“Myang!”
“Where are you going?”
The people had vanished, and Myangmyang had appeared.
In a situation whose context I couldn’t grasp, I chose to follow Myangmyang.
“You want me to follow, right?”
“Myangmyang!”
With no one available to explain the unfolding situation, I found myself simply following the emergent event, though whether this was the right course of action, I couldn’t say.
‘But if this world is a game, then following is the correct play.’
Could it be that the dog I met in the forest had reappeared to guide me somewhere?
This felt like the perfect setup for a hidden event.
Having walked for quite some time, pushing through the forest, following Myangmyang, I heard it.
Swoosh—
“Oh?”
Beneath a cascading waterfall, a cave exuding a mysterious aura revealed itself.
“Wow, the air.”
The air was fresh and damp with moisture.
“Wow, the water.”
The water was so transparent that the bottom was clearly visible.
If one were to float watermelons here for a summer retreat, the heat itself would be instantly quartered, utterly defeated.
“Myang! Myang!”
“Alright, alright, I’m coming.”
Following Myangmyang, who seemed to be urging me forward, I entered the cave.
“Incredible.”
The interior of the cave was equally beautiful.
Subtly glowing blue jade stones were embedded throughout the cave walls, and the water flowing across the floor, reflecting their blue light, further enhanced the cave’s mystical atmosphere.
Yet, there was something peculiar about it.
“What are these vines?”
The luminous jade stones were obscured by wildly growing vines.
Upon closer inspection, they seemed to be climbing plants, much like roses, with pink flower buds visible among their leaves.
‘How can these vines grow without any sunlight?’
Logically, this kind of vegetation made no sense.
Just then,
—Ugh… who’s there…!
“Huh?”
A young girl’s voice echoed from deeper within the cave.
“Is anyone there?”
—Black dog, have you come to help? But it’s already too late… the erosion… ugh…!
Could she have been injured during an exploration?
“Are you an examinee, by any chance? Do you need help?”
—…
I repeated my question, but receiving no answer, I walked towards the source of the voice.
It seemed certain that someone was stranded.
‘Did I come here to find a corpse, only to trip and become one myself?’
“Myang! Myang!”
Myangmyang also darted forward, as if hurrying me along.
Carefully, I advanced, heading towards where the voice had come from.
The vines grew progressively thicker and denser, now almost entirely covering the walls.
Then,
[Censored.]
“Ugh, this smell…”
A strangely out-of-place floral scent wafted into my nose.
As if this particular section existed in a season of its own, hundreds—no, thousands—of flower buds had blossomed profusely, creating an astonishing display.
It was beautiful, yet its complete disharmony with the surroundings made it unsettling.
As I descended deeper, captivated by the sight,
“…A fawn?”
I spotted a baby deer, struggling, tightly bound by vines.
—Why have you come!
The baby deer cried out.
“Oh…”
The deer can talk.
This truly brought home the reality of being in another world.
—What are you doing! Run away quickly! I’ll hold them off! Hurry!
The deer declared dramatically.
…while vigorously thrashing within the vines.
“…It is dangerous, indeed.”
My heart, especially, was in danger.
I felt like I would die from the cuteness.
“Alright. I’ll help you, so stay still. Now… carefully…”
I knelt down and began tearing at the vines on the ground.
—Snap, crackle.
Though somewhat tough, they quickly tore away when I pulled with force.
At that moment, the deer, seeing me gripping the vines in one hand, stopped struggling, its eyes wide with surprise, and asked,
“…You tear these tentacles so easily… Who, who exactly are you?”
“…Just a passing tourist.”
“…What?”
The deer was speechless, and an awkward silence settled between us.
“…Myang!”
Myangmyang, sensing the discomfort, filled the void with a perfectly timed remark.
Such a good companion.
****
Meanwhile, at the very moment Mr. Will continued his awkward eye contact with the deer.
“Haa, haa… Damn it.”
A group of people desperately pushed forward, heading towards ‘The Threshold.’
If hell existed, this might be its landscape.
Mike, the official examiner for explorer qualifications, wiped away the sweat beading like pearls on his brow, lost in thought.
This was no longer a forest.
The trees, which originally oozed a sticky red liquid when touched, had transformed into something entirely different.
Their branches had become tentacles, their leaves thorns.
Every creature in this forest seemed to approach them with malice, targeting him and the examinees.
“No matter how much we’ve crushed them… they’re still…”
A sudden earthquake struck. Mike and the trainee explorers witnessed the forest itself come alive before their eyes.
This wasn’t a metaphor. The entire forest writhed, blocking their path.
Red tentacles grabbed at their ankles, and hair-like leaves coiled around the necks of those who drew too close, attempting to choke them.
Through the desperate efforts of Mike, a Gold-ranked explorer, and some skilled examinees, a miracle had occurred: there were no fatalities.
“Ugh… I can’t go on…”
“We’re all going to die. There’s no hope.”
“Uwaaaagh… waaaagh…”
Yet, their spirits were already largely broken.
Foul odors, screams, pus, and blood. In this place where things that should instill fear in any living creature poured forth like an inexhaustible spring, the morale of the aspiring explorers shattered one by one.
It seemed impossible for them all to get out together.
