WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Mordor
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ Surviving the Frozen Dark Fantasy as a Genius Mage ◈
Chapter 97: 3rd Floor Emerald Forest
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The torchlight grew dimmer.
The stench of rotting corpses and wet earth grew stronger.
Drip. Drip.
Then, through the faint drizzle, thin mist, and gloomy green brush, something poked its head out.
[O... God...]
The face beneath its rusted, moss-covered helmet was human in shape, but it wasn't human.
Its purple skin had decayed so badly that every trace of blood had drained from it.
Maggots writhed in its mouth, stretched wide as if in pain, while an unknown flower jutted from its empty eye socket, grotesquely opening and closing its petals.
It looked like a plant and an undead creature had become one.
They were Corroded Corpse Soldiers, monsters that lived here.
"Three spear-and-sword-wielding infantrymen. One trumpeter."
The infantrymen were melee monsters, while the trumpeter used special patterns that raised morale and inflicted curses.
If it blew the horn in its hand, the monsters would grow stronger while we, the living, would be cursed.
That wasn't all...
'From the third floor onward, even basic monsters have one or two special abilities.'
Their ability was living vines.
If you stayed close to them for too long, the bizarre plants growing from their bodies would wrap around you and restrict your movements.
'Before you know it, plants will be clinging to your body. You'll panic, then they'll tear you apart and eat you.'
"There could be an archer hiding nearby! Protect the rear!"
Creak! Creak!
They slowly approached, bending their joints at grotesque angles.
Elena used the chance to pull out a cork with her teeth, then poured Holy Water over her mace.
Bwooo...
Just as the trumpeter in the back blew its strange heretical horn, Hans's crossbow bolt shattered the horn.
One silver arrow wasn't enough to kill it, so he had smartly disabled its equipment and removed its pattern instead.
Graaaaaah!
The enraged trumpeter drew a dagger in place of its ruined instrument.
That marked the beginning of the battle.
The creatures staggered toward us, their bodies nearly dragging along the ground, before suddenly accelerating.
Their movements were nimble and irregular for undead, but Elena easily blocked a flying spear with her shield. She planted her feet firmly and clenched her right hand.
Crash!
Her mace came down like lightning.
"Die!"
With a hiss of smoke, the helmet warped, and the eye socket covered in plants crumpled inward.
Corpse Soldiers normally boasted tenacious vitality, but Elena's strength had been enhanced by a Grace Stone. With her blow empowered by Holy Water as well, the creature collapsed from a single strike and was rendered unable to fight.
Creeeak...
Of course, the other Corpse Soldiers thrust their spears and swung cursed swords in that opening, but...
"I've got this one!"
Gimlius leaped forward and blocked the spear aimed at Elena.
[Corroding Vines]
Clang!
"Meia!"
Vines wriggled as if alive from the tainted spear blade and crawled over Gimlius's shield, but Daisy cast Shining Light.
It was simply a spell that illuminated the area with Divine Power, but it was the perfect counter to undead.
Uuuugh...
Creatures that had charged without hesitation against every attack covered their eyes and staggered back.
Elena and Gimlius used that opening to chop and smash them apart as if they were splitting rotten firewood.
Crunch! Crash!
The fight ended in an instant without me needing to step in.
"Easy."
"Easy."
Was it because we had already experienced a Wave where a Floor Master and countless monsters poured out?
The battle had been far too easy.
If I had joined in, we could've handled twice as many without trouble.
After collecting Mana Stones from the shattered undead, we began making our way through the forest.
"At this point, the only things we need to watch out for are the forest's curses and diseases! Hahaha!"
Gimlius was so excited that he was even whistling.
He was right.
Pale Cyan Light, the Emerald Forest's field effect.
Being exposed to it slowly drained your stamina and mental strength.
The entire forest was filled with that gloomy light, so there was nowhere to avoid it.
'It's manageable until the third day, but...'
The real problem began on the fourth day.
Hallucinations and auditory hallucinations began from the fourth day onward, and the fog thickened on the sixth day.
In other words, we had to escape before the sixth day if possible.
"Miss Daisy's light is driving away that ominous glow."
Having Daisy, a Priest, with us reduced the harmful effects here as well.
"Let's look for anything worth money."
To keep the drizzle from draining my body heat, I put an oilskin robe over my clothes.
Whoosh!
Hans swept the surroundings with a torch fixed to a pole longer than usual.
Mud that grabbed at our ankles, uneven ground, fallen rotten trees.
There were dangers beyond the drizzle and fog that blocked our view.
Kyaaaah!
As the fire touched it, something covered by a mound of dirt suddenly wriggled.
It was a huge mushroom. It sprayed yellow spores, and a human skull attached beneath its body screamed as if it were alive.
