Chapter 38: Trust Me This Once
"This is strange."
"What's strange?"
"If Dominic is really causing a disturbance around Beneta, then how do you explain all the humans flooding in here? The number of humans entering the forest far outnumbers the non-humans."
"Have you considered that the entire Laup Forest might be crawling with Chimeras?"
"The entire Laup Forest? Do you even realize what you're saying?"
Laup Forest was a massive woodland area located in the heart of Tobaron. Aside from the three great powers of the region, numerous other territories bordered its outskirts. What Dominic was attempting was essentially—
"It's like he's declaring war on all of Tobaron. Do you understand?"
"Do you know the exact number of Chimeras he has?"
"Probably a few hundred. But even that’s far too few to patrol the entire forest."
"Doesn't that strike you as odd?"
"What's odd?"
"How did one mage create so many Chimeras without anyone noticing?"
"…"
"This place allows people to enter, but once they're captured, they can’t leave. It means no one realizes the existence of Chimeras until they’re already trapped here."
"And what does that have to do with the number of Chimeras?"
"What if places like this exist in more than one location?"
"…What?"
Karl suddenly stood up, seeming to realize what I was getting at.
"Are you saying there are more places like this?"
"You mentioned that the bandits in the forest had been wiped out, right? But the group of bandits that were captured here didn’t even number a thousand."
"…"
"If you combined all the scattered bandit groups across the entire forest, their numbers would easily reach tens of thousands. The fact that only a thousand or so were captured here—what does that tell you?"
"It means the rest were taken to other locations?"
"At least five more places like this, maybe even more."
In reality, there were indeed five or more such experimental prisons scattered throughout Laup Forest.
This meant that beyond the Chimeras sent here for collection, there was an army of Chimeras five times larger operating outside, which was enough to cover the entire forest.
Karl's expression looked like he’d just been struck with a hammer.
More places like this? He hadn’t considered it.
"With that many, you'd think there would be some rumors by now…"
If there were at least five prisons like this, there would have been a significant number of disappearances. So why hadn’t anyone suspected anything?
Then Karl realized the answer.
"The bandits. They used the bandit groups as a cover. With so many bandit hideouts scattered across the forest, any rumors of disappearances were probably dismissed as the work of bandits."
"And those bandits have now been completely wiped out."
"Son of a—this means Dominic’s no longer hiding. He’s confident in his power, enough to believe no one can stop him with conventional forces. Dammit, now I understand why so many people are being captured. There must be even more Chimeras than we thought."
"Possibly a lot more."
"…But why did Dominic go to Beneta? Is it related to the non-humans?"
I was startled by how quickly he figured it out.
Sure, I knew Dominic's plans because I’d read the novel, but Karl didn’t have that luxury.
With just a few hints, he was piecing together Dominic’s intentions remarkably accurately.
His insight was uncanny.
It was no wonder the Butcher—a notoriously cautious figure who rarely trusted anyone—had kept Karl by his side.
'If he's on your side, he's a formidable ally. But if he's your enemy, you have to kill him.'
I became even more certain that I needed to stay close to him. That was the best way to survive in this world.
"Instead of celebrating our escape, we should be thinking about how to stay alive afterward. If you're right, then the forest is crawling with Chimeras."
"What was that escape plan you mentioned earlier? You seemed deep in thought about it."
"I thought about using your ability."
"My ability?"
"I came up with a plan to escape after we were captured by the Chimeras. Inside the range of your ability, we might be able to shake off the Chimeras."
The plan was to break through the magic circle using the Chimeras as a conduit and then use my ability to escape the forest.
"I don’t think that’s a good idea."
"I know."
There was no guarantee that the entire group could move together, and if we encountered a special type of Chimera, like the mind-manipulating ones or the Slime we faced earlier, escaping would be impossible.
Most importantly—
'If Dominic becomes aware of my ability, it could spell trouble.'
My power could be a threat to the Chimeras.
If my ability was exposed, I’d likely become a top priority target for elimination.
That would mean a life of constant fleeing, until he finally caught up to me.
My ability had to be saved for the most decisive moment, used like a sharp blade to strike right at the heart.
Revealing it now, just for an escape plan, would be wasteful.
But Karl’s idea wasn’t entirely useless.
As long as I didn’t get caught, it could still work.
The conditions were simple.
"It’d work if I escaped alone."
"…"
Karl went silent at my words, his expression contemplative. He realized that if I truly wanted to escape, there was nothing he could do to stop me.
His eyes narrowed.
A question mark seemed to hang over his head, as if he were wondering, Would he betray me?
I couldn’t help but chuckle and shook my head.
"I'm not that kind of guy."
"Everyone who says that usually ends up stabbing you in the back."
"Sounds like you've lived a hard life."
"This world is full of crap, that’s all. Should’ve kept my mouth shut."
Well, this world was harsh, no doubt about that.
"Why don’t you try trusting someone for once?"
"I’ll consider it… if we manage to get out of here."
"We will. Trust me."
Karl nodded, though his expression still held a trace of wariness. He couldn’t force me to do anything, so he probably found the situation somewhat uncomfortable.
‘There should be an event that helps us escape. What could it be?’
Despite Karl’s old-man attitude about our chances, I knew he’d eventually escape this place and head to Etor. Judging by his current attitude, he didn’t seem to have a clear plan for escaping. He must have deemed escape impossible on his own, which is why he’d been contemplating using my ability.
