NOVEL NEXT Chapter 159
159. The Monster In The Forest
“Witches—do they really exist, not just as rumors!?”
But my father had said they were just old stories. Having that overturned so suddenly feels hard to believe.
Yet, while I panic, Lloyd stays calm and begins to speak in his usual composed manner.
“It’s not just a rumor. Witches once interacted frequently with humans. Though, the last confirmed sighting was about 50 years ago.”
“Fifty… so, doesn’t that mean she’s probably dead by now?”
“Fool. Do you think I wouldn’t consider something so obvious? Witches are ageless.
Even now, over 200 years old, she is said to retain beauty comparable to a woman in her twenties.”
Ageless, huh… She’s starting to sound more like a sage. Hearing all this about her being beyond the ordinary only makes me want to meet her even more.
“The Witch’s Forest is home to powerful monsters. Even among S-rank adventurers, only Arx and I could stand a chance against them.”
“But Laura-neesan is bad with directions, and she’s busy with work, so she can’t go!”
I see. So that’s how it is. The only ones who could enter the forest are me and Laura—and Laura is tied up with work.
Which leaves me as the obvious choice.
“To uncover the truth behind Zain’s Evil Eye, we need the wisdom of a witch who has lived for over 200 years.
That is why I am assigning you the task of making contact with her.”
This is a formal quest request from Lloyd.
His blunt attitude annoys me a little, but… something inside me stirs more than that.
How powerful could a witch who has lived for 200 years possibly be? That’s what I want to know.
I want to meet her. Living among strong monsters must mean she’s a formidable force herself.
“I’ll do it.”
I answered Lloyd immediately and decided to head into the forest.
＊
The day after returning from the capital, I took Raize along and returned to Salina Village.
After flying for about 15 minutes on a flying slime, the forest came into view.
“Look, isn’t that it?”
I followed Raize’s gaze to see a vast forest stretching before us.
When we dismounted from the flying slime, I could feel its immensity even more clearly.
Giant trees, tens of meters tall, crowded close together in the dense forest.
The atmosphere felt vastly different from the forest where Ilza lives—something eerie and sinister seemed to seep from it.
“It’s… unsettling. No wonder it’s called the Witch’s Forest.”
Even as we sensed the oppressive air, we stepped into the forest.
Inside, darkness engulfed everything, with not a single ray of sunlight piercing through.
Bird calls and the occasional growls of what must be monsters echoed through the trees as we cautiously pressed forward.
“Arx-sama, I don’t sense any monsters in our path. It seems we’ve been dodging them well so far! I’ll continue keeping watch!”
“Good, I’m counting on you!”
Since the forest canopy is so dense, I entrusted lookout duties to Tolk.
I also deployed several slimes, which were helping us avoid enemy encounters.
“Still… where could the witch be?”
“Maybe she has a house somewhere in the forest? If we keep walking, we should find it.”
“I hope so… But wouldn’t living in a place like this attract monsters to her house?”
“Piki!”
At that moment, one of the slimes reacted. I quickly shared my vision with it.
But to my shock, I lost all sight of what happened—something crushed the slime in an instant.
“Piki! Piki!”
The disturbances didn’t stop. One by one, slimes cried out before being destroyed.
Something was eliminating them.
“This can’t be real… What’s going on!?”
Even Tolk began to show signs of panic.
With no idea what was happening, I prepared myself for the worst.
“Arx! Something’s coming!”
Raize and I stood back-to-back, staying alert to whatever might be surrounding us.
Seconds later, the source of the disturbance finally appeared.
“Ukekekeke!”
It was a group of monkeys. Not just one—there were seven of them, surrounding us.
Though they looked like ordinary monkeys in size, they let out eerie screeches in unison.
These creatures were the ones crushing the slimes.
But how did they manage to sneak up on us without being detected by Tolk or the slimes?
“Arx! We’ve got no choice but to fight!”
There was no time to think. Our only option was to take them down!
“
I summoned the advanced appraisal slime to analyze the monkeys. But when I activated the ability, I felt something was off.
“Huh…? Why isn’t it working?”
No matter how many times I tried, the information wouldn’t appear.
Usually, it would instantly reveal weaknesses, but now—nothing.
I tried once more, but the result was the same. My frustration grew.
“Arx! Stay calm!”
Everything was going off the rails, and the monkeys’ creepy laughter echoed around us.