Chương 24: Stroll Around the Forest

Revel had fallen asleep on his shoulder. It was getting more uncomfortable by the second. A few solutions came to mind. The best one, and the least likely to disturb her, was Levitate. All he had to do was cast it and lower her gently. He cast it. The familiar screen appeared, and he closed it. It recognized the spell, but didn't give him a level. Revel began to float. Once she was far enough that he wouldn't touch her, he stood up. He took a pillow from his backpack.

It wasn't the best, but it was better than the ground. He placed it down and slowly lowered her onto it. Then dismissed the spell. He took his blanket and covered her.

"Better," he muttered, stretching.

"Prepare camp," Edrin shouted. The soldiers moved, tools appearing in their hands. They worked the ground, clearing the grass until only the hard, cold earth remained. Then they pulled out the canvas and spread it across the ground. It was large, like a small house. Adolin frowned. They brought out the poles and set them in place. It didn't take long—with their monstrous strength, it was done in less than a minute. They added additional stakes, supports, he guessed, then raised the canvas.

Ropes were pulled tight and secured. What followed made Adolin want to tear his hair out. They brought out literal beds. Frames, covers, everything. The same thing was happening all across what now looked like a campsite. The others were as large as a room. Maybe even larger then that. His bag sat in front of him, his hand reaching for the bedroll he was going to use. He kicked the bag. And cursed under his breath. How was that fair? A soldier stopped in front of him.

"Lord Dareth," he said, bowing slightly.

"Would you like help with your tent?" Was he mocking him? He really was in a bad mood. What tent?

"I… don't have one."

"We carry extras," the soldier said, winking.

"Just in case."

"That would be nice." The soldier chuckled and got to work. Soon, two more joined him. Adolin just stood there, watching. He could feel a smile forming. They even called him a lord. And they were setting up a king's tent. He started whistling quietly as he watched. Soon the tent was ready, and he stepped inside. It was the same as the others. A bed stood in the middle, larger than anything he had slept on since coming to this world. A small table sat beside it, a basket of fruit resting on top. He lay down.

It was soft. Perfect. The covers were warm and cozy. He loved it. He needed one of these for himself. His eyes closed. The last thought before sleep took him was that he would track down every convenience spell this world had to offer. Every single one of them. They were already moving deeper into the woods. It was unusually quiet. No birds. No insects. He had a bad feeling about it. Like most of the group. They followed the tracks from the second wave. The scouts confirmed they were getting closer.

He suspected it was some kind of skill. He knew quite a few like that. But his body was too weak to use them. That would have to wait. Luc was the one who had taught him. The best one. Well… not the best. Just the one he liked the most. Luc called it Flash Step. It worked similarly to Blink, but instead of teleporting, it relied entirely on speed. It was a good technique. Most enemies expected mana when he moved like that. He had caught a lot of them off guard with it. It should work the same in this world.

He just needed a stronger body. Since he couldn't waste his attribute points on anything other than Intelligence, it would take time. Revel walked a few steps ahead of him. She hadn't said anything since she woke up. It was probably for the best. It was kind of awkward. And what was he supposed to say if she brought it up? Maybe that was enough bonding for the week. This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. The leading soldier raised his hand.

Everyone stopped in their tracks. The men crouched, and started moving forward. Slowly. The two scouts behind him followed. He stood and waited. Everyone quieted, letting the scouts do their job. Ten minutes later, they returned. Something was wrong. One of them kept glancing back over his shoulder. The other's grip on his sword was too tight. They stopped in front of the group.

"Corruption," the scout said, his voice lower than before.

"I think it's corruption." Adolin glanced at Revel. A lot passed over her face, fear, at first. Then hatred. The fear returned, but it didn't stay. It hardened into something else. Her expression settled. A staff appeared in her hand as she stepped forward.

"Where?" she asked, her tone cold. The scout pointed ahead.

"About two hundred meters. The flora is already infected." Edrin cursed.

"We need to burn it. Burn it before it spreads." Revel didn't respond. She strode toward the corruption. This was going to be interesting, Adolin thought as he followed behind her.

"Revel," Clay called, running after her.

