NOVEL WEB Chapter 1- In the Deep Forest
Episode 1
**In the Deep Forest**
Charles. A resident of the mountain village, a 16-year-old who had just undergone his coming-of-age ceremony. Like most boys his age, he was energetic and believed he was the protagonist of the world.
One could say he showed signs of a “chunibyou” (middle school syndrome).
Because of this, when Alex, who also had just undergone his coming-of-age ceremony, said he had found a mansion deep in the forest, Charles followed him without hesitation.
“There it is.”
“Wow!”
“It’s huge?!”
Charles and Darian, who had been persuaded by Alex, and Sia, the only girl in their group, marveled at the enormous mansion.
Of course, Charles felt the same way.
“Hey Alex, How did you find such a mansion?”
“Hehe! Who do you think I am? The next best hunter in the empire!”
Charles looked at Alex, who was boasting, with an unimpressed face.
Anyway, the mansion was enormous but also felt ancient, stirring something in Charles’s heart.
“Should we make this our hideout?”
“A hideout?”
“That sounds great!”
Charles and Darian responded immediately to Alex’s suggestion.
A hideout? At this age, after just becoming an adult, could there be a more beautiful word?
“But isn’t this place too far from the village? What if there are monsters?”
Sia, the only girl in the group, tried to stop the three fools.
“Don’t worry!”
“Yeah! This is within my father’s hunting grounds.”
Darian, who only had strength, and Alex, whose father was a hunter, spoke confidently.
Still, seeing Sia’s unease, Charles began to cool down from his excitement.
“Still, just in case, we should at least tell the village chief.”
“Hey! If the adults find out, we can’t come here!”
“And it has to be a secret to be a hideout!”
Darian and Alex immediately raised their voices in response to Charles.
“I only said we should tell, not that we should do it right now!”
“What do you mean?!”
“Let’s talk about it in about ten years.”
“Right.”
“Friend!”
Darian and Alex quickly changed their attitudes, linking arms and giggling.
Sia, watching the three fools, sighed deeply.
“I don’t care! You guys can play or not! I’m leaving!”
“Huh? Sia!”
“Don’t grab me! I’m going!”
As Sia tried to return to the village, a scuffle broke out between her and the boys.
Suddenly…
“Uh?”
Tap! Tap! Tap…!
The sky darkened, and an immense rain began to pour down.
“What’s going on? Why is it suddenly raining?”
Boom! Thunder rumbled!
The rain was so strong that even though it had just started, they were already soaked.
“Ahh!”
“Run to the mansion!”
Forgetting their earlier squabble, the four dashed toward the mansion.
Fortunately, they were close enough to reach the mansion’s slightly open front door.
Drip! Drip!
“Ugh, we’re all soaked.”
“Geez. What’s with this sudden rain…?”
“Ugh! Water’s dripping from my hair.”
Inside the front door, they wrung out their wet hair and clothes.
“Did it suddenly rain like this in this season?”
“It should be autumn, right?”
“More importantly, how do we get home?”
The heavy rain made it impossible to return to the village. It wasn’t just about getting wet. The rain was so strong that it was hard to find the way back, and in the mountains, such rain could lead to flash floods or landslides.
“This means we have no choice but to spend the night here.”
The group turned their gaze back to the mansion.
Upon entering the front door, they saw a large hallway, with a grand staircase dividing the first and second floors.
In the space between the two staircases stood what used to be a fountain and a broken statue, which must have once boasted of its splendor.
Creak! Creak!
A rusted chandelier hanging from the ceiling swayed slightly in the wind, making an eerie sound.
Honestly, unless they were drunk, it was not a pleasant environment to be in.
“…Here? Seriously?”
Sia’s face turned pale as she took a step back.
Charles, equally uneasy, looked around the mansion and then stared out at the pouring rain with a sigh.
“First, let’s start a fire.”
They didn’t know when the rain would stop, and they needed to dry their wet clothes and bodies. Besides, they might have to spend the night there.
Reluctantly, the group began gathering firewood around the mansion.
* * *
Crackling…
In the middle of the hallway, a small fire flickered as they gathered around it, exhaling sighs of relief.
“Looks like we’re spending the night here after all.”
Sia sighed, listening to the rain still pouring with thunder.
“At least the rain isn’t coming in.”
“That’s a relief. At least we don’t have to worry about getting wet while we sleep.”
“More importantly, it’s lucky Alex had flint.”
“Hey, my father is a hunter after all.”
Now that the tension had eased, Sia wrapped her arms around her stomach.
“…I’m hungry.”
“…Right.”
Since their trip to the mansion had been somewhat impulsive, none of them had brought food.
If it hadn’t been for the rain, they would have returned to the village immediately and had dinner before going to bed.
