NOVEL WEB Chapter 28 - Inhuman Wilderness (1)
✦ Chapter 28 – Inhuman Wilderness (1) ✦
「Translator – Creator」
Thanks to the squirrel, Barkie, diligently spinning the wheel, work progressed smoothly.
「 Hel Flour 40/40」
With this, I could make [ Hel Bread].
「 Hel Bread – A basic bread. Increases a Hel’s vigor. Loyalty +5」
「 Hel Flour 40/5」
「 Hel Potatoes 265/1」
“Let’s produce as much as we have flour for.”
「Estimated Work Time – 1:00:00」
Fortunately, even without a Hel with the Fire-aptitude, cooking didn’t take too long.
However, since it was bothersome to watch the furnace for an hour, Phoebe took care of the cooking.
“Two loaves are mine! Since I’m the one baking!”
And so, 8 loaves of [ Hel Bread] were made; they were shaped like baguettes, but only slightly larger than the palm of my hand.
Should I give it a try?
Crunch—!
I took a bite of the crispy bread, and a savory flavor filled my mouth.
Crispy on the outside, soft on the inside. Delicious. — that was my honest review.
It tasted similar to the baguettes from the 21st century.
However, it felt a bit bland without any sauce or fillings.
“Delicious! This is the most delicious bread I’ve ever had!”
“Daniel, what is this bread? This is amazing! It melts in my mouth! I think my mana is being replenished too!”
Phoebe and Somnia seemed a bit too enthusiastic about the bread; they were complete bread lovers. Somnia’s loyalty even increased.
「Loyalty: 51」
━ Barkkk!
━ Squekkk!
The two Barkie also gobbled up the [ Hel Bread].
Wait, can spiders and squirrels eat bread? I didn’t know. But since they seem to enjoy it, it must be fine.
What was it again?
If you enjoy what you eat, it’s zero calories, right?
“Ah! It’s all gone already. Daniel, quickly, make more bread! Hurry!”
“Brother, we should sell this! Our Dantalian family could become rich! Since it replenishes mana, I can smell the money already!”
Somnia and Phoebe, who had already finished their share of the bread, urged me to bake more; the problem was that we were out of [ Hel Wheat], so we couldn’t make more even if we wanted to.
“Harvesting ‘ Hel Wheat’ takes longer than harvesting ‘ Hel Potatoes.’”
It must be because [ Hel Wheat] was a higher-tier crop than [ Hel Potatoes].
Has the Hels’ loyalty increased because of it?
「Barkie (Emperor Wolf Spider) Loyalty: 39」
「Barkie (King-Tailed Ground Squirrel) Loyalty: 45」
Yes! Finally, things were starting to go my way!
⋆༺𓆩☠︎︎𓆪༻⋆
“Phoebe, take good care of the fields while we’re away.”
And so, we set off on the road to Babel, the ancient city of Kings, to attend the [Round Table Conference].
And as always, I entrusted the management of my base to Phoebe and boarded the carriage.
“This is the first time I’m heading to Babel since the last Round Table Conference.”
Once we were alone in the carriage’s passenger cabin, Somnia removed her helmet and began to speak casually.
Babel, the city of Kings, was located in the very center of the continent.
A place with quite a history.
Although it was close to the imperial capital, Pandemonium, but it was my first time going there.
“At the last conference, I attended on behalf of my father for the first time. Looking back, it wasn’t a very pleasant experience. Haaaam-.”
Somnia yawned widely.
And I playfully poked my finger into her yawning mouth.
“W-what? Ugh, hey!”
Her flustered reaction, with my finger in her mouth, was quite amusing.
As I was wiping the saliva from my finger onto Somnia’s wolfskin cloak, she yawned again. It seemed she was really tired.
“Didn’t you sleep?”
“I barely got any sleep!”
I figured as much.
She looked even more worn out, with darker circles under her eyes, than when we last met.
Snore—! Snore—!
And as soon as the carriage started moving, Somnia leaned on my shoulder and fell asleep as if she had passed out.
As a result, I had to stay in a stiff, immobile position for about six hours.
“Daniel! I’m so sorry! I must have made you uncomfortable in the carriage!”
Somnia, who woke up as we were about to arrive in Babel, was very apologetic.
She even blushed when she saw the drool stain on my shoulder.
“I, I drooled! I’ll wipe it off with a handkerchief!”
“It’s fine. Did you sleep well?”
