Chapter 5: The Black Forest

"Ready to go?" I asked as I approached Reimei and Lily, who were staring off into the distance.

"Are you done talking to Guildmaster Rion, Raki?" Reimei asked.

"For now," I replied.

"So, where’s this dangerous place you two want to visit?" I asked.

"It's the creepy forest across the river in that direction," Reimei said, pointing toward the very place I had come from.

"Then what are we waiting for? Let’s go.

Didn’t you say you needed something from there as soon as possible?" I said.

"Are you sure you’re fine accompanying us? We don’t have anything to pay you," Lily asked.

"Let’s just say it’s payback for the clean drinking water Reimei gave us earlier," I answered. "Right, Janbo?"

"Bau, bau!" Janbo barked excitedly, already taking the lead.

The four of us headed toward the same spot where I’d first awakened in this world.

"Are you sure we’ll be fine, Raki?" Lily asked once we had left Elira, the Town of Memories.

"What do you mean, Lily?" I asked, curious.

"I mean the creepy forest we’re going to… there are dangerous monsters there," she said.

"Like what?"

"One example would be the infamous Dark Trolls.

They love eating people," she replied.

Eating people, huh… I thought.

"How strong are they, anyway?" I asked.

"A single Dark Troll usually takes a C-rank adventurer to defeat.

A whole horde? That’s beyond the reach of even a full party of C-ranks," Lily explained.

Reimei just gave me a worried look.

"Plus, you don’t seem to have any weapon," Lily pointed out, which reminded me of the meal Janbo and I had earlier.

I still have nine rolls of the Dice of Potential and ten tosses with the Coin of Fortune… we should be fine.

I glanced at Janbo, proudly leading the party at the front.

I couldn’t help but wonder just how strong my companion truly was.

From Reimei’s gear, she was clearly some kind of archer or hunter.

Her bow slung over her back and a quiver holding several dozen arrows.

A pair of daggers rested at her hips.

Lily, on the other hand, carried a wooden staff and wore a pointed, witch-like hat.

Red and blue potions dangled from her waist, making it easy to guess she was some sort of magician or witch.

Me? I didn’t even look like a proper adventurer.

"Don’t worry, I’ve got this," I said with confidence, holding up my fist.

"Dark Trolls are tougher than Boru when it comes to raw physical strength," Reimei warned.

"Really?!" I said, my excitement rising.

"Stay close to me or Janbo the moment we enter the forest," I instructed.

"You don’t need to ask. We will," Lily assured me.

Several minutes later, we were back at the spot where I’d first woken up in this world.

Seeing the creepy forest again, I was honestly surprised no Dark Trolls had eaten me in my sleep, considering how close it was.

I looked at Janbo.

He didn’t seem the least bit bothered by our destination, he simply trotted straight into the forest the moment he saw we were following.

Then, just a few steps in, a metallic, iron-like smell hit my nose.

Scanning the surroundings, I spotted scattered remains of chopped-up bodies of some kind of animal.

"What sort of monster could do this… to Dark Trolls?" Lily asked in horror, staring at the corpses of what once were trolls.

"Bau, bau!" Janbo barked proudly.

If only Lily knew that the monster she feared was the Gray Spirit Wolf walking right beside her…

I thought, finally grasping just how powerful Janbo truly was.

"Are there creatures stronger than Dark Trolls around here?" I asked, wanting to know if there was anything else I should be wary of.

"Long ago, there was a myth about several Tainted Giants living here," Reimei said.

"But no one’s seen a Giant in the last five decades.

Then again, adventurers from our town rarely go beyond halfway into the Black Forest," Lily added.

"And why’s that?" I asked.

"Because this forest lies within the territories of the Ice Demon and the Forest Demon," Lily explained.

"The boundary is the only thing separating the two", she added.

"Is the Forest Demon powerful?" I asked.

"We don’t know… we’ve never seen him," Reimei admitted.

