Chapter 68: A New Threat and the Awakening Power

The place where I arrived with Selion was a forest with trees tens of meters high tangled together.

As I looked up at the towering trees, I naturally recalled the forest where I had encountered the elf.

The massive trees, intertwined like vines, formed paths through the forest.

Selion and I began climbing the large trees to navigate the area.

After traveling for quite some time, Selion pushed aside a pile of leaves blocking the path and pointed ahead.

“We’re here. It’s that way.”

“Wow…”

I let out an exclamation as I looked in the direction Selion indicated.

After about a month of travel, we had finally arrived at the pioneers’ base camp, built where large branches intertwined and met.

A hut built atop the trees—it was a scene filled with romance.

As we approached the base camp, stepping on the thick branches, I noticed signs of daily life everywhere.

There were long vines used as laundry lines and areas set up for chopping firewood, among other things.

At that moment, the firmly shut door of the base camp opened, and a woman appeared.

She walked out while yawning, then began collecting the laundry scattered nearby.

As the wind fluttered the white fabric, it was swept away, and our gazes met mid-air.

“Oh…”

“Hello?”

I greeted her warmly.

According to Selion, most of the people living at this base camp were her team members.

That meant this woman was my senior.

The woman, who had been startled by my polite greeting, opened her mouth to speak but seemed flustered.

Then, as if recognizing Selion standing beside me, she widened her eyes and exclaimed in surprise.

“T-Team Leader…?”

“It’s been a while. How have you been?”

“Well, I’ve been okay, I guess… Are you feeling better now?”

“Yes, I’m fine.”

The two women continued chatting for a while, seemingly lost in their conversation.

Midway through, Selion suddenly seemed to remember my presence and spoke up.

“Oh, this is the newcomer we brought in, Seris.”

“Nice to meet you. I’m Seris. Please take care of me.”

“Oh, um, I’m Noel.”

The woman, who introduced herself as Noel, awkwardly smiled and avoided eye contact with me.

She seemed to be someone who was extremely shy.

“Where are the others?”

“They went out hunting. They haven’t been gone long, so it’ll be a while before they’re back.”

“Out of food again?”

“Well, yeah…”

Selion casually chatted with Noel as if she were used to it, then headed toward the base camp.

Watching the two from a distance, I released Nightmare nearby and followed after them.

The interior of the base camp was tidier than I had expected.

The strange leather rug covering the floor and the mounted trophies on the walls appeared to be spoils from hunting the local monsters.

Selion set her large bag down on the floor and asked Noel, “Do we have any spare rooms left?”

“Oh, there are a few.”

“Good. Could you show Seris to one of them?”

“Sure.”

Noel turned to me at Selion’s request and gestured faintly.

From the way she still avoided eye contact, it seemed like it would take some time to get close to her.

The room Noel led me to was in the corner.

It had clearly been cleaned recently, as there was no dust to be found.

“If you need anything, just let me know…”

“Ah, thank you, Noel.”

I glanced around the room and began unpacking my belongings.

My “luggage” consisted only of a few sets of clothes and undergarments I had managed to salvage after losing most of my possessions in the mana storm.

It was rather sparse.

After organizing my belongings, I stepped outside, but Noel was nowhere in sight.

While I was looking around for her, Selion spoke up.

“Do you like the room?”

“Oh, yes, it’s nice. But where did Noel go?”

“Noel? Do you need something?”

“I need a candle for the room and a space for Nightmare to rest.”

“Hmm, a candle…”

Selion stood up and rummaged through a nearby drawer.

She pulled out a long candle from the back of the drawer and handed it to me.

“For Nightmare… you should ask Noel, who’s outside.”

“Ah, thank you.”

I accepted the candle and watched Selion quietly.

She was seated at a large table, engrossed in a thick stack of documents.

Judging by how she didn’t pay me any attention, it seemed like I didn’t have any immediate tasks to handle.

I returned to my room, placed the candle in the room, and stepped out of the hut.

Flutter—

As I left the hut, Nightmare greeted me with enthusiasm.

I stroked his head gently while surveying the area.

As I had somewhat expected, there wasn’t a stable or resting space for mounts in this base camp.

“Noel!”

I led Nightmare and ran toward Noel, who was nearby collecting the rest of the laundry.

“Ah, huh?”

