Chapter 91
Deep Layer, Day 1.
A welcoming party of monsters rushed me, as if to celebrate the arrival of a newbie.
A giant Anaconda, three times my size. A Wolf, looking like it hadn't eaten in days. A giant Wild Boar, clearly having acquired a taste for meat.
Just because it's the Deep Layer doesn't mean the Mutant Beasts from the Middle Layer don't show up.
They're just stronger and more ferocious.
Still, it's the entrance area, so I didn't have much trouble dealing with them.
They didn't all rush me at once, and mostly appeared one by one, so there wasn't much danger.
But since they're all way higher level than even an Owlbear...
Using my Abilities was unavoidable.
To the strong Deep Layer Monsters, the occasional human that wanders in is just a good meal.
At least, from their perspective.
They pop out if I make a commotion, and they come sniffing for the Blood Scent.
Thanks to that, I had no choice but to repeat quite a few battles.
Unlike my resolve to go deeper, I couldn't go far and ended up wandering around the entrance of the Deep Layer.
You could say I went through a proper initiation.
That's how the first day went. I dug a hole under a tree, covered in Blood, and went to sleep.
Maybe thanks to the earthy scent, thankfully there were no attacking Monsters yet.
Thus, Day 2.
“There it is!”
I greeted the morning in a half-asleep state and soon encountered an Otherworlder.
A scout, so to speak.
The Knights' Order, with only one life, wouldn't approach recklessly, but Otherworlders can resurrect even if they die. They're perfect for sending into dangerous areas as scouts.
As soon as the guy saw me, he tried to take a picture.
I let him do that, subdued him, and conducted a brief Interrogation.
He probably expected to die the moment he entered, but he wouldn't have expected to be captured and interrogated like this.
Anyway, from what I heard... the Knights' Order is slowly approaching.
Very slowly, while eliminating surrounding threats.
It was as expected, so it wasn't very exciting. It just gave me one more reason to go deeper.
Since my location was revealed like this, I had to move.
So I Logged Out the Otherworlder and started to go deeper again.
A lot of Monsters rushed me that day too. The initiation seems to be still ongoing.
Day 3.
As expected, by the third day, the number of Monsters mindlessly rushing me decreased considerably.
The initiation was over. It seems they finally realized that the ones in the Deep Layer aren't easy opponents.
I didn't expect it to end so quickly though.
Do these Monster bastards have a large-scale network like the Otherworlders? I briefly wondered.
Thanks to that, I was able to move further than I thought. It was fortunate that I didn't encounter the Mountain Lord or other high-level Monsters.
It would be great if this luck continued.
And that Wish was immediately shattered on the fourth day.
Because not long after I started walking, a giant Monster appeared before my eyes.
It was a Monster called a Twin-Headed Ogre.
A monster with two heads and a body twice as large as a regular Ogre.
Since I already had experience hunting Ogres, I rushed at it without thinking.
KWANG!!!!!
“Why, shit.”
And after witnessing its Hammer swing once, I immediately ran away.
I knew that since its size was double, its strength would naturally be stronger, but I didn't know it would be *that* ridiculously strong.
Just looking at its power alone, even our Mountain Lord hyung would have to take a step back.
A direct hit meant certain death, and even a graze would probably take off a limb or two, so I just ran away.
Fortunately, its speed itself was quite slow, so I could escape easily.
It's probably one of the few monsters that have their own territory in the Deep Layer.
Anyway, this blocked my path forward.
I briefly thought about turning back, but I gave up.
There might be even worse monsters deeper inside anyway.
I can't just run away then.
Anyway, I retreated that day. I found a suitable tree, dug under it, and fell asleep.
Thus, the morning of Day 5 dawned.
That day, a rather unusual guest visited.
An Otherworlder visited the Deep Layer once again.
I was contemplating whether to deal with her immediately, but I couldn't help but hesitate.
“Huh, really. You look like crap. Do you even wash yourself these days?”
Because it was Shin Han-byeol. She and I had a rather strange relationship.
First of all, she was close with the Knights' Order, and we fought as soon as we met.
We kind of shared a mental connection after I made her my pet(?), but that's it.
Except for trading Holy Water, we're pretty awkward.
“···Why are you staring at me like that? Without saying anything.”
“I'm thinking.”
“Huh?”
“Whether I should kill you right here, right now. Or if I should talk to you.”
“No, what... You're joking, right?”
“Well, so why did you come all the way here?”
To be honest, I thought she was a scout too.
She's close to the Knights' Order, her personality isn't that great, and the situation is what it is.
But what she said next was rather unexpected.
“Well…”
She says in a shrinking voice.
“It's been almost a month since we last traded, right…?”
“Huh?”
“So, I came to give you more Holy Water…”
When I heard that, I wondered what nonsense she was spouting.
Because it didn't fit the situation at all. With the Knights' Order surrounding the area and Users divided into sides?
