Chapter 83

The snow piled up in the valley was surprisingly not very thick. Thanks to the chains wrapped around the wheels, the carriage moved forward without slipping or getting stuck.

The road was a gentle slope, and the curves along the mountain range made it impossible to see what lay at the end of the valley.

'It seems they deliberately hid this place from the outside world.'

This artificial feeling was not entirely new.

After all, this world was a game, and all sorts of contrived mechanisms were mixed in. If he started to question this, he would have to trace back to how the game became reality.

'When the ground rises, the front and back can sink. It’s not entirely far-fetched that such winding valleys and lowlands can form between mountains...'

...Where did I learn this?

Ian shook off his wandering thoughts with a chuckle.

In any case, it was now impossible to see outside from within the valley.

The mountain slopes on either side seemed to announce that this place was completely cut off from the outside world.

How long had they traveled?

"...A forest."

Charlotte muttered as they reached the end of a downhill slope and the start of an uphill one.

"Amazing. It’s like magic."

Tessia echoed in amazement.

The forest seemed to appear suddenly at the end of the valley, with no warning.

Of course, Ian had no interest in the geographical features that made this possible.

His gaze was fixed on the gray forest that began at the end of the valley.

'Got the right place.'

The snow-covered ground and the bare trees jutting out above it.

Even the eerie silence that made his ears ring.

It was exactly as he had seen in the vision.

"...It really feels like a magic-infused forest, Ian. It’s giving me a strange feeling."

Tessia, who had been staring at the forest, added. Ian silently agreed with her, though he didn’t respond.

"We should probably leave the carriage here, Ian."

Charlotte, gauging the distance between the trees, said.

Ian nodded readily.

"There’s no choice. We need to prepare before entering anyway. We might as well make a campfire."

Between the forest and the valley, there was a frozen stream that served as a boundary.

Charlotte stopped the carriage in front of it.

Tessia ran down to the valley to gather branches and soon called out.

"Ian! There’s something here!"

"......?"

Ian, who had been packing his bag, tilted his head at her gesture and walked over.

"Look here. There’s a stone with something written on it."

Tessia, showing off, started digging through the snow at the base of a tree.

A partially buried gravestone was revealed in its entirety.

It looked very old, but the letters on its surface were still legible.

Charlotte, who had followed, frowned.

"What does it say? I’ve never seen these characters before."

"Can you make it out, Ian?"

Tessia turned to him. Ian, who had been staring at the gravestone, spoke.

"Roughly, yes."

"Of course. I knew you could. You understood what that ghost giant was saying before. So, what does it say?"

Charlotte also looked at him curiously. After a moment, Ian said.

"It’s a warning. It says this is the territory of a dragon. A name is written here, but I can’t make it out."

"Dragon...? A dragon?"

Charlotte’s eyes widened.

Tessia felt the same way.

"Are you saying there’s a dragon in this forest? I had a bad feeling about this. Let’s go back, Ian."

Charlotte looked at her.

"You lost your memory, but you know what a dragon is, don’t you?"

"Well...? I just felt terrified when I heard it."

As Tessia muttered, Charlotte turned to Ian.

"Is the creature we have to fight a dragon? If so, it would be the most glorious battle of my life."

"Unfortunately, it’s probably not."

Maybe.

Ian scratched his chin, holding back his words. As far as he knew, only two dragons remained on the continent. The rest had migrated beyond the Black Sea long ago.

He had heard this directly from one of the two dragons, and it wouldn’t have changed even now that the game had become reality.

'Besides, I fought one of them. In its nest. While old dragons may have multiple nests, ...'

Ian’s gaze turned to the desolate forest.

It seemed unlikely that either of the two dragons would have a nest in such a place.

"That’s all it says? The writing here looks longer than that."

"It roughly says that those who enter without permission will not leave alive."

"Why roughly?"

"Because I couldn’t read it all."

"...Oh."

"Such a considerate dragon. To leave a message for intruders."

Charlotte snorted, clearly disappointed that they couldn’t fight a dragon.

But if they really faced one, their thoughts might change.

