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Trace of the Monarch (2)

We immediately lifted our bodies using magic and flew toward the forest mentioned by seal-like aliens.

“Oh! They’re flying! They’re flying away!”

“Oh, my god… it’s a miracle.”

“I mean, chief priest! Are they really not the god’s emissaries?”

“If they’re not the emissaries, then devils?”

“Now, now! Calm down, everyone! I can explain the whole situation. Everybody spread the sacred books and…”

We continued to hear the startled natives making a fuss behind our backs, but as we climbed up the altitude further, the chaotic noise also faded away.

Passing through the sky at high speed, I asked Genograche a question.

“That story we heard just a while ago… What do you think about it?”

The devil replied indifferently.

– A common pseudo-mythology. A case in which a suitable adaptation and fiction were added to the actual event. It’s a story that can commonly be found in this kind of dimension.

That’s what I thought.

“The demons that hid in that forest must be the devils who followed the ‘Monarch of Evolution,’ right?”

– Wouldn’t that naturally be the case?

The Monarch and his subordinates left the magic kingdom, fleeing and running from the Awakened beings that sook their bounties, and seemed to have eventually reached the world we were currently in.

They couldn’t buy such items as Leap Tickets because they were devils, so they could only have reached the dimension through their capabilities.

From the perspective of the natives, who weren’t even aware of the concept of Mana, they must’ve considered the devils as bizarre monsters that went against their principles.

On the other hand, it was easy to imagine how the two species’ meeting went, considering the magic species’ nature.

They would have treated the natives with an attitude interspersed with violence and brutality.

“That must be why the old stories here label your kind as evil.”

Their stay didn’t seem to have lasted that long.

The Awakened beings ordered by the System managed to track down the devils’ whereabouts.

“They must be the ones those natives call ‘the emissaries who hear the voice of the god.’”

Whether or not they named themselves their god’s emissaries remained unknown.

As a result, the natives decided to worship them, and the story seemed to be adapted so.

“Since it had been apprehended, the contents about the Monarch of Evolution’s shenanigans had temporarily disappeared, right?”

– It must be so.

“But considering a quest related to it appeared again…”

As we were flying while talking, a huge forest that stretched beyond the horizon flowed like a river.

I never stopped my downward search while on the move.

“It’s definitely a normal ecosystem with no Gates or monsters yet.”

That was what the Earth looked like as well before the Cataclysm began.

There was no need to worry about Gates opening or collapsing, and only life forms that originated from Earth lived in that environment.

I didn’t know when the tutorial would start for that world, but it was still peaceful.

“Hmm?”

After a long search, my eyes finally caught something suspicious.

“Let’s go over there.”

We drastically lowered our altitude.

– I don’t see anything.

From Genograche’s perspective, only ordinary trees, no different from those he saw before, would probably stand out.

However, what I could see through [The Successor’s Eyes] was a little different.

“It’s a high-level barrier. Sophisticated, and at the same time, powerful.”

– Barrier?

I could see the Mana faintly flowing and cutting through the empty air.

I softly explained.

“It seems like it has quite aged, considering the cracks and gaps in it.

The barrier was very powerful but had very fine fissures.

Rather than being caused by external shocks, it seemed that the power that supported and controlled the Mana Barrier naturally weakened as time passed since it was installed.

It was like an old, cracked dam that leaked out water.

When I pointed to its direction and explained, Genogrche suddenly unsheathed his main body, the devil’s sword.

– Should I destroy it?

I shook my head, rejecting his notion.

“No, we don’t want to create a bigger hole when we don’t even know what’s inside.”

We had to infiltrate without breaking the barrier. Rather, we carefully widened the gap just a bit more.

No matter how powerful the barrier was, it was a piece of cake to create an entrance as long as there was already a crack.

I remembered the sensation of solving Mana puzzles in the Tower of Choice.

I mixed my Mana into the subtle flow and figured it out.

A few moments passed.

Whoong!

“All right.”

The magic alarm didn’t ring.

