Chapter 91

A warm breeze blew through the air.

The wind slipped between the trees, caressing the leaves.

A warm, oppressive miasma hung heavily in the forest, enveloping everything.

It felt as if it was sapping my strength with every step.

As I walked through the forest, I lost track of how much time had passed.

The purpose of my visit to the forest this time was to uncover the true nature of the strange occurrences that had been happening here.

If it turned out to be a powerful magical beast or demon with the expected influence, it would be a significant catch.

It would bring in enough money to pay off a large portion of my debt and achieve a feat that would satisfy Gaston, who was growing increasingly dissatisfied.

However, as I channeled magic into the tip of my staff to detect the suspicious magical energy, my arm began to tremble. I was approaching my limit.

I was starting to feel really exhausted.

Without thinking, I lowered my arm and stopped.

The faint light at the tip of my staff flickered out.

"... Abel, shouldn't we take a break? You look really tired."

Mia, who was walking beside me, spoke with concern.

"No... I think I'm fine. Probably."

"You look like you're about to die..."

To be honest, I hadn't expected to walk this far.

I was sweating profusely.

Detecting magical energy required delicate control of magic, and doing so for a long time in this harsh environment was taking a toll on me.

The physical fatigue, the oppressive atmosphere, and the need to detect magical energy were all working together to drain me.

"I'm really starting to feel exhausted. Maybe I should use an Othum for detection..."

I gripped my staff and swung it.

The ground glowed, and a magic circle appeared.

"Hon"

When the incantation was complete, the Othum of the World Tree appeared at the center of the magic circle.

I swung my staff again, drawing a magic circle to direct the Othum to the source of the specific type of magical energy.

"Putul Lid"

A light appeared in the depths of the Othum's eyes.

The Othum hopped forward, moving slowly to avoid losing sight of it.

If I did lose sight of it, I could always transfer it back to my hand.

"Alright, let's follow it..."

I wiped the sweat from my forehead and looked up.

"Really, that Othum is so convenient..."

"Yeah. It might be a bit difficult to use it in close combat due to its lack of weight, but it can do most things."

"If it had weight, it could engage in close combat with magical beasts..."

There was nothing the Othum couldn't do.

The branches of the World Tree were worth the price I paid for them. I believed that.

If I could properly configure the functions and draw the magic circle, I could even have the Othum carve another Othum.

If I did it more efficiently, I could have the Othum carve another Othum, which could then carve another, and so on.

If I could find a forest with plenty of good trees and a way to supply magic efficiently, I could mass-produce Othums indefinitely.

Even if it took thirty minutes to carve an Othum, the first one would become four in an hour, sixteen in two hours, and 256 in four hours.

Theoretically, if I left it for ten hours, the number would jump to about a million, and if I left it for a full day, it would reach nearly 300 trillion.

Of course, there probably isn't a place with that many trees, and my magic wouldn't last that long.

I'd like to try it, but if I accidentally conducted the experiment, the world would probably end.

However, if there was a place where I could carve as many Othums as I wanted without causing any trouble, I'd like to see how many I could carve in a day.

"... Mia, can I have some water?"

"Sure, just a moment."

Mia took my Hyotol (a water bottle made from a gourd-like fruit) from her bag and handed it to me.

I tilted the Hyotol and drank the water.

I felt a bit better.

As I wiped my mouth with my sleeve, Mia suddenly stepped in front of me and drew her bow.

"Abel!"

I heard Mia's voice, lowered the Hyotol, and looked ahead.

Three goblins, with green skin and emaciated faces, were blocking the path.

They had sharp, beak-like noses and pointed ears, similar to elves.

"Ha! Ha! Ha!"

The goblins grinned and raised their clubs.

At that moment, the light in the eyes of the Othum of the World Tree, which was leading the way, turned red.

It suddenly accelerated and charged at the lead goblin.

This was a pre-programmed response.

