Chapter 8

The dense forest grew lush and verdant.

The sunlight was blocked by the towering trees, making it dim even during the day. Occasionally, a ray of light would pierce through the gaps in the leaves, casting a thin line on the ground.

This was no longer just a forest or a grove; it was more like a jungle. Unlike the Amazon rainforest on Earth, however, there was almost no humidity.

(...A sea of trees, huh.)

Helian was thoroughly tired of the monotonous scenery as he trudged along in silence.

They had been walking for nearly thirty minutes since they emerged from the gate into the forest. No matter where he looked, his vision was dyed a deep green, and his sense of direction was starting to waver.

The group was currently heading northeast, where some kind of artificial structure had been detected. However, if it were just Helian, he would have likely ended up going in the wrong direction by now. The fact that the scenery didn't change meant there were no landmarks, and walking straight without a clear goal was surprisingly difficult.

Still, the group was able to head straight northeast thanks to the exceptional abilities of his companions.

"The forest seems completely untouched by human hands."

"Yes, but that's strange. We can hardly hear the voice of the forest."

Responding to Rieve's murmur was Ertina, whose long golden hair, reaching her waist, caught the eye. Her beautiful, golden-thread-like hair sparkled in the sparse sunlight.

Ertina, the leader of the Third Legion, belonged to the Ancient Elf race, which had an extremely high affinity for forest terrain. Additionally, as the leader of the Third Legion, which handled healing and support during battles, she was an expert in healing magic. Her wide range of support magic would be a valuable asset in exploration missions.

On the other hand, Rieve, a Moon Wolf, also had a good affinity for forest terrain and boasted the highest overall level among the [Alchemira].

"The presence of living beings is extremely sparse. It's unusual that even birds and insects are almost nonexistent..."

"Yes, that is indeed abnormal. Even my nose can't detect any significant presence of living beings."

As Rieve and Ertina pointed out, the group hadn't encountered anyone, not even animals. It was as if they had been transported to some remote frontier. Helian was already feeling the urge to turn back due to the uncertain situation, but it was too late for that. If he returned after just a walk in the forest, the king's dignity would be at stake, especially after the king had gathered the ceremonial guards to see them off.

Moreover, the king's presence was not meaningless. The king had the ability to enhance the status of his subordinates within a fifty-meter radius by one level.

Don't underestimate just one level. The difference in performance often determined the outcome of battles. In an unknown and potentially dangerous situation, it was better to have even a slight edge.

However, if an enemy appeared that required the already overwhelmingly powerful legion leaders to be further enhanced, Helian, who was just a human in terms of physical ability, might not survive the aftermath of the battle. He chose not to think about that.

To keep a positive mindset was essential, and that was Helian's honest feeling.

"..."

"Lord Helian."

"This is..."

The three of them spoke almost simultaneously. As they continued walking, the air around a certain point had clearly changed.

Even Helian could tell. After all, the forest, which had been quite dim until just a moment ago, was now receiving significantly more light. The visibility had improved dramatically in just a few meters.

"Your Majesty, the forest's illusion effect has weakened considerably."

Upon receiving Ertina's report, Helian pondered for a moment.

"Is this area outside the range of the illusion effect? Or is this the boundary, and beyond here, the forest is normal?"

The latter would be more favorable. He didn't want to continue walking through a forest where he couldn't see properly and had to remain on edge.

The former would also be fine. At least they could take a break here. Walking for thirty minutes was already exhausting for an indoor person like him, especially in a dense forest with no paved paths, where he had to remain tense. The fatigue was overwhelming.

...In the game [Tactics Chronicle], there was no such thing as player fatigue, and one could walk indefinitely. He chose not to think about that.

"--- Lord Helian."

Rieve turned her face in a different direction, as if she had noticed something. She was twitching her nose, a sign that she was using her keen sense of smell to detect something. As a wolf-type beastkin, she had the ability to track and detect invisible enemies using her sense of smell. She had clearly sensed something.

Helian immediately called up the tactical virtual window and opened the <Map>. The semi-transparent <Map> projected in the air displayed the terrain within a few meters around them. On the right side of the <Map>—to the east and quite far away—a single white light point appeared.

(The white light point... a neutral unit?)

The white light point appeared on the <Map> because Rieve had detected it. If she hadn't, the light point wouldn't have been displayed. The <information sharing> with the player was automatic when a subordinate within the fifty-meter range detected something, and only then did it appear on the <Map>.

The information that could be visualized was limited, and it might seem like a mundane and inconvenient ability, but even just the positional information was a powerful tool for strategic planning.

