NOVEL NEXT Chapter 378
<378 - Prince Hector's Retainers>
As I pondered over the fact that Dorothy, Rockbell, and Yui’s random starting abilities could be quite impressive, I suddenly became curious.
“By the way, which forest is Dorothy from?”
“One of the Three Forbidden Woods!”
The Three Forbidden Woods, referring to three forests selected as areas where one must not set foot.
The domain of the Ain, the Western Great Forest.
The domain of the Demonic Clan, the Northern Demonic Beast Forest.
The domain of the Chaos Races, the Dimensional Rift Monster Forest.
“Since you’re not close to the Ain, and there’s no Dark Mana detected in the Demonic Beast Forest, you must be from the Monster Forest, right?”
“Wow. You got that in one shot? As expected, Oknodie knows everything. Or is it that the Foundation knows everything?”
“Wow. Then it seems like this round’s Rockbell and Yui have also become incredibly strong.”
“Rockbell is an idiot. Just swinging a sword faster won’t defeat all the monsters.”
Rockbell, who had been standing by Dorothy’s side, awkwardly wiped under his nose with his hand.
“That’s not wrong. The Monster Forest has plenty of large monsters, and there are even giant types that can change the terrain and seasons once they wake up.”
“Well, those gigantic ones are hard to deal with using a sword in the early to mid-stage!”
“Early to mid-stage…? Ah, you’re talking about the early to mid-teens.”
Rockbell, not as sharp as Arcadia, was easily fooled.
“I’m already in my late teens, but if you reached my age with your skills, I think you could handle a giant type somehow, like a Warrior did.”
“Has the Previous Hero ever visited the Monster Forest?”
“I only heard about it from a distance. Back then, Dorothy and I were still young.”
So the Previous Hero Ni’alatotep was surprisingly diligent! I should ask Professor Destroyer to tell me about that later.
Through the Library Expedition, the spirits gain ancient fairy tales, and the veteran players gain the history set within the lore.
Huh?
Aren’t my actions similar to that of a fairy…?
I might be a fairy after all!
While I delightedly giggled at the thought of becoming happy, Dorothy still wore a dissatisfied expression as she glared at something.
“Are you that worried about Yui?”
“That place doesn’t just smell like money.”
From there, the smell of blood was mixed as well.
A lot of different people’s blood smells, at that.
—
What I thought was darkness was not because I had stepped into the night forest.
It was because the vast negativity under the dense branches had driven away all the bright energies of the world, creating a high-density dark zone where even the moonlight could not reach.
The light emitted by the torches could not escape the surrounding 2 meters of the students and vanished woosh into the darkness.
Run, run!
That’s not a monster we can handle!
The Library should not be something first-years should approach!
The students, who had been gasping as if they were screaming, looked at each other with astonished eyes.
No sound came out.
As if being devoured.
When people are in danger, they instinctively recognize the cause of the threat.
In that moment, they realized that the Howling Child Poppy was the one consuming their screams.
Blood splattered.
A sharp branch pierced the arm of one student.
As a friend pulled out his sword to cut the branch, blood gushed out.
The students were even more terrified.
They had cut a branch, but blood poured out like a person!
Visionary Magic of the Troy Family, Level 5!
Let the Light Shine!
A dazzling flash from Hector’s drawn sword illuminated the darkness and raised the morale that had been plummeting towards the floor of the Prince Hector’s Retainers.
Hector stepped forward instead of speaking and swung his sword at that grotesque tree.
While the tree silenced voices, blocking skill activations and spell incantations, Hector had mastered the spellcasting to the point he was able to cast magic even without chanting.
Surpassing the fusion lifeform Kasia, he successfully cast magic against the Chapter Boss that would appear in Chapter 4: Silent Death, the Whispering Forest during the summer vacation of the second year.
If Oknodie had seen this, he would have sparkled at Hector’s dazzling growth, but the Howling Child Poppy did not rejoice at the strength of its opponent.
[Vertigo][Nausea][Fever][Loss of Balance][Chills][Itching][Numbness][Breathlessness]
A curse piling up at a terrifying speed per second.
As the Howling Child Poppy deliberately unleashed power, the students following behind Hector fell, either losing strength or vomiting blood.
As the students in the back panicked and tried to save their friends, Hector was suffering from all those curses at the nearest proximity and with the greatest intensity.
“Lead the way!
We can’t leave Prince Hector by himself!”
The loyal retainer Deipobos followed closely with his spear in hand.
His judgment was correct.
The curse of the Howling Child Poppy diminished in power the more people shared the burden.
For Hector’s sake, they had to endure the immediate pain.
