Whirring. Thud.
Four days later, Raul and his party reappeared at the entrance of a small cave covered in vines. Thanks to the holy barrier that had been set up, no signs of life could be felt in the nearby forest.
“Whew. It’s my first time entering the Forbidden Zone, and it’s nerve-wracking.”
Josh said, glancing around cautiously.
“Naturally, you’d feel that way on your first entry. The monsters in the Forbidden Zone are powerful enough to make you think they’re a different species altogether. Moreover, there are many man-eating plants and unfamiliar terrains, so you have to be extra careful,” Jake explained calmly for Josh’s benefit.
Typically, knights of the Count Ashton household would have experience working near the fortresses adjacent to the Forbidden Zone, making them accustomed to it.
However, many members of the First Knight Order, who were largely external recruits, found the Forbidden Zone unfamiliar.
“Is it your first time here as well, Kane?”
“Yes, indeed. It’s quite different from what I know in theory.”
Kane infused his hunting knife with mana and then withdrew it, testing the environment. The air felt heavy as soon as they stepped in, indicating that the mana concentration here was significantly different from outside.
‘It feels like my output is about 30% higher. This means…’
This likely meant they were deep within the Forbidden Zone, far from the entrance. At that moment, Josh whispered to Jake.
“Has Master Raul come here often?”
“Hmm? To my knowledge, this is his first time as well. Hey, don’t just walk off like that!”
Raul was walking comfortably, as if he were on a casual stroll up a mountain.
Swish, whoosh!
As a tree branch whipped toward Raul like a lash, hidden daggers appeared and finely sliced the branch. Not stopping there, the daggers ground the trunk like a chainsaw….
“Grrroar!”
The man-eating tree monster, Treantree, screamed, spraying white spinal fluid everywhere.
The fluid was automatically sucked into a magic preservation pouch that Raul drew out of his robe, and the Treantree, now shriveled like a dried-up tree, fell to the ground with a thud.
“What are you waiting for? We don’t have time, keep up.”
Raul called to the dumbfounded Josh and Jake. Jake scratched his head sheepishly.
“Well, he is the Master.”
“Right…?”
They quickly moved to follow Raul.
“Which direction will we take?”
Kane inquired.
“Let’s decide once we’re out of the holy barrier,” Raul replied, striding purposefully forward.
‘It’s been a while since I was in the Monster Mountain Range.’
Raul took a deep breath of the rich mana, reminded of his past life as Bae Dohyun. Although it was now called the “Forbidden Zone,” soon it would become one of the main activity hubs for players.
Bae Dohyun had also spent several years here, and when he was later pursued by the Guild Alliance, this Monster Mountain Range had become a major stronghold.
‘It’s too vast to simply call this “the place” though.’
Fortunately, this area connected to Corpse Road was familiar to Raul. With numerous dungeons spread out, it would be a frequent haunt for players and a popular ancient dungeon site in the future.
And that ruins site was Raul’s goal this time.
‘A massive disappearance doesn’t happen without reason. If my guess is right, my brother and the other missing persons will be there.’
The only problem was how to lead his party there without raising suspicions….
“Stop!”
Raul made a quick fist motion and hid behind a tree. The party became as one, instantly silencing their presence and taking cover.
Whirr, thud.
“Sha. Strange. I definitely. Smelled something. Sniff. Sha.”
Thud. Clickity-clack.
“Shaah. What is it, war Master?”
What appeared in the area were “Naga”, monsters with the lower body of a snake and the upper body of a human. With their tails included, they were about 4 meters long, and their height ranged from 2.5 to 3 meters.
The four arms attached to their upper body held weapons like swords, maces, and axes. Two snakes sprouted from their shoulders, their tongues flickering as they glared with split serpent eyes.
“Shaah. I smelled humans.”
“Shaah. No humans in sight. The chief is waiting.”
The “Naga War Master,” whose head was larger than the others, looked around suspiciously, flicking his tongue for a while. Then, displaying his frustration, he swung a mace.
Crash!
The mace, glowing with a reddish light, shattered a boulder larger than a human torso into dust.
“Shaah. Let’s go.”
The Naga War Master slid away between the trees, tail striking the ground, followed by nearly thirty Naga warriors and soldiers.
“Holy crap, I thought they were going to find us!”
The air shimmered, and Jake and Josh materialized, crouched next to the broken boulder fragments.
“Damn, he looked like he’d be satisfying to fight,” Jake said, regretfully adjusting his grip on his greatsword.
If not for Rabel’s reflexive activation of his transparency and sensory-blocking barrier, they might have been discovered.
“Troublesome creatures inhabit this area. We’ve heard about them, but I didn’t expect them to be this bad,” Kane remarked, frowning slightly.
Naga weren’t common monsters; they occasionally appeared near the borders of the kingdom of Marcus, the easternmost point of the continent. However….
“Are those really Naga? They’re nothing like what I know,” Josh blinked and asked.
Common Nagas were known for not being able to speak human language, and their height was only about 2 meters.
“That’s the scary part about the Forbidden Zone. Unlike the dumb monsters spread across the continent, the ones here can talk and think. It’s like they’ve ‘evolved’ or something,” Jake explained, and Josh nodded understandingly.
‘In reality, it’s the opposite. They haven’t evolved; they’ve regressed,’ thought Raul.
The ancient Connect Continent was said to be much more prosperous with abundant mana. However, after the “Great War”,e the continent’s mana was depleted, and mana-based monsters and subspecies went into hiding.
