Chapter 62

# Chapter 62: <Just Flip It>

"I think we'll arrive within an hour."

Kael put away the detailed map after a few adjustments and looked at the group.

Thud, thud. Drops of blood fell from On's sharp claws.

"Grumble, grumble."

A small monster resembling a fox was twitching on the ground, paralyzed by the poison. The black dragon reported.

"Done."

More than twenty fox-like monsters were dead.

'Sure, practical experience does make you slower.'

On and Hong had to hide and live while fleeing from their tribe and didn't get proper training. The black dragon also lacked significant experience. They were quickly making up for this with their experiences in the Dark Forest.

"Should I have fought too?"

When would there be another chance to gain experience so safely? As Kael muttered, the dragons and cats turned their heads sharply toward him.

"That's a useless thought!"

"Weak human, this is too much for you. One day was enough."

"Youngest, you're right. Last time, you overused the shield and even spat blood!"

Phaseton sighed.

"…Huh."

But Kael saw Witra smiling brightly. At the same time, he saw her eyes gleaming as she stroked her whip.

That was the look of someone who wanted to fight. She was indeed a scary person.

Kael quickly opened his magic bag and gathered the group.

"Everyone, stop and put on your masks."

"Because of the poison?"

"Yeah."

Kael answered Phaseton's question and put a mask on the black dragon, who was extending his face.

"Human. There's a strange smell."

The black dragon had been saying this to Kael frequently for a few days.

"What kind of smell?"

"I don't know. It's stronger here. It feels familiar."

"Probably the smell of the poison or the decaying plants around the swamp."

Kael answered indifferently and went to On. The black dragon, left behind, tilted his head while wearing the mask. His mutterings were muffled by the mask and didn't clearly reach Kael.

"…No, it's not a common smell."

But since it wasn't a dangerous smell, the black dragon soon closed his mouth.

Kael put a mask on On.

'Choi Han avoided this swamp too.'

Choi Han had some resistance to poison. However, there was no reason to cross this swamp when other paths were available. It was just troublesome and annoying.

Phaseton approached Kael.

"It's quite surprising that there are two swamps in such a large forest."

"Really? I don't think so."

Phaseton could see Kael's eyes narrowing under the mask. It was a rather sinister smile.

"You'll understand when you see it."

Two swamps were enough. Kael checked that everyone had put on their masks and observed their expressions.

It was the second day since they entered the Dark Forest. They had been pushing hard, sleeping only 1-3 hours a night.

"Everyone looks so good?"

Everyone's faces looked so good.

"Amazing. You guys."

Phaseton's face crumpled at Kael's words. He looked at his sister with his eyes asking,

'Isn't that what you should say?'

Witra shrugged and avoided answering. Phaseton turned his head back to Kael. The person who looked the best right now was Prince Kael Hennithus.

Phaseton looked at the black dragon and the cats. When Kael seemed tired, they would rush to take care of him with utmost devotion. Of course, Kael was invigorated by the vitality of their hearts, but others wouldn't know that.

Witra stroked the whip wrapped around her wrist and asked Kael.

"Prince, is it our turn now?"

Kael took a step forward instead of answering.

Here. This was the boundary line. The line dividing the interior from the outskirts.

"Grumble, grumble."

"Screech!"

Squish.

Though there was no wall or barrier, as soon as they crossed the boundary line, numerous sounds assaulted Kael. He told Witra, who had also stepped over the boundary line,

"Go."

On, the gentle humpback whale. But the ruler of the sea was never one to seek safety.

"It's your turn."

Swish. As soon as Kael finished speaking, Witra whipped the ground, causing it to split.

"Grumble."

"Screech."

Squish.

The sounds disappeared.

A strong figure between Choi Han and the dragons, Witra's body tingled. How much her heart had raced seeing her companions' unexpected skills.

"Shall we hurry?"

She smiled and asked Kael, who, despite the chaos, replied with a calm and confident smile.

"Yeah. As fast as possible. I want to rest at home."

Phaseton, overhearing the conversation, sighed and drew his sword, which was swirling with water.

Enemies slowly began to appear in the forest where the sounds had disappeared.

The boundary line. A place with weaker monsters than the interior. But what appeared before them was far from weak by the standards outside the Dark Forest.

Deformed ogres, deformed trolls, and spider-like monsters from the Eastern Continent, all high-level monsters, appeared.

"Indeed, these monsters are strange. They're thinking of fighting even in front of the dragon."

Phaseton stepped forward, glancing at the black dragon and Kael. Kael nodded and gave instructions.

"Fight quickly."

"…Yes."

Phaseton rushed out, and the battle between the whale siblings and the high-level monsters began.

