TEOCH 47

‘This can’t be happening.’

The island is collapsing. The moment I heard those absurd words, the drowsiness that had filled my head vanished in an instant.

It can’t be. Maybe my companions were mistaken about something. No matter how much the difficulty had increased, there was no way something so ridiculous could happen.

Maybe it’s just a somewhat severe earthquake. I’ve never experienced an earthquake while clearing this stage before, but perhaps with the increased difficulty, elements like intermittent earthquakes were added.

Maybe they were exaggerating after seeing some dirt on the island’s edge fall off due to the earthquake. No, it has to be that. Anything else would be a problem. But…

As if to mock that very thought, an ominous message instantly filled my vision.

[1st Stage Hard Mode: Collapsing Islands]

[Due to the increased difficulty, the state of the 1st Stage has changed. The twelve islands that once floated in the air have now become so unstable that it would not be strange for them to collapse at any moment. You must find the artifact on each of the 12 islands and defeat the guardian of this area before they completely collapse.

While the islands are collapsing, ‘Return’ and ‘Set Up Camp’ cannot be used, and all neutral and hostile demonic beasts will prioritize attacking you. The time until each island collapses will be displayed in the map window.]

CRASH, I nearly lost my balance and collapsed as another earthquake struck the entire island. Is it for real? Is the whole island really collapsing?! I staggered and lifted my head to see my companions looking at me with eyes full of confusion. Well, if I was this confused, how much more so must they be. Even I have never experienced the ground I was standing on collapsing!

I fought to suppress my desire to deny reality and opened the map window. I didn’t know if this situation was just a minor threat or a scare tactic, or if the game had truly decided to suffocate us, but I hoped it was the former. No, it had to be. That’s the only way we can survive!

[Remaining time: 04:59:21]

[Survive!]

So it’s the latter. I found myself grinding my teeth at the word ‘Survive’ scrawled in a cheerful script. Sure, when has this game ever done anything as cute as a minor threat, but still, this is too much!

‘Only five hours? It would take more than five days to search this entire island!’

Just finding the ‘Amplifier,’ the item that we absolutely had to get on this island, would take at least four hours. And that’s assuming we run at full speed.

And there was an even bigger problem. Even if we found the Amplifier, what then?

“Should I take out my wings? In this situation, we have no choice but to fly to escape…”

“It’s no use. You can’t fly while carrying all of us!”

“If I push myself a little, it might work out somehow!”

“Even if we assume flying is possible, how do you plan to avoid those demonic beasts in the sky? If it were just you alone, you could somehow manage, but you can’t do it while supporting four people!”

Rikiel shut his mouth, a troubled look on his face. It was the middle of the night, so it wasn’t clearly visible, but an enormous number of demonic beasts were currently flapping about in the sky, trying to save their own skins.

It was dangerous enough to even attempt to fly amidst that chaos, but according to the message just now, it was obvious those demonic beasts would attack us the moment they noticed us. There was no way Rikiel, who was already staggering under our weight, could properly dodge their attacks.

That was right. What was truly desperate about this situation was that we had no means of escaping this island. The bird that brought us here wouldn’t return for at least two more days. No matter how hard Rikiel tried, it was impossible to hold out for that long. Still…

‘There must be a way. Anything!’

I glared fiercely at the map, trying my best to regain my composure. Yes, no matter how messed up this game’s difficulty is, it wouldn’t push people into a situation that’s completely impossible to clear. Let’s find a way. Of course, nothing came to mind right now, but if we could just hold on a little longer…!

“There’s no other choice, let’s go up!”

“What?!”

“To avoid the collapse, we have no choice but to go to the highest point! If we follow the river upstream, we can get to the highest mountain on this island! That’s the only option we have left!”

“B-but.”

“If we keep dawdling here, we’ll fall to our deaths! Let’s find a way as we go up!”

I immediately packed my things and got up, and my companions, who had been looking at each other with bewildered faces, had no choice but to nod in the end.

It was a reckless decision, but it couldn’t be helped. After all, it was the best thing we could do right now.

‘I have to go upstream to find the Amplifier anyway. If we keep moving, we’ll find a solution somehow!’

RUMBLE, the ground overturned with another tremendous earthquake. Feeling the ground beneath our feet truly collapsing with our entire bodies, we left the clearing and started running. All we could do now was run, fleeing the collapse underfoot.

The darkness that blanketed the forest was an overwhelming obstacle in itself. Damian had made a temporary torch, but that alone was not nearly enough to fully illuminate the ground beneath our feet.

