## Chapter 78 – 78. To the Southwest (2)
#78. To the Southwest (2)
Tring-
[You have defeated the Owlbear]
[First Kill Reward: 100 Coins]
Thump- The massive body collapsed, sending dust swirling into the air.
With a light surge of mana, I blew away the dust and dismissed the screen that had appeared before my eyes.
“Hyun-woo, you did a great job.”
After roughly gathering the mana stones and climbing down from the owlbear’s corpse, Iris rushed over and wiped my face with a handkerchief.
I wasn’t particularly sweaty, but I felt good, so I decided to quietly enjoy Iris’s ministrations.
[Remaining Match Time: 42:15:41]
It had been three hours since we started traversing the Great Forest towards the southwest. The unchanging scenery and occasional appearances of magical beasts had long since downgraded my opinion of the Great Forest from a famous tourist spot to a survival documentary filming location.
Commonly cute animals like rabbits and squirrels did pop out, but most of the creatures we encountered were magical beasts like the owlbear we had just fought.
Their ranks were mostly D-grade, with the occasional C-grade. The more we fought, the more I wondered what kind of people the elves who lived in these forests were.
Were they some kind of warrior race?
Iris provided the answer.
“The capital’s walls have a barrier that repels magical beasts. Other towns and villages have similar things.”
Well, even if they were a warrior race, they wouldn’t be able to live long if magical beasts were constantly attacking.
Even if they could handle it, people would eventually get tired of that kind of life and desert, making it impossible to maintain the country.
“By the way, Hyun-woo, you’re really amazing.”
“What is?”
“Reaching the 4th Circle! Throughout the entire magic world, there’s no one who has reached that level as quickly as you!”
I was a little embarrassed by the sudden shower of praise, but I didn’t feel bad. I guess this is why men smile like idiots when pretty girls praise them.
Even though we were walking through the middle of a forest teeming with magical beasts, just having Iris by my side made me feel like I was on a famous date course.
Of course, our pace wasn’t as leisurely as a normal couple taking a stroll.
“Shall we go again?”
“Yes.”
I held Iris in my arms again, cast ‘Haste’ on us, and ran through the forest. I left the direction entirely up to Iris, while I used mana detection to run in a direction that would avoid encountering magical beasts as much as possible.
It wasn’t easy to run with so many trees packed together, but we had no choice if we wanted to reach Wavele within the remaining two days.
Tree roots and rocks jutted out, perfect for tripping over, and branches were at just the right height to smack into.
Compared to running through dungeons, it felt like an extreme obstacle course, but I was getting used to it as time went on.
The important thing was breathing.
Instead of mindlessly using mana to replenish stamina, I had to learn to control it so that no part of my body, starting from the most important heart, was missed.
Of course, it was easier said than done. It wasn’t easy at first.
Especially since I had to juggle Iris’s magic lessons and directions in both ears, which required more concentration than usual.
Whenever that happened, I longed for the martial arts that Chun Yeo-hwa used when running in the forest.
‘I should ask her to teach me when I get back.’
Was that called light footwork?
Learning proper martial arts on Earth was as difficult as learning magic. Due to the issue of technology leaks, no matter how much money you had, you couldn’t learn martial arts unless you were recognized as a member of the sect.
Even if you did learn, it was mostly mediocre martial arts.
“Um, Hyun-woo? Are you listening?”
“Huh? Oh, sorry.”
I had been lost in thought for a moment and hadn’t heard Iris’s voice. Iris shook her head at my short apology.
“It’s okay. You must be tired from running with me in your arms.”
“I told you, it’s nothing.”
She had said that several times already.
Each time, I told her that it felt like I wasn’t carrying anything at all, let alone something heavy, but it seemed to bother her.
“So? What were you saying earlier?”
Iris pointed slightly to the right of the direction we were running.
“There are people 200 meters ahead.”
“People?”
“Yes, and they’re elves.”
Mana detection wasn’t omnipotent.
It was literally a magic that detected mana, so detecting humans who hadn’t awakened mana and plants and animals with only a faint amount of mana in their bodies required a high degree of concentration.
Of course, that didn’t apply to Iris, who controlled spirits.
“If they’re elves, are they like that patrol we met yesterday?”
“No, rangers usually operate at night. Judging by the bow on their back, they’re probably villagers from a nearby village who came out hunting.”
Surprisingly, the elves in this world ate meat.
When I heard that Iris was a vegetarian, I thought that all elves were vegetarians like in fantasy novels, but she told me that was a characteristic unique to high elves.
“…There are humans with them too. Quite a few of them.”
At her slightly trembling voice, I immediately changed direction.
I thought I knew what she wanted to say.
As we got closer, I could also feel faint signs of life. The sounds of someone shouting, screams, and weapons clashing.
“Did you cast an Invisibility spell?”
“Of course.”
We picked up speed, following the densely packed trees. I drew my sword in case of an unknown situation.
-…Catch…!
-You…bitch…?!
-…!!
The sounds grew louder and louder.
Without a moment’s hesitation, I pushed through the bushes, and a plausible clearing and an absurd scene came into view.
Five rough-looking human men and two women who appeared to be elves were facing off, each holding their weapons in their hands.
No, it was hard to even call it a confrontation. It was obvious that the elves were on the defensive. One of the elf women had an arrow stuck in her shoulder, and the other looked young.
In fact, the only one on the elf side who could fight was the woman with the platinum blonde hair who resembled Iris.
“What?!”
“Humans in the Great Forest at this time…?”
“…They don’t seem to be from our side.”