The white light point was moving rapidly toward them, straight and direct. Helian frowned. It seemed they weren't the only ones who had detected each other.

"...They're coming."

"Yes."

Rieve equipped a gauntlet on her fist. Despite its thin appearance, it possessed formidable single-target attack power and was known as the <Red Crescent>, a battle-grade weapon.

Her armor was inconspicuous, designed for reconnaissance—though it was still a high-tier piece of equipment suitable for combat. However, her weapon was a battle-grade one.

Ertina, on the other hand, readied her golden staff, the <Ceryneian>. While its attack power was lower compared to weapons of the same rank, it excelled in support abilities, especially in amplifying healing effects.

Rieve, specialized in single-target combat, and Ertina, the pinnacle of healing, were a formidable duo. Helian believed they could handle most opponents, but this was their first contact after being transported. The tension was palpable.

The light point on the <Map> was getting closer. It was now about fifty meters away, just beyond the small hill formed by the roots of a large tree. A few seconds later, it appeared.

"Grurrrr...!"

Breaking through the underbrush, it was a massive wolf.

Standing over five meters tall, with gray fur, large white fangs, and red, fierce eyes. It looked like a scaled-up version of a mountain dog from an old classic movie, the lord of the forest.

It was a monster that could swallow a human in one bite.

(First contact is this!?)

In the game, he had seen monsters of this size countless times. He even had subordinates that were several dozen meters long, like dragons, and giants.

But this one was different.

The smell of the beast carried by the wind, the heavy and regular breathing, the red eyes filled with aggressive intent, the movements of its front paws as it prepared to pounce, the tail measuring the timing.

These gestures, which were absent in the game, brought a sense of overwhelming reality, instilling a sense of danger in Helian's mind.

The white light point turned red. The group had recognized the mountain dog-like creature as an enemy. The red mark indicated an enemy. An enemy. An enemy that would try to eat them. The realization made Helian's knees tremble.

"Ri—"

Just as he was about to call out the name of his most trusted subordinate, a tremendous pressure flew from Helian's side toward the mountain dog-like creature.

The mountain dog-like creature, which seemed to have jumped into the air for a moment, let out a howl and turned to flee. It didn't look back and ran away with its tail between its legs.

...It looked completely defeated.

"Just a goblin. I just sent a killing intent, and it understood it couldn't resist."

Rieve, the Moon Wolf, the apex of wolf beastkin, spoke as if it were nothing. It seemed that his royal aide had the combat power to call such a monster a goblin.

...No, if he thought about it calmly, it was only natural that Rieve, his first subordinate whom he had raised from scratch—while other factions' subordinates or boss-level enemies might be different—would be stronger than a wild monster wandering in the forest.

It was natural, but it still felt strange that a human-sized Rieve was much stronger than the massive beast. It was more accurate to say that it was hard to imagine a woman defeating such a monster.

This strange sense of reality was something he had started to feel recently.

Perhaps he was still confused, Helian thought, when Ertina reacted to something. Her elf-like long ears moved restlessly.

(Tactical Virtual Window: Reopen. Selection: Map)

He re-displayed the <Map> through thought control. As a result of the <information sharing> from Ertina, two white light points appeared in the upper right corner of the <Map>, quite far to the northeast.

Both light points were moving. The one in front was about fifty meters ahead of the one following it. This was...

"Your Majesty."

"There's something to the northeast. Two of them?"

"Yes. They are both moving, but not toward us."

"...The one in front seems to be being chased."

As he spoke, Ertina's ears twitched.

"What is it? What did you hear, Ertina?"

"...A faint scream, like a cry for help."

"—! Let's go, hurry!"

He started running, ignoring the fatigue in his legs.

The scream meant there were people. Based on the situation, the light point in front—the one being chased—was likely a person. The one chasing was unknown, but the distance between them was not great. They needed to hurry.

Within five steps, Rieve and Ertina were running beside him. The difference in physical abilities between Helian, a human, and Rieve and Ertina, who were monsters, was stark, but it was clear that they were deliberately slowing down to run alongside him, which slightly wounded his pride as a man.

(No, this isn't the time to think about such trivial things! Hurry!)

The white light points on the <Map> started to blur. The outlines of the light points became faint, and the smooth movement that had been displayed earlier became choppy, like a car navigation system with poor GPS reception.

This was because the noise from their running was affecting the precision of Ertina's auditory perception. The distance to the target might be too great, or the wind direction might be affecting Rieve's sense of smell, which hadn't picked up anything yet.

They had moved from the previous location, but the brightness of the forest was maintained. It seemed that the hypothesis that "the forest became normal beyond that point" was correct.

