Check out this novel and many more on [email protected]/Translatetoki
Memorize - Episode 50
50 Dungeon Of Alchemist
"Have you heard the rumor? They say another dungeon was discovered in Mule."
"The Pitch-black Forest. The dungeon of Vivian, the ancient alchemist. Maybe I should go to Mule again too. Who knows? There might still be something left."
"You already discovered the Cave of Screams. Don't be greedy. But there's something a bit strange. It seems there were users who discovered it earlier."
"It looks like they accidentally found it but ultimately failed and all died. No, it's not quite right to say they died. Hm? A total of three. Or should I say one? What I mean is..."
My companions and I packed our bags simply and left the inn. Given the early hour, Ko Yeon-ju was not visible. Ahn Hyun seemed reluctant to leave the
Mule's north gate was quite shabby compared to Barbara. Although a couple of guards were controlling the gate, even their appearance gave a disheveled impression. No matter how much of a pioneering city it was, seeing such sights made it difficult to say the lord of the representative clan currently ruling Mule had good management skills.
"Thank you for your hard work. We hope you always return safely. May the angels' blessings be upon you, users."
"Thank you."
After returning the salute to the saluting guards, we finally passed through the north gate. Hyun, seeing residents speak for the first time, asked me with a face full of curiosity.
"Hyung. What kind of people are the residents?"
"Residents? People who originally lived in the Hollow Plane. You could consider yourself an original resident of Earth too, Hyun."
"Hmm. Are there any differences between us and them? I heard other users say that users are nobles and residents are commoners."
Nobles and commoners, huh. The residents are weak. So weak that without users, they couldn't survive the dangers scattered throughout the Hollow Plane. Of course, the situation changes slightly as you move to Atlanta and then to Terra, but at least up to Barbara, the current state of residents was that they received protection from users.
At least the residents of currently discovered and pioneered cities could be considered somewhat safe from danger. But for cities not yet pioneered, no one knew what would happen in the future. In fact, there were cases in the Southern Continent where cities turned to ruins had been discovered. And of course, there wasn't a single resident in those cities. It was only speculated that they had been massacred by the groups that invaded the cities.
Residents consider users who protect them from such groups as apostles of god. They believe there is a god in the Hollow Plane, and some residents actually receive orders from descended angels. And users are a kind of divine apostle who came down to save them with the command of god and the protection of angels.
In reality, they were kidnapped by angels and exerted power using settings, but residents thought of users' power as a blessing from god. Therefore, residents' gaze towards users basically contained favor and awe.
The nobles and commoners Hyun mentioned were relationships from the users' perspective. The people called by those two words could also be seen as superiors and subordinates. The Western Continent, known as the epitome of unlimited freedom, was especially severe, with residents treated almost like slaves. The Northern Continent wasn't that extreme, but there was clearly a view of looking down on residents and seeing them as below users. At first, I sometimes felt a bit sad thinking, "They're the same people, humans, do we really have to be like this?"
Looking at the cities, dungeons, and laboratories being discovered, there were clearly traces of a time when the Hollow Plane flourished. All I knew was that for some reason, they lost all the prosperity they once enjoyed and lost all their power. And eventually, the current residents fell into a situation where they lived in fear of monster attacks day by day.
I briefly summarized these aspects and explained them to Hyun. Not just Hyun, but all the kids seemed curious, nodding their heads. I concluded the talk about residents by saying there was no need to pity them, but treating them too harshly wasn't good to see either.
Even though a few should have been visible, strangely not a single user was in sight. I could freshly feel the influence of the Golden Lion Clan's movements. As much as the northern cities were empty, the southern, western, and central Barbara must currently be overflowing with users. Suddenly, I felt like I wanted to join them right now.
I felt sentimental for a moment, but such feelings were gradually disappearing as we walked. As we advanced towards the north of Mule, the surrounding scenery began to change little by little. The road became increasingly bumpy and rough, and traces of people coming and going became faint. However, it didn't feel that bad.
Because we could appreciate nature in its raw state. Seeing such living nature after living in a place where you couldn't find nature no matter how hard you looked wasn't common on Earth. As a cool breeze blew, the kids also looked around occasionally with refreshed faces. Eventually, as I felt the vegetation becoming denser, I stopped for a moment and took out the map I was holding.
