Chapter 20

Spitting blood? All of a sudden?

While Ian blinked, the holy power evaporated, and Mev disappeared into the darkness.

“Na, Nari?! Nari! Wait! I'll go! Nariii!”

Almost simultaneously, Philip screamed, threw the reins, and ran off.

‘What does a bus have to do with my fate? Ugh.’

Ian finally grasped the situation and turned his gaze.

“Miguel, catch the horse he left behind.”

“Huh…? Ah, got it!”

Miguel moved reflexively.

Having caught the reins of the fleeing horse, he turned to Ian.

“Got it! And then?”

Ian recalled the source of corruption nesting in the heart of the forest.

The one who had made him game over ten times and throw his mouse.

He had known from the beginning how to avoid experiencing that frustration again.

“Take out the oil from the luggage. A lot.”

Miguel, who had stuck the torch to the saddle, began rummaging through the bag.

Meanwhile, Ian approached and retrieved his sword.

“You follow Philip.”

“Got it… alone?”

Miguel, who had been placing leather bags of oil one after another, looked up.

Blinking, he added,

“What are you going to do with so much oil?”

Ian, holding the torch from the saddle, looked down at him.

“Where do you think I’ll use it?”

“Of course….”

Miguel’s gaze naturally turned to the torch in Ian’s hand.

“…But even you wouldn’t do something that crazy, right?”

Who knows.

Ian nodded and said,

“Tell Philip to just protect Sir Liorel. Don’t do anything else. Of course, you too.”

“That’s easy to say…. Damn. Are you really not going?”

“Then will you fight in my place?”

Miguel, who had sprung up, pulled the reins of both horses.

“I’ll definitely pass on the message. Come back alive.”

He moved away without looking back.

Can I really leave Mev to them?

Shaking his head, Ian picked up the oil bags one by one.

Leaving the last one, he put the others into the subspace and slowly poured the oil from the bag onto the torch, turning his gaze.

Beyond the darkness of the forest. The surviving hosts were running towards Mev.

Though their numbers had significantly decreased, it was only a matter of time before they increased again.

The party had already set foot in the corrupted forest.

Monsters that establish their territory generally do not forgive intruders, regardless of the reason.

Those that feed on humans are even more ruthless, and the source of corruption in this forest was no exception.

It would surely start attacking again soon.

So Ian planned to eliminate it before returning to the party.

He would have to fight alone, but it was far better than protecting the party and fighting all night.

“First, I’ll bring it back to me… Ow, hot. Damn.”

Ian, who had been muttering, quickly pulled back the hand holding the bag.

The torch was already burning fiercely, ready to consume the handle.

“What burns so well?”

Trying to save mana, I almost got burned.

Ian, who had thrown the bag, drew his sword and summoned mana.

His eyes turned ashen, and a gentle breeze spread over his body.

Lower-level gray magic, Wind Blade.

Whoosh-!

The torch, which had been dripping, rose with the wind.

He looked like he was holding a sword in one hand and a fiery hammer in the other.

“…This should be visible even if they don’t want to.”

Ian, who had been twirling his wrists, kicked off the ground.

Whoosh-!

The host at the rear broke through the darkness and approached in an instant.

Crack!

The host’s head was split to the chest by the sword, which he had swung while running.

Ian, slowed by the impact, struck the host beside him with the torch in his left hand and took off again.

There was no need to confirm if it was dead.

After all, they didn’t even give experience points.

As long as they couldn’t move, they wouldn’t reach the party.

Squawk! Squawk!

After a few more were cut down, the nearby hosts finally reacted.

But Ian had already passed them and was splitting the host leading the charge.

Squish! Crack!

The carnivorous tree’s mouth fell almost simultaneously, but Ian easily dodged by leaning back.

Thanks to the Wind Blade and his innate focus, his movements and perception were both agile.

Everything seemed a bit slower to him now.

Crack! Rumble!

The hosts were cut down and set on fire one after another.

How long had he been fighting, sometimes even splitting the carnivorous tree’s mouth?

Crack!

Ian, who had killed a host and reflexively turned, stopped.

The surroundings had become quiet.

“Haa… Haa….”

Only his own breathing echoed.

