It was unusually dark out. I wouldn’t say that it was fine to use Night Vision Magic though.
There were Spells one should cast which took priority over that, like the Spell ‘Psycho Field’ to counter the Whispermush, which could cast sleeping Spells on you.
(TN: Wisparmush -> Whispermush, slight change in name)
“What’s that glowing flower over there?”
Sheila asked as she carefully watched our surroundings. A clear, rich light that was green or violet…appeared to be shining dimly. From their point of view, it was probably a magical scene.
“That is Fairy Light. If you pick it up and carry it with you, it will become your light source. However, if you use fire as a light source, you will be simultaneously attacked by the surrounding plants, so please be careful.”
After I answered her, Sheila surveyed her surrounding and raised her eyebrows. Correct, it was something magical, but this place was unsafe.
The Twilight Forest was a place with unique plants that didn’t need sunlight to grow. Naturally, its ecosystem was also unusual.
Plant swarms that attacked you because of fire weren’t treated as Monsters.
It seemed that we couldn’t take any shortcuts, such as phasing through walls or the floor.
After Sheila picked up one of the Fairy Lights, she confirmed it by lighting the area around her feet.
“…A lot of people’s tracks are here.”
It was probably because there were too many diverging points. Even their tracks would disappear if the Labyrinth’s structure changed.
“Let’s catch up with the Sword Boar if we discover its tracks.”
In terms of which order to do things, it was better to search for the Guardian before eliminating it.
There were many cases where people blocked the stairs and stone steles so that it wouldn’t retreat to the lower floors.
In regards to this floor, it couldn’t go back with the stone stele, so if it occupied the stairs, then the invaders wouldn’t be able to flee.
That was why I had decided to approach the Sword Boar as we continued heading towards the stairs. I understood that the Adventurers could only keep moving forward, so I looked for a chance to attack the Sword Boar.
Everyone proceeded on the path that led inside of the Forest while holding up the Fairy Light. I wanted to continue forward while watching to see if there were any reactions from humans from Life Detection, but–
“–They’re coming! There’s a lot of them, so I can’t give any specifics!”
As I reacted to Sheila’s words, Life Detection was interrupted.
Nothing was picked up by my Life Detection Magic. What I was trying to find, along with the response from humans, were enemies that consisted mostly of Plant Monsters. An enemy’s response would fade into the background. If the magic was interrupted, then you had to cancel their responses individually and start over.
Murderous plants, called Killer Plants, rushed at us as a large tremor propagated from the bushes. They were Monsters that walked with their roots and attacked with their branches.
I repelled the attacks from their tree lumps and crushed them head-on with the Dragon Staff.
“You’re in the way!”
The Killer Plants that headed towards Grace were cut in half.
“We won’t have the spare time to fight them one by one. Let’s move forward as we eliminate them.”
In order to ensure the rescue and prevent the number of victims from increasing, the subjugation took priority. Naturally, we didn’t have the time to strip them of their materials, and fighting them was probably a waste of time.
After I shot a fireball into those bushes, burning Whispermush rushed out and ran in all four directions, surrounding the tree lumps. Umu.
“I smell human blood.”
Just as we came to a forked road, Grace stopped and raised her eyebrows.
“Which way does it lead?”
“I’m sorry, I don’t really know. The air is becoming stagnant.”
Wind didn’t blow in the Twilight Forest. It seemed that we couldn’t follow it through her sense of smell alone, since the air was becoming stagnant. Sheila stopped listening to Grace and surveyed the surroundings while paying strong attention to the ground.
“…There are bloodstains, over there.”
Sheila ran in the direction she indicated.
Whether or not Grace was aware of the smell of blood that was drifting around, she lightly shook her head.
Altogether, it was three people. It was an awful sight.
There were wounds all over their bodies. We could see traces of the rampaging Sword Boar. The ground around us was caved in and large trees were broken.
“The two over there are still alive.”
