Chapter 47
Crunch!
…Bwoooosh!
A horrific scream tore through the air.
The creature’s tentacles began to twist wildly around the ripped-out mana core.
Brrrshkk!
The writhing spread through the creature’s entire body.
From the outside, it must’ve been quite a sight—
the Root Giant thrashing in agony as its prey tore its mana core from its body.
…Crack!
With the sound of something snapping and scattering,
the crushing pressure of roots around me began to weaken.
Pssssh—!
Soon, the countless roots filling the forest dissolved into dust.
Finally, I tore myself free from the Root Giant’s body.
A refreshing breeze brushed over my sticky, sweat-slicked skin.
“Pwah!”
I gulped down the crisp forest air.
If not for that, I’d have been killed by the Count’s leftover lackeys.
“Idiots…”
Where the Root Giant had fallen lay a half-melted corpse—
likely one of the White Lion Knights who’d been devoured just moments ago.
The man didn’t even twitch. He was long dead.
Barely a few minutes had passed, and he’d already melted this badly.
If I’d been any slower, my own skin would’ve been liquefied just like his.
The Root Giant vanished without a trace, as if it had never existed.
Only the mana core left in my palm proved that any of it had been real.
“This is… a strange feeling.”
Doing something I’d only ever read about in novels—
there was something oddly surreal about it.
It felt exactly like following a boss fight guide straight out of the Valhalla System.
At that moment, I really felt it:
this was the world inside a novel.
“Ugh…”
My skin stung from the acidic residue.
I hastily poured recovery magic over my body, dulling the pain a little.
“Well… guess it’s lucky this is the Dark Forest.”
All the clothes I’d been wearing had been melted away when I was swallowed.
I’d only worn light leather armor to move freely,
but I hadn’t expected it to dissolve completely.
Only my underclothes had barely kept their shape.
“Whatever. There’s gotta be something to wear around here.”
The hunt was done—now it was time to loot.
That was the real reason I’d come to the Dark Forest in the first place.
“There it is.”
Now that the Root Giant was gone,
a massive tree that had been hidden before came into view.
It was so thick that even three or four grown men together couldn’t wrap their arms around it.
Near its roots was a small cave,
wide enough for a bear to crawl in and out of—
like a den carved out for hibernation.
I sheathed my sword and stepped inside.
It was pitch black, so I lit the way with a flare spell.
The deeper I went, the wider the tunnel became—
from barely needing to duck to being tall enough to stand fully upright.
After walking for quite a while, I finally reached the end.
“Heh, heh, heh…”
When I finally found what I was looking for, I couldn’t help but grin.
The innermost chamber didn’t even need light—
the treasure itself was glowing, piled high like a mountain.
Smiling in satisfaction, I recalled a passage from the novel:
[After slaying the Root Giant, Dia collapsed.
When he awoke half a day later, he couldn’t believe his eyes.
There was nothing but darkness before, yet now—mountains of treasure lay in front of him.
Among them were the insignias of countless merchant guilds,
even some long-forgotten crests from ages past.
Then Dia realized—the treasure was made up of the remains
of those who had perished in the Dark Forest.]
The Cranig Mountains might sit right in the middle of the territory,
but they weren’t completely impassable.
Plenty of merchant caravans tried to cross them for trade—
and those unlucky enough to take the wrong path stumbled into the Root Giant’s domain.
All the merchants were devoured, leaving no trace but their goods,
which had piled up here over the years.
Food and perishables had long rotted away,
but artifacts, jewels, and gold coins remained untouched.
This was the treasure hidden in the Dark Forest.
All of it ownerless now—belonging to people who’d died long ago.
Dia had lived comfortably for quite a while off this treasure.
“…It feels a bit wrong to take the belongings of the dead,
but… I got revenge, so let’s call it even.”
I carefully inspected the items worth taking.
I left behind any weathered artifacts,
but took every coin and gemstone I could find.
“One, two, three, four…”
Just the coins alone filled ten pouches.
If I sold the jewels too, it’d be around 2,000 gold.
The problem? I owed 12,000 gold.
“Wow… so even if I sell all this, I’ll have to do this six more times? Amazing.”
Dia used this money to buy a house, upgrade his magic sword, and all that.
Sure, he was a commoner with fewer expenses than me,
but still—
it didn’t make me feel any better.
“Tch.”
Oh well. A debt’s a debt.
“Anyway…”
I stared at the mana core I’d torn from the Root Giant.
It was huge—proof it had lived a long time.
This alone could sell for 200, maybe even 300 gold.
“But should I sell it? Or… use it?”
Selling it would be simple, but that’d be the end of it.
If I used it to enhance the Dragon-Scale Sword, though…?
A mana core like this would be difficult to forge into a weapon—
but I had Harun.
If anyone could do it, he could make this sword into a top-tier magic sword.
A magic sword.
An artifact that lets you defeat even higher-ranked opponents through sheer weapon power.
No matter how skilled I was, my swordsmanship was still only Rank 4.
Against Rank 5 or higher, I couldn’t expect to win.
