Chapter 51

The moment I slipped through the gate, the world changed. The air was unique to the forest.

It was very dark. But it wasn't as simple as using a dark vision spell.

If I used a dark vision spell, the bluish mist floating in the forest would glow faintly, making the visibility worse. Therefore, in the twilight forest, it was impossible to secure a clear view with magic.

There was a spell that should be cast with higher priority. To counter the Whispermarsh that would cast a sleep spell, it was necessary to use the Psychic Field spell.

"... What are those glowing flowers?"

Sheila, who was on guard, asked, looking around. In the darkness, faintly glowing lights of pale green and purple could be seen, creating a rather fantastical scene.

"Those are Fairy Lights. If you pick them and carry them, they can serve as a light source. However, be careful, as if you bring a flame as a light source in this forest, the surrounding plants will attack you."

Sheila frowned as she looked around. Yes, it was a fantastical place, but a dangerous one.

The mist floating in this forest... was the pollen of the Fairy Lights.

The twilight forest was a place where peculiar plants that did not require sunlight thrived. Naturally, the ecosystem was also strange.

The plants that attacked with fire were not considered monsters.

However, if one were to simply cut down the plants that obstructed the path—these trees served as the walls of the labyrinth, and if overdone, the labyrinth would create walls to block the way.

Shortcuts like removing walls or floors were not possible. There were even those who had died from being buried alive in the BFO.

Sheila picked a Fairy Light and used it to illuminate the ground.

"... There are many human footprints."

... It's because we just passed a fork in the road. If the labyrinth's structure changes, the footprints should be erased.

"Should we follow the footprints of the Swordboar when we find them?"

In terms of order, it would be fine to eliminate the Guardian first before searching. The Guardian was very aggressive and prioritized the elimination of intruders. They often stationed themselves near stairs or monuments to prevent intruders from escaping to lower levels.

In this case—since it was impossible to return to the monument side, stationing themselves near the stairs would prevent intruders from escaping.

So, heading in the direction of the stairs would bring us closer to the Swordboar. The adventurers must know they can only move forward and are likely looking for an opportunity to exploit the Swordboar's weakness.

We all held up the Fairy Lights and proceeded down the path that led deeper into the forest. I wanted to cast Life Detection to look for human reactions, but...

"They're coming—! Too many to pinpoint!"

I stopped casting Life Detection in response to Sheila's words.

My life detection spell didn't pick up anything. I was looking for human reactions, and most of the enemies were plant-type monsters, so their reactions blended into the background. I would have to recast the spell each time I encountered an enemy.

The rustling of the bushes grew louder, and the Killer Plants, known as the murderous plants, emerged. They walked on their roots and struck with their branches, like a giant, vicious Evil Weed.

I deflected a blow from a tree knot and smashed it with my dragon staff.

"Out of the way!"

A Killer Plant that had targeted Grace was cut in half by her axe.

"We don't have time to deal with each one. Let's eliminate them as we go."

Rescuing and preventing further casualties took priority. There was no time to strip them, and it would be a waste of time to engage them.

I dealt with the enemies coming from the front, while Grace eliminated those coming from behind as we moved through the forest.

During this time, whispers could be heard from all around. It was the magic of the Whispermarsh hiding in the bushes. Fortunately, we had a counter-spell, but it wasn't a pleasant feeling to have them cast spells freely.

I launched fireballs into the bushes, and the flaming Whispermarshes ran in all directions, only to be beaten to a pulp by the roots of the trees. Hmm.

"The smell of—human blood."

At a fork in the road, Grace stopped and frowned.

"Which way does it continue?"

"I'm sorry, I can't tell. The air is stagnant."

There was no wind in the twilight forest. The air was stagnant, making it impossible to follow the smell alone.

Sheila stopped and carefully examined the ground.

"... There are bloodstains. That way."

Sheila ran in the direction she indicated.

Soon, we discovered adventurers lying on the ground. Grace, who seemed concerned about the smell of blood in the air, shook her head slightly.

In total, there were three. —It was a terrible sight.

One was lying in a pool of blood, another was thrown into the bushes, and the third was caught on a tree trunk.

