Seeing that he had been discovered, Ashitaka no longer hid himself. He stepped forward and shouted to the other party:
"My name is Ashitaka, and I come from the distant East."
"Are you the ancient gods who live in the Forest Spirit's forest?"
The other party just coldly told him, "Leave this place."
Then princess mononoke climbed onto the white wolf's back, and the lone person and three wolves instantly ran away, disappearing into the forest.
...
You couldn't cross the river unless you ran all the way downstream and crossed on a log bridge.
But by the time Yamada Masaharu ran over, princess mononoke and her companions had already left; there was no trace of them.
It seemed that this was how the game was set up.
They would meet again in future plotlines.
Thinking of this, Yamada Masaharu returned along the same path.
On the way, Yamada Masaharu saw a very interesting monster—
In the forest, or on rocks, or on tree roots… everywhere, he could see small, green, transparent figures called Kodama.
They had bodies like children, roughly the size of a human palm. If you weren't paying attention, you wouldn't even notice them.
Unless the game scene lighting was relatively dim (dynamic lighting effects are not yet supported, so the map lighting in the game is fixed, embedded in the game textures, and will not change with character movement or time.
Even if you light a torch, the brightness of the current scene remains the same, with no change at all.)
When the scene lighting was dim, the Kodama, glowing with green light, would be more noticeable.
Although they were only palm-sized, their heads were large, round overall but with some edges, and there were three irregular holes in the "face" area.
They looked a bit like aliens.
And when their heads rotated with a clicking sound, it would make a noise.
This triangular-holed face seemed to show a nose, eyes, and mouth no matter which side it turned to, but after rotating, the expression on the face would also undergo subtle changes.
Kodama are truly a very special type of monster in the game.
As long as you don't touch them, there's absolutely no problem.
But as soon as you attack one of them, countless Kodama will immediately swarm out to attack you.
No matter how you run, you can't escape; it's a dead end.
Initially, Yamada Masaharu didn't know this and just charged through, adhering to the principle of fighting every monster.
This was a serious mistake; it was like poking a hornet's nest, and he was chased to his death.
Kodama are really fragile; you can kill a whole bunch with one swing. But their ability to call for backup is truly strong; as long as you're in the forest, they will chase you to your death.
It's probably like that feeling of being swarmed by countless hornets after poking a hornet's nest and being stung to death.
No matter where you escape, the Kodama will only increase in number.
After dying about 5 or 6 times, Yamada Masaharu understood.
These were not to be touched; they were a more terrifying existence than a BOSS.
"Kodama, great Kodama, please ignore an ignorant person like me!"
...
Finally, back to the starting point, the two rescued individuals were still waiting for Ashitaka.
After a conversation, the next task was to safely escort them back to Daidara Iron Town.
After walking for a while, seeing the Kodama appearing on the road, the injured person on Yakul's back cried out in alarm.
"Don't be afraid," Ashitaka comforted him. "Kodama are gentle creatures; they symbolize the prosperity of this forest. As long as you don't provoke them, there will be no problem."
Nani?!
Seeing this, Yamada Masaharu almost spat out a mouthful of blood.
"Damn it, why didn't you say so earlier?!"
Thinking about it, it was all his fault for being nosy and going to the other side of the river to see princess mononoke; otherwise, this plot should have been triggered much earlier.
Such important information, he had died countless times for not knowing it.
Yamada Masaharu felt extremely frustrated.
...
However, Ashitaka's words did not calm the two people down. Instead, after seeing the Kodama appear, they became even more terrified.
"Kodama will attract the Forest Spirit," one of them said.
"Forest Spirit?" The male protagonist asked, puzzled. "Is it the White Wolf God?"
"No, it's a more powerful monster."
Eh?
Is there actually a monster more powerful than the White Wolf God?
When Yamada Masaharu saw the enormous White Wolf God just now, he was so scared he almost peed himself. He didn't expect there to be something even more terrifying.
Then he definitely shouldn't court death later. The Kodama already made people die so miserably; what if he provoked a Forest Spirit too?
...
Walking through the forest.
Yamada Masaharu felt as if he was in a dreamlike world.