"Maybe it wanted to scare us off and make us turn back."

Ian said indifferently, then told Tessia to bring firewood and turned away.

While he was unloading the bags from the carriage, Tessia returned and dropped the firewood.

"Are you really going to go in after seeing that? Whatever’s in there, it’s probably related to a dragon."

"It would be nice if there were treasures too."

Tessia’s expression twisted.

"If we can’t come out alive, what good are treasures?"

"That’s not my concern. I was invited here. Besides, we’ve already set foot in this forest once."

"Really? When?"

"In the abandoned land."

Tessia tilted her head. Ian looked at Charlotte, who was unhitching the horses from the carriage.

"The forest where I fought that thing."

"Oh, that place. I remember. But... "

Tessia’s brows furrowed.

"That place is very far from here. Is this forest that big?"

"Maybe."

Ian looked indifferently at the gray forest.

Whatever lurked inside, it was clear that its power was limited to the vicinity of its territory.

It had likely expanded the forest over a long time to find and attract the beings it needed.

'Neither that thing nor the ghost giant made much sense, but...'

He didn’t care about the details.

What mattered was that the creature in this forest would give a lot of experience points and that the quest reward was skill points.

That was reason enough.

"So... No matter what I say, it won’t change anything, will it?"

Tessia muttered, resigned.

Ian, who had started a fire by throwing a fireball onto the firewood, looked at the approaching Charlotte and Tessia.

"I’ll fight the thing that called me. I might not be able to pay attention to you two during the process. So, you two should prioritize protecting each other. As usual."

"I might need the help of this elf."

"Probably. Just like before."

Tessia snorted, and Charlotte took off her cap.

Ian glanced at her head, and Tessia smiled strangely.

"Oh. Your fur has grown, Meow."

In the middle of Charlotte’s ears, fur extended from her scalp to the back of her neck.

Charlotte ran her hand through her hair.

"This is a mane. It’s a change that proves the superior constitution of a beastkin. My body is adapting to the cold."

Indeed, her neck and wrists were also growing thick fur.

"It might feel good to touch when it’s fully grown. Is that how all beastkin are?"

Tessia added. Charlotte shrugged.

"Maybe. But there’s no way to confirm. I’ve only heard stories; this is the first time my mane has grown."

"Let me pet it when it’s fully grown."

"Sure, if you don’t mind me cutting off your wrist afterward."

"Sure, I can just reattach it. I can endure the pain. I promised, Meow."

Tessia smiled teasingly and stood up.

Ian’s gaze followed her.

"I’ll look for a rabbit. It’s unsettling to just go in."

"With that body?"

"I’m fine. Maybe it’s because the sun is hidden. My condition isn’t bad."

"Come back within an hour."

Tessia nodded and walked away.

She won’t just run off, will she?

After a moment’s thought, Ian shrugged.

Even if she tried to escape, she didn’t have many places to go. Besides, she would eventually be caught by another judge.

If so, they would meet again in Lusad.

'And then, I can kill her without hesitation.'

That wouldn’t be a bad ending, especially now that he was starting to feel attached to her.

The sound of metal continued from the side.

Charlotte, with a piece of jerky in her mouth, was sharpening her dual swords on a whetstone.

Ian, who had been watching her, noticed that the elegant and clean mercenary he first met was long gone. Only a seasoned beastkin mercenary remained.

The worn-out equipment she wore also contributed to this impression.

"Charlotte."

"Yeah?"

"Can you still cast spells with your magic equipment?"

"The spells engraved on the breastplate and boots are still intact, but we don’t have any mana stones."

Ian nodded and pulled out a sealed chest from his subspace.

He picked up a mana stone from inside and threw it to Charlotte.

"Use this. It’s not fully charged, so use it sparingly."

"...I won’t refuse."

Charlotte started to equip the mana stone.

Ian had observed that she had defensive weaknesses.

She had no way to deal with opponents immune to physical attacks. The magic equipment she had was meant to compensate for these weaknesses.

Even if it wasn’t as good as before, it was better than nothing.

"Oh, right. I also have this."

