Chapter 14: Into the Mist

The name “Mist Monkeys” made me click my tongue.

They were quite a famous monster.

They lived in the dense mist, killing anything that entered it.

They weren’t particularly strong, but their nature made them infamous.

As long as the mist existed, the monkeys would endlessly revive, like the body that just disappeared.

Fighting against these monsters, who relentlessly attacked from within the mist, was no easy task.

And if there were not just one, but hundreds or thousands of them, it was even harder.

“Mist monkeys are at least in the thousands. Stay alert,” Hong Ryeong said coldly.

Everyone released their magical energy.

Perhaps sensing this, the mist began to ripple with cries and killing intent.

However, the monkeys didn’t immediately charge.

After seeing that they couldn’t harm the turtle just now, they seemed to be looking for an opening.

There were two ways to stop the endless monkeys.

First, clearing all the mist.

If the mist disappears, the monkeys would no longer revive.

Or, we could find a way to break through and escape the mist.

If we managed that, they would never be able to follow us.

The easiest and fastest way was to break through the mist.

I made the turtle move faster.

There was no time to waste.

We absolutely had to escape the mist.

“Evron, which part of the doll is the most important?”

Hong Ryeong asked.

It seemed like he had the same idea.

He probably sensed that our options were running out as the mist closed in on us.

“Don’t worry about the shell. Just protect the legs and head,” he replied through the doll next to him.

“I, too, infused magic into the turtle.”

Its speed increased gradually.

Only then did the monkeys start to move more urgently.

Perhaps they had finished searching.

Dozens to hundreds of monkeys leapt from the trees, clinging to the turtle’s body.

There was no time left.

“I’ll go ahead and protect the head and front legs,” Hong Ryeong said as he mounted a wind fish.

Without waiting for anyone’s response, he headed straight for the turtle’s head.

Floating near its head, he calmly surveyed the surroundings.

“Hmmm, I really don’t want to deal with these things. But well, it’s an exam, so…”

Aileen turned her body and headed toward the turtle’s rear.

Blood began to ooze from her hands, pouring out like a waterfall.

She poured enough to form a small puddle before returning to her position.

She seemed confident that this was enough.

These two were still composed, even in this situation.

Their assigned vital areas probably wouldn’t be breached.

That left us with the task of dealing with the monkeys that were still clinging to us.

“Could you two cover the sides?” I asked through the doll to the remaining pair.

The shaking ropes and Sigyeo moved without hesitation, heading toward the sides.

The monkeys moved in unison.

At first, they just clung to the shell and attacked recklessly, but realizing its thickness, they abandoned their pointless attacks.

Instead, they focused on the vulnerable areas—the head and the four legs, which we had worried about earlier.

Damn, if only we had more resources and time, we could have made the turtle immune to such attacks.

The group of monkeys climbing the turtle’s legs tried to suppress its massive movements, while others charged toward its head.

Every time the turtle moved, more monkeys swarmed around it.

Hong Ryeong, positioned at the head, used wind magic to repel the mist monkeys.

He swung blades made of wind without hesitation.

The monkeys clinging to the legs were torn apart by the wind blades, falling to the ground.

Since we couldn’t kill the monkeys, this strategy of pushing them away worked wonders.

“Try to subdue them without killing them.”

“They’ll just revive anyway,” Hong Ryeong transmitted the strategy to the team via the doll.

“Well, not killing them is going to be hard.”

“Should I give it a try?” Aileen grumbled.

The doll next to her poured her some tea, which she took and drank.

Aileen twirled her finger, and magical energy emerged, forming a rose-shaped magic circle.

The magic circle spread into the puddle of blood.

The puddle, now infused with magic, transformed into a slime.

The slime began crawling up the turtle’s legs, growing larger as it covered the monkeys.

In an instant, the monkeys dissolved into the slime.

“Ah, I made a mistake.”

“I killed them,” Aileen muttered.

She waved her hand again, and smaller roses bloomed, settling into the puddle.

The slime started to tremble, breaking into smaller chunks that spread out, dissolving the monkey’s limbs.

***

Cold sweat trickled down my back.

The sight was horrendous.

‘What if that magic turned against the turtle?’

The turtle’s hard shell might withstand it, but its legs or head could easily dissolve.

“So, when will we be able to get out?” Sigyeo shouted.

He was fighting off the monkeys climbing up his side.

As a former soldier, he seemed incredibly skilled in both physical strength and practical magic.

Every time he swung the enormous spear he’d somehow pulled out, the monkeys were sent flying.