No matter what tricks I used,
if I clashed blades with a higher rank, my insides would twist from the sheer force.
But with a magic sword…?
Even Dia could fight upper-ranked opponents on equal footing thanks to his.
The sword’s aura reduced the penalties of fighting someone above your rank.
For me, that meant breaking free from one of the biggest chains holding me down.
Just thinking about it made my mouth water.
“Tsk…”
Considering who I’d have to face soon, I needed a magic sword.
The most immediate problem—Kroad the Swiftblade.
By now, he should’ve already reached the Selivert Great Grove
and checked on the state of the Knighthood Relic.
The rangers guarding the grove were strong,
but they were no match for Kroad.
If anything, they’d only make him angrier.
And once that man was angry… there was no reasoning with him.
Friana?
Even if she stayed on my side, she couldn’t beat Kroad.
“Ugh…”
Just thinking of him made my knees tremble.
Could I win with a magic sword?
“Probably not.”
You’d need at least an ego sword to beat someone at Sword Rank 6.
This mana core wasn’t a dragon heart,
and even Harun couldn’t create something from nothing.
Still, it was better than nothing—
a hundred, a thousand times better.
At least it might keep me alive long enough to negotiate.
“…Guess I’d better head back.”
I packed up as much as I could carry and left the Dark Forest.
A gust of wind rustled black hair in front of a massive ancient tree.
“Hah.”
Kroad let out a hollow laugh.
After months of pursuit—
this was all he’d found.
“Y-you bastard! The rangers won’t let you get away wi—!”
“Shut up.”
Crunch!
With a single kick, Kroad crushed the man’s head beneath his boot.
The mangled corpse had pointed ears—
the telltale mark of an elf,
one of the Selivert Great Grove’s native inhabitants.
Now, only a pair of pointed ears among shattered skull fragments
remained to prove what he’d been.
“…Heh.”
Even through his sighs, Kroad couldn’t stop grinning
as he looked at the Knighthood Relic before him.
That damned Ian Impera had kept his word.
He’d told him where to find it—
though activating it hadn’t been part of the deal.
“Interesting guy.”
His black hair was streaked red with blood.
The Great Grove was neutral ground—
outsiders were forbidden entry.
But Kroad had crushed every obstacle in his path to get here,
soaked head to toe in blood.
Even smiling, he looked less like a man and more like a ghost.
“Interesting, sure… but he’ll pay for wasting my time.”
Kwooooom!
Suddenly, a rain of magical bullets poured down where Kroad stood.
Dozens of pointed-eared elves appeared,
wearing green uniforms—the Rangers of the Great Grove.
Specifically, Elemental Rangers, specialists in offensive magic.
Their barrage engulfed Kroad completely,
their formation encircling him as they unleashed spell after spell.
“Hold! Regain your mana for the next volley!”
After relentless fire, they finally stopped.
Their target had already slain dozens of regular rangers—
they couldn’t afford to underestimate him.
Sssshhh…
Dust rose thickly where Kroad had stood.
With an attack like that, there should’ve been nothing left.
“You dare trespass upon the sacred domain of the World Tree!”
“Pay for your crime with your life!”
The elves shouted triumphantly—
but that was a fatal mistake.
As the dust cleared, all eyes focused in shock.
“Huh?!”
“He’s—he’s fine?!”
Even among their ranks, some had reached Rank 5,
yet Kroad stood completely unharmed.
His black hair fluttered gracefully as he drew his sword.
“First off… I’m in a really foul mood.”
Crash!
He stomped the ground—
and the earth sank inward, leaving a deep crater.
This land grew atop the roots of the World Tree—
even dead branches here were as hard as metal.
And yet, with just one step,
Kroad had left a massive footprint in its surface.
“W-where is he?!”
Slash!
“Gaaah!”
One ranger screamed.
Then another.
With every cry, red mist filled the air.
“W-what kind of monster is this?!”
“Raise the barrier! Don’t let him li—!”
Runes flared around their bodies,
forming triple-layered barriers—
they knew one wouldn’t be enough.
“Hmph.”
But that wasn’t nearly enough to contain Kroad’s fury.
A blood-red aura surged around his fist like a storm.
Then he drove it forward.
…Crack!
“W-what the—?!”
The triple-layered barrier shattered with a single blow.
“O-one hit… destroyed it?!”
There was nothing left to protect them now.
Crunch!
Kroad hunted them down one by one,
snapping necks—even those hiding among the branches.
In mere moments, the dozens of rangers were all dead.
He wasn’t one to spill blood needlessly,
but if someone picked a fight,
he never backed down.
“Haaah…”
Only after seeing so much blood did Kroad calm his breath.
With the rangers dealt with, he could now leave the forest quietly.
“Well then. Time to go meet that bastard.”
He brushed off the blood from his armor and walked forward.
Behind him stood a statue of a knight clad in heavy armor.
On its chest was the same ouroboros symbol
engraved on Kroad’s sword sheath—
the mark of the Eternal Order of Knights.
The statue, overgrown with the World Tree’s roots,
silently watched him leave.
