"I am only a remnant will. My only job is to maintain the Forest of Illusions. As long as it continues to exist, I don't care about anything else."
The voice of that man felt empty.
He had died long ago, and everything that remained was a fragment of his will that he left behind to take care of the Forest of Illusion.
"You say so, but I bet that you will be disturbed if some of your descendants are in danger. Didn't you create this to help them hide from the outside?"
As soon as Lina forced her way into the Forest of Illusions, she found the place where the remnant will was controlling the whole forest.
That was how it was planned since the creation of the forest. The area one would enter after forcing the way inside the forest was where the remnant will remained.
There was no way the remnant will could do something against an expert capable of reaching that place, but he would explain the situation, hoping that the expert didn't destroy the forest.
"I did, but the current people living here aren't important to me."
He really didn't have any feelings for those far descendants of him.
"Still, you maintain the Forest of Illusions."
Lina said that she wasn't planning to destroy the forest quite quickly since that was never her intention, so she had yet to hear the whole story behind the creation of the Forest of Illusions.
"Even if they aren't important to me, the curse of my blood still remains on them. They will never reach Rank 2, and that is my fault, so I must protect this area where they could live without worrying about those stronger than them. This is my responsibility."
Lina seemed to notice traces of pain in the voice, but that remnant will was in such a bad state that it was difficult to notice emotions.
"I was once an expert envied by everyone, a Rank 9 expert that was a step away from becoming a Law Master."
On that planet, someone at that level could really be considered at the peak.
"However, I made a mistake by leaving the planet before advancing. I was so full of myself that I failed to notice that the outside is completely different. As a result, I was cursed to death, and all my descendants became fated to never reach Rank 2. Those that were stronger died due to the curse like me. Making this forest for the rest was all I could do."
Not even Lina would be careless while traveling between planets, being careless without enough strength was just asking death.
"I returned here and sought help, but my friends tried to backstab me. They feared me because I was somewhat stronger than them before, but with me weakened by the curse, they showed their true personality."
Relationships created by the pure use of strength were very fragile. Once one lost the strength, the rest would turn their back quickly.
"Fearing the fate of my descendants, I transformed the forest I created time ago into the Forest of Illusions to serve as a place for my descendants to live. That is all. This is just my duty."
Lina knew that the remnant will was saying the truth, but she felt that it was quite sad that he was reduced to a state that he was forced to endure doing that work without any real feelings for those he was protecting, just guilt for his own foolishness.
"Well, it isn't like I care, and I won't interfere as long as the lives of those two aren't threatened."
Lina was already bored of speaking that man, so she decided to stop the conversation there. The man didn't try to continue the conversation either.
While they spoke, Eini was still facing illusions, but Shiba had advanced quite a bit.
After having beaten the illusions once, unless he was in an altered mental state, it would be difficult for him to fall again in the same situation. Yet, he could still be fooled by fake trees and such.
Thus, he had been advancing carefully, trying to see if there was any hidden path, and he really found one.
He didn't know why that path was hidden, but he felt that it would be better since his previous experience with walking in circles until he found the hidden path.
After a while, he finally heard a beast's sound, so he took out a big sword and started moving towards it.
It seems that the beast was fighting something or someone, so it was a good chance for a sneak attack.
There was really no need to go killing beasts, but he had worked hunting beasts, so he thought automatically on hunting it after he heard it.
Moreover, since the beast was attacking something or someone, it was dangerous. Even if the beast's opponent was just an illusion, someone might get caught on the attack by mistake.
Once he approached more, he saw that the beast's opponent was a kid that seemed to have eleven years old. He was already at level 4, but that beast was level 7, so the kid was about to be killed.
IF that kid had good skills or weapons, he might still win, but Shiba could see clearly that the kid didn't have a single weapon since he was fighting with his fists, and he didn't even try to use a skill since Shiba saw him.
He had no idea about who that kid was, but Shiba was good-natured when seeing young, weak kids in need, so he rushed to save the kid.
He couldn't help but feel mirrored into the kids facing difficulties, which triggered his need to help.
He saved a couple of kids while traveling, but only because he saw them. He still wouldn't deviate from his path to go saving people. However, if one were about to be killed in front of him, he couldn't just stop and see until the kid died.
A level 7 beast wasn't an opponent to Shiba, who was used to fight beast stronger than him, and the beast was distracted, so he finished it in one hit.
"Are you alright? If you can't beat a beast, you need to run at least. Just standing still will get you killed."
Running wasn't the best option since it might trigger some hunting instincts of the beast, but if you are going to be killed anyway, at least, it was better to try. Moreover, on the Forest of the Illusions, the illusions helped to make running more effective.
"I know, but I couldn't run anymore..."
When that kid saw the beast, he ran as fast as he could, but he still failed to escape. When Shiba found him, he had already exhausted from running.
"I heard that beasts are also affected by illusions, so you have a lot of bad luck to be followed by it so much."
Shiba was quite shocked that the kid had such a stroke of bad luck.
"It isn't bad luck. I broke the rules and left the safe area, so anyone at fifty meters of me isn't affected by illusions beasts included."
Shiba didn't understand what the kid was meaning.
"You seem to be a traveler, so you don't know. I have been born in this forest and never left it. In fact, I shouldn't leave it in my whole life, those are the rules of our town. We start our lives here and also end them here. Without never leaving, but I always wanted to see the outside world, so I escaped."
That kid was one of the descendants of the creator of the Forest of Illusions. The town he lived in was at the core of the forest and everyone, there were descendants of that expert.
The rules forbidding the people of the town to leave, and the fact that they provoked the effect of dispelling illusions on the fifty meters surrounding them in case of leaving the safe area were both things made to avoid that the cursed blood of that expert expanded outside.
"There are such rules? What stupid."
Shiba didn't have the slightest idea about the circumstances, so he simply found that the rules were stupid.
"No, we are cursed to never reach Rank 2, so those rules are made to have us protected inside this forest, but I still want to see the outside world. I know the rules are to protect us but seeing the outside world is my dream, and I don't mind if I die to accomplish it."
The kid knew very well that the rules had a meaning, and that he was the one asking for trouble, but he couldn't hide his desire to fulfill his dream.
"I see. Then, come with me. I will leave this forest, so you can just follow me. Not having illusions will be quite useful, and I can protect you from some beasts."
Shiba was conscious that it would be, and if a beast, he couldn't beat appeared, but he felt that the kid had the right to fulfill his dream.
After all, Shiba knew very well how it was living without knowing the outside world, although the reasons for both were completely different. Shiba couldn't because he was a slave, while the kid couldn't because he was being protected.