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Chapter 215

King Kaiserk V sat on his throne, tapping his fingers in thought.

“Your Majesty! The commander of the knights has returned.”

“Let him enter.”

At Luke\'s words, King Kaiserk V nodded.

As if waiting for his permission, Commander Ragan entered and knelt on one knee.

“Your Majesty! I have completed my search and returned.”

“Very well. What is the situation outside?”

“Yes. There are no red portals visible within the capital.”

“Is that so…? That is truly fortunate.”

A sigh of relief escaped Kaiserk V.

“Yes. I believe we can begin to return the citizens who were evacuated to the castle.”

Those who survived within the capital were hastily evacuated to the castle. They had been enduring day by day, but thanks to Jeong-hoon, they were now able to return.

“That’s a relief.”

A smile curved the corners of Kaiserk V’s mouth.

“Yes.”

“Now, we just need to wait for Hoon.”

He recalled the conversation he had with Jeong-hoon a few hours earlier.

“Your Majesty, I have something to discuss. May I have a moment alone with you?”

“Of course.”

At Jeong-hoon’s request, Kaiserk V dismissed everyone, including Luke, leaving only the two of them.

Jeong-hoon got straight to the point.

“I need a key to enter the Cursed Forest.”

“That key...? How do you know about it?”

The Cursed Forest.

It was a name given because it was literally cursed. It was said to have been a perfectly fine forest when the Kingdom of Märchen was founded, but for some unknown reason, it became cursed and has remained sealed, never to be opened until now.

Now, Jeong-hoon was saying he wanted to lift that seal.

“Shouldn\'t we at least try? I intend to visit the Cursed Forest.”

“That’s absolutely out of the question! It’s not just because I fear the seal will be broken; I’m worried something might happen to you!”

The reason the seal had never been lifted was that even approaching it could lead to a curse.

Because of this, no one dared to get close, and a multi-layered barrier had been erected to prevent any potential fools from approaching.

“It’s fine. I have the means to handle it.”

“Even so…”

“Your Majesty, I’m the one who removed all the portals by myself. Do you think I can’t withstand a mere curse?”

“Hmm…”

“I will do everything in my power to prevent Märchen from falling. Please believe in me.”

Eventually, under Jeong-hoon’s continued persuasion, Kaiserk V relented.

He ended up handing over the key, and now he was waiting for Jeong-hoon’s return.

“He will definitely come back.”

Ragan’s gaze was firm and unwavering, a testament to his high trust in Jeong-hoon.

“I know. I just hope there are no issues regarding his safety.”

The Cursed Forest, which no one had been able to approach.

All they could do was fervently hope for a safe return.

***

“The key to the Cursed Forest? That’s out of the question.”

Caryan shook his head.

Since receiving his title as baron and being assigned to the small territory of Palasman at the eastern edge, several had attempted to approach the Cursed Forest and had been caught.

Fools exist everywhere.

Those miscreants were captured and imprisoned for defying the king’s orders not to approach.

To think someone would try to enter that cursed place was absolutely unacceptable.

“Are you suggesting that we simply let this situation continue?”

“That is…”

“Look at this.”

Jeong-hoon pulled out a key.

“Wha—!”

Caryan gasped in surprise, inhaling sharply.

That key was known to be the exclusive property of the king, the key to the Cursed Forest.

“Didn’t His Majesty grant permission? Are you really going to oppose this now?”

“...Is that true?”

“Do I have any reason to lie?”

Jeong-hoon’s gaze held no hint of doubt.

“Hmm… I understand.”

If the king had granted permission, Caryan had no further reason to oppose it.

He retrieved a key from his possession, something he had kept close since becoming a baron, just in case someone tried to steal it.

“Thank you.”

“...Be careful. The Cursed Forest isn’t a place that can be accessed with just the key.”

“Yes.”

Receiving the key, Jeong-hoon immediately made his way to the Cursed Forest.

Located farther away than Palasman, which was already at the eastern edge, the forest was shrouded in thick mist, with triple-layered barriers set before it.

[They\'ve set up quite a dense barrier here.]

‘This is going to be hard to break through.’

The barrier had stood firm for a long time.

It was impossible to breach with conventional methods.

“I’ll have to release it myself.”

The method for dispelling the barrier was simple.

Jeong-hoon approached the barrier and extended his hand, channeling his magic into it.

[Using Safeguard.]

Safeguard didn’t just dispel simple debuffs; it also had an effect on barriers.

While normally one would need to carefully untangle a complex array of spells, Safeguard bypassed that requirement.

As the unique-grade Safeguard activated, the barrier trembled and shattered with the sound of breaking glass, disappearing entirely.

With the barrier that sealed the forest gone, the thick fog dispersed, revealing the entrance to the woods.

Before him stood another barrier, far more solid than the previous one.

To open this barrier, he would need to remove the two locks in front of him.

Jeong-hoon took out the keys he had received from Kaiserk V and Caryan, inserting one into each lock.

Click!

Turning the key, the sound of the lock clicking open echoed, and the final barrier vanished.

“Done.”

Jeong-hoon grinned and stepped into the forest.

At that moment, all manner of curses descended upon him.

[You have been cursed.]

[You have been cursed.]

[You have been cursed.]

Messages indicating that he had been cursed flooded in, accompanied by numerous debuffs.

[Using Safeguard.]

Jeong-hoon easily dispelled those debuffs using Safeguard.

This was a forest lower than his level, after all.

