Chapter 102 – 102. Troubles Everywhere

When I checked my wristwatch, my sister and I had already been walking in the direction the couple’s necklace was pointing at for over an hour.

I went in the direction the necklace pointed and looked around the extension, wondering if I could find anything.

Everywhere you look, there is only green and brown and black.

The same scenery continues everywhere, so I don’t know where this place is or whether the direction I’m going is straight.

And in the middle, I saw things that seemed to have been spilled by someone who had entered the forest and lost their way, but there was nothing useful.

All of them were plastic bottles filled with rotten water, broken alcohol bottles, and non-corrosive vinyl or plastic waste.

“Junah. Over there..”

“Uh… I must have committed suicide…”

Beyond the trash on the ground, there was a dead man hanging from a tree in the distance.

Judging from the fact that he is wearing mountaineering clothes, he looks like a modern man. How did you come to this place?

Maybe… Maybe this forest is a place that is connected to reality? For example, if you get lost in Jukai Forest and wander around, you will arrive here.

“I’m reluctant, so let’s stop going.”

“Yeah. Wait a minute.. Juna. There was something like this in this person’s bag..”

“Cassette tape..?”

“Yes. Juna. I think something was recorded here. Shall we play it?”

“I’ll play it.”

When I pressed the button, there was a click and a voice that seemed to have been recorded by someone who had committed suicide.

However, it was Japanese, so I couldn’t understand what it was saying. I could only understand words like watashi. And it was the same with Heesun noona.

“I have no idea what you mean.”

“Yeah.. Eunji studied in Japan, so maybe she’ll understand.. Let’s take it. Oh, here’s a notebook too.”

I nodded at Heesun noona’s words and took the cassette and notebook left by the suicide and put them in the military bag.

So we walked another hour or so.

It is very difficult to secure the view because of the trees that have grown densely, perhaps because it is a primeval forest untouched by humans.

So, the moment I transferred to this place, I called the jet-black wheel to see if there were any unusual buildings around, and if I found anyone nearby, I had them report it to me.

You don’t know what kind of guys are in this forest, so you have to keep an eye out.

For that reason, the jet black wheel has been roaming around us since a while ago, but there was no particular harvest. All I did was find a few more bodies that had committed suicide. Even that, there were no clues or unusual items. They were just corpses that hadn’t fully decayed.

By the way, while he summoned the Jet Black Wheel, he tried to summon the Dark Moth as well. It was still daytime, so I didn’t summon it because I thought it would only spurt out scale powder and not be of any help. At night, he intends to summon the shadowy moth to find a shrine and a way out.

Of course, I don’t know if the shadow moth, which is less intelligent than the pitch-black wheel, can find it well.

‘I still have some cognitive abilities…’

I held out a little bit of hope. Since the forest is so large, it seems essential to have someone to scout from the air.

‘Rather than that… My body keeps getting tired…’

My head was a little dizzy, probably because I was looking at the same scenery over and over again.

Perhaps it is because of the ominous and unpleasant energy that this forest exudes. Or maybe it’s because of the sun-drenched ground and the damp floor covered with moss because the accumulated leaves are piled up.

It just feels like everything that makes up this forest is hostile to me and disturbs my mind. Yang Ji-sang, an evil spirit magician, said that there were spirits everywhere and looked happy, but I felt depressed. The Forest of the Missing didn’t have a good affinity with me. The black market would be better.

“Is your sister okay? Isn’t it hard?”

“Huh..? I’m perfectly fine. Is Juni having a hard time?”

“Uh… I’m a little dizzy.”

Is it because it’s a druid? Heesun noona didn’t seem to feel anything wrong. Rather, entering the forest, vitality springs up. Perhaps the spirits were also excited, but unlike usual, they took care of themselves and manifested next to Heeseon-noona, then walked around us laughing like children and entered.

As expected, sister-in-law, like the forest keeper, seemed to offset all the malevolent energy emitted by the missing people’s forest. On the other hand, I’m… I’m exhausting myself in real time.

Isn’t there a special effect for half-human reflection?

‘I feel like dying…’

Contrary to Heesun noona, who is gaining vitality in the forest, I felt like this crazy forest was taking my energy, my mana, and my will.

As if I were sucking the honeydew out of humans. The roots of the trees that tangle my feet, the moss growing on the stones, and the unknown wild flowers that bloomed randomly seem to be attacking me with an energy drain. All the plants that grew and bloomed wherever I went, were nourishing me.

At this point, I definitely noticed. I am now hated by this rotten forest. The forest of the missing is against me. At this point, I can only see that the world is trying to stop me.

‘I didn’t know I would become a burden…’

Is this strange phenomenon only happening to me? Heesun noona is a druid, so let’s say she’s in especially good shape. Are Eunji and Harin having such a hard time?