Forest on the left. Plains on the right. The direction to the Pitch-black Forest was towards the forest, not the plains. I checked just in case, but there was nothing different from my memory. I neatly folded the map again and put it in my pocket. Several faint paths were visible ahead, but I turned without hesitation onto the path leading northwest.
We moved our steps, treading on the vast forest dyed green. The fields stretching out after leaving Mule's north gate were still emitting a fresh glow. However, as we got closer to the Pitch-black Forest, that fresh color seemed to gradually fade.
Following the continuing path, trees with a dark blue color began to appear one after another. The sticky trees that had risen without knowing how high the sky was, spread an enormous presence around just by looking at them. We had entered the entrance of the Pitch-black Forest. I opened my mouth in a low voice to the kids who had been following quietly behind me all this time.
"This should be the entrance to the Pitch-black Forest. Everyone, stay alert and steel your hearts."
I felt the gloomy air becoming thicker the deeper we went. Honestly, there was something a bit embarrassing about calling the place we were now a forest. The highlands and lowlands were clearly distinguished, and the area was too vast to be seen as a forest. It was to the point where comparing it to the forest we went through in the Trial of Passage seemed unfair.
It was still the early part and morning, so faint sunlight was shining occasionally, but once we went in a bit further, even that would be gone. If the morning was like this, I thought that when night came, it would truly be pitch black, so I felt we absolutely needed to secure a safe zone today. Still, for now it was bright enough to distinguish what was in front of us, so I planned to look around slowly as we went. Glancing at the kids as we walked, I could see they were all gripping their weapons tightly, seeming to get a bit tense. At that moment.
"Wait a second."
I, who had turned my head to look at the kids, discovered a strange trace. It was literally an accidental discovery. If I hadn't turned my head, I might have just passed by, but my heightened senses didn't miss the fleeting moment and caught one trace.
The kids, who had been guarding the surroundings, all looked at me with startled faces. I first moved to where I found the trace and then squatted down to look at it more closely. Seeing my face turn expressionless, the kids looked at each other and then hesitantly gathered around me.
This is... a trace of people passing by. And not just one or two. Clearly, when we left through the north gate, not a single person was visible. They could have come from another direction. Of course, it would be stranger if there were no users at all, but it smelled suspicious to accept it so simply. Because these traces didn't seem to be very old.
"Oppa. Why are you suddenly looking at the ground?"
"..."
I brushed the ground for a moment and then activated my Third Eye to get more detailed information. As I remained motionless, just looking at the ground, I heard Yoo-jung cautiously saying something, but I didn't feel like responding right now.
"Oppa? Oppa!"
"Unnie. Oppa is Tracing right now, so just a moment..."
"Tracing...? Ah. Isn't that something archers or assassins do?"
"That's true, but I think I heard that it's possible to some extent if you have a lot of experience or learn it. Still, it probably won't be as detailed as users with professional jobs."
"No way. Are you saying oppa learned that?"
As I filtered and analyzed the flood of incoming information, I heard Yoo-jung and Sol mumbling. Archers not only have the ability to guide, but also the ability to read traces left on the ground. However, since the Third Eye had a wide-ranging effect, gathering information about traces was no big deal. And sorry to Sol, but it was obvious that my unique ability would be far superior to theirs.
Eventually, after analyzing all the information, I stood up again. What I just did was, as Sol said, simply tracing. I opened my mouth in a heavy voice to the kids who were blankly staring at my face.
"It seems a group of caravans passed through this place about 2 or 3 days ago. The number of people is about 5... or maybe 6. It doesn't seem like they came from the north gate. It looks like they came out exploring from somewhere else... I don't know if they got lost and drifted here or came on purpose. Still, there are no traces of wandering, so it seems the archer wasn't completely unskilled. Anyway, all the directions are concentrated on one side."
Of course, I don't know what happened to them now. To see what happened then, I would have to actually see the past like in the Trial of Passage before, but there was no reason to do that now. There was no urgency like back then. It was more than enough to gather the remaining traces and infer from them.
Hearing my words, Hyun and Yoo-jung stuck out their tongues. Even Sol's eyes were wide open, as if she didn't expect me to say this much. I answered their gazes by shrugging my shoulders. Yoo-jung tilted her head and then spoke to me with a curious face.
