Chapter 116

The Archipelago Fog was a place that the game company themselves had declared to be themed around ‘horror’.

The signature monster of this region, the ‘White Veil,’ took the form of a floating wedding veil, and the other monsters, aside from ghosts, mostly possessed terrifying and eerie appearances.

Like, for example, the ‘Fog Walker’ monster that we have right here, before our very eyes.

“Lir, look at that.”

I called out to Lir, pointing to the shimmering back of an old man ahead. Clutching her staff tightly, she crept closer to me, eyeing me and the old man’s back with suspicion.

“What is it?”

“You see that old man over there, right in front?”

“…And?”

“Go talk to him, he might have been sucked into the Archipelago Fog.”

“That’s right, he could be a civilian. The Archipelago Fog appears all over the continent without warning, so quite a few civilians get pulled in.”

Sion, who had been walking ahead, overheard our conversation and quickly came over to support me.

…Indeed, Sion and I had a certain understanding.

“Me?”

“Yes, Lir.”

Lir regarded me with a look that said she didn’t understand why she had to do this job instead of Sion, who was clearly more skilled.

“Sion is covered head to toe in blood right now. If the elder sees him, it’ll be a disaster.”

A reasonably plausible excuse, considering I’d just made it up.

…Why is it that my brain only seems to work this well at times like these? I can’t understand myself.

“Uh… fine.”

Lir darted glances between Sion and me, as if unable to shake off a deeply unsettling feeling.

I gave her my most innocent and encouraging smile.

“I’ll… I’ll do it.”

She’d taken the bait.

Normally, she’s incredibly sharp, but she has this strangely naive streak in her, sometimes.

“Uhm… e-excuse me?”

Lir, clutching her staff tightly, slowly walked towards the elder in front of her. She was trembling slightly, probably from the peculiar, biting cold that seemed to grip your hands and feet here.

“It’s alright…”

*Thump!*

The Fog Walker, which had been presenting the elder’s back, suddenly whirled around and lunged towards Lir.

And the Fog Walker’s face…possessed a grotesqueness on a completely different level from the faces of ordinary continental peoples.

Hands sprouted where eyes should have been, and eyes dangled where a mouth ought to be.

“aaargh!”

The sudden visual assault sent a shriek tearing from Lir, and she instantly raised her wand. A stark, white light blossomed from her fingertips.

“Four points, maybe. A reasonably average reaction.”

“Really? I’d give it a nine. That was textbook screaming right there.”

Truthfully, Zion had a point.

If there were such a thing as a ‘Best Scream in a Horror Film Award,’ it would have been a shoo-in for a nomination. The pitch, the duration, all perfectly orthodox.

“I hate orthodox.”

“Huh? What’s that even supposed to mean? Poor Lir… she screamed so hard…”

“What are you doing, seriously…!”

Lir whirled on us, fingers pointed accusingly, as we casually critiqued her scream.

“What else? We’re teasing Lir.”

My brazen reply seemed to leave her speechless for a moment. She just blinked.

“This is a monster zone, you know…! What if something terrible happens because you’re fooling around?”

“Mist Walkers don’t have offensive capabilities. Given enough time, I could take one down with my bare fists, you know?”

I quickened my pace, closing the distance, and patted Lir on the back reassuringly as she vented her frustration.

“…They have no offensive capabilities?”

Lir stared at the charred remains of the Mist Walker, then thumped my chest three times with her fist.

“Even so, this isn’t right!”

“Ow, ow! Ow, sorry, sorry. My mistake…!”

No matter what I said, she ignored me, now using the flat of her hand to mercilessly pummel my chest, back, and ribs.

“Ow, my arm! My right arm is not moving, I am injured, please, stop…!”

“Hey.”

Hey, hold on.

It really hurts.

I’m not just saying it, it really hurts.

Stop, please.

“Ugh, a-ow…!”

Only after a long spell of pounding did Lir seem appeased, breath ragged, massaging a palm flushed crimson.

“…It hurts. Really, it hurts a lot…”

“It’s because Bin-nim did wrong.”

Isn’t the punishment a bit excessive? Even a husband who secretly buys a 6 million won video game behind his wife’s back wouldn’t get beat up like this…

“The monsters floating in this mist, quite a few of them have natures different from the ones outside.”

Sion, for the ice-blooded Lir who mercilessly assaults even patients with paralyzed limbs, began to explain the ‘Island Mist’ with a touch of kindness.

