The Druid Who Swallowed Mother Nature - Chapter 16



Only Noblemtl

Episode 16. The Master of the Lab

I opened the locked door and went inside.

The interior of the building, with its flickering lights, was a mixture of pitch-black darkness and bright light.

An atmosphere where it feels like something will come crashing down if you look away at any moment.

It was a ruin that was so scary to step foot in that it was common sense.

“It’s creepy.”

Hela muttered as she swept away the hardened blood that had stained the wall.

“Be careful, you never know where the Corrupted might be hiding.”

“Don’t worry about me and don’t come in front of me or you. If you get hurt, I won’t be able to save you.”

“I was planning on doing that anyway.”

I don’t know much about druids yet, but they weren’t a class that relied on their body like knights or warriors.

Strictly speaking, the request right before the fight with the goblin is an exception.

When with colleagues, the rule was to act in the back ranks like a normal wizard.

‘That’s more familiar to me, too.’

The class I’ve played the most right now is the wizard.

It was easier to devote myself to support than to fight directly on the front lines.

Thud! Thud!

The sound of footsteps echoed.

Even though I passed the first floor and entered the second floor, I didn’t feel any signs of life.

Instead, all that was visible was a space that was in disarray, as if thieves had run it over.

It seemed as if the city cleaners had already done their rounds.

The research materials left behind by the warlock are valuables that both wizards and companies are looking for with bated breath.

The gold rolling around on the floor was probably more noticeable than the threat of the Corrupted.

It was only when we approached the central laboratory that we noticed the changed scenery.

“You little pig, you’ve eaten so much.”

Hela frowned and kicked one side of the wall.

A pile of corpses shook by the shock collapsed.

The large teeth marks on his upper body were bizarre.

It wasn’t done by humans.

It was a gruesome scene after the Corrupted had finished eating.

“It hasn’t been long since he died.”

I ran my fingers over the floor.

The blood on my fingertips dripped down.

This is evidence that the meal was recent.

“Wait a minute, I guess there were a few other guys who tried it before us?”

Hela, who was searching through the corpses while I was looking around, said.

As the saying goes, unlike most of the corpses dressed in white, these three corpses were unusual.

It is an outfit where one wears armor and is equipped with a weapon.

They were closer to mercenaries or contractors.

“Looking at these guys, I couldn’t even fight back properly and was just taken advantage of.”

I examined the body that Hela had brought.

Although I wasn’t trained as a professional examiner, I had the eye of an old man.

I had a rough idea of ​​what was going on.

“It was a surprise attack.”

“I think so too.”

They died before they could even properly respond to the Corrupted’s onslaught.

It was almost certain since Hela, a mercenary, and I shared the same opinion.

“Tsk, those guys who don’t even have the skills are going to die a horrible death because of that.”

Hela clicked her tongue, perhaps offended.

But there was a clear sense of sympathy in the eyes looking back.

Her two hands covered and closed the eyes of the swollen corpses.

“… … It’s strange.”

For a moment, I was captivated by his secretly affectionate personality, which seemed contrary to his fierce appearance.

I felt puzzled as I observed the body.

“what?”

“If one person was taken by surprise, wouldn’t the other two usually not be able to react?”

“I know.”

Hela narrowed her eyes.

She also seemed suspicious of my question.

‘Weren’t there three of them?’

In my case, the office helped me find a partner.

Dealing with the corrupted was a dangerous task for an individual to undertake.

First, let’s assume that this is a personally commissioned mission.

If he had been a capable person who had been given the mission alone in the first place, would he have been taken by surprise in such a futile manner?

‘Then this is… … .’

I’m getting the general idea.

As the byproducts of various experiments, the Corrupted were diverse, but their behavior patterns did not deviate from a few broad categories.

One of them is… … .

‘There it is.’

It’s a surprise attack in the darkness that hides your presence.

“The World Tree is startled and alert.”

Hela’s shadow loomed in the distance, leading to the opposite entrance.

Just above it, an unidentifiable silhouette swayed ominously.

Choaack!

I stretched out the trunk of the world tree.

Wedge!

It was at the same time that Hela extended her weapon.

Kwajik!

“Kiaaaaak!”

The Corrupted, who was waiting for a surprise attack, let out an ear-piercing scream.

Hela quickly approached the guy who was floating into the air, unable to handle the shock.

