It has already been a month since Im Haneul left.
I had experienced Rampage A once, but fortunately, I managed to get through it easily using three Holy Waters. It was a bit sad to use up three Holy Waters, though…
Aside from that, thankfully, nothing happened to me during that time. It seemed that she hadn’t spoken to anyone about my whereabouts as she claimed. I may not know much about international politics, but a month is enough time to send a hunting squad and pursuers.
Thanks to that, I could finally relax. I didn’t need to leave this cozy cave.
As for what I’m missing… her magic wasn’t very efficient.
Was it called Illusion (幻視)? Something like that, I think.
Sadly, I didn’t know much about magic. I guess being in the forest all the time means I rarely encountered those high-level magic types.
If I had known a bit more, Haneul might have been able to prepare better… I felt a slight regret, but hey, the results turned out well, so I decided to let it slide.
Anyway, Illusion turned out to be quite a cumbersome skill. Its duration lasted less than half a day, and even that required the caster to be nearby.
But the good thing was that I could recharge my Demon Mark even while under the Illusion. After all, it was just an illusion to the eyes.
The condition of the Demon Mark being exposed to sunlight and air still applied equally.
What a silly mark. Can’t even handle such variables. What a failure as a programmer!
So, because of that, I decided to use her when it was time for sunbathing. Just sitting next to her while casting Illusion and enjoying the sun.
Sure, I might raise suspicions about what kind of relationship we had, but at least the mark wouldn’t be discovered by a third party.
To be considerate, I wore at least a sleeveless top for her. I just needed to expose my collarbone anyway.
Honestly, I wouldn’t mind stripping down further, but she really would freak out, so I had to hold back. A guy shouldn’t show his body so freely, they say.
…Every time I think about that, it reminds me how much the world has changed.
“…Ahh.”
Of course, even now in just a tank top, I still felt embarrassed. I couldn’t make eye contact, and my face was still red. It seemed like she was especially not immune to ‘men.’
Every time that happened, I wanted to tease her a bit, but for now, I had to hold back. After all, she held the nuclear bomb of information about my mark.
Anyway, this meant another guest would be visiting my forest.
She probably couldn’t come often because of her editing job, though.
Naturally, Yoo Chaerin had been visiting regularly over the past month. I was quite glad to see her. She always brought back useful information each time she came.
She was faithfully following through with our promise from last time.
Of course, not everything in this world could be special every day, so she didn’t always bring back top-notch information.
Her usual news consisted of trivial gossip about Otherworlders and NPCs fighting or where treasures were discovered.
Although these had nothing to do with me, they were entertaining enough to brighten my dull days.
But among all the information I heard today, one piece was quite significant.
“Yor, listen!”
She exclaimed excitedly to me.
“Remember the Demon that descended a while ago? Andromalius!”
“Right.”
“They say his arm has been stolen!”
“?”
*
It goes without saying that completing a raid usually rewards items.
Otherwise, players would get upset.
Naturally, the same applied to [Demon’s Saga], and the defeated Andromalius did drop an item.
Specifically, it was Andromalius’ left arm wrapped in a snake.
Though the creature’s body was incinerated and vanished immediately after death,
miraculously, his left arm remained at the scene.
Of course, it didn’t mean it belonged to any user.
The only item emerged from the raid ended up in the hands of the Empire.
After all, it was taken down by the leader of the 5th Knight Order, and they couldn’t just trust a Demon’s belongings in anyone else’s hands.
That demon’s arm was to be transported to the Church for long-term sealing.
Since nobody could use an ominous item like a Demon’s arm, they planned to ensure no one could use it.
But unfortunately, this endeavor was doomed to fail in the end.
On its way to the church, a group of goons attacked the carriage.
Naturally, the carriage was protected by dozens of knights. Some of them were even Otherworlders instead of soldiers.
Even though there were no supernaturals at the level of a Knight Commander, the goons wouldn’t even dare to challenge such a formidable force.
Yet, they still managed to launch an attack.
Taking advantage of the carriage’s encampment, the thugs attempted to steal the vault inside.
Of course, the knights were experienced enough to have sentries on guard.