Aack, Rehas let out a sharp scream and tumbled to the ground. It seemed he had tripped on a tree root… The moment I thought that, Rikiel, who was running with Damian on his back, also staggered and let out a groan. Feeling a sense of foreboding, I immediately turned around, and at the same time, Rehas shouted in a bewildered voice.

“Rohan, something’s strange!”

“What is it?!”

“Something’s moving under my feet! I’m sure it’s not my imagination!”

As soon as I heard that, I looked at Damian, and as if he had caught my meaning, he hurriedly lit a heatless fire at our feet. As the flickering flames brightly illuminated the area, my eyes flew open in shock.

‘No way, these things are attacking too?!’

Under our feet, black tree roots were densely tangled together. Of course, if they were just simple tree roots, there would be no reason to be shocked, but the problem was that they were writhing as if they were alive, like snakes, trying to coil around our ankles.

Now even the tree roots… Thinking that, I recalled the warning written at the end of the message and ground my teeth. Right, it did say that even neutral demonic beasts would attack! And these are a type of demonic beast too!

“What do we do?! Dammit, this whole forest is full of these damn things!”

“Damian, shine light on the roots! These things are weak to light, so that should be enough!”

Damian’s staff flashed, and the heatless light grew brighter. As if stimulated by the light, the tree roots writhed in agony, and we immediately shook them off and ran. As long as Damian continuously shone a bright light on the ground, escaping the roots was not particularly difficult.

But at that moment, another threat instantly assailed us.

“Keuk?!”

“Wh-what is that? What’s attacking us?!”

“Dammit, I have to put out the fire! We’re being attacked by the demonic beasts in the sky!”

Flap, flap, I shouted as I swatted away the black shadows flying at us with a loud noise. It was a good idea to use light to see the tree roots’ movements, but in the end, that light had exposed our location. We couldn’t even move properly while fending off the dozens of black shadows pouring down from the sky.

Damian quickly extinguished the fire, and thanks to that, the attacks from the sky subsided a little, but this time, the tree roots rushed in to exploit our opening. Unlike a moment ago when they were just lightly tripping us, this time they were showing blatant malice.

The roots, which were now crawling up to our calves, not just our ankles, were so thick that even a blade couldn’t properly cut into them. When I swung my sword, imbued with a great deal of purifying energy, they were somehow cut away, but Tristan and I couldn’t cut away all the vines on our other companions.

‘Dammit, at this rate, the island will collapse before we even reach the upstream area!’

It was uncertain if we could reach the upstream area in time even if we ran at full speed, but if we kept fighting like this, we might end up just swinging our swords without taking a single step forward. I wish we could just fly, but that too was impossible in this situation. No matter how strong Rikiel was, the most he could carry would be two people at best!

I desperately wracked my brain, squeezing out memories. There had to be a way out. Although the entire island had never collapsed like this before, there had been countless times when I had fled at full speed to escape the pursuit of demonic beasts. Among those numerous experiences, there must be something I can use in this situation!

‘Wait, maybe there’s a way!’

I instinctively lifted my head and looked above me. Come to think of it, the vines and tree branches hanging in the air weren’t attacking us.

It seemed they didn’t fall into the category of ‘moving’ demonic beasts. If that’s the case, there is a way. I remembered the unusually long vines near the riverbank, and a certain memory from the past of desperately escaping using those vines. Yes, if it’s that!

“Let’s go to the riverbank! There’s no way out, at least not in the forest!”

“But will it be alright?! By now, other demonic beasts will be swarming the riverbank too!”

“We have no choice! The forest is crawling with demonic beasts anyway, so we have to choose the path where it’s even a little easier to move!”

Rehas looked bewildered but eventually nodded. Of course, his point was valid. We weren’t the only ones moving to higher ground to escape the earthquake, so most of the demonic beasts would probably be moving along the riverbank by now.

But I had something I was counting on. It might be a bit dangerous upstream, but we should be able to move at a decent speed at least until the midstream area. It was obvious what kind of creatures would be struggling at the riverbank, unable to fly to another island or break through the forest…!

As I planned our future route in my head, I gave instructions to my companions.

“Sir Rikiel, you can carry at least two people and fly, right? I’ll take Damian, so you take His Majesty and Rehas and follow me! If we fly at the lowest possible altitude, we won’t get caught by the demonic beasts in the sky!”

“Is there a reason you’re specifically taking Damian? And how do you plan to move?!”

“I have my own way. Damian, I’m counting on you!”

“Yes? F-for what?!”

“The ‘Blink’ magic you learned a while ago, isn’t it about time you used it!”

