QTMWSFC Chapter 36

Lant packed his belongings and decided to take action tonight.

If he waited for the skies to clear, there would inevitably be more people around, making it harder to move discreetly. It was better to take advantage of the present and have the cover of night.

Compared to the harsh environment, human nature was often the thing most likely to fail the test.

Wind and snow raged outside the Dark Night Forest. The snow was nearly knee-deep. If he hadn’t used magic to keep his body temperature constant, Lant wouldn’t have dared to guarantee that he could keep walking in this godforsaken place and stay alive.

Having been through two small worlds, he had never seen such a harsh environment!

After walking for about half an hour, he came across a stone tablet. Lant squinted his eyes and read the three large characters carved on it—Dark Night Forest.

It was indeed a world with an anime-like setting. The moment Lant crossed the boundary marked by the stone tablet, all the wind and snow instantly vanished. An eerie silence surrounded him, so quiet that it felt almost unsettling at first.

Everything in the Dark Night Forest was shrouded in mist. The sky was hidden by the canopy of trees that blocked out the sun, with only glimpses of gray sky visible through the gaps. From time to time, howls that sounded like they came from monsters or perhaps just animals, echoed in the distance. It was really strange and disturbing.

Lant summoned the pitch-black steel-fanged blade from his space and got ready to draw his sword at any moment.

What happened to the promised summons guiding the Hero?

Why wasn’t it there?

But relying on oneself was better than relying on others. Compared to an unreliable summon, searching on his own was far more practical!

The paths in the Dark Night Forest were actually easy to follow, but there were an unusually large number of forks. One wrong turn could lead to getting lost or walking in circles. This was exactly why so many people got trapped here and never made it out.

The number of bones beneath his feet grew increasingly numerous along the way.

Lant used a wild grass called Silver Needle Grass to mark his trail.

This grass had an extremely tenacious vitality. With just a tiny infusion of magical power, it could remain active for a long time, which was why it was commonly used as a trail marker to prevent getting lost.

Even without any summons, miraculously, Lant found that he had not walked down a single repeated path, thanks to the residual magic on the Silver Needle Grass.

On one hand, he felt relieved. On the other hand, a chill ran down his spine. Unknowingly, he had already been guided by this forest!

Lant’s journey was extremely smooth, even though the scattered bones under his feet went from an occasional one or two to large patches, which was deeply disturbing.

If he weren’t the chosen Hero, he would probably have become just another one of those countless bones.

The Dark Night Forest had no concept of time. Any timekeeping instrument would fail here. Lant kept walking forward without stopping until he almost had the illusion that he had been walking for a lifetime.

Just when he felt he could barely go on, a magnificent tower finally appeared before his eyes.

Its spire rose high into the clouds, its body covered in vines, looking ancient and mysterious. Upon seeing the approaching figure, this tower that had been silent for two thousand years finally glowed with a trace of light.

A hoarse and deep voice slowly resounded from the sky: “Two thousand years… my master… you have finally returned…”

“You know me?” Lant withdrew his sword and looked up toward the top of the tower from which the voice came. He did not sense any hostility.

“Indeed. I have been waiting here for your arrival. The blood you carry… it bears the master’s scent.”

Creak—

Along with the aged voice, the great door of the Divine Tower slowly opened.

Lant strode inside.

He wanted to see for himself just how magical the so-called Holy Sword for banishing demons really was.

According to what travelers said, besides the Holy Sword, there were also countless treasures and elixirs for immortality inside the Divine Tower.

But in reality—

There was nothing except a worn-out sword stuck in the ground.

Lant walked up to the Holy Sword.

The blade was covered in rust and even had chips in it. Apart from the hilt where some faint patterns could still be made out, it looked utterly old and easy to break.

Lant: “Well… this is not consecrated yet?”

The Holy Sword: “…”

Lant: “So, how do we do it? Don’t tell me you need my blood as a sacrifice?”

The Holy Sword: “Ahem… after all… it’s been two thousand years. It really is lacking a bit of essence blood…”

That’s all, it’s always the same trick.

Lant took out a silver needle and was about to prick his finger…

The Holy Sword: “Um… isn’t that a bit too little?”

