Blink. Blink.
"Phew..."
There were exactly ten hunters who had entered the forest.
Unless they all stuck together, that was.
Apparently, they were each traveling alone to keep my bounty... no, the proceeds from selling me as a slave...? All to themselves.
"They still haven’t caught on..."
I muttered as I looked at the blinking red dots on [Real-Time Mapping].
Six left.
[04:26:33]
It had been thirty minutes since this started, so if things kept going like this, I could probably deal with all of them.
It was a little worrying that they were spreading farther apart over time, but surely it would work out somehow.
...Not that I particularly need to deal with them all.
"Uh, um... that..."
"Oh, you can see this?"
"Y-yes...!!"
I blinked at the voice of the hunter I had just captured.
An elf hunter, tightly bound to a tree with rope, looked up at me as he swallowed nervously.
NPCs can see what my phone looks like, too...
I had never thought much about it, but this was the first time someone else had mentioned it first.
The NPCs on the fiftieth floor of the Tower of Wisdom must have seen it too, but perhaps because I was an inspector, no one had brought it up.
"...! I-I can’t see it! I didn’t see anything!!"
"Whatever. Can you see what I’m looking at?"
I snorted at how he abruptly changed his answer after deciding it was something he was not supposed to see.
"N-no..."
"This?"
"I can’t see it."
"This too?"
Nod, nod.
He could not see [Real-Time Mapping], the wiki’s search results, or even Starpang.
It seemed he could only recognize that I was holding "something suspicious."
"What about this?"
"Eek!!"
"You call yourself a hunter, and you’re scared of this?"
Just in case, I showed him a ghost photo I had taken long ago in the Tower of Mindscape.
I let out a hollow laugh at how he recoiled in horror the instant he saw the picture still posted in the gallery.
"Th-that person is..."
"My sister."
"But she isn’t an elf..."
"You fucking racist. Don’t you have any political sensitivity?!"
"I-I’m sorry...!"
I checked my phone while watching the hunter hurriedly lower his gaze.
Come to think of it, that ghost can see me through the camera too.
She was clearly looking at my image on the phone screen, as displayed through the camera app.
Did that mean only the abilities I gained through Irregular could not be seen?
The abilities the tower had originally given me were visible, but... abilities acquired through Irregular could not be shared?
I’ll make a mental note of that for now.
It would not be easy to test it on NPCs, and this was not a situation where I could afford to leisurely investigate, so I decided to leave it for later.
Blink. Blink.
"Hey, someone’s going to come by soon. You’d better act convincingly, got it?"
"Yes, sir!! Leave it to me, boss...!!"
"That’s right, little brother. You want to live too, right? Betray me, and I don’t know about anyone else, but you’re definitely dead."
"How could I ever betray you, boss...!!"
One red dot on [Real-Time Mapping], which I checked again, was approaching this way.
He would soon find the guy tied up here, so I slipped into the trees and hid myself like a proper elf.
Though admittedly, I was a rather red elf.
Your sophisticated tracking and traps have nothing on mine.
Tracking? One click on the wiki and it was done.
Traps? Your own teammate had betrayed you.
It was a good thing I had stopped killing them nonstop and used a hunter I found at a decent location to gather information.
Step.
"Hey, Slot!! What are you doing there?!"
"Ah, ah...! You came to save me, Fisher...!"
After I waited in hiding for a while, the newly arrived hunter rushed over to the bound hunter.
They spoke as he untied the ropes. When asked who had done this, Slot answered that he did not know because he had been knocked unconscious.
Beautiful.
I had been ready to subdue him with magic the moment he looked like he might pull out a flare, but thankfully, that did not seem necessary.
Then, the ropes came free, and the bound hunter regained his freedom—
Stab.
"Slot...?"
"Fuck... I’m sorry. I-I want to live too...!"
Thud.
"M-Mr. Elf! Did you see that?! I did exactly what you told me to!!"
The newly arrived hunter collapsed in the face of a betrayal he could never have anticipated.
After finishing him off, Slot frantically looked around and called out. I let out a hollow laugh and revealed myself again.
"What are you doing? Sit in front of the tree and wait."
"Yes, sir!"
Guys who engage in illegal human trafficking probably don’t have any sense of camaraderie to begin with.
He had said he would do anything if I spared him, so I gave him an order. And he really would do anything.
Seeing him force a smile even as his bloodstained hands trembled made me feel like I had somehow become the villain.
...These guys really are the bad guys, right?
This felt... strangely unsettling.
*
[04:46:32]
Tighten!
"So, this forest has an unusually high number of dangerous creatures, which is why people avoid it, but some information broker sold them my information?"
"That’s exactly it, boss."
I snorted as the hunter chatted while becoming accustomed to being tied up with rope.
Who was he calling boss?
He looked at least ten years older than me.
Maybe he thought I was older because I was a high elf.
"It’s infamous even as far as forests go. There are so many strong creatures here, and a few years ago, something new appeared that people call the Lord of the Forest."
"So it took control of the forest, and the other strong creatures hid in the caves?"
