170. Am I really mad? (One)
great forest.
A place where huge trees towering like towers continued endlessly, and a place where elves lived together. It was an area where most humans were not even allowed to step into the entrance.
According to the setting of ＜The Strongest Dragon＞, Daesurim was a place where such noble (?) elves lived quietly.
Elves are said to be beautiful, have good spirit sensitivity, and have a longer lifespan than humans, but from my point of view, they are a hikikomori species who just live in the forest.
There is a temple built of gold in the center of the great forest, and it is said that at one time, relations between elves and humans were not good due to a conflict with the imperial people who were aiming for a fortune.
For reference, if Dragon’s Nest ‘Atlon’ was inspired by the legendary city ‘Atlantis’, ‘Great Forest’ is a mix of ‘Indian Tribal Village’ and ‘El Dorado’, the golden city.
Anyway, today is the day to leave.
Leaving the gloomy sepia behind us, we climbed into the carriage. The carriage carrying Arthur, Reus, Tia, and Tesha was slowly leaving Istvan.
The hero leading us was Lanter Elan, the 7th ranked member of the ‘Hero League’. As soon as the mission is over, Lanter decided to join from the Great Forest.
In the end, the only people leaving the academy were me, Arthur, Reus, Tia, and Tesha.
The Great Forest was located to the south of the Wilderness. And it serves as the borderline of the endless wilderness.
In the carriage, Reus leaned against the window frame and looked out all the time.
If there’s nothing to say, being like that is a characteristic of Reus, so even then, even Tesya didn’t say anything, so the carriage was exceptionally quiet.
“I’m a little nervous because it’s my first mission.”
Arthur smiled awkwardly. In fact, I can’t even predict how this mission will turn out.
Because it goes in a completely different direction from the original story. It was the same even in the case of the Magician.
To think that Mine was trying to obtain the spirit of the founder of Lynchester. The fortunate part is that the Daesurim dispatch episode was also covered in ‘The Strongest Dragon’.
According to the original story, Mine Leraji only appears in the World Tree episode.
Ranked 14th, Leraji who uses plant-type abilities.
This is the demon who appeared together with Gamigin in the demon scene this winter and retired. Plant seeds into opponents’ bodies to increase their legions with plant-encroached zombies.
Due to his abilities increasing in the environment of the forest, he struggled against Arthur and his friends even in the Great Forest.
‘But who the hell is this Mine… ?’
It was at this point when the original story and the story were greatly diverged, so it was not easy to specify which mine would come out.
That was the part that I had to face to face in the end.
Anyway, Tesha was weird. Originally, he had a friendly personality, but his expression was always bright… . I asked, looking at Tesha’s profile.
“Tesya, aren’t you nervous, Tesha?”
“I do not know. I do not know.”
Somehow, the way he spoke seemed cold.
Originally, he was bright and positive, but these days, he doesn’t talk much, and I’m worried.
‘Seriously, why is he doing that… ?’
Is there anything to worry about alone?
If you ask when it started, you can’t easily pinch it. I decided not to speak to Tesha any further. Well, maybe you need some alone time.
I decided to keep my eyes closed until I reached the Great Forest.
how much sleep
Suddenly, reacting to live, I opened my eyes. Goosebumps appeared on his forearms. And built a barrier in front. It was a response that would have been impossible if it hadn’t been for the super intuition of battle.
At that moment, the carriage overturned with a large shockwave.
Quaang!
An ear-splitting explosion followed. When I opened my eyes, the ceiling of the carriage was smashed and my left arm was throbbing.
“Kuh, heo-eok… , Huh… .”
I was stunned by the sudden shock. I jumped out of the wagon and pulled myself up. The first thing I saw was Reus, who was bleeding profusely from his forehead.
The guy didn’t look good at first glance. He seemed to be barely able to stand still, using the spear pole as a staff.
“Hey, are you okay?”
“… How can I fall over something like this?”
“Uh, yes… . It doesn’t.”
There was a spirit in his tone that he would die standing up even if he died. I looked around and found Arthur, too, staggering to his feet in the middle of the wilderness.
“Arthur, Tia. it’s okay?”
Tia was standing up behind Arthur. At least it seemed that he was less damaged because he was by Arthur’s side.
“I’m fine? What about Ethan?”
“I’m fine too.”
Perhaps it was because it was by the window, but it was rubbed against me that I had been beaten straight up. Suddenly, Tesha was nowhere to be seen.
“Tesha?”
He limped and moved to the carriage. Tesya was crushed by the wreckage of the wagon.
He picked up the wagon and supported Tesha. Only then did Tesha slowly open her eyes.
“… Ethan.”
“Tesha, are you okay? Are you hurt?”