"But according to Guildmaster Rion, the Dark Trolls and the Tainted Giants are actually the Forest Demon’s minions."

"Originally, the Black Forest was all part of the Forest Demon’s territory.

The river used to mark the boundary between the two domains," she continued.

"That river wasn’t always like it is now, it was once an unbreakable wall of ice, taller than the Giants themselves," Lily added.

"That’s what the old books say, at least", Lily continued.

"So, what kind of plant are you two after?" I asked, my curiosity piqued.

"It’s a medicinal plant that only grows at the forest’s boundary," Reimei replied.

"Its name is Solaria, a plant said to have basked in the divine light of the Gods.

It can cure any ailment, even purge the dark taint from wounds inflicted by a Tainted creature."

Definitely a fantasy plant if I’ve ever heard one.

No wonder they needed someone strong to escort them for such a magical herb, I thought.

"…Grrr… grrrr…" Janbo’s low growl rumbled just as the sound of splintering trees echoed through the air, and the ground beneath us began to tremble.

Two obsidian eyes glimmered from above the black treetops, watching us.

"Dice… Strength Roll," I muttered, stepping in front of the others.

The dice landed on five.

A massive tree suddenly hurtled toward us, uprooted and flung like a boomerang.

Without effort, I caught it and hurled it back, my throw turning the trunk into a giant spear aimed at the hulking figure hidden among the tall black trees.

"AAARGH!" The monster’s howl confirmed my hit.

With two colossal arms, the Giant shoved the surrounding trees aside as if they were grass.

The trunk I’d thrown was now embedded deep in its left chest.

Reimei and Lily trembled at the sight of the towering creature, but to their credit, they didn’t bolt.

"Lily, can you make me something to throw?" I asked.

"What do you mean?" she replied, confused.

"Something big… like a huge chunk of ice or a massive rock."

"You’ve got the wrong person if you want ice," Lily said, raising her wand.

"But a boulder? I can manage that", Lily added.

Her wand glowed as a magic circle shimmered into existence in midair.

"Ground, gather… flatten my adversaries! Second-rank magic: Stone Boulder!" she chanted, aiming the spell at me.

Within seconds, the forest floor rose and compressed at her wand’s tip, shaping into a two-meter-wide sphere of solid rock.

It rolled toward me, but I stopped it with a single hand and hefted it with ease.

The effect of the Dice of Potential was wearing off, about twenty seconds left.

I steadied my stance, gripping the boulder like I was about to shoot a full-court basketball.

I aimed for the Giant’s head, knowing the wound in its chest alone wouldn’t be fatal.

"Raki!... lower your aim a bit," Reimei said suddenly, now standing at my side.

She can read the perfect projectile path, I thought, adjusting my stance as she suggested.

"Good enough?" I asked.

"Perfect," Reimei replied.

With only seconds left on my strength boost, I hurled the massive boulder with everything I had.

The moment it left my hand, the air screamed, a sharp, tearing whistle as the boulder tore through it.

In the blink of an eye, it passed the Giant.

And then… the creature was headless, its skull and neck erased as if the boulder had devoured them.

The Giant sank to its knees before its enormous body toppled sideways, crushing several trees under its weight.

Reimei and Lily stood frozen, unable to process what they had just seen.

"You sure you’re not some kind of demon… like Guildmaster Rion?" Lily asked.

"Of course not," I replied, wondering if I’d gone a little overboard.

"It’s thanks to your magic, Lily, and Reimei’s aim," I added, trying to play it down.

"You do know a boulder is supposed to roll, not get flung like a slingshot, right?" Lily said.

"And to think you were still holding back when you fought Boru," Reimei added.

If only they knew it all comes down to what I roll on the dice… I thought.

"Are we close to the spot?" I asked.

"About a hundred steps from where we took down that Tainted Giant," Reimei answered.

Still quite a distance, I thought, quietly muttering the word Dice in preparation.