‘Given the situation… I must escape alone and inform the association…’
The desire to survive.
It whispered to him, masked by the guise of realistic judgment.
Not everyone could make it out alive.
Therefore, it was best for him, the one with the highest chance of survival, to escape and deliver a warning to the association.
Squirming—
Even as he deliberated, the forest continued to shift its red flesh, inching towards them with every passing moment.
A decision was needed.
‘…Yes.’
This was by no means leading them to their deaths.
If they were all going to die anyway, what was wrong with saving at least those who could be saved?
“…Everyone, listen closely. From now on, we…”
‘We leave the stragglers behind.’
Just as the hesitant Mike was about to utter those words,
“Ignification!”
—Boom!
Red flames erupted, obliterating the crimson flesh that had been blocking their path.
“Are you alright?!”
Beyond the inferno, a woman with pale purple hair and a pointed hat appeared.
“You…?!”
“I’m an examinee! I heard noises from this direction and came to investigate! Ms. Regen, this is the way! Over here!”
Following her, several other figures emerged.
There was an elven woman sobbing, her face a mess, and an elven man stumbling forward, one arm severed.
And then,
“…Mike. It’s been a long time.”
A woman with the left side of her face obscured by a hood.
“…You know me?”
Mike’s eyes widened as he peered at her.
“…Adrian…? You’re alive…!”
Though much had changed from the past, Mike could clearly recognize the person before him.
Adrian, the explorer.
Before him stood Adrian, the explorer who had once been his idol, a Dark Iron rank holder from the time Mike himself had first ventured into the Nether.
“…That appearance… Were the rumors true…? More importantly, that form…”
Ten years ago, the exploration guild ‘Adrian’s Ship’ had risen like a comet.
Led by the elf Adrian, it was a multi-racial exploration team, a rarity at the time, generating considerable buzz.
Their method of maximizing efficiency by leveraging the unique traits of each race brought about a change in Nether exploration, where species-specific parties had previously been considered the norm.
Indeed, all multi-racial parties that emerged afterward were said to have been influenced by Adrian.
“Ten years ago… did you survive that incident…?”
Despite being such a renowned guild, their end was tragic, as it was for all famous explorers in this place.
While returning from an expedition, they encountered an unknown creature in the Forest of Screams.
All guild members, except for a few elven teammates, went missing.
Subsequently, the association, along with the surviving elven teammates, fought with all their might to drive away the unknown creature. The bodies of the guild members were recovered, but their leader, Adrian, was nowhere to be found.
What had become of Adrian? What was the monster the association had discovered?
People’s curiosity soared, but her surviving guild members remained strictly silent on the matter, and the association responded to inquiries by sealing off the altar.
Afterward, Adrian’s surviving comrades disbanded the guild and founded a new one called ‘The Blade of the World Tree.’
Soon after, they announced that Adrian, their former guild master, had retired due to severe injuries, but people found it hard to believe.
The most prevalent rumor was that elven guild members, who resented her open-minded approach of actively accepting other races, unlike a typical elf, had killed her and formed a new guild.
Coincidentally, the fact that all guild members active after her last expedition were elves fueled this suspicion.
However, as The Blade of the World Tree quickly secured its position as a major guild and enforced strict secrecy, the name Adrian soon became nothing more than a topic of debate among old explorers.
‘There were many strange things, but this industry was always like this.’
It was common for an entire guild, once hailed as promising prospects, to vanish overnight, or for leaders to be replaced by rebellion during an expedition.
“…But why now…”
Had she revealed her identity again?
And in this very place where she had gone missing?
“I just happened to drop by.”
An unconvincing excuse that even a dog wouldn’t believe.
She seemed to have no intention of explaining further to Mike.
“It appears my foolish kin have tampered with the altar. And it seems those ‘Blade’ rascals passed by bringing corpses from there.”
She merely stated the situation dispassionately.
“…You insane bastards.”
Mike’s neck veins bulged.
He glared at the trembling elves as if he had decided to devour them whole.
—Thwack!
“You utterly insane bastards!!!”
—Thwack!
Unable to contain his rage, Mike kicked the elven man in the stomach.
“Kyaaaah!”
—Slap!
“You shut up too!”
After slapping the screaming woman’s cheek, he fumed and roared,
“What do you take human words for?! Was it so hard to understand when I told you not to go?!”
“…Enough. They’re both half out of their minds.”
Regen calmed Mike down.
“…Ms. Adrian, your personality has… softened quite a bit?”
Mike was quite flustered by her act of restraining him.
Recalling anecdotes he’d heard from his seniors, Adrian was not the type of character who would gently hold him back; she would have joined in the stomping.
Just then,
—Whoooosh!!!
Making a distinctive sound, a gigantic beast with a long nose charged towards them.
“A… a Brain-Licker…?!”
“We’re already struggling, and now something like that is coming too?!”
“We’re dead! We’re all dead!!”
The examinees despaired.
They had thought some formidable individuals had arrived to save them, but now another monster appeared.
Still, compared to those completely exhausted and gasping for breath on the floor, the situation of those who still had the energy to be surprised was, perhaps, marginally better.
—Thump!
And then,
“Lady Adrian…?!”
Upon confirming the opponent, Regen dropped her belongings and charged straight towards the Brain-Licker.