Next, Ian pulled out a deformed sword with serrated edges.

Charlotte’s expression changed.

"That’s... the scale sword Kail used."

"Right. His legacy."

Ian gripped a part of the handle.

A flame spread along the blade and then dissipated.

"I can only use this spell right now."

"...He was arrogant. He thought he was a swordmaster and neglected his training."

Her tone lacked any sense of mourning.

She shrugged.

"You’ll be a better user, Ian."

"You don’t want to use it?"

"Not at all."

In that case.

Ian put the scale sword back into his subspace and started packing survival supplies like preserved food, bandages, and a sleeping bag into the sealed chest.

He needed to be prepared for any situation.

"...What, you’ve been carrying that around?"

Tessia’s voice came. She approached with a rabbit in her hand, looking disgusted.

"It’s convenient for storing things."

Ian replied calmly.

Charlotte’s gaze made him add, with a shrug.

"It’s the box where that thing was trapped. I rescued it from the mercenaries who had captured it."

"As I said before, you could have escaped. Those idiots would have made other mistakes even if they hadn’t met you."

It wasn’t important now.

Ian put the sealed chest back into his subspace and turned to the horses Charlotte had unhitched.

They were the oldest survivors among the horses they had brought.

"Will they survive if we set them free?"

"It’s unlikely. Even if they leave the valley, they’ll become prey for monsters soon."

"Then it’s better to ride them in. Even if we die inside, we can avenge them."

"..."

Charlotte looked at Ian as if he had said something strange.

Ian, who had no qualms about killing anyone, including monsters and humans, seemed odd for talking about avenging horses.

Ian, who had already mounted his horse, looked back at her.

"Get on when you’re ready. We’re going in now."

***

The forest was silent.

There was no sound of animals or even the wind.

It felt like everything was frozen, with no sign of life.

Clomp, clomp—

The only sounds breaking the silence were the hooves of the two warhorses and their frightened breathing.

"...Strange."

Tessia, riding behind Charlotte, suddenly said.

"We’ve only been in here for a short time, but I can’t see the outside."

Ian finally turned back.

She was right.

The valley they had entered was nowhere to be seen. Only endless trees stretched out, with eye-shaped marks carved into the trunks, staring at them intently.

"Why aren’t you two saying anything?"

Tessia looked between the calm faces of Charlotte and Ian.

Charlotte snorted.

"Would it change anything if we did?"

"...I’m curious. How is this possible? Is it ancient magic?"

"It might have started that way."

Ian replied.

He looked ahead and added.

"But now, this forest is a demonic realm."

"Demonic realm...?"

"Right. Otherwise, you wouldn’t have transformed like this already."

"......!"

Tessia finally touched her face. When she moved her lips, fangs protruded.

"It’s not even night yet...?"

Her eyes, looking up at the cloudy sky, were already glowing red.

Ian said calmly.

"This land is so corrupted that it can twist the laws of the world. For someone like you, a demon, it might feel like heaven."

"I see. I suddenly felt energized."

She picked up the rabbit from her waist and bit into it in one go. Whether she was preparing for battle or trying to suppress her rising dark desires, it was unclear.

'Whatever it is, it’s clear that the creature here is corrupted.'

Thinking this, Ian looked ahead again.

Though there were no landmarks, he was confident he was heading in the right direction.

The pattern in his palm was continuously resonating.

The resonance would fade if he moved in a different direction.

This was likely a game system designed to have some realism.

'...Judging by this, in the game, this place might have been impossible to enter without a quest.'

Ian moved forward steadily, but without letting his guard down.

The resonance in his palm became clearer.

A few hours later, he felt a change beyond the resonance.

"Hmm...?"

Ian suddenly looked down at his hand.

The horse, which had been breathing heavily in fear, stopped on its own.

The horse Tessia and Charlotte were riding did the same. But Ian didn’t urge it forward.

The pattern in his palm was resonating intensely.

Rumble—

The ground began to shake immediately after.

"......!"

Ian’s eyes widened.

A massive cave, leading underground, was rising from the ground.