Phew!

A flash of light appeared in the darkness.

The long spear held in one of Hela’s hands cut through the air in a clean, uncluttered trajectory.

Squeak!

The flash of light that split the snout in half returned in a graceful semicircle and struck down vertically again.

The reinforced bones of the Corrupted, renowned for their sturdiness, were cleanly cut with a single slash.

It was a clean finish without any unnecessary details.

“Fuck, this is surprising.”

Hela’s belated gasp landed on the fallen Corrupted’s body.

Judging from the stiffness in his face, it seemed like it was an instinctive action rather than a thoughtful movement.

‘It’s pretty good.’

I was inwardly amazed.

Hela’s counterattack was a series of actions that occurred at a pace that was difficult to follow.

He was a skilled martial artist, as he made no mistakes in his instinctive movements.

‘He is also skilled in the use of magical powers.’

The flash of light that raced along the trajectory of the attack was a harmony of the magical power she unleashed.

A technique that goes beyond strengthening the body using magical power and directly extracts magical power with a weapon.

The true value of a mercenary was that he could guarantee a certain level of average skill.

“I thought my heart was going to burst out. Where were you hiding and why did you jump out?”

“I was hiding in your shadows.”

“Really? Those guys who came before deserved to be left behind.”

Hela frowned.

It is an ability that you will inevitably be hit with first.

This was the reason why the difficulty of quests related to Corrupted were set high.

‘You seem confident that you can solve it on your own.’

And Hela was a mercenary, hired by her superiors to do the job.

She targeted her enemies with her animalistic instincts before I could even warn her.

My reaction time wasn’t that different from what I had expected.

The response that takes place in the realm of instinct can easily be mistaken for a coincidence, but it is clearly a skill.

‘He will make a name for himself in the future.’

They say you can tell a tree’s future by its cotyledons.

It was clear that Hela was not a namesake, but the mercenary I remembered.

“Even if I’m like that, you’re pretty good at it. You sure have the talent to pretend not to need my help?”

The gesture of tapping my shoulder felt very friendly.

Now that I’ve seen your skills in person, does that mean my favorability rating has gone up?

It was just mind-boggling.

“Wake up. It’s not over yet.”

“What? I killed that guy.”

“Not just him. There’s more.”

The experienced mercenary quickly understood what I meant.

“… … Aha, so they all died the same way?”

There was at least one per person.

If that were the case, it would explain why the three dead were all caught in the same surprise attack.

“It’s a headache. Do I have to go around and check each and every shadowy place?”

“There’s no need for that.”

I stepped forward confidently.

“What are you going to do?”

“If I find it, you cut it down.”

“Will that work?”

“Okay.”

If there was no way, I wouldn’t have even brought it up.

‘Of course, it’s beyond my ability to perceive… … .’

It was difficult to detect the signs of a surprise attack, but it was difficult to find the Corrupted who were deliberately hiding.

Although they knew how to do it using oil and torches, it was dangerous.

Luckily, I was able to come up with a simpler way.

“It’s time to earn some money.”

I whispered softly and the spirit that understood my words moved forward.

The flight’s inefficient trajectory clearly showed its fear, but I was not discouraged.

It wasn’t that you asked me to do something I couldn’t do.

The spirit was invisible to anyone but me, the druid.

Corrupted was the same.

That was a joke, there was no harm done.

‘also.’

And the exploration using spirits proved immediately useful.

The spirits, sensing ominous dark magic everywhere, announced the presence of the Corrupted.

“One in the front corner.”

“You already found it?”

I informed Hela of the location of the nearest Corrupted.

Hela, half-hearted, took a shaky stance.

“I can’t see it. What if I miss it because I don’t know the exact location?”

“I’ll grab your ankle, so just cut it off.”

I reached out to the floor.

The shape of the Corrupted was clearly visible to my eyes.

The faint light emitted by the spirit served as a beacon, indicating the enemy’s location to me.

Clang!

At my will, the trunk of the World Tree dug into the concrete.

“Keeeek!”

A stem protruding from the square caught Corrupted’s ankle.

If you’ve gotten this far, it’s like setting the table and even serving the food.

A long spear with magical power swirling like a magma was stuck into the body of the bound guy.

Corrupted was unable to move and gave up his life.

