NOVEL NEXT Chapter 46
46. Into the Depths of the Forest
The eerie silence blanketed the surroundings, a stark contrast to mere moments ago.
It was so still that one might imagine time itself had frozen; not a single sound broke the quiet.
Even the faint rustle of clothing as they moved reached their ears with unnerving clarity.
“Roji.”
“Y-yes! What is it?”
“You’re to return to the village with the carriage. The meat needs to be delivered anyway.”
“Understood… but what about you, sir?”
Nord broke the silence, addressing Roji.
As if his voice was a cue, the wind began to blow again, and the forest filled once more with the restless whispers of the trees.
“I’m going deeper into the forest.”
“D-do you think that’s safe?”
“…But there’s no doubt something is happening in this forest. I need to find out the cause.”
“Something… Yes, that’s true. I’ve been coming and going through these woods for years, but I’ve never seen it like this.”
Roji gazed into the forest, his eyes a mix of confusion and fear.
The swaying trees, their rustling voices carried by the wind, seemed to morph into something unknown and terrifying.
Realizing how recklessly he had ventured into this ominous place without recognizing the danger, cold sweat poured down his back.
While Roji stood frozen, Nord prepared to set out.
Handing Roji a burlap sack, he pulled a pack from the wagon and checked its contents.
Fortunately, he had everything he needed.
He had brought equipment for camping overnight, just in case the hunt took longer than expected—a precaution that now proved invaluable.
“Good. Everything’s in order. Let’s go.”
“Qyu!”
“Sir!”
Nord, fully equipped, dismounted from the wagon.
With a spirited cry, Newt seemed ready too. Roji called out from the driver’s seat as Nord turned to leave.
“Please, come back safe…”
“I will. Tell my brother I said hello.”
“Leave it to me!”
Entrusting Roji with these final words, Nord boldly headed into the forest depths.
Soon, his figure vanished among the trees, and Roji, having watched him go, tightened the reins and drove the carriage back toward the village.
At the entrance to Alba Forest, only the whispers of the trees remained.
§
Nord moved like the wind through the forest.
Night had fully fallen, transforming the surroundings into a nocturnal landscape.
Fortunately, the moon hung bright in the sky.
According to the lunar calendar in his mind, tomorrow would be a full moon.
The moonlight streaming through the trees was far brighter than starlight, illuminating the path ahead.
Using the moonlight as his guide, he pressed on through the forest paths he had traveled before.
Save for brief rests, nothing obstructed their journey.
(Still no sign of life…)
The unease he had felt at the forest’s edge grew stronger as he ventured deeper.
Though he had covered significant ground, he encountered no movement—not from nocturnal animals,
not from the large herbivores seen near the entrance, not even from insects.
Only the swaying, rustling trees broke the stillness.
Something was definitely wrong with this forest.
That uneasy feeling gradually solidified into certainty within Nord.
“!”
Newt, flying ahead of him, suddenly reacted to something.
Nord approached where Newt had landed on the ground.
(What is it?)
Newt sniffed the air, stretching its neck and flaring its nostrils.
It must have caught a scent mid-flight.
Newt’s heightened senses were innate gifts far beyond human capabilities.
Its extraordinary sense of smell detected faint traces carried on the wind.
With a soft cry meant only for Nord, Newt pointed to the source of the scent.
Following its direction, they soon found it.
In the moonlight, part of the ground appeared discolored.
Nord knelt, inspecting the spot cautiously.
The source became immediately clear—it was blood, soaked into the soil.
Touching the dirt, he felt its dry, crumbly texture. It had already dried.
Judging by its state, it seemed at least half a day old.
He surveyed the surroundings.
It was harder to discern details at night, but the moonlight provided just enough illumination for him to find more traces.
(A fight… no, more like a one-sided hunt. And a swift kill. This blood is from that event… The predator must have ambushed its prey from that thicket and taken it down in one strike. …And this fur…)
Examining the gouged ground and disturbed vegetation, Nord pieced together what had occurred.
At the bloodstained spot, he found remnants of fur embedded in the soil.
Dusting it off and inspecting it under the moonlight, he identified it.
(Bear fur? Judging by the color… no way. This is Edge Bear fur.)
The fur was thick, its colors a dull gray and black, and it had a metallic stiffness.
These traits identified it as belonging to an Edge Bear, a fierce creature Nord had encountered in guild quests.
Edge Bears were covered in hardened fur and wielded razor-like claws,
ranking as a crystal-class beast in terms of danger.
Could the forest’s disturbance be due to an Edge Bear?
Nord quickly dismissed the notion.
While dangerous, an Edge Bear couldn’t silence an entire forest.
At most, it might dominate as the forest’s apex predator.
But this eerie quiet, where even insects hid, was beyond its capacity to cause.
In other words:
(The Edge Bear… was the prey.)
Something capable of taking down a crystal-class monster in one strike was lurking in this forest.
§
Tracing the gouged earth where the Edge Bear had likely been dragged, Nord noticed something strange.
(No blood trail?)
No blood was visible anywhere.
Based on the fur’s size, Nord estimated the Edge Bear’s height.
The drag marks matched this height, confirming the scenario.
Yet, there was far less blood than expected.
If it hadn’t all drained at the site, there should have been a trail of blood from the dragging.
But there wasn’t.
(What’s going on…? Did it bleed out first? No, that would leave more blood… Could it have been staunched? But why?)
Speculation yielded no answers.
Was it done by humans, or something even more terrifying?
The uncertainty grew, the unknown swelling into a shapeless menace in his mind.
He needed more information to uncover the truth.
Following the drag marks, Nord suddenly found they ended abruptly.
In the heart of the forest, the trail vanished.
Looking around, he found no clues to explain it.
Why did it stop here?
As he pondered, he noticed Newt gazing intently at something.
Following its line of sight, he saw a branch—a thick one from an ancient tree—gleaming faintly in the moonlight.
Nord leapt gracefully, scaling the tree with fluid movements despite his armor.
Perched on the branch, he discovered the glimmering substance.
(Spider silk…! That explains it.)
The silk, damp with dew, reflected the moonlight.
The trail had ended because the prey had been lifted onto this branch.
Judging by the silk, the Edge Bear had been wrapped tightly,
its bleeding wounds sealed by the adhesive threads, leaving no trace of blood on the ground.
Nord recalled the General Spider, whose webbing had been used in crafting his armor.
While a Knight Spider was crystal-class like the Edge Bear, a General Spider ranked even higher—bronze-class.
A General Spider could easily ambush and kill an Edge Bear with a single strike.
(So, it went in that direction…)
Still, questions remained.
Even a General Spider couldn’t cause this forest-wide silence.
When he had visited during summer, there had been no such disturbance.
But for now, Nord had no better leads.
Following this fragile strand of possibility, he ventured deeper into the forest.