“To move by the shortest route, we’d have to clear away the thorn bushes, but…”
Reysir muttered as he pushed his spear shaft into the thorn bushes that had grown as tall as he was, stirring them around.
But the thorny vines were tangled together in a stubborn mess.
Only a hole large enough to fit an arm had been created.
And even the scenery beyond that was nothing but a path of thorns.
“We can’t go this way, can we?”
A disappointed voice slipped from Reysir’s lips.
But I wasn’t disappointed. I hadn’t expected anything from the start.
The Original Author wouldn’t want us to escape safely.
There was no way they’d written a description of the thorn bushes growing just for decoration.
Sure enough.
The more we walked, the farther the boundary of the Demonic Realm seemed to get.
Even though we hadn’t just chosen the easiest path—we’d cut through what thorn bushes we could and moved outward.
‘At this rate… even if the professors realize we might be trapped here and come to rescue us, it’ll take them forever to find us.’
I had expected this, so I wasn’t burning with anxiety now.
It was just that those thorny vines felt like nooses meant to strangle me, filling me with a dark feeling that gradually tightened my chest.
“…”
Sensing that the situation was getting worse, the Original Protagonist also stopped maintaining a positive attitude and fell silent.
He was trying not to show his unease, but in the end, he couldn’t hide it well enough that I noticed.
Rustle, slither.
–Schlick, crunch, crackle.
How long had we been wandering?
From both ahead and behind, I sensed monsters.
‘Ahead is one thing, but behind is the path we just came from—how?’
With that question, I turned my head.
Sid Bloom was using long stems to crawl down over the thorn bushes, writhing.
Where the pistil and stamen should have been, jagged teeth had grown in abundance—a bizarre-looking flower that was utterly terrifying.
‘If it had left its main body on top of the thorn bushes and only attacked using stems and seeds, we’d have been hopeless. But since it came down to us, should I be thankful…?’
Of course, I didn’t act on that thought.
Giving the Original Author the idea of “Oh, that could work?” would be a very stupid way to invite greater danger.
“Karbaldr. I’ll take care of the monster in front as fast as I can and come help you, so hold on a little longer.”
I wonder if that will actually work.
Whether the Protagonist of Another Novel comes to help me, or whether I can hold out.
I get the feeling one of those two will become impossible.
“Meow, meow meow. Mrrrr mrrr mew.”
Was Yor somehow aware that my thoughts were turning negative?
He pulled out the Whitenboard, scribbled something quickly, then showed it to me with a solemn meow.
‘This… is that a cabbage he drew?’
A cabbage at this timing?
I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t flustered, but soon I understood the Baby Dragon’s intention.
He was applying the saying “Cabbages are counted when giving up” to tell me I shouldn’t give up.
“Yeah. That’s what we should do.”
“Nyaaoong!”
Reysir had already rushed at the monster and engaged in battle the moment he finished speaking.
I gave Yor a small smile to tell him not to worry, then gripped the Whip handle tightly.
The Baby Dragon quickly put the Whitenboard back inside the Yeouiju.
At that moment, the monster’s mouth opened wide as if inhaling, then closed.
A preparatory motion for spitting out seeds.
‘He won’t use the [Germination] skill from the start, right?’
But I couldn’t just dodge carelessly.
Currently, I was standing back-to-back with Reysir, each facing our own monster.
If I dodged a [Seed Bomb], it might hit Reysir.
‘Reysir is probably trying to deflect all the seeds the monster shoots for the same reason.’
Thinking along these lines, I activated the [Character Analysis] skill and quickly swung the Whip.
The Whip had a long effective range, so I could knock the seeds away before they got close.
Also, because of its flexibility, the shock transferred to my palm wasn’t that strong.
Thanks to that, I didn’t have to risk injury every time I deflected a [Seed Bomb] like Reysir.
But on the flip side, that meant Reysir was getting hurt while deflecting the [Seed Bombs], just like in the Original Work.
–Wooooooom.
A dull explosion, slowed and stretched into a vibration-like sound, came from behind.
I had read the description in the Original Novel of how much pain Reysir felt each time he deflected a [Seed Bomb], so it worried me a lot.
Even though I had a good number of healing Potions, drinking them consecutively reduced their effectiveness.
Since I couldn’t heal him after every battle, I couldn’t help but be even more anxious…
‘No matter how I think about it, it’s better for me to get hit by the sleep powder than Reysir.’
Of course, it would be best if neither of us fell asleep.
But if we absolutely had to choose one, that’s my conclusion.
