Hacking the Game Didn't Go as Intended

CHAPTER 167: The Mammothgrove Forest

Neighhh~

The horse let out a soft huff as Daisuke shifted his weight onto the stirrup and swung himself down from the saddle. His gaze lingered on Lumielle as she gingerly dismounted her own steed, her every motion radiating an effortless elegance. Despite the ragged cloak draped over her shoulders, she somehow retained an air of dignity.

"Just where exactly are we?" Daisuke asked as he smoothed his hand over the horse's snout. Then he tilted his head back as he glanced up at the ginormous trees that stood before them.

"This is known as the Mammothgrove Forest," Lumielle informed dryly as she secured the reins of her weary horse to a nearby tree.

"Mammothgrove, huh?" Daisuke murmured. "A fitting name for sure. This place is unbelievable, and the trees haven't even shed their leaves for the winter. That's so strange."

Without a word or even a sidelong glance, Lumielle retrieved the Repel Incense that was tied off her horse's saddle and secured it to her waist. Then she casually tossed her hair back before confidently slipping into the ominous maw of the forest. Daisuke followed suit, glancing around like an awestruck toddler at an illusion museum.

Holy hell, he exclaimed internally while staring up into the canopies. They're even bigger up close! Did a forest from Jötunheimr manifest here on earth or something—wait, why did I even think that this world was based off earth in the first place?

The soft moonlight that had illuminated their path until now barely managed to pierce the dense canopies of Mammothgrove Forest. In its absence, the forest seemed to come alive with its own otherworldly glow. Plants radiated bioluminescent light, casting a mesmerizing array of hues across the landscape. Vines draped from massive branches like glittering chandeliers, their tendrils pulsating with a faint, rhythmic luminescence.

Daisuke couldn't help but pause and marvel at the scene before him. The trees towered into the heavens, their bark adorned with intricate patterns of shimmering blues and greens, as if the forest itself was breathing light. Towering fungi the size of small cottages glowed in gentle purples and yellows, their caps dotted with specks that flickered like tiny stars. Even the underbrush radiated life, with leaves and flowers emitting soft glows that ranged from delicate pinks to vibrant oranges.

It was as though the forest had borrowed its aesthetic straight out of a dream—alien, yet strangely harmonious. Every step they took caused the ground beneath them to react; faint trails of light followed their movements, swirling like ripples on a pond. It was breathtaking, but also deeply unnerving. The sheer scale of everything dwarfed them, making Daisuke feel like an insect wandering through the domain of giants.

"You seem oddly unfazed by all of this," he murmured to Lumielle who hadn't uttered a word for quite some time now.

The princess kept her head straight, her lips parting reluctantly. "Was it so difficult for you to deduce that I've been here multiple times before?" she scoffed.

Daisuke glanced down at a fallen leaf that was several times the size of his boot. "I don't think I could ever get used to this place," he mused. "It's way too amazing."

"There are actually several forests similar to this one in the world," Lumielle informed in a monotone. "But... there's probably none quite like this one."

Daisuke raised one eyebrow curiously. "In what sense?"

"Mammothgrove spans roughly ten thousand acres of land. If you continue in a southeastern direction, this place intersects with the Murkwood Forest—a region that is blanketed by a thick, unsettling fog. It's known to be one of the most dangerous and geographically mysterious locations in the Arcanium Kingdom.