His every movement was heavy and decisive.

I roughly calculated the time.

The monkeys only began to attack once the mist had thickened enough.

Since we were now at the center of the mist, we’d have to move further to escape.

The mist had been visible for about an hour, but with the turtle absorbing my magic as it moved, the time should be shorter.

“Thirty minutes at best, but at worst, it’ll take an hour,” I shouted through the doll.

“Haha, then it should be fine.”

“Just a warm-up!” Sigyeo laughed heartily and swung his spear.

He, too, didn’t seem concerned about being breached.

“Then, what about the shaking rope?”

The shaking rope had simply stood still.

However, around her, the monkeys were trembling and collapsing.

“What was that?”

I blinked.

The shaking rope was laughing wildly as she watched the black smoke pouring from her fingertips.

Her earlier timid demeanor was nowhere to be found.

The black smoke devoured the surrounding mist.

Inside it, the monkeys rapidly aged, went blind, and fell ill.

It was a powerful curse.

In fact, the monkeys seemed almost pitiful.

It seemed like we were holding on well.

Everyone was doing their part and keeping the monkeys at bay.

If we could just hold out a little longer until we escaped the mist, we’d be fine.

***

Time passed.

Everyone held their positions, easily fending off the monkeys.

The monkeys, losing their limbs, fell beneath the turtle.

Gradually, the mist started to thin, and the number of monkeys began to decrease.

‘Was this the end?’

Just as we started to relax, suddenly, the turtle’s front leg sank deep into the ground.

The monkeys had set a trap.

They were more methodical than I had expected.

Unable to handle us with their usual tactics, they had changed their approach.

The turtle’s front leg was caught, and its massive body tilted forward.

The turtle fell.

The ground shook, and the turtle’s roar echoed.

“No, my precious turtle!”

I had been so confident in knowing the way.

I had focused only on the mist and hadn’t paid attention to the ground beneath us.

That was my huge mistake.

In that moment, an overwhelming number of monkeys charged at the turtle.

Their new strategy was clear.

Since the turtle was higher than the trees, it had struggled to be attacked.

By lowering its height with this trap, they could swarm it.

I scowled at the sight of the monkeys flooding toward us.

Our defense had been breached.

Perhaps realizing that further subduing them was pointless, Hong Ryeong created wind blades and fiercely swung them.

The magic he unleashed was intense.

But the monkeys weren’t afraid of death.

Instead, they charged even more violently against the wind.

Ignoring their own lives, they clung to the turtle’s legs, tearing at its scales to make sure it wouldn’t rise again.

This was clearly their final assault.

They were trying to keep us from escaping, throwing their lives away in a desperate attack.

The monkeys were pouring down on the turtle’s body like rain.

Everyone kept their positions, successfully holding off the monkeys, but if we kept going like this, we would never reach our destination.

The turtle tried to lift its body but collapsed heavily onto the ground.

It seemed to be struggling, as its legs were wounded and it couldn’t hold itself up anymore.

It could no longer move.

‘Hmm, should I use that after all?’

I really didn’t want to, as using it would damage the turtle a lot, but it seemed there was no other choice.

“Everyone, please gather around Aileen! We need to leave this place quickly.”

The hesitation was brief.

I relayed the message to the group.

In response, Sigyeo voiced his concern.

“What about the monkeys?”

“Just leave them,” I replied calmly.

At my words, the group quickly gathered in their respective areas and moved towards me.

“So, what’s the plan?”

Sigyeo wiped the sweat from his forehead and asked.

The doll, who had been standing behind him, handed him a damp towel.

Sigyeo, looking momentarily confused, stared at it before finally accepting it and wiping his face.

“Please wait a moment. First, I’ll protect the turtle. After that, I’ll guide you all to where I am, so you can relax.”

I controlled the turtle.

Its head and legs retracted into its shell.

The monkeys tried to follow, but I modified the shell, sealing all the openings.

They wouldn’t be able to break through the shell with their attack methods.

At the same time, the floor beneath the group collapsed, leading them into the turtle’s body.

Our destination was the workshop where I was.

Honestly, I hadn’t planned to bring anyone in here… I couldn’t help but smile wryly.

This situation was my fault.

If I hadn’t fallen into the trap, none of us would have had to suffer like this, so I had to take responsibility.

It was unavoidable.

Soon, they entered the workshop.

They looked around slowly.

Aileen, who had been fascinated by the dolls I had made just a moment ago, began examining them.

