Memorize Chapter 50

Mule’s north gate was quite shabby compared to Barbara’s. At least there were a couple of guards controlling the door, but just looking at the outside gave me a feeling of being uneasy. No matter how pioneering the city was, looking at things like this, it was difficult to say that the lord of the representative clan currently ruling Mul was good.

“Thank you for your hard work. I hope you always take care of yourselves. Angels’ blessings to all users.”

“Thank you.”

After seeing the guards saluting and saying hello in return, we finally left the north gate. Hyun asked me with a curious face, as if this was his first time seeing the residents talking.

“Hyung. What kind of people are the residents?”

“Residents? People who originally resided on Hall Plain. You can also be seen as an original resident of Earth.”

“Hmm. Is there anything different from us? I heard other users say that the users are nobles and the residents are commoners.”

Nobles and commoners. The residents are weak. It is so weak that without its users, it cannot survive the dangers scattered within the Hole Plane. Of course, the situation changes slightly as you move to Atlanta and then back to Terra, but at least up to Barbara, the current address of the residents was that users were protected.

Fortunately, the residents of the cities that have been discovered and developed can be seen as having escaped danger to some extent. However, in the case of cities that had not yet been developed, no one knew what would happen in the future. In fact, there were cases where cities on the southern continent were discovered that had already been turned into ruins. And of course there was not a single resident in the city. I could only assume that they had been killed in droves by the hordes that invaded the city.

Residents consider users who protect them from such groups to be God’s messengers. It is believed that there is a god in Hol Plain, and some residents actually receive orders from descending angels. And the users are a kind of apostles of God who have come down to save themselves under the orders of God and the protection of angels.

In reality, they were kidnapped by angels and used settings to gain power, but the residents thought that the users’ power was a blessing from God. Therefore, the residents’ view of users is basically with favor and reverence.

The relationship between nobles and commoners that Hyun mentioned was seen from the employers’ perspective. People called by those two words could also be seen as A and Eul. The Western Continent, which is known as a byword for infinite freedom, is especially so severe that its residents are treated almost as slaves. Although it wasn’t to that extent in the Northern Continent, there was a clear look down on the residents and the users. At first, there were times when I felt a little sad that it had to be like this even though we were the same person and human.

If you look at the cities, dungeons, and research centers discovered today, there are clearly traces of the time when Hall Plain was prosperous. All I know is that for some reason, I lost all the prosperity I enjoyed back then and lost all my power. And in the past, the current residents were reduced to living in fear of being attacked by monsters every day.

I briefly summarized these parts and explained them to Hyeon. I could see not only Hyun but also the kids shaking their heads as if they were curious. I concluded the discussion about the residents by saying that there is no need to pity them, but it is still not good to treat them too harshly.

Still, a few people could be seen, but strangely, not a single user was visible. I was able to once again feel the influence of the Golden Lion Clan’s movements. As empty as the northern cities are, the southern, western and central Barbaras are probably overflowing with users right now. Suddenly, I felt like I wanted to be among them right now.

I felt sentimental for a moment, but that feeling gradually disappeared as I walked down the street. As we moved towards the north of Mule, the surrounding scenery was changing little by little. The road became increasingly bumpy and rough, and the traces of people coming and going were fading. But it didn’t feel that bad.

This is because we were able to enjoy the natural scenery. It was not common on Earth to see living nature like this after living in a place where you couldn’t find nature even with your eyes closed. As the breeze blew, the kids also looked around from time to time with a much more refreshed look on their faces. Eventually, when I realized that the bushes were getting thicker, I stopped for a moment and took out the map I was holding.

On the left is a forest. To the right is a plain. The direction to the jet-black forest was not the plain, but the direction into the forest. I watched it just in case, but as expected, nothing was different from what I remembered. I folded the map again neatly and put it in my pocket. I could see several faint paths ahead, but without hesitation, I turned to follow the path heading northwest.

I walk through a vast green forest. The fields that followed after leaving the north gate of Mule were still emitting fresh light. However, as the distance from the pitch-black forest decreased, the fresh colors seemed to gradually fade.

As we continued to follow the path, dark blue trees began to appear one after another. Just by looking at the sticky trees that were rising high in the sky, they were giving off a huge presence to the surroundings. It’s like entering the beginning of the pitch-black forest. Meanwhile, I opened my mouth in a low voice as I watched the kids following me.

“This is probably the beginning of the pitch-black forest. Everyone, come to your senses and take heart.”

I felt that the deeper I went, the darker the gloomy air became. To be honest, she was a little embarrassed to call the place she was in a forest. The highlands and lowlands were clearly separated, and the area was too large to be considered a forest. So much so that I feel sorry for comparing it to the forest I went through during my rite of passage.

It was still early in the day and it was morning, so there was a little sunlight shining occasionally, but if we go a little further, even that won’t be there. It was like this in the morning, but I thought that it would be literally pitch black at night, so I felt that I had to secure a safe area today. Still, since I was now able to distinguish what was in front of my eyes, I planned to take a quick look around. As I walked, I glanced at the kids and saw that they were all holding their weapons tightly, and they seemed to be getting a little nervous. That moment.

“wait for a sec.”

As I turned my head to look at the kids, I noticed a strange trace. It was literally an accidental discovery. If I hadn’t turned my head, I could have passed by, but my heightened senses were able to catch a single trace without missing a single moment.

The kids who were watching their surroundings all looked at me with surprised faces. Once I moved to where I found the tracks, I squatted down to take a closer look. The kids, who were looking at each other as they looked at my expressionless face, soon gathered around me.

