Chapter 2631 – 2631. Dark Moon

I moved, following Kukuru.

Emerging from the writhing flesh cave, I saw a lush forest. The weather was quite hot, around 30 degrees Celsius. The humidity was a bit high, though. More than anything, I liked the fresh air that entered through my respiratory system.

“Surprised to see a forest? You must be wondering how there could be a forest inside a Transcendent’s body.”

“I’m not that surprised.”

I knew the origin of this dungeon through the original game. It was a fairly difficult dungeon, and I had attempted to clear it several times. I had even looked up walkthroughs online.

“It’s inside a Transcendent’s body. Nothing is strange here.”

“That’s right. Our common sense is useless garbage to a Transcendent. They are beings who have surpassed everything, even common sense and laws, which is why they are called Transcendent. Don’t try to understand it, just accept it. Well, to help you understand, let’s just say… this is also the astral of the Transcendent, the Arcane Devourer, Belk.”

“Astral is the mind of a mage. In other words, their mental image. Being a Transcendent, the scale is different. But as far as I know, the Arcane Devourer is dead.”

I asked even though I knew the information.

If I knew too much, Kukuru would surely be wary of me. There was no need to make him overly cautious. I would induce a sense of superiority by showing that I knew a lot of information.

‘Just in case.’

I didn’t trust Kukuru. He was a guy I was meeting for the first time today. Moreover, he was a necromancer who didn’t even exist in the original game. It would be strange to trust Kukuru.

“He’s dead. He devoured too much arcane, and his stomach burst. It’s proof that even a Transcendent can’t perfectly handle arcane.”

“If he’s dead, the fact that we’re here doesn’t make sense.”

“Transcendent beings are immortal. Even if they die, they don’t disappear. He’s in a near-death state right now. He’s been in a near-death state for about 7,000 years. The countless arcane magic he devoured is slowing down his recovery.”

“…Belk was a figure from 300 years ago.”

“300 years ago? It’s been 50 years since I was eaten by Belk. Don’t dwell on the flow of time. Time is ultimately relative. What’s important is that Belk used his body, his astral, to create this dungeon. Even while dying, he couldn’t resist his greed for arcane magic. You’ve fallen into Belk’s trap, quite nicely.”

“I entered this dungeon on my own two feet.”

“Yes, yes. The mage who came before you said the same thing. Oh, by the way, there are multiple entrances. And periodically, information about this place is scattered like breadcrumbs.”

Quest clues.

The clue items and linked quests to enter this dungeon. I ignored them all and went straight to the dungeon.

“But rest assured. What you can get here is real. This process itself is a ritual, and once the ritual is complete, the dungeon will disappear, I will be freed, and you will become a 7th-grade superhuman.”

I knew.

I also knew what I would get at the end of this dungeon.

I was walking behind him when I felt a sense of incongruity. A landscape that seemed familiar. It wasn’t déjà vu. I had actually seen this landscape before.

‘Through a monitor, that is.’

A large tree split into two branches, a table made by carving a rock beneath it, and the sound of a stream coming from the right.

“Wait. Let’s go right here.”

“That’s the opposite way. We need to go left. Is it because of the sound of the stream? Are you thirsty?”

“I can feel arcane.”

It wasn’t a lie. I could feel small traces of arcane throughout the forest. After experiencing arcane magic once, I was able to sense arcane. The range was much narrower than mana detection, though.

“Arcane that I don’t know…? No, you knew about arcane. Well, there’s no need to rush. Lead the way.”

I moved to the right. I forcibly suppressed my excitement. I had to maintain my composure.

We arrived at a stream with clear water flowing. What caught my attention were the rocks scattered throughout the stream. Rocks placed like stepping stones.

“You can feel arcane here? I’ve been here countless times. I haven’t found anything special.”

“It’s noisy. I need to concentrate, so be quiet.”

Kukuru looked at me with a dissatisfied expression. Regardless, I focused on the rocks. Rocks with slightly different shapes.

[Telekinesis]

Five rocks were lifted into the air by an invisible magical force. There were wedge-shaped markings on the invisible parts of the rocks. Each had from one to five markings. It was the order that told me where and how to place them.

Place the rock with one wedge at the top, and then arrange them in a pentagonal shape clockwise.

The moment the arrangement was complete, mysteriously glowing lines extended from the rocks, forming a pentagram.

“This is insane. Something like this was hidden in such a ridiculous place?”

Kukuru chuckled in disbelief.

Regardless, I focused on the pentagram. The hidden elements were the same as in the original game. So, what I would get would be what I knew.

The center of the glowing pentagram.

Space split open, and a small hand mirror fell down. I, who was prepared, quickly reached out and caught the hand mirror.

“I’m not sure if it’s arcane… but the mana and formulas I feel from that hand mirror are unusual. Just by looking at the formulas, is it a defensive artifact?”

I briefly considered telling Kukuru the name and abilities of the artifact.

If I tried to hide it too much, he would become suspicious. And I couldn’t be sure that he would betray me.

“…It’s the Reflex Mirror. It reflects attacks below 7th grade once.”

“Below 7th grade… it reflects 7th-grade attacks too? That’s an absurd artifact. Is it completely one-time use?”

“No. It needs a 10-day recharge time after one use.”

In the original game, the cooldown was 10 days in game time. The important thing was that it reflected not only physical attacks but also non-physical attacks like curses.

