WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Alyo

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◈ Surviving as a Warrior in a TRPG World ◈

Chapter 44: Border Forest (1)

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Two days later, Gerik met the group at the entrance to the Demonwild Forest. As though she had been waiting for him, Katrin handed him the supplies she had prepared the day before and began explaining them.

"This is a pole torch. It's the one indispensable item for tackling the Demonwild Forest."

Unlike an ordinary torch, it looked like a long wooden staff. Gerik asked why it was so important.

"You said you've only explored the outskirts of the Demonwild Forest so far, right?"

"Yes."

"Then it makes sense that you wouldn't know. The deeper you go into the Demonwild Forest, the less sunlight gets through."

Katrin explained that the outskirts received some sunlight thanks to development work such as logging and drainage. But once they entered the Boundary Forest, the sunlight would become extremely scarce, so they needed a light source that could maintain visibility for a long time.

"Pole torches are made by mixing sulfur with the sap of Oilwood, which only grows in the Demonwild Forest. Torches made with it burn much brighter than ordinary torches, and they hardly ever go out."

"I see. But why make them so long? Since you'll be carrying and using them for a long time, is it so you can use them like staffs?"

Gerik gave the matter some thought, trying to guess why the torches were so long. Katrin snorted as if he had said something ridiculous.

"From the Boundary Forest onward, the ground is mostly leaf mold formed from rotting leaves, so it's generally quite soft. When you spot a monster, you can immediately stick the torch into the ground and start fighting. That's why they make them so long."

Katrin went on to explain the torches made with Oilwood sap.

They did not go out easily even when wet. They were several times brighter than ordinary torches, less hot, and lasted ten times as long.

Their performance sounded incredible. Then a question occurred to Gerik.

"If they're that good, why have I never seen torches made with Oilwood sap in nearby villages? Judging by what I paid today, they aren't even that expensive...?"

"Ah, Oilwood sap is highly volatile, so it can't be stored long-term no matter what you do. At most, it evaporates within two weeks and becomes unusable."

"Ah..."

Gerik nodded, finally understanding why an oil that could revolutionize civilization had failed to spread.

Once Katrin finished explaining the supplies, she led the group into the Demonwild Forest.

As expected, their journey through the outskirts went smoothly.

They were Wood Plates in name only, and the Goblins and wolves that occasionally sprang from the brush were hardly worth calling a threat to Minos's party, which was at the high end of Copper Plate.

Katrin did not even consider drawing her bow, as though arrows were too precious to waste. Minos likewise saw no reason to use valuable magic on a handful of weak monsters. Leaning leisurely on his staff, he simply watched the Warriors slaughter them.

At first, Ilvern and Gerik dealt with them side by side, but before long, Ilvern did not even need to step forward.

Whenever a few Goblins appeared, Gerik rushed in with Charge and butchered them alone before Ilvern could even pull out his mace.

'They really see the outskirts as nothing more than a stroll.'

Gerik smiled bitterly, recalling how proud he had felt hunting Goblins alone in the outskirts.

An ordinary low-ranking adventurer party would have advanced cautiously, wary of ambushes, and taken several times longer to cover the same distance. Yet because Minos's party consisted entirely of elites, they crossed the Demonwild Forest's outskirts in only three hours.

Even that was after they slowed down for Minos, who was struggling with a mage's naturally frail stamina. Without Minos, they could have crossed it even faster.

'Well, it's a desk job...'

As Gerik mused about Minos, he raised his gaze.

The deep darkness of the forest ahead was entirely different from the outskirts. The moment he followed Katrin, who had gone in first, into the Boundary Forest, a darkness on another level washed over him.

'The outskirts really are bright by comparison.'

It was clearly midday, yet the Boundary Forest was as dim as dusk. Tall trees densely blocked out the sky, allowing so little sunlight through that he could barely make out what lay ahead.

'For such a dense forest, there aren't many obstacles.'

Interestingly, the Boundary Forest was not like the Amazon rainforest from his previous life, where small trees grew thickly together and obstructed movement.

The towering trees must have blocked out the sunlight so completely that smaller trees could not grow at all.

'This is... leaf mold? It's different from the leaf mold I know...'

The soil beneath Gerik's feet felt strange. It had the texture of sawdust, and it felt as though his foot would sink straight in if he stepped too hard. The sensation was deeply unfamiliar.

'Now I understand why Katrin said we could stick the pole torches into the ground and fight.'

Unlike Katrin, whose night vision was sharp thanks to Wild’s Grace, the rest of the group needed light to watch their surroundings.

At Katrin's signal, Ilvern and Gerik took up their planned positions at the front and rear of the group, holding their pole torches to illuminate the surroundings.

Because he was a mage and relatively lightly armored, Minos stood between the two Warriors rather than carrying a torch, concealing himself to avoid becoming a target.

An eerie silence filled the Boundary Forest, without even the sound of insects. As the group walked while watching their surroundings, Katrin, who had been scouting ahead, returned without a sound.

"There's a Goblin settlement ahead. Our target."

The group followed her, and before long, Katrin stopped at what appeared to be an ordinary spot.

