Dark Fantasy Guide for the Summoner - Chapter 22

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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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Episode 22.
Wood Revenge III
“Hair? Why hair?”
“Second instruction. From now on, don’t ask pointless questions. And Cria—I need yours too.”
“Oh, sure.”
Cria moved with practiced swiftness.
In an instant, she yanked out a handful of her own hair and handed it over.
Seigna, by contrast, hesitated until the last moment—then flinched at the sound of Woodman scraping bark—before finally plucking out her own strands.
“Ahhhhh! My hair…!”
Did she have to scream like that every time? It drained the strength right out of me.
“…Giving my hair to someone else. To a commoner, no less. Is this really the right call?”
“D-don’t worry. In situations like this, Kaindel’s judgment has always been right…mostly.”
Even Cria’s reassurance failed to completely erase the suspicion from Seigna’s face.
I ignored her and fixed my gaze on the object I’d drawn from my pouch—a doll.
Baldi’s Curse Doll
Creatures without intellect cannot distinguish it from a living person.
I split the belly of a pair of dolls and stuffed each one with a lock of hair from Cria and Seigna respectively.
The dolls trembled as if alive, and a mark was inscribed on the foreheads of both women.
Shhhhhk—
A mark I’d come to know well: the Sacrifice Mark branded on the nape of Cria’s neck and the back of Seigna’s right hand.
“….”
The Woodman that had crept within arm’s reach suddenly halted. It began turning its head this way and that, as if uncertain which direction to go—like a broken wind-up toy.
“Why is it…oof!”
I clapped my hand over Seigna’s mouth before she could finish, then hurled the dolls into the midst of the Woodmen.
“…!”
The attention of all the Woodmen snapped toward the dolls in an instant.
They rushed forward as one and seized the dolls with crude, grasping movements.
“…What in the world is happening?”
“Stay still. Don’t move.”
Two of the Woodmen, dolls clenched in their hands, continued climbing the tree.
They ascended past us and reached the spots where the fruit hung.
Thunk!
“Hic.”
Then both dolls were impaled on twigs that ended in particularly sharp points—skewered like meat on a spit.
“…”
Normally, that would be the fate of a sacrifice.
If luck turned against you, it meant instant death; if luck held, you’d bleed out within hours.
“Phew.”
But the fact that the dolls were now pinned to branches meant I’d bought at least some time.
For now, at least, they would be treated as “sacrifices.”
Of course…
[Baldi’s Curse Doll has been activated.]
[Time remaining: 0:29:59]
Not that I had all the time in the world.
* * *
The Woodmen soon ceased their movements.
They hadn’t vanished—they’d simply rooted themselves into the earth below, their heads bowed.
“…”
An eerie silence settled over us.
A chill wind swept through just then, and Seigna’s body trembled faintly.
Cria, who had been staring blankly at the dolls impaled on the branches, finally spoke.
“…They mistook the dolls for us?”
“That’s right.”
“So this solves the problem…?”
If only it were that simple.
“I’ve only bought us time. The real work starts now.”
“I see…”
As I was giving a brief situation report, Seigna spoke up.
“Wait…aren’t our voices too loud? Some of them are still waiting below us.”
“Trees have no ears.”
“Huh?”
“They don’t have hearing or anything like that. If we’re just talking, we can make as much noise as we want. As long as we don’t shout, anyway.”
“Oh, really? Then maybe I could sit down for a―”
“Stop.”
This bastard, I swear…….
Seigna, startled despite herself, checked my expression before suddenly crying out.
“Why, why again!”
“……Look below.”
“What? Eeek……!”
She glanced down and nearly tumbled backward.
The pack of Woodmen, their heads lowered until just now, had all turned to face us.
“What, what is this? You said they couldn’t hear the sound just now…….”
“They can’t. A Woodman’s only sensory organ is tactile sense.”
“Tactile sense?”
“See how they’re rooting themselves into the ground? Through those roots, they feel the vibrations transmitted through the earth.”
“Ah.”
Seigna nodded in understanding, then asked again.
“So we just have to stay still like this? What about that doll being a time buyer?”
“Move slowly enough. Slowly as a snail yawning.”
The real problem is getting down from this tree.
“Cria.”
“Yes.”
“Can you use your spirit to lower us down one at a time?”
Cria thought for a moment before answering.
“I think I can manage you and this man, but Kaindel will be difficult.”
Of course it would be.
I’m probably half again as heavy as either of them.
I let out a sigh and spoke.