It was another monster that lived here, a Crawling Spore.
"Ugh! The smell!"
"Everyone, stand back."
The fungus it expelled could cause disease if inhaled, so we didn't approach carelessly.
It was a monster that would only cost us more than it was worth to kill, so we simply jabbed it repeatedly with burning torches and drove it away.
We also didn't forget to check the sky and the trees every so often.
Between the twisted, grotesquely sprawling old trees and vines, giant spiders, centipedes, and cockroaches clung to trees and webs, twitching their antennae as they watched us. They weren't rank-seven monsters, but they could still be dangerous. The moment our eyes met, they scuttled away.
Ugh, disgusting bastards.
This was why I hated forest maps.
'The damp old trees on the fourth floor will be even worse.'
"It's getting colder. This really isn't a good place to explore."
The oilskin robes blocked the drizzle, but our bodies were still getting wet, and the cold was stealing away our warmth.
"The rain comes and goes, so it's not that dangerous."
"This was listed in the request from the alchemy workshop, right? The rare mushroom."
"That's right. It's expensive, so let's gather all of it."
[Ian's party has gathered Emerald Mushrooms.]
[Ian's party has gathered Wraith Branches.]
We had been exploring for nearly an hour when more monsters appeared.
Clank.
This time, there was one Corpse Knight in old full-body armor with a massive build.
Two infantrymen.
One trumpeter.
One Spore Brute.
Grrr... Grrrk.
The Spore Brute was a huge bipedal monster with a mushroom for a face. It could tear armor apart with its bare hands, so we had to be careful not to get caught in its grip.
"That's a dangerous combination! Be careful!"
Before the trumpeter could blow its horn, Hans fired his crossbow as he had before.
But the Corpse Knight, wrapped in a two-meter-tall mass of metal, stupidly blocked it with its own body.
The crossbow made with Drake sinew was powerful enough to pierce armor, but it didn't deal much damage to an undead creature.
Gurglegurgle.
As the horn let out its strange sound, murky darkness settled over the monsters, and their movements grew even more nimble.
Meanwhile, Daisy's light weakened.
...
That wasn't the end.
At a gesture from the Corpse Knight, an arrow suddenly flew toward us from a blind spot on the opposite side from where the monsters had appeared.
Swish!
"There's an archer hiding!"
Elena shouted after blocking the arrow fired directly at Daisy and me.
The Corpse Knight possessed living vine armor and the Command trait, allowing it to control weaker creatures.
'A cunning tactic you can't help but fall for if you don't know about it.'
I looked toward where the arrow had come from.
It's a bolt, so it's a crossbow.
That means it takes time to reload.
'At least ten seconds.'
"Elena! Go forward and hold them back!"
I spoke while surrounding myself with an [Arcane Barrier].
Daisy's Blessing settled over Elena.
The enemy's front line was dangerous, so Elena immediately charged in and swung her mace.
[Smite]
She even used an ability.
With Daisy's Blessing added to it, the Corpse Soldier tried to block with its rotted shield, only for both it and the shield to shatter.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
Elena tried to disable the other one in quick succession, but she gritted her teeth and raised her shield.
An old greatsword covered in moss came crashing down with terrifying force.
The Corpse Knight had charged in.
"Not a chance!"
Elena blocked its attack, swung her gauntleted fist, grabbed its joints, and rammed her shoulder into it.
She overpowered the nearly two-meter-tall Corpse Knight with raw strength and landed blow after blow.
But it was an undead creature clad in full-body armor, so the damage wasn't significant.
"Urgh."
While Elena wrestled with the Corpse Knight, Gimlius was clashing with two monsters, a Corpse Soldier and a spore humanoid.
"I have no choice but to use it here!"
Gimlius was being pushed back because his physical strength was inferior to Elena's, but there was no urgency on his face.
"Flame!"
Whoosh!
Runes flashed across the axe Gimlius held, and flames suddenly rose from it.
It was the Flaming Axe, the magical weapon he had bought for a fortune at the Crystal Auction House.
Graaah!
Undead had always been weak to fire.
The drizzle turned to steam as the burning corpse screamed and collapsed.
After swiftly dealing with the Corpse Soldier, Gimlius swung his axe at the spore humanoid.
When the spore humanoid, its waist half-severed, staggered...
"Fall back!"
Hans threw a Black Oil Flask.
Keeeek!
The mushroom creature, engulfed in flames, crumpled.
Its fungal body burst apart, setting off a series of small explosions.
"Cough! Cough!"
Another crossbow bolt flew toward me in that opening, but I blocked it with my barrier. After pinpointing the archer's position, I cast the spell I had recently learned, Arcane Ray.