Woooo—

Then, the Märchen Guardian pendant he wore began to vibrate slightly in his ears.

“It’s resonating.”

The Guardian accessory set had the characteristic of resonating with each other when in close proximity.

In other words, it meant he could find other accessories using this Guardian.

Jeong-hoon moved around, focusing on the Märchen Guardian.

‘There’s a portal.’

Following where the Guardian was pointing, he found a portal before him.

No monsters could be seen in the Cursed Forest.

It was a space that had been sealed for a long time, making it impossible for anyone to enter, so it was only natural there were no monsters.

Thus, it was normal that no portals existed.

This meant that the portal had been generated during the quest progression.

Jeong-hoon approached the portal.

Suddenly, an exclamation mark began to blink above the portal.

[You have completed the quest.]

[You have gained 20,000,000 experience points.]

[You can now perform the next quest.]

Once again, a question mark blinked above the portal.

[Episode Quest: Save the Märchen Kingdom (2)]

- Restrictions: Complete the Save the Märchen Kingdom (1) quest

- Rewards: ??

- Description: Save the Märchen Kingdom from a critical situation.

The description was the same as the quest given by Kaiserck V.

Jeong-hoon accepted the quest.

[Will you enter the episode dungeon: Märchen Kingdom?]

‘I’ll enter.’

As he accepted the entry, Jeong-hoon’s body was sucked into the portal.

---

“Where am I?”

As he entered the dungeon, his vision brightened considerably.

Jeong-hoon instantly recognized that this was indeed a forest.

“Hey! Hamel”

Then, a large man rushed toward Jeong-hoon.

===

[NPC Information]

- Nickname: Kel

- Level: 80

- Occupation: Palasman Barony Territory Guard

===

He was a guard named Kel.

Given that he was stationed here in the Baron’s territory and his level, he appeared to be a regular soldier rather than a knight.

“Hmm?”

“What the hell are you doing here? Monsters are pouring out!”

Kel was calling Jeong-hoon by the name Hamel.

Jeong-hoon took out a rune and examined his face.

Only then did he realize that he had transformed into a balding man in his late 40s.

‘Of all things, why did I have to turn into someone like this?’

He had morphed into a hefty body that looked like it could easily weigh over 100 kg.

Unlike regular dungeons, episode dungeons followed a specific story within.

[Ugh… What is that?]

‘I’ve aged terribly.’

Mukho and Anima shuddered as if they had seen something horrifying.

‘You guys, no matter what, what’s with that reaction?’

Jeong-hoon glared at them.

Then Mukho and Anima scrambled to explain themselves.

[No... it’s just so different from before. That look isn’t bad!]

‘Yeah, there are benefits. It’ll be easier to wash my hair, and I won’t need to dry it either.’

“Oh, really?”

The corners of Jeong-hoon’s mouth twisted into a smirk.

“Hamel? You idiot!”

He couldn’t think deeply for long, thanks to the loud shouting from the guy next to him.

“Got it, so shut up for a second.”

“I’m telling you, monsters are coming! We need to run too!”

“Run?”

As the man spoke, Black King Ogres were charging toward them.

“Uwaaaah! They’re already here! I’m dead!”

Kel shrieked and hid behind a tree.

[Wow… He’s really useless for his size.]

‘From the looks of it, I could easily crush those little guys.’

Mukho and Anima laughed at Kel.

“Exactly.”

Jeong-hoon chuckled and unfolded the Celestial Scroll.

In his hand, Leviathan was already in grip.

“H-Hamel?!”

Kel’s urgent shout came from behind him.

However, despite his shout, one Black King Ogre after another fell over with a thud.

“Cough!”

“Wow, he’s strong!”

“We need to run away!”

The Black King Ogres, terrified by Jeong-hoon’s might, tried to retreat.

Jeong-hoon then blocked their escape route with the Celestial Scroll again and continued to slash at them.

‘That should be enough.’

The situation ended in an instant.

Forty-seven Black King Ogre corpses lay sprawled on the ground.

Jeong-hoon shook off the blood from Leviathan and turned back to Kel.

Kel had emerged from behind the tree and was staring blankly at the corpses of the Black King Ogres.

“What are you standing there staring at?”

At Jeong-hoon’s words, Kel seemed to snap out of it, grabbing his shoulder with a look of shock.

“You, you… how did you do this?!”

He was stammering, clearly in disbelief.

“There’s no time to explain. What’s happening right now?”

“We failed the raid, and penalties are being applied! We need to get to the shelter quickly!”

“Got it.”

Jeong-hoon furrowed his brow.

The flow of all episodes was the same.

It depicted the process of a dimension’s destruction.

Of course, to reach destruction, penalties must accumulate to a point where recovery is no longer possible.

From the current state of the forest, it was clear that it hadn’t progressed that far yet.

“Come on! Hurry!”

“…I’m on it.”

Jeong-hoon was currently a guard named Hamel.

To clear the episode dungeon, he needed to follow the story.

Additionally, the Guardian of Märchen did not respond here.

For now, it made sense to follow Kel and exit the forest.

“By the way, what are those dazzling things?”

Kel finally noticed the Mukho and accessories that Jeong-hoon was wearing.

“Can’t you tell? They’re items.”

“Aha… so is that why you could fight the monsters?”

“There’s no time for a long explanation. Let’s go!”

“Okay, got it.”

Jeong-hoon followed Kel as they headed toward the shelter.