Immortal Paladin

098 Black Forest

"So, do either of you have a plan to leave this accursed place?" I asked, sweeping my gaze over Alice and Joan. “Or we just hanging out?”

They stood among the gnarled trees of the Black Forest, their figures barely visible under the sickly light filtering through the twisted canopy. The air hung heavy with damp earth and a faint metallic tang—blood, perhaps. Shadows slithered unnaturally along the roots, and the deeper one peered into the gloom, the more the space seemed to fold upon itself, mocking the very notion of escape.

Joan exhaled sharply, folding her arms. "If it were that simple, we’d already be gone. This place is a dimensional prison, severed from reality. Whoever cast us here made certain we couldn’t just walk out."

She explained further. The Black Forest was no ordinary cursed land—it was a sealed domain, a realm of exile. Time ebbed and flowed unpredictably, and distances meant nothing. No matter how far one walked, the scenery remained unchanged, as if the world itself refused to permit an exit.

"Wonderful," I muttered. "Has anyone at least attempted to break free?"

"Our best option was to wait," Joan admitted. "Whoever imprisoned us will come eventually. When they do, we kill them and leave."

I frowned. That was far too passive. The Shadow Clan was fending off an invasion, and my party was in peril—time was not a luxury we could afford.

Before I could argue the point, a deep, theatrical laugh echoed through the glade.

"Oho! To be trapped in such a realm with two divine beauties—surely, the heavens have smiled upon me! In my prime, I would have relished this sight in peace, savoring every moment… But alas! With you here, young master, the pleasure is halved."

The skull strapped to Alice’s waist shuddered as it spoke, its tone dripping with lecherous delight.

I narrowed my eyes. The sheer absurdity of its pompous airs, contrasted with its current state—a mere skull dangling from a rope—bordered on ridiculous.

"If a talking skull is your idea of entertainmen, then your desperation must be truly boundless," I said flatly. “Eh… You could do worse.”

The skull let out a dramatic sigh. "Ah, young master, you wound me! Once, I was a lord of great renown! Even in death, my appreciation for beauty remains undiminished—"

Alice snapped her fingers.

The sockets of the skull dimmed at once, its voice cut off.

"Enough," she said coldly. "I don’t need distractions."

Joan smirked. "Should’ve done that earlier."

I exhaled slowly, casting aside the brief flicker of amusement. "Waiting isn’t an option. We have no way of knowing how time flows outside while we remain trapped here. There must be another way out."

Alice and Joan exchanged glances but did not refute me.

The question remained—what path led out of this forsaken realm?

Closing my eyes, I reached inward.

"Lu Gao, what do you know of this place?"

A pause. Then, his voice resonated within my mind, steady yet thoughtful.

"The Black Forest… I have only heard whispers. It was once a sacred land of the Black Imperial House, a place of immense significance. But it was lost during the Empire’s great calamity. No one knows precisely what transpired, only that entry was severed and the Black Clan suffered dearly for it."

"How so?"

"Without their sacred ground, the Black Clan was left vulnerable. Many saw it as a sign of heaven’s abandonment. For a time, they were hunted—prey to those who sought to carve up their remaining power. Even now, that belief lingers. There are those who still see them as a remnant, a shadow of what once was."

I frowned. A sacred land turned prison… or had it always been a prison?

Opening my eyes, I looked to Joan and Alice.

"So? Any ideas on how to leave, aside from waiting for our captors to arrive?"

Joan shook her head, her expression resigned. "If it were that easy, we wouldn’t be having this conversation."

Alice, however, focused on something else entirely. Her crimson gaze locked onto mine, and her voice dropped to a quiet murmur.

"Do you remember our Blood Pact?"

I tensed.

Now? Of all times?

This wasn’t the moment for it, but I wasn’t foolish enough to dismiss her outright—not even with Joan here. Named NPCs in LLO had always been built differently.

"I remember," I said carefully. "If I were to find a cure for your vampirism, you would owe me a great debt."

Alice’s lips curled into a faint smirk. "Yes. And?"

I exhaled. "I don’t even know what the reward is supposed to be. It was one of those quests with a ‘mystery reward,’ wasn’t it? So… let’s just say my motivation to complete it isn’t exactly high."

Alice hummed, as if entertained. "And the penalty? Are you truly willing to risk the consequences of breaking a Blood Pact?"

