Infiltration into the Great Forest Interior
“Alright then, let’s go.”
The plan was progressing smoothly. I arrived at the town on the opposite side in one day without any contact with anything other than Monsters, and I was able to successfully register as an Adventurer at the guild, preparing for the Great Forest interior.
As an additional setup, I had also successfully prepared a record that made the lie of Monsters emerging from the Great Forest and causing human casualties appear as the truth.
My infiltration would be slow, moving with the practiced movements of someone accustomed to combat, and I would act accordingly inside.
If I were to enter with my usual pace, it could invite unnecessary hostility, and there was a chance they would just leave me alone and expect me to go home on my own.
“Good luck.”
“Yeah, if any Elves come looking, I’m counting on you.”
“Leave it to me.”
I exchanged a few words with the gatekeeper of the town before departing.
What I asked them to do was to show the prepared record. And to convey that a freelance Adventurer, who had no registered family in this town and whose identity was not clearly known, had gone on a request.
This would allow the human side to justify their actions, and show the Elves that no humans would be intentionally searching for me after I was secured inside. Considering the future, it was necessary, and I didn’t want to leave any loose ends that could be noticed, so I prepared thoroughly.
For the time being, I spent about half a day reaching the forest’s boundary, then set up a tent outside the forest before entering.
For now, I would only make a slight foray, and from evening to night, I would go deeper, fighting Monsters with moderate difficulty.
The image was to be around the middle of the human power level. Not able to mow down Monsters like grass in the forest, but not to the point of dying either.
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That was the plan, but…
“……Hyuu.”
“Don’t scream too much, they’ll notice and come over.”
“……” Nod nod.
“That’s good.”
It became troublesome. More unexpected than I could have imagined.
As soon as I entered, I heard a scream, not a human one, but a desperate voice that I couldn’t ignore, so I rushed to the scene.
There, I found a young Elf girl with long golden hair and a pure white dress-like outfit. She was cowering, her eyes filled with tears, as a large, Bear-like Monster approached her.
It was just a small fry Monster, so I was about to quickly eliminate it, but then I remembered that I was supposed to be acting, so I threw the sword I had brought, picked up the girl, and ran away from the scene.
Having her life saved, and about to express various emotions to the first human she had ever seen, we encountered a group of strange Monsters, their eyes dead, covered in wounds that weren’t bleeding.
I immediately picked up the girl I had just put down, and ran towards the direction where the Monster presence was weaker, and on the way, I found a natural hiding place made of a large tree and rocks.
I threw the girl in there, told her to be quiet, and then faced the few Monsters that had followed us, taking moderate damage while killing them, and then rejoined the girl.
The current situation is that we are still hiding from the Monsters that have been chasing us, and from the Monsters that have jumped out from somewhere.
The girl, who has been on the verge of screaming from the sounds of Monsters fighting and dying, and the shaking ground and plants, has been ordered not to scream.
She seems to understand well and obeys when ordered, but her fear seems to overwhelm her, and she is about to scream, so I have to hold her down with my hand and order her each time.
“……It’s quiet now, which means they’re all dead except for one.”
“……Um.”
“What is it? Make it brief.”
“Thank you for saving me. But, why did you save me?”
“I heard a scream and made it in time. I don’t have a hobby of abandoning lives I can save. More importantly, do you know the lay of the land around here?”
“……I’m sorry.”
“I see. Then it’s fine… Unfortunately, I don’t have the strength to protect you and fight the Monsters in this forest at the same time. So, if we get found, we’ll have to run as fast as we can.”
“……Is there anything I can do to help?”
“What can you do? It depends on that.”
“Um, well… I can pray to the Spirits.”
“……Wait a moment. Keep your mouth shut.”
“?? Yes.”
…………This is a pain in the ass.
Honestly, thanks to this encounter with the Elf, I can now track the Elf’s presence, so I can deliver her.
However, there is an abnormal element that she has no knowledge of the land despite living in this forest, and she can pray to the Spirits… In other words, she can communicate with the Spirits and receive their power. What a troublesome package, seriously.
First of all, delivering her to the Elf settlement that can be felt from afar is a bad move considering the girl’s abnormal elements, and besides, that’s where Fana and the others are going, so that’s out.
Next, annihilating all the Monsters and going out of the forest is easy, but as a result, this troublesome package will cause something terrible, so that’s out too.
…………………
Should I just move and hide in the forest?
The presence of the Monster that was crawling nearby has also gone far away.
“……Do you know where there’s water?”
“I can ask the Spirits.”
“Then ask them, and be as quiet as possible.”
“……Yes.”
“I’ll go look around. If you get found by a Monster, scream or break this.”
“……Yes.”
“Then, I’m counting on you.”
“Yes, please be careful.”
………Should I kill some Monsters?
I can’t feel any other Elf presence besides the girl nearby, and there doesn’t seem to be anyone who would be a witness, so I want to thin out the abnormal Monsters I found earlier, because seeing them has made me certain.
The Disaster Classification of the Great Forest isn’t the Night Beetle.
It’s a parasite. And probably a Roper-like parasite, the kind that can plant itself and make it a part of itself.
Perhaps the Elves who rushed back to the forest, or more accurately, the Elves who live inside the Great Forest, have been implanted with parasites. The reason they rushed back and sought combustibles to burn the trees… is because the Great Tree is also a target of the parasite?
The trauma reduction is probably a different species, but the Elves’ abnormal behavior can be seen as a result of noticing this fact and acting to deal with it.
“………Aah, this is troublesome.”
I let out a voice, but it can’t be helped.
It was the right decision to change the order of subjugation. If I had let this go, it would have been much worse, the parasite would have used the Elf girl I protected as a medium to parasitize the Spirits, and then spread the parasitic circle to the places where the Spirits exist, making it difficult to eradicate.
The most important thing now is to change the plan.
I must not let that girl be killed by the provisional parasite. I need to prioritize the subjugation of the Disaster Classification, because if it is implanted in that girl and spreads to the Spirits, it will be a disaster.
Fortunately, it hasn’t spread the parasite to the surrounding plants, which is good. If that had happened, I wouldn’t have been able to choose my means, and I would have had to destroy and obliterate everything within a one-kilometer radius of this forest.
For now, let’s kill them.
I’ll pretend to be barely able to kill them while taking some attacks, and thin out the Monsters that are approaching. If I don’t, the aftermath will be extremely troublesome.
“……How is it?”
“Ah, yes. Um, it seems to be over there.”
“I see. Relax your body.”
“Huh?”
“It’s faster to carry you than to walk with you. As you can see, there are still many Monsters, and we have to hurry to avoid fighting.”
“……Um.”
“What is it?”
“Please, be gentle.”
“I’ll do my best, relax your body.”
“……Yes.”
It seems we’ve been found, so I’ll carry the girl and move.
Ideally, I don’t want to be found by other Elves for the time being. About two days, I want to explore the forest while listening to the girl’s story without being found.
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・I am notifying you of a change in the update schedule.
Daily updates → Changed to every other day.
Sorry, I’ve gotten a little busy, so I’m changing it. I’ll go back to daily updates when I have more time.