Survive as a Prison Guard in the Game

Chapter 105
Village of the Dryads (3)

As the crystals disperse, Pinocchio’s false world ceases to exist. Along with it, all of the strange sensations returned to normal.

“Human…”

The Dryad in front of him.

It’s furious, and it’s using a thick wooden pole to swing at his head.

That must be the golem’s arm.

Charging mana into his sword, he sliced the wooden pole in half and moved behind the Dryad.

“Sleep for a moment.”

Raising his hand to her head, he summoned the power of purification. As the demonic energy dissipated, the Dryad collapsed to the ground in an instant.

A trunk reached out from a nearby tree and dragged her away.

“You can open your eyes now.”

Isabelle opened her eyes and looked around. When she saw nothing had dramatically changed, she walked up beside him.

“What the heck happened?”

“I think the enemy is using field magic.”

“Field magic? Then why did you ask me to close my eyes?”

“I can’t have both of you getting manipulated when the opponent’s ability is suspected to be manipulative.”

While he has excellent mental immunity thanks to the Phoenix’s ability, the Red Fox that Isabelle is carrying has no such immunity.

It has no such abilities of its own.

If they had seen the curse crystals in such condition, they would have been fooled by Pinocchio’s lies and would not have been able to escape on their own.

“For now, you need to see through the red fox senses and move with your eyes closed.”

“I have a skill I learned for just such a situation. I can see my surroundings even with my eyes closed.”

“Good.”

Whatever Pinocchio is up to, the more time that passes, the more damage will be done.

The key is to contain him quickly.

Taking out the Watcher’s Eye, he scanned the forest for any leads.

Cursed crystals scattered throughout the forest.

In the vicinity, individuals who appeared to be Isabelle’s allies. They look like they’re locked inside the False World.

Heavily laden, they were somehow maneuvering their magic to fend off the Dryads’ attacks.

“Two kilometers in that direction.”

“There’s something there.”

“Your colleagues are there, bring them.”

He pointed Isabelle in the direction with his hand and watched her fly away, using his Shadow alter ego to devour the Cursed Crystals.

[The Shadow has devoured the Curse].

[Reduced duration of Shadow Lord’s Dream].

Besides that.

He used his shadow alter ego to devour the curse crystals in the forest.

[Shadow consumes a curse].

[Reduces the duration of Shadow Lord’s dream].

[Your shadow has eaten a curse].

[Shadow Lord’s dream duration reduced].

As he clears them one by one, the location of Pinocchio is gradually revealed.

A gigantic tree on a hill.

Pinocchio stood in front of it, his eyes gazed toward the village.

“The Queen was the target.”

The village at the bottom of the hill was lit by torches, and the sleeping mercenaries were scrambling outside.

On the far opposite side.

An army of Dryads led their wooden summons and hurled huge boulders at the village.

*Boom!*

*Thump!* *Thump!*

The wooden houses were smashed, and the fields tended by the villagers were torn up.

“Aaaah!”

“No!”

Mages intermingled with the mercenary horde, chanting fire-related spells and blasting them back at the Dryads.

If he let this go on, it could turn into a full-out war. This is exactly what Pinocchio wants. It must be stopped at all costs.

Using the Watcher’s Eye, he summoned a shadow alter ego on the hill, and another on Isabelle’s side.

*Whooosh!*

He used Shadow Travel to reach Isabelle’s location. Walking up to Isabelle, who was rousing her fallen comrades.

He retrieved some of the elixir he had packed and handed it to her.

“Give them this, and they’ll wake up quickly.”

“What is it?”

“A potion that heals wounds quickly.”

Isabelle took the elixir and fed it to her companions.

“Ugh!”

” Mmm!”

“Are you all feeling better?”

Once he was sure they were conscious, he turned to Isabelle and asked for a favor.

“I need you to go to the village right now.”

“Village?”

“The Dryads and the mercenaries gathered in the village are about to clash. I need you to prevent any more damage from happening.”

“And you?”

“I need to take down the bastard responsible for this.”

“I’m coming with you. He’s my responsibility…….”

“I need your power to stop the conflict. I’ll capture the culprit and hand him over, trust and believe me.”

Isabelle ruffled her hair and sighed.

“Okay. If you feel like you’re in danger, you can call for help.”

“Then I’ll ask you to head toward the village.”

Using shadow travel again, he moved swiftly up the hill.

The Queen of the Dryads, Plum Blossom, had appeared atop the giant tree, pounding on the barrier with all her might and screaming.

“Stop! Stop!”

“Give me the branch of innocence. Then the things you see will not happen.”

At Pinocchio’s words, Plum Blossom’s eyes wavered.

Seeing her deeply troubled expression, he clicked his tongue and reached into his subspace pouch and pulled out the Famous Sword Cairo.

“That won’t work, because I’ve decided to take it first.”

“Who are you!”

Pinocchio whirled around and frowned. A smile tugged at the corner of his mouth as he slung the scabbard over his shoulder.

“The Grim Reaper.”

“You’re…….”

“What, do you know my face?”

“You’re the one that Lord Rodwell told me about.”

“Ohhh. How flattering, the Head of the Darkness Seven knows my name.”

Pinocchio’s eyes turned fierce.

“I didn’t say that Lord Rodwell was the Head.”

“I was just guessing.”

“You son of a……!”

Gnashing his teeth, Pinocchio raised his right hand and grabbed the necklace around his neck.

“I’ll make you regret provoking me.”

