Nov 12, 2018secondtranslation

The Wailing Forest which was Greenwood’s most difficult dungeon has a unique characteristic which raised its difficulty . It is a forest that was alive . The wind that blows through the forest produces a eerie groaning sound throughout the entire forest which interferes with a person’s train of thought . Meanwhile, the trees in the forest were not just alive, but also capable of movement . As soon as an adventurer pa.s.ses by, the trees will begin to rearrange themselves, altering the path and disorienting the adventurer . Thanks to this, it is rumored that the eerie noises coming from the forest isn’t just from the wind, but from the screams of the exhausted adventurers lost within the forest . That was how the name Wailing Forest came about .

 [Why are we walking along the river instead of entering the forest!] (Til)

Til who listened to my explanation raised her voice as we hadn’t entered the actual forest . Currently we are walking upstream of the river that flows around the perimeter of the forest .

 [Once we enter the forest we will be able to begin hunting monsters . It would be an excellent adventure for us right after the monsters have resp.a.w.ned, however it is meaningless for us to enter now . ] (Youya)

Excluding the fact that maintaining our sense of direction was difficult and pain in the a.s.s, it is a good place to hunt monsters . However six days have already pa.s.sed since the monsters have resp.a.w.ned, any monsters there were living in the forest have long perished . Popular dungeons often have prey up till the fifth day after they resp.a.w.n and even if you were to search for monsters after then they would have already been hunted . Typically most adventurers would spend the entire five days hunting and spend the rest of the week resting and waiting for the monsters to resp.a.w.n . We are part of the minority who continues to hunt everyday without taking a break . . This was a major reason why we were raising our levels at a pace much faster as compared to other adventurers who weren’t .

 [But even if that was the case, there wouldn’t be any monster around if we were to remain in this kind of place . ] (Til)

 [That isn’t the case . I am properly trying to search for monsters . Even though we are merely strolling along the river, there is a proper reason for this . Luna, are you properly paying attention to Presence Detection?] (Youya)

 [Uhn . Leave it to Luna, Luna is properly searching inside the river . ] (Luna)

The river we were walking along had a gentle flow with a width of 10 metres and a maximum depth of 5 metres .  Although it was a shallow river, there are still monsters swimming around . However, most adventurers do not typically hunt in the water as attempting to hunt an aquatic monster in the water is akin to an act of suicide . Even if we had an overwhelming level difference, it doesn’t make a difference if we were to drown from lack of oxygen . Humans were not built to fight on equal grounds against aquatic life in water . On the other hand, if we were capable of hunting aquatic monsters underwater, we would be able to monopolize the entire aquatic species of monsters .

 [Til . It’s a present . ] (Youya)
 [This is . . A weird arrow isn’t it . ] (Til)

 [Well that’s about right . It’s a handmade arrow from Phil . Back when we were still adventuring together it was an arrow she made . ] (Youya)

At the tip of the arrow was a barb to prevent the arrow from being pulled out, however this barb was especially large for the arrow . Furthermore transparent threads were connected to the arrow .

 [This isn’t your typical thread is it?] (Til)

 [It’s a magical thread . It has the ability to stretch as long as you want so long as you pour magic power into it . When you pour your magic power into the arrow, the thread will stretch until you decide otherwise . ] (Youya)

 [Fuu, so in other words we’re going fishing . ] (Til)

 [Exactly . ] (Youya)

As expected of Til . She caught up quickly . Meanwhile Luna and Selene were tilting their heads in confusion . I’m sure they will understand it once we demonstrate the arrow in action .

After walking upstream for thirty minutes, Luna ears began to twitch quickly, producing a *piku**piku* sound . It was the gesture she did whenever she found an enemy .

 [Youya . Monsters . Extremely long and big monsters at the bottom of the river!] (Luna)

 [Yosh . Good job finding the monsters . ] (Youya)

To hunt an aquatic monster, the first hurdle to cross would be to actually finding the monster . However, to find the monster by swimming is practically the same as begging the monster to eat you . It could be taken as if Presence Detection was a requirement for hunting aquatic monsters .

 [But Youya . If it’s that deep we won’t be able to beat it . ] (Luna)

 [Uhn I agree . Even with the arrow it’ll be tough to penetrate even three metres reliably into the water . In that depth the power of the arrow will be diminished and it will not penetrate into the monster . ] (Til)

 [Well, just wait and see . ] (Youya)

I took out several pairs of gloves from my magic bag and several black stones . I pa.s.sed Luna and Selene the gloves while I held the black stones .

 [Til, we are going to begin luring the monsters onto the surface, keep your bow on nock and get ready . ] (Youya)

 [Got it . Ready anytime . ] (Til)

Til readied her bow as she readied the arrow on her bow . Her entire atmosphere changes as she poured her concentration onto her bow . The black stone is a special kind of magic stone which explodes several seconds after a strong shock is applied, producing a large shockwave . It is an item that drops from several monsters with a certain drop chance and is fairly popular among adventurers due to its versatility . It is commonly called Sound Bomb .