Perhaps the World Tree to be burned to death was only a trick on me. Or maybe it’s because the nature of my job as a cultist doesn’t match with nature.

“It’s a little tough. Hey, sister…”

“Huh? Ah~ Did our Jun want to sniff noona again?”

“Sorry. A little bit.”

“Huh.. Jun came into the forest. I’m done being a complete fool. Come here.”

Heesun noona hugs me with her open arms. Mentally exhausted, I eventually stopped for a moment while she was walking and buried her face in Heesun’s sister’s chest. She calms down a bit as she smells the thick scent that gathers in her breastbone.

Swoop…!

Her boundless embrace makes me weak. For some reason, I just want to play a child with Heesun noona.

Meanwhile, Heesun noona stroked my hair. She calms down a bit when she smells her sister. I quickly regained my strength and got out of her arms. Because of me, joining her party shouldn’t be delayed.

“Nuna, I’ll look around for a while and come back.”

“Yeah.. I’ll be waiting for you.”

My concentration returned, and I rose into the sky using the floating stone necklace.

The jet-black wheel scans the ground looking for dangerous guys, so I rise to the sky and check every chance I have for any unusual buildings or terrain. However, no matter how much I looked, I couldn’t find anything that could be a plausible indicator.

Over the horizon. It is completely covered with forest.

So I just tried to fly in the direction the couple’s necklace led, but flying wasn’t that easy.

Flying with imperfect shells and floating stone necklaces was terribly difficult to balance. Even if he managed to keep his balance, there was no answer as he tried to carry Heesun noona in his arms and fly away.

In addition to the extreme consumption of mana, even the balance in danger. It’s hard to even take care of myself in the windy sky, but having to fly while holding someone is an incredibly difficult skill.

I couldn’t leave my sister alone, so I just gave up on flying away.

“Did you find anything?”

“No. There is nothing.”

“Huh… I just asked if you’ve ever seen a building or something… But I didn’t see anything. No, everyone asks what a building is…”

“Huh..”

My sister talked to the little beasts in the forest every time I flew with the floating stone necklace. Since the forest was so vast and wide, there were quite a lot of things like lizards and squirrels crawling on the trees, but when I asked them what they saw, all they said was that they didn’t know.

‘Maybe it’s because their brains are small, but their intellects… Haha… When will they find a gentleman in this filthy wide forest..?’

It is a place worthy of its name, Forest of the Missing. It was made up of forests all the way to the horizon, so the animals living in this area only knew about this area and did not know what was in the forest. It was difficult to get help from animals.

And there are more bugs than expected. All kinds of flying insects and leeches, if you lose your eye for a moment, will cling to your clothes before you know it and try to bite your flesh. Insect repellents are on the side of Harin and Eunji. We must join them as soon as possible.

“By the way, sister hasn’t been bitten by an insect yet, has she?”

“Huh. Won’t you come to me..? Weird?”

This is the dignity of the forest keeper.

The scent from my sister drives away insects. It became a living insect repellent. So I’m on the go, clinging to my sister.

It was because if I moved even the slightest distance from my sister, the insects would immediately bite me to death, driving me crazy. No matter how I look at it, it seems like the world tree is trying to kill me. There’s no reason why I’m the only one with such a high level of difficulty.

‘I’d rather be on the black market…’

A black market where Cheshire can guide you is better than this crazy forest. Moreover, it is close to Botamilli, so you may be able to get her support.

‘I want to finish work quickly and leave…’

As she continued to complain and complain in her heart, a notification window appeared in front of her eyes.

[Two hours after player entry.]
[All measures to protect beginners are canceled.]
[The event in Forest of the Missing begins in earnest.]

At the same time, sirens rang throughout the forest.

-Wheein!! Wheein!! Warning!! Warning!! All the monsters that were sealed will be released!!
-Wheein!! Wheein!! Warning!! Warning!! All starving forest beasts are released!!
-Wheein!! Wheein!! Warning!! Warning!! The missing people who were sleeping are roaming the forest!!

“Damn it..!”

Somehow it was quiet for 2 hours. This is the real beginning. Strange, wild beasts… Missing persons?

– Ooh!!

The moment I questioned it, the corpse of the suicide, whose head was dangling from the other side, trembled in seizures and struggled.

“Jun.. I need to find Eunji and Harin quickly.”

“Uh.. Let’s move quickly.”

Heesun noona held my hand tightly.

Then a new notification window popped up.

—

[Welcome]

Welcome to the forest of the missing.
A total of 4108 teams entered the forest, and the Chinese were the most.
I hope you will unite well with people from the same culture.

[Notice]

About 3 hours from now, ‘Night of sacrifices’ begins.
The moment the night of sacrifice begins, the sun does not rise for about a week.
While the sun does not rise, visitors to the forest are treated as ‘living sacrifices’.
Unleashed monsters start to work in earnest when night falls.
If you think you’ll be captured alive, I’d rather you kill yourself.