However, it was still quite dark for human eyes. The ground was uneven, and with each step, his feet sank into the leaf litter. The dense forest was a difficult terrain to navigate. The distance to the target was frustratingly far.

The one being chased was unknown, but if it was a person, communication would be possible. In this unknown situation, they were a valuable source of information. They couldn't let them escape or be killed by whatever was chasing them.

"Huff, huff, huff...! Damn...! Rieve!"

His breathing was already labored after running less than fifty meters. It was a natural result, given the poor footing and his lack of exercise. In the midst of his ragged breathing, he managed to call out Rieve's name, intending to order her to take the lead—

"I understand! Please excuse me!"

—But for some reason, Rieve picked Helian up with her right hand, supporting his back with her right upper arm, and placed her left hand on his shoulder to keep him balanced. It was a modified princess carry, but with the genders reversed.

"..."

There were a thousand things he wanted to say... and his pride as a man was severely damaged, but in exchange, his speed increased dramatically. They moved at several times the speed, feeling the wind pressure as they approached the location of the light points.

The movement of the light points on the <Map> became smoother. He speculated that they had entered Rieve's olfactory detection range or had gotten close enough for Ertina's auditory perception to work even with the noise of their movement.

They were very close now. Once they passed the small hill in front of them, they would be in sight.

They passed the hill, and the view opened up. A human figure was visible in the distance, being chased by a beast. The distance between them was only a few meters. There was no time to waste. Words came out before he could think.

"Ertina! Stop the [pursuer], the [monster]!"

He inadvertently used the <Key Language>. However, the command was understood. The response came in the form of a magical attack.

Wind blades were cast without incantation, flying forward. The focus was on speed rather than power. The wind blades split the ground between the two, and the pursuer, startled, leaped back. The distance that was about to close was now open again.

The next incantation. Thirteen wind blades were formed and shot in quick succession, further increasing the distance between them.

Finally, they were close enough to see the one being chased.

The outline was clear. It was indeed a person. There was no doubt. They were wearing a robe, so their face was hidden, but their build was small and human-like, not a dwarf or a giant.

They, or she, also noticed the group's presence and seemed startled by the wind blades.

The pursuer was indeed a monster. A black, dog-like beast, much smaller than the mountain dog-like creature, more like a Doberman. However, its eyes were bloodshot, and red veins were visible on its body. It was clearly a monster, and one he had never seen before, making it difficult to gauge its threat level.

"Rieve, put me down!"

He was released. His feet touched the ground, and he skidded to a stop, scraping the ground for about two meters.

He was glad he had been made to wear sturdy greaves. With his usual shoes, he might have sprained his ankle.

Rieve stepped in front of Helian, forming a protective barrier. She had chosen to guard him. She didn't leave his side. That left Ertina as the only one he could freely command. There were also the stealth soldiers, but they were only for recording and emergency communication and couldn't be used openly. His options were limited.

He thought quickly. There was no time to waste. He couldn't afford to be cautious. He didn't know the strength of the enemy. He hoped the dog-like monster was weaker than the mountain dog-like creature, but in [Tactics Chronicle], physical size wasn't a reliable indicator of strength.

First, he prioritized rescue and ordered a restraining spell.

"Ertina! Cast wind blades to restrain! Don't let the enemy get close!"

"Wind, become a blade and run—'Wind Blade'."

Three wind blades were cast with a full incantation. With the time to focus on the incantation, thirty wind blades flew this time. Even though it was a low-level spell focused on rapid firing, it was sufficient for restraint. This would allow them to see the enemy's reaction and—

"..."

—It wasn't necessary. The dog-like monster, with no place to run, was cut to pieces by the wind blades without trying to avoid, negate, or endure them. Dozens of pieces of flesh fell to the ground.

"...Did you...?"

He remained on guard for a while, considering the possibility of it being an undead, but the pieces of the dog-like monster remained motionless.

It seemed the matter was truly over. The result was so quick and easy that he was taken aback.

"Wind... advanced wind magic...? But without a catalyst, how...?"

An unfamiliar voice. A slightly childish tone. He turned his gaze and saw a girl, just as stunned as he was. Her reason for being stunned seemed different from his, but in any case—

"It's a girl."

Helian's voice made the girl jump, and she turned around hastily. The hood on her head slipped off, revealing the face of the girl who had been chased by the monster.

Pale skin, Western features, and most notably, long ears. The ears, shaped like bamboo leaves, belonged to a race—

"...An elf?"

She was of the same race as Ertina, who stood beside Helian.