Legend

"Gahhhhhhhhhh!

Such a voice echoes in the woods at night, and the sleeping Dougzas wake up quickly.

It was already the end of winter and spring season, and I was fortunate that I didn't use a tent.

At the same time as you wake up, everyone grabs a weapon.

The motion was stained with the body, not the thought.

I guess it's a testament to having some strength as an adventurer around here, even if you're overconfident.

Either way, each one of them hands the weapon and starts the action.

"That was a LOWKLA scream earlier!? He was the lookout!

"That's right. But there are no monsters. What the hell is going on in these woods..."

"I'm not talking stupid! This is the border!? No matter what happens, it's no wonder!

Sleisha screams at the missing dialogue among her companions.

Yes, it doesn't make sense in this neighborhood to work in the fashion of where we've been.

No, on the contrary, it's even dangerous.

"You can rub it later! Now it's first to help Lochla!

Dougza screams, and Sleisha, whose head is nearly bloody with those words, also calms down a little and begins to move to rescue his companions.

Originally a five-person party, it would be more of a four-person action than the absence of Lochla.

Turning to those four who came screaming...

"No?

Sokunan looks around, but there's no sign of Lochla anywhere.

"What went into these woods in the first place? You said you shouldn't go into the woods."

To Dougza's words, the other three snort.

Yeah, I don't know what's more in the woods than this is the border.

That's why I told everyone properly before we camped to stay out of the woods... where we slept, not out of the woods, we heard screams from inside.

"Now's not the time to say that. Anyway, we need to find Lochla."

To Sleisha's words, I guess you decided that was true too.

Dougza nods, screaming into the woods.

"Lochla! Where are you! Answer me!

It was originally very dangerous to scream like this in the woods at night.

But I guess it's an unavoidable decision to find my people.

Other faces scream at the perimeter, just like Dougza, but no response from Lochla at all.

Looking for half an hour... eventually everyone gathers under Dougza.

I guess the reason everyone's face looks serious is because screaming like this and not responding in any way means they're very unlikely to be alive.

"What do we do?

It's obvious what that means.

Looking so loud probably won't keep Lochla alive any longer than never showing up.

Lochla is definitely an armed warrior among the parties of the Dagzas.

Such a locala was killed lightly in a short time, with little or nothing to do.

If the enemy comes out, are we going to beat ourselves? It would be natural for me to think so.

"What do you want me to do? It's settled. I'll definitely find Lochla, or I'll take that revenge!

Dougza's voice echoes in the woods.

He was a dougza with an overconfident and forceful personality, but he's only been entrusted with a party leader, and there's also a very fellowship side to it.

In the first place, no one will follow you, even if a man is a party leader who is abusive and doesn't think about his people.

So it was only natural to think about finding Lochla or, if he had been killed, taking that revenge.

But Sokunan waits for Dougza like that.

"Wait, Dougza. Given that Lochla has been hit so lightly, we should consider the enemy to be a fairly powerful opponent. I don't know if it's a monster or a bandit, but to someone like that..."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa!

"Huh!?

On the way we're talking, all of a sudden there's a scream.

That too, from right around the corner.

Dougza, Sleisha, and Sokhnan spoke reflexively... and set their sights on where their people were supposed to be until a few seconds ago, each with a weapon.

But there's no one there.

... Yes, until a few seconds ago, my buddy did say he was there, but now he's gone beautifully and completely.

As if being there was the mistake of seeing it.

"Up!

In the meantime, it was Sleisha who screamed first.

To Sleisha's words, Dougza and Sokunan look up reflexively.

Then there, the neck was tied by the wax… all the limbs and torso were tied, and the figure of his companion, unable to move, was rising up in the moonlight pouring out of the bushes of the trees.

No, given the bent angle of the neck, life itself would already be gone.

"Phew!? Why..."

"Huh!?

To Dougza's words, I remember when Sleisha examined the woods.

Quiet...... that's the forest that only exists about little birds.

I was thinking of it as a place where there was or was likely to be a powerful monster... was that a complete mistake?

Yes, we've never encountered it, but we still know it exists.

Monsters simulating on trees...... Trent.

Trent himself is not so powerful as a Rank D monster.

But that's only if there's one enemy.

What if this place where we are... No, what if all this forest is Trent?

Doesn't that mean we're in the middle of an enemy?

Sleisha herself, I don't know exactly how big this forest is.

Still, it is clear that not about ten or a hundred trees are growing.

"Danger, Sleisha!

As we consider our current situation to be critical, Dagza pushes Sleisha's body as she screams so.

No, that's not a gentle act of pushing, it's more right in expressions like pushing as far as power goes.

Thresha, who was thrust over the scene by a strong impact, looks back, balancing aggressively to avoid falling.

"Grrr!"

That's how Sleisha, who turned around, saw the sight of the roots of a tree stretching out like crawling through the ground piercing Dougza's body from the bottom.

Nor is that the number of roots one or two. Ten bottles would be lighter than that.

That's all the roots pierce Dougza's body...... and stretch the roots all over his body.

