Chapter 193: [193] The Figure Ahead

Ark stared out of his window, watching as the thick darkness seemed to reach out to their carriage, and he was not being metaphorical.

Maybe it was his imagination, but he could swear he saw a tendril rubbing against the door before stopping just at the window, which was illuminated with the light inside the carriage.

The moonlight was obscured by the thick canopy of leaves above, allowing only little rays of silver to slip through.

Wherever these rays of light landed, the darkness seemed to part, as though wary of the light. It swirled around it, silently probing, observing it like a foreign entity in its dark world.

’The Dark Forest...’ Ark mused.

Most rumours about this place all said similar things. The Dark Forest should be avoided at all costs! Most players who had been here believed the darkness was thick enough to corrode the soul.

And now, staring at the rippling mass of black, Ark knew why they would make such an assumption. The darkness almost seemed alive.

The Dark Forest was not exactly an unexplored region. Due to its closeness to the city, many players had visited the forest, some even carrying out subjugation campaigns to claim it.

But they all ended up in failure...

It was not that they were not able to conquer the forest. Actually, a number of subjugation campaigns ended in total victory.

All the monsters were wiped out, and the forest was free for a time. And then a few weeks later, they would appear once again, flooding every nook and cranny of the place.

The darkness birthed the fiends. If nothing was done about it, then nothing could be done about the forest. It was as simple as that.

Since there was already an alternate route to get to other cities, most players simply abandoned the place, but that didn’t mean it didn’t have its uses.

"God save me. God help me. I will not die, I will live to enjoy my future riches!" Ark could hear Rodolph whisper sharply.

His eyes were darting from place to place, his fingers trembling as they held the reins. His beasts were just as worried as him. Ark noticed that they had gone quiet, their ears perked up to listen to anything that could be of concern.

They were well-trained, so he doubted they would be easily spooked. Hopefully, he was right. If they were to go out of control, then they would have to walk. Walking through this place and having shadows lick him inappropriately would be disturbing... Even for Ark.

Olivia, on the other hand, seemed awfully relaxed. She was currently using his shoulder as a pillow, her legs propped up on the glass.

The rain had stopped, but there were still a few drops of water sliding down.

"I’m bored. Aren’t we there yet? It has been hours!" she groaned and readjusted her head.

"We still have a few hours..." Ark replied. "We’ll be stuck inside here for quite some time. Well... unless..."

Olivia’s ears perked up at the word. She sat up straight, a small smile appearing on her face.

"Unless what?"

Ark shrugged. "Unless we get attacked by some sort of monster or something."

"The Lord rebuke you!" Rodolph immediately turned around to glare at Ark. "Don’t you know words have power? Are you trying to doom us in this cursed forest?!"

Olivia shoved his face to the side and turned her attention to Ark, her green eyes sparkling.

"Skelly. On a scale of 1-10, what are the chances we get attacked by a monster?"

Ark stroked his jaw. "Well..."

The forest was filled with different types of horrid beasts. Most of the more horrid ones lived at the center of the forest. They, on the other hand, were crossing a straight path by the eastern region.

But that didn’t mean their path was safe.

"Ten."

He heard Rodolph choke on his saliva, while Olivia fist-bumped the air.

"Yes! I will finally be able to stretch my wings!"

Rodolph turned around. He looked as if he had seen a ghost. "D-do you mean it?" he stuttered.

Ark nodded.

His face turned even paler, his mouth drying up in an instant, just before his eyes flared with passion. "If anything happens, save my carriage, prioritize my carriage over my life!"

"I spent my entire life savings on it, I can’t afford to lose it!"

Ark gave him a blank stare. How does that work? If he was dead... then who would use the carriage?

He was about to ask when Olivia suddenly spoke. "There is something ahead."

The tone of her voice was enough to silence them. Ark stood up and stared in the direction she was looking, but there was nothing there. At least, nothing he could see.

Olivia was standing as still as a statue, staring forward through the lonely forest path, her vision piercing through the darkness, cutting through multiple miles.

The dark of her eye had completely swallowed her forest-green iris, and Ark could see something glowing right at the center of the dark mass.

It was easy to forget how good Olivia’s vision was, but it was actually one of the more impressive parts of her race.

She was like a mobile telescope. Not only could she see things that were several miles away, she could also pick out the details.

"What are you seeing?"

Olivia was silent for a few seconds.

"A woman."

Rodolph stiffened. Ark noticed that he slowed down the carriage a bit.

Olivia cocked her head to the side the way a bird would do. Her eyelids opened even wider, and creases appeared between her eyebrows.

"An elf. It looks like she is unconscious."

What was an elf doing in the Dark Forest alone, and at this time? Could she be a player?

There were still some players who often made trips to the Dark Forest. It was dangerous, but it was a good way to rack up EXP.

"Do you think she is a player?" Ark asked.

"She is... Bronze rank. She has a tag..." Olivia paused briefly. "There are signs of wreckage. It looks like she was attacked..."

Ark thought about it for a few seconds, his eyes locked on the space in front of him. Of course, he could not see anything except for the endless expanse of darkness, but somewhere ahead, the woman was there, defenceless.

"Tcht." He made a clicking sound with his teeth. The entire situation felt wrong and odd, but...

"Rodolph, increase your pace!"

"Are you mad?!" the rider yelled. "We should be going AWAY from the forest elf, not towards her!!"

He was right, this smelled too much like a trap. But there was also a high chance his intuition was wrong, and if it was, then a player could lose their life all because he hesitated.

"I can’t take any chances. Let’s go."

Olivia nodded in agreement, and Mountain placed a hand on Rodolph’s shoulder.

He hissed, but he whipped the reins, sending his beasts charging forward, all while mumbling his prayer, mixing it up with occasional curses that were sure to offend whatever god he prayed to...