Chapter 232

Quest (1)

How many times in my life had I ever felt fear like this?

The thought crossed my mind as I ran for dear life.

In the past, its overwhelming presence would probably have left me rooted to the spot.

But after living in the Forest of Four Seasons and confronting countless horrors, my survival instincts often overpowered my fear.

That allowed me to make quick decisions.

"Huff..."

"Haaah..."

How long had we been running?

My legs were trembling.

My lungs burned as though they were on fire, and even breathing had become difficult.

My regular training had strengthened my muscles, but not my stamina. Nor did I have any particular way to improve it.

Had I known this would happen, I would have spent more time exploring.

I regretted it a little.

No. How could I possibly have known that a monster like that would appear?

A pair of enormous eyes large enough to cover an entire lake.

An arm as massive as the gigantic waterfall itself.

"Huff... Haaah..."

Although I hadn’t seen its face, I could estimate its sheer size.

Just what kind of monster lived in that lake?

I couldn’t even imagine.

Did the mana from the recording crystal wake it up?

With that thought, I looked around.

Thankfully, no one had fallen behind.

However, everyone’s complexion had turned deathly pale, likely because of the monster we had just seen.

The pressure created by its sheer size was difficult to describe.

Had we never met Banir, a dragon, everyone probably would have pissed themselves.

Come to think of it, wasn’t there also a creature that invaded Banir’s lair...?

This forest was crawling with creatures whose strength rivaled that of dragons.

Perhaps the creature we had just encountered possessed a similar level of power.

I steadied my breathing and surveyed our surroundings.

Rather than following the river, we had fled deep into the forest so the creature couldn’t pursue us.

I had no idea where we were, but since the surroundings hadn’t shifted, we were definitely still within the same forest.

"Phew. Is everyone all right?"

[I am somewhat dizzy, but otherwise fine.]

Cain answered.

When we fled, I had quickly grabbed him with one hand.

The others were panting heavily, but none of them appeared to be injured.

Ludwig was in the best condition of us all.

He had been riding Largo, after all.

"Kkobong, what about the thread?"

"I still have it."

"Good job."

Kkobong had diligently fulfilled his role, so there was no need to worry about losing our way.

We had encountered a dangerous situation, but it shouldn’t cause any major problems for the rest of our exploration.

I advised everyone to rest for five minutes and checked the time through the Gallery.

We can explore a little longer before returning.

It was currently around one thirty in the afternoon.

We still had plenty of time before evening.

Assuming the return journey took an hour, we could continue exploring for approximately three more hours.

I hoped we would find something worthwhile, but that seemed a little too greedy, so I dismissed the thought.

"Cain."

[Speak.]

"Do you happen to know anything about the monster we just encountered? Ludwig didn’t seem to recognize it either."

While we rested, I asked Cain about the monster’s identity.

This region was filled with mythical beings, including sky whales and dragons.

I wondered whether that monster might also be a creature from mythology.

[I cannot say. Judging by its webbed hands and scales, it appeared to be some manner of reptile.]

"Could it be a monster from mythology?"

[Perhaps. However, underwater combat was never my specialty, so I have never subjugated such a creature.]

"Could you defeat that monster?"

[Humanity was only able to prosper because we defeated monsters like that.]

As expected, humanity was the most powerful monster on land.

They could even kill dragons with nothing but weapons.

I sighed and scratched my head.

If I wanted to improve our chances of escaping this forest, even slightly, then we would eventually have to subjugate that monster as well.

"Even during the Age of Mythology, monsters like that must have been difficult to defeat, right?"

[A Hero could have done it.]

"And that Hero was you."

[It embarrasses me to admit it, but yes.]

"How can I become as strong as you?"

[Why not take this opportunity to place your faith in Lady Ares?]

Apparently intrigued by the suggestion, Ludwig stared intently at me.

Although he still wore his usual stoic expression, his eyes practically screamed, Hurry up and believe in Ares too!

Not a chance.

Ares was the being I suspected of being responsible for dropping me into this hell in the first place.

I had been living a perfectly ordinary life even after my parents passed away, only for him to drag me here.

Why the hell would I worship him?

"No, thanks. I’d rather find another way. I don’t know about the Hero, but Ash and the Heavenly Demon became strong without relying on faith."

