The sun dipped low, and the mist in the forest grew thicker.
“Master Andre, this is the right place, isn’t it?”
“Mmm…”
The old man known as Andre first scratched his fluffy gray hair in confusion, then tapped a massive tree that had been struck until it was dented and bent at a 65-degree angle.
“We’ve been waiting for 3 hours already… This is the first time I’ve seen Master Andre misinterpret a revelation.”
Dige, one of the subordinates, walked up to Andre’s side.
“I remember the revelation the Lord showed me was right here.”
Andre looked up at the slightly green sky.
‘The angle of the sun is exactly the same. It’s right here, so why hasn’t it appeared? It seems my understanding was biased; I’ll have to change the plan.’
Originally, he didn’t want to use such a crude method.
‘Lord, please forgive me.’
Andre prayed in his heart before turning to face his two subordinates.
“I originally wanted to attack gently to make that vampire submit to us… But now, we can only choose an aggressive approach. The pastoral service must be completed. Dige, what are our chances of victory in a direct confrontation?”
“If that dragon doesn’t show up at all, then barring any accidents, 80%.”
Andre stroked his beard, thought for a moment, and then issued an order.
“We will observe the surroundings next. Once we confirm the dragon is absent, we will launch our attack.”
“Understood.”
“Yes. And as we agreed, the brain belongs to me.”
Nasaji, wearing a pointed helmet, looked at Andre with his sanpaku eyes.
Andre raised an eyebrow but still nodded.
“Only after I have plundered her skills. Also, her soul must have truly departed for the Golden Land before you can do that.”
Andre didn’t particularly like Nasaji’s method of offering salvation only after torturing people.
He believed that maintaining the integrity of the physical body was equally important.
After granting a painless cessation of all bodily functions, Andre would take out a sewing kit from his storage bracelet and sew the body back together if it was mangled, then wash it clean.
This was the aesthetic Andre insisted upon.
“I will. It’s truly admirable how Master Andre treats even monsters with such impartiality. I’m also sorry about last time when I tore out that head while he was still alive and got blood all over you.”
Dige shook his head.
“That was because you acted while the soul was still trapped in the flesh. At the very least, you should have let him use my talent…”
“Using your talent to rot a human brain does release them instantly, but what’s left isn’t fresh at all and has no value for preservation. Besides, you can only use that talent 1 day, and your sustained combat ability is too poor. Also, if you’re going to rot something, can’t you rot the heart?”
“Hmph, well, if I time it right…”
“Enough.”
Andre quietly cut off the chatter between his subordinates.
“I will take the northwest, Nasaji will take the northeast, and Dige will take the southeast. We will perform a circular search in this distribution. Confirm that the dragon is not here. Is that clear?”
“Understood.”
“Understood, understood.”
The three of them bowed their heads simultaneously, each placing their right hand on their left shoulder.
“All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. When the debt of sin is paid, one may travel to the Golden Land.”
***
On a hill 1,000 meters away, Siloque and Hill held binoculars and peeked out slightly, confirming that the three figures had split up from beneath the giant tree.
If their estimates were correct, once those three confirmed Tiana wasn’t there, they would switch tactics and launch a direct assault on Tiana’s master.
“Hill, you’ve noted down the information on those three, right?”
Hill lowered her binoculars and pulled out her Note Book.
“Andre Modell, the smelly old man. His profession is Priest, and he is a troublesome Lv 33… That old geezer leveled up quite fast. He possesses a [Refined Tree Nest], and his talent is [Ability Plunder]. The activation condition is that he must touch the target’s body. He also possesses high damage output skills like ****.”
Hill paused.
“Mmm… Hill doesn’t want to say too much about these two. Nasaji Koddler, a brain-obsessed psychopath who likes to dig out people’s brains while they’re still alive… How disgusting. He’s a Warrior, Lv 18, and his talent is [Wall Walking]. Dige-D, what a weird name, Lv 17, and his talent is [Designated Decay]. Brother, there are many more left, but Hill will work hard to memorize them all.”
“That’s pretty good; you’ve memorized a lot already. They still have a few days before they act, so take your time.”
“Mhm! Don’t worry, Brother, Hill will memorize this like a game walkthrough. I can finish it in 10 minutes!”
Hill immediately stared at her Note Book and began chanting the contents to herself.
“No need to be in such a hurry… We have other things to do now.”
‘Since that old man Andre has started to move, it’s time for us to move too.’
The siblings descended the hill and began to move.
As the two of them approached the depths of the thick fog and saw the orange light glowing from the castle windows, the mist suddenly dispersed, and their vision cleared.
They were likely near the southern edge of the forest, where steep cliffs that looked as if they had been carved by a knife stretched out to the left and right.
In one area, there was a valley roughly 6 meters wide, with slender, spiral pillars standing on either side of the entrance.
“Hill, once we pass through here, the task officially begins.”
“Eh? Was everything before this with the Dragon Sister just the prologue?”
“That’s right.”
Siloque smiled easily, and Hill followed him through the valley entrance.
After walking through the narrow valley for a while, the view rapidly opened up to reveal a new, vast space.
