Chapter 89: Heart of Brokilon
"Damn it, where in the hell did this thing take me?"
Arthur felt dizzy and disoriented. He had clearly been following right behind Koglgrim, so how did turning a corner change the entire landscape?
He frowned. After quickly confirming there were no dryads nearby, he sat down to slowly recall. Hmm. It seemed that while he was running, he suddenly felt a sensation of being locked onto by a psychic force. He couldn't escape it, whether he hid on the roof, under giant rocks, or behind trees. The stream offered some interference to the lock, but if he stopped moving, the lock would instantly reset. That was why he had followed the stream all the way until he leaped into this cave.
"Phew, good thing I got rid of that mysterious bastard." Arthur breathed a sigh of relief. The feeling of being watched by a thousand eyes at once was truly unbearable. It felt like a pilot suddenly being painted by fire-control radar, yet having no idea where the enemy was!
Using the enhanced vision provided by [Dungeon Explorer], Arthur could clearly see his surroundings. He was at the edge of a pool. Through the mirror-like water surface, a wide waterfall surged down the trunk of the Giant Oak. "Such dense magic!"
Arthur exclaimed. Just as he was about to draw some of the magic for later use, he suddenly realized something: 'How did I get down here?'
No matter how hard he tried to remember, all he could recall was leaping from the cave's edge. Everything that happened after that was a blank.
This isn't right!
Arthur stuck out his thumb, visually estimating the width of the pool and the height of the entrance. He immediately noticed the discrepancy. Unless he grew wings when he jumped, he should have landed in the pool, not been sitting completely dry on the bank!
The magic in this place interferes with memory!
He shot up from the ground, instinctively backing away, but accidentally kicked something, causing a crisp, clattering sound on the hard flagstone floor.
Arthur quickly turned around and pressed down on the noisemaker, revealing a beautiful silver goblet. Only the base of the cup was severely worn.
He gently held the silver cup, examined it, and immediately spotted a circular indentation nearby the size and shape perfectly matched the cup base.
Arthur gripped the silver cup, a thousand questions surging in his mind:
The dryads never use fire, so how did they forge silver into the shape of a cup? If this cup doesn't belong to the dryads, whose was it originally, and why is it here? Could it be...
A thought flashed like lightning in his mind. The anecdotes he had previously heard about the dryads all connected now:
[Dryads take in abandoned human girls; after drinking the Water of Brokilon, they become new dryads]
[Girls who drink the Water of Brokilon completely forget their past as humans and wholeheartedly identify as dryads]
[Those with magical talent who do not receive proper guidance often end up having their minds damaged by magic, living out their days as deranged village sorceresses]
"Mother of mercy, so that's what Brokilon is all about!" Arthur shivered. He understood the cup's purpose it must be used to hold the Water of Brokilon!
But his shiver wasn't for that reason. It was because he grasped an even deeper mystery the principle by which the Water of Brokilon converts human girls into dryads: Magic, especially uncontrolled magic, wanders chaotically within the human body, randomly binding with tissues. This phenomenon is called Magical Turmoil.
Most of the time, Magical Turmoil only results in brain damage and physical disability. But occasionally, it yields miraculous effects, such as clairvoyance or precognition. After human girls are converted into dryads, they lose all memories, but their archery and magical abilities are enhanced, and any illnesses they had previously contracted are also cured during the conversion process...
The truth is only one!
Under the control of the Dryad Queen or some other entity, the magic within the Water of Brokilon heals the girls' injuries, grants them talents after erasing their memories as humans.
It sounds so much like a training base for super archers!
This place cannot be lingered in!
Arthur subconsciously looked toward the center of the pool. No part of the Giant Oak was spared from the cascading waterfall, and it was over thirty meters away from the bank. Arthur sighed, turning his gaze elsewhere the waterfall's rush wouldn't be too hard to manage, but after deducing the secret of the Water of Brokilon, he was absolutely unwilling to get his body wet in the pool.
Wait a minute, those dryads look small and slight. Even if they aren't afraid of the pool's effects, they probably can't withstand the waterfall's force there must be another way out of here!
Arthur steadied himself and strode towards the edge of the cave since there was no one else here, he might as well search every inch of it.
Strangely, when he was sitting still, the surroundings were empty. But as soon as he began to move, he suddenly heard a woman's voice behind him: "Since you came, why are you in such a hurry to leave?"
Arthur turned around. The pool, which had been mirror-like, was now roiling as if boiling. An arm stretched out from the turbulent water, gently waving at Arthur. Unlike the dryads' emerald green, its color was fair and translucent, like the finest ivory.
"Who are you?" Arthur instinctively reached for his back, but grasped only air.
[That's right, both my swords were badly damaged in the fighting, so I didn't bring them with me this time...]
"Why be nervous? It's just the two of us here, there's no danger at all." The woman spoke softly, her head now emerging from the water. It was the face of a young woman, beautiful and gentle. She smiled at Arthur, revealing small, white, delicate teeth.
"Yes, I suppose I am overreacting a bit…" Arthur gave a self-deprecating laugh, flipping his hand from a sword-gripping motion to a head-scratch.
Seeing Arthur lower his guard, the woman's expression became even more cheerful: "Could you come closer? I haven't seen anyone else's face for hundreds of years."
"Of course." Arthur agreed subconsciously, but a flicker of doubt crossed his mind:
[Why do I keep forgetting things today?]
Like a thunderclap ripping through dark clouds, the thoughts that had been covered and suppressed suddenly flooded Arthur's mind:
[The waterfall is pouring down from the ceiling of the cave, so why is the pool still so calm?]
[Why do I have absolutely no memory of entering the cave?]
[This woman lives in the dryads' sacred place, yet she looks nothing like a dryad she resembles an elf?]
He quickly halted, only to discover with a shock that he had already walked right up to the woman, and the pool water reached up to his chest!
Arthur quickly reached for the dagger under his armpit, just as the gentle smile vanished from the woman's face, replaced by a hideous snarl as she lunged at him!
......................
I want to take a moment to express my gratitude to those who support me on this journey. Your contribution make a real difference!
As a patron, you unlock:
Exclusive Access: Get advanced +120 chapters ahead of everyone else.
👉 Join now: P-a-treon/Chaos_God
(Just remove the- hyphen to access normally)
Thank You so much For your Support and for Reading!