There was no rule stating that one had to possess religious devotion to become powerful.

I didn’t know where the limits of my talent lay, but I intended to push myself all the way.

Even if I ended up becoming absurdly strong in some completely idiotic way, as someone had once said, I didn’t care.

All that mattered was winning.

"Anyway, that’s enough rest. Everyone, get up! We’re moving!"

Enough time had passed, so all that remained was to resume our journey.

I called out to the group.

However, an unexpected problem arose.

It was Wonmo and Tyrano.

"Kyuuuuu..."

"Piiiii..."

"What’s wrong? Are you sleepy?"

Perhaps it was because they were still babies, but Wonmo’s and Tyrano’s eyes kept drifting shut.

Then again, I had heard that young animals spent more than half the day sleeping, so this was only natural.

I placed both of them on Largo’s back.

It seemed I would need to reconsider our group composition once this expedition was over.

They usually nap for about an hour.

In the end, we had no choice but to take an additional hour-long break.

Returning immediately would also be dangerous, especially since that monster might still be nearby.

It would be better to use this location as a temporary base and explore the surrounding area.

"Ludwig, let’s clear the area first."

Insects or snakes might approach, so we tidied up the surroundings.

We swept the fallen leaves far away and sprayed insect repellent in several places.

That should be enough.

Once the area was clean, I smiled in satisfaction.

"I’m going to look around nearby. If anything happens, use this to alert me."

"What is this?"

"It’s an orb that creates a loud noise. It was originally designed as a security alarm."

I handed him a security orb to use as a signal.

We didn’t have anything like a signal flare, so this was our best option.

Once all the preparations were complete, I set off to explore.

Without the World Tree thread, I had no intention of wandering too far away.

There doesn’t seem to be anything particularly noticeable in this forest either.

Nothing glittered or stood out.

It appeared to be an ordinary forest.

Even so, I didn’t lower my guard.

If anything launched a surprise attack, Namu ppareumbo, clinging to my back, would react to it.

I continued walking, carving marks into the trees along the way so I wouldn’t get lost.

Glint! Glint!

"Hmm?"

Then something gleaming caught my eye.

It was in the center of a tree trunk.

And it wasn’t only that tree.

Several other trees were also gleaming, mostly around the middle of their trunks.

Are there some kind of mushrooms growing on them?

Remaining vigilant, I approached one of the trees.

There was a hole where the gleam originated, positioned exactly at my eye level.

Flash!

Perhaps because the interior of the hollow was so dark, my lantern shone more brightly.

And by lantern, I meant the light shining from my eyeballs.

It really did come in handy in the strangest places.

In any case, I peered inside to discover what was gleaming so brightly.

"An acorn?"

It was an acorn.

In fact, there was an enormous number of acorns.

A golden acorn even glittered among them.

First a golden apple, and now a golden acorn.

There was something strange about this.

But judging by the sheer number of acorns piled inside, someone had clearly stored them here.

When I think of acorns, the only thing that comes to mind is squirrels.

Tap, tap—

Just then, Namu ppareumbo, who was clinging to my back, tapped me on the shoulder.

I turned around to see what was wrong and found myself face-to-face with a tiny, adorable animal.

"A squirrel?"

It was a squirrel.

A genuinely adorable squirrel holding an acorn in its paws.

As an added bonus, it wore a horrified expression as though it had just caught a thief in the act.

Plop.

It even dropped the acorn it had been holding.

It was clearly in shock.

Although it was only a tiny, adorable squirrel, I couldn’t let my guard down.

In this place, the smaller and cuter something was, the more dangerous it tended to be.

There were harmless creatures like the raccoon family, but I could never be sure.

I slowly backed away from the tree.

"Calm down. I only came over because I was curious."

I had no idea whether it could understand me.

Even as I cautiously retreated, the squirrel continued staring intently at me.

Then, just as I had put some distance between us—

"Screeeeeech!!!"

The squirrel flew into a rage.

Though even its furious reaction was adorable.

But its appearance was the only thing cute about it.

The pressure it radiated told an entirely different story.

I immediately prepared to defend myself.

Since I was undeniably the intruder here, I raised only my shield, intending to do nothing more than protect myself.

Tat! Tat! Tat!