All of them were covered in cuts. The ground around them was gouged, and large trees were broken, indicating that the Swordboar had rampaged.

"Those two over there—are still alive."

The Life Detection spell reacted to the one thrown into the bushes and the one caught on the tree trunk. The other one, unfortunately, had already passed away. The two who were still alive had very weak life reactions. Immediate treatment was necessary.

"Hang in there!"

We immediately laid them on the ground and Ashley used a healing spell. The wounds closed, but the lost blood did not return. She also cast a spell to boost their strength, but it was uncertain if they would recover. One of the men groaned with a pale face.

"Y-You... guys—"

"We've come to help. Hang in there."

"H-Help... Please. My comrades... are distracting it—"

The man pointed deeper into the forest.

His comrades had served as decoys, which is why he wasn't killed. Or perhaps, once they were incapacitated, the Swordboar prioritized eliminating the others.

"Can you use the Red Teleportation Stone? How many of your comrades are left?"

"Y-Yes. Help... them. Two... more are left."

I handed the man a Red Teleportation Stone.

The drawback of the Red Teleportation Stone was that it took some time to activate the teleportation gate. Therefore, it needed to be used in a relatively safe situation. The man, holding his fallen comrade, smashed the Red Teleportation Stone on the ground. A magic circle spread from the point where the stone shattered, and a pillar of light rose. The man and his comrades disappeared into it.

Items brought from outside the labyrinth could be taken back with the Red Teleportation Stone. In other words, the bodies of their comrades as well. They were likely teleported to the entrance of the labyrinth at the temple.

"... I know what the Swordboar's tracks look like. We can follow them immediately."

"Let's go."

As we ran following the Swordboar's tracks, a roar echoed from deep in the forest. It was quite close—.

Suddenly, the forest became noisy. Rustling sounds could be heard from all directions.

"What was that?"

"... The Guardian can summon the monsters of the level."

For some reason, it seemed to have summoned its comrades.

We ran in the direction of the sound and soon reached an open area.

Using Life Detection, I saw two humans huddled together in a tree. I stopped everyone and observed from behind a tree.

There it was. It was quite large. Despite its size, it moved restlessly, sniffing around and breaking or uprooting trees in frustration. The adventurers in the tree seemed to be using a spell to hinder recognition, but it wasn't fooling the creature completely. We hadn't been detected either, as we were using wind magic to block both the smell and sound from reaching it.

The monster with a body as hard as steel and sharp fangs was a demi-human monster—the Swordboar. It was a mutated, higher-level form of an orc. Not a pig, but a boar.

Its name came from the sharpness of its body hair. If it hugged you, it would tear you to shreds, and this also served as its defense. Its claws and fangs were extremely tough.

It was a brute-force monster. Even among brute-force monsters, those of the Guardian class, which possessed powerful magic internally, had high resistance to magic. Their magic power directly translated to their defense against magic.

In other words, it couldn't be categorized as just a large orc.

The Swordboar seemed to be rampaging to flush out the hidden adventurers. The adventurers in the tree were on edge, unsure when it would come for them.

Now... a flashy spell powerful enough to knock it out would likely affect the two in the tree as well. However, since the summoning had already been done, we didn't have much time to think. If it turned into a melee, we wouldn't be able to use powerful spells either.

"I'll draw it in. Can we do it like we did with the Killer Ants?"

"Do you mean... using the Defense Field to withstand it?"

"Yes."

Grace nodded.

I see. If we could avoid a melee, I had a way to take it out. If we could suppress its attack, we could use the Red Teleportation Stone to escape.

To do this, we needed to cast a barrier spell to include those two in the protection. Grace would draw it in, and we would move in the other direction.

However, using Grace as a decoy was—

Did she understand my concern? When our eyes met, she smiled faintly, looking a bit troubled.

"To be honest... the smell of human blood is so strong that I've been feeling uncomfortable. So, I want to let off some steam by fighting a bit. Can you leave it to me?"

"I'll come to your aid if it gets too dangerous, okay?"

"Okay."

She smiled happily, squinting her eyes.