I gritted my teeth and sprinted towards the Sacred Forest.

Facing strong headwinds at Cassian's speed, another gust chased after the void left behind.

The reason for gritting my teeth was simple; I had never ridden a horse before. So, I was holding onto Cassian, gritting my teeth.

"I told you I should be the one to ride."

Selena said calmly from behind.

"How can I trust you with directions!"

"No trust, huh? No trust."

Understandable.

We hadn't known each other for even a month.

At first, Cassian had only slightly galloped, but I nearly got thrown off, barely managing to catch on.

Thanks to Cassian taking care of me even as he galloped at high speed.

"It seems, I'm, getting, somewhat, used to, this...!"

I had tied Penelope's fabric to the bridle and held onto it.

Even that provided some insulation, sparing both Cassian and me from the cold.

After lending him the fabric for a day, Cassian began to follow me quite well.

Whether he thought showing loyalty would spare him from the cold, or simply the fact that I had such fabric raised my value.

Anyway, he moved as I commanded to some extent, allowing me to execute my plan.

This plan was similar to the 'assault' that happened in Constel.

While our forces were fending off the attack, I went for the enemy's boss.

The difference this time was the difficulty. The timeout was much shorter, and the caliber of the enemy I was facing was different.

Above all, I had almost nothing prepared for the situation with the barriers and troops.

At best, the advice regarding the ice wall. This meant many variables, and thus, a higher chance of failure.

However, the reason I came all the way to Tyburn during the break was that there was a high return here that made all those risks ignorable.

Screech!

Just then, a strange cry interrupted my thoughts.

Glancing sideways, it was a monster that resembled a bat. It was a remarkably simple creature in appearance. Just a bat, but one the size of a bison.

"Cassian!"

I pulled on the reins and shouted, and Cassia brilliantly understood my intention, dodging the bat's teeth. She even managed to show me the bat in my field of vision.

Weaving, Obsidian.

Grade - Rare

Slevb's Creepy Dagger

I shattered Black Lotus to create a dagger and threw it at the creature.

My throwing skills had now advanced to a mid-high level. I wouldn't miss an ordinary target.

And a creature of that size could be hit even with a mid-level throw.

Screech!

The bat dismissed the dagger with its wing as if it was nothing to look at.

Ah, so much for that.

My throwing skills were rendered useless.

Screech-

The bat lunged at me with its teeth again but ended up crashing to the ground on its own.

Without understanding why, it tried to lift its head to fly again several times before crashing again, and eventually, it started shivering and then went still.

"Is it dead?"

Selena asked, sounding surprised.

"No, not yet."

Well, it's not dead yet. It takes 24 hours.

But this place is a land of severe cold, and lying immobile on that frozen ground.

I couldn't tell if it would be paralysis or freezing to death first.

* * *

As we approached the sacred forest, more monsters obstructed our path.

It was to be expected. The one controlling the monsters was inside the forest.

'The forest is impenetrable to monsters; monsters and the forest are opposites like water and oil.'

This notion was naturally ingrained in the minds of humanity.

It was unthinkable that the one controlling the monsters attacking Tyburn would be inside the forest. Everyone thought so. It was a psychological trap.

'...As expected.'

But reaching this point, I realized.

The monsters were significantly weaker. All the powerful monsters had been sent to the barrier.

The fact that humans didn't suspect the forest meant, naturally, the enemy knew this too.

So, they let their guard down. They fell into their own psychological trap.

"We should be able to break through to the forest without much trouble."

"Well, mostly thanks to me, though."

"Quiet."

I dismissed it, but Selena's words were true.

Selena, true to her role as an escort, dealt with other beasts that disturbed us on our way to the forest.

It was truly a wonder how those that seemed small and powerless fell one by one as if struck by a needle.

Having spent a few days with me, Selena seemed to have roughly figured out my personality, and that annoying pretense of hers started to fade away a bit.

Not that it disappeared completely, but the courtesy she had towards me was reduced by half, and the other half was filled with rudeness.

Ironically, I found this side of her more preferable than when she was trying to seduce me with her pretenses.

An assassin from Manggot.

Selena was sent from Manggot, and since her superior is Hagley, it's naturally hard to feel at ease.

However, the mission to escort me must indeed be true.

It's more about protecting my ability to interpret ancient languages than protecting me, but during my time in this game, I've never found another human across any continent who had the ability to interpret ancient languages.

In other words, there was no substitute for Frondier's ability, at least in this era. Naturally, he had to be protected. Perhaps this mission was of higher priority than Selena's own life.

"It's the forest."

Selena said.

There was a well-maintained path in the forest as if inviting people in.

"Indeed."

I led Cassian and entered through that entrance.

* * *

As soon as we entered the forest, the beasts vanished as if by magic.

The inside was filled with a refreshing aura.

"...I can't feel any magical energy. Is the commander of the beasts really here?"

"Yes. It's a bit ambiguous to call him a commander, though."

"What?"

In fact, I was looking for the 'lake' rather than the being controlling the beasts.

If I find the lake before him, there would be no need for the hassle.

But well, of course, he would have thought of that too.

[Stop, if you will.]

He appeared, reciting a polite line.

I stopped Cassian, and the ground before us erupted.

The earth that rose from the ground settled back down, leaving behind a form. The figure that revealed itself seemed truly a part of this forest.

Yet that was all, and in appearance, he was just an ordinary old man. Truly, he was like any old man you could find on the continent, dressed in a long robe with white hair.

"...Is that person really the commander of the beasts?"

"Yes."

Selena continued to look at the old man, seemingly unconvinced. More than his appearance, Selena probably couldn't understand the sacred aura emanating from the old man.

I dismounted from Cassian. The green forest, the warm sunlight, and before us, an old man emitting a holy aura.

It was like something out of a fairy tale.

And so it should be.

"Pleased to meet you. I'm Frondier."

[...I see. Mr. Frondier. To an old man like me, revealing names and such.]

"Mr. Merlin."

[...!]

His name was Merlin.

He appears in the legend of King Arthur, a great mage, prophet, and sage, and he was the mentor and advisor to King Arthur.

And most importantly, here in the game Etius, Merlin was known as a 'Druid'.