The instant I raised my shield, the squirrel charged at me like an arrow.

It was already difficult to see because of its tiny body, and its incredible speed made following it with my eyes even harder.

Thankfully, I had been training my dynamic vision.

Otherwise, I would have lost sight of it from the very beginning.

Whoosh!

Once the squirrel reached me, it leaped high into the air.

To my surprise, it thrust its slender shoulder forward.

Was it actually attempting a shoulder tackle?

I only had an instant to wonder before instinctively thrusting my shield forward.

Then—

KABOOOOOM!!!

An enormous impact traveled through the shield.

Even though I had planted both feet firmly on the ground, I was sent sliding backward.

They said good things came in small packages, but what kind of squirrel possessed strength like this?

If it had struck me directly, it would have shattered every bone in my body.

Throb!

"Urgh!"

As if to prove that point, the arm holding my shield went numb.

One blow.

It had only struck me once, yet the damage was impossible to ignore.

"Screech! Chrrrk!"

The squirrel, meanwhile, was perfectly fine.

It raised its tail straight up and regarded me warily.

It looked as though it had encountered an unexpectedly formidable opponent.

Honestly, I felt wronged.

I had admittedly intruded upon its home, but I had been planning to leave.

There was nothing to gain from fighting it—

...except those acorns, perhaps?

Suddenly, I found myself thinking that this might be worth a try.

I was curious about the golden acorn’s effects.

Even if it wasn’t as powerful as the golden apple, it should possess a comparable effect.

Moreover, I could sense an intense concentration of mana merely by looking at it.

It felt as though mana had permeated the entire interior of the tree hollow.

Those acorns definitely had some kind of effect.

Still, I would feel bad killing the squirrel, so I decided to rob it without taking its life.

With that thought, I began preparing to fight in earnest.

Perhaps sensing the change in my demeanor, the squirrel flinched and took a small step back.

I was one thing, but with Namu ppareumbo clinging to my back, it probably couldn’t approach carelessly.

I guess Namu ppareumbo has never visited this area.

The animals near my shelter became extremely wary whenever they saw him.

This squirrel, however, seemed to sense only an instinctive danger from him.

There was no fear in its eyes.

Tatata! Tat!

In the end, the squirrel darted into the hollow in the tree.

Was it planning to conduct some kind of siege from within?

But that was merely my assumption.

Tap, tap—

The moment the squirrel entered the hollow, Namu ppareumbo tapped my shoulder.

When I looked at him, he slowly extended an arm.

He wasn’t pointing toward the hollow where the squirrel had hidden, but toward a tree on my right.

"Why are you pointing over—"

"SCREEECH!!!"

Before I could finish asking, the squirrel burst from the tree on my right.

It attacked using the same move as before—a shoulder strike, otherwise known as the Iron Mountain Lean.

I jumped in surprise but hurriedly blocked it with my shield.

KABOOOOOM!!!

"Grrgh...!"

Just as I had felt before, its strength was terrifying.

Even after circulating my mana, withstanding its attack was difficult.

While I struggled to regain my footing, the squirrel once again darted into a tree hollow.

As I watched it disappear, a suspicion entered my mind.

Tap, tap—

Once again, Namu ppareumbo pointed out its location.

This time, it was behind me.

The instant I realized that, I spun around.

Sure enough, there it was.

Instead of a shoulder strike, the squirrel was now launching a backward kick at me.

It was moving even faster than before.

Just what the hell was this thing?

KABOOOM!

"Gah!"

Unable to withstand the impact, I was sent tumbling backward.

Namu ppareumbo quickly helped me to my feet, but the squirrel had already vanished into another hollow.

I stared at the sight in stunned disbelief.

Don’t tell me...

Just as the deer had teleported, this squirrel was teleporting as well.

I had no idea how it worked, but the hollows in these trees apparently functioned as some kind of teleportation network.

Fwoooosh!

The sound of something slicing through the air reached my ears.

Realizing that it was flying directly toward my face, I hurriedly jerked my head aside.

Thwack!

A small object embedded itself where my head had been moments earlier.

It was none other than an acorn.

Judging by the looks of it, the squirrel had thrown—

Hummmmmm!

"What?"

The sudden sound startled me, but—

KABOOOOOM!!!

The acorn exploded first.