This… It is a trace of a person passing by. That wasn’t the only one. I definitely didn’t see a single person when I came out through the north gate. It may have come from another direction. Of course, it was strange that there were no users, but it smelled too suspicious to be easily understood. Because these traces didn’t seem to be old.

“Brother. Why are you suddenly looking at the ground?”

“…….”

I dug around for a moment and activated my third eye to get more information. As I was just looking at the ground without moving anything, I heard Yujeong say something cautiously, but I didn’t feel like responding right now.

“brother Brother!”

“Sister. Your brother is being traced right now, so just wait….”

“Tracking…? Ah. Isn’t that something only archers and assassins do?”

“That’s true, but I heard that it is possible to some extent if you have a lot of experience or learn. Still, you won’t be able to know more details than users with professional occupations.”

“That’s ridiculous. So you’re saying you learned that?”

While I was filtering and analyzing the countless incoming information, I could hear Yujeong and Sol muttering. Archers not only had the ability to guide, but they also had the ability to read traces carved in the ground. However, since the third eye’s effect is widely applied, collecting information about traces was not a task. And I feel sorry for Sol, but it was obvious that my unique abilities were probably much better than theirs.

Eventually, after analyzing all the information, I got up again. What I did now was just like Sol said, simple tracking. I opened my mouth in a heavy voice to the kids who were just staring at my face.

“I think there was a group of caravans that passed by this place about 2 or 3 days ago. There were about 5 people… maybe 6 people. I don’t think they came from the North Gate. They seemed to be exploring from somewhere else… along the way. “I don’t know if they got lost or if they came on purpose. Still, there was no trace of them wandering, so I guess they weren’t very skilled archers. In any case, they were all oriented in one direction.”

Of course, we don’t know what will happen to them now. To see what happened back then, you had to actually look into the past, like in the old rite of passage, but there was no reason to do that now. Because nothing is as urgent now as it was back then. It is enough to gather the remaining traces and make inferences.

When Hyun and Yujeong heard what I said, they clicked their tongues. Sol’s eyes were wide open, as if he didn’t know I would say something like this. I responded to their gaze by shrugging my shoulders. Yujeong tilted her head and spoke to me with a curious face.

“So, are you saying there are other people besides us in this forest right now?”

“Well, maybe… maybe not.”

It was a oil well that showed a sharp side in an unexpected way. She didn’t want to say this, so she spoke vaguely on purpose, but she could see Yu-jeong’s eyes narrowing. I sighed and finally added.

“That’s literally it. There are footprints that went into the forest, but there’s no sign of them coming out again. They could have gone in a different direction, but they could still be wandering the forest. Otherwise… they could all be dead.”

At my words, the kids all looked anxious and looked at each other. I looked at them with an indifferent face and then turned around again. In the city, they turned a blind eye even if we fussed and made a lot of fuss, but as we entered the actual battle, we had no intention of doing it as generously as in the city.

As my expression hardened and I said nothing, I felt the footsteps of the kids following me getting quieter. It seemed like he was quite nervous as he muffled the sound of his footsteps without realizing it. As we entered the forest, the dense trees stretched straight enough to block the sky. The sunlight that had been shining faintly at the entrance had suddenly disappeared.

I walked and walked for a while. By the time I thought I had just left the entrance, the surrounding area was completely dark. It wasn’t so dark that you couldn’t see in front of you. However, even though it is still morning, it is like this, so the kids will be able to roughly predict what will happen when the sun goes down. It was indeed a forest worthy of the name Jet Black Forest.

Even though I didn’t ask them to, the kids were already using detection. Thanks to my activated third eye and the sense I taught my kids, I was able to maintain my forward speed without slowing down. Now no more words came out. Every time I took a step, only the sound of grass rustling and my colorful breathing tickled my ears. It was then.

Cry. Let’s go!

A cry caught my hearing. At the same time, the sound of cutting through the bushes was heard, cutting through the quiet silence. Seeing that it was approaching at a fairly high speed, it seemed like it had noticed our presence and was coming to attack us.

When I stopped walking again, the kids seemed to be out of breath as well. He was wary of his surroundings with an anxious face, but he didn’t seem to know that a monster was approaching. Since everyone is using their senses, they will be able to tell when they get within a certain distance, but I gave the kids a warning in advance.

“It’s an attack. Monsters are coming from both directions. Everyone prepare for battle. Sol comes into the center. Hyun and Yujeong face each other and form a square.”

“yes yes?”

“Next time, don’t make me say it twice. Come to your senses and organize your team around Sol.”

The kids looked confused at the word ‘attack’. Yu-jeong asked back, but when he spoke in a cold voice, his body trembled and he held the dagger in both hands. Hyeon also raised his spear in an oblique position, and Sol began quickly chanting a spell. As I looked at the kids forming a group in an instant, I moved to Sol’s side. I was thinking of playing Priest Keeper. As I pulled out the sword at my waist, a cold, screeching sound echoed through the forest.

『Special abilities. Shin Geomhap Il is activated.』

『Potential ability. Close combat is activated.』

『Potential ability. The mind’s eye is activated.』

Sssssss! Peeeeee!

Eventually, we took our stances and watched the front, and we could hear the grass rustling in the distance, and at the same time, a harsh sound of a wave tearing the air. The moment I felt caught, I saw a tail flashing a sharp light rapidly extending out from the darkness of the forest. The targets were Hyeon and Yu-jeong, who were on guard in both directions.

“Don’t avoid it! Get it out!”