Ian finally retrieved his sword and turned his gaze.

Though he had fought almost in a trance, he had achieved his goal magnificently.

Hosts scattered around, twitching.

The waves of mana and the corrupted roots, filled with hatred and madness towards him.

He had eliminated all the enemies targeting the party and firmly drawn their attention.

Finally, Ian’s gaze stopped beyond the darkness of the forest.

The darkness oozed with malice.

“…Just this much to get me riled up.”

It’s just the beginning. How disappointing.

Ian, holding the torch high, leaped into the darkness.

***

The torch cut through the forest like a meteor.

Squawk! Squawk!

Behind the running Ian, eerie cries echoed.

The sound of the hosts, who had awakened after he passed, pursuing him.

But Ian did not stop.

He just kept running forward.

‘Common enemies are skipped as a rule.’

This was actually the strategy he had planned to use when he came back alone.

A speed run, aiming for the boss in the shortest time.

Though he hadn’t expected it to turn out this way with Mev, it was still efficient.

‘The cleanup is a problem, but… it’ll work out somehow.’

It wouldn’t look any worse if it got even messier here.

Ian glanced at the passing scenery.

At some point, the forest itself had become bizarre.

Proving that he was getting closer to the center.

Gulp-!

The monster blocking his path also appeared in a more terrifying form.

Tap-tap-tap! Whoosh-!

Dodging the giant host’s attack, Ian leaped. The form of the creature, a fusion of several goblins entangled in vines, came into clear view.

Ian, stepping on the creature’s shoulder, leaped again.

Gulp-!

A roar and a whistling sound followed immediately.

The reaction speed of a carnivorous tree.

“…!”

It’s a named monster.

Ian twisted his body like a windmill, changing his trajectory. The vine-wrapped arm narrowly grazed him.

Crack-!

Instead, the torch in his hand was swept away, breaking and scattering sparks.

Ian, without hesitation, threw the handle and rolled to a stop.

The bright vision darkened.

At the same time, his spine chilled, and his nerves tensed.

It wasn’t because of the giant host.

He could feel without turning around that the creature had fallen, unable to resist the centrifugal force of his swing.

What made his senses sharp was something beyond.

“…!”

Ian, lifting his head, realized his vision had completely changed.

Without light, things he couldn’t see before were now clearly visible.

The regular waves of mana spreading like a heartbeat and the countless roots wriggling in the ground.

Everything was vividly clear.

And beyond where they converged, he felt something black rising.

To Ian, it looked like a pillar with countless tentacles wriggling.

It probably wasn’t much different in reality.

That pillar was the source of corruption and the boss, the twisted ancient tree.

Ian’s frown deepened as he stared at the silhouette.

“Why is it so big…?”

The creature was larger than expected.

Given that the corruption was less advanced than in the game, he had thought it would be smaller.

“It doesn’t give you a chance to relax.”

Muttering, Ian started running again without changing his expression.

He was different from before, too.

‘It’s not like my plan failed.’

Ian extended his left hand.

A white sphere suddenly appeared in his palm.

The essence of mana. Immediately gripping the essence, Ian summoned mana.

There was no need to force it. The mana, drawn by the essence’s magnetism, was sucked into it.

Whoosh-!

A white light spread from the essence, resonating with the mana.

The condensed mana inside the essence felt visible.

It wasn’t just condensed but arranged in a geometric pattern.

Though not artificial, it clearly served the role of a magic formula.

‘So that’s why the magic is amplified.’

Ian, feeling a tickle, opened his hand. The essence, as if waiting, began to spin and rise.

The rotation slowed as it gained some distance from his palm, and it eventually stopped in mid-air.

A strange sensation, as if the essence and his palm were connected by a magnetic field.

“Like this, huh. …!”

Ian, admiring, suddenly rolled on the ground.

Squish-!

In the next moment, something fell with a tearing sound.

Boom-!

The ground was gouged by a massive mouth with black bark like scales.

Large enough to swallow Ian in one bite. The stem above it was as thick as a carnivorous tree.

He had entered the attack range of the twisted ancient tree.

The mouth rose bluntly.

‘Is this the maximum range?’

