Some time ago, when Isam and his companions were dedicatedly leveling up, a heavy, suffocating atmosphere enveloped the mining city of Illeves, as if a funeral was about to be held. This was hardly surprising, as all five fortresses in the north had fallen, and many soldiers stationed there had lost their lives.
“Is that… Is that true, Sir Baccheshof?”
However, the atmosphere couldn’t even be compared to the one in the council room, where the governor of Illeves and key figures of the city had gathered. The cause was a report brought by the commander of one of those fortresses. It contained a poison that was too dangerous for those present to accept outright.
“I swear on the goddess I am telling the truth, Lord Governor.”
“No, I am well aware of your character. I do not doubt your words. it is more than a little untruthful as an excuse for shirking responsibility. But…”
The fortress that Baccheshof was guarding was the same one where Isam and the “Persona” guild had been secretly active. The events that had occurred there, the attacks they had endured during their retreat, and the words spoken by an unusually powerful monster were tormenting them.
“The existence of a monster that ordered the assassination of the sentries just before the attack, monster wanderers, and… the possibility of wanderers bribed by monsters. It’s unbelievable and I don’t want to believe it, but… it’s not something we can just ignore.”
The governor of Illeves, looking exhausted, sighed as he verbalized this significant problem. Though initially skeptical, he knew Baccheshof well and did not think him capable of lying for his own self-preservation.
Therefore, precisely because what he had experienced was indeed true, it constituted a significant problem. The enemy had individuals with brains comparable to humans and monster wanderers among them. Additionally, there was a high possibility of traitors among the wanderers, who were supposed to be allies of humans. Strangely, the goddess’s mercy seemed to have turned into a poison that was corrupting them.
“But is such a thing really possible?”
Amidst this, one of the civil officials raised a question.
“What do you mean?”
“I do not believe that Sir Baccheshof is lying. However, there are too many puzzling aspects.”
“Go on.”
“There are wanderers among the monsters. This is certain. We have received reports from other commanders about strangely armed monsters.”
His statement was indeed true. There had been reports from other defenders in other forts about “individuals among the foot soldiers with metal weapons” and “monsters that turned to dust like wanderers upon death”. These reports corroborated the information provided by Baccheshof.
However, the civil official continued.
“Is it not too far-fetched to say that wanderers inside conspired with monsters outside to create disturbance? After all, it seems unlikely that monsters outside the fort had the time to negotiate with the wanderers who teleported by the goddess inside.”
“Hmm…”
“Therefore, I propose that perhaps there were monsters skilled in infiltration and sabotage. This is a troubling thought in its own right, but isn’t it a more plausible explanation?”
The governor and the others were silent and deep in thought. This was because they found merit in the civil official’s opinion. They understood the difficulty of timing and planning in negotiating with players for such a task.
“But what about the possibility that monsters had negotiated with the wanderers in advance?”
“…Remember, since they appeared in Firth, not a single wanderer has made it to Illeves, right? To travel off the beaten path, one must traverse the infamous ‘Mist Forest’; this in itself is a task not to be taken lightly.”
On the Luxresia continent, the Kingdom of Lichtenburg, which was established by humans, boasted a vast territory from the central plains to the port city on the western edge. However, it would be difficult to say that it covered the entire continent.
As seen in Firth and Illeves, the area north of the forest was entirely monster territory, and the southern wilderness was harsh for humans to live in and was also a country of monsters. Despite these challenges, humans have cultivated fertile plains and forests with weaker monsters, shaping the current national boundaries.
Yet, some lands defied cultivation despite efforts. One such place was the “Mist Forest”; it was a perilous area enshrouded in dense fog. The untouched virgin forest alone disoriented people’s sense of direction, but the presence of tree monsters that continually altered the terrain complicated matters further. The perpetual fog exacerbated these challenges, making navigation nearly impossible.
The deeper one ventured the more unreliable compasses became; it was an insidious trait of the forest. Emerging from the forest by chance would have been extraordinarily lucky; otherwise, one risked wandering until starvation.
But more fearsome were the monsters as they adapted to this misty forest environment. Ambushes were common, and there were confirmed reports of monsters using the surrounding fog in combat.
It was also believed by some that the fog itself might have been emitted by the monsters, and if so, exterminating these creatures would have been necessary for any land development. Consequently, the kingdom had long ago abandoned any plans to develop that region.
While it was a very dangerous place, many of the items that could be collected there were of great utility. Moreover, those who had mastered the rare [Space-Time Magic] could venture deep into the forest and still return, making it a complete treasure trove for such individuals. Therefore, many in the guilds had learned [Space-Time Magic]. and considering the strength needed to battle powerful monsters, the minimum level deemed sufficient for entering and returning alive was set at level 70.
“If there’s a monster who has traversed the ‘Mist Forest’, that one must undoubtedly be a powerful entity. Such a feat would certainly be eye-catching. Have we identified any creatures capable of such an act?”
