The woman who absorbed the potion recovered her vitality remarkably quickly. Her emaciated body of just skin and bones suddenly grew flesh at a speed at which 'growing' really was the right word to describe it. Her crumbly, dull hair completely fell out, replaced in moments by glossy, green-colored hair.
As she regained consciousness, a breeze carrying a refreshing arboreal scent blew over.
'She's an elf?'
In conclusion, the woman I saved was an 'elf'.
'The elves…'
They were a race with exceptional curing and recovery abilities, one that loved nature and had very beautiful appearances. Among their kind, 'Oak Elves' were famous for adhering to unconditional 'nonviolence'.
'Later, there'll be people who abuse that trait of theirs.'
For example, people like that notorious slave trader 'Seo Jun'.
In any case, I had just saved an elf. I had seen them often on Youtube, as their beauty was renowned and there were a lot of streamers who exclusively filmed elves.
'Seeing one in person…'
The phrase 'jaw-dropping beauty' seemed a little exaggerated to me.
'Is it because Senia is next to me?'
I couldn't see her right now, but maybe I wasn't that blown away by the elf's beauty because I was already used to Senia's appearance. It kind of just felt like my mind recognized the elf as an incredible beauty, but that was it. Just 'ah, she's super pretty'.
Thanks to Eye of Perception's temporary upgrade, I was able to read the elf's status.
[NPC]
Name: Lindia
Age: 91
Level: ?
Race: Oak Elf
State: Confused / Hungry / Scared
Summary: Confused Pacifist
Level cannot be determined.
Because Eye of Perception's proficiency is not high enough, viewing more detailed information is impossible.
"Thank you for saving me."
That was how our conversation began. As per usual, conversations with NPCs who gave quests or clues began with greetings. Afterwards, you'd get into the nitty gritty, like asking them why they were here or if they knew something that could be of help. It was pretty much an official format, so I was able to speak to her without much difficulty.
"You seem to be a resident of this village. And it seems… that you have suffered the wrath of the Master of the Forest."
She nodded. She said that she fled the Master of the Forest by jumping into the well and was barely able to survive. We talked for a while, and in the end, the answer was this.
"You make an offering to the Master of the Forest."
"An offering?"
"Yes."
It had to be the same offering that showed up in the letter.
"What needs to be offered?"
"Well…" Lindia looked embarrassed.
"You don't know what the offering is, I see."
"Yes. I really cannot figure out what it could be. If I knew… I would have offered it at the altar to the south…"
I at least found out that there was an altar to the south.
"I will soon return to nature's embrace."
"…"
In our words, so human words, she was saying she would die. From what Lindia was saying, she hadn't completely recovered, but had regained her strength for a brief moment.
"Is that so?"
"Yes. I will return to the embrace of the Great Mother who gave birth to me. Do not be alarmed. I will turn to dust and become nutrients for the oaks."
The sight of the elf clasping her hands at her chest was the very picture of a goddess who loved the forest.
"I see."
However, there was more to this woman than her goddess-like exterior suggested. The forest scent tickling my nose wasn't as fresh-smelling as before.
"But you know," I started to say.
I became certain of it after talking to the elf.
"Can you really return to the oaks?"
I said one more thing.
"You fake."
From the very first moment I entered this forest, the 'Forest of Unknowns', there was something off about it.
'There are traces of predators, yet no traces of prey being caught.'
The boars also acted like they had never been hunted before.
'And they don't fight for territory like beast monsters usually do.'
Also, I could hear nocturnal birds of prey at night, but there weren't actually any monsters that they could catch. Something was weird about this ecosystem.
'And… Fanged Boars don't drop Fruit Bundles out of nowhere.'
That wasn't all.
'There's even an enchanted artifact in a place like this.'
The System tended to put quite a lot of importance on fundamental 'settings' and 'realistic situations'. Of course, there were also scenarios that were random and came out of left field, but those wouldn't appear in the 'beginner period'.
'And there's an elf here?'
It was true that an elf's ability to recover was unrivaled, but even an elf couldn't recover so quickly from just a 'beginner' recovery potion.
"Well, let's just let a hundred inconsistencies slide and say there's really an elf here."
However—
"Why did you say you were a resident of this village?"
Elves didn't harm trees. They lived for the trees and would never even dream of putting a saw to a tree. So if elves were to live in this village, there shouldn't be any huts. But this village had huts. That was why I purposefully asked her if she was 'a resident of this village'.
"Can an elf build and live in a hut?"
From the first point to the last, it was all strange. If you looked at it closely, there were many inconsistencies, ones that strayed far, far away from a realistic situation.
I stared at the elf, who was turning to dust and disappearing.
Lindia the elf looked at me with an expression of utter confusion. "I have no idea what you are talking about." Then, she pleaded, "Make an offering to the Master of the Forest. The altar is to the far south."
From her expression and attitude, she looked sincere.
'She probably is… sincere.'