“Let’s just hold out for a day.”
“Yeah. By tomorrow, this annoying rain should stop.”
Darian and Alex sprawled out on the ground, and Sia frowned at them.
As Sia lay down, her freckles visible, she sighed and lay back. Did she look like she was saying, “I don’t care anymore”?
“I don’t care! Alex, just wait until tomorrow!”
“Hahaha! Bring it on!”
Charles, surprised by the sudden preparations of his friends, exclaimed, “Hey, we need to set a watch! The fire will go out!”
“Charles is it.”
“Charles, huh?”
“Thanks for standing guard!”
“These little punks?!”
In an instant, Charles found himself appointed as the watchman, grumbling under his breath.
Darian pointed at himself and Alex, chuckling.
“Wake me up later. After that, it’s Alex’s turn.”
“Yeah.”
“Okay. Sleep well.”
Sia, who had naturally been excluded from the watch, said, “Hey.”
“What?”
“If you step on me in the middle of the night, you’re dead.”
“……”
How could someone be so brazen?
With the laughter of the four fading away, the hallway fell silent.
Crackle! Crackle!
The sound of the fire and the rain echoed, along with the rumbling thunder, as Charles’s eyes grew heavy.
In the early hours when humans become most sentimental, Charles found himself lost in thought.
“…I’m hungry.”
His stomach growled.
Grrr…
Feeling pangs of hunger, Charles sighed deeply.
“Is there anything to eat?”
Looking around the dimly lit area by the fire, he saw only old, broken furniture, dust-covered floors, and moss-covered walls.
Honestly, even if there were food left in this mansion, it had been abandoned for so long that it probably wouldn’t be edible.
As he lamented his hunger, he heard a rustling sound.
“Ugh…”
Alex, who had been sleeping, sat up.
“Why are you awake?”
“I need to take a dump.”
“Ugh. Gross.”
“Shut up.”
Scratching his belly, Alex walked toward the corner of the hallway.
“Hey! If you’re going to take a dump, go far away! It’ll smell!”
“Geez, you’re so picky!”
Charles muttered as he watched Alex walk toward the door.
Alex entered through a door on the left side of the hallway that led to the dining room, where they had previously gathered firewood.
“What kind of mansion is this… was it a noble’s villa or something?”
Muttering as he poked at the fire, Charles stood up.
“Ugh. Thanks to Alex, I need to go too.”
As he felt the urge rising, Charles followed Alex into the dining room.
Although he was supposed to be on watch, the fire wouldn’t go out if he was gone for just a moment. Plus, it was unlikely that any monsters would attack in this rain.
If a monster did attack? Then it would be just “What the hell?!” and he would have to accept his fate.
Without hesitation, Charles opened the door leading to the dining room.
“Alex. You done taking a dump, huh?”
His eyes widened in shock at the completely different scene from before.
The long, moldy dining table that he had seen earlier was now intact, adorned with a red tablecloth and a luxurious golden candlestick illuminating the table.
Moreover, the previously faded dining room now looked as if it had never aged, resembling the lavish dining rooms of nobles.
“Uh… um…”
Most shocking of all were the numerous dishes laid out on the table.
A roasted turkey sprinkled with spices, cheese bubbling in a fondue pot, and pasta drizzled with white cream.
In addition, many other exquisite dishes were giving off delightful aromas.
“Am I dreaming?”
Charles rubbed his eyes, his face beginning to harden.
He hurriedly tried to leave the dining room, but…
Click!
“Huh?!”
The door to the dining room had locked behind him.
Click! Click!
“Hey?! Guys? Is that you?! Is this a prank?!”
Bang! Bang! Bang!
No matter how much he knocked, shook, or shouted, there was no response from outside the door.
Realizing that banging on the door was futile, Charles’s face began to pale.
“Hey… this is a prank, right? Please say it is.”
His voice came out weakly.
Leaning against the door, Charles’s body started to tremble like a leaf.
“This is insane. Insane, insane, insane! Damn it!”
He remembered a story he had heard from an old woman in the village as a child. She had said that sometimes, in abandoned castles or mansions, the spirits of those who died unjustly would appear.
Of course, that was just a story meant to scare children, but now, in this situation, he could no longer dismiss it as mere fiction.
“Damn it. You ghost bastards!”
Trying to hide his fear, he grabbed a sword from a decorative suit of armor nearby.
Holding the sword defensively, Charles scanned his surroundings.
Aside from the door he had entered, there were two other doors in the dining room and a large window covered by curtains occupying one side of the room.
With the sword raised, Charles cautiously approached the large window.
“Can I escape through here?”
The large glass window, which he had only seen in the noble’s carriage as a child, was lavishly made from the ceiling to the floor.