“Hey? Who—”
However, the goons’ skills were remarkably high level.
With a menacing sound, the heads of two knights soared through the air.
Two thugs had swiftly beheaded the sentries with a single strike each.
Although both were knights, the thugs’ blades were faster than their reflexes.
At least, the ruckus was enough to alert others.
Thud—
The sound of bodies hitting the ground echoed all around. That alone was enough noise for the night.
“What kind of bastards are you?!”
A knight’s shout woke everyone sleeping under the tent.
The thugs exchanged remarks upon seeing this.
“Ah, I told you to handle this quietly.”
“Sorry… but we can’t help the noise of bodies hitting the ground.”
There were a total of six thugs.
Five were armed with swords, and one was empty-handed.
The feeling was that the unarmed thug seemed the most authoritative.
However, since all of them wore masks, their faces were unrecognizable.
As time passed, the unarmed thug gave orders.
“This isn’t good. Let’s scram!”
With that, the thugs fled with the items. A sudden chase ensued in the dead of night.
For the knights, the theft of items was a matter of their profession, so they had to chase desperately.
Thanks to that, they managed to capture one of the thugs along the way.
However, despite their best efforts, they were slightly short in catching the stolen property.
The goons were simply faster than expected.
Still, one knight, with desperate determination, managed to reach the leader of the thugs.
“Huah!”
The knight charged, raising his sword with a shout. Yet, the blade never touched his opponent.
The unarmed thug unleashed a magic spell at that moment.
Tat-tat—
Like a firework show, brilliant flames erupted spectacularly.
It looked just like watching a firework about to burst.
And then, she set off the fireworks towards her opponents.
“Gahhh!”
That was the end.
Hundreds of sparks flew from the opponent’s body, extinguishing the knight’s life.
Seeing the knight charred and fallen, the thug exclaimed,
“Oh dear, sorry about that. This item is practically a sacred relic for our sect.”
Perhaps because the sight was too intense, the pursuers momentarily halted.
And with that, the thugs quietly escaped.
*
“No way, this was posted on the board a few days ago. At first, I thought it was just a story since it was written.”
However, rumors began to circulate here a few days later.
Rumors about Andromalius’ left arm being stolen.
“Wow, when I heard that, I realized it was the Otherworlder who participated in the quest who spilled the beans. I wish they had at least taken a photo instead of just posting it.”
“Hmmm…”
I nodded. It seemed something else I didn’t know was about to happen.
Why did the thugs steal the item? It didn’t seem like they were simply trying to sell it. Apparently, Chaerin mentioned strange words like ‘sect’ and ‘sacred relic’ earlier.
Anyone capable of taking out a knight in one hit surely couldn’t be an ordinary skilled person.
Of course, since this had nothing to do with me, I didn’t think deeply about it.
Then a thought crossed my mind.
Didn’t they say they captured one of the thugs? I could just get information from him.
What exactly were those thugs?
So I asked her about the thug they captured.
“Oh, that.”
Soon, I received this reply.
“He ran away.”
*
“Damn it, catch him!”
“Don’t let him escape!”
Haneul came to help.
Thanks to that stupid guard leaving the keys in his back pocket, she could easily steal them.
That idiot, did he really think a person’s arm would grow longer?
“Phew… phew…”
Thanks to that, she easily snatched the keys, beheaded the guard, and fled.
That would lead to a bounty in the Empire, but since she was about to face brutal interrogation, it didn’t matter much.
‘A pursuit team will surely follow…’
Having escaped the prison, she thought as she observed the organized chaos around her.
‘For now, I need to hide for a while.’
It was clear that now, with her face exposed, she needed to avoid attention wherever she went.
The Empire’s forces wanting information from her would also be searching with fiery eyes.
At the very least, she needed a hiding spot until she could establish contact with the sect.
As she fled, she discovered a certain forest.
The area was known as the ‘Forbidden Forest,’ filled with dangerous monsters.
Honestly, it was dangerous, but with her skills, she felt she could evade danger long enough to make contact with the sect.
Tap-tap!
Thoughts aside, she dashed into the forest.
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