If the forest really was as endless as it looked, then it was safe to assume there was no easy exit from this…dimension, or other world, or whatever it was. I’d always looked past the intricacies of this world of monsters and humans, but the truth was that it had been strange from the very start. Monsters, levels, stats, evolution…and the Divine Voice, a being that felt warped and incomplete somehow, and too limited in its reach to truly be considered the god of this world. Recognizing the weirdness didn’t do anything to solve my current problem, but the fact that such a world really existed made it easier for me to believe this space we now found ourselves in was just an endless expanse of creepy forest.
Knowing the Divine Voice, it could just as easily be that there was no way for me to escape this place. Maybe it just wanted me to desperately struggle to escape, continue leveling up with dreams of going to save my friends in the real world to motivate me, and then eventually die without ever going back… If it did that, then the Divine Voice would still have me as a pawn, as a monster powerful enough to rival its own strength.
‹No… There’s no reason to waste time on such negativity. My only option is to fight and get stronger and keep looking. So I’ll do everything I can to succeed.›
Suddenly, at the very edge of my field of vision, I spotted what seemed to be a massive tower coming into view. For a moment, I couldn’t believe my eyes. It loomed over the massive trees around it, rising to an unnaturally, almost grotesquely tall and thin spire that pierced the heavens. No matter how high I looked up, I still couldn’t see the end of the spire. The tower it sat upon was an ashen, earthy color and had images of what looked like monsters carved onto every part of its surface.
It really looked like a completed Tower of Babel.
If this was really a tower from myth, then was the Divine Voice there? I doubted anything good would come from going to see it there, but it’d be nice if it just let us go back to our old world already…
“M-Master Dragon? What’s that…?” Allo asked me, puzzled.
‹I’m not sure… But considering it’s the only landmark for miles, we should probably head for it. It’s a long way off, but if I flew there right now it wouldn’t take long.›
Between the endless expanse of creepy trees and the giant tower piercing the sky, this world seemed to love making the unlikely a reality. The shock of seeing an Adam for the first time fell flat in comparison to these two marvels.
‹I feel like nothing I see in the future could ever surprise me again. This scene will haunt me for the rest of my life.›
‹U-um, Master? For now, may we please land?› Treant asked, its voice shaking.
“What’s up, Treant?” Allo teased. “Are you afraid of heights?”
Treant gave her an annoyed frown. ‹N-no! Heights don’t bother me much! I am no stranger to traveling through the air at this point! But this…is a bit higher than I’m used to…!›
I looked down at the trees far below me, and a tingle ran up my legs. Treant had a point. I didn’t want to think about what would happen if we got caught in an attack up here and my wings got injured.
“You’re so cute, Treant.”
‹D-don’t give me that! You have wings now, so you wouldn’t understand!› Treant fluttered the little wings that served as its arms in indignation. Hmm. I was sure it could fly with those, but they didn’t look super reliable… I had a sudden vision of giant tree version Treant with a massive wingspan to match.
Y-yeah, there’s no way that’d work. It’d look totally surreal; almost as weird as one of those Adams.
‹Master…are you thinking something impolite? I can pick up on your thoughts a little with Telepathy, you know…›
‹S-sorry…›
Just as I decided to land for Treant’s sake, I heard a shout from Allo.
“M-Master Dragon! Look! B-behind you, up there! Something’s coming!”
I immediately looked behind me and extended the radius of my Psychic Sense. Above me, and floating gently down toward us, were three huge, white masses.
‹Finally! Some monsters from this region are showing their faces!›
I definitely hadn’t been expecting any monsters to show up after I’d flown through the air for so long. I turned back around to get a good look at them again. They looked to be about ten meters in diameter, and I could only describe them as featureless, white, sphere-like monsters.
Kesaran Pasaran: Rank A+. An indefinable white sphere. It appears from the sky and then vanishes without a trace. Because of its rarity and the unpredictability of its appearances, it is said to bring good luck to any who see it. However, it is also said that any who see it for a second time in their lifetime are fated to die soon after.
So…what if there’s three of them?! It’s an odd number, so maybe it’s still a symbol of good luck?! Either way, I’d been bracing myself for a dangerous monster, so it was a relief to see they were pretty harmless. It was a little freaky that they appeared out of thin air, but A+ monsters were nothing to be afraid of for me now.
‹All right! Allo, Treant, let’s do this!›
“You got it, Master Dragon!”
‹M-Master?! A-aren’t we going to land first?! You said we were going to land, right?!›
I shook my head. Sorry, Treant, but it’s much more dangerous to turn our backs to three A+ monsters to land instead of just fighting them here. Besides…if you fell, I’d be able to catch you before you hit the ground.
Probably.
Part 3
THE THREE WHITE kesaran pasaran orbs approached us. According to their description, they seemed to basically just float around in the sky and weren’t prone to approaching others. But considering how vast this world seemed, I doubted I’d just happen upon three of them by chance as I was flying. They must have come closer because they saw us as a target. I guess when I get sent to a strange world by something akin to a god, I can expect packs of rank A+ monsters to appear whenever they like.
But at my current strength, enemies like these were no longer a threat to me.
I sent a warning message to the spheres with Telepathy. ‹That’s close enough. If you get any closer, we’ll attack.›