Dark Fantasy Guide for the Summoner - Chapter 16

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 16.
Woodman Colony I
I know PoPP well.
At least when it comes to this game, I pride myself on possessing deeper knowledge and experience than anyone else.
Chris—even compared to that friend whose progression rate was higher than mine, this conviction doesn’t waver.
‘The opening of the Forest of Eternity.’
Which places are most dangerous, which are safe, where you can secure the best rewards relative to difficulty, what types of monsters appear, their numbers, the field events that trigger under specific conditions—everything.
I have it all down.
“Um, Caindel…?”
Perhaps that’s why.
Even in my current predicament, I could make an accurate judgment.
“This place looks like somewhere we passed before…?”
“……”
Looking at the tree, I spotted an X-shaped mark.
It was definitely a mark I’d carved with my sickle.
“Hm. So this was our fourth time?”
“Fifth.”
“Ah.”
Cria, who’d been listening to our exchange, opened her mouth.
“…You know, Caindel. Don’t tell us we’re—”
“Yeah.”
I nodded, confirming the situation for everyone.
“We’re lost.”
* * *
In PoPP, the Minimap isn’t a function unlocked from the start.
This means it’s not an environment where you can roam freely while viewing a map anytime, anywhere.
Because the Forest of Eternity is so vast and sprawling, new players inevitably lose their way.
That’s why beginners who entered PoPP in the first place weren’t without reason to delete the game in frustration.
[You have wandered through the same region for an extended period without a Guide.]
[You have lost your way.]
[Status abnormality: you fall into Wandering.]
[You and your allies’ Stress values accumulate more rapidly.]
A silver lining was that PoPP operated in quarter-view format.
Since the perspective itself was fixed, you could always escape a map by deliberately moving in a single direction.
Naturally, this meant breaking free from the Wandering state as well.
‘Now?’
Impossible.
The screen perspective is no longer fixed, after all.
In game terms, the genre has shifted to a 3D open world.
Pathfinding naturally had to become many times harder.
‘Does this mean a Guide becomes essential from the very start?’
Once the Guide skill blooms, the Minimap opens immediately.
Of course, the map itself doesn’t suddenly light up completely; only regions already explored open sequentially.
Anyone who’s played a game knows this.
The difference between having even that much functionality and not having it is staggering.
In other words, the deeper you venture into the forest, the more indispensable a Guide becomes among your allies.
‘If we just had a map, I think we could manage somehow.’
Of course, acquiring a map of the forest isn’t easy.
Since the forest itself is designated as an uncharted region, naturally any map containing terrain information holds immense value.
There are a few workarounds available, but executing them is impossible in our current situation.
“Sigh.”
Thinking of maps, Guides, and the other essential allies and items we’d need to secure, I felt a headache coming on.
“Let’s move on for now.”
“Y-yes.”
Simply being lost doesn’t immediately create serious problems.
In fact, there are ways to leverage this situation.
Though if this state persists, my allies’ Stress values will certainly spike sharply.
‘At 80, a whole suite of debuffs kicks in; at 90, stats are cut in half.’
When it hits 100, well, there’s no need to elaborate.
They take their own lives.
From what I could see, Cria seemed like she’d hold up well.
Her Stress stat had been low to begin with, so she likely had high mental aptitude.
Which meant the real problem was her brother.
Name: Kazen (?)
Stress: 47
It had climbed quite a bit already.
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
I was staring at him like a time bomb about to detonate, and Kazen picked up on it immediately.
“Want some water?”
At my words, Kazen flinched and put distance between us.
“W-why are you suddenly being so kind?”
“What do you mean?”
“No, it’s just… you’re speaking so politely…”
……
I could roughly guess what kind of image he’d formed of me in his head.
With a dull expression, I withdrew the Waterskin I’d been holding out.
Stress stat: 47.
In the game, that was a number you could barely survive a week with—but now that it was real, I wasn’t sure how it would play out.
“Caindel.”
At Cria’s call, I stopped in my tracks.
“Found them?”
“Yeah. Sylph says they’re beyond that thicket.”
I nodded and slowly made my way toward where Cria had pointed, and…
We spotted them beyond the brush.
Creak, creak…
The first threat a player encounters upon entering the forest.
The mob you’d meet again and again from the early stages onward.
Bipedal creatures that looked like walking trees—
<Woodmen>.
……
Kazen and Cria both looked slightly tense.
It seemed like a different feeling from when we’d fought beasts or marauders.
Strangely, I felt nothing of the sort.
‘Seven of them, maybe?’
These creatures typically gathered in groups of five to ten, so the numbers were manageable.
I gave them instructions.
“Kazen. Take out one with your Crossbow first. Once they notice us, I’ll draw their Aggro. Cria, support with Sylph.”
Kazen’s role for now was ranged damage dealer—crossbowman.
‘If some Crossbow Mastery ends up manifesting from this, I’ll be in real trouble.’
Of course, since his class was listed as Mage, the odds of that were slim.
Mastery Skills had much lower trigger rates after class advancement anyway.
“Shoot…? Um, where should I aim?”
