Ilpin Forest.

It was a place with a rather infamous reputation. The old god’s burial, the land where nature came to die, the world’s number one hotbed for monsters, it had many such ominous titles. Most people knew it simply as one of the nine forbidden regions of Lull.

Located somewhere near the western coast of Lull’s only supercontinent, it was a place most known for its dangerous monsters. The creatures that lived there were the type that could ravage the entire continent if they were to ever escape. For those foolish enough to enter, death would be the kindest outcome.

Naturally, there were no human cities or civilized settlements within a place like this. Still, that did not mean that Ilpin forest was completely devoid of humans.

The forest was dangerous, but as with all dangerous things, it hid within it something precious. Ironically, that precious something also happened to be the one thing that made the forest so dangerous: the monsters.

All the beasts within the forest were of high quality. From the hides on their backs to the teeth in their mouths, their body parts were immensely valuable. Often times, an Ilpin monster’s corpse sold for a lot back in the civilized world.

Each and every year, there were plenty of adventurers who willingly ventured into the forest with hopes of striking it rich. Most were those with confidence in their own strength, while others were simply desperate madmen at the end of their wits. Regardless, hundreds entered, but only a sparse few survived.

Still, the tales of riches and success stories that often followed those survivors was enough to spur on the next batch of death seekers.

Amidst all the fools and hotheads, there existed one special individual.

A witch.

She was a witch who lived somewhere within the depths of the forest, in a place where no other adventurer dared to venture. It sounded unbelievable, but there was indeed such a person. Counting the current year, she had lived in Ilpin forest for over one hundred years now.

In the past, she held some fame amongst the various countries scattered around the world, but after so long, her reputation meant nothing. She was simply another inconsequential note on the pages of history. Right now, such an innocuous individual spent her days inside the world’s most dangerous forest.

Currently, she was in the middle of her annual hunt. Her prey? Trolls.

A Troll was a rather common breed of monster. Like humans, they populated most of the continent. As long as it was somewhere lush and forested, then there was about a fifty-fifty percent chance that some variation of a troll lived there.

Of course, like with all things, Trolls divided into different subspecies. Each variant possessed unique traits that set them apart from the others. The only thing they shared in common was their incredible healing factor.

The subspecies with one of the strongest healing factors could only be found within the depth of Ilpin forest.

The Grandelier Troll. It was a type of Troll spoken about only in legends. Its recovery was so outstanding, that it could heal wounds while in the midst of taking damage. It was the sort of rule-breaking creature that could regenerate lost limbs in the blink of an eye.

As with tradition, the witch of the forest went out to search for Trolls.

She had been tracking a particular Troll for over a month now.

Trolls were creatures of solitude. The only exception to this rule was during the brief stint of time when they bore children. During such instances, they moved around in a family unit in order to raise their children. Normally, this unit consisted of two parental Trolls and a litter of young. These periods of childcare lasted for approximately two years.

The witch had kept track of a particular female Troll. She had watched as it entered its breeding season and mated with a male. She waited a few months after it gave birth before she decided to finally make her move.

She did not like to do things directly, and instead, implemented traps. In this case, she was not at all that different from a seasoned hunter. Well, except for the fact that her traps utilized magic.

This year’s trap featured a dual magic array that could incite both drowsiness and mental inhibition. At the beginning, it worked quite well. The female troll along with her litter easily succumbed to the trap and lost consciousness.

Unfortunately, something happened when it came to the male troll. To her surprise, it had an innate resistance to the drowsiness spell. It wasn’t enough to call it a mutation, but this troll was definitely stronger than most normal Grandelier trolls. What’s more, because of the first spell’s failure, the second spell (mind inhibition) only served to enrage it. The creature went on a rampage and escaped into the forest.

The Witch only gave chase after she had properly handled the other trolls. After all, a drowsiness spell would not last all that long, especially for a creature with such strong vitality as a Grandelier Troll.

After they properly died, she then sprinkled some monster repellant all over their corpses, before she proceeded to follow the male Troll’s trail.

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She had a somewhat rough understanding of the forest’s layout. Judging by the direction that it had fled to, the male Troll was heading straight for the river.

The witch naturally chased after him, but when she broke through the clearing and arrived at the river, the sight before her eyes shocked her.

Monsters.

There were eight in total. One fox and seven wolves.

She recognized the breed. Burrow Wolves. They were a subspecies of wolf only found within Ilpin forest. Burrow wolves lived in caves or underground burrows, hence the name. By this forest’s standards, they were considered to be weak monsters. Still, the fact that they could survive in a forbidden region was a testament to their capability.

Although individually, they were nothing special, their real power lay in their numbers.

A normal pack of Burrow wolves numbered near the 200s. If it was together, then they could even hunt down some of the stronger monsters in the forest.

On paper, the wolf pack in front of her was weak. At least, if you only took into consideration their numbers. Reality was different. These guys, all of them were irregulars.

Irregular monsters are monsters that surpass the original designation of their species. Usually, irregulars were… well, irregular. Not only were they incredibly rare, but each one also possessed abnormal battle prowess.

