The Dryad Warrior

Rhode traveled through the dense forest with the vampire.

The forest was dimly lit, and the ground was covered in dead branches and leaves. The trees around him were enormous. Everywhere Rhode looked, he saw trees so large that five or six people would have to join hands to encircle their trunks, making it difficult to tell which way was which.

With no paths through the forest and no guidance from Pathfinding, Rhode struggled to determine which direction to go. Even with a map, he needed a landmark to reach the destination he had chosen.

According to the map, Rhode planned to head first for the nearest river, then follow it to a nearby town.

Rhode looked at the map in his hand. According to its markings, going straight to the river would mean passing through an area marked as dangerous.

He didn't know the exact surroundings or what enemies he might encounter, so Rhode didn't dare rush straight to the river. Instead, he brought the vampire along, moving forward while keeping an eye on the area around them.

With Scouting, Rhode found it easy to survey his surroundings. Though he moved a little slower, he didn't have to waste time taking detours.

As Rhode saw it, just because the enemy had been too much for the apprentice Alot didn't mean he couldn't defeat it himself.

By heading straight for the river, Rhode could use Scouting to spot enemies in the distance. If one was powerful, he could retreat. If it was weak, he could kill it.

Rhode estimated that, now that he could control a vampire, he might not even lose if he faced Alot head-on. His successive victories had given him confidence, and he wanted to defeat the unknown enemy.

Though he didn't find anything unusual along the way, Rhode never let down his guard. He didn't simply press forward, but kept watch over his surroundings at all times.

The farther he got from the tomb, the darker the forest became. Rhode looked around. The trees were extraordinarily tall, their branches and leaves blocking out the light completely, leaving him no choice but to make his way between them.

As he pressed on, several crooked trees off to the side caught Rhode's attention.

For some reason, the towering trees had toppled to one side, their still-sturdy trunks resting against other trees. Their roots, once firmly embedded in the ground, now jutted into the air, with dirt still clinging to them.

The unnatural sight made Rhode wary. Drawing on the perception granted by Scouting, he quickly surveyed the area, but found nothing amiss and could only continue onward.

He hadn't gone far when, as if he had sensed something, a powerful sense of danger welled up inside him. Rhode hurriedly led the vampire behind a nearby tree.

The ground began to tremble in steady pulses, growing closer from afar. A succession of rustling sounds came from the forest as branches and leaves swayed, each one louder than the last.

Rhode knew that some kind of enemy was approaching from the distance. Its sheer presence made even Rhode, hidden behind a tree, feel a chill of fear.

The ground shook closer and closer. The vampire could sense the enemy's strength, too, and trembled violently behind the tree.

A powerful tremor came from right in front of the tree. Rhode knew that without it shielding him, the enemy would already have spotted him.

The Mental Mark throbbed intensely, and the vampire seemed to feel an instinctive fear. Rhode could only use Control Spirit to force the vampire to stay still while suppressing his own presence.

The tremors gradually faded into the distance. The enemy hadn't noticed Rhode or the vampire, and instead continued toward the depths of the forest.

With the powerful enemy gone, the vampire gradually calmed down. Rhode, however, remained with his back against the tree trunk, recalling the enemy he had glimpsed.

In the final moment before it disappeared, Rhode had glanced quickly in its direction. A single look at its appearance had been enough to identify it.

A body as tall as the surrounding giant trees, a humanoid torso, and skin covered in patterns like those of dead wood...

A Dryad Warrior.

The tremors slowly subsided, but Rhode still remembered the imposing presence the enemy had brought with it.

Fifth tier? Or even higher?

Rhode didn't know, but he knew he was no match for the enemy. If Dryad Warriors didn't naturally have such poor senses, it might already have spotted him.

Dryad Warriors usually ignored ordinary people who got lost in the forest, and might even help them find their way out. But they weren't nearly so tolerant of necromancers. Rhode didn't think he'd fare well if one discovered him.

Fortunately, there was only one creature like a Dryad Warrior in any given area. Now that he'd watched the enemy leave, Rhode didn't have to worry about running into another one.

Leading the vampire, Rhode continued in the direction the Dryad Warrior had come from.

"Eri..."

Rhode had formed a rough idea of where he was.

Even before encountering the Dryad Warrior, the towering trees around him had given Rhode a general idea of his location. Now that he had met one, he was finally certain: he was in Eri.

Eri was ruled by elves, and most of its territory was covered in forests. Many magical creatures lived there, and centaurs and dryads were common.

The Dryad Warrior Rhode had seen was one of Eri's powerful guardians. Its immense strength and tenacious vitality made it extremely difficult to deal with. Rhode still remembered how these Dryad Warriors had wreaked havoc on the battlefield.

The gathering place of necromancers, Dya, lay beside Eri, sharing a border with it. All the creatures of Eri despised necromancers. Necromancers had to be especially careful in Eri's territory; if discovered, they would be hunted by the native creatures.

Rhode now knew roughly where he was, but still didn't know what period the game was currently in.

If he could learn both his location and the current period, his knowledge of the plot from his previous life would let him follow its broader course and gain the greatest possible advantage.

After walking for a while, he began to feel a dampness in the air. As it grew stronger, Rhode knew he was getting close to the destination he had chosen at the start.

At last, the trees ahead thinned, and the light brightened. A river appeared in Rhode's view. The sound of rushing water reached his ears, and he knew he had found the river marked on the map.

According to the map, Rhode's next goal was to follow the river to the nearest town.

At the riverbank, Rhode looked at his reflection. His short, tousled hair was too dirty to tell what color it was, and the moving water made his features hard to see. Blood stained most of his face, his clothes had been slashed countless times, and his body was covered in scarred-over wounds.

Rhode gave a bitter smile. Ever since he'd come to this world, he'd spent almost all his time fighting, with no chance to clean himself up. Taking advantage of the opportunity, he tossed his tattered clothes aside and went to the river to wash up.