Chapter: 218
Thud Two hours had passed since I fell into the dead forest.
The sun had already gone home for its nightly rest, leaving the overworked moon to guard the place.
The unclean ones love the moon that does night shifts; they begin their activities when it shows itself.
Wandering around, they reveal their resentment towards the living and move to take away what they possess.
Like a piece of meat dropped among hungry lions, I should be desperately fighting for my survival.
‘…Why am I so safe here?’
Standing in the middle of the forest, I felt oddly relaxed.
It’s not like the monsters weren’t coming for me. The dead are usually drawn to the vitality of the living, so many of them rushed in to take my life.
Kindly, I sent them back to the Lord Jushin. I smashed their heads.
Just moments ago, I purified four evil spirits, giving the Sloppy God more work to do. The forest’s spirits were busy doing their jobs.
Still, I felt relaxed because the battles were so simple.
Evil spirits, bewitched beasts, whatever they were, once their skulls were smashed with my mace, they lost form.
The relatively strong ones didn’t get purified in one hit, but they certainly didn’t last long. Before the divine mace, the unclean were powerless.
Of course, the monsters weren’t just watching me. They did their utmost to kill me.
But think about it. Even if they threw curses, my skills would block them; their magical attacks would be purified by the divine, and if they tried physical attacks, they’d get stopped by my shield. What could they do? They had to quietly take hits from my mace.
Given the situation, even though I fought for two hours, I didn’t take so much as a scratch.
[Why are you asking something so obvious? It’s only because the things lurking here are weak compared to you.]
That can’t be! Isn’t this place at a high enough level? A first-year academy student shouldn’t be able to hold out here, right?
I’ve grown pretty quickly by game standards…
Huh? Am I stronger than I anticipated?
[Well, it seems there won't be any danger here.]
‘Right?’
From now on, my job will be to keep battling until morning comes. I should swing my mace for at least half a day.
But isn’t that what I did every day?
Back in the Allen Family, I once stayed up for two days straight without sleep. But half a day? That’s a piece of cake.
If Possell had said let’s do this for half a day, I’d have thought ‘This guy is gonna ambush me while I’m sleeping.’
‘This is easier than I expected.’
I was ready for the crisis of death and a fierce fight, but in reality, what returned was relaxation and leisure.
[Easy is always a good thing.]
‘That’s true.’
I have no intention of denying Grandpa’s words. Easy is good. Who doesn’t know to drink honey when it’s available?
Despite knowing that, the reason my response felt so lukewarm is simple.
If hunting the evil spirits here is this easy, then if I’m prepared to struggle a bit, isn’t it fully possible to purify this forest?
Originally, to properly enter this dead forest, certain conditions had to be met.
First, you must have a job related to the church. You must have high reputation. You must possess a certain level of divinity.
After meeting those conditions, you would meet a specific NPC and obtain quests related to the dead forest.
The content is to purify the forest captured by the undead.
By the time you receive this quest, players have grown significantly, so killing the boss isn’t too difficult.
Technically, you can only ‘hunt.’
Even after killing the first boss, the forest isn’t purified.
From then on, it’s a matter of repeating the loop.
Kill the boss, find a clue, kill the boss, find a clue.
After about five times of this nonsense, it becomes possible to drive death out of this forest.
Ah, old memories.
Not long after the game was released, people were swearing up and down, asking what kind of thought went into making this quest.
The forest was huge, it took thirty minutes just to catch one boss; why make us repeat it five times? And the rewards were such trash.
But with guides available, players could go straight to the real boss, and as information was shared, complaints about the quest disappeared.
Later, it was revealed this was connected to other quests.
Think about it.
Having completed the quest related to Adri and received skills, I’ve met the prerequisites.
The Divine Technique is the superior version of Fist Fighting Technique; it must be a high-tier skill, so it won’t hinder hitting the boss at all.
I obviously know the location.
What’s concerning is whether I can take on that boss.
With my arms crossed, I continued to ponder, but no sound reached my ears.
Strange. Usually, the Sloppy God would throw me something when I’m this troubled.
Has the service ended now that the first semester is over?