For the record, my decision has nothing to do with what I mentioned in the previous chapter about “the less painful side.”
Now that I’m fighting the monster, I’m certain.
While I was deflecting seeds, dodging stems, and restraining the monster, Yor was counterattacking with Aether arrows.
But Sid Bloom showed amazing regenerative ability, quickly recovering the spots where Yor’s arrows had struck.
‘If Reysir gets incapacitated, we’ll have no way out at all!’
I’m not unafraid of falling asleep while entrusting my safety to the Protagonist of Another Novel.
I’m scared that I might end up dead like the supporting character in a similar situation from the Pre-Remake Original Novel.
I also feel sorry thinking that Reysir might get wrecked protecting me.
And since the setting is that master and Familiar share death, I’m very worried about Yor.
But…
‘Right, Yor is here!’
Unlike the Pre-Remake Original, where the supporting character and the Original Protagonist were isolated alone, now there are three of us.
Moreover, Yor is not a being created by the Original Author, so he can’t be controlled by that person’s will, can he?
So I decided to trust my wise Baby Dragon.
Thus, if the Original Author shows signs of trying to put his protagonist to sleep, I resolved to take the sleep powder myself and fall asleep first.
‘Once Reysir finds out that the plants grown by the [Germination] skill emit sleep powder, he’ll desperately try to avoid it.’
He wouldn’t be able to step in even if I were about to get covered in it.
He knows better than anyone that if he tries to protect me and ends up falling asleep instead, that would just mean all of us dying.
In reality, only Reysir, the Original Protagonist, would survive to the end, but anyway.
So, if the Original Author wants to show a twist to readers who read the Pre-Remake version by putting his protagonist to sleep, there are two ways.
Since the true nature of the [Germination] skill hasn’t been revealed yet, it wouldn’t be strange if Reysir didn’t even think to hold his breath and just inhaled the pollen directly.
So it will happen during this battle.
But not right now—after Reysir has killed one monster.
‘If monsters are blocking both front and back, then Yor and I can’t even run away, let alone fight while protecting Reysir.’
Alternatively, the Blue Flower that spews poison powder could be shown first,
and then in the next battle, a White Flower could be shoved in front of me, making Reysir think it also spews poison powder,
thus creating a situation where he shields me and falls asleep.
‘If the Original Author decided to push the plot of putting me to sleep… they probably wouldn’t overthink it and just put me to sleep in this battle.’
Amid the explosive sounds from behind, a stretched spark noise like “Zweeeng, ziiiiing!” rang out.
And the frequency gradually increased.
That meant Reysir had closed the distance enough with the monster and was pushing forward with an advantage.
I need to be alert from now on.
Instead of focusing on fighting the monster I couldn’t defeat anyway, I just restrained it moderately while glancing back to check on Reysir’s situation.
And I pretended to be pushed back by the monster’s attacks, slowly stepping backward.
To show the Original Author that with my skills, I can’t even handle one monster, so fighting while protecting Reysir is impossible.
To convey my hope that even considering plausibility, they wouldn’t put Reysir to sleep.
And then I realized.
‘The Original Author wants Karbaldr to die as a cowardly villain?’
…That’s it.
The moment Reysir finished off the monster he was fighting, he spun around and kicked off the ground.
In an instant, he brushed past me.
Then, without hesitation, he threw himself between the plant stems swung by the monster I had been restraining.
Without even catching his breath, right away.
Since I had deflected all the [Seed Bombs], he reached the monster quickly.
The spear blade, filled with golden Aether, sliced through Sid Bloom’s flower stalk.
Only then did the Protagonist of Another Novel relax and let out a breath.
He didn’t notice the monster’s body lying limp at his feet twitching slightly, nor the red flower on the ground spitting out a single seed.
“Watch out!”
I shouted and ran toward Reysir.
Fortunately, the quick-witted Original Protagonist immediately realized the battle wasn’t over and stepped back.
Thanks to that, he barely managed to avoid having his ankle caught by the plant monster’s stem after the flower had been cut off.
But the Original Author seemed determined to put him to sleep.
Even though most of the traps had been broken or exposed because of the thorn bushes, a perfectly intact trap happened to be hidden right where Reysir had stepped.
If that isn’t the Original Author’s meddling, what is?
The moment the [Germination] seed that had fallen to the ground sprouted and raised a stem to form a white flower bud,
a noose caught his ankle and hung him upside down.
The same trap I fell into in Chapter 212.
Uh oh