I had set the magic circle to automatically counterattack if the Othum was attacked while it was active.

The Othum of the World Tree embedded itself in the goblin's chest.

Crack, crack, crack. The sound of the goblin's ribs breaking was heard.

"Kapow!?"

The goblin let out a strange, final scream as its flesh and blood scattered.

It collapsed, lifeless, like a folded piece of paper.

"Ha? Ha?"

The two remaining goblins, witnessing the gruesome end of their leader, stopped in their tracks and dropped their clubs.

The Othum of the World Tree shuddered, splattering blood.

The goblins, now covered in red, stood in shock.

After splattering all the blood it could, the Othum of the World Tree turned its gaze to the two remaining goblins.

"Ha! Ha! Ha!"

The goblins fled into the depths of the forest, quickly disappearing from sight.

I watched them go, then turned to Mia, who was still in a bow-drawing stance.

"You called my name just now. Is something wrong?"

"N-no... nothing. No, it's nothing now."

Mia looked a bit embarrassed and quickly lowered her bow.

The Othum of the World Tree, which had been staring at me, turned and resumed its guiding, hopping along.

"However, the atmosphere is getting strange."

The air felt heavier with each step.

There might really be something troublesome here.

"Hey, there's someone down there!"

Mia pointed ahead and ran, overtaking the Othum and moving forward.

"Be careful, it's dangerous to go ahead on your own!"

As I said this, I looked in the direction Mia was pointing.

Through the trees, I saw a familiar blue outfit, stained with blood and mud.

There was no mistaking it; it was the outfit worn by the lord's investigation team.

I caught up and looked around the other side of the tree.

There were ten familiar men.

They were definitely the members of the investigation team I had met at the Zesum ruins.

The blond man leaning against the tree was Allen, whose name I remembered.

Allen had a bandage on his shoulder, but the wound was deep, and the bandage was already stained with blood.

His eyes, which had been lively and energetic when we met at the ruins, were now filled with fear.

The others were in similar states, with various injuries, large and small.

"Y-you... you're the magician we met at the ruins..."

Allen looked at me weakly.

"Hello, it's been a while. What's the situation?"

"Actually, we received a report from adventurers about a monster in the forest and decided to investigate deeper. We were ambushed and ended up in this state."

Oh, the one I added to Gaston's report.

I feel a bit guilty.

"I wanted to leave the forest quickly, but some of us, including myself, were too injured to walk properly. We sent the least injured as messengers to the city and are waiting here."

He said this with a hint of regret, looking around at the other team members.

Then he turned his gaze back to me.

"You should leave the forest quickly too. From the way the monster behaved, it seemed to have some purpose in keeping us alive... but if it didn't, we would have all been killed. It was like it was toying with us before letting us go. It's something beyond human control."

He shuddered as he spoke.

Is there really such a terrifying monster?

From what I've heard, it seems to have some intelligence.

"What did it look like?"

"It was a tree. A tree that moved... and laughed... Yes, that's right! It communicated with us through telepathy! It was in the elven language, so I couldn't understand much of it..."

A monster that can speak elven... a tree?

Could this be the perfect material for an Othum?

A tree with magic, which I had almost given up on finding.

I hadn't expected to have such an opportunity.

My fingers, which had been restless from not being able to carve Othums, began to move on their own.

I felt a tingling excitement.

Seeing my reaction, Allen looked down and hugged his shoulder.

"Even just hearing about it is terrifying. I still shudder when I think about it..."

"Yeah, I understand. Sure."

I'm sorry, I'm just excited.

I need to calm down.

"Um, which way? Which direction is the resource you mentioned? Is it that way?"

"Huh?"

"No, I just want to make sure we avoid it... I have no other intentions."

"Right. I must have misunderstood. It's deeper in that direction. I don't know how far, as we fled for our lives..."

Alright, I see.

So, that's where my new Othum is.

I might be able to create a combat-specialized Othum. Maybe with six arms.