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Episode 519. Reason
Shoooo …
As if the brief pause in rain were a lie, heavy rain poured down again on the forest.
The rainy season in the Great Forest.
Even the most experienced guides quietly go home and sleep.
The same goes for a guide struggling with gambling debts. When it's rainy season, the debt collector understands and urges him to repay the mounting interest.
I don't know about debt collectors in other areas, but at least that's how it is in Greentown.
However, there was one unfortunate guide who entered the forest during that rainy season.
The name is Macron.
He had previously worked as a mercenary escort traveling through the Great Forest, but after learning Pathfinding, he transitioned to become a professional guide. Now that the exceptional guide known as 'Rayley' had retired, Macron was known as the first-class Pathfinder of Greentown.
So, in a way, it was natural.
I was caught by these monsters.
“So, from now on, I’ll burn first here…….”
“I’d rather cut first. And after this……”
“No. Wait. I have a good idea.”
3, 4, 5.
The masked men were discussing something with their heads together, while Macron was watching them with empty eyes.
A few days after being hired.
Macron knows.
What will happen when that discussion is over?
“Okay, listen. First of all….”
As the magician wearing mask number 3 started talking, those wearing masks number 4 and 5 nodded their heads in admiration.
yet.
“Then let’s try it?”
“Okay, try it.”
“Look forward to it.”
The third mask that comes forward.
Macron looked at the scene, then muttered, "This is the third time," and took out his winter gear from his backpack and put it on.
A warming stone to keep you warm and some fur clothes.
And so on.
When all preparations were completed.
“First of all, let’s start with….”
Something spread out along with the muttering of the third mask.
That "something" was magic. And it was mana, stimulated by that magic. However, Macron, with his low level of skill, couldn't tell whether it was mana or magic.
As I said before, I just notice that 'something' is happening, something inexplicable.
In that way, the tiny waves spread out in a directional manner.
The direction is… … .
‘… … forward.’
Soon number 3 turned his head.
"Macron, is this the way to go? Oh, can't you see? Here, I'll show you."
Soon, the magical energy that spread through the air began to sparkle and take on a vibrant color. It was just like the Milky Way in the night sky.
The Milky Way stretched out ahead, just as Macron had vaguely sensed, and he nodded after confirming the direction.
"you're right."
“Okay. And….”
This time, the third thing that caught my eye was the one above.
3rd… …Yongyong, who caught Damian’s gaze, bravely understood his intentions even from far away in the sky and cried loudly.
Goooooooo―!
No matter how excellent a guide Macron is, it is impossible for humans to walk in a straight line.
Yongyong's role was to see if the direction was wrong.
“You’re acting so dirty.”
“Leave it alone.”
Shine glared at Aster's grumbling. Aster shook his head at that gaze.
Meanwhile, Damian was in a state of concentration.
… … The crying from earlier meant that the direction had not changed, so all that was left was to activate the magic.
Eyes of different colors shone.
Macron found this moment most mysterious.
What should I say?
'It feels like my soul is being sucked out.'
Clearly, everything remains the same, yet time seems to pass quickly. It feels like changes, insurmountable by reason and only vaguely discernible by instinct, are overlapping.
This is the feeling that a person of low level feels when he sees 'transcendence'.
Infinitely mysterious.
Infinitely wonderful.
But, what is mysterious and what is wonderful cannot be explained.
… … Such an ambiguous feeling.
Yes, when Macron was in awe.
A change has occurred.
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Squeak, squeak… … .
The first start was a soft cracking sound.
A faint sound, like the ice freezing, soon began to resonate simultaneously from all directions.
It was around that time that the change was visible to the naked eye.
Tsk tsk tsk.
The ground is freezing white.
tree.
umbrage.
Vine.
Even monsters, nameless insects, and others who were taking shelter from the rain between the bushes…
Everything that exists in a space where magic power is present.
It's freezing.
… …Macron didn’t know it, but it wasn’t just the surface that was frozen.
Damian's magic had seeped deep into the ground.
Since ice and water are ultimately the same thing, it wasn't difficult for Damian, who wielded ice-type magic, to channel his magical power into the rainwater that was seeping into the ground.
The magical energy that entered the ground was sucked into the tree through the roots. The absorbed magical energy gradually spread through the moisture within the tree.
like that…….
Swish, squeak!
It's freezing.
From its roots.
From the deepest to the outermost.
"ah……."
When Macron lets out a soft exclamation at the enchanting sight.
Damian flicked his fingers.
Exactly!
A sound that rings out cheerfully.
It was then that Shine stepped forward.
“Indeed, that’s great.”
He wields the magic sword Protius and enters transcendence. At the same time, he sees the "knot." The "knot" of frozen trees. The center where the "knots" converge.
There is one center for one tree.
There are thousands of trees along the route.
That is, the center that must be pierced is… … .
'… thousands.'
However, Shine only needs one sword strike.
No further swordsmanship is necessary.
Wow―!
A bursting sound resounded.
