Chapter 219 – The Last Forest (One)

“Stay here and guard Rael Row and the World Tree. There’s a chance enemies, including Homunculi, might appear after I leave.”

“Alright, got it. Kid.”

Curiosa answered Ray’s request without much hesitation.

Her gaze remained fixed on the World Tree and Rael Row.

Curiosa was a being who, due to her Curse Seal, felt curiosity hundreds of times stronger than others.

A massive castle and tree whose true nature she couldn’t grasp even after days of persistent observation.

They were subjects of inquiry that seized all her nerves, making daily life impossible.

“If enemies appear, cooperate with the Elders, including Parun. They’ll be a great help. I heard they expanded the defense facilities after the last attack.”

“Alright.”

“It shouldn’t take too long to go to the Last Forest and back.”

“Understood.”

“And if possible, I’ll stop by other ruins along the way to look for space stones.”

“I underst—”

Curiosa, about to answer absentmindedly, suddenly got goosebumps.

“—Space stones, why?”

“Well, I’m thinking of constructing more Spatial Paths. Like connecting this place where the World Tree and Rael Row are to the mansion. It’ll be useful for expanding future destinations. We could also respond swiftly to enemy attacks.”

“Who’s going to construct those Spatial Paths?”

Ray tilted his head and answered.

“You.”

“Kyaaaaaaah!”

Watching Curiosa writhe with joy, Ray thought it was truly fortunate.

Having finished packing and preparing to depart, the bus sped through the wilderness, leaving the Distortion Field behind, escorted by the Dwarves.

Jang had already returned to the mansion via a Spatial Path, so Ray took the wheel again.

Clunk. Clunk.

Beyond the shaking window, the endlessly repeating landscape of the wilderness flashed by rapidly.

The towering World Tree growing distant was visible in the rearview mirror.

“But Ray, is it okay? The World Tree, I mean. I’m worried it might catch people’s eye. It’s supposed to be a settlement for Elves and Dwarves, and if it draws unnecessary attention…”

“That should be fine.”

Ray turned the bus to avoid a rock, answering Veronica’s worried voice.

“It’s quite a distance from the human Sectors. If someone sees it, it would likely be spotted by animals in the wilderness. And if the Elves migrate, we can get help expanding the Distortion Field. Elves are said to be deeply skilled in illusion-type Magic.”

“That’s right. It’s also why the Last Forest has remained undiscovered by other races until now.”

Grine nodded in agreement with Ray’s words.

While discussing the Distortion Field, Ray suddenly remembered something and asked.

“But if you originally planned to return to the Last Forest alone, were you planning to go back to a Sector to get a car?”

“Huh? No? I was planning to depart directly from Rael Row. I don’t know how to drive a vehicle.”

“You were planning to depart directly?”

“Yes. On foot.”

Ray wondered if he had misheard, but seeing Veronica’s flustered face, it seemed he heard correctly.

“Grine, is the Last Forest close enough to reach on foot?”

“Hmm, when I left the Last Forest, I came out through a Teleportation Magic Circle. I’m not sure of the exact distance to here… but if you walk diligently, you might arrive within a year?”

Ray nodded.

He decided to boldly abandon any attempt to understand the Elven sense of time.

Afterwards, the bus advanced swiftly through the wilderness according to Grine’s directions.

“At the next fork, turn right. The children standing over there are telling me.”

The ‘children’ referred to the dried, twisted trees and grasses scattered throughout the wilderness.

“Elves don’t have to worry about losing their way back to the forest. No matter where we are, the children point the way.”

“How do they point it out?”

“Look closely. The plants. They’re leaning, pointing in a specific direction, right?”

“I can’t really tell.”

“Why don’t you understand this?”

“……”

“I don’t get it, tsk tsk.”

The smell of jerky wafted from beside him.

Ray seriously pondered whether slamming on the brakes would actually trip this elf with good reflexes.

“Ah, I’ve already finished it. Anyway, race isn’t the important thing. What matters is how much you can commune with plants.”

“…Commune.”

It was still a word he half-understood.

When they had driven for about two days.

“We’re almost there, it seems.”

A massive curtain composed of colorful Mana appeared on the horizon.

At Ray’s words, Grine asked with a surprised expression.

“How did you know? I haven’t told you yet.”

“Because I can see the Distortion Field.”

“Ah…! Right. You said you can see Mana. So it applies like this.”

Grine, who let out an exclamation, fell into thought for a moment before speaking.

“Seeing Mana with your eyes. That means no illusion-type Magic can deceive your eyes… Hmm, I think it’s better not to mention this fact to the other Elves we’ll meet soon.”

“For what reason?”

“Elves take great pride in the Distortion Field protecting the Last Forest. They won’t like the fact that someone saw through it instantly.”

“Understood.”

While they talked, the bus arrived at its destination.

Grine approached the desolate, empty wilderness ahead and said.

“Dozens of layers of Distortion Magic and perception-hindering Magic are superimposed on pillar-shaped Wards. No matter how exceptional a Wizard’s sensitivity to Mana is, detecting the existence of this Distortion Field is nearly impossible.”

Veronica nodded vigorously.

No matter how hard she concentrated, she couldn’t sense any magical phenomena in the empty space before her eyes.

Of course, Ray’s eyes clearly saw the Distortion Field.

Ray looked at the surface of the Distortion Field a short distance away and asked.

“The probability of someone passing by accidentally discovering the Distortion Field and sneaking in?”

“That probability is virtually zero. Unless you approach already aware of the Distortion Field’s existence from the start. And if you don’t know the access pattern—”

Grine stretched out her palm and placed it on the surface of the Distortion Field.

Whoooom——!

The infused Mana drew complex and intricate lines on the Distortion Field.

