Side Story 3: Visiting a Remote Island 07

After the guildmaster asked us to take on an urgent request, the rest of the procedures went smoothly.

Rengill also wanted to ensure the successful procurement of medicinal herbs, so he asked us to prioritize the request in Elrigo.

To begin with, the sparring request never specified a date for when we had to be there. In other words, there was no problem with a slight delay. This allowed us to focus on the urgent request without any worries.

Also, we managed to heal the guildmaster’s knee with a combination of purification magic and healing magic. He was absolutely stunned when the pain disappeared.

Casters of purification magic were apparently very rare, so lifting curses was considered extremely difficult. Plus, a high-level caster became necessary when dealing with a curse powerful enough to debilitate a Rank A adventurer.

Well, he still needs rehabilitation, so it’s not like he’ll be able to join us on the request either way.

『I guess the guildmaster won’t become a gatekeeper this time…』

「…? Gatekeeper?」

『Oops, it’s nothing. Just talking to myself. More importantly, that’s the Cradle of the Earth Dragons, huh?』

「Rank A haunt. I’m getting excited.」

「Woof!」

The haunt was a dense forest on the other side of the plains. It radiated so much mana that all sorts of creatures would be drawn to it.

『It’s fine to be excited, but stay sharp. Rank A means it’s more dangerous than anything we’ve seen in the Crystal Cage, you know.』

「Nn!」

We had been given a map of the shallow areas, but almost nothing was known about its depths.

『We’ll start by investigating the shallow areas.』

「I’ll look for evil energy.」

「Woof woof!」

Apparently, plants in the haunt had been contaminated by evil energy of unknown origins. Many of the herbs growing here were affected, and consuming them unknowingly had adverse effects on the human body.

Moreover, there were incidents where magical beasts consumed these contaminated herbs, and the resulting accumulation of evil energy caused them to go completely feral.

Ordinary monsters might still be manageable, but what about the earth dragons? If the dragons fed on beasts contaminated with evil energy over a long period of time, they could go berserk too. This was a ticking timebomb, so I could see why the guild was in such a hurry.

「Hmm… Found something.」

「Woof!」

『Seriously? Already?』

「Seriously.」

「Woof woof!」

Apparently, Fran and Urushi already found traces of evil energy. Maybe the contaminated area was wider than I imagined.

We moved through the forest following their senses, and soon enough, I could sense the evil energy too.

「This one.」

「Woof.」

『Dragon Garden Herbs, huh. They only grow near dragon habitats, and are apparently good for boosting vitality.』

This was a rare herb that could sell for over 100k gold per plant, assuming the quality was sufficient.

『It’s completely contaminated by evil energy though.』

「The inside of the leaves is black.」

Just as Fran said, evil energy had already corroded the inside of the leaves. I focused my senses to see what appeared to be black lines running along the veins.

In other words, this plant was not simply exposed to evil energy. It must have absorbed it from the roots like water.

I tried using my skills to extract the evil energy, but it had already deteriorated to the point where it wasn’t sellable. For now, I decided to throw it in storage.

Oh, and I made sure to mark the collection spot on our map too.

We went on to spend half a day making a full circuit of the haunt’s shallow areas. The contaminated plants could be found everywhere, which confirmed that evil energy affected the entire zone.

『Plants other than medicinal herbs were affected too.』

「Nn. The monsters too.」

「Arf.」

We fought a few monsters in the shallow areas, and the contamination had already spread to them as well. It was ten monsters of five different species, and three of them contained evil energy.

I tried comparing their species, location, and size, but there was no common factor other than the fact that they all lived in the haunt.

After dissecting them, we found that the contamination was primarily focused on their internal organs. They must have ingested evil energy by eating contaminated herbs.

『But we didn’t find anything that looked like the cause.』

「Let’s go deeper.」

『I guess that’s our only option.』

With the effects spread over the entire zone, it’s only natural to suspect the center.

『Still, it’s weird how the evil energy is contained within the boundaries of the haunt.』

「Woof.」

The strange thing about this contamination was how neatly it aligned with the haunt’s borders. We checked the outside perimeter for a bit and there was not a single contaminated plant anymore.

It’s as though the haunt was being deliberately contaminated with evil energy. But was this intentional or just a natural phenomenon? That’s something we’ll need to investigate further.

「Urushi, let’s go.」

「Woof!」

Fran and Urushi proceeded deeper into the forest. After walking a bit, the trees became so dense that they started blocking out the sunlight.

『The evil energy is getting stronger.』

My senses were dull compared to Fran and Urushi, but even I could tell that the number of contaminated plants was increasing. If it’s like this already, I shudder at the thought of what the center will look like.

「Hmm?」

「Arf!」

『Is there a fight going on? That’s a huge amount of mana.』

I sensed a surge of mana from the other side of the trees, the deeper layers of the forest. At the same time, I heard a low, dull sound echoing in the distance.

Perhaps two high-level monsters were fighting over territory. If so, they might both be Threat Level B.

『They might be affected by evil energy. Either way, let’s go check it out.』

「Got it.」

「Woof!」

I hope the contamination hasn’t reached the earth dragons yet. It would be troublesome if monsters that strong go berserk.

『Let’s focus on reconnaissance. Avoid combat as much as possible, okay?』

「No fighting?」

『We don’t want to provoke all the other high-level monsters into joining the fight.』

Otherwise we’re going to have to apologize to the guild for causing a stampede.

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