[Escape method]

1. Head to the center of the forest in 7 days. In the center of the forest is a shrine that missing people are looking for.
2. If you enter the shrine and bring the ‘Idol of God’, a total of 8 tunnels will be created on the outskirts of the forest.
3. The moment the idol of the god escapes from the shrine, monsters all over the forest start chasing the idol.
4. If you avoid them and reach the tunnel and get out safely, you can get out of the forest.
5. Finally, you must be in body contact with the people you will be leaving with.

*The person who first exits the tunnel in a state of physical contact transfers to the desired location.

[Warning]

The event stage, the Forest of the Missing, is surrounded by a round barbed wire, and the barbed wire is at the end of the forest. If you go outside beyond the barbed wire, you will be automatically eliminated. Players who have been eliminated from the barbed wire fence will not be able to leave the forest forever.

—

Fortunately, the monsters weren’t coming. The revived corpse only struggles, but has not yet taken any other action.

‘The fact that there are three hours left… And the forest is full of Chinese people who don’t speak the language.’

The system told people of the same culture to unite well. He also said that if those who will escape together are in contact with their bodies, they can all transfer to the same place.

That means you can take sides with those you can talk to, steal the god’s idol, and get out together. And again, this forest is full of fucking Chinese.

‘Even among the Chinese, there are too many ethnic minorities, so it’s hard to communicate well.. Because they also have standard language… If they all escape together and join forces on the condition that they share the power of the god’s idol… Shit…’

It means that they might take sides among themselves and try to kill everyone in other countries. This is no different from telling the Chinese to join forces and kill the bastards of other countries.

‘Soon there will be an alliance in this forest. People who can communicate with each other will gather together to form a bigger team and reduce competitors. For a week…’

The monsters in the forest are a problem, but the rampaging Chinese may be a bigger problem.

Only 3 hours left until the sun rises. Inside, we had to find Eunji and Harin.

Me and Heesun noona ran forward without hesitation. There was no time to arrange physical strength. One o’clock was in a hurry.

While running, I almost tripped on tree roots several times because of the falling condition in real time.

On the other hand, Hee-sun noona ran through the forest as if she were sliding on her roller skates. If she hadn’t caught me trying to fall next to me, she would have been pretty tough.

“The necklace is shaking.. It should be around here.”

After about an hour of running, the necklace of the couple’s bed was about to fall off my neck. It was clear that Eunji and Harin were around. Fortunately, they were not seriously scattered to distant places.

“Jun-ah, should I call Eun-ji?”

“No, sister. It might attract the attention of a weirdo, so just be quiet…”

-Aaaaa!!!!

-Food Deuk!

The moment I was about to say let’s find it quietly, Harin’s roar resounded, followed by the noise of birds flying into the sky.

-Wooddeuk..!! Bang!!!

Along with the sound of falling trees, the noise of battle was heard.

The fact that Harin, who must have been carefully looking for us, let out a beastly roar means that we are in such a dangerous state. Hurry up.

“Wochao!!!”

“Chaiju Nishie!!”

The smell of human blood wafts through the fallen trees.

I saw Chinese people running at Harin with grotesque screams that I couldn’t understand at all, and Harin, stained with blood, tearing the Chinese man’s neck wielding a knife with a blue claw.

“Those bastards!!!”

As he summoned tentacles with both hands, he flapped his skin wings and flew towards Harin, who was surrounded by Chinese. The Chinese, who were aiming for Harin, burst into my attack as a group, and a mist of blood rushed in.

Soon the jet-black cockroach that followed us grabbed one of the Chinese and started laying her eggs. A swarm of black cockroaches kills cockroaches.

“Harin-ah, are you okay!!?”

“Huh!! This is the blood of those bastards!! No problem! Her necklace reacted and I just yelled for my brother to hear it.”

“You did well… Eunji?”

“Here you go!”

Eun-ji, who was hiding between the trees and throwing a shadow blade at the foreheads of the Chinese Awakeners, appeared for a moment. Then she immediately hid back into the darkness.

Thank god. Everyone is safe. The only ones who died were Chinese people who couldn’t speak the language.

‘About twenty. Today must be the day Carshinax devours.’

Hiding Heeseon noona behind me, we ended up in a standoff with the Chinese glaring at us.

As soon as I appeared, I flapped my wings and released my tentacles to explode my colleagues. The Chinese who attacked Harin and Eunji suddenly panicked and retreated.

The two women seemed to think that they could win, but when Heesun noona and I joined, they must have felt that the atmosphere was strange.

“Taujwu!!”

In the end, one of them shouted before looking, and the Chinese tried to run away.

You can never miss it. Anything you encounter must be killed or enslaved.

Moreover, we cannot let the most populous foreigners in the forest live like this.

I will make an offering to all without missing a single one.