Soon, part of the Magic was released, and the inner scenery was revealed in the shape of a small door.

“—you absolutely wouldn’t be able to open a door like this. If you try to forcibly break the pattern. Or attempt an attack. In that case, an alarm spell will sound, and the Elves inside will mobilize for defense.”

It was a small door, just big enough for a person to bend down and pass through.

The green Radiance pouring out from inside hinted at the scenery within.

“We’ll have to leave the bus behind. My ability limits the size of the door I can open at once. Also, others might be uncomfortable with artificial objects like cars entering the forest.”

Ray and Veronica took only the essential luggage from the bus.

And they found Grine with a large box of familiar design tucked under each arm.

“Elves.”

“Yes?”

“You said they dislike artificial things.”

“That’s right.”

“Jerky is artificial food, isn’t it?”

Grine’s ears flapped with an utterly shameless motion.

“This is unavoidable for a balanced diet. Once inside, I’ll have to eat only plants, which would ruin my body’s nutritional balance.”

“You once said Elves can survive on a vegetarian diet nutritionally.”

“Hmm, I don’t remember that.”

“So what Elves lost by stepping out of the glory of the Ancient Era is the ability to speak the truth.”

“What did you just say?”

“Ugh. Both of you, stop it, just stop.”

The childish argument was halted by Veronica.

“Then I’ll go in first!”

Veronica bent down and slipped through the door.

Ray, who was following, suddenly looked at the other side of the Distortion Field’s surface and asked.

“Grine, do the Elves of the forest frequently come and go through the Distortion Field?”

“Not at all. Unless they have a specific mission like me, you can assume they never leave the forest. Elves are extremely reclusive.”

The boy who nodded disappeared into the door, and the elf followed.

The gradually shrinking door closed completely and vanished.

Whoooom— Crackle!

Only silence remained in the empty wilderness.

Only the bus, covered in sand marks, stood alone under the hazy sunlight.

And on the surface of the Distortion Field where the boy’s gaze had rested.

There, traces remained of someone recently opening and closing a door.

Marks that were clearly attempted to be erased.

But they were distinct traces that couldn’t escape the boy’s eyes.

Veronica couldn’t close her mouth in the forest she was experiencing for the first time in her life.

“Wow…! Wowaah…! Wowaahaa…!”

Wherever she looked, there were unknown trees, flowers, and grasses in abundance.

Bright visibility and fresh scents.

The unceasing cries of animals and insects sounded like a performance.

Sunlight breaking and falling from high above was like glittering grains of sand.

“Ray! Look at that! Look at that!”

“I’m looking too. And Veronica, you don’t have to express your surprised feelings by hitting my shoulder.”

“Over there! It’s an animal I’ve never seen before! I haven’t even seen it in books!”

“It looks similar to a mouse. Has a fluffy tail and is carrying an acorn.”

“Over there! There’s a mushroom with incredibly pretty colors too!”

“That one looks like it would cause health problems if eaten.”

“That one is flying!”

“It’s a bird, so of course it flies.”

The dry, utterly dry reactions of the boy.

Normally, the girl would have shown disappointment, but now she was too engrossed in admiring the scenery to care.

While she was excitedly slapping the boy’s shoulder repeatedly.

“Huh…?”

A cold sensation touched her palm.

Lacria had appeared on Ray’s shoulder at some point.

“Kyaak! S-s-sorry! Did it hurt?”

Lacria flicked its tongue.

It descended to the ground, licked the girl’s instep once as if to say it was okay, and then disappeared into the depths of the forest.

“Is it okay for it to go off like that…?”

“It’ll come back on its own.”

Ray, who had been watching Lacria’s retreating figure, turned his gaze around.

‘A forest. Such a place really exists.’

Although he didn’t show it, his sense of wonder was the same as Veronica’s.

Especially from the boy’s perspective, who still found it hard to imagine unfamiliar images, the surprise was even greater.

An immeasurable expanse.

Animals and plants he had never seen before in his life.

But what was most surprising was the concentration of Atmospheric Mana.

Compared to Sectors or the wilderness, the Mana density was much thicker, and also…

As if reading his thoughts, Grine spoke up.

“The Mana, it’s clean, right?”

“…Extremely so.”

“It was one of the reasons I was shocked when I left the forest. The Atmospheric Mana was incomparably more turbid than what I knew.”

Grine continued explaining her bewilderment at the time.

“It was also much harder to use. If the forest’s Mana feels like gentle water, the outside world’s Mana feels like cheese just before it hardens. I had a premonition. That using Magic with this would have negative effects.”

“Mana addiction.”

“Mana addiction?”

“It’s a disease you get from excessively using Atmospheric Mana. Causes mental abnormalities. Makes you unable to control specific emotions.”

“…So exposure to an actual disease. My prediction was correct.”

Anyway, Grine said she had to practice using her Ring’s Mana in the outside world.

“When in the forest, we rarely need to use our Ring’s Mana. Because there’s abundant, high-quality Mana in the atmosphere. It’s also why Elves don’t put much effort into Ring accumulation.”

Listening to Grine’s words, Ray wrapped the forest’s Mana around his hand.

Of course, it couldn’t match the Mana from his Ring that had undergone multiple Purifications.

But with this infinite quantity of Mana.

‘It might sufficiently offset such shortcomings.’

And the fact that vast amounts of various types of Mana were spread out meant.

In other words.

It was also a battlefield where the boy, who could handle all types of elements, could exert power stronger than anyone else.

‘The Mana is clean and of high quality. Is it because of the forest location’s function?’

While harboring such doubts.

Swish.*

Grine stretched her finger into the air.

A butterfly fluttered its wings, flew over, and landed gently.

She tilted her head and whispered.

“Can you tell them I’ve returned?”