Piiiiing!
The destructive purple beam tore through the obstacles and struck the Corpse Archer hiding in the forest.
Something fell over, and no more arrows came flying.
Corpse Archers were troublesome monsters that set living vines, pits, and other traps nearby before using deceptive tactics, but I cleared it out in one shot with my spell.
Grrr...
The battle ended when Gimlius struck the Corpse Knight fighting Elena from behind and set it ablaze.
'As expected of Arcane Ray! It's useful.'
I grinned as I clenched and unclenched my fist.
It was effective, befitting one of the few offensive spells in the Arcane school.
It was also less affected by elemental compatibility than Frost or Lightning.
"Hahahaha! It was worth paying three hundred gold coins for it!"
Gimlius's Flaming Axe needed to be recharged, but weapons with an element displayed tremendous power against monsters weak to that element.
"That was easy."
Elena used the drizzle to wash the grime from her hands, then shook her head as she brushed back her sweat-soaked hair.
She was right.
Even with a higher-ranked knight among them, this battle had been easy too.
Now that everyone had gained experience and upgraded their equipment and abilities, even the third floor wasn't difficult anymore.
"Fuck, I want a magic weapon too!"
Elena stared enviously at Gimlius's axe.
"You can save up and buy one! Hahaha! Though you still won't be able to get one like this!"
As Gimlius snickered while stroking his axe, Elena gave a crooked smile.
"If I kill you, dwarf, and take it, it's free. Why would I pay for one?"
Gimlius's laughing face stiffened, and he suddenly hiccupped.
Hic.
Elena looked more flustered by his reaction.
"Why? I was joking..."
"Y-You'd actually do it, though. Elena, aren't you half dark elf?"
"Want to die?! I'm a pure and kind pureblood elf! How many times do I have to tell you?!"
"Urk!"
Just then, Hans, who had been collecting Mana Stones from the monsters, focused his senses and spoke.
"Everyone, be quiet. I think I've found the place Ian mentioned nearby."
"Oh?"
We moved to the place Hans had mentioned.
After going about two hundred meters north, we found an old statue beneath a decaying tree covered in vines.
It was a statue of a man who seemed to be burning, as though he embodied sunlight.
The Shrine of Lu, the god of justice, which we had been looking for.
"Is this it?"
"Yes, it is. Well done, Hans."
I smiled.
'We're lucky.'
Wherever undead monsters appeared, a statue of a good god, their counterpart, could always be found somewhere nearby.
Pouring Holy Water and offering prayers granted a blessing, but placing an item there instead of a person produced another effect.
'It can even lift a curse from cursed equipment.'
"Can this really purify it?"
"Yeah."
Only divine classes like Priests and Paladins could do it, by the way.
"Daisy."
"Ah, okay."
Daisy used a cloth soaked in Holy Water to remove the tainted holy relic from the small sealed container.
"Um... Is it okay if it's not Meia?"
"Lu belongs to the same Pantheon of Light. It'll be fine."
She hesitated because it wasn't the god she served, but nodded at my words. Then she placed the holy relic beneath the Shrine, knelt down, and offered a prayer.
...
At that moment, the gloomy cyan glow falling from the sky disappeared, and Lu's statue shone.
Spin.
A Coin appeared before my eyes.
[Heads/Tails]
Fuck, should I flip it or not?
I hesitated for a moment.
Something like this had happened at the Shrine in the Ruined Prison, First Floor.
'I failed the Coin flip, and the blessing became weaker.'
Logically, I shouldn't flip it.
But...
'It's not like I'll get cursed if I fail!'
My hand itched. It was Daisy's item, but what did it matter? I flipped the Coin.
'Heads!'
[Heads]
[Success]
Well, that was a surprise.
The Coin flip succeeded.
[Though the gods they serve differ, they are all followers of the Light.]
At the same time, a stern voice echoed in my ear, and flame-like light descended over Daisy as she prayed and the cursed holy relic.
Fwoooosh!
"Oh?!"
"My god."
Everyone expressed their gratitude or respect as warm light enveloped them, then the light faded.
The rusted object that had emitted a gloomy aura atop the Shrine had transformed into a holy relic radiating sacred energy.
Daisy carefully held the holy relic and explained the power within it.
"It's a holy relic engraved with sacred authority. Burning white flames... I can feel the power of purification."
It was probably [Holy Flame].
It was an enchantment-type skill that imbued a person or weapon with sacred fire. Daisy could cast it on herself or on her companions' weapons.
'Jackpot!'
As expected of Lu, a good god aggressive toward evil beings, it seemed this skill had been attached to it.
Exploring the Emerald Forest would be much easier now.
That wasn't all.
"I received a blessing."