…When did you stop having fun with me? Now you suddenly pull your feet out of it.

Does even the most basic loyalty not exist in this line of work?

The back alleys are cold…!

“There are ones like the ‘Mist Walker’ from just now, who just wander around in here for no reason. And there are also ‘Walking Maggots’ who specialize in disposing of corpses. Their visuals are all, without exception, gruesome.”

“…Walking Maggots?”

The name of that monster was so violent, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to call it anti-humanitarian.

“Well, Walking Maggots, to be exact. About 40 to 50 maggots the size of dwarves travel in swarms, and they have legs attached…”

“Ugh! Stop, stop!”

Lir waved her hands frantically, as if she couldn’t even bear to imagine it, and clamped her hand over Sion’s mouth.

“…”

Sion, seeing Lir’s intense reaction, paused to consider, then a sly smile crept across her face.

“Should I catch one? Want to take a peek?”

“No? No, no, no. Absolutely not.”

“Wait here for just a moment, sister. Actually, while coming here earlier, I marked a few. The biggest ones I could find…”

…Sion strode into the mist without hesitation.

Perhaps five minutes passed.

A creation so dreadful in appearance it couldn’t be spoken of, squirmed in her hand, and came to find us.

…Even I have my limits.

* * *

We wandered through the island’s fog at ease, as if on a tour.

Occasionally, monsters hostile to humans would appear, but Sion would mostly crush them the moment she encountered them, so we rarely even got a glimpse.

“General, you only have 9 gold left—”

Among the enemies that displayed hostility toward me, humans were naturally included.

They seemed to have judged that ambushing us mages in the fog would give them a chance of victory…

Well, their fundamental skills were far below the standard, so they posed no significant threat.

Thus, we approached the center of the fog. The surroundings grew increasingly dense, so Lir, Sion, and I had no choice but to shorten the distance between us and move slowly.

“From here on out, it’s what you might call the heart of the island’s mist. Dangerous monsters, like the ‘White Ones,’ will start appearing, so please be careful—”

Sion spoke in a kind tone, like a teacher guiding kindergarteners.

No, or rather, in this world, we’re all orphans, so should I speak in the tone of a headmaster guiding orphans?

“Ugh… I still feel queasy.”

Lir was still reeling from the shock of seeing a Walking Maggot in the flesh.

…Not that it was surprising. It possessed a horrifying visage that could only be described as having “crawled straight from hell.”

If I hadn’t possessed [Composure], I probably would have locked eyes with that ghastly thing and promptly emptied the contents of my stomach.

…Yes, the ghastly thing had eyes.

Five of them, at that.

Why would a maggot have eyes and legs?

Just what is going on in the head of this world’s creator?

There’s a desert, but no camels, just disgusting things like parasites living in the guts of dragons and Walking Maggots are churned out with enthusiasm.

“Monsters called ‘Alluring Mirrors’ inhabit the border connecting the center and the outskirts of the Mist Islands. These monsters transform into objects or figures that the target would desire, luring people in. Lose yourself and approach them, and you might be swallowed whole in a single bite. Please be careful.”

Sion, observing that Lir and I hadn’t fully recovered from the shock of the Walking Maggot, explained the characteristics of this new monster.

Alluring Mirrors.

Well, a common monster with a cliche setting that pops up frequently in fantasy novels, movies, games, and so on.

Transforming into objects or figures that their target would like, and tempting them with it.

A copycat essentially no different from the legendary monster ‘Siren’ from the stories told by sailors of old.

There’s no speciality or newness, it’s just ‘average monster 1 appearing in fantasy’, there’s no way I would fall for that…

“Whoa.”

“…What is it?”

“Damn it!!! A skinhead elf!!”

Exists.

Shit.

How the hell am I supposed to hold back the curses looking at that?

The long, beautiful blonde hair – the very symbol of an elf.

An elf with a shaved head, boldly discarding that symbol, emerged from the thick fog and stood before me.

Behold her majestic bearing, this elf is resisting.

Resisting the narrow-minded view of the world, the unwritten rules of fantasy…

That elf, right now, is fighting against ‘the world,’ I tell you.

Truly a symbol of resistance, the underdog’s hope, a hero of the working class!

“Just so you know, I’m twelve years old – so be careful, I’m a minor.”

“Whoa, you crazy son of a b*tch!”