Could it be that he had an unknown ally to help him?
Or perhaps there was an event I wasn’t aware of?
With these thoughts swirling in my mind, I got up.
"Where are you going?"
"I’ve been lying down for a week. My body’s stiff. I’m heading to the reeds to stretch out."
"Don’t stay too long. I think something’s about to go down."
"It’s only been ten days, and already?"
"I told you, the number of people coming in is suspicious. It wouldn’t be strange if the Chimeras attacked at any moment. We need to be prepared."
"Got it."
Leaving Karl with instructions to alert me if an elf was spotted, I walked out of the base.
I had some things to do and a lot to think about.
I needed to clear my head.
***
Huff. Huff. Huff…
Breathing heavily, I sat down on the ground, exhausted.
The reeds rustled as the wind passed through them. It was a soothing sound, so I closed my eyes and focused on my breathing until my sweat began to cool.
After lying around for a week, my body felt as heavy as a wet sponge.
I’d need a few more training sessions to get back into shape.
‘Back when I worked in an office, breathing exercises were all I needed.’
Now, it was pure survival that drove me to maintain my body like this.
The survival instinct was a powerful thing.
Taking a deep breath, I stood up and gripped my dagger.
Bzzzing—!
The dagger vibrated in response to my mana, and I found myself lost in thought.
‘I guess the red stones are useless now.’
As soon as I came to this place, I’d tried absorbing the mana stones. Since I’d reached 2-star, I’d hoped they might allow me to absorb more.
I’d crushed all the red stones and absorbed them, but, to my disappointment, they’d had no effect.
Despite absorbing so many stones, I felt no boost.
The red stones no longer worked as mana catalysts.
‘In the novel, they were supposed to work up to 2-star. So what’s the problem?’
It didn’t take me long to find the answer.
If there was nothing wrong with the stones, then it had to be my body.
My body’s mana responsiveness.
Did this mean that such catalysts were no longer enough?
From that moment, I let go of my reliance on the red stones and focused on something else.
‘Maybe the violet stone would work?’
I had one sample. I could try consuming it to see if it worked. But first, I needed to make sure my body was in top condition.
With no one around due to the dead bandits, I opened my mana and moved freely in a clearing among the reeds. Once I was drenched in sweat and felt my body loosen up, I pulled out the violet stone.
The bio-stone glowed with a stronger energy than the red stones.
I placed my hopes on this one.
Thud!
I barely managed to swallow the blood pooling in my mouth.
After crushing the violet stone into a fine powder and consuming a small amount, I was immediately hit with a wave of agony. Gripping both my shoulders, I dug my nails in hard, drawing blood.
“Gahhh…!”
Eventually, I spat out a handful of blood.
Blood also dripped from my nose.
The pain was so intense I couldn’t even feel the wounds on my shoulders. It was as if every nerve in my body was being shredded.
‘…Damn it!’
The curses spilled out involuntarily.
Compared to the violet stone, the red stones were gentle.
This one felt like a wild beast in a frenzy.
The moment I ingested it, my vision blurred, and the mana inside me went berserk, as if it were about to tear me apart. If it hadn’t been for my mental barrier and purification ability, I might’ve gone mad or been killed as my body exploded from the pressure.
This was not something a human could safely ingest.
For the first time, I truly appreciated the value of my abilities.
The pain that felt like it would last forever finally subsided.
I lay there on the ground, unable to even wipe away the drool trickling from my mouth.
Exhausted didn’t even begin to describe it. It felt more like I’d been tortured for an hour.
Was this what getting hit by a million volts from Pikachu would feel like?
"It’s effective… but damn."
The energy inside me had grown denser.
The mana circulating through my body was much stronger now.
I’d gotten a taste of what it might feel like to reach 3-star, but the thought of enduring this pain multiple times made me shudder.
The amount left should be enough for three or four more doses.
But would it be enough?
I wasn’t sure if I’d be able to handle it again.
Shaking my head, I stashed the bag of powder away.
"…Sigh."
Back at the hideout, I collapsed onto the floor with a sigh.
Instead of the usual sense of accomplishment, a deep fatigue washed over me.
The violet stone had worked, but the aftereffects were brutal.
I needed time to gather my thoughts, but all I wanted to do right now was rest.
The moment I closed my eyes, sleep claimed me.
***
"Hey."
"…"
"Wake up already."
A sharp knocking on my head finally roused me. I blinked my eyes open to see a cold blade pointed at my forehead.
Did he really hit me with that?
I scowled as I sat up, already knowing who my visitor was.
It was Elton, the blade-wielder.
"You could find a gentler way to wake someone up, you know?"
"Are you injured? You didn’t wake up."
"Me?"
"If you didn’t get up this time, I was going to put a hole in your head."
"…"
With him, I wouldn’t be surprised if he actually did it.
I sighed and stretched. Fortunately, my body felt fine—just a bit fatigued.
"How long was I out?"
"Half a day."
"What’s so urgent you had to nearly kill me to wake me up?"
Elton pointed his dagger without answering.
At first, I wasn’t sure what he meant, but then I heard it.
Uooohh— Uooohh— Uooohh—
A monstrous sound echoed from beyond the trees surrounding the hideout.
Just hearing it made my skin crawl.
It was the sound of the calamity that had wiped out the thousand bandits in an instant.
"…No way."
I looked at Elton, who nodded gravely.
The Chimeras were here.