It expanded as if space was severed, and it became incomparably large than it was a moment ago.

“Let’s go in.”

Just in case, I kept a simple Stealth skill in effect, and….

Paht!

Genograche’s and my body became transparent.

We finally headed inside.

The interior of the barrier wasn’t much different from the forest outside.

However, the deeper we went, the more evident the changes became.

“Three there… And another five behind that.”

– I can feel it, too. It had spread all sorts of signs.

Like wild monkeys gliding through the tropical forest trees, we observed a species moving busily among the trees, hiding their appearance.

Even though they were in the barrier, they camouflaged themselves with their hiding techniques as if they were wary of something.

They had tried their best, but their skills were only mediocre.

They didn’t notice us, but even Genograche, who didn’t have [The Successor’s Eyes], was fully aware of their movements.

“First of all, they’re not natives of this place…”

None of those seals were Awakened.

There was a high probability that those monkeys were.

– Were there still survivors left in this remote dimension?

Genograche mumbled quietly.

“Their stronghold must be that way.”

– Are you going to go?

I answered without any hesitation.

“Yes.”

If the barrier that hid that space were faultless, ordinary Awakened beings that didn’t have [The Successor’s Eyes] wouldn’t have been able to find the place.

But there was a crack outside.

“Hibiki would have found the gap.”

I was convinced of that.

Since she had learned SSS-Rank [Universal Mastery], she could detect such anomalies using the tracking magic that could be continuously activated.

“Even if so, the expedition team never reported that they had found a place like this. Not only to the Union but to our guild as well.”

What would be the reason?

“There is a high probability that an accident occurred while exploring this place.”

As we followed the busy-moving forest race’s pathway, we finally found what we were looking for.

“It’s another barrier.”

I frowned.

“I don’t think we can quietly pierce through that.”

I didn’t know who installed it, but the barrier in front of us was stronger than the external one.

Furthermore, it was flawless.

Paht!

Genograche and I had no choice but to reveal ourselves.

“!”

Rumbles were exchanged on top of the trees.

The signal rang out, and Mana was observed flocking from around.

“Intruder!”

We were swiftly surrounded by the monkeys equipped with bows.

When I saw their appearance, I confirmed that I had guessed right.

Black hair, purple eyes, pointed ears.

Their body’s overall shape was similar to that of humans, but it exuded strangely cold and exotic energy.

“It’s the devils.”

– Hmm.

Genograche hummed as if he didn’t like the situation.

Their eyes were glaring at us with hostility.

However, their outfit and weaponry level was much behind the ‘modern devil’ standard I knew.

‘It must have been a while since they have been isolated here.’

Although modern devils’ artifacts weren’t given by the System and instead were made by themselves, they might’ve actually surpassed the system-made artifacts’ performance depending on the type.

However, comparing those to Earth’s standards… they were close to handicrafts made by a mediocre artisan.

Looking at the weapons they held, most of them were mostly bows.

‘Still, it’s a little better than the mass-produced artifacts produced on Earth.’

When they pulled the bowstring back, an arrow made of Mana was formed.

Looking at the devils’ level, they were a mixture of S-Class and SS-Class in Earth’s standard.

‘But at this rate, even if a few hundreds of them rush in…’

After letting the interpretation magic recognize the words they exchanged, I spoke using the same language.

“I got a question to….”

They didn’t wait for me to finish my sentence.

“Attack!”

Shhhh!

Pa-pa-paht!

Mana arrows rained down on us.

I grumbled.

“They’re in a hurry, too.”

There was no need to even take out my sword.

Genograche didn’t even seem to want to fight as if his excitement had shattered after seeing his kin losing their civilization in isolation.

Hence, I created a shield instead.

Weing!

A translucent sphere of light was created, and their arrows were helplessly blocked by it.

Ping!

Ta-ta-ta-tak

The bombardment composed of dozens of arrows flying per second had been entirely nullified. Their faces showed signs of bafflement.