He saw towering trees reaching into the clouds, their dense branches and leaves stretching towards the sky, forming a green ocean.
Sunlight filtered through the gaps in the leaves, creating dappled shadows that added a mysterious and charming atmosphere to the entire forest.
Walking on the forest path, Yamada Masaharu heard the cheerful singing of birds and the busy buzzing of insects.
He saw various wild animals: colorful butterflies dancing among the flowers, cute squirrels leaping between branches, and a small deer leisurely foraging in the grass.
These creatures coexisted harmoniously in the forest, forming a vibrant picture.
Yamada Masaharu continued forward and came to a crystal-clear River.
The stream flowed gently, making pleasant sounds.
In this dreamlike forest, Yamada Masaharu felt the power and beauty of nature.
It was too beautiful.
It was too magnificent.
It was like living in a fantastical fairy tale.
Hayao Miyazaki's depiction of nature is truly god-like.
These effects are unlikely to be achieved purely through 3D modeling. To create the forest effect, Pokeni primarily uses a combination of 2D planes and 3D models.
Within the male protagonist's accessible range, some trees on both sides of the path are 3D structures.
However, in areas that cannot be reached and are enclosed by collision boundaries, intersecting cross-planes are used, and then 2D images are used to fill large surfaces.
The effect is actually very good; as long as you don't interact with them, you basically can't tell which are 3D models and which are 2D planes.
Otherwise, if it were made entirely with 3D models, the polygon count in this single scene alone would be enough to crash the PlayStation console.
The fact that it runs exceptionally smoothly now, even presenting a beautiful and magnificent scene, is entirely due to Aoki Haruhi's excellent planning.
Similar small tricks, it is estimated that besides Pokeni, other companies might rack their brains and still not be able to come up with them.
...
Yamada Masaharu took a deep breath, allowing himself to fully immerse in this wonderful environment.
Even sitting in his own room, with Japan lights outside the window, noisy and bustling.
But at this moment, Yamada Masaharu also seemed to smell the fragrance of earth in the wilderness.
This scene was truly captivating.
"It is said that Hayao Miyazaki's inspiration came from Yakushima. It seems I must go there at least once."
Yamada Masaharu nodded.
...
Of course, the forest was not entirely without danger. Along the way, they encountered attacks from various wild beasts, such as bears, wild boars, and wolves.
As they continued to advance, the group reached the depths of the forest.
And at this moment, the plot was triggered again:
In this peaceful environment, everything around them became incredibly quiet, but a hazy light flickered in the distant forest.
In the light, a silhouette could be seen from afar, resembling a herd of deer.
The leading one had many, many antlers, looking as if its head was topped with a growth of upward-growing trees.
And its mane was very long, extending from its chin down to its belly, majestic and imposing, like a deer king.
If nothing unexpected happened, this should be the Forest Spirit that the two people mentioned earlier.
The male protagonist's nerves instantly tensed up.
And at the same time, that thing suddenly turned its head.
Before he could clearly see what the other party looked like, the next second, the male protagonist's cursed right hand suddenly went berserk:
The entire wrist part swelled as if it was about to explode, and the cursed worms inside twisted non-stop…
Ashitaka was in agony, desperately trying to suppress it, but his hand seemed to be out of control.
He quickly submerged his arm in the water.
Not long after, it seemed the deer king could no longer sense him and disappeared into the forest. Only then did the male protagonist return to normal.
The camera returned to the male protagonist again.
So terrifying.
Should he go look for that thing from earlier?
Yamada Masaharu was extremely conflicted internally.
The incident of being chased to death by the Kodama was still vivid in his mind. Did he really want to court death again?
But, ah… he was just too curious.
...
If he didn't go take a look, he wouldn't feel at ease.
Yamada Masaharu still followed his first intuition and chased in the direction where the Forest Spirit had disappeared.
He ran for a long time, searched for half a day, but couldn't find any trace.
It seemed it had just disappeared.
Forget it, forget it, let's go back to the main quest.
Yamada Masaharu couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.
If he really encountered the Forest Spirit, would he have to die again?
He quickly saved his progress and continued forward.
...
Not long after, the group finally arrived at Daidara Iron Town.
