When war breaks out, who suffers the most?
Is it the treasurer who’s pulling their hair out over supplies? The knights who might lose their lives?
No, it’s obviously the conscripts and the civilians living near the battlefield.
This time, with no conscripts, the only victims were the villagers near the altar.
They were having their daily lives shattered thanks to the altar suddenly appearing.
The people from the Lemegaton tent and those from the knights’ tent were frequently clashing, and even at dawn, they were too busy keeping an eye on each other.
Naturally, the villagers were on edge.
And that’s not all.
When a crowd gathers, trash is bound to follow.
This applied whether they were from Lemegaton, otherworlders, or knights—there were no exceptions.
Groups that like to fight always have a higher ratio of rowdy characters.
It was common for such characters to cause havoc in the village.
They even had some guy named Rekka, or whatever, come over to ask for an interview, which really rubbed them the wrong way…
sigh “I’m tired of this. Those damned guys… How long do they plan to stick around?”
“Right? Ugh… How can we even live with this fear?”
It was only natural for the villagers’ anxiety to spike.
Especially in the home of the village chief, where their anxiety was the most intense. It wasn’t just because there were armed groups nearby.
It was because they had a rather peculiar girl in their household.
“Are you all okay…?”
“Oh my, did you wake up? Go back to sleep, don’t let the knights see you.”
“That’s right. The dawn is approaching. You need to replenish your energy as much as you can.”
She was a girl who looked around 13 years old with brown hair. Up until this point, everything seemed normal. If it weren’t for the tattoo on her thigh. It resembled the design of an ancient book.
While the book itself was unremarkable, the dark red color of the tattoo signified that the girl was an Awakener.
Encouraged by the village chief and her family, the girl went back to her room to sleep.
Seeing this, the family let out a small sigh.
Having an Awakener child was okay. They had already taken that into account since her 10th birthday. The good-hearted family could not abandon one of their own.
But of all things, there were knights nearby…
“We just have to endure until the knights leave.”
“…I understand.”
Their worries only deepened.
A few days later, on the day the dawn rose, the knights and Lemegaton clashed head-on.
It was also the day an injured knight stumbled into the chief’s house.
*
What’s the way to distinguish between the middle layer and the deep layer?
The answer is simple: the size of the macho trees.
Plants are ultimately living beings, and they too are affected by mana.
The trees there grow without knowing the height of the sky.
Because of this, the forest in the deep layer is often referred to with awe and admiration under another name.
That’s right, it’s called the forest of giants.
“…Wow.”
As they approached the deep layer, Im Haneul couldn’t help but gasp.
Before her unfolded a breathtaking sight. Trees that could rival the height of an apartment complex were densely packed.
In the midst of it, the leaves covered the sky, resembling a green roof.
The boundary between the middle and deep layers, like the surface layer, didn’t change all at once.
The environment gradually transformed, and at some point, you realized, “Ah, we are near the deep layer.”
Yor had mentioned that the trees would grow larger, but she never expected them to be this big.
It was majestic, dreamlike.
And eerie.
Though Haneul had seen various sceneries using flight magic, she had never encountered a sight quite like this before.
‘Good thing I turned on the recording function.’
She thought to herself, relieved that she could save this moment.
Now that Chaerin was retired, it would be good to gather some video sources like this.
Of course, she had already obtained permission from Yor beforehand, on the condition that anything indicating she was an Awakener would be erased.
“I might not be able to protect you anymore from now on.”
Just as she admired the sights for a moment,
While they were enjoying the scenery, Yor, walking beside her, spoke up.
His face was filled with caution instead of his usual relaxed demeanor. It must mean this was a place where they needed to be careful.
Haneul quietly nodded. They had already considered this much when venturing out together.
“…….”
Yor briefly lost himself in the views.
It was truly a sight he hadn’t seen in a long time. The last time he’d come here was years ago.
Back then, he had almost been killed due to the monsters in the deep layer.
Because of that, he had never had the courage to enter since then. He knew well it was a place beyond his capability.
But how about now? Honestly, he had no idea how much his strength had changed.
However, he could definitely say his hearing had improved significantly compared to before.
After all, some crazy demon had gifted him that ability.
He briefly closed his mouth and focused on the surrounding noises.
His heightened hearing was gathering various pieces of information from around him.
Amidst this, Im Haneul suddenly asked a question.
“Um, I have a question… Is it okay if I ask?”
“Go ahead.”
“This place doesn’t get much sunlight, right? How are there such big plants on the ground?”
That was a good question.
It was true that due to the leafed roof, the amount of light coming down was very little.
Even on a bright sunny day, it only received a few rays equivalent to the early morning.
No matter how much mana promoted growth, that size was abnormal.
Plants primarily take in energy from sunlight. So how could there be such lush growth beneath the trees?
The answer was simple.
“They’re carnivorous plants.”
Thunk.
As soon as Yor answered, he sensed something strange with his hearing.
A sound of something activating. A fibrous machine was trying to rip apart any intruders in its territory to turn them into nutrients.