In contrast, the humans looked fine. The elves were only armed with a flimsy wooden bow and a dagger, while the humans had proper equipment.
The reactions of the two sides were different when they saw us suddenly appear.
The humans looked flustered, while the elves looked almost desperate. They seemed to think we were on the same side as those humans.
‘That’s too much. I know I cast Invisibility, but to be treated like I’m on the same side as those back-alley thugs…’
I couldn’t help but sigh.
“Hyun-woo…”
Iris’s voice was trembling.
Of course, judging the situation by appearances was very naive and discriminatory, but… in this situation, anyone would say that those humans were the cause of all the problems.
I carefully lowered Iris from my arms, and she immediately ran towards the elf women. Of course, the two were wary of Iris, but they seemed relieved when they saw Iris, whose ears had grown long again after partially releasing the Invisibility spell, and entrusted themselves to her.
‘…Seeing that arrow suddenly makes me feel sick.’
It felt like the memories of being hit by arrows in the dungeon were coming back to life.
“Hey!”
While I was briefly lost in memories that I didn’t want to remember, I heard a thick voice that sounded like someone who ate cigarettes for a living.
The owner of the voice was the most decent-looking man among the humans, with armor and a faint amount of mana, unlike the others.
To be exact, he had even less mana than the dark elf woman I met yesterday. I could see why I hadn’t detected it with mana detection.
“What.”
“…Don’t you know that having short words also shortens your lifespan?”
The man facing me sent a short hand signal, and the other men slowly began to move as if to surround me.
“I’ll make you a proposal.”
Do people make proposals with a knife to someone’s throat these days?
“If you want to live, get out of here right now. But leave that woman there.”
A sly smile appeared on the faces of the man and the other men. I finally understood what was going on.
“It’s been hard to find even one elf, but we’re lucky today. Three elves with that kind of beauty.”
When their gazes turned to Iris, I felt an indescribable sense of disgust that made me want to vomit.
“Boss, do we really need to offer all three? Can’t we keep one for ourselves-”
It was a fleeting moment.
The moment the man tried to say something that shouldn’t be said, his neck hit the ground.
One second passed, two seconds passed, three seconds passed.
Only then did the men realize that one of their comrades had died.
Their comrade’s neck was rolling on the ground, but no one moved first. No, to be precise, they couldn’t move because they knew that they would suffer the same fate if they did.
In particular, Hans, their leader, was sweating profusely, and his hands and feet were trembling.
He was a skilled warrior who had reached the lower ranks of Aura users, despite being just a mercenary.
Nevertheless, he hadn’t noticed until a flash of light appeared before his eyes, his comrade’s neck flew off, and a fountain of blood erupted. That meant that he was facing someone who far surpassed him in skill.
‘Damn it…!!!’
Why hadn’t he noticed?
A human wandering around the Great Forest at this time couldn’t be an ordinary person.
Normally, he would have recognized that and been as careful as possible with his words and actions. That was the secret to a mercenary’s longevity in this harsh world.
But he had spent more than a week in the Great Forest trying to catch elves, being careful not to be detected by the rangers of Pelledia, surviving attacks from magical beasts, and surviving in the harsh wilderness.
That was the problem.
He had been blinded by the thought of finally catching an elf and hadn’t been able to see the situation calmly.
‘…If this goes on, we’ll be annihilated.’
Hans wasn’t optimistic enough to think that he could survive after provoking someone with that kind of skill.
Rather, he was extremely realistic, pessimistic, and calculating.
“…If you spare my life, I’ll give you all my wealth…!!”
“Too late.”
────Again. Another flash of light.
And the smell of blood, so thick it pierced my nose.
I looked around.
The bodies of my comrades with their heads cut off were scattered around.
And my right arm was gone too.
“…Kuaaaaaack!!!”
Faced with the extreme pain of having his arm cut off, Hans rolled around on the dirt floor like a child, writhing in agony. He desperately pressed on the wound with his remaining hand to stop the bleeding, but blood continued to flow out.
That level of hemostasis was woefully inadequate.
“Drink.”
Hans felt a cold, bitter liquid flowing down his throat. Instinctively, Hans realized that it was a potion and moved his Adam’s apple without much resistance.
But it didn’t take long for him to realize that it was a misjudgment.
Swish-
“Keuak?!”
The blade that was swung in the blink of an eye passed over Hans’s ankle, cutting it shallowly. He had cut only the tendons, so unless he received treatment from a high-ranking priest, he would never be able to walk normally again.
Kang Hyun-woo stared at Hans with cold eyes and then turned to Iris without a word.
At that moment, Hans’s mind was filled with images of what would happen to him in the future.
This was the Great Forest, also known as the Demon Realm.
In particular, this place was famous for frequent appearances of magical beasts. There were quite a few magical beasts that he could barely handle with the help of his mercenary squad.
An irresistible prey with a strong smell of blood in a forest teeming with those creatures.
That was his fate.
“P-Please spare me!! I’ll do anything!!”
Kang Hyun-woo ignored Hans’s cries and disappeared into the bushes with the elves.
“I’ll give you as much money as you want!!! Please!!!!”
A hollow cry echoed through the Great Forest, but even that wouldn’t last long. As he expected, the magical beasts that lived here wouldn’t leave an defenseless prey with a strong smell of blood alone.
The Black Crow Mercenary Corps, which had once been famous for its activities in the south-central part of the continent, was as notorious as it was famous.
They were even wanted in several cities for frequent looting and killing civilians.
It was too futile to see that as their end.
“Shit, please save me!!!!”
