Chapter 101 : Chapter 101
Chapter 101
“……What is this?”
Aquila’s expression stiffened in confusion as a window suddenly appeared before him.
Who in the world would send him a note—especially in this situation?
The Sun God Raspalara had once sent him a note in this separate dimension created by the Space of Judgment, but…….
“Surely it is not Raspalara.”
After a brief hesitation, Aquila raised the window.
【Note from Joreumi:2ㅇrㅍ.we 험(Danger ahead.)】
“……?”
He was immediately overcome with confusion.
“What is that supposed to mean?”
Frowning slightly, Aquila stared intently at the message.
Not that staring at it helped him understand it.
“……Is there something ahead? I cannot see anything with my eyes.”
Seeing Aquila glaring into empty air, Porzelin tilted his head.
With eyes that had only just reached Sword Expert (Beginner), he could not even begin to gauge the darkness of the forest.
It was strange. The ordinary darkness that blanketed Igrail had been perfectly visible to him.
“……I do not see anything either.”
Heinen added in agreement.
Aquila had never heard him speak properly about his abilities, nor had he seen his keyword information, so he did not know the details—but Heinen’s swordsmanship was roughly on par with, or perhaps slightly superior to, Cahena’s.
He was likely well-versed in Divine Magic as well.
In any case, if even Heinen could not see it, then the darkness ahead was no ordinary one.
“The Spirit of Light has extinguished all illumination. It does not allow anyone—even those who dwell within the forest—to proceed any farther.”
“Even you cannot see, Lord Zelik?”
“No. I have been tricked by spirits before, but I have never encountered darkness this absolute.”
Zelik raised the lantern he had brought, yet when he extended his hand slightly forward, the flame within it visibly dwindled.
“Even the Spirit of Fire is telling us not to go any farther.”
“But we do not have the luxury of circling around. We could pass through briefly—”
Ding!
【Note from Joreumi:wㅣㅎ€ㅁ(Danger)】
Aquila’s gaze snapped once more to the newly appeared window before lifting again.
“……There is no way around this? They will not tell us why they are blocking the path?”
“Hmm……. They all say it is dangerous. That there will be no exceptions, even for humans.”
“Dangerous? They will not tell us what exactly is dangerous?”
Ding!
【Note from Joreumi:M○nㅅㅡㅌ{(Monster)】
“Wait. This looks like…… a word.”
Aquila’s eyes widened as he checked the new message.
Zelik, who had been faithfully relaying the spirits’ words, tilted his head.
“There is something there……?”
“Are they saying there is a monster?”
“……Ah? Yes. They say that is correct. There is a dangerous monster ahead……. Wait, a monster?”
Zelik’s face turned serious at once.
The spirits had only suddenly blocked the path, saying it was dangerous. They had never explained what exactly was happening.
“If it is a monster that warrants a warning from the spirits, I cannot imagine what it must be.”
Heinen closed the only visible part of his face—his jaw—tightly and stared into the darkness beyond.
“Do they not know what kind of monster it is? Its appearance, perhaps?”
Ding!
【Note from Joreumi: Dㅗ ㅁr○.m♧Lㄹ}(Ran away. Don't know.)】
“……The spirits say they took cover and do not know well.”
“How can they have seen nothing at all? They should at least know some distinguishing feature.”
Ding!
【Note from Joreumi: 1. ㅊLㄱoo. Yㅆ○ㅡm(There is a friend.)】
“One spirit……. Ah. It says that one of its friends saw it.”
“What did they see?”
Yet despite his question, no notification rang.
Aquila glared briefly at the oddly bright surroundings.
“Speak.”
Ding!
【Note from Joreumi:ㅇn※.Wolf.(Silver. Wolf.)】
“……A wolf?”
“The spirits say they saw a silver wolf…….”
Aquila’s question burst out faster than Zelik’s words.
Zelik turned to look at him as though asking whether he could truly converse with spirits.
“A wolf? What nonsense—wait, silver? Does it perhaps have blue, gem-like stones on its ears?”
His tone was no longer directed at Zelik, but as though he were questioning the spirits directly.
Yet Aquila had no room to care about that.
His black eyes were fixed upon the message window, anxiously awaiting the next reply.
Ding!
【Note from Joreumi: ¥ㅖs(Yes.)】
Without much delay, the reply arrived.
Aquila muttered in disbelief.
“Surely not…… Fenrir?”
“That is correct—what? What did you just say?”
Having received the same answer from the spirits, Zelik startled at Aquila’s muttering.
Fenrir!
A massive and dangerous demonic beast.
Its beautiful silver fur, which covered its entire body, was so tough that ordinary blades could not pierce it. Blue gemstones, sparkling like crystal, were embedded at the tips of its ears, within its eyes, and on its forepaws.
Those stones were composed of an extremely durable mineral.
It was said that nothing could penetrate them.
Yet despite such formidable traits, its most powerful weapon was not its claws, but its fangs.
Each individual tooth was said to rival mithril.
The moment Aquila spoke that name aloud, the surroundings grew restless.
There were no murmuring voices, yet the wind, the grass, the trees, the flowers—even the light itself—stirred.
As though his words were the correct answer.
“This is absurd. That creature belongs in the Frost Forest—why would it be here?”
Fenrir preferred the cold.
It was a monster configured to respawn near the Frost Forest—meaning that no matter how many times it was killed, it would eventually reappear there.
