Chapter 7

I changed the “demon god” in Chapter 1 to an “evil god.”

“Do you know what beings are opposite to us spirits?”

“Uh… I’ve only heard the name.”

In the game’s progression, not much is explored about the beings opposite to the spirits—those called evil spirits or evil gods. Hera does indeed form a contract with an evil god, but that evil god is defeated by the protagonist, and there isn’t much information about them even in the official fanbook.

“Hm… Then let me explain the relationship between spirits and evil spirits. First, spirits are born when nature gains a will. However, evil spirits are born from the negative emotions of living beings.”

Nature gaining a will… I understand the idea of something being born from the negative emotions of living beings, like ghosts or vengeful spirits from my previous world, but I can’t grasp how nature can have a will. Nature doesn’t have the ability to think, right?

Still, if the elder, who is a god-level spirit, is saying it, there’s no reason to doubt it. Even though I have a lot of questions.

“So, what kind of harm do evil spirits cause?”

“Most evil spirits act solely on the emotions they were born from, so they’re generally not very intelligent. Those are easy to deal with and can be eliminated without much issue. But… occasionally, there are ones that begin to gain intelligence.”

“And those are what you call evil gods?”

“Yes. Once they gain intelligence, they acquire powers that set them apart from regular evil spirits. At the very least, they’re stronger than high-level spirits.”

Stronger than high-level spirits… That means most of humanity wouldn’t stand a chance against them.

In this world, only a tiny fraction of people can form contracts with king-class spirits or above—less than 1% of the population. And the number of people who can form contracts with spirits at all is less than half the population. If an evil god appeared, the country or city it showed up in would be doomed.

“So, what’s the deal with these evil gods?”

“Well… there’s an evil god in this forest.”

“…Huh? Why is it in this forest? Aren’t you here? Just go and get rid of it.”

“I wish I could, but… it’s in a place where spirits cannot enter. To be precise, it’s a place filled with magic power that repels spirits.”

“…Are you talking about the Forest of Bewilderment?”

“That’s right. Even I, a god-level spirit, would suffer various negative effects there… and honestly, it’s a hassle.”

“Hey, you just let your real feelings slip there.”

The real reason the old man doesn’t want to go is clearly the last thing he said. Regular spirits I could understand, but he’s a god-level spirit—he should be able to handle the Forest of Bewilderment just fine.

The Forest of Bewilderment…

It’s the place in the game where Shin and the protagonists get lost, and where Shin fights for the first time. A dense fog always covers the area, making it impossible to see even a few meters ahead. Worse, the fog reflects magic, rendering magic detection useless. It’s known as a place that’s especially deadly for magic users.

“So… if I take care of this, will you make a contract with me?”

“Of course! You’ve already met the conditions to form a contract with me. Once the evil god is gone, I’ll have no reason to stay here.”

“…Fine, I’ll do it.”

Reluctantly, very reluctantly, I decided to take on the task.

“Alright, I’m off.”

“Be careful. Though, I doubt you’ll have any trouble…”

After resting for a few hours and having a meal, I set off. I planned to return quickly, but just in case, I brought some food and a sleeping bag.

I used body reinforcement magic and jumped into the trees. Lately, I’d gotten used to moving faster by jumping between trees rather than running on the ground. It seemed I’d become more agile in the forest this way.

I sped towards the direction of the Forest of Bewilderment at full speed.

But I can’t believe there’s an evil god in the Forest of Bewilderment… If it’s the evil god Hera contracted with, I’ll make sure to annihilate it.

“…Is this it?”

I had reached a distance where I could see the dense fog. It had only taken me about five minutes to get here. I’d managed to avoid being detected by monsters, so I’d made good time.

“Whew… Alright, let’s go.”

As I plunged into the dense fog, I released a bright flash of lightning, scattering it through the fog.

At that moment—

“Gyaaahhh!!”

Shrill cries echoed from somewhere around me.

And as the cries faded, the dense fog that had been surrounding me thinned, allowing me to see several dozen meters ahead.

That’s right—this dense fog was being created by monsters.

In the game, there’s a monster called a Kakurezaru that generates fog to obscure itself and launch surprise attacks. It’s quite a terrifying creature.

However, after fighting them dozens of times, I already knew how to deal with them. The method is simple: launch a preemptive strike with a wide-area attack.

“These things are pretty strong, though…”

In front of me lay several Kakurezaru, their bodies singed and covered in injuries.

Each Kakurezaru has a level of 120. If one of them caught you in a surprise attack, you’d be done for.

I was really grateful to have knowledge of this world.

As I was thinking that, the Kakurezaru launched a coordinated attack to protect their territory.

Two of them created fog again, while two others rushed in to engage me in close combat, preventing me from dealing with the fog-makers. Their teamwork was perfect. Anyone of equal or slightly greater skill would be easily defeated.

But… that doesn’t apply to me.

“Hmph—!”

I dodged their attacks with light footwork, then countered with a hand chop imbued with magic, slicing through their necks simultaneously.

The two Kakurezaru didn’t even have time to scream before their heads and bodies were separated.

In the same motion, I unleashed a spell.

“Thunderclap!”

A bolt of lightning roared and instantly struck the Kakurezaru, enveloping their massive bodies in light and vaporizing them.

Residual lightning crackled in the air, continuing to damage the remaining Kakurezaru. The battle was over surprisingly quickly.

“Alright, that was a good warm-up.”

I couldn’t keep such large creatures as pets, so I had no choice but to defeat them. But if I sold their materials, I could probably revive my fallen noble house with ease.

“Well, that’s not important right now… Let’s move on.”

Leaving the bodies behind, I ventured deeper into the forest.