Chapter 31: The Swamp of Death Part 1

"Beepy, try it again!"

For days on end, I had been attempting to extract life force from Beepy but all my efforts had been in vain.

All I got from shaking Beepy was dust.

So I started to wonder if the whole thing had been a mere illusion at that moment.

It can't be.

Simply taking a herb bath couldn't heal all the wounds on my body.

Yet, after that bath, my body was clean and without a single wound.

If it wasn't for that sparkle, I wouldn't have been able to figure it out.

But no matter how much I shook and prodded Beepy, nothing happened.

"Haah… Alright, let's take this one step at a time. There's plenty of time."

With Beepy dozing off, I gently placed it into my pocket and stood up.

The "fortnight" of preparation time had passed.

Now, the only thing left was to venture into the swamp of death.

I finished all the preparations by inspecting the magic stones I had requested from the magic tower.

These are high-quality magic stones. They should be sufficient.

I stored half of the prepared magic stones in my space ring, and the magic tower agreed to take care of storing and transporting the other half.

The wizards seemed surprised that I possessed an item as rare as a space ring.

After all, it's not common to find a wizard capable of crafting such an item.

They would never guess that I had acquired it from the mad wizard, Khalid.

We used the teleportation magic provided by the magic tower to travel to the swamp of death.

This is the swamp of death…

The air was distinctly different.

The damp heavy air filled with moisture hovered around the area, and the soggy green mud occasionally bubbled as if it were boiling.

But there was an unexpected sight.

"To actually find lotuses growing in such a place."

Lotuses are known for their high purification power, so how could they grow here?

Perhaps it's because this is the outer edge of the swamp of death.

The stems are quite tough, too. They might be useful.

Without hesitation, I waded into the filthy mud to collect the lotus seeds.

And then I planted the magic stones and the seeds of an ash tree a short distance away.

Lastly, I used [Blessing of the Forest]. Alright.

-Whoosh!

As if in fast-forward, the sprouts of the ash tree emerged and began to grow at an incredible rate.

Indeed.

The ash tree was now absorbing the magical power from the magic stones and undergoing decades of growth in an instant.

With the [Blessing of the Forest] and the supply of magical power from the magic stones, an ordinary ash tree seed was transforming into a grand and noble "Purification Ash Tree".

I reserved my magical power solely for the skill [Blessing of the Forest] which turned ordinary plants into "Purification Trees" and the magical power needed for the growth of the ash tree was supplied by the magic stones.

While I could have used my own magical power to grow them, that would have been a waste of resources.

This was because there were more than just one or two Purification Ash Trees that needed to be grown by the time we reached the heart of the swamp of death.

Good, it's growing here as well.

I hadn't just been idling during the preparation period.

The Purification Ash Tree is a success too.

I continuously engaged in various research and experiments in the dimensional garden.

Since the plants' growth speed was buffed there, it was much more convenient than experimenting outside.

Thanks to this, I discovered that ash trees were the perfect trees to grow as purification trees in wetlands like the swamp of death. I also determined the exact amount of magical power needed to accelerate their growth, and most importantly, I collected an enormous number of ash tree seeds.

Just as in the experiments conducted under similar conditions in the dimensional garden, the Purification Ash Trees grew well and quickly reached heights of several tens of meters and developed into huge trees.

Using high-quality magic stones ensured that the grown Purification Ash Trees were exceptionally sturdy.

Their roots spread wide, stabilizing the muddy ground and absorbing all the murky and corrupt energies around them.

The once squelchy mud transformed into firm soil and soft moss began to grow there.

The area where the Purification Ash Trees took root was completely purified.

I scattered wild grass seeds around to allow life to return. Fortunately, the wild grass with strong vitality soon sprouted.

"O-Ooooh…!"

"My goodness, to think this was possible…"

"That's really amazing."

Admiration from the surrounding wizards filled the air.

And then…

– Sssk, sssuk.

– Sssk! Sssk! Sssk!

The evils absorbed by the Purification Ash Trees, such as demonic energy and poison, were filtered through the trunk and manifested as fruits.

I plucked one of the fruits and tentatively took a bite.

"Mmm…"

Just as I expected.

A pungent taste followed and my mouth began to go numb showing typical signs of poisoning.

Of course, with my poison resistance and the [Benevolent Monster] totem, it was merely a tickling sensation to me.

As expected, the fruits borne by the ash tree are poison itself.

It made sense. The fruit was created by absorbing all that was filthy, evil, and corrupt.

"What is that?"

One of the wizards asked me.

"A poisonous fruit."

"Poisonous fruit?"

"It's a fruit that has absorbed the corrupt energies and poison prevalent in the swamp. It's so potent that it could kill an ordinary person just by touching their tongue, so please be careful."

"Th-That powerful?"

The wizards erupted in exclamations.

But their reactions were far from fearful; instead, they seemed to be filled with excitement.

"Sir Theodore, can this poisonous fruit be produced continuously?"