Damian, who had been looking at me with an expression that said, why bring that up all of a sudden, soon had his eyes wide with surprise. It was probably because he had witnessed the demonic beasts swarming the riverbank beyond the forest.

I also immediately turned my head and checked the riverbank. It was just as I had expected. The demonic beasts that were desperately writhing to get upstream were…

“Wh-what in the world are those…?!”

“Don’t worry, they don’t have the ability to attack us anyway! Besides, thanks to them, other demonic beasts won’t be able to approach the riverbank easily!”

I quickly added an explanation, but my companions seemed unable to tear their eyes away from the scene unfolding before them. It was understandable. I had also struggled quite a bit to get used to the disgusting appearance of those things at first. I panted for breath as I looked at the swarm of snails that filled the riverbank.

Although they were called snails, the demonic beasts before our eyes were such heinous things that it felt wrong to even compare them to the snails of the human world.

First of all, their size was enormous, easily over a meter, and those demonic beasts didn’t even have shells to protect their soft skin. The creature’s skin, which oozed a slimy mucus, was covered in colorful boils, and with even the slightest stimulus, they would spew out foul-smelling pus.

Indeed, every time the demonic beasts moved, a few of the weaker boils would burst and spew out yellow pus, but due to the unique regenerative abilities of demonic beasts, the boils would instantly return to their original form. Every time the creatures slowly squirmed, the mucus and pus flowing from their entire bodies soaked the ground, and every time a drop of pus fell, an ominous-colored smoke rose from the soil. It was a potent poison that would cause flesh to rot with a mere touch.

The swarm of snails that filled the riverbank was crawling endlessly toward the upstream area. The sight of the demonic beasts, which looked like carelessly torn-off pieces of flesh, writhing and tangled together was enough to evoke disgust in itself.

But right now, only two things mattered to me. Those damn things can’t climb trees, and they can’t perform ranged attacks.

“H-how do you plan to break through them?! I think those tree roots from before would be much better!”

“When did I say we were going to break through?! Now, Damian! Let’s go!”

I practically snatched Damian from Rikiel, hoisted him onto my back, and began to climb a nearby hanging vine. Only then did Damian, realizing my intention, start to struggle behind me in a panic.

Well, it’s natural to be panicked. No matter how lush the vines were at the riverbank, the gaps between them were not that dense. No matter how much you leap with all your might, one wrong move and you could fall short and plummet. But there are plenty of ways to assist with that fall. So.

“M-Mr. Rohan? What are you trying to do?!”

“I’m going to trust your teleportation magic!”

“Don’t trust it! It’s my first time using it!”

“You can do anything when the situation calls for it! Sir Rikiel, fly as fast as you can! There’s not much time left before the collapse!”

“I’ve never used this kind of magic before, so I have no feel for it…! What if I fall and get eaten by those snails?!”

“Let’s think about that when it happens!”

Damian chattered nonstop from my back, but I wasn’t too worried since he had a track record of whining just like that before and then using ‘Blink’ splendidly.

CRASH, the sound of a huge roar and dirt and dust raining down from behind us was deafening. The collapse, which had already come into view, soon brought down the entire ground, and dozens of snails were swept up in it and fell below. Damian’s arms around my neck tightened.

Dammit, I have to hurry! After confirming that Rikiel was rising with two people, I launched myself toward a vine on the opposite side without a moment’s hesitation. Even though I jumped with all my might, I was still several meters short of reaching the other side, but if Damian helps, this much is surely enough…!

“Now, let’s go!”

Wheee, with a ringing in my ears, my vision turned pitch black, and at the same time as the aftereffects of ‘Blink’ made my head feel like it was splitting open, my stomach churned violently.

Is it about here? I reached out my arm, half on instinct and half on a rough guess, and a thick vine came into my grasp. I held onto that vine tightly and threw my body into the air. My body, launched into the air with momentum, was still not enough to reach the opposite vine, but Damian should be able to cover that gap, probably!

“W-wait a minute! If I use ‘Blink’ continuously like this!”

“I won’t say anything even if you throw up on my back, so just keep using it! Sir Rikiel, are you keeping up?!”

No answer came, but judging by the loud buzzing sound of a bee’s wings, it seemed he was following along somehow. Grabbing another vine, I endured the intense exhaustion and nausea and leaped with all my might.

Normally, Blink isn’t a spell you’re supposed to use consecutively like this, and if I made a mistake and fell, I’d end up shoving my face into the pus-filled boils of those snails. But, at least for now, the only thing that mattered was that we could move without being attacked by other demonic beasts.

CRASH!

The sound of a part of the world collapsing completely rang out. We threw ourselves toward the upstream area with all our might.