“The head. These things move slow anyway. But be careful—there might be some disguised as trees hiding around nearby.”
“I see…”
“Once you’re ready, shoot. That’s the signal.”
……
Kazen’s breathing trembled.
It didn’t last long.
When he slowly closed and opened his eyes, the tremor had nearly vanished from them.
Kazen fixed his gaze forward and drew his Crossbow on the Woodman group.
Twang.
Then, release.
The moment the bolt lodged in the creature’s head, the Woodman group immediately surged toward us.
What was more surprising was the one with the bolt in its forehead.
Creak, creak-crack!
Rather than collapse, it twisted its neck to face us and began charging forward.
“C-Caindel! That one—”
“It’s already dying! Ignore it and shoot the others!”
“Y-yes!”
Although it was moving, its head was already shattered—it was only a matter of time before it went down.
Thunk, thunk, thunk!
Kazen kept up his barrage, but he seemed to feel the pressure from the Woodmen rushing toward him like madness, and his shots kept missing the vital points.
In other words, it was pointless.
Woodmen don’t die unless you smash their heads.
‘Damn it.’
I should’ve taken down at least three from range.
I clicked my tongue and charged toward the Woodman pack, my shield raised like a wall.
Crash!
Shield Attack.
Of course, I was only mimicking the form—I don’t actually have a skill like that.
Crunch!
Still, I felt the entire body of the Woodman that had collided with my shield crumple.
Ordinary Woodmen don’t have particularly high defense stats anyway.
Ah, by the way, I had the scythe on my back for now since I didn’t think I’d need it for a while.
For the time being, wielding the shield with both hands seemed like the better approach.
Graaaaaah!
The Woodman shrieked and swung its arm.
At the tips of its fingers were claws that looked like bark had been stripped away, and their ends were quite sharp.
Depending on the individual, some might carry poison, so contact was best avoided.
Screech!
The Woodman scratched at the shield.
No matter how monstrous they are, at their core they’re just wood.
I didn’t need to worry about the shield breaking through.
But.
“Ugh…!”
I heard Kazen cry out.
Glancing back, I saw two more Woodmen closing in.
‘Rot.’
This is exactly why I should’ve killed at least three.
The basic aggro limit for one person is four enemies.
If I had a Tanker exclusive skill, I could handle more, but there’s no way I have a skill like that when I’m just mimicking a shield user.
‘Can’t be helped.’
I shouted loudly.
“Weasel!”
In that instant, the Blade Weasel that had been waiting in the trees entered the battlefield.
Crash-crack-crack!
The moment he appeared, he cast Blade Storm, and two Woodmen were swept away like fallen leaves.
“Kazen!”
“Ah, yes!”
Kazen, finally coming to his senses, raised the Crossbow again and carefully picked off the enemies one by one.
At first he kept missing, but as he waited with patience, his accuracy gradually improved.
Even with me and the Woodman in close quarters, he landed a precise shot to the head.
This fellow really does have excellent marksmanship.
‘If only I could fix that fragile mentality of his, he’d be perfect.’
Before long, the Woodman pack was wiped out completely.
Only then did Kazen straighten and let out the breath he’d been holding.
“Huff… huff…”
“…You did well.”
Saying something I didn’t mean felt like thorns pricking the inside of my mouth.
Truth is, I had plenty of complaints.
I hadn’t wanted to bring Weasel into the fight if I could help it.
I’d figured that seven Woodmen or so could be wiped out by the three of us—or if we’re being extreme about it, just me and Kazen together.
“My apologies.”
Kazen spoke in a hollow voice.
He clearly understood his own mistakes.
Since forced consolation didn’t sit right with me either, I just gave a nod.
Chirp!
Meanwhile, Weasel was striking a pose like a bodybuilder.
It looked ridiculous, but if this creature hadn’t been here, we’d have been in serious trouble.
Level, stats, experience—right now, this one is undoubtedly our party’s true ace.
“Is it… over?”
Cria emerged from her hiding spot.
A Spiritist like Cria didn’t have much practical use in direct combat.
Her role was reconnaissance through spirits, scouting the surroundings, and applying buffs.
‘Still, she pulls her weight just fine.’
I moved toward the Woodman’s corpse.
It unfolded as I’d expected.
The monster dissolved the moment it died within the forest, dropping its loot.
Nothing fancy—just a Seed. A faintly purple-tinted one.
“What is that?”
“A Seed.”
“Ah…! So that’s a Seed.”
What exactly is a Seed?
Simply put, it’s the currency in PoPP. It looks just like its name suggests—a small seed.
When you defeat hostile creatures in the forest, they drop these Seeds with certainty, but their value varies wildly depending on their size, color, and condition.
“Do we need to collect them?”
“That’s right.”
Cria crouched down to gather the Seeds alongside me. “If we combine everything we just earned, how much would that be?”

“Around three or four thousand Seeds, I’d say.”
“I see. So how much do we need to collect?”
“One million.”
Kazen scratched behind his ear and asked again.
“Forgive me, but how much did you just say?”
“At minimum, we need to gather one million Seeds.”
“In other words…”
“What’s so difficult about it? We just repeat what we just did three or four hundred more times.”

What? What’s that look?
Did you think grinding in a game was supposed to be easy?

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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