“… … ”
Tesha pursed her lips as if she wanted to say something.
“I’m fine. let go Ethan.”
Tesya slipped her arm away from my touch.
I was attacked while moving in a wagon. Clearly, the person who knew our route was more likely to be the assailant.
I was complacent. I never thought I’d get attacked like this. I trusted my battle intuition, but I had to keep my eyes open and stay awake.
But I couldn’t just blame myself.
“Arthur, Reus? the attacker?
“I can’t see the coachman.”
Reus, who was looking around, let out a short sigh. The coachman is not visible. It meant that the coachman was a conspirator in this raid.
“damn. Did you plant explosives on the wagon?”
“I guess so. Seeing the situation, it seems that he exploded and ran away.”
Did you warn us on the way to the Great Forest?
I looked around. The midday sun was high and sizzling in the blue sky.
“Sheesh, Ethan. I will have to walk to the Great Forest.”
All the demons were also killed in the recent attack. In the end, there were only two things we could do in this situation.
First, return to the academy.
Second, even if it’s late, go to the great forest and join the hero, Lanter.
“Now how do you talk?”
Arthur scratched his cheek as if in trouble. Since the academy aimed for an equal relationship, there was no one to call a leader at this party.
In the end, we had no choice but to judge the situation by ourselves.
However, I couldn’t go back to the academy like this. If it goes back, the situation might turn out the way Mine wants it to.
“… I have no choice but to go to the Great Forest on foot.”
Perhaps their purpose is to delay confluence. Damn, but how do you get across the wilderness?
Should I trust Arthur and my luck and hope to see even a passing carriage? In the middle of trouble, Tia quietly raised her hand.
“Ethan, I have a good method.”
“A good way?”
“I will call the crows. With that, we can contact the Great Forest.”
Yep, that’s how I came to think of it.
Tia inherited elven blood and had a talent for calling animals. Soon, Tia started singing quietly.
A sweet voice spread across the lonely wilderness.
Soon, birds flying across the sky flew to Tia’s side. Tia surrounded by birds, long time no see.
“Go to the Great Forest and tell the elves what we will experience in the wilderness.”
The crow nodded and flew across the wilderness. It would probably take quite a while for the elves to send the wagon.
In the meantime, Reus leaned against a rock and slung the spear over his shoulder. Arthur looked into the crystal ball.
Perhaps he was trying to check the text from Ariane.
A crystal ball wouldn’t work in a wilderness like this.
I checked the broken wagon. The lower part of the wagon is dark, so it seems that explosives have been installed underneath.
And it wasn’t until sunset that a carriage appeared on the horizon following the crows. Naturally, the coachman was an elf.
“I rushed to the news that I was attacked. Is everyone okay?”
“Thanks to you, I live.”
Soon the coachman met Tia’s eyes.
“Somebody was curious because they sent a crow, so it seems that they sent it.”
“This is Tia Erze.”
“If it’s Erze… . nice to see you.”
“I am really grateful for sending the wagon like this.”
Tia bowed her head slightly as she bowed.
Tiada inherited the blood of a high-ranking elf. A position equivalent to royalty in terms of human beings. It was not unusual for the elves to show their respect.
Anyway, we got on the wagon and headed to the Great Forest.
It wasn’t until nearly midnight that we reached the Great Grove. Even so, the wagon drove past the forest road for a long time.
Perhaps if I had walked, it would have taken a day or two if I had made my way from the wilderness to the Great Forest.
Soon, tall tree trunks appeared in front of me.
We rode the transition stone and moved up the tree.
Houses on huge tree trunks, peaceful and serene atmosphere, numerous overpasses between trees, and people with pointy ears visible between tall trees.
Even at a glance, it was different from the horizontal city where humans live. It all created a sense of mystery.
“welcome. This is the city of Great Forest, ‘giant tree trunk’.”
Everywhere I looked, I could see green tree trunks and spherical lower spirits flying between them. We walked among the tree trunks under the guidance of the coachman.
By the way, if you take a wrong step here and fall, you’ll be at least dead?
After all, should I say a nature-friendly elf?
Or should I say that he built a house in a tree ignorantly?
However, one thing was certain: it was as peaceful as it was away from the Empire.
“Mysterious and peaceful… .”
While moving, Arthur meekly looked around in admiration. As a child, Arthur’s dream was to be an adventurer, but seeing this city in person felt like a new feeling.
“You have worked hard to come this far. It’s late at night, so let’s stay here first. Anything else you need?”
We shook our heads.
The elf retreated and one by one we headed to our designated lodgings. As I was about to head to the dorm, Tesha grabbed my collar.
“I have something to say. Ethan… .”