“No, my lord. The main force of the monsters that attacked the fort were trolls, but even the highest-leveled among them, the troll king, was only level 74.”
“So, there are no monsters in the horde with a level higher than the Troll King. Then that possibility seems unlikely.”
“Yes, but the presence of the troll king itself is a major issue. It’s a real threat, unlike the possibility of traitors or monsters sneaking in.”
Among the monsters, there were races known as kings who held a rank of kingship. These creatures were consistently of high levels and had combat abilities a notch above others of the same level range. With numerous subordinates, defeating them was nearly impossible without first scattering their minions. Naturally, the difficulty of such a subjugation was extremely high.
However, the biggest problem wasn’t just that. When led by a king, the group of monsters would have elevated stats and their skill levels would increase more easily. Additionally, as long as the king was alive, its subordinates would never stop fighting to protect it. The strengthened monsters would continue to fight without fleeing.
“We must eliminate it as quickly as possible. Captain of the Knights, do we have the strength to defeat the troll king with our current forces?”
“…. I have to say that it will be difficult. The combat power of the troll king confirmed at the fortress is very high. It might be possible if I were to lead my group of senior knights, but…. there would certainly be casualties. And that is based on the assumption that the wanderers have cleared the path for us.”
In response to the governor’s query, the captain of the knights protecting Illeves answered with a troubled expression on his face. The highest-level individuals in the city were the senior knights; they were among the elite in the country. These knights were at least level 60, and their captain surpassed level 70. With their well-coordinated efforts, they could feasibly defeat a level 74 monster, though it would be a formidable opponent.
However, this was only true for a regular level 74 monster. The troll king was an entirely different matter. Its combat power effectively equaled that of an 80s-level monster, making it impossible for the senior knights to achieve victory without sacrifice.
Moreover, this calculation presumed they were in their peak condition. It would be reckless to attempt a breakthrough against the heavily guarded troll king with just their forces. Therefore, to make their “arrow” reach the troll king, it was necessary to use other forces to pave the way.
The anticipated force for this task was the wanderers themselves. The goddess had even given permission to use them as disposable pawns, expendable if necessary. For Illeves, using them for such a role would cause no harm or discomfort; they were the perfect candidates.
“The issue is that these wanderers are unreliable! Even if we assume, as you say, that the likelihood of a monster skilled in infiltration is high, if turns out that there actually was a traitor among them…!”
“…It’s a vicious cycle. For better or worse, the wanderers are too free and diverse.”
However, the minimal trust in players, which was the very foundation of this strategy, was beginning to waver. If there were traitors among the wanderers, it was unpredictable what might happen once they were thrown into the battlefield.
Generally, not all players would obediently follow orders. During the defense of the fortresses, a large number of wanderers acted on their own or executed attacks beyond orders. Some even blatantly ignored commands and kind advice, prioritizing the maintenance of their own equipment instead. Since they were actually “ordinary people playing a game”, not all players behaved in a befitting manner.
“In the first place, who was it that appeared before Sir Baccheshof? Could they be a wanderer who is on the side of the monsters?”
“Indeed. I’ve heard that wanderers possess unknown means of communication. Could they have been using that?”
“No, that seems unlikely. This individual was controlling undead creatures. Most likely, they are a necromancer.”
“A forbidden art… Even if lost among us, it’s not strange for such knowledge to be preserved in a large monster settlement.”
An astutely accurate observation was made, yet it was dismissed by the others. In the Kingdom of Lichtenburg, necromancy and abyssal magic were treated as forbidden arts. All records on these arts had been incinerated, and any mage, even those from foreign lands, caught researching them were strictly prosecuted and executed. The only exception was a secret book passed down through generations of court mages that was kept for the sake of understanding the countermeasures against those forbidden arts.
Therefore, they believed it was nearly impossible for the wanderers who had arrived on this continent to be involved with abyssal magic, and a monster wanderer would have no chance of even touching it. It was a natural way of thinking. They never considered that the “Goddess of Death and Chaos”, a trickster figure in their myths, might have deliberately sent a monster player into a secret laboratory in the underground parts of Firth, which had escaped scrutiny for the ludicrous reason of making things interesting.
Thus, they concluded that if there was someone using [Necromancy], it must be one of the monsters. They surmised that behind the mask of a skeleton, there lay a face belonging to a demonic lineage such as the Hobgoblin Sage.
This presumption could not be mocked as foolish. Such was the history of their nation’s thorough eradication of forbidden arts. To those informed, this judgment was obvious.
Unintentionally, Isam’s planted mistrust in the NPCs led to the removal of the option for players, especially monster players, to get any sort of information about “the mage wearing a silver mask adorned with a skeletal design” which some of them would have recognized. This oversight meant that the events that occurred north of Firth City wouldn’t be linked to him, which would delay the revelation of his identity as a player.
Shortly thereafter, they were horrified by a new report that had just arrived. One of their greatest assets, a senior knight, had been assassinated by an unknown assailant.
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