The rest of the group came closer to me, where I had been sipping tea near the workbench.

The dolls offered them chairs.

The group naturally sat, and the dolls poured them tea.

Sigyeo frowned.

“Hah, while we’re struggling, you’ve been resting here comfortably.”

I waved my hand in defense.

“It’s a misunderstanding. I was moving the turtle until just now. Now that it’s not necessary anymore, I’m just taking a short break.”

Sigyeo clicked his tongue, clearly displeased with my attitude.

“So why did you gather us here?”

Hong Ryeong asked.

Despite using a tremendous amount of magical energy to repel the monkeys, there was no sign of fatigue on his face.

He probably already had a way to escape the mist.

His actions radiated that level of confidence.

“The mist is almost over. Based on my senses, we should have about ten more minutes.”

“Are we splitting up then?”

Hong Ryeong raised an eyebrow and asked.

I shook my head.

“No, this is mostly my fault, so I’ll be the one to move you all.”

“How do you plan on doing that? Haven’t these dolls already been damaged?”

Sigyeo asked with interest.

“The damage visible on the surface is just a small part of the doll’s many functions. I’m going to bind your bodies for a moment. I’d appreciate it if you’d stay still. Of course, it’s not a requirement. I’m just trying to secure you, since things will be quite bumpy from here on out.”

The dolls showed them soft cloth.

After receiving their consent, the dolls tied them to the chairs.

Once that was done, the dolls melted into one of the walls of the workshop, securing themselves tightly for what was coming next.

I could hear the sound of monkeys pounding on the turtle’s shell as I began rocking its body back and forth.

Ignoring their attacks, the turtle’s shell started to tilt.

The shell, which had been swaying like waves, now stood upright due to the recoil.

The workshop also tilted to the side in response.

“It’s going to be dizzying, so please stabilize yourselves with magic,” I warned them in advance.

Their faces were filled with various expressions, as they probably imagined what would happen next.

Then, the turtle began spinning like a top.

The trap was so deep that the turtle violently spun in place.

I ignored everything else and increased the speed even further.

Finally, the turtle broke free from the trap, spinning upward and started rolling.

The spinning turtle crushed everything in its path—whether it was trees, rocks, or monkeys.

It crushed them all as it ran forward.

After running for a while, the surrounding mist began to lift.

The end of the mist was finally near.

***

After running a bit more, we had completely emerged.

I led the group out.

“Ugh… my stomach…”

A rope, swaying in the corner, caused all the dizziness to come rushing out as they retched.

“Haha, that was fun!”

Sigyeo laughed loudly.

Aileen nodded in agreement.

“Why didn’t we use this method earlier?”

Sigyeo said playfully.

He was a man whose emotions were always crystal clear, both on his face and in his actions.

I had learned that through our experiences.

“Haha, it’s probably because the energy cost is too high and as you experienced, it’s not fully stabilized yet. If the legs weren’t injured, I wouldn’t have resorted to this method.”

I smiled outwardly, but inwardly, I was shedding tears of blood.

The magic in the turtle’s shell had been severely damaged due to that intense spinning.

It would take at least a full day of repairs to fix everything.

The mountains were still visible ahead.

We had only made it halfway.

I checked the time.

It had been just about six hours since we set out.

We all smiled bitterly.

It didn’t seem like this task would be completed quickly.

I refocused on the turtle.

It began to slowly extend its retracted head and legs.

The ground trembled with a thud.

The wounds from the earlier battle were now clearly visible.

The scales were torn halfway, and the wood beneath them was deeply gouged, damaging the circuits.

“Isn’t it unable to move now?”

Sigyeo asked.

“No, it can be repaired quickly.

Just rest for a bit.”

There was enough wood around.

I could repair it enough to make it move, but the real issue was the defense.

It wouldn’t be able to withstand attacks as firmly as before.

Still, there shouldn’t be any issues with speed.

The turtle opened its mouth and spat out the dolls.

They moved in perfect unison, setting up tables and chairs and preparing refreshments.

Aileen immediately sat down and started drinking tea.

Her expression made it clear she was enjoying it.

Hong Ryeong also slowly sat and began enjoying the refreshments.

“Hm, since we have some time left, I guess it’s okay to rest here for a bit.”

Sigyeo said.

The other two also joined the table and stretched.

I let out a deep sigh as I examined the turtle’s wounds.

I had to move quickly.

I gathered the necessary wood from around and started repairing the damaged parts one by one.

I had no idea how many more issues like this we would encounter on our way to the destination.