I’m Looking for the Male Lead for the Ending - Chapter 66

Chapter 34.1

Jen clutched the bag slung over his shoulder, glancing nervously around the forest. The moonlight, now hidden behind clouds, cast an eerie glow over the trees, and the sounds of animals echoing around him made his skin crawl.

“D*mn it. What the hell is going on?”

He thought he wouldn’t get lost, considering he’d practically been living here for days, but no matter how hard he looked, he couldn’t figure out which way led out. Just as he swallowed a curse and stepped forward, the clouds shifted briefly, letting moonlight filter through and illuminate a tree trunk.

Jen flinched at the sight of an X mark carved into the large tree.

“D*mn it…”

That mark, freshly carved, was unmistakably one he had made himself. He took a few cautious steps backward before turning and breaking into a run.

‘Have I been going in circles this entire time?’

Clutching his bag tightly against his chest, he sprinted through the forest in a frenzy of fear, barely noticing the branches scratching his arms, legs, and face.

‘All I have to do is get out of here! If I can just escape this place, I’ll never have to go through this nightmare again!’

The hardships he’d endured over the past few days flashed through Jen’s mind, vivid like scenes from a movie.

As if they had sensed something, he had been forced to live in silence, hiding from the watchful eyes of the Arbonis imperial knights, who searched the forest meticulously by day. By night, he roamed in search of Philoia under the faint light of the moon. And finally, after all the struggle, he managed to gather the Philoia and was ready to return to Efren!

“Haah, haah!”

His breath hitched at the tip of his throat.

As he ran, gasping for air, he saw the dense forest opening up ahead.

‘I’m… I’m saved!’

A glimmer of hope made him feel as if he could finally breathe freely. At the thought of finally escaping this cursed forest, a faint smile appeared on Jen’s face.

It seemed he wasn’t destined to die here after all.

With one last burst of energy, he sprinted forward, but he stopped abruptly as he took in the scene before him.

“W-What the hell is this…”

Ahead lay a sheer cliff, with a deep, dark sea below that looked as though it could swallow him whole. Jen looked at the towering ancient tree standing at the cliff’s edge and sank to his knees.

It was the World Tree.

No matter how many times he tried to find his way out, he always ended up here, back at the World Tree. Now withered and lifeless, the tree radiated an eerie, haunting aura.

“Why, why am I back here again?!”

‘Why, d*mn it!’

Jen steadied his shaky legs and forced himself to stand.

Just as he prepared to head back into the forest, he stopped and turned to look at the World Tree. If he wasn’t mistaken, he thought he saw the massive trunk of the ancient tree shift slightly.

“A-Am I finally going insane…?”

He flinched, staring at the World Tree in a daze until his gaze met a pair of blood-red eyes glaring down at him from above. As soon as he locked eyes with those crimson eyes, he felt paralyzed, as if bound by an unseen force.

“C-Crazy…”

Jen, frozen like a statue, could only dart his eyes around as something began slithering toward him. It was one of the World Tree’s massive roots, inching closer like a giant worm.

His eyes widened in disbelief at the sight.

The root began crawling up his limbs, moving as if it had a life of its own. Before he knew it, it started winding around his face. As his breath grew restricted and his vision dimmed, a wave of terror washed over him. Through his blurred, trembling vision, he glimpsed a child hiding in the shadowy depths of the forest.

“S-save me…”

‘I’m sorry.’

The last thing he saw was the child mouthing an apology he couldn’t understand before his vision went completely dark.

As Jen’s body fell to the ground with a thud, his body looked completely desiccated, as if every drop of moisture had been drained from him.

̊ · : * ✧ * : · ̊

[ 〈SYSTEM〉 MISSION!

Erase the shadow of death looming over Arbonis! A suspicious death has been discovered in Arbonis. Progress through the route to uncover the culprit behind the murder cases plaguing Arbonis. Solving this mystery may help you recover your lost memories.
Would you like to accept?

[ YES / NO ]

(Successfully completing this mission will help you recover your lost memories.) ]

As I read the mission that appeared before me, I frowned in disbelief.