Thump, thud… … .
A crack appeared in the nearest tree. From there, the crack gradually spread.
yet.
Kung, kugugung―.
A collapsing tree.
A path was created where the tree had fallen.
A long… wide street.
“Okay, let’s go now.”
The three thugs walked as if it were natural.
Macron stared blankly at her back and then followed her.
No, I followed him for a few steps and then glanced back.
Behind me.
The path I took is wide open.
'This is really… … .'
Is this something humans can do?
No, it was a stupid question.
The stark reality is unfolding before our eyes.
More importantly, this is what matters.
The road is entering the Hamern Great Forest, a natural land that has been untouched by human hands for thousands of years.
'Maybe… a lot of things could change.'
Macron, who has been breathing with the great forest, could sense the coming changes.
And I could be sure.
How fortunate it would be for you to have noticed that 'change' sooner than others and to be with those who brought about that 'change'.
… … But, they didn’t know.
Why.
For thousands of years.
Couldn't you enter the forest?
It was a day later, in the evening, that I learned of the fact.
* * *
The evening after Damian made his way.
Shoooo …
Aster looked up at the rain hitting the stationmaster.
First of all, the journey went smoother than expected.
Two Archmages, one Master Knight.
The three of them took turns opening the way.
If even one of the three had been missing, it would have been difficult.
The Hamern Forest was that vast, and if it had been just the two of them, there would have been several times more things to worry about than there were now.
Above all else.
‘… …grimoire and magic sword.’
These two instruments were of considerable help.
The reason Damian's magic was able to exert such power over such a wide area yesterday was thanks to the Grimoire.
But, whether that made me feel at ease was another story.
'I said we couldn't go any faster than this.'
But I wasn't very satisfied.
Why?
Even at this very moment, there was a high possibility that Chenbi was being chased by an ancient species or something.
Even if Chenbi wasn't being chased by the ancient species, the longer it took, the more dangerous it became.
So, if I could, I would like to go faster.
“Tsk.”
Aster shook his head as if dissatisfied.
Suddenly, this thought occurred to me.
'Just, ride the Yongyong in?'
It seems like we're near the river.
If we fly low and scan it with our senses, wouldn't we be able to find it somehow?
Aster quickly shared his thoughts with his guide, Macron. However, Macron's response was not entirely positive.
"It certainly seems possible, given our current situation… but it's difficult to discern the extent of the Ancient Species' territory from the sky alone. If we make a mistake, we might have to return to this spot and start over."
"……hmm."
"As I said, this is fast enough. Unless Guide Rayleigh comes, this is the best we can do."
“Guide Railey is a piece of shit.”
Aster felt uncomfortable with the existence of Rayleigh, who had begun to be talked about like a legend without his knowledge.
If he had stayed in Daesurim, he would have been called a pathfinder, a good but unreliable loser.
anyway.
“Hmm. In the end, it’s about letting go of impatience.”
“I think it would be better if I went my own way from here on out.”
“Is that faster?”
"Yes, it seems we've passed all the sections where we had to turn back. We've passed the explosive flower zone, the swamp, and the carnivorous plant colony."
“So now it’s faster to just find a path rather than forcing yourself to make a path?”
“Yes, maybe.”
"hmm."
Aster thought for a moment.
Moving forward in a straight line and moving forward without moving forward.
Which one will be more likely to be released?
'hmm.'
The sky may be able to fly, but the lush green of the great forest separates heaven and earth. And the guide must search the ground to find his way.
If only the guide could find his way even in heaven.
'Well, there's nothing I can do about it.'
Aster cleared his mind. Enough of the useless waste of energy.
Even if I thought about it any longer, there was no solution.
But, by the way.
"hey."
[Calling, why?]
“Where does your little brat go every night?”
[… … A jerk?]
“Yongyong.”
The wyvern glanced at Aster, then slowly turned away. Its tail awkwardly tapped the ground.
[Rinda, Mo.]
“You don’t know?”
[Yes, that.]
“Why are you saying that again?”
Aster tilted his head at the wyvern's increasingly bizarre speech. But that was only temporary.
'Yeah, I guess they have secrets too.'
anyway.
“Take good care of the little guy, okay? If something happens, you know that, right?”
[I know, I know.]
As long as you don't have any accidents, that's fine. Just don't have any accidents.
Aster finished the Yongyong case that disappeared every night.
I needed plenty of rest to set out again tomorrow.
Even for the greatest wizard, clearing a path was a tiring task.
[Are you sleeping?]
“Yes, that.”
As Aster climbed into his sleeping bag, the wyvern soared up and burrowed in. Aster used the plump wyvern as a pillow and closed his eyes.
And so, the night deepened.
……and.
“……Get up.”
It was Shine who first noticed the 'visit' of the 'guest'.
Shine stood up, took the magic sword Protius in his hand, and looked into the distant darkness.
Thousands of years.
It was the moment when the 'reason' why the Hamerun Forest was safe from civilization was revealed to the three transcendent beings.