She came all the way to this dangerous Deep Layer to trade Holy Water?
‘What’s her angle?’
It sounded like an excuse to anyone, so I decided to use Dantalian’s Ear.
It’s an Item with limited uses, so I was trying to save it as much as possible, but I wanted to know what she was thinking.
Because I couldn't tell if it was some elaborate trick or if she was being sincere.
- Ha, did I seem like a dumbass? But what can I do, I have no excuse to meet him…
The inner thoughts I heard felt somewhat complicated.
- Ah, why did he have to be caught by the Raiding Party… Honestly, letting him die like this is a bit… It's a shame, and…
- Ugh, but I can’t just turn against the Knights’ Order. I have a built-up relationship with them. …Should I just throw him some Holy Water and go? That much would help him. I don't know what he's going to use it for, but.
- Whatever, I'll just tell the Knights I couldn't find him.
I could clearly see her wavering between me and the Knights.
Her thoughts were somewhat disorganized and pathetic because it was her inner monologue, but because of that, my trust in her increased significantly.
I chuckled, finding it amusing.
“Pfft.”
“Hey, why are you laughing?”
“Nothing, never mind. So you came to trade Holy Water?”
She nodded. And at the same time, a small cheer came from inside.
- It worked!
I stopped using the Ear around then. The consumption rate was starting to increase.
So I accepted the two Holy Waters she handed over and thanked her.
I'd been worried about the side effects of using so much Blood lately, so this was good timing.
Since I didn’t have anything to give her in return, I put it on her tab.
“Thanks. I’ll pay you back double later.”
After that, I tried to send her back. It’s dangerous here.
But she seemed to have more to say, hesitating for a moment.
“Um, I have something I’m curious about, can I ask?”
“What?”
The question she finally asked was enough to momentarily fluster me.
“You use Blood as a weapon and you also use Sword Energy, right?”
“Yeah, that’s right.”
“But why don’t you coat your blood with Sword Energy?”
“Huh?”
I tilted my head. But only for a moment, the answer came out quickly.
Maybe because I had gained some trust in her, there was nothing to be awkward about.
“Because I can’t.”
“Hmm, is that so? Why?”
“Why…?”
At this point, I was momentarily speechless.
It’s been taken for granted that I can’t use Blood Enchantment and Sword Energy at the same time.
So I’ve never really thought about the reason.
I just thought, ‘Oh, it just doesn’t work.’
I did have an excuse in mind. Maybe the impure Demonic Power in my Blood clashes with Mana…
But that thought was fleeting, as I recalled a counterexample.
‘But Seere used Sword Energy just fine?’
Come to think of it, that Demon guy was covered in Demonic Power, yet…
He used it skillfully enough to coat his hand with Sword Energy.
“…Well.”
In the end, all I could say was this. What have I learned, anyway?
Even my Sword Energy is crude because I just happened to use it.
As I was thinking this, Han-byeol in front of me spoke again.
“Well, from what I’ve heard from the Knights…”
So I listened to her explanation and we talked for a while.
The conversation that day made me think a lot…
Thus, Day 7 dawned.
I caught the Twin-Headed Ogre. By throwing Daggers and Blood clots from a distance it couldn’t reach, as expected, it couldn't do anything.
After crippling one of its legs and one of its arms, I managed to win.
It's the monster's loss for not being able to fight as dirty as humans.
“I'm fucked when Rage Mode activates.”
One thing I'm worried about is that I used quite a bit of Blood.
Well, it's not a big deal. It's just that the 3 Holy Waters I need to use has increased to 5 or 6.
So I moved forward.
Day 8.
I found a lake!
I was running out of drinking water, so it was perfect timing.
So I took a bath for the first time in a while. Maybe because I caught the Ogre, no monsters dared to approach easily.
“These mosquito-like bastards…”
But the problem arose at night. On the very night I washed up, the Monsters started attacking.
Whether it was because of the unfamiliar smell instead of the familiar Blood Scent, or because they thought attacking at night was better than during the day...
I couldn’t get an answer because they were uncommunicative beasts, but anyway, my sleep has been severely disturbed since then.
Whenever I fell asleep, Monsters would approach, waiting for a chance to attack.
I couldn’t sleep deeply even as I drifted off.
I had no choice but to heighten the Heightened Hearing Amducias gave me and stay as vigilant as possible.
Day 9 was similar.
Day 10.
The situation remained the same. Or rather, it got worse.
After two sleepless nights, I had to endure the Deep Layer in a half-asleep state in the morning as well.
And they weren’t kind enough to just watch me struggle.
Whether I tried to take a nap or look for a place to rest for a moment, Monsters kept attacking. I had to drag my heavy body and deal with them.
Maybe because I wasn’t in good condition, dealing with them felt more tiring than even the Ogre.
So I had no choice but to retreat again.
Day 11.