At Katrin's gesture, Ilvern moved to a particular spot as though familiar with her instructions, unlike Gerik, who looked confused. Then, together with Katrin, he began digging through piles of earth and leaves.

Interestingly, a cleverly hidden hole appeared beneath the dirt.

'...How did they even find that?'

Before Gerik could finish marveling, the group began entering the hole one by one. It was only large enough for a single adult to squeeze through.

After walking through the crude earthen tunnel connected to the hole for a short while, they discovered that it led into a naturally formed cave.

"Did you know the Demonwild Forest has an unusually large number of underground caves?"

As Gerik ran his hand along the cave wall and examined it, Minos noticed and spoke quietly.

"Really...?"

"Yes. The caves are one reason so many monsters live in the Demonwild Forest. Goblins especially."

Minos explained that, according to legend, Goblins had originally been the most prosperous of the earth sprites. But for an unknown reason, their entire race had been struck by a terrible curse and transformed into the ugly creatures they were now.

"They say the habits they had as earth sprites remain, which is why they're especially fond of burrows."

Minos pointed at the wall and continued.

"Why don't you feel the wall?"

"...The wall?"

At Minos's unexpected request, Gerik nodded and placed his hand on the cave wall. He lightly brushed it with his palm, examining its texture.

"...Huh?"

Based on common sense from his previous life, Gerik had expected the dampness and soft texture characteristic of limestone, which he thought a cave should naturally have.

'...This isn't limestone?'

For some reason, though, the wall before him was as hard as granite and nearly dry, making Gerik feel uneasy.

"This cave... is strange. The material feels different from an ordinary cave."

Minos's eyes lit up as he silently watched Gerik's reaction.

"Interesting, isn't it?"

Based on ancient documents he had studied at the Royal Academy, Minos told him a legend passed down through the Demonwild Forest.

"According to the legend recorded in ancient texts, a powerful civilization existed here long ago. But for some reason, that civilization committed a great sin by making a pact with an evil being it should never have joined hands with."

According to the legend, all the gods of the Material Plane, enraged at witnessing that sin, gathered their armies and destroyed the civilization. Unsatisfied with that, they buried the place alive beneath an enormous mass of earth and sand.

That was why so many caves had formed beneath the forest.

After recounting the legend, Minos ran his hand across the cave wall for a moment before continuing.

"At first, I thought it was just an ordinary legend passed down through the ages..."

Despite having been an adventurer for only a short time, Minos had encountered quite a few caves like this recently.

He seemed to think that perhaps the legend had some basis in truth.

"Kyak! Kyak!!"

As they advanced while quietly chatting, the familiar cries of monsters rang out.

Without a word, the group exchanged looks and quickly assumed the battle formation they had practiced the day before.

Unlike their traveling formation, Ilvern and Gerik took the lead, Katrin supported them from behind, and Minos positioned himself at the very rear, a short distance away.

After carefully advancing in formation, the group soon encountered a pack of Goblins.

'...Those are Hobgoblins?'

Gerik spotted several individuals that stood out among the group.

Ordinary Goblins were about the size of elementary school children, but those creatures were larger than sturdy adult men. They even had muscular bodies.

"Kyaak!! Kya!!"

The Hobgoblins were shouting orders at the smaller Goblins.

As they focused on their work, one Hobgoblin spotted the group's torchlight and suddenly looked up.

Piiing...!!

Just as it spotted the humans and opened its mouth to roar in fury, an arrow flew from Katrin's longbow.

Thud!!

The arrow lodged precisely in its head.

When one Hobgoblin was felled by the surprise attack, the other Hobgoblins raised their wooden shields at once and roared as though it were a signal.

At their cries, the Goblins stopped what they were doing and hurriedly grabbed their weapons. Remarkably, under the Hobgoblins' orders, they began forming a primitive defensive formation.

'Tactics...?'

As Gerik stared at the Hobgoblins in surprise, he could see clear intelligence in their eyes.

Unlike ordinary intelligent creatures, though, their eyes held nothing but hatred for all living things.

"Kyareuk!! Kya!!"

Perhaps wary of Katrin's archery, the Hobgoblins remained behind the Goblins with their shields raised, shrieking as they slowly pushed the Goblins forward.

Pwoo!!

A strange sound echoed through the cavern. Startled by the sophisticated signal, Gerik looked toward its source and saw a Hobgoblin blowing a whistle made of animal bone.

Then even more Hobgoblins and Goblins began pouring out from burrows in every direction.

Facing such an overwhelming number of enemies for the first time, Gerik felt his breath catch.

'Just how many Goblins live in this cave...?!'

While Gerik was thrown off by the sudden reinforcements, the Hobgoblins intelligently commanded their troops, apparently aware of the bottleneck that could result from the Goblins' disorderly advance. Slowly but systematically, they pressed toward the group.

Whoosh!! Whoosh!!

As the Goblins in front slowly advanced with their weapons raised, those behind them followed the Hobgoblins' orders and hurled stones, raining down a barrage of ranged attacks.

Footnotes:

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