"Then does that mean there are other people in this forest besides us right now?"
"Well. There might be... or might not be."
Yoo-jung showed sharpness in unexpected areas. I deliberately spoke vaguely because I didn't want to say this fact, but I could see Yoo-jung's eyes narrowing. I sighed and finally added:
"It's exactly as I said. There are footprints of people entering the forest, but no traces of them coming out again. There's a possibility they left in another direction, but they might still be wandering in the forest. If not that... they might all be dead."
At my words, the kids all became uneasy and looked at each other. I looked at them with an indifferent face and then turned around again. I might have turned a blind eye to their antics in the city, but now that we've entered real combat, I absolutely had no intention of being as lenient as in the city.
As my expression hardened and I said nothing, I felt the footsteps of the kids following me becoming quieter and quieter. They seemed to be quite tense, unconsciously muffling their footsteps. As we went deeper into the forest, the lush trees stretched straight up, blocking the sky. The faint sunlight that had been shining at the entrance had now disappeared without a trace.
We walked for a while, and then walked some more. By the time we felt we had just left the entrance, darkness had completely settled around us. It wasn't pitch black to the point where we couldn't see in front of us. But given that it was this dark despite still being morning, the kids could roughly guess how it would be when the sun set. It was indeed a forest worthy of the name Pitch-black Forest.
Even though I hadn't told them to, the kids were already using sensing. Thanks to the activated Third Eye and the sensing I had taught the kids, we were able to maintain our forward speed without slowing down. Now no more words came out. With each step I took, only the sound of brushing against grass and gasping breaths occasionally tickled my ears. That's when it happened.
Grrrr. Rustle rustle!
A growl caught my hearing. At the same time, a sound of rustling through the undergrowth was heard, breaking the quiet silence. Judging by how fast it was approaching, it seemed to have noticed our presence and was coming to attack.
As I stopped walking again, the kids also seemed to have their breath caught. They guarded the surroundings with faces burning with anxiety, but they didn't seem to know yet that monsters were approaching. Since they were all using sensing, they would be able to tell when it entered a certain distance, but I gave the kids a warning in advance.
"It's an attack. Monsters are coming from both directions. Everyone, prepare for battle. Sol, come to the center. Hyun and Yoo-jung, face each other's backs and form a formation."
"Wh-what?"
"Don't make me say it twice from now on. Focus and form a formation centered on Sol."
At the word "attack," the kids' faces became confused. Yoo-jung asked again, but when I spoke in a cold voice, she shuddered and gripped her daggers in both hands. Hyun also held his spear in a slanted posture, and Sol quickly began to chant spells. Watching the kids quickly form a formation, I moved to Sol's side. I intended to be the Priest Keeper. As I drew the sword at my waist, a chilling sound rang through the forest.
『Special Ability. Unity of Sword and Body is activated.』
『Potential Ability. Close Combat is activated.』
『Potential Ability. Clairvoyance (Zen) is activated.』
Rustle rustle rustle! Whooosh!
Eventually, as we took our positions and each guarded the front, we could hear grass rustling very close by, and simultaneously, a rough sound of air being cut tore through the space. The moment we felt it caught in our sensing, we saw a tail flashing a sharp light quickly extending out from the darkness of the forest. The targets were Hyun and Yoo-jung, who were guarding both directions.
"Don't dodge! Deflect it!"
I immediately shouted seeing the kids taking evasive stances, but Ahn Hyun and Yoo-jung had already moved their bodies. They seemed to have avoided the monster's attack path through sensing. Ahn Hyun, who had taken a side step to the side, looked puzzled for a moment at my words. However, seeing the tail stretching out, he quickly swung his spear with a face that seemed to say "Oh no." And I could see him deflecting the middle part with a dull sound.
Yoo-jung also showed nimble movements, instantly lowering her body, but she couldn't carry out my instruction to deflect the tail. She succeeded in dodging, but that didn't mean the attack was over. The tail passed right through where Yoo-jung had been, then slightly changed direction and was coming in to target Sol who was behind.
Sol, who had been in the middle of chanting a spell, became dazed as she saw the stinger aiming for her.
A total of 350 chapters are available on the patreon
Check out this novel and many more on [email protected]/Translatetoki