She was probably set to be that way. Lindia was an NPC created to relay this information. In other words, she wasn't a real 'Oak Elf', but a fake created in a form that was suitably appropriate for this special hidden field, the 'Forest of Unknowns'.
'What I read with Eye of Perception… was probably just Lindia's set values.'
Lindia, who believed she was an elf, turned to dust and disappeared. I chuckled.
"It's true that Oak Elves turn to dust and disappear."
But the execution was a little sloppy.
"A green-colored wind is supposed to blow at the same time."
I turned around and tried looking around me, but I didn't find anything. Eye of Perception didn't pick up anything, either.
"It's strange."
I'd been in a forest the entire time.
"Why was there a burst of forest scent just because an elf regained consciousness?"
Elves didn't generate bursts of forest scent. It was just that their bodies carried the strong scent of the forest in which they lived. Focusing on the details, something was definitely off.
"Doesn't it feel way too deliberate?"
I assembled all the pieces of the puzzle. The field I was standing in right now, this 'Forest of Unknowns', was a fake. It was a fake world sloppily created by someone's hand. A fake created with little attention to detail by someone who had only experienced the world through books.
"That feeling of someone staring at me all this time…"
That, too, could be explained. If this was an artificially created fake field, there had to be someone managing it, and that someone had to be the person staring at me.
"It bothers me."
[You have recognized the 'magic effect' of the 'Forest of Unknowns'.]
['Eye of Perception' has begun to resist the 'magic effect'.]
I was suddenly struck with the feeling that all the strength was leaving my body.
'If they can make a fake of such enormous scale, then…'
Such a feat would require a huge amount of magic power. That meant that whoever it was that made this fake world, they weren't an easy opponent.
"Ugh…!"
I hastily used the recovery potion I'd bound to a slot. It felt like every drop of energy in my body was being sucked away. My head began to throb with a terrible headache.
['Eye of Perception' has begun to determine the truth.]
['Eye of Perception' has begun to gaze at a distortion.]
"Gugh!"
Blood surged from my mouth. It felt like I lacked the strength to break this special space.
'No.'
I could do it. There were many things I wanted to do. I was going to live proudly, with my head held up high. I wouldn't fall down here to something of this level.
['Eye of Perception' reacts to the Player's 'strong will'.]
It felt like my eyes would burst, like every blood vessel was popping. I could tell.
'If I'm unable to break this fake right now… I will die.'
There was another possibility.
'Or I'll have to live like this fake elf, believing the fake is real in this fake world.'
I might even become an NPC who would give a fake quest to the next Player who stumbled upon this place. I couldn't let that happen. I had to live in the real world, not a fake one.
'Break it…!'
I clenched my teeth.
'Even this fake has to have its limit.'
The person who created this place probably didn't want to expose their limits. That was why they put 'easternmost' and 'westernmost' on the letters. It was to discourage anyone from going any further, where they would see the end of the field.
'They're definitely listening to my words.'
Making them falter, no matter how little, was good for me. My eyes felt like they were exploding, my head felt like it would crack open and my whole body felt like it was crumbling apart, but I endured the intense pain and smiled, looking as relaxed as possible.
"This fake of yours that has such an obvious limit, I will break it for you right now."
['Eye of Perception' has begun to crush the 'magic effect'.]
[The condition to destroy the 'Forest of Unknowns' has been satisfied.]
[The 'Forest of Unknowns' has begun to be destroyed.]
I lost consciousness.
* * *
After who knows how long, I opened my eyes.
'I'm alive.'
It looked like I was still in the 'Forest of Unknowns'. However, I could feel it with certainty.
'The range has become much, much smaller.'
Originally, this forest was so enormous and wide that Eye of Perception couldn't even tell me how large it was. But now, it was as small as the Village of Forest Dwellers. It felt like a garden cultivated to look like a very small forest.
Eye of Perception picked up something's presence. It wasn't a person.
'There's something there.'
However, I didn't pay attention to whatever it was right away. There was something more important I had to do.
"I destroyed the fake."
Honestly, it had been pretty dicey for me, but in any case, I destroyed it.
"But you know…"
You're listening, right? Master of the Forest.
"No matter how you think about it, you shouldn't be able to make such a huge field with your true ability alone."
If they were capable of that, they would have made the field with greater attention to detail. This was merely a shoddy imitation.
"Which means…"
It wouldn't take long to explore this small space.
"You must have gotten help from something."
For example—
"Like an artifact that can dramatically increase your magic power."
Items like that were sold at extremely high prices. Actually, they were so rare they weren't even sold on the market. When they did occasionally pop up, they were artifacts that could only be used one or two times at most.
"I wonder where such an artifact might be?"
It was said that misfortune often turns into a blessing. After figuring out everything about this field, I could see what it was that I had to get here. I also knew it was an extremely valuable treasure, one that truly befitted a special hidden field found in a hidden field.
"But huh, I can see it very clearly, you know?"
I moved forward. As I did so, 'it' appeared.
____