I threw the black stone towards the river and the moment the bomb struck the surface of the water, its detonation was imminent as it slowly sank into the river and exploded at the bottom . With a huge splash, the large eel-type monsters with black bodies that usually lurked at the bottom of the river were blown into the air and fell back onto the surface of the river .

It seems that the monsters lost consciousness or were stunned from the shockwave of the Sound Bomb, and continued floating on the surface of the water .

 [Til!] (Youya)

 [Leave it to me!] (Til)

Til released the arrow tied with a magic thread made by Phil . The arrow which was thicker than my arms penetrated deep into the two metre long eel . . Into the Numeri Anguila .

 [PIGYAAAAA]

The Numeri Anguilla which lost consciousness violently woke up with a roar . It is a monster with strong vitality that wouldn’t die from merely being penetrated by one arrow .

 [Luna, Selene, grab the thread and pull!] (Youya)

 [Uhn . Understood . ] (Luna)

 [I understand it now . ] (Selene)

Luna and Selene who were wearing the gloves firmly grabbed the thread and pulled it . In one breath, the Numeri Angilla was launched into the air, landing right in front of our feet . The next moment, I drew my blade and slashed its neck, severing its head from its body . Even if it has a lot of vitality, there isn’t a living being that can survive being decapitated . I quickly grabbed the specially made arrow and threw it back towards Til .

 [Hurry up and catch the remaining two eels . It’ll be troublesome if they woke up . ] (Youya)

 [I know that already . ] (Til)

Til quickly recovered the arrow and released it a second time, piercing a second Numeri Anguilla which was being pushed downstream by the irregular current produced from the shockwave . Her archery skills were as amazing as ever . Similar to the first one, Luna and Selene pulled the thread as I severed the monster’s head as it landed onto the ground .

Although the monster appears to be easy to kill above ground, if a battle were to commence underwater, this tactic would never work . In fact our roles would be reversed . If the Anguilla were to wrap it’s body around mine and restrict my movements, I could easily be forced deeper into the water and drown .

Rule number one in a battle is to never battle in the opponent’s zone . If we are unable to defeat it underwater, then we’ll just drag it out of the water . This is how you perform a safe hunt .

 [Now let’s continue at this pace! Tonight will be the Eel festival!] (Youya)

 [Tons and tons! Next is Luna’s turn to cut the head!] (Luna)

 [I too would like to smash it’s head with my spikes . ] (Selene)

Luna and Selene were saying scary things with tremendous vigor . As expected, the monsters inside the river were left untouched .

The Sound Bomb which is vital to our fishing plan is an item that is often dropped in dungeons for levels 35 and above . However at that level there are many other items which are much more valuable to collect than the Sound bomb . It’s no wonder that these guys were left untouched by other adventurers .

The Numeri Anguilla is a level 26 monster . It’s time to enjoy this meal with both tasty amounts of meat and experience .

Our hunt for the Numeri Anguilla continued as we slowly but surely continued upstream . There were plenty of other Anguillas for us to hunt as their numbers were left untouched by other adventurers and the amount of Eel Meat (Average) we needed for the quest was secured early into the hunt . Currently we were trying to secure several of them for our own dinner at the bar where we will pa.s.s the meat to the chef and have him cook it for us . I am already looking forward to dinner tonight .

Courtesy of Luna’s Increased Drop Rate, we also managed to get a rare item drop, the Anguilla’s rubbery skin . We could utilize this to create an armour with high lightning resistance since there are higher leveled monsters that are capable of manipulating thunder, I’ll be sure to take care of it so as to not lose it .

 [Youya, Tired . ] (Luna)

 [Right? I already don’t feel like looking at that black and slimy thing . ] (Til)

 [I am having fun though . ] (Selene)

Since we were just doing monotonous work, walking upstream while occasionally fishing out the Anguillas, it seems that the two children have already gotten tired of it . It could also be due to the steep incline of the area as our physical strength was being sapped away walking upstream .

 [Don’t say that . The hunt for Numeri Anguillas is about to end . Plus, we are about to see a sight that would make your troubles go away . ] (Youya)

We arrived at an open area with a completely different landscape and the scent of water in the air becomes thicker .

 [Uwaaaa, Pretty . ] (Luna)

 [Amazing . It’s going *dote**dote*!] (Til)

 [So this is a waterfall .  I’ve read about it in books but this is my first time seeing one . ] (Selene)

A gigantic waterfall came into our view . This is the famous location within the Wailing Forest, the Lamenting Falls . With a height of above 100 metres, an overwhelming amount of water falls from the sky and lands onto the lake below with a roar, producing a beautiful rainbow . There aren’t many sights like this in this world .