Ian got up and changed his path, starting to run in a large circle around the ancient tree.

Crack! Boom!

The mouths of the twisted ancient tree fell in a line behind Ian.

Though not as agile as a carnivorous tree, they were much larger and more numerous.

The tentacle-like protrusions were all mouths.

‘It looks even more ridiculous in real life.’

His memories of the game overlapped.

The more he approached the creature, the more mouths fell, and roots began to rise from a certain distance.

A coordinated attack from above and below, leaving no room for thought.

And from a certain point, hosts began to swarm from all directions, endless even when killed.

If it were stagnant water, it might be different. But this boss was designed to be unbeatable by just charging in.

Like other bosses, it needed to be defeated by finding and exploiting its weaknesses.

Of course, he could probably kill it in a direct fight now.

‘Knowing the weakness, why bother?’

As always, he had no intention of taking the long way when there was an easier one.

Ian took out an oil bag from the subspace and started running while sprinkling oil.

He didn’t mind the ground being churned up by the mouths. In fact, it was better if the creatures soaked up the oil.

Repeating the process of emptying one bag and taking out the next.

When he had used up all the bags in the subspace, a large pit appeared ahead.

The mark left by the first mouth.

Leaping over the pit, Ian threw the remaining oil bag behind and extended his right hand.

A ball of fire rose from his palm.

Basic red magic, Fireball.

Boom-!

The fireball, hitting the bag, exploded, scattering flames.

Whoosh-!

The oil on the ground caught fire and spread rapidly.

Crack! Boom!

The same happened to the mouths falling above.

The burning mouths retreated.

For a moment, he ran through the flames.

Whoosh-!

A horn-like cry echoed, and the mouths’ attacks suddenly stopped.

Ian finally slowed down.

“Thought it lost its weakness….”

Ian, catching his breath, turned his gaze. The true form of the twisted ancient tree was reflected in his eyes.

It looked more like a giant black octopus than a tree.

Holes oozing tar-like fluid were scattered on its thick trunk.

Above, countless branches swayed, transferring fire to each other.

Naturally, this was the first weakness of the ancient tree.

When a certain amount of fire attaches to it, it stops attacking and enters a fire-extinguishing process.

The same applies to the hosts that will soon swarm.

The strategy in the guide he read while playing the game recommended bringing enough kerosene to set fire and deal with the mouths in the same way.

To make it easier to access the second weakness.

Of course, Ian, when he faced the creature, didn’t know this tip.

Instead, he had chosen a simpler and more brutal method.

He had invested more skill points in a few red magic spells.

‘Thinking about it, I was already on the path of a broken character… Found it.’

Ian’s eyes gleamed as he observed the ancient tree.

Holes scattered on the trunk.

He confirmed a faint purple glow emanating from one of them.

Though he didn’t know the exact name,

This was the second and most critical weakness of the twisted ancient tree.

‘It’s unnecessarily high, really.’

Tutting, Ian started running towards the ancient tree.

The twisted ancient tree grew closer.

Ooo…

The eerie cry, which had been echoing, suddenly subsided when Ian, holding his sword upside down, leaped towards the trunk.

Puff-!

Ash-gray steam exploded from all the holes in the trunk.

“…!”

The steam instantly enveloped the branches and Ian, who was charging.

Ian, who had fallen to the ground, lifted his head without even retrieving his dropped sword.

Beyond the steam, several mouths were curving like bows.

A signal that they would soon fall in unison.

But instead of dodging, Ian extended his left hand upwards.

‘I was wondering when it would stop, bastard.’

He had been prepared for this moment.

Whoosh-!

The essence in the center of his palm began to spin.

The magic he would use was already decided.

Lower-level red magic, Flame Jet.

A simple magic that shoots a straight line of fire, with few variables and a clear effect.

‘The range is a disadvantage, but with the essence, it’s enough… …?!”

Ian’s eyes suddenly widened.

Whoosh-!

The mana inside the essence began to spin fiercely, drawing his mana.

He couldn’t even stop it.

‘What the hell…?’

In the next moment, after a dizzying amount of mana was drained,

Boom-!

From the red essence, a bright yellow flame, like a dragon’s breath, burst forth.