A pursuer attached itself to me.
Not from the Knights’ Order, but from the monsters' side.
A black, jaguar-like beast, twice the size of me.
What doesn't this Forest have?
Twice my size isn't that big for the Deep Layer.
But instead, it was incredibly fast and cunning.
In other words, it knew how to get on my nerves.
I could always hear its footsteps nearby, and sometimes when I woke up from a nap, it would be close enough to be in my sight.
Annoyed, I chased after it, and it started running away quickly. I had run into a truly troublesome opponent.
For now, I had to endure by maximizing the Heightened Hearing Amducias gave me.
Day 12.
Sleepy. I want to rest. I just want to sleep comfortably.
Day 13.
The Heightened Hearing Amducias gave me is certainly a great help, but…
One drawback is that it consumes a lot of mental energy.
Because all the information gathered by my ears enters my mind…
It feels like my fatigue doubles, but I couldn’t easily turn it off. The nightly raid events were still going on intermittently.
To make matters worse, I hadn't been able to shake off the jaguar for three days. It didn't attack, just prowled around, clearly waiting for me to get exhausted.
Even though it must be struggling to rest properly too. It’s a very patient one.
There’s no other way. Either it collapses first, or I get exhausted and become its prey.
One or the other.
Day 14 dawned.
My condition is the worst.
My vision is blurry, and my body feels incredibly heavy, as if crushed by a rock. My head isn't working properly either, as if shrouded in fog. My stamina is reaching its limit.
“….”
But at the same time, I had a strange experience.
The sounds of the Monsters rampaging, the jaguar’s presence, even my own movements felt incredibly clear.
It felt like I was observing myself in third person. My senses and body were acting separately.
Is it because I've been so on edge? Or is it a sign that my time is coming?
Whatever it was, it was clear that the day of reckoning was approaching.
The jaguar’s presence was getting closer, as if it had decided it was time to fight.
I felt like it would be settled by tomorrow at the latest.
Day 15.
I survived. There was no other way to put it.
Victory was mine. Unlike the persistent standoff, the fight itself wasn’t long or flashy.
I was just a bit more cunning and bolder than it.
After pretending to sleep for about two hours, it stealthily approached, and I didn’t miss the opportunity. Even with my eyes closed, my sharpened senses let me gauge the distance between us accurately.
When it got close enough, I thrust the Spear I was holding into it with all my might.
It must have been on guard because it swung its forepaw, but… I just ignored it.
CHAAAK-!
My chest was ripped open and a burning pain surged through me. Blood gushed out.
But at the same time, my attack landed in its neck.
It probably didn’t expect me to charge while ignoring the injury.
I took its meat and found the safest place I could to finally sleep.
It was painful because of the large wound, and I was worried about the Monsters that might be around, but…
It was the deepest sleep I’d had recently.
Day 16.
“…It tastes good, maybe because I worked hard to catch it.”
Besides the fact that the Deep Layer is a living hell, another characteristic…
Is that the creatures here are very nutritious. Maybe it’s because they’re filled with Mana, but every time I eat them, I feel my body getting stronger.
When I gave the Old Tiger’s meat to Shin Han-byeol, the description said “stat increase,” so…
It’s probably not just my imagination. Thanks to that, the large wound on my chest had mostly healed.
But I still had questions.
‘But why aren’t there any Herbal Medicines?’
With this much Mana around, there should be at least one or two Herbal Medicines…
But there’s not a single one. I might find more in the Middle Layer.
But what’s even stranger is that the deeper I go, the denser the Demonic Power becomes. An abnormally high concentration.
I suddenly remembered when Dantalian visited this Forest.
The bone in his hand was definitely pointing inwards.
Back then, I wasn't sure if it was pointing at me, inside the Cave, or beyond the Cave, but… now I think I know for sure.
There's something deep within the Deep Layer. Something Lemegeton was looking for.
I wonder what it is… Curiosity welled up in me.
“Well, I’ll find out when I get there.”
But that thought was fleeting, and I chuckled and moved forward.
My steps are headed inwards anyway.
Day 17, 18, 19.
Time passed like that.
Sometimes I took a few steps forward, and sometimes I had to retreat because I couldn't rest properly.
A needlessly tough turtle appeared to test the limits of my attacks, and a highly venomous snake appeared to test my agility in return.
Every day is a brush with death, but that makes the experience all the more valuable.
And so, Day 20.
A somewhat familiar face appeared.
Grrrr…
Letting out a ferocious growl, with an almost healed wound on its side.
The Mountain Lord finally showed itself. Considering its wide range of activity, it appeared later than expected.
Is it because of the wound on its side?
If so, that's a relief.
I still get a sense of alarm when I see it. The hairs on my skin stand on end.
But this time, I didn't run away or get scared.
“Hello, we’ve met before, haven’t we?”
It was time to put an end to my relationship with it.