As soon as he finished speaking, the surroundings changed violently. The hills had vanished, and the forest was gone. Following that, the moon disappeared.

In the sky, a red moon rose.

Ankle-deep water lapped at the ground.

“As expected.”

The hill with the giant tree was already Pinocchio’s territory, and he was aware that once he stepped into it, there was no escaping the false world.

He cracked his neck and unsheathed his sword from its scabbard.

“I’ll make this quick.”

“Kek Kek Kek…… You’ll finish this quickly? You may have been lucky enough to escape from the false world, but the place you’re standing in is unlike anything you’ve ever experienced before.”

Pinocchio clenched his fist.

His dwarfed body transformed.

His clothes ripped, his muscles bulged, and he grew in size. Grinning, Pinocchio licked his lips with his tongue.

“In this place, I am a god.”

*Boom!*

Stomping on the ground, Pinocchio lunged forward, swinging his aura blade at the man’s outstretched fist.

*Boom!*

A shockwave spread as fist and blade collided. Spinning, he blocked Pinocchio’s follow-up attack.

“I’m faster than you! I’m stronger than you!”

With Pinocchio’s shout, the direction of the ensuing battle changed.

His ability is to lie.

In this false world, his lies were reflected.

*BANG!*

His fist was thrown out.

He couldn’t handle the power in it.

His body was thrown backwards.

He tried to keep his wits about him and attempt to put some distance between them, but Pinocchio was much faster.

*BAM!*

*BAM!*

*BAM!*

A frenzied barrage of attacks.

In the chaos, he managed to deflect the blows by swinging his sword and rolling out of the way.

“Why! Why! Are you still alive!”

A vast difference between the bastard and him.

Practical experience.

He had no real combat experience, having merely used being faster and stronger in the false world.

On the other hand, his mind was filled with the enlightenment of swordsmanship. It was inevitable that there would be a difference in skills.

“What’s the point of improving your strength with tricks? It’s not working.”

“Damn it! You don’t want to move from that spot, do you?”

Curses that flow into his body with Pinocchio’s words. But he has a built-in defense, and the shadow.

[The Shadow devours a Curse].

Taking the Archmage’s Desire from his subspace pouch, he slips it into his ring finger and pulls out the Moonlight.

“Good thing you’re weaker than I thought.”

If this was Pinocchio from the game.

He doubt he’d be standing here at all.

The power of lies that guy possessed.

It was powerful enough to make one take their own life.

Except.

The Pinocchio of the present could not have handled the Curse of Lies so effectively.

The Branch of Innocence.

The reason he sought it from the plum blossom was to increase the power of his curse.

And without it.

This battle is his to win.

“Farewell.”

With that, he jumped towards him, brandishing his sword in a single fluid leap. With the aura blade, he slashed at Pinocchio’s neck.

*Thwack!

“Kek, Kek, Kek. I will not die, for in this world I am immortal.”

Pinocchio’s fallen head bounced back to his body as he laughed.

“I know.”

All he was after was the necklace around his neck. Snatching it up before his head could reattach, he pulled away.

Pinocchio reached out desperately.

“Oh, no! It’s….”

Unless he carries the Curse of Lies, he cannot maintain his false world.

The limits of the Curse of Lies.

*Thud!*

Pinocchio’s head and body drop, along with his wide-eyed gaze. With it, the entire landscape cracked.

*Crack!*

The world crumbled to pieces.

The original hill was unveiled.

Plum Blossom looked up at him, her eyes wide as she realized the barrier holding her in place was gone.

“Eh…?”

Although he wanted to get his reward now.

“I’ll be back in a bit, but I need you to keep quiet about everything that happens now.”

From his subspace pouch, he pulled an item. A skull-shaped ring. It was taken from the Burning Hell prisoner supply room.

Its purpose is to fake one’s death.

Tapping the skull, a sharp needle emerged, and he pricked his palm, feeding the ring with blood.

Throwing the ring near Pinocchio, placing the sword Cairo next to it. Using [Ghost Walk], he took off running and hid himself from view.

*Poof!*

A skeleton appeared where the ring had been thrown.

Since it’s modeled after his physique, it’s foolproof. It also turns to dust after 10 minutes and disappears, leaving no trace.

Crouching nearby, he waited.

“Redin!”

He saw Isabelle running up the hill.

Luckily, the skeleton turned to dust before her eyes and disappeared.

A look of despair.

He didn’t think she’d ever show that kind of expression.

If anything, he was glad he could hide it better.

Rodwell…

If the leader of the Darkness Seven knows his name, it means he recognizes him as a nuisance.

Unless he fakes his death.

It was obvious that Rodwell would be on guard, not giving him even the tiniest bit of leeway.

To get into Darkness Seven, he needed to make that little crack. That’s where his death would come in.

Isabelle would pass this information on to Burning Hell, and hopefully reach Rodwell.

“Isabelle, I don’t know what your relationship is with the man, but I need you to focus on the mission.”

“He’s not the kind of guy who would die like this!”

“Get a grip. You saw him die with Pinocchio.”

Isabelle bit her lip hard.

“Son of a bitch!”

“Okay. Take a breather. Roina, take care of Pinocchio’s body and stay with Isabelle. I’ll take care of the scene as best I can. Send the Dryads to the forest and….”

Hours passed.

After seeing Isabelle’s group leave the village after clearing the scene.

He stepped out of his hiding place and climbed up the hill.

“Plum, shall we settle some business?”