Chapter 48: Twilight Forest
The moment they passed through the gate, the world changed. It was the unique air of the forest.
It was incredibly dark. However, using night vision magic wasn't a good idea either.
When using night vision magic, the faint bluish mist floating in the forest would glow dimly, making the vision even worse. Therefore, it was impossible to secure sight with magic in the twilight forest.
There were other priorities in terms of magic to use. In order to counter the Whispermash that employed sleep magic, they needed to use the Psychofield magic.
"What's that glowing flower over there?"
Sheila, who was vigilant of her surroundings, asked. Floating in the darkness, there were faint lights in pale green and purple, emitting a brilliant and colorful glow. Depending on how you looked at it, it could be seen as a fantastic sight.
"Those are Fairy Lights. If you pick them, they can serve as a substitute for light. But be careful not to carry fire as a light source in this forest, as the surrounding plants will attack all at once," he replied.
Hearing that, Sheila looked around with a furrowed brow. Indeed, it was a fascinating place, but also treacherous.
"The Fairy Lights emit pollen, which is the mist you see in this forest."
The Twilight Forest was a place where peculiar plants thrived, not requiring sunlight. Naturally, the ecosystem had become strange.
The group of plants that attacked with flames were not treated as monsters.
However, if they tried to clear the plants obstructing their path one by one, they would create walls in the labyrinth on the labyrinth's side, and block the way if they went too far.
Shortcuts like "Wall Passing" and "Floor Passing" were not allowed. Some people in BFO had been buried alive and died after they were resurrected.
Sheila picked a Fairy Light and used it to illuminate the ground.
"There are many human footprints."
"We've just passed the branching point, that's why. The footprints should disappear when the labyrinth's structure changes."
"Should we follow the Sword Boar's footprints?"
"As a priority, it would be better to eliminate the Guardian and then search. Guardians are very aggressive and prioritize eliminating intruders. They often take position near the stairs or stone tablets to prevent intruders from escaping to the lower floors."
"In this case, since we can't go back to the stone tablets, taking position near the stairs would prevent intruders from escaping."
So, by advancing towards the stairs, they would get closer to the Sword Boar. Other adventurers must be thinking about finding a gap in the Sword Boar's defenses and attack from there.
The group raised their Fairy Lights and continued down the path leading deep into the forest. He wanted to use Life Detection to check for human reactions while proceeding, but...
"They're coming! There are too many, can't identify them!"
Reacting to Sheila's words, he interrupted Life Detection.
Nothing was detected by my Life Detection magic. I was only trying to detect human reactions, but most enemies were plant-type monsters, so their reactions would be hidden among the background. I didn't want to waste time deactivating and reactivating the spell every time I encountered an enemy.
The rustling in the bushes increased, and Killer Plants, known as murderous plants, jumped out. They were plant monsters that walked with their roots and attacked with their branches. If you enlarged an Evil Weed and made it vicious, it would look like this.
He parried the attack with a knuckle from a tree and then smashed it with his staff.
"They're in the way!"
Grace cut down a Killer Plant that was heading towards her with an axe.
"We don't have time to deal with each one. Let's advance while eliminating them."
The priority was to defeat and rescue. Naturally, there was no time to harvest materials, and dealing with enemies was just a waste of time.
I dealt with enemies coming from the front while Grace dealt with enemies coming from behind as they advanced through the forest.
In the meantime, small whispering voices could be heard from various places. It was the Whispermash using their magic, hiding in the thickets. Although it wouldn't work due to counter-magic, it wasn't a pleasant feeling to have magic cast on them as they pleased.
I shot a fireball into the thickets, and the Whispermash turned into fireballs and scattered in all directions, getting beaten up by the roots of the trees.
"I smell human blood."
At a fork in the road, Grace stopped and frowned.
"Which way does it continue?"
"I'm sorry. I can't tell. The air is stagnant."
The twilight forest had no wind. The stagnant air made it difficult to track the smell alone.
Sheila stopped and carefully observed the ground.
"There's a bloodstain. That way."
Sheila pointed in the direction they should head.
Before long, they found a fallen adventurer. Grace seemed bothered by the scent of blood around, and she shook her head slightly.
There were three of them in total, and the situation was dire.
One person was lying in a pool of blood, another was thrown onto the bushes, and the third was stuck on a tree trunk.
All of them were covered in cuts and wounds. The ground around them was torn up, and there were traces of the Sword Boar's rampage, with trees broken and uprooted.