“Then you two descend first, and after that, walk slowly toward the roots on the opposite side of the tree.”
“Toward the roots? Aren’t we running away?”
“Where would we run to? Even at full speed, it’s impossible to completely shake these things off. And we don’t have another doll to sacrifice anymore.”
Cria fell silent for a moment before muttering as if to herself.
“……I wonder if Kazen will be all right.”
Now’s not the time to worry about others.
Those words rose to my throat, but.
“Hard to say.”
I have no way of knowing what’s happening there either.
Of course, Lorang knew about Wood Revenge.
Perhaps he even knows some other trick to escape from this catastrophe.
I shook my head.
Irritating as he is, thoughts of Lorang will have to wait.
“Behind the roots, there should be a passage leading beneath the tree. Just get inside that, and the Woodmen won’t be able to follow anymore.”
“What about you?”
“I’ll manage. Go ahead.”
Cria nodded, then summoned the Sylph.
Cria’s body rose first.
Her floating form descended slowly like fluttering feathers.
“…….”
She touched down without making a sound.
Excellent control.
Next came Seigna.
“Uuuugh…….”
But this one was clearly unstable.
Unlike Cria, who floated steadily, Seigna’s body spun as if she were drifting through weightless space.
At first she rotated side to side like a displayed sculpture, but at some point she began rolling like a ball in all directions at once.
“S-stop. I’m going to throw up…… Urgh.”
“Relax your body…… The Sylph says it’s hard to control…….”
Cria spoke through gritted teeth.
Looking closer, she was sweating profusely.
“R-relax, you say? That’s easy for you to say……! If I go defenseless and land face-first, my neck could break and I could die……!”
The paranoia was a bit much, but it wasn’t entirely unreasonable either.
Placing yourself completely in someone else’s hands is harder than it sounds.
Even standing here watching, I felt my heart clenching.
If they botched the landing, we’d be finished……. At that point, the plan meant nothing.
Thud…….
Finally, Seigna’s feet touched the ground, and unlike Cria’s landing, the impact was barely audible.
“……!”
The two of them startled and glanced around.
The Woodman nearby flinched, but…….
“…….”
Close call. We’d made it.
I exhaled in relief and spoke.
“Good. Now move slowly. Understand? Never rush. Keep clear of the Woodman―move to the far side of the tree, bit by bit…….”
The two of them advanced at my command, moving with glacial care.
It looked almost comical, like watching slow-motion footage, but I suspected they’d both be sore tomorrow. They were locked in that kind of extreme tension.
Fortunately, the strain seemed to sharpen their focus―they moved smoothly.
“Kaindel…….”
Up to a point, anyway.
A cluster of Woodman blocked the path that continued beyond the tree.
We couldn’t advance any further like this.
“Hah.”
So that was our limit.
“When I say three, run.”
“Wha……?”
“One, two―”
The moment I saw them ready themselves to dash, I dropped from the tree.
“Three!”
Boom―the instant my feet hit the ground, the earth seemed to ripple.
It actually did.
The Woodman that had been rooted in place all surged to life at once.
“Run!”
I shouted the words―whether to myself or to them, I couldn’t say―and ran.
Shrieeeeek―!
The Woodman reached toward me immediately, but I was fine.
Most of them still had their legs driven deep into the ground.
In that window, I wove between them, vaulted over anyone blocking my path, and pressed forward by trampling across their heads and shoulders.
“Kaindel!”
The two of them had already made it safely to the far side of the tree.
And I could see the destination.
The dark entrance―
A root cavern descending into the earth below.
For some reason it looked far larger and more sinister than it had in the game.
“Into the cave!”
“Wait―what’s that foul stench…… Gaaaah!”
I shoved the still-protesting Seigna inside, then threw myself into the opening after her.
Screeeeeech―!
I could see the Woodman surging behind us, but they dared not follow us into the hole.
They couldn’t.
This was no place for Woodman to enter.
[Hidden location discovered.]
[Hidden Map, <Corpse Cave> now accessible.]
We’d managed to get in, somehow.
* * *
We walk through a damp, reek-stinking passage.
The temperature seems to have dropped even further than before―and it’s not just my imagination.
“What is this place……?”
At Seigna’s question, I told her the map’s name.
“Corpse Cave.”
“C-Corpse Cave?”
“That’s right. Can’t you tell?”
At my words, Seigna’s eyes fluttered as if trying to adjust to the darkness—
“Eek…!”
Only then did she take in her surroundings, and panic seized her.