Charles grabbed the handle in the middle of the window and gently pushed it forward.
Creeeak…
“Huh? It opened?!”
The window opened so easily that he was momentarily stunned, but soon a smile spread across his face.
The thunder and rain were still pouring down, but that didn’t matter. If he could just escape this haunted mansion, he would do anything.
Just as he was about to escape through the window, however…
Squish!
“Huh?”
His foot sank into the ground as he stepped outside. Although it wasn’t fast, it felt like he was sinking into a swamp.
Trying to stabilize himself with his other foot, he found that it too began to sink.
“Ah! Help! Someone!”
Charles abandoned his sword and scrambled back into the mansion.
The sword he had thrown landed on the ground, disappearing without a trace as if swallowed by the earth. The hole it had created wobbled once before returning to normal.
“This mansion is dangerous!”
Charles quickly dashed through the opposite door leading from the hallway.
Fortunately, it was unlocked.
Bubbling…
“What is this?!”
Inside was a room filled with hot steam.
On one side, five or six stoves were burning, and several pots were steaming with something cooking inside.
On the other side were trays of dough and baskets filled with various ingredients, while in the center hung various cooking utensils and smoked meats.
“A kitchen?”
This was the kitchen of the nobles, as described by the old woman.
At that moment, the lid of one of the boiling pots fell to the side.
Clang!
“Yikes?!”
Charles frozen in alarm.
Cautiously approaching the pot, he peered inside, and his face paled in horror.
Inside the pot were human arms, legs, and heads boiling away. Their faces, swollen from the heat, were contorted in agony…
“Crazy! Crazy! This must be a dream! It has to be a dream!”
Clang!
“Ugh?!”
As he stepped back, a knife rolled off the table he bumped into. Grabbing it hastily, Charles ran toward the opposite door.
Clang! Clang!
“Let me out! Please let me out!”
He banged on the door with all his might, but it wouldn’t open. Through the small glass window in the door, he could see the rain-soaked forest at midnight.
As despair set in, Charles began to tap the glass with the knife he held.
“Break! Just break already!”
Clang! Clang!
“Why? Why won’t it break?!”
He remembered that the noble’s carriage windows shattered easily with just a small stone, yet no matter how hard he struck, this glass wouldn’t break.
Just as despair engulfed him…
Whoosh!
“Ugh?!”
All the lights in the kitchen went out.
The candles on the walls, the flames from the stove, and the warmth they provided—all vanished as if they had never existed.
A cold breeze brushed against Charles’s nose as if the warmth had never been there.
“What… what is this?”
In the pitch-black kitchen, only the occasional flash of lightning illuminated the small glass window in the back door, but it was fleeting. It was not enough to survey his surroundings.
Crack!
Yes. Just like now, standing in front of the door leading to the dining room…
“…Huh?”
…Someone?
It was then that Charles realized there was another’someone’ in the kitchen besides him.
Step… step…
“Yikes?!”
He heard the sound of footsteps belonging to ‘someone.’
Charles quickly covered his mouth and aimed the knife forward.
Crack!!
Once again, a flash of lightning illuminated the kitchen for a brief moment.
The’someone’ he had seen was gone.
With the knife still pointed ahead, Charles cautiously moved forward.
He stepped carefully, trying not to make a sound, slowly advancing.
Clap! Clap!
But then, right next to his ear, he heard clapping…
“Yikes?!”
Swish! Swish!
His reflexive swing of the knife cut through the air, and that was when Charles’s fear exploded.
“Who are you?! What the hell are you?! Show yourself! Come out!”
Come out~ come out~ come out~
His voice echoed in the kitchen.
Unable to contain the overwhelming fear surging from deep within, Charles began to whimper.
“Stop it! Please… spare me.”
Tap, tap…
“I won’t come back again. I won’t tell anyone.”
Tap, tap…
“So please… huh?”
Thud!
As Charles whimpered into the air, he felt something… sticky dripping from above his head.
Shivering…
Charles’s face was slowly… very slowly lifted.
And there stood’someone.’
A beautiful girl with long, black hair. The black and red dress she wore looked like something a noble lady would wear, and she appeared to be around 15 to 17 years old.
But her face was completely covered in blood, and one of her eyes was entirely red, dripping with blood.
The dress she wore was torn in several places, with entrails and bones visible where it had ripped.
Finally, she had a rope tied around her neck, the other end attached to the ceiling.
It looked as if she was hanging upside down from the ceiling.
“Ah… ah… ah…”
Despite the darkness, the girl, trembling not just in her eyes but all over, smiled brightly at Charles.
As her bloody tears fell onto Charles’s forehead…
“Ah…”
Crash!
Charles’s memory was cut off.