By the Grace of the Gods (LN) - Volume 15 - Chapter 3

Chapter 9, Episode 12: Midway Point

After a very quick four days, I had made it from the first base of the Sea of Trees to what they called the Edge. The road so far had been truly uneventful. Just like my first day here, I tried to avoid monsters as much as possible while I kept walking deeper and deeper into the woods. There wasn’t really any change to my surroundings, save for the heatwood trees becoming almost imperceptibly thicker and farther apart.

There were two noticeable differences between the shallows and depths of the woods, though. The first difference was the monsters. The deeper into the woods you went, the bigger and stronger the monsters got. Not only that, but there were more varieties and just more of them in general. At this point, for example, each raptor was significantly bigger than the ones from day one, and they emerged in packs no smaller than fifty at a time. I was patting myself on the back for making the call early on of not trying to mow through every monster on my very long trek.

The second change I noticed were the bases. Since camping out in the woods was practically suicide, explorers’ bases were set up relatively close to each other. I’d passed through six bases over my four days in the woods, never walking more than a day between them. Out of the six, I was only comfortable spending the night in the first one. If I had been desperate, I could have gritted my teeth and coped with a night in the second or third base, but not in any of the bases deeper than that. After the third, they were obviously scarce on resources and dilapidated, which made people in those bases desperate. Long story short, they were lawless zones. If I had stayed the night at any of them, looking like a child traveling alone, I was all but guaranteed to be attacked in the middle of night.

The base at the Edge—where I was now—could hardly even be called a settlement. Structures here ranged from thrown-together huts to half broken tents. It was chiefly defended by human labor: barrier magic and patrols. A few wooden fences and barricades were scattered around the base, but none looked like they could keep any of the forest’s monsters at bay.

According to Ashton, hardly any adventurers stayed near the Edge. Even if they had some reason to come this deep into the forest, most of them would stay near the first base and its outskirts. Anyone who chose to put their lives at risk by staying in the lawless depths of the Sea of Trees had to be an exceptionally skilled adventurer, a hardcore recluse, or someone under dire circumstances that prevented them from living anywhere else.

All of that was running through my mind because I was currently being accosted by a colorful cast of characters. First, a trio of shabby-looking ruffians had blocked my path and started heckling.

“You’re C-rank, huh? You know none of that matters here.”

“This isn’t kindergarten!”

“Give us all the food you got. Now.”

“This is our turf, kid. You better pay the toll.”

Then, a greasy middle-aged guy stepped in front of them as if to protect me...then turned right around and started lecturing me. “Y-You’ll never make it on your own, you know. But I can keep you safe if you come with me...”

There’s no use taking them seriously, I reminded myself. It’s a lot easier to ignore them until they run out of fumes. I’d often employed the same tactic in my previous life, so I was a pro at it by now. The only difference was that I was almost always underestimated rather than envied in that life.

Soon, a crowd formed around me. Well, it at least felt like a group of twenty or so people constituted a crowd this deep into the Sea of Trees.

“You don’t see that every day.”

“Whatever trick he used to make it down here, it won’t work on them.”

“Tough luck that the kid ran into those guys.”

To my surprise, they were not mere spectators. It didn’t long for them to burst out in a betting frenzy, cackling at my expense.

“Hey, wanna bet on what happens to the kid? I got a slice of raptor jerky that says the trio kills him.”

“I got two slices on Greaseball making a pet out of him. The kid has to have some sort of power if he made it this far. It’d be a waste to kill him off.”

“Well, gents, I’m in for a long shot. Four slices says the kid runs...and makes it out.”

One of the more sensible gamblers guffawed. “If you want to throw your money away, be my guest!”

Their jealousy, frustration, and animosity clung to my skin like humid heat. I thought for a moment to blame my curse for it, then reconsidered. This place was definitely just a nest of scumbags.

Maybe I should have gone the long way around, avoiding this base and its nonsense. But even a crummy place like this is a precious landmark. Even on relatively safe hikes on the mountains of Japan, plenty of people went missing every year because they veered off the trail under a false sense of security.

To prevent myself from getting lost in the woods and to make my return journey easier, I had been placing stone slimes along my route, which would allow me to jump back with Space magic if worse came to worst. Still, I had followed the official trail to minimize my risk of getting lost.

“Hey!” one of the shabby trio barked.

“Are you deaf, kid?!”

“Wanna die right now, you little punk?!”

Even the greasy guy chimed in. “Y-You need to listen when adults are talking. I better teach you a lesson!”

They must have run out of patience while I chose to save my breath. The four of them all reached for their weapons and took a step forward. As soon as their boots squelched in the mud, a voice boomed from beyond the crowd, drowning out the chattering. “Out of the way, bozos! You’re clogging up the street! I’ve heard enough of your squawking!”