“What, it’s true?”

Hela, who had easily defeated another one, looked back at me.

A faint heat was swirling around his pupils, which were blinking repeatedly.

“I don’t know what kind of ability it is, but this makes things easier.”

Hela chuckled.

The order of operations we adopted in the difficult task of eradicating the Corrupted was simple.

It was a repetition of precise exploration, life-saving blows, and simple labor.

***

Phew!

The sharp blade sank into the Corrupted’s twisted head.

Silence fell over the room as the monster’s body convulsed and then sagged.

Hela asked, pushing back her sweaty bangs.

“Is this the end?”

“maybe.”

“Whew, there are so many. What kind of experiments were you doing?”

The number of Corrupted that were hatched in the lab is nearly twenty.

Even if it was just repetition of simple labor, other than the first battle, it would have been boring.

It was also my first time defeating this many Corrupted in one place.

Corrupted are a byproduct of black magic research, and their numbers vary depending on how vicious the black magic studied is.

And the black magic studied at this institute, as far as I know, boasted a considerable degree of contamination.

“It’s chimera research.”

I answered, scanning the torn papers that were under my feet.

Chimera, an artificial life form. One of the main subjects that the Warlocks are researching.

It was not a universal study.

This is because there are many difficulties in securing facilities, drugs, and test subjects.

The research that was started with the intention of leaving no regrets left many aftereffects.

“You really did some crazy research. But how did you know that?”

“If you read it, you’ll get the general idea.”

Although mainstream magicians do not recognize it, black magic is also a branch of magic.

Thanks to the knowledge of the Archmage that remained in my head, I was able to get an overview of what kind of experiment it was just by skimming through some of the materials.

“You’re very talented. Do you really want to come to our office?”

“I remember you saying you wouldn’t recommend it twice.”

“I take it that your abilities are attractive.”

Hela was serious.

“If I were alone, I wouldn’t have been able to defeat the Corrupted so easily. With that keen eye and reconnaissance ability, you can easily do it alone anywhere.”

I laughed inwardly.

‘You’re so thick-skinned.’

I thought he would foolishly come after me if I showed him my abilities, but instead, he shamelessly showed enthusiasm for making a recruitment offer.

But it didn’t look bad.

A mercenary should be this shameless.

I was kind of happy because it meant I had proven my abilities.

“Not yet.”

“Not yet? You said you would just refuse before.”

“You were joking back then. Not now, right? If it’s a decent office, it wouldn’t hurt to know.”

By most standards, being a mercenary is much better than being a contractor.

Since I don’t know how my circumstances will change in the future, I decided that it wouldn’t be a bad idea to continue our relationship if they viewed me favorably.

“Okay, I’ll tell the inspiration in advance, so come and see me when you feel like it.”

“okay.”

“Then let’s go back now. There’s still a lot of time left. How about a drink?”

I did not respond to Hela’s whistling suggestion.

I was tired of ignoring the subtle flirting I’d been getting from her earlier.

It seemed like her current face didn’t only have good points.

“… … .”

I couldn’t turn around right away.

The Corrupted’s treatment is complete.

However, there was still a lingering feeling of unease that was not resolved despite the request.

‘I couldn’t figure out where the magical sense directed inward was connected.’

Wasn’t there still a black magician left?

“What are you doing?”

“……for a moment.”

Suddenly, I realized.

‘The spirit I dispatched earlier hasn’t returned.’

The sight of the World Tree still raising its leaves upright caught my eye.

Was he warning me?

The body was tilted and pointed to one corner.

“Break down that wall.”

“what?”

“Just do it.”

Krrrr!

The blade cut through the wall and shattered it.

The revealed scene was not outside.

“… … You were here.”

The magical sensation I felt as I turned inward was not wrong.

Did they distort space?

An old man wearing a robe stood up in a laboratory that was larger than the central research lab.

“If you had just quietly left, you would have been consumed by the curse and died peacefully, but you are painfully urging me to give you my order.”

Hair hanging loosely and a short beard.

His darkened eyes and gaunt physique gave him a haggard look.

Hela poked my ribs.

“… …Who is that?”

“Warlock.”

That appearance, which is almost like a wreck, is a typical portrait of someone who is obsessed with black magic.

“You must be the owner of this lab.”

The warlock faced us with a cold murderous aura.