"Let's go!"
Having completed this miraculous maneuver, Sheng quickly jumped down from the high ground. Before he could even catch his breath, he grabbed my hand and ran directly in the direction where the sword demon had left. His face appeared somewhat pale amidst the countless fleeting shadows around him, clearly indicating that his actions had taken a considerable toll.
Seemingly sensing my worry, Sheng shook his head: "I'm fine. Anyway, if a battle really breaks out later, the main force definitely won't rely on me. It's the same if I rest in a safe place."
"What kind of move is this?"
Since that's the case, I swallowed my words of concern and changed the subject to another matter.
I am only familiar with most of the spells that mages can use. Even without in-depth study, I can still guess a few things based on the books I have read.
But what I was seeing was completely beyond my comprehension, to the point that I was momentarily flustered.
"Hmm, I can't really explain it either."
Sheng also looked confused: "I was just thinking that it would be great if I could see the surrounding environment clearly, and then I had a vague feeling that I could do that. It felt like the trees and plants around me were lending me some strength, but I don't really understand the specifics."
This aligns with my previous premonition.
The moment that verdant green appeared, the magical energy contained within the surrounding flowers, plants, and trees shrank to varying degrees, but no other unusual movements occurred as a result. It was as if they had offered a portion of themselves to a higher being, and one could even feel a sense of joy.
Subsequently, as the chaotic magic gathered around Sheng passed through layers of filters, it gradually became clear and pure, flowing into the core, condensing continuously, and finally exploding under the influence of external forces, transforming into even smaller components that nourished the forest itself once more.
I can sense that the forests that have given themselves will not become weak as a result; on the contrary, they will thrive again in the days to come because they are being nourished in return.
But that's a story for us to tell later.
Catching the lingering shards of light, we darted swiftly through the woods. Occasionally, wild beasts and monsters, having discovered our presence, would bark at us in protest, but they were either blocked by the giant trees that had benefited from our presence or were quickly left behind, losing track of us.
The traces left by the sword demon became clear again.
Seemingly as a result of repeated acceleration, the trees that were kicked were no longer just left with shallow dents at the impact points as they were at the beginning, but gradually showed signs of violent destruction, and even some with slightly thinner trunks were directly pierced through, with the upper half lying on the ground in a tragic state.
“We’ll see him again soon,” Sheng said with certainty. “He’s definitely heading straight towards the lord of this forest.”
"But shouldn't the current Sword Demon be unable to directly fight that BOSS?" I questioned.
Sheng also expressed doubt: "Could it be that the prophet gave him some key item before? But that doesn't make sense either. Judging from the fact that their conversation ended on such a sour note, it's more like they said something unpleasant."
I have a different guess about this.
"The 665th playthrough..." I asked tentatively, "Sheng, have you confirmed the ending of that playthrough?"
"What?" Sheng blinked and suddenly pulled me to a stop.
The gray-white air blades instantly sliced through the ground not far in front of us, and violent tremors came from beneath our feet, as if a giant beast was angrily trampling the earth in the distance.
"Wow! That bastard! He's already fighting that overlord so quickly! And we haven't even entered its territory yet!"
Sheng cried out in shock and quickly pulled me back twice to avoid the grayish-white rays that were flying towards us.
The earth, grazed by the rays, hissed, and bright orange bubbles rose from the dark red and dark gray mud. When they suddenly burst, they released a foul, sour stench that made people want to cover their noses and run away.
A bright blue notification box suddenly lit up:
You've discovered a new hidden quest!
Hidden Mission #5: Hunt Down the Forest Overlord
[Difficulty: A]
[Condition: Complete the hunt for the overlord lurking deep in the forest within the time limit.]
[Remaining time: two days.]
[Reward: Amulet - Heart of the Forest]
[Failure: None.]
"So this is what Sword Demon was really after all!"
Sheng sighed and, before I could ask, began to explain: "Brother Uriel, this is the hidden quest I told you about before. The amulet given as a reward for this hidden quest can protect the holder from attacks by any creatures in the forest, and it is also one of the six keys to the final ending."
"Besides these, there are five more: wind, fire, ocean, earth, and random. These are all obtained by completing the hidden content."
"Since it's something so important, why didn't you try to get it in the first place?"
“Because there are only four amulets necessary to reach the final ending,” Sheng said. “And compared to the other four types—wind, earth, and random—forest and ocean are usually the two most difficult hidden areas to conquer. One is that they appear too early, making it difficult to gather enough combat power even if you gather your forces, and the other is that naval combat is disadvantageous.”
"So my usual choice is to just let it go."
If that's the case, then it's not entirely incomprehensible.
Rather than choosing overly difficult options, playing it safe is indeed a good option if your goal is simply to complete the game.
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