Normally, it would dwell there until the main scenario began, at which point it would consume the Black Swamp, grow stronger, and gradually descend southward.
“Wait. The Demonic Dragon that was supposed to rampage around here entered the Black Forest Dungeon. Did Fenrir move east to fill its vacancy?”
To patch an error?
But doing so would only create another error…….
Aquila’s mind began racing.
“If it is truly Fenrir, then it is a threatening demonic beast. Everyone in Igrail knows of it.”
“……Do the spirits say it is true?”
“Y-Yes. They say it seems to be correct…… Ah—Ah! Seneterini! This must be reported to Senetalia at once!”
Zelik spoke urgently.
If Fenrir truly lurked nearby, then everyone in Senetalia—located not far from here—was in danger.
Wherever its claws touched would be destroyed or frozen solid.
“In any case, we cannot proceed forward. It would be better to return to the village with Lord Zelik for now.”
“Yes. I believe that would be best as well…… Young Master Aquila?”
Yet Aquila, regardless of their grave discussion, continued to stare blankly at the System window, still in shock.
Then, almost reflexively, he checked the small bag still hidden at his lower back.
Two small vials, a dagger, gold coins, and……
“Two Mithril Arrowheads. I thought they were merely spares in case of failure. I was wrong.”
He released the tightly clenched bag and grimaced.
“Ark Batchel. That bastard handed them to me so I would kill two monsters. One was the Demonic Dragon, and the other…… Fenrir. Damn it.”
Ark had known everything.
Even if forcibly teleporting Aquila might prompt Lexenbert Fad Reschenhardt to come to the capital, there was another reason for sending him east.
As long as Fenrir was here, there was no need to divert forces toward the Frost Forest.
Of course, once the main scenario progressed, other monsters might emerge there—but for now, there was no reason whatsoever to station Lexenbert’s sword there.
Aquila swallowed his rising anger and raked a hand through his hair, leaving it in disarray.
“Could he not have at least given me a hint? He drops me here to dig blindly, and once I finally realize it, I am supposed to handle it myself?”
Was this not something Ark, a Sword Master, could have handled personally?
His insides boiled.
After countless cycles, Aquila had believed himself to have grown numb.
Yet in this iteration, how many emotional upheavals had he endured?
Far from feeling grateful to Ark, rage burned within him.
“Young Master Aquila.”
Porzelin gently seized his shoulder when he received no response.
“Let us return. We cannot proceed any farther.”
Porzelin added anxiously.
At any moment, the demonic beast could come here and strike.
If that happened, Porzelin knew with certainty that his own skill would not suffice to protect Aquila.
Though he intended to lay down his life if necessary, the beast was simply too massive and powerful.
“If only I possessed greater strength…….”
The thought crossed Porzelin’s mind, yet retreating did not wound his pride.
Clinging to the belief that one might defeat an opponent who could never be overcome was mere arrogance.
“……Very well. We move.”
Aquila, who had been staring into the pitch-black darkness, finally nodded.
Porzelin swallowed the sigh of relief that almost escaped him.
“I will guard the rear. Let us hurry back to the village.”
Heinen drew the weapon slung across his back and took it into his hand.
Suppressing his presence as much as possible, he sent the other three ahead.
Extinguishing the lantern’s light, Zelik took the lead toward Senetalia.
At his gesture, the Spirits of Light gathered and illuminated the path.
Among them, the brightest spirit—one that had been near them from the beginning—moved close to Aquila as they traveled.
Aquila glanced back once. When his eyes met Heinen’s, he turned forward again.
His head felt as though it might split apart.
***
Zelik rushed into the village and delivered news of what lay beyond the path blocked by the spirits.
Tesser, who had assumed they had simply failed to persuade the spirits, was horrified.
He did not doubt the truth of the report.
Above all, the Spirits of Light were nodding in confirmation.
Tesser urgently convened a council.
The Blue Scale Descendants gathered in the plaza and heard the news.
Their numbers were not large, but each of them was young—and every one of them was an exceptional mage and warrior.
Chaos erupted.
“The spirits say Fenrir is at the boundary between Washerd Forest and Sliana Forest. For now, it is not moving.”
“If it is at the boundary, it could descend here at any moment. We must prepare.”
“Prepare? Do you truly believe we can defeat Fenrir? A few swipes of its claws would shatter Senetalia.”
“So we should do nothing? That is absurd!”
“If we wish to survive, we may have to leave the forest…….”
“This is our forest! Where else would we possibly go!”
Negative voices insisting Fenrir could not be defeated clashed with more hopeful ones arguing they might prevail if they fought together.
All in their own language.
“……I cannot understand what they are saying. They seem to be angry.”
Heinen let out a rare sigh.
Listening to their hissing, serpentine speech, Aquila’s face remained rigid.
“What if those outsiders brought the demonic beast with them? They appeared suddenly!”
Now the arrows of suspicion turned toward Aquila’s party.
It was undeniably strange that they had appeared in the forest accompanied by a flow of magic.
“No. They appeared yesterday, and Fenrir appeared about a week ago…….”
“Perhaps they are lying about not using ancient magic! Unlike us, they do not speak only the truth.”
“We have not lied.”
Delvion’s common tongue abruptly cut through their language.
One of the Blue Scale Descendants stared at Aquila in shock.
“You understood our speech…….”
“I did. And more importantly, there is something I would like to ask.”
Aquila spoke coldly, as though suppressing rising anger.
“Among you, who is the most skilled with a bow?”