Otherwise, they would not be able to temporarily repel that crazy tree, let alone clear the path.
Although his voice was consumed by the Howling Child Poppy, Deipobos endured the curse, not retreating, and inspired courage in the students once more.
The Prince Hector’s Retainers were brave.
Though they were lower-class students left behind and abandoned, Hector gathered them all.
As the leader Hector and loyal retainer Deipobos faced the greatest difficulties head-on, respect from their juniors was unavoidable.
Swish!
Hector’s sword flashed along with his magic and shaved off a dozen branches.
As the cursed items hanging from the branches like a Christmas tree fell thud, other students also gained courage and charged in.
“A little more push!”
“Huh? I can hear sounds again!”
“It seems the monster’s power has weakened!”
It was an illusion.
The complexion of Hector, who was fighting at the forefront, turned pale.
“Everyone, cover your ears!”
From the horrific mouth emerging from the tree trunk came a scream so loud it could tear apart the sky.
The Howling Child Poppy’s new pattern, Flood of Terror, unleashed an overwhelming scream that layered the dying cries of its prey all at once.
Students who could not cover their ears fell foaming at the mouth, and those who did trembled in fear, daring not to lift their swords above waist height.
“Forget the repulsion. Help those who have fallen and run beyond the gate!”
The Howling Child Poppy raised its enormous root from underground as if it were nothing.
The root soared high like a wall, and Deipobos spoke with a hardened face.
“It seems we must give up on the Library Expedition, Your Highness. If we press on any further, we may end up with severely injured subordinates.”
“Ugh! What on earth has this insane academy turned the library into that even the weak can’t have the right to inspect it!”
“Do you need help?”
Inappropriately calm words caught Prince Hector’s irritated gaze.
“Tetraphos, are you just going to sit back and watch?”
“I’d hate to disturb while you’re fighting hard.”
“Please help us.”
“What will you pay in return?”
“…!”
Do we really have to bargain even in this situation?
Words that had almost risen to his throat sank when he met the cold eyes of someone who appeared to be eyeing him like prey, despite the smile that looked so entertaining.
This man is evil.
This senior is truly a devilish person.
He didn’t care about the reckless adventures of his juniors or the adversities they would face as reckless costs.
Even if a few first-years died right there, he would laugh like it was too weak and not regret it at all.
“What do you want?”
“Points would be nice. Or I could accept a freebie.”
What does that even mean?
Is it possible he has finally developed some pity?
But it’s strange.
Why would a senior so cold-hearted suddenly offer help for free?
It’s dangerous.
It’s a very dangerous smell.
“For points…”
“What’s wrong with helping for free!”
Before Hector could respond, wanting to pay with points when he had the chance, Deipobos, who had been fending off the onslaught of branches with his spear, shouted roughly as his hand froze for a moment.
No one could blame him.
Deipobos’s arms were wounded, dripping blood through the broken arm guards, as the branches had not all been warded off.
But the worries came true.
Students hesitating before the roots screamed once again.
However, this attack was not from Poppy.
Even the Howling Child Poppy looked stunned, as if to say, “What is this?” with its eyes wide open.
Flutter!
As Tetraphos gestured, threads flew in the paths indicated, digging into the students’ skin and drawing blood.
They wouldn’t die or be seriously injured, but they couldn’t avoid the agony!
Especially as the ally they believed in unexpectedly attacked, all the students were defenselessly wounded.
“What the hell is this!”
“I told you to help, right? So I drew blood for free. The blood of first-years doesn’t turn into points.”
“Is this really what you have to say right now?!”
“Haha. Don’t get so worked up. Just look closely, juniors. This is the Blood of Malice Technique.”
The blood-stained threads from Tetraphos shot out in layers, each seeping with a bright red aura.
As the roots blocking the way were sliced as if done delicately, everybody gasped in disbelief.
“Alright, one round done. Do you need help again?”
With the Howling Child Poppy losing its roots and writhing in pain, Hector glared at Deipobos, silently urging him not to say a word.
Naturally, his reckless outcry had led to this disaster, and Deipobos was even paler than when he was bleeding and could not free himself from the guilt.
The fight was lost.
They had to either break through the gate or defend it; one must be done.
Whether they fall prey to the monster or perish by the hands of a senior, all before they bleed out excessively.
However, even after losing its roots, the Howling Child Poppy charged in again.
It raised up eight more roots, the same size as the last, from all directions.
“Ugh, seriously. I didn’t want to reveal my secrets in a place like this!”
The one stepping forward in the dire crisis was Yui.
Everyone thought she would be weak since she came from the upper-tier background of a guide, but it turned out she was nothing to scoff at!