CHAPTER 96

Hwaaaa!

In the place where the light cluster had settled, only a single line of text reminiscent of a ripple pattern remained.

Elric was dumbfounded.

'I haven't even figured out the fourth seal yet… and it suddenly appears like this? Just because I defeated a Deathworm?'

The stone tablet had returned to its original state as if nothing had happened.

So, he couldn't understand what was going on.

However, one thing was certain.

'It was intended from the beginning to give the fourth seal in this arrangement….'

In fact, the first arrangement was similar.

The final goal was to possess the Seal of the Snow Mountain King.

It seemed this time was no different.

'He said I could steal General Winter… Is it related to that? How do I use it? What is its true name?'

Elric guessed that this seal was probably part of the "Winter" that Otto Han had mentioned.

The problem was that he couldn't know its name.

If Mephisto were by his side, he could easily ask him about it, but that was impossible now.

'Madar! Help me, Madar!'

Of course, there was no way for Mephisto to intervene in the arrangement happening in the unconscious world.

Even if he tried to ask the God of Camellias, it wasn't related to trees, so she wouldn't appear, and given her hatred for demons, even if she knew, she wouldn't answer.

The true name was the minimum requirement to activate the seal. Beyond the true name, one had to 'understand' the concept contained within it to truly 'approach' the activation of the seal.

But he knew nothing about this seal.

He didn't know its rank or its genealogy.

The only thing he could sense was the attribute of the seal.

'Wind, huh.'

It seemed it would take a little more time to properly use this seal.

'It took me a while to understand and master the Snow Mountain King's seal. It seems to be the same this time. I'll have to watch and see gradually. But under what conditions did I acquire this seal?'

The Seal of Cruelty was obtained by defeating a category of demons known as Yetis, but even though the Deathworm was classified as a monster, it wasn't a demon, right?

Elric had many unresolved mysteries, but he believed that continuing with the arrangements would eventually solve them.

"Well, since the cleanup is done, shall I start planting properly again?"

Elric hummed as he took out the seed and planted it in the ground.

He sensed the approach of monsters, attracted by the smell of the Deathworm's carcass, so he needed to finish his work quickly.

However,

Rumble…!

"…No way?"

Elric's expression hardened as he noticed the ground trembling slightly.

Somehow, the ominous feeling was no different from before.

And then.

"Damn it…!"

Why was it that ominous feelings were never wrong?

Boom!

The ground burst open again.

***

[Mission Failed.]

[Rewinding to Day 0.]

[Attempt number 3.]

"Damn it, damn it, damn it!"

As soon as Elric regained consciousness and found himself back at the starting point, he had to let out a string of curses.

The first two Deathworms he caught were just the beginning.

When he faced dozens of Deathworms that had come up from the depths, attracted by the scent of their fallen kin, he nearly fainted.

'Is there really a Deathworm nest here? How did the Tiger King manage to build a city here?'

The Deathworm nests were somewhat documented in the "Demon Encyclopedia."

[Deathworm Nests: Deathworms thrive in very specific environments, leading them to gather in certain areas. These nests can range from a few individuals to dozens, making such locations uninhabitable for other life forms.]

[If a suspected nest is found, avoid it at all costs. The nest's eradication level is elevated to tier 1.]

The fact that there was a separate entry for Deathworm nests, despite the general entry for Deathworms, indicated their notorious reputation.

Eradicating these nests typically required a direct deployment of a 'corps' or a "one-man army," and more often than not, they were simply left alone once discovered.

'What should I do? Should I really look for another location?'

Elric wiped his face with his hand, deep in thought.

There was no way he could tackle the Deathworm nest on his own.

Outnumbered and outmatched.

One person cannot handle numerous opponents at once.

'But the fact that so many Deathworms are living here means the environment is very suitable for them.'

Despite their appearance, these creatures required very specific conditions to survive.

Is there another good method?

'For now, let's see how far I can go.'

He hadn't gathered any information related to the Tiger King yet.

Above all, it would be a shame to abandon the information he had collected so far.

Though the nest was terrifying, he felt that if he endured a few more hardships, he might find a way.

Elric gritted his teeth.

***

At that moment, he had no idea.

This was the gateway to a relentless, hellish abyss.

***

[Mission Failed.]

[Rewinding to Day 0.]

[Attempt number 34.]

"Aaaagh! What the hell am I supposed to do?"

Elric screamed in frustration, clutching his temples.

Failing once or twice was bearable, but after thirty attempts, anyone's patience would be exhausted.

The problem was that there seemed to be no solution.

Until the tenth attempt, Elric had strained every brain cell he had to figure out how to conquer the Deathworm nest.

There were times when success seemed almost within reach.

He tried various methods, like using bait that Deathworms would like to lure them out, freezing the ground to starve them, or bringing in other monsters.

But all those attempts ended in failure.

Facing the swarms of Deathworms individually was exhausting, and just when he thought he had cleared them all, others would emerge from hiding to sabotage his efforts.

Eventually, he had to conclude that conquering the nest was impossible and reluctantly moved to a different area.