"Yes, as long as we keep planting the Purification Ash Trees, they should keep bearing fruit. Perhaps about twenty per tree?"

"In that case, how about selling them to us?"

The eyes of the wizard who made this unexpected proposal sparkled with eagerness.

Ah, right, the wizards of Roshan have a deep understanding of poisons…

That's why they had no trouble getting me the Hydrus I requested.

A useless poisonous fruit turning into money?

I pretended to be reluctant and muttered quietly.

"That would be quite dangerous to handle…"

"How about one gold coin per tree? What do you say?"

One gold coin per tree, huh?

That seemed far too low.

I toyed with the poisonous fruit while adopting a reluctant look on my face.

"Even if you say that… Just one of these is enough to take down ten Maple Bears."

The wizard pleaded with even more urgency in his voice.

"I-In that case, how about two gold coins per tree?"

"Haaah…."

"Three, three coins! Three gold coins per tree!"

"Hmm, very well."

Only then did I crack a smile and hand over the poisonous fruit to the wizard.

I'm planning to plant up to five trees a day. This would mean, aside from the request at hand, an additional income of 15 gold coins a day.

I was lucky.

Soon after, the mercenary band arrived and I moved on with light steps to plant the next purification tree. The poisons of the swamp of death hardly affected me, thanks to my poison resistance and the totem, which allowed me to dig and plant the trees without hesitation.

Of course, the dangers lurking in the swamp of death weren't limited to just "poison".

Various monsters and demon beasts of unknown origin were coming from all over the place and charged at me.

And naturally, each time, the wizards and mercenaries dealt with them.

-Booom!

One Mud Goblin met its end and turned into a charred mess after being struck by a large fireball.

And Swamp Orcs lost their heads to the swift swing of Jamil's axe.

In the midst of this chaos, my only task was to diligently plant the Purification Ash Trees.

Aside from the inconvenience of getting mud on my pants, it was rather pleasant work.

The progress is faster than I expected, isn't it?

Thanks to the elite wizards or perhaps the Red Bear mercenaries, we were advancing quicker than I had anticipated.

I had thought it would take about fifteen days to reach the center of the swamp of death but with this pace…

It seemed we might be able to carve a path to the center in just about ten days.

I diligently worked on raising the Purification Ash Trees while using the screams of monsters and demon beasts as a sort of background music. Oh, and I made sure to sprinkle wild grass seeds in between.

"Ma-Master! We also want to…"

El seemed to be itching to join the fray as she watched the mercenaries battle the monsters.

Ayla too seemed drawn by the scent of blood.

I had originally intended to keep them safely by my side as my guards…

I wonder how much El has grown in this time, and with Jamil here, perhaps it would be alright?

I leaned against the ash tree, thought for a moment, and then nodded my head.

Of course, I set one condition.

"Orcs are off-limits. Stick to goblins."

"But!"

"Goblins only."

"Okay…"

"Don't get any funny ideas; I'll be watching."

"Y-Yes…"

El's shoulders drooped for a moment, but then she quickly drew her sword. And she plunged into the battle with a face devoid of fear.

I called out to El's retreating back.

"El! Make sure to collect the magic stones!"

***

Night had fallen.

Even during the day, the swamp of death was shrouded in darkness, as the sun never penetrated its depths, making night seem to arrive even earlier. It felt like it was only around 3 or 4 in the afternoon, but a pitch-black darkness had already enveloped the surroundings.

We set up camp under the seventh purification ash tree.

The swamp of death, engulfed in darkness, was several times more dangerous at night than during the day. Even now, monsters lurking in the darkness were likely watching us.

The wizards had lit bright fires, and the mercenaries patrolled the perimeter vigilantly. The rest of us pitched tents and prepared the meal.

Ayla was patrolling the area, while El was meticulously cleaning the magic stones she had collected from today's hunt. Thanks to her training with Jamil, El's skills had improved dramatically, which was evident in the great number of magic stones she managed to acquire.

"Master?"

"Yes?"

After she had diligently cleaned them, El presented me with six glistening goblin magic stones.

"Why are you giving these to me…?"

"Because I've only ever received from you, Master."

"El, that's not…"

"I want to be of help to you too! Please accept them!"

El shouted with a voice so loud it seemed to echo throughout the entire swamp of death, and then as if suddenly embarrassed by her own words, her face turned a deep shade of red.

Ah, with such a plea, how could I possibly refuse?

"Then, I'll accept just one."

"B-But!"

"El, who am I?"

"…Master."

"Right. I'm your master, not a loan shark. So I'll take just one in recognition of your sincerity."

"..."

"The rest are yours. Earned by your own skill, your rightful share."

"Thank you…"

"Use it to buy yourself a snack or something."

El nodded her head with a face that looked as though she was on the verge of tears.

Low-grade magic stones don't really mean much to me anymore…

But pretending to be a magnanimous master was a hundred times better than admitting that outright.

"Now then, would you like to help me prepare the meal?"

"Yes!"