"Wait. We go together." The boy was right. But it wasn't his place to stop her. This was something she had to go through. Was it smart to rush in without a plan? Definitely not. But he was there. So she would be fine. No matter what mistakes she made. And it was his first time seeing corruption in this world. That alone made it worth it. Clay called again, but Revel's eyes were already red. Left with no choice, the others followed.

The scout moved ahead to lead, while the second stayed in the middle, still explaining what they had seen.

"…Everything is black. The trees, the grass, the flowers. Everything. With green veins moving through it. Pulsing…" Everything the scout described matched what Revel had told him the day before. But there was a problem. The monsters they fought yesterday weren't corrupted. They were normal. Yet they had gathered and attacked a village.

"Kinsley," Edrin said, "go back. Take the fastest horse and ride to the capital. They need to be informed. If we fail, someone else must come and eradicate it. It cannot be allowed to spread. The capital will be in danger."

"Yes, my lord," Kinsley said, already turning. He broke into a run, heading back the way they came.

"We should have taken Blaise," Clay said, still trying to catch up with Revel.

"His element is fire. It would have helped."

"Too late," Edrin said, his sword already drawn. The air around them changed. It felt… wrong. Unnatural. Something inside him stirred. It wanted to tear it apart. Destroy it. That was interesting. It seemed like the world itself rejected the corruption. A double-edged sword. It attracted monsters, and when they tried to destroy it, they were corrupted. Slowly building its own forces. But it didn't just draw monsters. It drew everything. Smarter, stronger creatures would destroy it from a distance.

And to intelligent beings, it acted like an alarm. A moment later, he saw it in the distance. Just like Revel and the scout had described. The wrongness grew stronger. So did the urge to destroy it. The group stopped, keeping their distance. Revel didn't. Adolin caught her by the shoulder.

"Calm down." She turned, her eyes red, anger spilling over. She pulled, trying to break free. She was stronger than him. Much stronger. So he cast Minor Strength and held on.

"We'll destroy it," Adolin said.

"But that thing is messing with your judgment. You'll get yourself killed." He paused.

"And us." She still struggled. Adolin wondered if he would have to waste mana on her instead of the corruption.

"Revel," Edrin called, his voice cold and commanding. She stilled. Not fully, but enough.

"I didn't bring you here to be a liability," Edrin said.

"Get a hold of yourself. Or I will restrain you." It took her a few moments, but she calmed down.

"Sorry," she said.

"I…"

"You don't need to explain," Adolin said. Clay stepped in beside them, nodding, his hand resting on her other shoulder. She took a deep breath and stepped back into line, taking her place in the middle. He exhaled. That was harder than it looked. How was she so much stronger than him? What level was she? Women in this world were scary. He moved toward the corrupted flora with the scout, while the others stayed behind. He stopped in front of it and studied it. It wasn't like anything he had seen before.

The green veins pulsed, unnaturally. He couldn't quite describe it. The wrongness was stronger here. But it didn't take him much effort to shake it off. It had affected Revel because she was already emotional. She had wanted to tear it apart. The corruption had just pushed her further.

"Don't touch it," Edrin said.

"I won't." While he studied it, the men formed a defensive perimeter around them. The others spoke in low voices, while Revel stood off to the side, quiet. He ignored it all and kept studying. Even after putting so many points into Intelligence, he still didn't have enough for the stronger analysis spells. A shame. They were effective. So he cast Analyze. His mana slipped into the flower. A window appeared in front of him. [Analyze Complete.] [Corruption Detected.] [Source: Unknown.] [Interference level: Extreme.] No shit. The blessing's analysis was bad. Bare minimum. He would have to do it manually. Like before. He pushed his mana and cast it again. It slipped into the plant, spreading through it. Moments later, he lost the connection to his mana. He chuckled. It had corrupted his mana. If he tried again, the same thing would happen. It was too fast. He couldn't get a proper reading before it got corrupted. Maybe it wasn't the blessing's fault. The spell was just too low level.

Still, he reached the same conclusion. The mana inside the plant was wrong. Dark. That was all he could tell. It was infuriating. Not being able to use his stronger spells… But at least he understood that much. There were far worse forms of corruption in his world. This was, at most, a medium threat. Or, by this world's terms… middle tier. As he studied it, the scout's voice cut through the air.

"Dungeon. And… it's corrupted." His head snapped toward the scout. A dungeon. He was finally going to learn what it was.