I hesitated.

I could only hope there wasn’t one. That she wouldn’t turn on me the moment I failed.

Before I could dwell on it, Alice leaned in, her voice barely above a whisper. "What’s your progress?"

The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

I swallowed.

Truthfully… I hadn’t thought about the quest in a long time. Between dueling in LLO, fighting for survival, navigating the Shadow Clan’s schemes, and adjusting to this world, it had slipped my mind entirely.

Lying wasn’t an option. Not to Alice.

"I’m far from making real progress," I admitted. "But I’m trying."

Alice studied me for a long moment before leaning back, her smirk fading.

"Good. You have an obligation to me. Remember that."

Easier said than done.

But right now, there was a more pressing issue—escaping this wretched forest.

"Now that’s out of the way, what’s the plan?" Joan asked, arms crossed.

I exhaled, glancing at the twisting trees around us. The Black Forest was an anomaly, a sealed domain with unknown laws. If we were going to escape, we had to understand how it functioned.

"Explore," I said simply. "My Divine Sense doesn’t reveal much, but there must be something."

Joan raised a brow. "You sure? This place isn’t normal. Walk far enough in any direction, and you’ll end up right back where you started. I’ve seen it. We’ve experienced it."

"And staying put won’t get us anywhere either," I countered. "If this place has rules, we need to discern them. Moreover, you have me—I trust in my Divine Sense."

Alice gave a slow nod. "Agreed. Even the most cursed lands follow some pattern. Let’s see what the Black Forest conceals."

Joan sighed. "That’s not how Divine Sense works, does it?" She rubbed her temple before gesturing ahead. "Fine. Let’s do it your way."

With that, we moved.

The deeper we went, the more unnatural the forest became. The trees weren’t merely gnarled—they contorted in ways that defied logic. Some spiraled endlessly, others fused into grotesque, knotted masses. The ground beneath us was not soft with soil, but with something unsettlingly pliant—almost like flesh.

A few steps in, I noticed something else. Our footprints vanished the instant they were made, as if the land itself refused to acknowledge our passage.

The air thickened, laden with the scent of rot, yet it wasn’t the simple decay of wood or carcass. No, this was something older. Something tainted.

Joan brushed a hand against the bark of a nearby tree—only to recoil. "It’s warm," she muttered, her voice tinged with unease.

Alice narrowed her eyes, then turned to me. "See that?"

I followed her gaze.

At first, I wasn’t sure what she meant. Then, as I focused, I saw it.

The shadows between the trees weren’t merely shifting. They were watching.

I halted. "We’re not alone."

Joan followed my gaze and stiffened. "I was hoping I was imagining that."

Alice’s fingers twitched near her sword. "No. This place is alive."

If I treated this like an instance dungeon, there had to be a way forward.

The key to clearing an instance wasn’t just wandering aimlessly—it was about understanding its mechanics. The Black Forest wasn’t merely a physical space; it was a construct, designed with intent, whether by nature or by something greater. The shifting shadows, the vanishing footprints, the unnatural warmth of the trees… none of it was random.

I exhaled, steadying my thoughts. "If this place follows dungeon logic, there’s a way forward. We just have to figure out what triggers it."

Joan shot me a look. "Dungeon logic?"

Alice, however, understood immediately. "You mean progress isn’t about movement—it’s about conditions."

I nodded. "Exactly. If this were a normal forest, we could walk in any direction and eventually leave. But this place wants to keep us trapped. That means there’s a requirement. Something we need to do, or something we need to trigger."

Joan frowned. "And how do we find out what that is?"

I scanned our surroundings. The trees, the shadows, the pulsing ground—there had to be a pattern. In dungeons, progression wasn’t about aimless movement. It forced engagement. A test, a puzzle, a sacrifice.

I stepped forward, pressing my palm against the bark of a nearby tree. Warm. Faintly pulsing beneath my fingertips. Like a heartbeat.

I pressed harder. The heat surged.

Alice and Joan tensed as the air thickened. The shadows between the trees shifted, their movements growing erratic.

Joan stepped back. "I don’t like this."

"Neither do I," I muttered. "But I think this is it."

A dungeon wouldn’t allow progress without interaction. And right now, the Black Forest was reacting.