As if at least magic was passed down orally, somebody recited a message-type spell.

“Support! We need support! It’s another intruder! Perhaps… they’re even more powerful than before!”

‘More powerful intruder than before?’

I just gained more questions I needed to ask.

The moment I pondered about whether I should start the conversation after subduing them-

“It’s the reinforcements!”

A group of soldiers poured out from the entrance, which the strong barrier had hidden.

But their appearance told me they weren’t devils.

“What?!”

Unbeknownst to me, I leaked my voice as if I was dumbfounded.

The same was true of Genograche.

– Why are they coming out of there?

The reinforcements who came out to help the devils were all too familiar.

They were undead, some of which had rotten flesh hanging around. Others had already completely decayed, leaving only bones behind.

Of course, the world’s undead wasn’t all ‘our undead,’ but at least I couldn’t be mistaken.

I could distinguish the appearance of all of them due to my memory that I could never delete.

Even Genograche was able to recognize them.

In the hands of the undeads that rushed out, they each held the Mass-produced artifact supplied by the J/V.

“They’re here!”

“It’s the reinforcements!”

After hundreds of undead appeared and filled the surroundings, finally, the surface of the barrier wavered, and he popped out with a shout full of willingness to fight.

“Are the Roheem punks here?! Those crazy bitches crawl on their own without fear… huh?”

His and our eyes met.

‘We reunited sooner than I thought.’

Mumbling like that, I frowned.

“You, what on earth are you doing here?”

The necromancer was looking at Genograche and me alternately with a puzzled expression on his face.

It didn’t take long for Nate’s face to be painted with joy.

“Jin-Wook!”

He ran towards me as he delightfully exclaimed my name.

Then, the devil’s pupils looking at us trembled as if they were suffering from an earthquake.

“Jin-Wook! I was counting on you. You’ve come to our rescue!”

Nate seemed like he was about to dance.

“Oh, as expected. Of course. I believed you would find us before anyone else.”

He then mumbled.

“Wait, so they don’t even have to be taken out, do they? Hey, all of you! Get back in there!”

Swoosh!

The wind blew, and the subordinates Nate summoned were quickly sucked back into his shadow.

“Uhm… What is this situation about?”

Cautiously, the devil of the forest talked to Nate.

Nate then waved his hand as if it was nothing to worry about.

“Oh! It’s okay. Jin-Wook is on our side. You don’t have to fight him!”

He scratched his chin and corrected his words.

“… no, you shouldn’t fight him. That would be disastrous. For you.”

Only then did the devils, aiming their bows at us and surrounding us, retract their weapons.

Then they set a polite attitude and took a step back.

I spoke with a frown on my face.

“I think I will need an explanation here.”

“Oh, before that!”

Nate’s expression changed quickly, but that time he was in tears.

“We would have been in big trouble if you got here a bit later. The Roheem guys broke all of our telecommunications, preventing us from reaching out to you or the Union.”

Roheem?

That name kept being popping up.

To describe who they were, they were the race that was dispatched and formed a joint expedition team with the Celestial Dragon Guild members.

I could roughly guess what had happened.

“No way.”

My face stiffened quickly.

“Did they stab you in your back?”

Nate nodded.

“This is driving me mad.”

At the same time as I thought it was ridiculous, I felt anger rising like flames from within me.

If they were to do such a thing between Union member dimensions, they would surely be severely reprimanded.

The fact that they nevertheless put it into action meant that they had the confidence to bury it without leaving any evidence.

That was the same method the Adgon punks used.

But Roheem was… They’re punks that just weren’t even near that level.

I gritted my teeth.

“Even if they underestimated Earthlings, they went overboard with it.”

From the perspective of the Union headquarters, the Earthlings or the Roheem, considering only the individual battle capability of both species’ Awakened, were weak races that fell short of the average.

Yet even the Roheem belittled the people of Earth and plotted such a nefarious plan.

I asked Nate a question in a rather harsh tone.

“Explain to me what on earth happened.”