Well, what did I expect? Rotting corpses lay scattered in every direction.
“Ugh… I think I’m really going to be sick this time.”
“Go ahead, then.”
“I-I didn’t mean it like that… But what are all these corpses doing here?”
“Every corpse that dies in the Colony Ground gets transported here. Humans only, though.”
“Transported? Why would they do something so grotesque?”
“Who knows. Probably using them as nutrients.”
“N-nutrients…?”
Seigna’s face drained of color, and she hurried after me with quickened steps.
“W-wait! Come with me!”
“…”
This root cavern was quite expansive, and if certain conditions were met, it was actually possible to escape the Wood Revenge through here.
‘Unfortunately, meeting those conditions right now would be impossible.’
So the only way to use this place at present was the same strategy I’d employed on the train.
I began rifling through the corpses scattered about.
[Obtained ‘Torn Leather Gloves’.]
[Obtained ‘Rusted Forearm Shield’.]
[Obtained ‘Perforated Cloak’.]
“…What are you doing?”
“Can’t you see? Gathering anything worth using. You should look too.”
“You want me to strip corpses?”
“What’s the harm in it?”
“B-but if we don’t show at least some respect to the dead, Abel’s wrath will—”
Abel is the supreme god worshipped by the Abel Faith, the kingdom’s state religion.
‘So this one’s a believer?’
If that was the case, her resistance was understandable, but…
Unlike Seigna, Cria moved with brisk efficiency.
“Kaindel. Can we use this tunic?”
“It looks too large for you to wear.”
“Ah… you’re right.”
Now that I thought about it, even when we’d encountered the archer’s corpse, this girl had shown no aversion to corpses.
“Ungh…”
In the end, Seigna also joined in the corpse looting, poking at bodies reluctantly.
Still, this place was far superior to the train as a farming spot.
If luck would only cooperate…
[Obtained ‘Low-Grade Protection Ring’.]
Even Rare Grade items could end up in our hands this way.
It made sense narratively too. Since equipment items held no value to Woodman, they were typically left abandoned in the Corpse Cave.
Of course, what items could be salvaged was random.
‘Right now, the ring is the only thing worth using.’
My expression soured.
With good luck, I could sometimes get three or more of them.
Still, the Low-Grade Protection Ring was ranked quite highly even among Rare items, so I’d have to settle for that as consolation.
Low-Grade Protection Ring
Grade: Rare
When damage exceeding a certain threshold is sustained, the protective magic embedded in the ring activates.
▶ Uses Remaining: 3/5
Even with two uses already expended, it wasn’t a bad find.
I slipped the ring onto my finger immediately.
Even for a Low-Grade ring, it was strange—the artifact sized itself to my hand automatically.
“…”
And not long after, I stopped walking again.
I’d spotted a corpse I recognized.
A skeletal frame draped in a robe—a notably valuable one, and the corpse’s condition was surprisingly intact.
The reason was simple.
This was a mage’s corpse.
“…”
A mage’s bones don’t weather easily, even in life they were shaped by mana’s influence. Exposed to open air, they can maintain their form for quite a long time.
So bones of a draconic race are especially valuable — or so the lore goes…… but that’s not what matters right now.
“Sigh.”
I couldn’t help but click my tongue at the waste of it.
I knew who this corpse belonged to.
Caren Hogvald, the Flame Mage.
A promising mage back in the kingdom, dead by the betrayal of a comrade — that was how the story went.
The truth is, my reason for visiting the Corpse Cave in the game had never been mere corpse farming.
‘Seeing it in person, I could die of regret.’
If I’d had an aptitude for Necromancy, an event would trigger here — an encounter with Caren’s spirit.
And depending on my choices, I’d be able to raise the flame mage’s corpse to stand again.
‘Can’t be helped.’
There’s no point fixating on methods that don’t work.
For now, I’ll have to think of other means.
A flicker…….
That’s when I heard the sound of flames wavering.
I froze, turning back to look at the flame mage’s skeleton I’d just passed.
“…….”
Blue Flame. Sapphire fire was burning there.
This was the signature flame the mage had wielded.
And then—
-You…… I…… see…….
The blue flame soon took the dim form of a man.
-Can…… you see me……?
The spirit of the flame mage? How was this possible?
I stared at the mage in confusion…….
Only then did I realize his gaze was not directed at me.
“……!”
The flame mage’s gaze pointed toward—
At its end, Cria stood frozen, her face drained of all color, pale as ash.

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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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