Standing at the foot of the town and looking up, Yamada Masaharu couldn't help but exclaim in admiration.
The entire Daidara Iron Town was exceptionally grand.
From the outside, it was surrounded by a tall wall made of sharpened tree trunks arranged in rows. Various buildings ascended along the mountain, scattered yet orderly, like an iron castle built in the mountains.
And from the tops of many houses, straight, long plumes of smoke rose slowly with the wind, ascending into the sky and merging into the sea of clouds.
Oh my goodness...
It's terrifying that Pokeni can make a game to this extent.
The first thought that came to Yamada Masaharu's mind was—
Is there anything Pokeni can't make?
A Hayao Miyazaki world that can be explored and played, not just watched.
Such a world is truly fantastical and wonderful.
...
After bringing the two injured people back to Daidara Iron Town, Ashitaka was welcomed and warmly entertained by the local residents.
The leader of the town was the woman who had led the ox cart and fired a shot at the White Wolf God on the mountain path.
The woman wore casual clothes but had her outer garment draped over her shoulders, appearing quite uninhibited.
The leader's name was Eboshi, and the town residents also called her Lady Black Hat.
Eboshi was the daughter of a poor family who married a foreign bandit.
Due to the bandit's cruelty, she finally killed her husband and returned to Japan with his treasures.
Gongsha was the only attendant she brought back from there, and a very loyal subordinate.
As the town leader, Lady Eboshi also gave the male protagonist a tour.
Through conversations and gathering information, Yamada Masaharu learned that—
Most of the people in this town were those who had suffered. Many women had fled here after experiencing domestic violence and displacement, and many men were poor people from the bottom of society. It was because of Lady Eboshi's benevolence that they had food to eat.
Eboshi possessed smelting technology from the West, leading the people to cast iron and manufacturing firearms from the refined iron. It was these firearms that gave them overwhelming and astonishing power.
Thus, they were no longer bullied by others.
However, casting iron, in addition to mining, also required extensive tree felling and environmental destruction. It was under these circumstances that Eboshi killed many beasts in the Sacred Beast Mountain, thereby incurring their hatred.
princess mononoke wanted to kill her for this very reason.
"If you need to make weapons, come here," Eboshi said after her introduction, leaving the male protagonist to freely explore the streets.
...
Daidara City Mini-Map:
The weapons in the Iron Town are very well-made. You can upgrade the male protagonist's weapons and arrows here by one level. Of course, if you have enough money, you can also buy so-called "stone rockets" here.
These are the firearms Yamada saw earlier, used to deal with the White Wolf God.
After some searching and exploration, Yamada Masaharu also understood what had happened to the Boar God that had turned into an evil demon earlier—
To mine new iron sand, Eboshi led the townspeople to dig mountains and cut down trees, extensively destroying the forest, which angered the guardian god of the mountain, the Boar God.
Under these circumstances, the Boar God led its wild boar descendants to attack the Iron Town.
However, they were ultimately defeated because humans possessed terrifying firearm weapons.
A big fire broke out in the forest, and the Boar God was hit by an iron stone rocket. The iron block remained in its body, tormenting it to the point of unbearable pain.
Its hatred for humans turned the Boar God into an evil demon, and it then ran wildly eastward.
At this point, Yamada Masaharu finally understood.
Daidara Iron Town, and Eboshi, were actually the source of everything.
The cursed male protagonist wanted to kill Eboshi on the spot but ultimately held back.
Yamada Masaharu frowned, feeling extremely conflicted.
Eboshi herself was a suffering woman, and she couldn't bear to see others suffer.
The entire Daidara Iron Town was filled with suffering, Bottom Layer people. Girls who were sold into the market were redeemed by Lady Eboshi out of compassion and empathy.
Many men were infected with diseases, and some were disabled. Such people would be bullied outside, but Lady Eboshi took them in and allowed them to do what they could.
All of this was because Eboshi mastered the technology of iron smelting and gunpowder manufacturing. It was those acts of destroying the mountains and forests that allowed them to survive.
It was actually quite tragic.
Please Support me by becoming my Patreon member and get 20+ chapters.
[email protected]/Ajal69
change @ with a
Thank You to Those who joined my Patreon