The monsters in the Dark Forest didn't cower in fear when they saw the dragon or the whales. Instead, they charged even more fiercely, as if determined to prevent a stronger ruler from appearing.

Kael watched this calmly and, seeing the shield being cast, asked the black dragon.

"What about you?"

"Annoying. They're weak."

"Alright. Let's go."

Kael slowly stepped forward with the shield.

Thud!

An ogre's body was cleanly bisected. Blood splattered against the shield and dripped down.

Swish. Boom!

The sound of the whip was followed by a spider's body exploding, and one of its legs flew and hit the shield before falling.

"Learn from this."

Kael walked through the battlefield with ease, and On, Hong, and the black dragon, though pretending not to, were intently watching the scene beyond the shield.

Monsters that appeared in front of Kael, walking as if on a stroll, were all eliminated by Witra. Kael stopped and spoke as the swamp came into view.

"Here, it's the swamp's territory."

Thud, thud. As a deformed troll's head fell and its body collapsed, Witra shook off the fluids from her whip and replied.

"Let's hurry."

"Haa."

Phaseton sighed and followed his sister to Kael's side. The approaching whale siblings stopped involuntarily and pressed their masks tightly. The toxic and pungent smell was sharply stimulating their noses.

At the same time, they opened their eyes wide at the sight of the swamp revealed between the dense trees.

"How is it? Doesn't it fit the Dark Forest?"

Kael turned his gaze from the surprised Phaseton to the swamp.

The swamp was like a lake.

And it was dark.

He told the group,

"A rather large lake. A few large ships could fit in here. And strangely, the swamp is black."

The most fitting space for the Dark Forest.

The swamp was the only black area in this forest.

"…I didn't expect it to be this big."

Witra sighed in amazement. While admiring the space, she swallowed hard, looking at the area near the swamp. Kael understood her reaction.

The plants were all black or brown. But they weren't withered. Instead, they were full of vitality.

"Poison."

Kael nodded in agreement with Witra's words and tightened his mask. He also tightened the laces of the shoes he had changed into that morning and put on gloves.

The others followed Kael's lead.

Kael's voice reached them through their masks.

"The plants here grow by absorbing the swamp's toxicity, making them deformed plant species. Even if they're not highly toxic, they all contain some level of poison. Be careful not to let the plants touch your skin."

Phaseton, recalling the mermaid poison, straightened his clothes more tightly. Then he suddenly felt something was off.

"…Hong?"

The red cat passed by Phaseton lightly. Hong looked at Kael, and when Kael nodded, she jumped into the swamp. Witra, noticing this belatedly, stretched out her hand in surprise.

"Hong!"

Hong wasn't wearing a mask or any protective gear. Witra looked at Kael in shock. Kael's expression was indifferent. At the same time, Hong's voice reached them.

"Delicious!"

Hong wagged her tail and chewed on the black grass, playfully rubbing against Kael.

"I want to drink the swamp too."

Witra flinched at her side, but Kael, ignoring her, replied to Hong.

"Wait."

Hong's ears drooped.

"…I want to get stronger."

"Why?"

Hong glanced at the black dragon and her sister On. At that moment, a large hand covered Hong's head.

"Don't think about useless things. Take it easy. You're already stronger than me, right?"

"That's obvious."

Kael roughly stroked Hong's head and told her to go and consume more poison.

Recalling the time to make On and Hong stronger, Kael turned his head unconsciously. His brows furrowed.

'Why is he like that?'

The black dragon was acting strangely, tilting his head repeatedly.

At that moment, Phaseton approached.

"There are no recent signs of plants being harvested around here. But there are many signs of activity near the swamp. Judging by the state of the traces, it seems they came about a month to a week ago."

Kael looked at the vast black swamp and said,

"They seem to have harvested the swamp."

"It seems so."

Kael was about to speak, seeing Phaseton and Witra becoming serious. Then the black dragon approached. Kael's brows furrowed deeper.

"Why did you take off your mask?"

"It's not a familiar smell, but a familiar mana scent."

What? Kael felt a chill run down his spine. The black dragon pointed to the black swamp with his short front paw.

"A similar mana scent."

Kael's frown deepened. The black dragon spoke calmly, seeing this.

"The swamp emits a dragon mana scent."

Kael quickly looked at the black swamp. A swamp of indeterminate size. But Kael's mind was already imagining the size of a mature dragon or even an ancient dragon.

"Of course, it's a residual mana scent without any biological reaction."

The black dragon's final words were the deciding blow. An absurd idea formed in Kael's mind, turning into a certainty. At the same time, he thought he understood why the mermaids had become so strong.

There's a dragon's corpse in the swamp.