Isekai Journey Of The Magic Archer-Chapter 1186: Calling out the names

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The forest of Kamut was a vast and mysterious place, covered in a thick layer of green trees that seemed to stretch on forever. It did not get the title of one of the nine forbidden areas of the world because of the trees though.

The essence of the ferocious woods lay in something else…

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-Swiiiiiiiiiiish.

It was a place where magic and the elements of raw magic were all real, where the trees and the wind whispered secrets to each other, where creatures of old lived in harmony, and where nature was in its rawest form.

The forest itself was so big and dense that it seemed to swallow everything around it, making it easy to get lost in its depths.

Covering a significant portion of the western continent, it was one of the vastest places within this world. Many treasures were hidden in this forest, many areas of the place were also challenged by the foolish and brave adventurers, but few actually managed to make it out of there alive.

Be it the trees, the sheer environment, or the nature surrounding this forest, the deadliness of this place might not be outlined by simply a few factors.

The entirety of the forest contained elements that could, in most cases, kill you if you aren't strong enough to deal with these elements, or lucky enough to avoid them entirely.

"Awoooooooooo!"

"Groo. Groo…"

"Drew~. Drew~."

As night fell, the forest which basked in the brightest of the sunlight the whole day transformed into a beautiful sight. If the days on the surface of the great forest were lit only by the small bits of light that survived through the canopy of the trees, the nights that greeted them were nothing less than a wonder of lights.

Some of the trees themselves glowed softly, some glowed from their branches while some glowed from their trunks or leaves.

These weren't the only lights that illuminated the otherwise dark forest on the usual cold nights, though. The great forest of Kamut was home to many magical creatures possessing various abilities that added to its glow.

Fireflies brimming with Mana or spirits glowing with their ethereal energy flitted about, their lights blinking like tiny lanterns that guided various creatures that relied on them through the dark.

Mushrooms, magical plants, and fungi of an unimaginably diverse range on the forest floor glowed softly, lighting up hidden paths taken by the smaller creatures who hid away from their predators.

When magical creatures with shimmering wings flew by, they cast colorful shadows on the ground– some were insects, while some were mammals that could not be called birds.

Some had a number of eyes, some had many hands, there were long snakes with shining scales, there were tall plant creatures that collected other colorful things to decorate their own trunks.

It was a complicated, diverse, great, unfathomable ecosystem, or, to be precise, a collection of ecosystems in a grand, enclosed world known as the great forest of Kamut.

As one walked deeper into these woods, one would start to notice smaller things.

The trees of the forest had thick, uneven trunks and branches that seemed to lean in as if they were sharing a hug with one another.

The leaves were a mix of different greens, reds, yellows, and blues which rustled softly in the breeze, making a soothing sound that accompanied one with every step.

The forest floor was covered in soft moss and ferns, making it feel like one was walking on a plush carpet. However, that was the case for only a few parts of the great forest.

If one aspect of the forest was its naturally attractive elements, the other side of this same place was the dangers that lurked within them.

In this peaceful and magical place, as the sounds of the forest became clearer, one would see many things that shake their minds.

"The forest is a dangerous place…" Eon had experienced the darkness of this great forest, and seen things that he did not want anyone to witness.

You might hear a bird calling in the distance but it would be a giant two headed beast waiting for you to pray on, you would see a pretty light and follow it, only to come across a pack of small yet deadly insects that would eat you alive.

You would hear the screams of the pitiful and weak, of those who hunt those below them. You would see the blood pools created by small slimes that grow up eating the flesh of the dead.

There would be eyes so merciless that when looked at them even from a distance, your heart would skip a few beats and fear would overwhelm you.

There might also be creatures whose mere presence, whose mere sight would render you half-lifeless.

"There, no one belongs to you other than your pack." Having lived in that utterly dreadful forest, Eon was perhaps the only one who had actually seen the raw cruelness that the world did not want anyone to see.

Everything in the Whispering Woods seemed to fit together so imperfectly that the strange balance that was maintained within the forest almost seemed fictional sometimes.

Until one had seen the real darkness of this world by themselves, they would see this place as a pretty and attractive little forest, a natural area not much different from the world that they knew.

"No one really knows what the great forest is until they see it themselves."

The great forest of Kamut is seen as a treasure trove by the world outside of here.

To the mages, the sheer presence of a highly Mana-dense environment is something they would pay a fortune to obtain.

Setting aside all the herbs, all the natural treasures, all the beast materials, all the Energy cores, and skill stones that they could find… setting aside the rare elements present in these untouched lands is something anyone would greed after.

But if they do enter the forest and cross the outer barriers and actually find themselves in this hell, they might never really get to come out of it.

"The forest traps anything that crosses the outer boundary." Eon got to know about it much later but, one cannot exit the Great forest with normal means.

There are only six exits, and one of them is the gate to their tower. The other four are guarded by the dominating species in each cardinal direction, as well as a hidden exit that even he knows little about.

The trees towered above, their branches creaking softly, swaying in the breeze. The air filled with the scent of damp earth and leaves, a smell that was both familiar and mysterious… that wasn't the great forest the world knew about.

"The forest is nothing less than hell." Sitting with Rein on the balcony of a higher floor of the tower, looking at the bright moon before, the star filled sky, as well as the great scenery spreading before their eyes, he shook his head while taking another sip from the glass filled with a red fluid.

"And you still survived there, dear."

"I was merely lucky."

Rein smiled at him bitterly, at his stern protest to her praise, and looked at the glass in her hand.

It was filled with something that rejuvenated their body and mind while strengthening all their powers– the blood of the highest ranking beast, a Drake, however one that breathed water instead of flames.

They would not find this in the outside world as Lady Sapphire, Rein's mentor had told them. But, in this tower, to even their surprise, they had a good supply of this nearly legendary fluid.

In fact, there was enough here that they would not be able to finish this even if they drank it for the following twenty years.

"You're too hard on yourself." Rein had already claimed half of the available supply for themselves, as she wasn't going to share it with anyone.

However, they had kept the other half hidden, not telling the others about the good as well as the adverse effects of this addictive yet amazing substance– which was a good decision on their part.

They could only consume this if they possessed a unique constitution like them, so they did not have to know about this in the first place.

"We will have to take her out, Eon. it's inevitable." Rein knew it would be impossible for them to keep her in here forever.

Since they had the opportunity, it was only natural for Anna to also get a good practical experience alongside all the training that they were giving her.

She had just obtained her arcanum channel, her new friend Pappy. She was going to start her Arcen energy arts training soon as well, and they were going to take a strict approach to her training.

Since arcanum was a kind of energy that strengthened an aspect of something, a stagnant force that did not flow unless it was challenged and did not wither away in the same entropic process that Mana does, it was way different from the powers that they all controlled.

They needed to be strict with her also because they were no Arcanum masters. Their primary objective was not to teach her things that she was eventually going to learn but make a good foundation that would help her even in the future.

She still needed to polish her swordsmanship as well, so a big chunk of her time here was going to be spent training from now on.

But, it was boring, even the big brother knew that…

"I know it's inevitable."

However much he thought about it, he could not think of a different way.

They were in the great forest right now and even if it was dangerous, going out was only going to help her see what she had never come across.

She needed this, and he knew that.

"Haaa."

So, he was going to make sure not even a thread of her hair was damaged when they went out there.

He was going to make sure none of his companions were hurt… it was his responsibility as the only one who had wandered into those deadly woods.

It was his duty as the successor of the master of the central region to guide them through this great forest.