The problem was that growing trees there wasn't easy either.

'Why are there so many monsters? If there aren't monsters, the land is full of demonic energy or toxins, and it takes forever to purify...!'

If the area seemed promising, it was overrun with monsters, and if there were fewer monsters, the land was in terrible condition.

Only then did Elric understand why the Black Snowfield was so inhospitable for normal life.

It was almost admirable that the beastmen had managed to build cities and thrive in such a place after being driven out here.

'Even in Anthromorph, they managed some agriculture. There must be a way....'

Elric suddenly recalled the stone monuments standing at the borders of Anthromorph.

The stone monuments that created large-scale barriers to prevent monster invasions in the middle of the Black Snowfield. Was that what he needed?

But he had no idea where to find such things.

'Maybe...?'

Elric took out the stone tablet and examined it carefully, but soon let out a deep sigh.

No matter how much he looked, it was much smaller than the stone monuments and didn't seem to have any magical devices related to barriers.

Even if there was something, it was beyond his current ability to discern.

'Should I rather inscribe a magic circle to create a barrier?'

That thought crossed his mind, but he had no idea how it might affect the magical devices Otto Han had set up.

He had considered bringing in stones inscribed with barrier magic and placing them at the boundaries, but after seeing them get destroyed by continuous monster attacks, he abandoned that idea as well.

By the time he reached his thirtieth attempt, he had returned to the Deathworm nest.

He figured it would be easier to tackle this place since he had gathered the most information about it.

Of course, even then, he faced repeated failures and frustration.

'Hah! If this keeps up, I feel like I'll be trapped in this arrangement forever.'

The only potential solution that came to mind was the mysterious seal he obtained when his first restriction was lifted.

'This definitely has something to do with planting the camellia tree.'

The seal, which Elric had temporarily named the "Seal of Wind," kept growing as he eliminated monsters.

Even without doing much, it had already reached three stars.

Stronger monsters provided larger fragments of the seal, while weaker monsters provided smaller fragments.

So, the resets of over thirty attempts weren't entirely fruitless.

He had also gained geographical knowledge of the area.

'Maybe when the second restriction or whatever it is gets lifted, I'll know the true name or trigger? If there's even a sign of it, I might be able to do something. Hah!'

The problem was that he had no idea what the restriction was or what the conditions for lifting it were.

He had to figure out everything through trial and error, from start to finish.

It felt like searching for a needle in a haystack.

'With the Snow Mountain King, there was a clear goal to defeat her, so it didn't matter how many times I died. But this isn't like that at all.'

Elric briefly considered bad mouthing Otto Han, who was likely watching him, with a sinister smile.

'But the more I do that, the more he'd probably enjoy it. It wouldn't annoy him at all.'

It seemed like Melvinger's nasty personality delighted in others' frustration, so Elric decided to ignore it.

If only someone could help him now.

'Wait. Help?'

Then Elric suddenly remembered something and scratched his head.

"Aagh! You idiot! Why didn't you think of this sooner?"

Otto Han and the God of Camellias had told him to plant the tree, but they never said he had to do it "alone."

That meant he could have allies!

"I need to find the Tiger King family! The Tiger King family of this era!"

The first thought Elric had when he was dropped into this era was to find the Tiger King family, who established Anthromorph 400 years ago, and the tribes that followed them.

But he had been so focused on planting the seeds that he hadn't thought of working with them.

It seemed like his preconceived notion that he had to tackle the arrangement solo had shackled his actions.

'If I need to start agriculture, I can just learn from the beastmen. If that doesn't work, I can ask for their help.'

Of course, Elric knew that forming a bond with the beastmen wouldn't be easy.

Especially since this era was when the beastmen's anger toward humans was at its peak.

Many would likely try to kill him on sight. The Tiger King family might even be among them.

'Anyway, the reason the Tiger King family gained power in this era was due to the widespread sense of crisis due to humans, necessitating their unification.'

But Elric was confident.

Confident that he could make them pay attention to him, even if they were wary.

'I'll have to adjust my approach depending on how they react to a human that learned the Body Strengthening Art.'

In this era, Body Strengthening Art hadn't yet become the secret art of the Tiger King family.

Since the various branches and tribes were so divided, the Body Strengthening Art, though sharing the same name, existed in numerous different forms and styles.

'But it was during this period that the Tiger King unified the beastmen and consolidated the scattered Body Strengthening Arts into the unified system we know today.'

This was the secret art of the Tiger King family that Elric referred to as the "original form" of the Body Strengthening Art.

'This actually works out well. If I can meet them, learn about the original Body Strengthening Art, and grow the tree... it's killing two birds with one stone.'

To do that, he needed to form an alliance with the beastmen and meet the hero who founded the Tiger King family.

Would the Tiger King Yul truly be manifested within this arrangement?

Elric was extremely curious about that.

Of course, finding him and his tribe in the vast Black Snowfield wouldn't be easy.

But for Elric, it was actually simple.

'If it's hard to find, I just have to make it easy for them to come out.'

One side of Elric's mouth curled up into a sinister smile.

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