"Yes. So even if you enter the forest, people have nowhere to hide. Unless you’re a mage... no, a swordsman? At your level, it’s difficult."
Could that be why no especially strong monsters or beasts appeared during the first event?
They said they were hiding in caves, so perhaps even after smelling my pheromones, they had been afraid of the Lord of the Forest.
That scar-covered guy must be the lord.
The final event was definitely going to involve him somehow.
Whether I had to defeat him or run away from him.
"...And you people were planning to travel through a forest like that alone?"
"What is there to fear more than money?"
That was true enough.
They were a species that killed people they knew over a single penny. It made perfect sense.
Fucking humans.
Maybe it was because I was playing an elf, but disgust kept welling up inside me.
It absolutely was not because it reminded me of my childhood.
Swipe.
"Looks like no one else is coming this way."
"You mean those hunter bastards?"
"They’re your companions."
"You’re my only companion, boss!"
"Crazy bastard..."
If he meant it, then he was absurdly adaptable. If it was an act, then he was incredibly quick at reading the situation.
Either way, neither was bad for me.
"Is that what tells you where those guys are?"
"It’s a magic tool."
"A magic tool... How did you get something so valuable...? As expected of you, boss...!"
"..."
Man, having someone beside me constantly butter me up felt pretty good for no reason.
Even though I knew it was a desperate struggle to survive, the corners of my mouth kept turning upward.
At this rate, it’ll end without incident.
I had no intention of going out of my way to call over and defeat the hunters far away.
It was not so much that I thought I would lose if I fought them, but more that... why should I bother? Why make things such a pain?
"Hey."
"Yes, boss."
"Tell me an interesting story."
"Well, you see, boss—"
*
[03:30:00]
Boom!!
"It’s the retreat signal, boss!"
"Go."
"But... how can I leave you in a place like this, boss...!"
"Cut the bullshit."
"Yes, sir."
I let out a hollow laugh when he covered his mouth, apparently moved because he had not expected me to really let him go.
He was a likable guy right to the end.
To be honest, it was not like I had no concern that he might suddenly betray me, or return after gathering his companions, but...
If you do, I’ll make a special exception and let you get one hit in.
There were only three hunters left, including him.
And I doubted the hunters would continue roaming around after the event ended.
"Be careful, boss!"
"Yeah, yeah."
He bowed deeply and ran off without looking back.
He must have been scared despite constantly calling me boss. After sucking up to me for an hour, letting him live was only decent.
...I really need to wash up now.
I had been layering myself in blood for hours, and the stench of blood was overwhelming.
*
"Haah... Maybe I should’ve just eaten some human flesh."
[03:02:12]
Two minutes until the wiki’s notification for the next event.
The sky, which had been blazing beneath the sun, had somehow turned the color of sunset.
I had eaten my fill before entering the tower, but after this much time, I could not bear the hunger anymore.
I should’ve asked that guy if he had anything to eat.
Back then, I had been too busy watching the mapping to pay attention to anything else.
Gurgle.
I had come to the water’s edge thinking I could at least catch a fish to eat, but I had no way to start a fire.
I considered trying to start one by rubbing branches together, but there was no way I remembered exactly how to do it.
After rubbing them for about three minutes, I gave up. I did not even know whether I was doing it right.
The same went for monsters and beasts.
I could not make a fire, so I could not eat them. My modern sensibilities were ringing alarm bells at the thought of eating them raw.
Fuck, I should’ve learned fire magic.
No matter what happens, fire magic is next.
[03:00:36]
Swipe.
Thirty seconds until the next event preview.
I looked at the wiki for a moment, then checked my current condition.
The sword was fine. It was still sharp, as though to prove I had not paid all that money for nothing.
The shield was a little worse for wear, but it could still block an attack in an emergency.
Twelve Low-Grade Magic Stones, one Mid-Grade Magic Stone.
I had used roughly eight Low-Grade Magic Stones over seven hours.
Less than I expected. I had been in this forest for a long time, but thankfully, the fights had not been that intense.
This should be enough to endure until the final event.
Ding!
The wiki’s notification sounded the moment the time limit reached three hours.
[Tower of Trials]
-50th Floor, First Run Clear: Temporary [Real-Time Mapping] activated.
Until the third event, [Flames of the End], begins: [30:00]
[Flames of the End]
-A fire of unknown origin breaks out from the outskirts of the forest.
-The forest’s life-forms go berserk, and the survivable area shrinks.
-Lasts 90 minutes.
"...Is this a battle royale?"
This was that thing, wasn’t it?
The ring gradually shrank until everyone was forced to fight.
"..."
The forest creatures going berserk was probably just an added element.
What this third event was saying was perfectly clear.
It means they’re setting the stage for me in the final event.
I did not know how much the circle would shrink.
The forest was so vast and expansive that all I could do was hope it would not become too small.
[Survive]
[02:58:56]
After all, the tower’s clear condition was simply "survive."
Even if it set up a one-on-one arena between that bear and me at the end, all I had to do was run until the very end.