The only question was—what exactly had I just triggered?

Before I could react, the tree swallowed me whole.

One moment, I was standing before its gnarled bark. The next, I was drowning in absolute darkness. The world outside vanished as something pulled me deeper, as if the forest itself had decided I didn’t belong. The air was thick, suffocating, pressing against me from all sides.

Not good.

I activated Hollow Point: Incursion.

A pulse of energy surged through my body. In the next instant, I tore through the tree from the inside out. Bark and blackened sap exploded outward as I burst free, landing in a crouch. My breath came sharp, but I was out.

Alice barely spared me a glance. "They're immune to curses."

Great. So no debuffing them into submission.

Joan, however, had a more direct approach. Raising her staff, she chanted a series of incantations in rapid succession. Multiple golden halos materialized above her, their radiance slicing through the gloom.

Holy Smite. Multi-cast.

A barrage of sacred light rained down, striking the forest floor like falling stars. Wherever the projectiles landed, the twisted trees convulsed, their warped limbs freezing mid-motion. The shadows animating them flickered—then dissipated entirely.

For a brief moment, all was still.

I exhaled, brushing splinters from my shoulder. "So do we touch the trees or not touch the trees?"

Alice shot me a flat look. "Avoid them. Even with our levels and skills, we’ll be overwhelmed. There are too many."

She wasn’t wrong. The Black Forest stretched endlessly, a sea of cursed trees. Fighting our way out wasn’t an option—we’d burn through our resources before we even understood what we were dealing with.

Joan, however, had a different view. "We should give it a try. With you on the frontlines, things change."

I raised a brow. "How so?"

"A Paladin isn’t just a warrior," she said. "You’re a force multiplier. A proper frontline changes how a battle plays out."

Alice crossed her arms. "That’s assuming he’s at full strength. He’s not."

She had a point. My skills were adapting to this world, but I wasn’t at my peak. Especially with me riding Lu Gao… We couldn’t afford unnecessary risks, but standing around wasn’t going to get us out either.

I mulled it over, then something else crossed my mind.

How did these two even end up here?

I turned to them. "By the way, how did you two get into this world?"

Joan sighed. "Long story."

Alice, however, was more forthcoming. "I traced your existence through our Blood Pact," she admitted. "Then I followed the remnants of the magic that brought you here. It wasn’t perfect, but I managed."

Huh. That was interesting. And definitely going to be a long story.

I shook my head. "We’ll talk about it later. Right now, we focus on getting out."

A sudden, grating cackle shattered the uneasy silence.

Alice flinched, eyes snapping down to her waist. "You—!"

The skull had woken up.

"Ohoho! What a pleasant nap!" His usual pompous tone was laced with an unfamiliar edge—urgency. "And, oh! Would you look at that! I remember something!"

Joan’s grip on her staff tightened. "Spill it. Now. Or I’ll grind you into bone meal."

The skull let out an exaggerated gasp. "Such hostility! But very well, since you insist—"

His voice dropped lower, almost conspiratorial. "The Black Forest… is no ordinary land. It is, in fact, the remains of a Perfect Immortal!"

I froze. "What?"

The skull cackled again. "Oh yes! You heard me correctly! You are standing upon the corpse of a being who once touched the peak of cultivation itself!"

Joan paled slightly, her usual bravado slipping. "You're serious?" 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝘦𝓌𝑒𝑏𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝘭.𝒸𝘰𝑚

"Dead serious," the skull said, clearly amused by his own joke. "And I highly recommend you never—ever—attack the moving stuff around! Especially the trees, when they are feeling emotional!"

Emotional?

The moment those words left the skull, the earth shuddered.

I barely had time to steady myself before the air thickened, pressing against my skin like an unseen force. Then, as if the world itself had decided to shift—night fell in an instant.

I looked up.

Two massive moons hung in the sky, staring down at us like unblinking eyes.

No. Not moons.

The sky smiled.

Rows upon rows of jagged teeth formed a saw-like maw, stretching wider than mountains. From its depths, writhing tendrils of grey matter slithered downward, dripping with something dark and viscous.

My grip on my weapon tightened. I took a step back, falling into formation with Alice and Joan.

"Well," I said, voice laced with forced amusement. "Looks like we got ourselves a World Boss."

Joan shot me a sharp glare. "Not funny."