The Forbidden Zone preserved a semblance of that ancient state, allowing the monsters here to retain their ancestral characteristics better than those outside.
“We’ll follow them,” Raul said, causing a smile to spread across Jake’s face.
“Hunting?”
“No, we need to find out where they’re going. Avoid combat until I say otherwise.”
“Yes, Master.”
Even though the monsters of the Forbidden Zone were powerful, few posed an immediate threat to their party. However, their goal was to find the missing Lawrence, not engage in unnecessary battles and draw attention.
“Kane, keep an eye out for any human traces, especially those of the missing people.”
“Understood.”
“Rabel, it’s up to you.”
“Got it. Be invisible! Be silent!”
With a slight wave of his magic stick, Rabel cast a spell, causing Raul and his party to shimmer and then disappear.
***
‘Whoong.’
A man weilding a giant sword radiating an orange mana blade swung through thin air.
‘Swoosh, crackle!’
The mana blade didn’t stop even after slicing through three armored soldiers, shattering the skull of a naga skeleton.
“Huff, huff.”
Sweat poured down like rain alongside rough breaths.
Clap, clap, clap.
“Impressive~. Very impressive! Such incredible fighting spirit and stamina!”
‘Shing, clang!’
A flash of sparks flickered before his eyes.
‘Groan.’
“Heh. You still have strength left? Are you really human? Well, perhaps not anymore.”
Two people stood a little distance away, arms crossed.
One was a necromancer in his forties, clad in an ornate black silk robe and holding a skull staff.
The other was a young knight in gleaming black armor with a golden demonic crest engraved on it.
Though they were smiling brightly, there was no mistaking the hostility between them.
“Shut up, servants of demon!”
“Why the rage? It’s a predetermined fate. Accepting it will be easier.”
As the necromancer’s skull staff moved, dozens of armored soldiers and undead swarmed towards him again.
“It seems you have only a few left. What’s your plan? In contrast, my wounds have almost healed.”
‘Clang!’
The young knight lunged like lightning, but the man weilding the giant sword barely blocked it with an ‘aura blade’.
“Hmm. That arm. It looks like it’s about to disappear. Why not give up?”
Just as the young knight remarked, the man weilding the giant sword’s ‘third and fourth’ arms holding the giant sword were fading away as if they would vanish any moment.
“’The Sword of Ashton’ will not be broken by the likes of you!”
“Really? Then keep enduring.”
‘Clang! Swoosh.’
Swinging four giant swords like a possessed man to crush his enemies, ‘Lawrence de Ashton’ bit his lip.
‘I will never give up this place!’
In his glowing eyes, he could see the dark gates ominously emitting malevolent energy in the distance.
*
「Good grief… Where did all these Nagas come from?」
As Josh mentioned, hundreds of Nagas were already gathered a short distance from Raul and his party, heading somewhere.
Their numbers continued to grow over time.
「This doesn’t look good. Maybe it’s a territorial conflict.」
The Naga typically lived in villages, but large gatherings like this were rare.
If this many had assembled, it seemed like a war was indeed brewing.
‘Hmm…? This feeling!’
Raul’s senses picked up something both unfamiliar and familiar.
「Everyone, be on alert! I sense malice nearby.」
「Malice? Does that mean Imperial forces are hiding here?」
「Probably.」
Though he said so, he sensed two distinct auras.
‘Could it be already…?’
With a sense of foreboding, Raul shouted,
「We need to hurry!」
「Yes!」
After some time, they reached the end of the forest, where a massive rugged cliff appeared before them. And what they saw in the crevices of the cliff….
「What is that? A temple? A shrine? A coliseum?」
「Whatever it is, it’s clear we need to head there.」
「What’s the plan? We can’t just walk in….」
It wasn’t just the temple seen between the cliffs.
“Shaah! Attack!”
“We must reclaim the sanctuary! Shaah!”
Thousands of Naga warriors were charging towards the temple.
Fwoosh.
“Mooou!”
Minotaur-headed beasts with flaming horns were clashing with the Naga hordes. These were the demonic beasts known as “Devil Cows” and “Corrupted Buffalos.”
‘Their appearance means….’
Just as the dark gates had opened in the royal palace during the previous Gate incident, a similar event seemed to be unfolding here.
Crunch.
Raul clenched his fist and quickly issued commands.
「Sir Josh, head back immediately and call for reinforcements. Rabel’s magic should hold for a while, so it shouldn’t be a big problem. Also, request support from the forward base.」
「I’ll hurry as fast as I can!」
Josh nodded slightly and quickly disappeared into the distance.
If communication with the outside world and the guild was possible, there would have been no need to send Josh. Unfortunately, communication was cut off between the Forbidden Zone’s interior and exterior.
「We’re going in directly. Both of you, grab my shoulders.」
At Raul’s command, Kane and Jake gripped Raul, who then leaped into the air.
Thud, thud, thud.
Raul stepped on the psychokinetic platforms he created, climbing higher and higher until he soared over the cliff crevices and headed straight for the temple’s roofless top.
From above, Raul could take in the entire scene within the temple, which was structured like a coliseum. The deepest part of the temple’s top level altar already hosted three completed dark gates.
From two of these gates, Devil Cows and Corrupted Buffalos were continuously emerging.
‘One gate isn’t active yet!’
The largest gate in the center of the three dark gates had not yet opened.
‘That means…!’
Raul’s eyes turned golden as he activated his analytical vision, causing the threads of magic connected to the dark gates to glow red. Following these threads, he turned his head.
“Found you.”
Golden energy burst from Raul’s body.
(To be continued)