Daisy offered a solemn prayer, then spoke with an excited expression.
"The powers Meia granted me have become stronger!"
The number of uses for each of Daisy's Divine spells increased by one.
[Daisy has leveled up.]
"Oh! Congratulations!"
"It seems Lu was moved by Miss Daisy's faithfulness and bestowed his grace upon her."
"What about me? I prayed too, so why didn't I become a Paladin?!"
The purification of the holy relic was probably the Shrine's original power, while Daisy gained an additional skill because the Coin flip succeeded!
Hehehe.
I wanted to say it was thanks to me, but barely held myself back.
A genius never looks pathetic singing his own praises.
"Well, with the knowledge I have, ahem. I may have helped..."
"Haha! To awaken four Divine spells at such a young age! Miss Daisy is as much of a genius as Ian!"
"Thanks to you, our exploration will be easier."
"It's nothing. Hehe."
Tch.
Leaving my ignorant companions behind, I patted Elena's back as she sulked about failing to become a Paladin again today.
"Fuck."
After finding the Shrine, the day began to grow dark.
The gloomy cyan light still falling from the sky made it possible to see our surroundings, but the fog and rain grew fiercer.
Whoooosh.
"We need to find shelter."
The bad weather was one problem, but undead tracked the presence of the living and attacked without end. Spending the night in the middle of the forest wasn't a good choice.
'There are ruined structures scattered throughout the Emerald Forest.'
According to the setting, these had been forward bases back when the Corpse Soldiers here had still been human.
We searched for one and soon found it.
It wasn't a large wall like during the Floor Master incident.
It was an old watchtower that had collapsed halfway.
Creak. Creak.
"At least it can block the rain and this disgusting light. Let's stay here."
It looked eerie enough for ghosts to haunt it, but it seemed good enough to spend the night after some minor reinforcement.
I looked over the dusty interior, waved a hand, and spoke.
"Okay."
"All right."
We roughly swept away the dust and threw the rotten things inside out into the open.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Gimlius and Hans, who was skilled with his hands, cut down nearby trees for lumber. In no time, they reinforced the broken door and made a raised platform inside so we could keep watch outside from within.
Whoosh!
Then we gathered firewood and built a campfire.
Warmth spread through the darkness, easing the exhaustion from the bad weather and battle.
"Cough! Cough!"
"At least there's plenty of firewood here."
"My eyes are burning. Can't we just use dry firewood?"
"We need to conserve supplies in case of an emergency, so we can't."
It would've been perfect if not for the smoke constantly pouring out because the wood was so damp.
We sat on blankets spread over the floor, took off boots caked with wet dirt and rainwater, and dried our feet.
Getting an infection would be a disaster.
There was a sour smell, but no one paid attention. We had already grown too used to heading into the Labyrinth.
"Ugh, warm."
"Phew... I could use a drink."
"I'll make soup."
Once we had warmed up a little, Daisy skillfully hung up a pot and made soup.
"Burp."
"Haha! Miss Daisy's cooking is excellent today as always!"
After filling our stomachs, Daisy cast Purification and lifted the miasma and curses that had built up on our bodies.
"I feel lighter. This is why it's great to have a Priest. Back when I entered the Labyrinth without you all..."
"It's fortunate that we have Miss Daisy."
"It's nothing."
"It's not nothing. Having you with us is making the journey easier."
If miasma kept building up, our judgment would become clouded, and we could even become insane.
That was what made undead so terrifying.
'They're the most troublesome kind of monsters.'
"Hmph. If I became a beautiful elf Paladin, I could do something like that too..."
Other than Elena's grumbling, the atmosphere was good.
After everything was taken care of, we set watches and prepared to sleep.
"So I'll take first watch, Gimlius takes second, and Hans takes third?"
"I don't like taking second watch, but I lost the bet, so it can't be helped. Sleep well."
"Yaaawn."
Groans of undead echoed from somewhere outside.
I was so tired that I couldn't even hear the insects scuttling about, and I quickly fell asleep.
But I woke up not long after.
[Heads/Tails]
I heard the sound of the Coin spinning, one I had grown so familiar with that it was starting to make me neurotic.
Fuck, don't tell me...
When I opened my eyes, the elf was on the platform beneath the soft torchlight and the forest's cursed faint glow.
Elena pricked up her ears through a gap in the watchtower wall, listening outside. Then she whispered softly.
"If you're awake, wake the others, Ian."
"What is it?"
"Someone's approaching. Not a monster, a person."
"..."
At Elena's subdued words, I swallowed and gripped my staff.
Fuck, undead or not, people were scarier now.
Secret Society? Marauder? Dark elves?
'What kind of bastards are they?'
Footnotes:
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