Keeping one eye on my accosters, I glanced to the side to find a bizarre-looking man. His hair—which looked like he had dunked it in a bucket of red paint—and stature of over two meters made him stand out enough, but his clothes were also peculiar compared to those of adventurers here: a rather ordinary leather outfit that didn’t seem to provide any protection whatsoever. This deep in the forest, being in a base was hardly any more secure than wandering outside its borders. Everyone in the crowd was wearing some sort of armor except him, so his only tell as an adventurer was the enormous iron war hammer on his back.

Who is this guy? I wondered.

“G-Glen,” one of the goons muttered.

Another clicked his tongue in annoyance. “Why’d he have to show up?”

“Just because you’re S-rank, it doesn’t mean you own the place. What do you want?” the third snarled.

“You’re Glen the S-rank adventurer?” I blurted out. Could he really be the same Glen that Sever had mentioned—the one who earned S-rank with nothing but brute strength? The fact that he was thriving here alone was a testament to his strength. On the other hand, his clothes were more like rags, and his hair and beard looked like they hadn’t met a pair of shears or comb in ages. Even his gait seemed completely untrained, like he was any random dude.

No offense to him, but he looks more like a homeless guy than an adventurer. Maybe he’s another Glen who looks just like the famous S-ranker. 

“I want all of you to beat it. Out of the way,” Glen commanded.

“We’re in the middle of something. You won’t stand for a kid messing up our turf, will you?” a goon asked.

“Huh? Why should I care? It’s up to the kid if he lives or dies. As long as he doesn’t get in my way, I don’t give a raptor’s ass what he does.” Glen towered over the trio. “You know what? I’m walking around this place alone too. Any of you got a problem with that? I’ll show you a real problem real fast.”

“Dammit, fine.”

Glen’s threat scattered the crowd, and my accosters stepped aside without another word.

“Thank you,” I told him while I had the chance, eager to leave this place behind.

“Huh? I’m going out to hunt and they were in my way. That was no rescue, kid. It wasn’t like you needed one anyway,” Glen said with genuine disinterest, lightly stretching his legs. A moment later, he took off running at an incredible speed, splattering us all with mud and leaving us looking like we were standing next to a puddle when a truck drove by.

“Whoa!” one of them yelped.

Another spat dirt out of his mouth. “Dammit!”

“Not again!”

Apparently that was a frequent occurrence. Even though the encounter had left me intrigued, my first priority was to get out of the base. Using Dark magic during the commotion caused by the mud spray allowed me to escape successfully. From what I’d heard beforehand, that was the last “decent” base this side of the forest, so I wouldn’t be seeking out any more adventurers or bases.

From here on out, it’s the untamed wilderness. Every creature I encounter will be deadly, whether it’s human-shaped or not. 

***

After leaving the base, I walked a few hours through the unchanging woods. Although I personally enjoyed quiet, repetitive tasks like this, I was sure that some people would have found the monotony of the forest unbearable.

As the sun began to set, I stopped to make camp for the night. Of course, I’d prepacked the Dimension Home with everything I’d need—from a cot to a patch of farmland and even my chicken coop. All I had to do now was set up some security measures to be extra careful.

“This should about do it,” I decided. “Cutting Tornado.” I’d chosen a sizable root on a tree a little ways off the beaten path to turn into the entrance, blowing away the underbrush around the trunk with a tornado of slicing wind. My spell wasn’t as powerful as Sever’s, but it could mow the lawn just fine. “Now, Dimension Home,” I cast. “You’re up, huge rock slime.” I brought out the stone slime that was the equivalent of an emperor slime. Stone slimes evolved into big stone slimes, rock slimes, then huge rock slimes. Their names simply seemed to correlate to their size. The huge rock slime, for example, could pose as one of those tourist attractions in a natural park.

“Voilà! An instant home in twenty seconds!” I declared. Just having the huge rock slime shift its body to create a space within it meant that I had a bare-bones studio apartment with sturdy rock foundations. Not only that, but the slime could also keep watch and close up the entrance if it sensed danger approaching. If I needed to get out, it could make an opening for me on any side. The huge rock slime was potentially the best slime ever to camp out with.

“As convenient as Dimension Home is, it leaves me vulnerable when I go in and out of it.” That’s because I had no way of knowing what’s on the other side until I opened the portal. Without the huge rock slime, I’d run the risk of reopening Dimension Home into a pack of monsters. “But now I can sleep sound... Who am I talking to? I don’t mind traveling alone, but I guess I can’t break the habit of talking to myself. It never bothered me when I lived in the woods, though.”

Perhaps the last four days in the woods were wearing on me more than I’d realized. While the days seemed to fly by, I was only at the midway point between the entrance to the forest and Korumi village.

I should call it an early night and get some rest.