“Yes! I feel like I caught up on all the missed sleep from the past few nights! I feel so refreshed! Daniel, I think I need you by my side to fall asleep. Why do you think that is…?”
Fiddle—! Fiddle–!
Hesitantly touching her fingers, Somnia seemed thoughtful.
But when she finally spoke, it was in a small voice.
“…Could it be… because we’re destined to be together? Hehehe….”
Even she seemed embarrassed by her own words.
Who would think of the current Somnia as the brave representative of the North?
The thought that I was the only one who knew this side of her brought a smile to my face.
“Indeed, our meeting was quite fated. Mathematically speaking, it was an extraordinary probability.”
“Daniel, you think so too? Our hearts are connected! So, what did you do to pass the time while I was gone?”
I spent it with Emperor Bael.
I couldn’t say that, so I came up with a suitable excuse.
“I’ve been making and experimenting with stuff with Barkie, the wolf spider. Ah, and I caught another Barkie, a squirrel. Just… this and that.”
“I think we should get to know each other better. So tell me, Daniel, what kind of girl is this Nidi?”
Cough—!
It felt like I had swallowed ten [ Hel Breads] all at once.
Why was her name coming up now?
“…Tell me the truth! I won’t get mad or anything!”
“But you’re already annoyed.”
“I’m not annoyed! But if you don’t tell me….”
This was getting annoying.
In this situation, I have no choice but to say something fitting.
“She was an eccentric and peculiar girl. She did a lot of bizarre things that caught people’s attention. She even claimed to be from a distant star and that she would return there someday.”
“Someone from a star? Was she a liar?”
“She talked a lot of nonsense, so people laughed at her. But back then, I believed her.”
I truly believed her.
Back then.
When I first came to Arden following Nimrod, I felt out of place in many ways, so I naturally ended up spending a lot of time with Nidi, who was often ostracized, whether by choice or by force of circumstance.
And a lot happened.
‘Happened.’
It was all in the past.
“It’s just an old story. Now that I think about it, Nidi was a bit like you, Somnia. You also do strange things and have a bit of a clumsy side. You often say odd things too.”
“I don’t do strange things! And I’m not clumsy! Hmm, well, anyway, it was an interesting story.”
Honestly, I thought Somnia would flare up with anger over the story of an old flame.
However, she accepted and understood my past more calmly than I had expected.
She was indeed broad-minded.
With that thought, I was about to close my eyes for a nap.
“Ugh, but I don’t like this Nidi! From now on, you’re forbidden from mentioning Nidi in front of me!”
Somnia woke me up, furious.
To be honest, I wanted to ask why she was bringing it up now, but it was quite amusing, so I went along with it.
“Alright.”
“So, what happened to this Nidi?”
“Didn’t you just say I’m forbidden from talking about her?”
“I don’t want to hear it, but I have a feeling I need to! I don’t understand why I’m like this! I don’t! Daniel, why am I being like this? What is this? What is wrong with me?”
“I don’t know either.”
What happened to Nidi? I don’t know either.
And I have a feeling I would probably never see her again.
⋆༺𓆩☠︎︎𓆪༻⋆
Thud—!
The carriage, traveling along the dark road, came to a sudden halt.
Wasn’t it too early to be arriving in Babel?
“Excuse me, my lords! We have a problem! Please step out for a moment!”
The urgency in the coachman’s voice suggested something had indeed gone wrong.
Curious, as I stepped out of the carriage to see what was going on, a towering ‘Tower’ came into view.
It was so massive and tall that it rendered perspective meaningless.
“Daniel, that’s the Tower of Babel. They say it reaches the heavens. No one knows how it was built, or who built it for what purpose! Isn’t it amazing?”
Babel was an ancient ruin city formed around a massive tower that touched the sky.
The city was said to be developing thanks to the ancient technologies found within the tower.
“So, what’s the problem?”
I asked the coachman, who had stopped the carriage.
And he pointed at the horse.
“This fellow refuses to go any further.”
Unbelievable! The horse was on strike?
What in the world?
“It seems this Sunderland is scared stiff. There must be something lurking in the forest ahead. He’s always been a skittish one…”
Did the horse sense something in the forest with its keen animal instincts? It was rather absurd when I thought about it, perhaps even a little bit insulting. The horse was afraid of ‘something’ in the forest, but not of me, the Emperor?
Clench—!
—Neigh!
As I clenched my fist, the horse foamed at the mouth and collapsed.
The coachman was horrified.
