I Became the Guild Leader in Exile - I Became the Guild Leader in Exile chapter 76

76 – 1# The Story of the Wolf Sealed in the Black Swamp (3)

The black swamp.

A land abandoned by God, where even the Law Country, which was said to be under divine protection, turned a blind eye. As a result, many powerful demons inhabited this land, growing in strength.

However, the most crucial thing was the curse that existed in the swamp. It was similar to the case where miners in Elise were infected by magic and turned into monsters, known as “impurities” back then.

But if we compared the severity, the black swamp was several times more severe. If one’s mental strength was weak or they weren’t heroes, they would be infected and turn into demons within a day.

“It’s more serious than I thought.”

“Is it that serious?”

“Yes. It’s at least 10 times more powerful than before.”

As Isaac felt the sticky, eerie magic around him, he clicked his tongue. It was no wonder they called this place a land abandoned by God. Then, the monsters in the swamp were probably sinners.

“No matter how I think about it, the one who sent the request is Rocky.”

Usually, if someone was dragged into the black swamp, they would give up 100%. This place was literally hell on earth, and it was the Law Country’s black swamp.

To ask for help in saving a family member who was dragged here was beyond ordinary thinking. Even if someone had such thoughts, how could they pass the harsh inspection?

Could they have attached a request to Gideon? And with a high probability, Rocky was now watching us. But Isaac soon dismissed the thought.

If you want to watch, keep watching.

However, the biggest problem was that the request didn’t specify the location. Isaac had stared at the request repeatedly, but it was useless.

“What the hell, where are we supposed to go?”

“Why don’t we set up camp for the night?”

“That sounds good.”

“I’ll prepare immediately.”

As soon as Isaac finished speaking, Zik started preparing for camp with a smile. The basics of camping were a bonfire. Fire had a comforting effect on people.

With the bonfire at the center and the tent set up, Isaac and Zik could finally take a break. Isaac checked all the food he had brought.

“I’m glad I brought a lot of food, just in case.”

“Isn’t that almost a month’s worth of food?”

“There’s no place to resupply food or medicine in the black swamp.”

Isaac was well aware of the harsh environment of the black swamp, so he had prepared thoroughly before coming here. He had left his carriage at the stable before entering the border.

However, if we had too much time to spare, that would be a different story. There were variables that could affect the future, after all. Perhaps the deadline was around two weeks.

Of course, Isaac was confident that he could find the location before then. First, he would use his knowledge of the original story to search for a place similar to the one in the novel.

“It’s been a while since we’ve had a camping date, just the two of us.”

The past five years had been too busy, and they hadn’t had the chance to do so. To be exact, Zik had always been by Isaac’s side, but Isaac had been too busy with work to take on requests directly.

Of course, people had started rumors about Zik and Isaac’s relationship, but Isaac didn’t care. The problem was Zik.

She recalled the conversation she had with her brother before. If they kept being ambiguous, they would only end up hurting each other. And Zik had realized this through rumors.

“I don’t want to keep watching from behind forever.”

Honestly, if she didn’t have any fear at all, that would be a lie. Zik didn’t care about anything else, but she didn’t want to be hated or abandoned by her master. For example, just like now.

Her master thought of her as a man.

So, it was possible for us to take on this request together, just the two of us. If Master were to find out that I’m a woman, would we still be able to do this together?

“What’s got you so deep in thought?”

“Ah, nothing, Master.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes, more than that…”

Suddenly, Zic was caught off guard and hastily searched for a new topic to switch to in his mind. As a result, Zic unintentionally brought up the topic he had been wanting to ask the most up until now.

“Master, are you perhaps a eunuch?”

“Khuh.”

Thanks to that, Isaac was taken aback. Imagine a child you’ve raised like a son suddenly asking if you’re a eunuch. The shock would be several times greater, wouldn’t it?

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean it that way.”

“It’s fine. I know what you mean.”

“Hmph.”

Zic sat back down, his face red, and coughed awkwardly. Although he was startled, Zic’s question wasn’t something Isaac wouldn’t understand.

Of course, Isaac was also a man. He wouldn’t have any interest in women. It’s just that he’s been too busy until now and didn’t have the leisure to do so. As the Guild Master’s workload was enormous, it was only natural.

‘I think I understand why the protagonists in novels give up high positions.’

At first, I didn’t understand. Wouldn’t high positions come with immense wealth and fame? Yet, why do people give up those positions? The reason was simple.

It’s because they’d die if they didn’t.

Usually, when the protagonist takes a high position in an organization, if they’re absent, the organization wouldn’t function. And that rule applied to Isaac’s Iron Shield as well.

‘It’s been easier since I made Cain the Vice-Guild Master.’

By giving Cain the title of Vice-Guild Master, Isaac had effectively handed over all the work to him. Cain believed that Isaac trusted him that much. Instead, Isaac’s loyalty to him had increased.

“Perhaps we’ll meet naturally as time passes.”

“Do you believe in fate?”

“Fate? If it exists, it might exist.”

‘I believe in fate, Master.’

Unlike Isaac’s ambiguous answer, Zic’s was clear.

That day, when his younger brother was on the verge of death, Master had saved him. From then on, Zic started believing in fate. And his fate was only one.

His Master, Isaac.

* * *

The next day.

The search began in earnest. The previous day, they couldn’t delve too deep into the swamp because they were searching for the camping site. But now that they had set up camp, the story was different.

Isaac revived as much knowledge as possible from the original work. The Black Wolf tribe, living in the dark swamp, built their village deep in the forest to avoid outsiders.

However, they also had the possibility of getting lost or eaten by the swamp, so they set up signs that only they could recognize, as he had read in the original novel.

“Master? What are you looking for?”

But to Zic, who didn’t know that, it just looked like Master was crawling on the ground. Isaac turned his gaze from the spot he was examining to face Zic.

“The Black Wolf tribe sets up signs that only they can recognize.”

“Yes? Do people live in a place like this?”

“You can’t exactly call them people. More accurately…”

“Then what…?”

“Do you remember the contaminated people we met at the mine before?”

Zike nodded. It was only natural that he remembered. Most memories related to the Master were vague, but he clearly recalled the people he met in the mine who were contaminated.

“They were people who had been eroded by magic, their appearances transformed into monsters.”

“That’s right. They’re similar, but slightly different.”

“Are you saying that the ones we’re looking for now are those who have voluntarily become monsters?”

“Exactly.”

Zike’s wisdom and sharpness made Isaac’s tongue click in amazement. It seemed that being the main character wasn’t just for show.

“Just to correct you, they didn’t choose to become monsters. In reality, they had no other choice.”

“I see. So they’re the criminals who were exiled from the legal world, and there are many innocent people among them.”

“That’s correct.”

As Zike explained, most of the exiles from the legal world died here. However, a small number of them managed to survive by struggling to stay alive. And it was all thanks to the giant wolf sealed in the swamp.

Isaac, who had been searching for clues like a spider, finally found what he was looking for after three hours of effort. He had finally discovered their trail.

“Look at this?”

“It looks like small footprints.”

“They resemble animal footprints, but they’re slightly different.”

“…Indeed, at first glance, they seem like animal footprints.”

As the Master said, upon closer inspection, they looked like direction indicators pointing somewhere. And it was impossible for ordinary animals to survive in such a harsh environment.

“If we follow these footprints, we can reach them.”

Where could they be? Let’s take a look at their difficult-to-see faces.