every time I guided him, we went too deep, which was scary.”
While reminiscing about his days guiding Hophe, Olda slightly adjusted their direction.
Olda tensed up and spoke softly.
“Stay close behind me. Some of the demons here move in packs, so we need to be careful.”
“How do we avoid demons moving in packs?”
“When demons form packs, they establish activity zones. We need to carefully cross between these zones.”
These zones weren’t permanent and changed constantly.
Therefore, guides identified changes in these zones through the traces left by demons and shared information with each other.
This was why one couldn’t explore the Forbidden Forest with just a map, and why Olda didn’t rely much on maps.
“If we go straight, the distance will be shorter, but we’ll keep running into demon packs. Even if you’re strong, that’s probably… well…”
“Inefficient?”
“Yes! It might be inefficient…”
Given common sense, it wasn’t wrong, so Ray nodded.
Olda, now slightly excited, explained how the demon territories were divided while walking, then suddenly froze.
A low growling sound came from ahead. It was Wildboars.
“Huh…!”
There were two Wildboars together, seemingly straying from their pack and near the boundary of their territory.
Wildboars weren’t particularly formidable demons.
However, since Olda hadn’t seen Ray’s true abilities, he watched him anxiously.
While Olda was sweating nervously, the Wildboars charged towards Ray’s group.
“Groarrr!!”
“Hmm…”
With an annoyed sigh, Ray casually swung his staff.
Frost spread across the ground and transformed into an ice pillar upon reaching the Wildboars, shooting upwards.
Bang!
The Wildboars were lifted into the air by the ice pillar, caught by Luna’s wind spirit.
Jetteu immediately shot sword energy at the trapped Wildboars in mid-air.
The relatively weak Wildboar’s belly burst open.
“Aaaaack!!!”
“Groarrr!!!”
The Wildboar thrashed violently in the air, foaming at the mouth.
Having been reminded after a long time of the tenacity of demon life, Ray spun his staff.
Crackling frost pierced the Wildboar’s insides, blooming into red ice flowers.
The Wildboar soon collapsed, prompting Olda to exclaim in awe.
“Wow…!”
Olda had never seen a mercenary take down Wildboars so easily.
Muttering that wizards were indeed wizards, Olda continued leading the way.
As they walked through the forest, Ray occasionally asked questions about Ulte, which Olda answered reasonably well.
“If we head further east from here, remnants of an ancient city that once existed in the forest start to appear.”
“Is it all excavated?”
“Mostly. Things without value or too difficult to move were left behind…”
Ray nodded.
Certainly, this place would have drawn Ulte’s interest. Ray quickened his pace.
They encountered demons several more times along the way.
Monkey-like demons using long claws as weapons were quite threatening.
But no matter what kind of demon, none could inflict even a scratch on Ray’s group.
Olda, who had initially been nervous, now calmly watched as demons were bisected before continuing through the forest.
“Huff! Huff!”
Olda’s breathing became noticeably faster.
Though he still had plenty of stamina left, the density of corrupted mana was increasing sharply, making it harder to breathe.
The surrounding landscape also looked entirely different from the forest’s entrance.
Distorted trees entwined with each other, slowly drying out, caught the eye easily.
Ray, stroking his staff, asked.
“Is this the path that Hophe often used?”
“Yes, yes, it is. There are several rumors about unexcavated artifacts over here. After my contract ended, I occasionally heard that Hophe continued visiting this area.”
“How much further can you go?”
“Uh… Even if I push myself, I can only go another ten minutes or so. Please don’t ask me to go deeper; I’ll really die if I do.”
Olda smiled apologetically.
If he hadn’t been paid well, he would have turned back long ago for venturing so deep into the forest.
Ray quietly observed Olda before asking.
“Who sent you?”
“…What?”
“Who asked you to do this job?”
“Uh… I don’t know what you mean…”
“Who told you to guide us?”
“Ah! The Guild Master asked me. He said to properly guide such esteemed guests.”
Olda spoke the truth.
Of course, the Guild Master did add a few things.
You must personally escort Ray’s group into the Forbidden Forest. Guide them to the deepest part of the forest where Hophe used to visit.
Olda knew there was something fishy about the Guild Master’s request.
Perhaps during the time Olda was guiding Ray’s group into the forest,
someone might have already prepared to loot Ray’s belongings or ambush Ray’s group upon their return.
But that wasn’t Olda’s concern.
If mercenaries ambushed Ray’s group inside the forest, Olda himself would be in grave danger, but that was an absurd assumption.
Engaging in combat among demons swarming in the forest would result in certain death for both sides.
Anyway, Olda felt justified.
“Is there any problem?”
“The Guild Master asked you to guide us?”
“But… As far as I know, it was the wizard who first requested a guide who worked with Hophe…”
“Did the Guild Master say that?”