Thunk.
“Whoa?”
Yor quickly grabbed Haneul and pulled back.
Right after, the ground they had been standing on shot upwards.
Crack-!
As if the earth itself was trying to bite them, the ground folded in half.
And what was revealed was a plant monster that looked like a Venus flytrap. The ground itself had been a disguise.
If they had been even a second late…
“What the…?”
Haneul restrained the urge to curse inwardly as she checked the monster’s level.
[Chalco Plant Lv 109]
109?! This meant that this simple plant was stronger than an Owlbear.
Although it didn’t move any further since it was a plant, her heart still wouldn’t calm down.
She couldn’t even understand how Yor sensed it…
“Let’s go.”
Swish-!
As she watched with awe, he sliced through the plant monster and said.
The monsters continued to come out frequently after that.
All were monsters Haneul couldn’t even think of confronting.
[Tendry Cularis Lv 124]
A plant-type monster covered entirely in thorny vines.
[Mutated Wild Boar Lv 131]
A wild boar that had been heavily intoxicated with mana, growing as large as a house.
[Two-Headed Dog Lv 136]
A giant red dog with two heads.
Each and every one was boss-level monsters.
Only a party of seasoned level A adventurers would stand a chance against these guys.
Meanwhile, all Haneul could do was hide behind Yor and throw out some flimsy buffs.
Hiding behind a ‘man’ like this…
It was somewhat embarrassing, but given the sheer difference in power, she felt no shame.
Yor effortlessly dealt with those monsters, after all.
Of course, he didn’t kill them in a single blow like he did with the Owlbear.
Even he couldn’t show off such overwhelming strength against monsters in the deep layer.
Nevertheless, his face still held a relaxed smile.
“Phew…”
His remark after dealing with the monsters was even more ridiculous.
“I guess I’m only meeting the weaker ones.”
“……What?”
“Well, this is still manageable.”
Thanks to his hearing being maximized, he was able to avoid the ones that were obviously dangerous.
They couldn’t avoid encountering monsters completely, but he was doing his best to choose the weaker ones.
Of course, hearing this, Chaerin was left speechless.
‘What level is he even at?’
She knew he was strong, but she had yet to grasp the full extent of his capabilities.
But one thing was certain.
Yor must be at least at the level of an S-ranked adventurer.
That meant he was equal to or above those with a minimum level of 140, who were at the threshold of superhuman strength.
‘I really shouldn’t mess with him any further.’
Not that she ever planned to, but this event only solidified her resolve.
So they continued to roam around the depths. As mentioned before, Yor’s goal was simple.
To test his own strength and hopefully gather some rare herbs.
Identifying the herbs was also pretty straightforward.
He just needed to find the grass that had an unusual concentration of mana. Those usually had beneficial effects, regardless of their type.
However, despite his enthusiastic search, he hadn’t spotted a single herb.
‘Do I need to go deeper…?’
Well, this area was quite shallow.
Yor momentarily contemplated.
Should he risk venturing a bit deeper, or simply back off coolly?
Fortunately, his dilemma didn’t drag on too long.
It wasn’t that he decided swiftly.
It was just that a chilling sound suddenly reached his ears.
…Grrr.
Something was growling ferociously. It was a sound Yor had heard before.
“…!”
His body froze in an instant.
The alarm bells in his head rang loudly.
The fear he had felt in the past was creeping back up.
Thud.
Before Haneul could even speak, Yor quickly covered her mouth.
‘What the hell, why is that thing here?’
That creature should be roaming in the depths.
Could it be looking for prey?
If so, it truly had the worst luck to show up now when they were exploring the deep layer.
“……?”
Haneul looked at him in confusion. Ignoring her, Yor focused on the sounds surrounding them.
He hoped desperately that it would just pass by… but the monster’s growls were getting louder.
At this point, there was no way to not notice.
It was unmistakably approaching their direction.
Just as he sensed the beast, it must have detected him too, given its notoriously sharp sense of smell.
Finally, the monster came into view at the edge of their sight.
A massive figure that couldn’t be hidden even by the gigantic trees in the forest.
A body built entirely of muscle, sharp claws like blades, and scars scattered over it from fierce battles.
Shivers ran down Haneul’s spine as she checked its level.
[Mountain Lord Tiger Lv 173]
She couldn’t help but curse as the realization hit.
‘Holy…’
This was a monster among the top contenders discovered by users.
It was a level she couldn’t even dare to imagine facing.
Let alone catching it; she had never even fantasized about it.
And it was a named monster to boot!
Was it even meant to be caught?
“Grrrrr—!!!!!”
Then it let out a roar.
Its howl echoed through the silent woods.
“Ugh…!”
“Run!”
Haneul clamped her ears while Yor hastily turned on his heels.
If they wanted to live, they needed to flee.
And just like that, they started making their way back towards the middle layer.
“Roarrrr!”
The Mountain Lord Tiger chased fiercely behind them.
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