Then those hunter bastards definitely won’t come back in.
I had wondered if they might bring their companions and return, but it seemed I did not need to worry about that.
Swipe.
It would be better to move ahead of time and secure a spot.
I checked my location through [Real-Time Mapping].
A little west of the forest’s center.
I was already fairly deep inside, deep enough that I wondered whether the area could really shrink this far, but I could not shake the concern.
It would be better than trying to flee later alongside other monsters and beasts and ending up in a fight.
Caw! Caw!!
"..."
Crows circled above the crimson sunset.
Perhaps they sensed something, because their cries seemed to announce an approaching disaster, filling me with a sense of dread for no reason.
It’ll work out somehow.
The mapping the wiki gave me marked the locations of every monster.
I could not tell exactly what each one was, but as long as I identified the thing called the Lord of the Forest during the final event, I could keep a close watch on it.
All I had to do was run while looking at my phone, so I did not care if the forest narrowed down to a certain extent.
"Where would be best for running away easily...?"
As I prepared for the final event, I slowly moved while studying the mapping.
*
Whoooosh!
"...They really are flames of the end."
I let out a hollow laugh at the wall of fire visible in the distance.
Flames soared all the way to the sky, as though determined never to let anything escape.
I had confirmed through the mapping that the forest was burning, but seeing it with my own eyes was on an entirely different level.
Caw! Caw!!
It was a barrier so tall that even birds could not leave the forest... was that the right way to put it?
I came here to see it for myself because it was hard to judge from the mapping alone.
But seeing that sight from atop a cliff made all the strength drain out of me.
Could a fire that large really be extinguished?
They said it would shrink the survivable area, but it felt like it might make survival impossible altogether.
It might shrink more than I expected.
I had thought at least thirty percent would remain, but at this rate, I would be lucky if twenty percent remained.
[01:48:33]
That’s going to keep burning for another fifty minutes...?
Hot wind tore through the forest.
Thick, acrid smoke had already reached this central area.
Should I go to the water and wet my clothes in advance?
Maybe I should tear up my clothes and make a makeshift mask, at least.
Swipe.
I checked my current location and the closest water source.
A place I could reach in about five minutes. Thinking that the water I drank now might be my last, I hurried over.
*
Boom!!
"Kwoooooar—!!"
...That must be the Lord of the Forest.
Right after tearing my clothes at the water’s edge and roughly making a makeshift mask, a ground-shaking rumble came with a roar loud enough to tear apart my ears.
Had all the life-forms gathering in the central area somehow provoked its temper?
Even though the mapping showed that there was nothing nearby, tension made my mouth go dry.
Crackle...
Stop burning already, damn it...!
I was starting to get scared.
I was worried it might burn everything away until nothing but a single wrestling ring remained.
My heart raced when I remembered the bear I had seen several hours ago.
How much fighting had it done in its life to leave that many scars across its entire body?
Not even mafiosos or yakuza would have that many scars. Just how vicious did it have to be—
"Kraaaaaah—!!!"
"Fuck..."
The thought that I might have to face something that made noises like that...
Thank God I had plenty of Magic Stones left. I would have to use the terrain somehow and do my best.
First, I need to move to the shelter I scouted out beforehand...
I looked at the mapping for a route for a moment, thinking I should do just that.
Blink. Blink. Blink.
"...?"
I frowned at the beast racing toward me at incredible speed.
Calling it fast did not do it justice. It felt like it was sprinting in a straight line at full speed through a forest packed with trees that looked dozens, even hundreds of years old.
I thought perhaps a bird was flying toward me, but when I looked up at the sky, there was nothing there.
Grip!
"Damn it..."
I roughly shoved my phone away and gripped my sword tightly.
Prepared to throw a Magic Stone at any moment, I waited for the life-form rapidly approaching me.
At the speed it had been moving, it should appear any second now. For a moment, I prayed it would not be the Lord of the Forest.
Crunch!
Craaaack!!
"Wait...!!"
I widened my eyes as thick trees fell like chopsticks.
More precisely, a massive lump was flying toward me, knocking trees down in its path.
Flash!
There’s no way I can parry that, Wiki!!
As red filled my entire vision, I spun around and sprinted to the side.
I gritted my teeth and ran like mad before throwing myself away, focused solely on avoiding a head-on collision.
Craaaash!!
"Huff... huff..."
I had somehow dodged it.
The flying mass struck the ground and kicked up a huge cloud of dust.
"What the hell—"
I narrowed my eyes, wondering what could have flown in like that.
Then the pale dust cleared, revealing something that made my mouth fall open.
"The Lord of the Forest...?"
That enormous bear covered in scars.
The bear was dead.
Its entire body was drenched in blood, as though it had been fighting until moments ago.
I stared blankly for a moment at the bear, embedded in the ground and unable to twitch even once.
Rumble!!
"Kwoooooar—!!!!"
I blankly turned my head at the tremors reverberating through the entire forest and the deep roar.
That bear wasn’t the Lord of the Forest...?
What the hell was this final event planning to throw at me?
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