Noel turned toward me, setting down her laundry basket.

Stopping at a reasonable distance, I spoke to her.

“Is there a place like a stable? I mean, somewhere I can rest.”

“A stable…? Hmm… How about over there?”

“That one…”

Noel pointed to a small building next to the hut.

It wasn’t very large, and the iron chain hanging in front of the door suggested it had been used as a storage space.

“Can I use it?”

“Yeah, it’s not in use right now…”

“Thank you!”

I bowed my head to Noel and headed toward the small storage with Nightmare.

As I started to inspect the small storage, Nightmare seemed to recognize that this was going to be his place and began sniffing around.

It wasn’t very spacious, but it wasn’t cramped either.

It was big enough for Nightmare to lie down comfortably.

Flap-flap

Nightmare seemed to like the place, as he repeatedly opened and closed the door with his long snout.

With that, the basic issue was resolved.

Left alone, I wandered around the base camp.

Trees tangled like vines stretched out in all directions, showing new paths, while the howls of numerous monsters echoed through the wind.

Occasionally, massive flying monsters would appear in the sky, creating huge gusts of wind that shook the entire forest.

Though I was concerned about the physical changes caused by mana, the enhanced body gave me a refreshing sense of freedom.

“Hah!”

With a powerful push off the ground, my body soared into the air.

As I spun in midair, I landed on a tree branch on the other side.

The cool breeze made my golden hair flutter as it mixed with the leaves.

Even without strengthening my body with mana, my physical power allowed me to leap between trees.

I raced through the forest, sprinting with a vigor I could never have dreamed of before.

After a while, I jumped onto a large vine.

Suddenly, a sound came from above.

“Ah…”

The vine I was hanging from snapped, and in that moment, my body began to fall rapidly.

In panic, my arms and legs flailed, but nothing seemed to catch.

In an instant, I looked down at the approaching ground and instinctively drew on my mana.

The mana circle spun rapidly, and thin threads began to form.

As they tangled and wove into a thin veil, my body underwent a change.

My once-smooth fangs sharpened, and my long nails began to grow. I immediately dug my claws into the large tree above.

Crack-crack!

My claws left deep marks in the solid bark, and my falling speed began to slow.

Once my fall came to a halt, I let out a sigh of relief.

“Phew…”

That evening, the other team members returned after their hunt, carrying a massive monster.

There were thirty of them in total, all at least silver-grade knights.

My introduction was made during dinner.

All the team members welcomed me warmly, and they told me to come to them if I had any difficulties.

Honestly, it was impossible to memorize the names of all thirty people right away.

So, I began identifying them by their features, like scars around their eyes or their different hairstyles.

As time passed, dawn approached.

Lying in bed, I tossed and turned, suddenly waking up.

The two circles I felt near my heart had completely merged with my mana and faded into my body, disappearing as if they had melted away.

“Hah…”

I started to move my mana, just to check.

With a soft breeze around me, starlight began to fill the room, and physical changes began to occur.

Although I couldn’t revert my body to its original state, I couldn’t allow any further changes.

I frowned and carefully observed the flow of my mana.

After wasting some mana unnecessarily, I watched as the mana I had released dissipated into nothing.

I let out a relieved sigh, realizing that my mana had fully integrated with the mana of Monster Island, losing its original properties.

The next morning, I left the hut feeling refreshed and saw a group of my teammates gathered around a large log, discussing something.

Peeking over their shoulders, I noticed something strangely familiar about the marks on the log.

“These are claw marks of a form I’ve never seen before. I brought it here.”

“A new monster?”

“It doesn’t seem very large. Probably about the size of a goblin.”

“A subspecies of goblin?”

“Judging from its appearance here, it seems like it has a talent for hiding its presence…”

“This could be dangerous…”

While eavesdropping on their conversation, I quietly moved away, hiding my hands behind my back.

Eventually, the news of the new monster reached Selion’s ears.

After being briefed, Selion examined the claw marks on the log, nodded, and ordered the base camp’s security level to be raised.

Following Selion’s command, the team members began moving busily.

As the leader of the thirty members, Selion started handling various tasks.

He checked the paperwork that had piled up, assigning roles and responsibilities to the team members.

The personnel for the next exploration and the ones who would return with the data were split.

Naturally, I was assigned to the exploration team.