“Eek! I heard there’s a man-eating monster in that ‘Dark Forest’! Those rumors must be true! Milords, I’m sorry, but with the horse in this state, we can’t proceed any further!”
We had no other choice.
It seemed that we just needed to get through this ‘Dark Forest’ to reach Babel. It would take three to four hours by carriage. For Somnia and me on foot, an hour or two should suffice.
And so, we found ourselves walking the dark forest path at night.
Whoo—! Whooo—!
Chirp—! Chirp—! Chirp—!
Thud…! Thud…!
Clink…!
The eerie cries of unknown creatures echoed through the forest.
Somnia, however, was as happy as a child, waving her torch around.
“This is my first time walking through a forest! In the North where I’m from, most places are covered in snow, so I never got the chance to walk through such a lush forest!”
It seemed Somnia wasn’t afraid of taking a night walk in the forest.
Well, how many beings in this forest could actually pose a threat to Somnia?
If any, perhaps one, no, two.
“What about you, Daniel? Have you walked through forests a lot?”
“I’ve walked through quite a few forests. In fact, I’m kind of sick of them.”
“Did you walk through forests with Nidi?”
“No.”
“Hehe, then I win!”
Was there even a competition?
Whoooo—!
At that moment, something jumped out from somewhere.
—Kishit! Kishishit!
It made a chilling sound, and it resembled a dark blue balloon with an eyeball attached to it.
“…A ghost!”
Somnia shouted.
I rested my hand on the 「Hel Ball」in my pocket.
『Lv.14 Dagos』
『Capture Probability – 57.9%』
“It’s not a ghost; it’s a Hel creature called ‘Dagos’.”
“A Hel? Hold on!”
Flip—! Flip—!
Somnia quickly flipped through her [ Hel Encyclopedia].
Then, as if she had found something, she exclaimed,
“It says Dagos are immune to physical attacks! They can only be attacked with magic! They’re nasty creatures that cling to people and give them nightmares!”
Immune to physical attacks?
Just in case, I flicked a pebble at it.
Fwoosh—!
Magic Bolt (Physical), the skill that took down Galakrod with one hit.
It struck the Dagos, which dispersed like mist only to reform again.
—Kishishishit.
Oh, this thing was mocking me?
They said it could only be harmed by magic attacks.
Shing—!
I drew the sword at my waist, thinking of Somnia’s ‘Ice Magic’ skill.
「Partner Skill: Ice magic— When activated, adds 10% ice attribute damage to partner’s attacks」
Wooooong—!
Crackle—!
A blue, icy mana began to surround my sword.
Sword Aura.
Its tremors were like the growls of a starving tiger.
This was the perfect time to test the skills of Daniel, the swordsman turned mana user.
“Haaaaaargh!”
I let out a battle cry and swung my sword from left to right with all my might.
Flash—!
In that instant, the world lit up as if struck by lightning, and when I came to my senses, the entire Dark Forest had been transformed into a snowy landscape.
⋆༺𓆩☠︎︎𓆪༻⋆
Somewhere in the Dark Forest.
The being that had frightened the coachman’s horse, Sunderland, raised its head.
It was a man in a black robe and a white mask.
He had lived for many years, and many feared his name, but the one he was most commonly called was this.
Guseon of Illusory Dreams. One of the 12 Zodiacs. King of the Dreams and Illusions.
He looked at the dark blue, balloon-like Dagos with delight.
“The Dark Forest is teeming with Hels of Darkness. If I use them well, it might be possible to defeat the Emperor.”
“My lord, can you really defeat that demon-like Emperor with these crude Hels? These things, if you can only use mana, even a child could easily deal with them, wouldn’t they?”
“That’s exactly why. Hels of Darkness are completely immune to physical attacks that are not imbued with mana. They are crude, but that’s why they are the Emperor’s weakness. Because he is mana-insensitive.”
“What? You mean that monster is mana-insensitive? That’s even stranger, isn’t it? That means all his feats were accomplished using only brute strength…”
“Shh! Something is coming!”
Gusion’s minion hurriedly shut his mouth.
Flash—!
A bright light flashed, and when they came to, the entire forest was covered in white ice.
“…Damn it, all the Hels of Darkness I spent a month gathering are scattered! What the hell was that! The forest froze over in an instant! Did Imseti Paimon awaken in this forest or something?”
Guseon was horrified as he looked at the frozen forest.
— End of Chapter —
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Translator’s Notes :-
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