Under normal exploration conditions, one would basically never find this place, as a [Human-Repelling Barrier] was set up here.
To put it simply, when someone approached this valley entrance, their body would subconsciously react with thoughts like ‘it shouldn’t be here’ or ‘I should stay away’ before they ever saw the two spiral pillars, making the entrance very difficult to discover.
However, this time Siloque, Hill, and Cass had all accepted the Dungeon Task related to this map.
As long as they explored toward the southwest, they would eventually find this place.
The believers of the Evil Demon Society were an exception.
They relied on a more abstract concept called the [Guidance of Izabilis].
Although it would take some time, it would still guide them to the correct location.
After walking another 200 meters, Hill could faintly see the windows of the castle through the gaps in the branches.
“Brother, are we going to that castle? There won’t be more Skeleton Soldiers and oversized Wooden Men, will there?”
“We are going there, yes, but only one person lives in that castle. And we aren’t going right now.”
“Then when are we going?”
“We go when Andre and his group arrive.”
What they needed to do over the next few days was simple — wait for the target to come to them.
They needed to monitor the castle while ensuring they weren’t discovered by Andre’s group.
Right now, Siloque and Hill alone couldn’t beat Andre and his puppet subordinates in a fair fight.
They had to join forces with the owner of this castle — Tiana’s master — to have any chance of winning.
‘Although I want to seek cooperation from Tiana’s master directly, given her tendency to look down on others… even if Tiana introduces us, we would probably be locked up for a week for observation. We’d only be treated well after she determines we’re harmless. She’s a troublesome Guild Master.’
“The sun sets quickly in the forest. For now, let’s prepare to spend the night.”
“Spending the night… a man and a woman, together… what a wonderful phrase. It’s finally starting.”
Hill lowered her head and giggled, her cheeks flushing crimson.
That smile gave Siloque a strange sense of danger.
‘It must be a hallucination. My sister wouldn’t do anything… right?’
Sure enough, when Hill looked up, she had her usual friendly and sunny smile again.
“Brother wants to use a skill to create a place to sleep, right? Where are we looking — “
Suddenly, a crack rang out.
Crack. Crack.
In the otherwise silent forest, the bizarre sound of something shattering echoed.
The siblings immediately drew their respective weapons and turned their heads to scan the surroundings.
It was nearly 4:00 PM, and the light in the forest was sparse and dim.
No monsters could be seen among the giant trees.
Facing this first-time occurrence, a possibility occurred to a corner of Siloque’s mind.
He used his five senses, which had been enhanced by his stats, to rely on his hearing to find the source of the sound.
Then, as if guided, he shifted his gaze.
It was the pale green valley wall — specifically, the part of the valley they had just walked through.
The sound coming from a section of the wall directly in front of them grew louder and louder.
Before long, the wall before their eyes “broke.”
“Brother, this… this is the process of a monster being born, isn’t it?”
Hill raised her Tower Shield slightly, observing from the edge.
Just as the scene before them suggested, a monster had broken through the valley wall from the inside and was born as a living being.
It skipped the growth process, appearing as a strong, mature individual ready for immediate combat.
The monster reached out from the cracks in the wall and clawed at the air, forcing more cracks into the surface.
Its body parts were exposed to the outside air one by one, and fragments of the wall scattered onto the ground.
Its upper body was already crawling out.
Siloque looked around to confirm there were no other monsters before speaking.
“Hill, this thing is called a [Shadow Fighter]. Its physical toughness is incredible and it’s extremely agile. You can only deal damage with piercing attacks or sharp blades. Its body is completely immune to magic damage, and its combat power is unrivaled.”
“Then, Brother, should we run?”
Siloque took out a spiked mace from his Ring Chart and handed it to Hill.
“Don’t just stand there. Since it was just born, its abilities and defense haven’t reached normal levels yet. It’s very fragile right now, so — “
Siloque lunged toward the Shadow Fighter that was halfway out of the wall.
“We strike together! Just aim for the weak point on its head and gang up on it!”
“Oh! Hill understands!”
Crrack — !!
The mace in Hill’s hand and the Greatsword in Siloque’s hand exploded against the Shadow Fighter’s head simultaneously, causing the monster’s face to instantly become twisted and distorted.
“…!! …!”
The Shadow Fighter had no vocal organs.
Unable to make a sound, it could only express its protest by wildly waving its arms while being brutally beaten with sharp weapons by two humans who could make sounds.
“It’s not enough! Don’t stop! As expected of a high-level monster from the Third Floor, it’s tough… Use more force!”
“Okay!”
“!! …! — “
Under the continuous joint attack of the siblings, the Shadow Fighter was beaten for a full 3 minutes until it was on the verge of death and dissolved into dust.
“Wow, Brother, we actually found a Crystal Core. It’s huge!”
Hill picked up the palm-sized Crystal Core.
Based on her usual experience with exchanges, this one was worth at least 100,000 R.
The experience points weren’t bad either; she felt like she could level up after fighting two more monsters.
In any case, Siloque decided not to use the valley as a place to sleep.
Who could stand the thought of monsters growing out of the walls while they slept?