To see seven irregulars all at once… that sort of thing was definitely unusual.

The witch had some measure of confidence in her own ability. She could handle most of the monsters within this forest. Whether it was through combat or through running away, she had enough judgment and capability to safely do both. Essentially, she was a person who knew when to pick and choose her battles.

What’s more, the truly strong monsters usually stayed away from the river, so she had not expected to run into anything too dangerous on the way here.

Unfortunately, she had been too naïve. Because of her carelessness, she was now currently in a very precarious situation.

What’s more, there was still that fox. A red fox with nine tails… a nine-tailed fox…

Suffice to say, things looked dangerous.

Even if it was her, in the face of such a line-up… much less all of them, even if it was only one, she would still be similarly helpless.

Also… where did that Troll go? She silently wondered to herself as her eyes discreetly scanned her surroundings. Soon, she noticed a commotion occurring out in the river.

The water churned. There were waves in what should have otherwise been a tranquil river.

Is the Troll in the water?

She took an unconscious step forward, to which the surrounding monsters immediately reacted. A wave of killing intent bombarded her. Her chest clenched while her courage immediately shriveled up.

I came here to hunt trolls, what the heck is this situation!? Her heart cried out in indignation, but she did not dare to let out a single sound.

While in the midst of her despair, the little fox suddenly stepped forward. Its nose was raised high in the air, while a rather arrogant looking sneer twisted its face. The fox made a gesture with its front paw. It pointed to the ground.

The witch stared at the cute little creature for a while, before she suddenly realized what it wanted. At first, she was shocked.

In Lull, foxes were known to be extremely territorial. The stronger variants were especially so.

Did this little thing lay claim to the entire river? Such a thought came to mind, but the witch quickly dismissed it.

Seeing the unnerving calm within the fox’s eyes, the witch hesitated for a moment, before she eventually complied. She obediently sat down on the pebble-covered ground. Her knees immediately ached, but she gritted through the pain and acted as meekly as possible.

As the witch quietly sat there, the monsters quickly surrounded her. Warm breath brushed against the back of her skin while a pair of clear black eyes stared straight at her. At this point, even if she wanted to escape, she couldn’t.

She could do nothing but wait and stare blankly at the churning river.

Was the Troll fighting it out with another monster? Was that new monster a part of this weird ‘pack’? So many questions, yet so little answers.

Six painfully long hours passed before the waves finally died down. Her legs were completely numb, but she did not have the mind to care about that right now. She braced herself for what was about to come next.

A few minutes later, a loud shout echoed through the forest. A humanoid silhouette walked out of the water. It was dragging something that greatly resembled the foot of a Troll.

The witch immediately tensed up. Humanoid monsters were always the hardest types to deal with. The Troll fell into the category of humanoid, but it was far from perfect. Generally, the more human a monster looked, the stronger it tended to be.

When the creature stepped onto the river bank, her tense expression took an odd twist.

That’s a… person? No, wait. That’ s not right…

Grey hair and dull white eyes that looked as if no light could shine through them. It was a homunculus. But what sort of homunculus can fight against a Grandelier Troll?

Ignoring the questions in her head, the witch closely observed the creature in front of her.

The homunculus took on the form of a young man in his early twenties. He looked a bit ordinary, if not slightly handsome. After about thirty seconds of intense scrutinization, her curious eyes gravitated towards a certain part of his body.

“…!”

Her cheeks suddenly flushed red.

T-that sort of size… no, don’t think about that! She hurriedly shook her head. M-more importantly, why is he naked?

On the other end of the spectrum, Ellis had completely frozen up. It was almost impossible to believe, but right now, he was being stared at by an unknown woman!

She was the first person he had seen in a long time. What’s more, she was an incredible beauty.

An unbuttoned white blouse that showcased a fair bit of skin. For some reason, she wore a pointy witch hat.

Her hair was a dark black that reminded him of his own back on Earth. She had a single beauty mark underneath her left eye. She was cute. No, not just cute. Hot. Sexy. Sensual. She was a mature beauty, a woman who looked to be in her late twenties to early thirties.

Ellis felt his whole body tense up.

A year without female contact… a year by himself… a year of social isolation… a year of being completely naked! What happened next… it couldn’t be helped. It was an accident. It was an accident that couldn’t be helped.

A part of his body reacted.

It wasn’t just any part, but rather, it was that part. That part of his body stood up.

Seeing this, the witch’s blush intensified. She tried to look somewhere else, but she found it impossible to pry her eyes away.

For the most part, Ellis was distracted. He did not notice the woman’s intense gaze, nor did he notice that part of his body rising to action. In his daze, he mumbled out a barely coherent hello.

“…”

The witch opened her mouth to respond. Even after a few seconds, no words came out. Her lips flapped open and close. She looked up at his face, before her gaze lowered. After a while, it returned to his face before it went back down again. Her face reddened. Her eyes swirled.

After what felt like an eternity, she quietly lowered her head. One inaudible sentence leaked out from her lips.

“P-please put on some clothes…”

Her near silent words echoed loudly through his stunned ears.