"The two over there... they're still alive."
The Life Detection spell reacted to the two individuals thrown into the bushes and stuck on the tree trunk. Unfortunately, the third person had already passed away. The life signs of the remaining two were weakening significantly. They needed immediate treatment to avoid danger.
"Hold on, please!"
Quickly, they were laid down on the ground, and Ashley used healing magic on them. While the wounds began to close, the lost blood didn't return. He also cast spells to strengthen their physical condition, but whether they would fully recover remained uncertain. One of the men groaned, his face pale.
"Y-you... you came to help..."
"We're here to help. Hang on."
"We... asked... our comrade... to lure it away..."
The man pointed towards the depths of the forest.
It seemed that their comrade became a decoy to divert the monster's attention, sparing them from a fatal blow, or perhaps, after incapacitating their comrade, the monster prioritized dealing with the others.
"The Red Teleportation Stones are usable, right? How many more of your companions are there?"
"Yeah... please help them. There... are two more..."
The man handed over his Red Teleportation Stone.
The drawback of the Red Teleportation Stone was that it took some time for the teleportation gate to open. Therefore, it was necessary to create a safe environment before using it. With his deceased comrade in his arms, the man slammed the Red Teleportation Stone on the ground. A magic circle expanded from the shattered stone, and soon a pillar of light rose up. The man and his companions disappeared into it.
Things brought from outside the labyrinth could be taken back using the Red Teleportation Stones. That meant... they could also take back the bodies of their fallen comrades. By now, they were likely being transported to the entrance of the temple labyrinth.
"...We know the Sword Boar's tracks. We can follow it immediately."
"Let's go."
As they ran, following the tracks of the Sword Boar, they heard a loud roar from the depths of the forest. It sounded quite close.
Suddenly, the forest became noisy, and rustling sounds could be heard from various places in the grass.
"What was that just now?"
"...The Guardians can summon the monsters on the labyrinth floors."
The reason was unclear, but it seemed that the monster had called for reinforcements.
They ran towards the direction of the sound and soon arrived at an open area. Through the Life Detection spell, they could see two humans leaning against each other on a tree branch. The group signaled for everyone to stay still and observed the situation from the cover of the trees.
And there it was—the Sword Boar, a significantly large creature. Despite its size, it moved with unexpected agility, restlessly roaming around.
It sniffed around the surroundings persistently, expressing its frustration by breaking and uprooting trees. The adventurers in the tree were using Concealment Magic to avoid detection, but it seemed the creature's senses couldn't be completely fooled. However, the adventurers managed to stay unnoticed by the Sword Boar thanks to the wind magic that blocked their scent and sound.
The Sword Boar was a humanoid monster with steel-like fur and sharp fangs. It was an evolved subspecies of an Orc, not a boar but a boar-like creature.
Its name came from the sharpness of its fur. Anyone who tried to grapple it would be torn to shreds, which was linked to its formidable defensive power. Its claws and fangs were incredibly robust.
In essence, it was a monster that relied on brute strength. However, even for strength-based monsters like the Guardians, who harbored powerful magic internally, they had high resistance to magic due to their immense magical power being directly connected to their defensive capabilities.
In other words, they couldn't be easily categorized as just large Orcs.
The Sword Boar seemed to be rampaging to flush out hidden adventurers. The adventurers in the tree looked uneasy about when it would come to their location.
Now... using a flashy magic to blow it away would also risk catching the nearby adventurers in the blast. On the other hand, they didn't have much time to think leisurely after being called for reinforcements. If they ended up in a melee, they wouldn't be able to unleash powerful magic either.
"I'll draw its attention like I did with the Killer Ant. Can't we do the same thing with Defense Fields?" suggested Grace.
"You mean... using the same method as before, where we endured attacks with Defense Fields?"
"Yes."
I see. If we can avoid a melee, there's a chance to defeat them all at once. If we can suppress their invasion, we might be able to use the Red Teleportation Stone to escape.
For that purpose, they needed to cast a magic spell that would enclose those two within a protective barrier. Grace would draw the creature's attention, and then they would proceed.
However, Grace being used as bait...
Seeing the concern in their eyes, Grace smiled faintly. "To tell you the truth... the smell of human blood is too strong, and I've been feeling uncomfortable since earlier. So I want to vent a little and blow off some steam. Can I handle that over there?"
"Just be careful, and if we think it's dangerous, we'll come to your aid."
"Yes."
Grace smiled, her eyes narrowing with delight.