Moreover, just by keeping it in a backpack or pocket, it would automatically activate against fatal attacks.

‘It probably won’t activate if I put it in my inventory. The inventory is a different space.’

However, it didn’t reflect all attacks in a large-scale attack, only the attacks directed at the owner.

‘In the end, it’s all about how you use an artifact.’

I was confident that I could make good use of the artifact.

“Hmm. If we sell it outside, we could get a lot of money.”

“Sell it? An artifact like this? I’m not selling it.”

“I was just saying.”

I followed Kukuru.

We arrived at a moderately wide open space, where an old white-haired elf woman stood. The old woman, wearing a black robe and holding a wooden staff, cackled as she looked at us.

“Kekekeke!! Haven’t you heard that a wicked witch lives in this forest?!”

“The witch of Garna Forest, Florain. A troublesome old hag has appeared. Don’t think she’s as reasonable as me. That witch’s ego has been devoured by a Transcendent.”

The witch slammed the end of her staff into the ground. A magical wave spread in all directions and penetrated the surrounding trees.

The trees, imbued with magical power, began to move. They uprooted themselves from the ground, moving like legs, and swung their branches like claws. Their movements were slow, but that gave them weight and power. Moreover, their large size was a strength in itself. Dozens of trees slowly advanced towards us.

A planned encounter with the witch. The witch had made the first move. She probably knew we were coming and had prepared a large-scale magic in advance.

I spoke to him, who was standing still.

“What are you doing? You’re not going to tell me you brought me here just to stand around, are you?”

“This dungeon is also a ritual for you. This battle is part of the ritual. I can help you, but I can’t fight for you. Defeating that witch is entirely up to you.”

“You talk a good game. Buy me some time. I’ll finish it with one big attack.”

“The one big attack of an elementalist, the flower of the battlefield. It’s scary, but I’m looking forward to it. Fine. I’ll buy you some time.”

He stepped forward, holding a staff with a bird skull embedded in it.

“The forest is a repository of records. Countless pieces of information about life are accumulated. And those records themselves become a medium.”

Kukuru’s black mana seeped into the ground. Then, several translucent wraiths appeared. Owls, jaguars, bears, deer, anacondas. The wraiths ran towards the tree soldiers, their eyes glowing.

A struggle between the wraiths and the tree soldiers. The battlefield began to stagnate.

Thanks to that, I had time to prepare my magic.

Crack, crackle….

An eerie sound from somewhere.

A change in the nature of mana and an eerie sensation.

The witch and Kukuru looked up at the sky at the same time. Lightning rotating in a swastika pattern in the sky. The reactions of the two were different. Kukuru was impressed.

“Did you modify the magic? It seems like you have perfect control over that power.”

“Eek! Is this madman trying to burn down the entire area?! Love the forest, you crazy mage!”

The witch stomped her feet and used magic. Dozens of plant stems sprouted from the ground around her, forming a hemispherical barrier around her.

[Thunder Break]

A pillar of lightning fell to the ground. It burned and destroyed everything, tree soldiers and wraith animals alike. The residual current on the ground spread in all directions, burning the plants. But it was only for a moment. The fire quickly subsided.

‘This isn’t an ordinary space, it’s a dungeon. It’s also inside a Transcendent’s body. It’s restoring itself to its original form, like healing a body.’

Still, flames were still burning in the place where Thunder Break had struck directly. At the center was the burning witch, along with her plant barrier. Ash scattered from the witch’s body. Ash from the burning plants.

‘She’s constantly regenerating by turning her body into plants. Plant regeneration arcane magic. I knew it from the original game… but it’s amazing to see it in person.’

I reached out my hand. I knew the witch’s trump card through my knowledge of the original game. So, it was natural to prepare for it.

A dark red magic circle was drawn in front of my hand in an instant.

[Death Ray]

A dark red laser with a diameter of 2 meters annihilated the witch and continued to extend, creating a 50-meter-long path.

“Huh. So you were preparing Death Ray in case Thunder Break didn’t work. That’s a level of thoroughness rarely seen in arrogant mages.”

Golden lights flickered in the place where the witch had been. The lights slowly approached me.

“Don’t avoid it. That’s one of the rewards of the trial. You will gain one of the witch’s magics. If you’re lucky, you might even get the arcane magic she possessed.”

“I know. I said it from the beginning. One of my goals is to obtain arcane magic.”

The golden lights entered my head. I had learned one of the magics of the witch of Garna Forest. Learning it without any other process, as if devouring magic. A miracle only possible in this dungeon.

I, who had closed my eyes for a moment, opened them.

“Did you learn arcane magic?”

Kukuru asked, as if curious. I checked my empty right hand and slowly clenched it into a fist.

“No. Unfortunately, I didn’t get the witch’s arcane magic.”

“Then what did you learn? If it’s a magic to create tree soldiers, it would be useful even if it’s not arcane magic.”

“Summon Plant. It’s a plant summoning magic. It’s a magic that temporarily summons plants that you’ve grown. It’s about 5th grade.”

“A temporary summoning magic? A high-difficulty summoning magic with the restriction of plants and temporary? It’s a magic that would only be useful to a plant-loving druid. It’s a shame you failed the draw.”

“The draw was a success. It was the magic I needed.”

I unclenched my fist.

There were three cherry blossom petals in my palm.