“Yes.”
“Is that true? And did the Guild Master plant those strange thoughts in your head?”
“My… head?”
Olda was bewildered, unable to comprehend Ray’s words.
After momentarily manifesting his powers to examine Olda’s body and shaking his head, Ray took a deep breath and turned away.
The presence of demons began to be felt nearby.
Having reached a considerably deep part of the Forbidden Forest, the demons were much fiercer than before.
The number of demons gradually appearing soon exceeded twenty.
Olda panicked and stepped backward.
“This… this shouldn’t happen…”
They had successfully avoided the roaming areas of demon packs to reach this point.
Yet, numerous demons of various kinds suddenly gathered around Ray’s group as if encircling them.
In a state of panic, Olda stumbled and was called by Ray in a low voice.
“Olda, if you don’t want to die, stay still and don’t move.”
“Ah… Yes, yes!”
Ultimately, Olda’s lifeline was tied to Ray.
Feeling a headache coming on, Olda crouched in place.
Boom!!
Among the dozens of demons, a creature over 10 meters long revealed itself.
It resembled an alligator covered in stone-like skin. Upon seeing it, Luna immediately launched a fireball.
The fireball, the size of a human fist, flew through the air—
KABOOM!!!!!!!!!!
—exploding in a fan-shaped pattern as soon as it landed on the demon’s head.
In an instant, part of the forest turned into a fiery inferno, and the alligator-like demon turned black and crumbled.
The overwhelming power of the magic shocked even Jetteu, who had been aiming his sword at the demons.
Luna blinked for a moment, then pretended to pant heavily as if she had exerted herself greatly.
Seeing her reaction as if she had used her ultimate ability, Jette finally understood the situation and redirected his sword toward the demons.
Moments later,
Dozens of demons surrounding them rushed in simultaneously.
Swirling his staff, Ray struck the ground with a thud.
Ice surged forth from the ground, obstructing the demons’ paths or knocking them into the air.
Jetteu swung his sword horizontally at the nearest Wildboar.
Sssaaak!!
The sharp sword energy nearly split the Wildboar in half.
The demon’s intestines poured out from the torn skin… then abruptly stopped.
“?!”
Jetteu shivered involuntarily.
The stopped intestines trembled and lunged toward Jetteu.
“What!!”
Koo-ga-jik!!!
The ground where Jetteu had been standing moments ago was deeply gouged.
Goo-ddeuk…
The shape of the Wildboar that had expelled its intestines began to grotesquely deform.
Jetteu stepped back, fired a sword energy at the Wildboar, and surveyed the surroundings.
Demons injured by magic were still charging in from all directions.
Their relentless charge was beyond comprehension, even for demons.
Naturally, Ray’s group formed a protective circle around Olda, who had almost no fighting capability.
While struggling to fend off the demons that wouldn’t die despite spilling their guts,
Olda experienced excruciating headaches.
Trying to endure the splitting headache somehow, Olda suppressed groans internally.
However, as time passed, the intensifying pain rapidly overwhelmed Olda’s sanity.
“Ahh… it hurts…!!”
The headache grew so severe that nausea accompanied the twisting sensation in his stomach.
Forgetting the intense battle currently unfolding, Olda tried to grab Ray from behind for help.
“Ma… Wizard, ple… help…!!”
Thung!
A shield appeared in the direction Olda had reached out toward Ray.
Above it, Luna enveloped Olda with a barrier.
Unable to understand the situation, Olda hammered the shield relentlessly, ignoring the burning sensation in his fists.
The headache was unbearable.
As Olda repeated in his mind that even being crushed by hammers and chisels wouldn’t cause this much pain, a cracking sound emerged from his forehead.
Then…
BOOM!!!!
An explosion occurred.
Ray’s shield was peeled off, and Olda’s shattered flesh splattered onto Luna’s barrier.
Unprepared for such a horrifying scenario, Jetteu’s eyes filled with bloodshot veins.
Luna’s barrier dissolved, and the flesh fragments attached to it fell to the ground.
“Perceptive, aren’t you?”
A human voice came from among the demons.
Ray slowly turned to face the speaker.
A gaunt man with abnormally bulging blue veins grinned at Ray.
“Even so, nothing changes.”
Koo-goo-goo-ng!
The ground shook, and a dark, smoky curtain began covering the area.
At the same time, the remaining demon pack, which had somewhat retained its original form, began distorting and emitting eerie screams.
“My name is Rifoll.”
After a brief introduction, the gaunt man raised a finger.
“I am the emissary of the Great One.”
Koo-ga-ga-ga-jik!!
As if giving a signal, the deformed demons charged at Ray’s group all at once.
Ray stared coldly at Rifoll beyond the demons.
“Jetteu.”
“At your command.”
“Throw me your sword when I give the signal.”
“Understood.”