 [Youya, Luna wants to get a closer look!] (Luna)

 [I’m good though, I definitely do not want to get closer to the water falling from the sky . It feels like I’ll die if I get hit by that . ] (Til)

 [Let’s head towards it!] (Selene)

With that ma.s.s of water falling from that height, if you were to be directly hit by that water you would definitely be washed off the face of the world . Luna stared at the waterfall with glittering eyes nearby .

 [Nee . Youya, Is this our destination for today?] (Luna)

 [That’s right . Behind this waterfall is a hidden room . In that room there is a special monster, a boss that regularly sp.a.w.ns there . ] (Youya)

 [Wait a minute . Are we going to go through that waterfall? We’ll die!] (Til)

 [That is why no other adventurers have been able to notice the room . ] (Youya)

A cave behind a waterfall . Although this waterfall has existed since the game’s beta, if it was the waterfall during the beta then this would be a totally different matter . I would avoid being reckless in our leveling as much as possible .

 [I wonder how are we supposed to enter the cave? Even if we were to survive receiving a direct hit from the water falling from above, if we were to be pushed into the water directly beneath it, we would be completely engulfed by the pressure from the waterfall and there would be no way for us to survive . ] (Selene)

 [Truth is, it is possible to stop the waterfall for several minutes . ] (Youya)

I took a look at my pocket watch . There were a few minutes left to go . At the core of the Wailing Forest, there is a magical vortex with a sign next to it that says: Where the tears of lamentation drops, offer the song of a monkey . The forest begins to dance and the tears will begin to stop .

Exactly as it looks like, this was a cipher to reach the secret room where the boss sp.a.w.ns . The tears of lamentation refer to the Lamenting Falls while the monkey refers to the monkey of the zodiac signs . When expressing time using the zodiac signs, the monkey represents the time between 3pm and 5pm .

In other words, at the Lamenting Falls, when someone begins to sing a song at within 3pm to 5pm in the afternoon, the waterfall will stop for several moments .

Once the waterfall stops functioning, it becomes possible to reach the hidden room behind the waterfall . As always, the deciphering of riddles in this world is hard to understand . Looking at my watch, it was 3pm .

 [Luna,Til,Selene . Which one of you are the most confident in their singing?] (Youya)

 [Luna,Til,Selene . Which one of you are the most confident in their singing?] (Youya)

The three of them began to think .

 [Impossible for Luna . Luna doesn’t have any songs to sing . ] (Luna)

It is difficult for me to ask Luna to sing when she doesn’t have any memories in the first place .

 [Uhn . I will pa.s.s too . I am good with lutes but to say that I am good at singing would be pushing it . My sister is good with singing though, and I didn’t want to compete with her so I went for the lute instead . Musical performance are my specialty . ] (Til)

  [I could sing, but I wouldn’t call it a talent of mine . ] (Selene)

Speaking of which, Phil’s singing was always the best, I feel like listening to it again .

 [Then Selene, Could you please sing a song?] (Youya)

 [If it is necessary . . It’s embarra.s.sing but I’ll try my best . ] (Selene)

Selene went as close to the waterfall as possible and began to sing . It was a beautiful singing voice that had the beauty of a beautiful flower and powerful as if there was a powerful force driving it . It was a voice that suited Selene well . It was a voice that I used to hear often back when I was in her kingdom .

Then, the waterfall began to change . The loud impacts of the waterfall began to echo as a gigantic tree appeared from above the waterfall, as if it was swaying to the right then to the left . It appears that this is the dance of the forest . As Selene song ended, the gigantic tree got caught between the two edges of the waterfall right before it could fall, blocking the waterfall causing the water to be pushed to the sides . Without the water to conceal the entrance, a secret pa.s.sage hidden behind the waterfall appears .

 [That was a beautiful song . Let’s hear you sing again next time . ] (Youya)

 [Eee, if uncle Youya is pleased with it . ] (Selene)

Selene became bashful as the two children’s spirits left their body, staring at the water with sparkling eyes and leaving me and Selene alone

 [Uwah . The tree really stopped the waterfall . ] (Til)

 [There is really a hidden pa.s.sage behind the waterfall . Now that it stopped, let’s go . ] (Luna)

The two girls looked like they would disappear into the pa.s.sage any second now .

 [Now then, let’s hurry . It will only be a few minutes before the waterfall push and crushes that big tree . ] (Youya)

Everyone began to run towards the stone scaffolding that appeared behind the waterfall with astonished looks as we entered the hidden pa.s.sage . At the end of this path, is the boss hidden in a concealed room . This will be our first boss fight as a party . Let’s crush this boss and gain even more confidence as a party while praying that we will obtain the item to increase our party members’ limit to welcome Phil .