The people marked by Life Detection were the ones thrown on top of the bush and stuck in the tree’s trunk. Unfortunately, the other remaining person had already taken his last breath. As we reached the two people who were still alive, the light that displayed their Life Response was weakening. We had to treat them immediately, or else it would be dangerous.
“Please hang in there!”
Ashley proceeded to use Healing Magic immediately after laying them down on the ground. Although their wounds closed, it was impossible to return the blood that was flowing out of their bodies. Even casting a stamina enhancing Spell would probably only recover half of it. One of the men, who was as white as a sheet, let out a groan.
“Ugh, y-you guys are…”
“We came to save you, please hang in there.”
“We’re s-saved, huh? Pl…ease. That damned thing went after our companions.”
The man pointed into the Forest as he said that.
Perhaps it placed a priority on eliminating the others just as he was incapacitated.
“Are you able to use a Red Dimension Stone? How many of your remaining companions are left?”
“Ah, of course. Please save them for me. There are two people…left.”
I handed the man a Red Dimension Stone that I had been holding.
Held items could be brought outside the Labyrinth with the Red Dimension Stone. In other words…the companion’s corpse. This time, those guys would probably be transferred to the Shrine at the Labyrinth’s entrance.
“I’ve somewhat figured out the Sword Boar’s tracks. Let’s give chase immediately.”
“Let’s go.”
When we chased after the Sword Boar’s trail, we heard a war cry from further inside the forest. We were close enough to it that we could hear that, but–
At that moment, it became noisy inside the Forest. Rustling leaves resounded from the bushes.
“What was that just now?”
“…The Guardian is calling over the Monsters on this floor.”
I didn’t know why…but it seemed to have gathered some companions.
I stopped everyone with my hand and looked at the situation they were in from the tree’s shadow.
The Sword Boar was over there. It had a rather large body. Its restlessness didn’t fit its image and it was moving around, unable to calm down.
It was persistently sniffing its surroundings, and it appeared to be smashing into many trees and uprooting them, as if taking out its irritation on them. The Adventurers on the tree had apparently used a Spell to blind it, but it was likely that they couldn’t deceive all of that thing’s senses. It also hadn’t found me yet because they were somewhat blocking both its sense of smell and hearing with Wind Magic.
The Sword Boar was a Demihuman that had a hard, steel-like body and sharp fangs. It wasn’t a pig, but a wild boar. It was a superior variant of an Orc.
Its name originated from the sharpness of its body. Even if you held onto it, it would tear you to shreds. This was the basis of its defense. Its claws and fangs were also unusually sturdy.
Basically, it was a Monster that used brute force to attack. Although I said that it used the brute force approach, since it concealed strong, Guardian-class Mana inside of its body, its Magic Resistance was also high. Its stored Mana was the basis of its defense against magic.
In short, it wouldn’t allow itself to be tied down like a normal large Orc.
The Sword Boar looked like it was going to find the hiding Adventurers by rampaging.
Now then, it was possible that the Spell I wanted to show off for blowing that thing away would engulf those two as the Sword Boar approached them. Having said that, as long as it rallied Monsters together, I didn’t really have the time to leisurely think about things. It was the same as not being able to cast powerful Spells when a battle turned chaotic.
“I’ll go aggro it, so can you do what you did when we fought the Killer Ants?”
“The same thing you say…the method of using the Defense Field to endure it?”
“Yes.”
Grace nodded.
For that reason, I had to maintain a Spell that would allow them to enter a barrier. Grace would draw the Sword Boar’s aggro, and we would head towards those people?
Did she understand my worries? After our gazes met, Grace gave me a weak smile, as if she was a bit troubled by something.
“If I could speak truthfully, it’s painful right now, since the smell of human blood from earlier was too thick. Because of that, I want to let off some steam and go on a rampage. Won’t you leave that thing to me?”
“I’ll provide some backup if I find it dangerous, alright?”
“Yes.”
She smiled at me sweetly and then laughed happily.