Lant glanced at the battered, worn-out sword.

One or two drops of blood probably wouldn’t be enough.

So he pulled out a dagger and decisively slashed his palm.

Blood slowly flowed down the hilt of the sword, and the blade bathed in the red liquid began to emit waves of golden light. The blood gradually split into separate streams, seeping into every line and groove of the blade and merging with it.

As the blood fused, the chips and gaps in the blade quickly mended themselves. The rust covering the sword fell away at a visible rate, revealing its originally flawless form.

The golden light slowly faded. Lant applied a little force and pulled the Holy Sword out of the dirt where it had been stuck. He swung it at a pillar in front of him.

The blade did not collect a speck of dust. It was as thin as a cicada’s wing, yet it could cut through metal as if it were mud. From the front, the blade was ice-blue, but from the side, it shimmered with a golden light. It was impossible to tell what magical material it was made of.

The Holy Sword: “Master! Let’s go out and defeat the Otherworld Demons right away! I’ve waited two thousand years and can’t wait any longer!”

Lant put the Holy Sword away. “No rush. The Otherworld Demons haven’t appeared yet, and the Saintess hasn’t awakened either.”

The Holy Sword: (꒪⌓꒪)

Lant: “In short, come back with me for now.”

The Holy Sword chattered on: “No wonder you look so young, Master. So, Master, our next step is to find the Saintess and wait for the Otherworld Demons? This time we can act early, Master!”

Its noise gave Lant a headache. He directly put it into the space to be quiet for a while, then prepared to start his journey back.

On the way back, Lant noticeably moved much faster. When he left the Dark Night Forest, the wind and snow outside had not yet stopped. A sudden fierce gust nearly knocked him over. However, the sky in the distance was beginning to show a hint of light. It seemed an entire night had passed.

But honestly, this speed was already fast enough.

Lant hurried back to the inn, riding at top speed. Along the way, he hunted a few wild beasts, tossed them into his space, and then slipped back into his room through the window.

Good. Most people were still asleep. No one at all noticed that he had left in the middle of the night.

With that weight off his mind, Lant took off his outer clothes and slept soundly and comfortably. In the past few days, he had been traveling day and night. This was the first night since he had transmigrated into this world that he slept so peacefully.

…

Lant slept until he naturally woke up the next afternoon. By the time he opened his eyes, the sky outside had cleared and the wind and snow had stopped.

Thinking that he should at least put on a show when he returned, he got up, washed up, packed his gear, and picked a medium-sized beast, pretending he had brought it back from a hunt. He asked the innkeeper to help skin and process it.

The innkeeper didn’t expect that this young man, who looked thin and frail and not very old, could single-handedly take down a fierce beast. The way he looked at Lant now carried a hint of “this one is not ordinary.”

“Little brother, the weather has cleared up today. Aren’t you going to the Divine Tower with the others?” the innkeeper casually asked.

After all, at least eight out of ten people who came here were after the Divine Tower.

“No, I’m not going.” Lant nodded, confirming the innkeeper’s question.

He couldn’t exactly say he had already been, could he? That would be too insane.

“Well, I understand. The Divine Tower is still too dangerous. People go in but don’t come out. Bagging a couple of beasts on this trip is already enough to cover your costs.” The innkeeper had seen too many people come seeking treasure from the Divine Tower. He used to try to advise them, but now he was numb to it. All he could say was that everyone has their own fate.

After the processing was done, Lant packed his belongings, checked out of the inn, and prepared to head back.

As he was leaving the inn, the innkeeper, seeing that it was Lant’s first time there and that he was young, kindly gave him a package of local specialty products.

Lant thought for a moment and then decided to warn the innkeeper. “Four years from now, whatever you do, don’t head toward Serorida.”

Serorida would be the center of the Otherworld Demons’ outbreak. For ordinary people to go there would mean death.

As the saying goes, a lie repeated a hundred times becomes the truth.

The innkeeper watched the young man’s slender figure and the silhouette of him riding away, then fell into deep thought. He remembered the drunken man the night before, rambling about the fortune-teller’s prophecy. Perhaps… it really wasn’t groundless?