As if the blood vessels were pulsating, I can see the roots spreading throughout the body through Dougza's skin.

Sleisha and Sokunan, who saw it, stop the movement from the impact.

Naturally I know what Trent is like.

I didn't know everything about Trent perfectly, but I still meant to understand the whole thing.

Of all the information that Sleisha and Sokunan know, there is no such thing.

"D...... ge...... lo......"

It would be an effect that is eroded by Trent's roots. Words have already become very difficult to hear in one word.

But still, knowing what their leaders thought of the word, Sleisha and Sokunan kick the ground with almost reflexive movements.

Whatever it takes to get out of these woods... probably out of the woods made of Trento.

"Dougza...... wait, I will definitely bring help!

All Sleisha could do was scream like that.

Anyway, now I'm out of this forest... and I keep running through the woods thinking that way in an attempt to escape the woods I deserve to call the woods of death.

Fortunately... or even that's the situation over there, there's no way Trent, who makes up the forest, is going to make a move.

Then we can get out of the woods like this.

Keep running with that in mind...... what you see at the end of your gaze knocks Sleisha and Sokunan into despair.

That's where we were camping.

No, if that's all there is to it, there's no problem.

But what it meant was that the place where we were camping was completely swallowed up in the woods was that this forest was growing rapidly... or the trees were moving.

And given that Trent is there, it would almost certainly be the latter.

"Wow!

"Sokunan!?

I was surprised that the camp was swallowed up in the woods, and the movement stopped for a few seconds... but with those few seconds, I'm in the woods... which means it was enough time for the two people surrounded by Trent to be attacked.

"Run, Sleisha! Tell Gilm this fast!

Torso, legs, hands... A wax wrapped around everywhere in my body, trying to pull Sokunan into the back of the woods.

He stabbed a dagger in the ground and managed to prevent it, Sokunan, but I guess the power to pull it off with a tweezer is stronger than I imagined.

It was only a matter of seconds before I could carry it with a dagger I stabbed in the ground.

Though Sleisha reaches out to Sokunan aggressively and manages to pull that body from the... Sokunan is dragged into the back of the woods as soon as she reaches out.

"Sokunan, Sokunan!

"To Gilm, please!

With that screaming, Sokunan's figure disappears from Sleisha's sight.

"Come on!"

I lost my people again.

I only think of it for a moment, but Sleisha runs right on the spot.

Moment after moment, the crawl stretching from the back of the forest slams the place where Sleisha's body was.

"Sorry!

Sleisha will only know how much thought was in that one word.

No luggage can be taken out of the camp, which is being swallowed up in the woods, and only bows and arrows run out in the hands.

Fortunately for Sleisha, the rate of forest erosion would not have been that high.

Because a short distance from the camp had not yet been eroded by the forest.

(I can't believe Trent is such a bunch... and seeing about Dougza isn't very much, but it's not just Trent!

Tears overflow from running Sleisha's eyes.

I guess being away from the woods made me feel a little bit relaxed.

It was a party of sorts, but for Sleisha, the Dagzas were never a bad opponent.

I never thought of the possibility of this happening more than I chose the profession of adventurer.

But still...

I guess we had no idea that that would really happen to us.

(If I had stopped more when Dougza said he was going off the street...... no, I would have stopped when I said he was going to Gilm. Why... why...)

While running, tears fall zero out of Sleisha's eyes.

Usually the hanging eyes are slightly tiny, as it represents the strength of Sleisha's chi...... from Sleisha now, I didn't think it was very, but I felt that way.

Looking behind her many times as she runs, Sleisha even runs as she sees the forest there...... Trent and I think the presence hasn't come.

Naturally even if you are an adventurer, your health will drain if you keep running.

However, if I stopped my legs at all, I continued to run desperately, due to the obsessive notion that maybe I would grow from somewhere again.

I also feel that I need to inform Gilm about this matter as soon as possible.

Most of all, the thoughts there were more than a sense of purpose, maybe... maybe really, but there was also an intention that we might be able to save the Dagzas.

For Sleisha, someone who has a lot of problems but is willing to forgive.

We have only dived through the crisis of life together many times before, and that bond is deep and stiff.

Why, ha, and with a rough breath, Sleisha keeps running toward Gilm.

I wonder how long it's been since I kept running like that. Soon the moon, arguably a symbol of the night, set, and instead the sun was rising in the sky.

Sleisha herself doesn't even know how long she kept running.

The ground you are treading on is also replacing cobblestones from the meadows at some point.

Yes... we were coming back to the streets where we missed Dougza's words.

"Oh, man. Hey, what's up? Are you all right!?

I guess it's because Sleisha running down the street wasn't the usual thing to do.

Adventurer by chance... An adventurer based in Gilm and asked to collect herbs with special magic to use to make potions speaks up to Sleisha.

And Sleisha also notices the person in front for the first time when she is called... opening her mouth.

"Please, help my people... help my people, the forest... be eaten by the forest..."

Couldn't speak up any more, Sleisha lost consciousness as it was beyond the limits of her health and fell towards the man of adventurers.