So petty…
Hey. If someone up high is so petty, the lower ones won’t treat them like a person. You need to share a bit for us to feel like following your orders, right?
But don’t give me anything right now. I made bad remarks, and if I hear a ding, I’ll panic.
Actually, my decision was already made.
No matter how I think about it, standing still for half a day seems like the epitome of inefficiency. And a rotten egg like me can’t stand such a waste of time.
Monsters do come, but how much experience will they even give me?
They’re one-hit-one-kill kinds. Can I even fill 0.01% of the experience bar?
So, I’ll purify this forest. The quest hasn’t been given, but I’ll carry it out.
While struggling, I’ll gain far more than facing off against the weak evil spirits.
*
When the night grew dark and the stars appeared, Luca often reminisced about the star that had once been by his side.
A dazzling embodiment of brilliance.
Martial arts. Magic. Knowledge of various skills. Once he started learning, he’d leap far into the distance, reaching the top before getting bored and moving on.
Had he been born in the chaotic times of the past, he’d surely have earned the title of hero.
Luca happened to seize a place by his side, and while desperately trying to follow his lead, he soon realized he could never shine like that.
Instead, his choice was to create stars.
Finding beautiful gems, crafting them by hand, and embedding them into the night sky. Creating something that would shine brighter than the stars he once saw.
Luca knew it himself.
This was just a compromise. A desperate struggle of a loser. Just self-gratification in an emptiness that would never be filled.
If he didn’t know that, he wouldn’t be feeling so emotional.
As he watched Lucy Allen strolling through the night forest, he regretted the actions he had taken.
This was emotional. If I’m going to do something like this, I should have prepared more thoroughly.
While he intended to erase this moment from memory, if something went wrong with the magic, then being pursued by the Allen and Partlan families would leave him with no choice but suicide.
If only he could turn back time.
…No. Still, I would act the same way.
The moment he spoke with the Lady Allen, that instance when he saw her resembling the star he once beheld; my only option was to confirm the remnants of talent.
“How have things been until now?”
When Luca saw her, Lucy Allen was indeed a genius.
No matter how much divinity she possessed, being able to stroll lightly through this forest at such a young age was remarkable.
Her skill with the shield and mace. Her face showed no signs of fatigue despite continuous movement. The confidence shining through even amid the various attacks from the darkness.
Lucy Allen had already far surpassed the first-year level of the academy.
Luca felt that even if she were placed in the third year now, she’d still achieve outstanding grades.
But this wasn’t enough.
She was still lacking.
What Luca expected from Lucy Allen wasn’t just simple genius.
A talent that would shine brighter than anyone else in the night sky. A light that would overshadow the star he had seen. Something so overwhelming that it could make a craftsman abandon their pride.
Luca wished to see that from Lucy.
As he observed Lucy, who seemed unafraid of the dark forest, he suddenly realized that the place she was heading was dangerous.
That’s… where the leader of the evil spirits in this area is surely located.
Well, this is great. I wonder how she will respond when she meets that guy.
Luca watched Lucy with high hopes, but his expectations weren’t met in the least.
There wasn’t the brutal battle he had been yearning for.
All he saw was the overwhelming divine power crushing and scattering the evil spirits.
The being standing at the forefront of the numerous evil spirits in this forest was.
“Kyaa~♡ So scary~♡ Is this kind of curse really what evil spirits spit out?♡ Puhahaha♡ Doesn’t it seem so sloppy?♡”
Even in front of the girl taunting him, it found itself purified without being able to do anything.
“…What is that?”
Having dispatched the evil spirit without even exchanging a few blows, Lucy Allen looked disappointingly at the spot where the spirit had been before moving to another area.
Only then did Luca realize he had been under a grand misunderstanding all along.
That lady didn’t just stumble here! She had intended to confront that evil spirit all along!
What is this, Lucy Allen? What do you know about this forest?!
While Luca silently exclaimed, he suppressed the racing heartbeat and followed where she headed.
He was excited to see what she would show him.
*
Seeing the second boss of the dead forest turn to dust and scatter, I frowned.
Why are they so weak?
Is something wrong here?
Did Luca pull some trick?
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