Dark-Pine forest

The first thing Edwyn saw was the great amount of efforts the game-designers put into making each one of their place unique. This forest was totally different from the first they visited, with the elite bears.

The trunks were closer to each others and the branches were also lower, making the eyesight more complicated. There was a nerve-racking feeling floating in the air, as if they could be ambushed at any moment.

As usual, Aelya was totally carefree while Edwyn followed her, looking around nervously.

"Milady, how are you able to stay so... calm in that sort of place?"

"That's quite simple you know. The only thing that could happen is that a monster appears and attack us, however we are here to kill monster so that's what we want. Nothing to fear then, quite the contrary. And what if we are hit? You are a healer and it's a game, there is no pain! I know that you are worried, but you need to relax and enjoy a little more. See that as a stroll in a wood, as if we were lovers!"

Edwyn stumbled on a root and almost fell.

"Milady, don't joke with that, that's not funny at all!"

Aelya laughed and lowered her head to avoid a branch.

"Relax pretty boy, if we were lovers, I wouldn't bring you in that sort of place."

She didn't had the time to elaborate, there was a rustle close to them.

At first, Edwyn didn't see anything, only truncks and branches, however suddenly one of the truncks began to move and came closer. It was at this moment the young boy saw it.

It wasn't a simple trunk, it was as if a pine was coming closer, with roots as foots and arms made of branches, pointed branches aiming at them.

The creature had no eyes but a fine crack appeared and it released a shrill sound.

"God, it's so ugly and noisy!" Aelya complained before hitting the monster with her axe.

Edwyn couldn't help but smile, no need for a lumberjack when you have a female warrior with an axe.

The blade deeply cut in the trunck and the young woman immediatly jumpes back to avoid the branch coming in retaliation.

"Oh, seems like my damages are boosted against the treants!" Aelya noticed when she looked at the damages done.

"Maybe an inner trait due to your weapon?" Edwyn suggested.

"Surely. Then it means it should also be weak against fire. A pity we don't have a mage with us, or else that would have been so easy!"

However as soon as she said that, a green and bright glow suddenly surrounded the treant, and his health bar began to get back to 100%.

"Looks like this monster has some tricks." Aelya said while checking the monster, and indeed below his name was a little icon.

[Benediction of Mother Nature]

[Almost nothing can stop the regrowth of mother nature. Heal 50% of the received damages.]

"This won't be as simple as I thought." The young woman said, frowning.

"It said "Almost" Milady Aelya, there should be a way to avoid that. Aim for different parts of the monster, maybe it has some weakness." Edwyn suggested.

The female warrior nodded and began her experiments and sure enough, after a few strike on the branches, they broke and didn't regrow.

"At least he won't attack me without his claws!"

She then aimed for the trunck and was finally able to kill the monster, after a whole 3 minutes.

"Even the goblins were more simple." She complained while checking the loots.

"Did we get something?" Edwyn asked.

"One piece of wood. It means we need at least another 49 treants to be full. This is gonna take us hours!"

Aelya complained but still continued her work, she slayed treants after treants and even if it was exhausting, she did her best until there was no monsters left in the vicinity.

After one hour, they got 15 pieces of wood.

"Should we go deeper in the forest?" Edwyn suggested.

"We won't have the choice, I think we killed everything around there."

The two of them decided to travel in the forest, walking amidst the dark pines, with their footsteps as the only sound accompanying them.

The young boy was lost in his thoughts when he saw a flash of light near them. Aelya was the first to react and raised her shield, ready to welcome whatever would come to them.

"It looked like a spell Milady, and the treants didn't cast any spell. it means..."

"Either a new type of monster, or a player." Aelya ended his sentence.

They decided to take a look and indeed, in the middle of a clearing they found another player.

It was a woman and although they could only see her back, it was more than enough to admit she was a beauty : she was slender, with a pale skin and long purple hairs, which reached her lower back.

Edwyn was busy at contemplating her when Aelya exclaimed, amazed.

"Oh my what a luck, that's Arymoon!"

The woman slowly turned back and loocked at them, astonished. To be more precise, she was looking at Aelya.

Edwyn was right, it was definitively a beautiful woman, she got fine eyebrows and clear eyes, which gave her a noble face. She wasn't as eye-catching as Aelya, however she possessed a beauty of her own, as if she wasn't from the same world.

"Aelya ? Is that really you? What are you doing here?" She asked, suspicious.

"Of course it's me, dummy! Do you know that much people who looks like me?"

Arymoon chuckled softly.

"Indeed, you're right, you're quite unique on your own."

"I'll take that as a compliment."

"And who is that young man who's looking at me with his eyes wide open?" The woman asked.

Edwyn suddenly remembered that he was staring at her and that it was very impolite, making him blushed and lowering his head in embarassment.

"This is Edwyn, my actual partner. Edwyn let me present you Arymoon, the "Salem Witch"." Aelya introduced them to each other.

"Nice to meet you miss Arymoon. But... how does it comes you have a title?"

The woman looked at him with astonishment.

"Aelya didn't told you about that? She's got one too."

"That's not really important, just call her Arymoon." Aelya hurriedly changed the subject, making Edwyn wondering.

Why didn't she wanted to talk about that ? What was her own title ? Who gaves them one ? There was so much things he didn't knew about her, and this one wasn't the first, and wouldn't be the last.

"Anyway Arymoon, we need you!"

"Oh? And for what reason? It's so rare for you to ask me something, it makes me curious."

The two women seemed to be more than simple acquaintances, friends maybe?

"I need 35 more pieces of wood but it takes too much time to kill those treants. However with your help, it would be much faster. what do you think?"

Edwyn wondered, it was the first time Aelya asked for help. Why this woman exactly? He checked her informations, and sure enough, she was a mage. The young woman said earlier that it would be simplier with a mage, it must be the reason.

"I don't mind, but in exchange I want your help too. There is a wild boss near, I tried to kill it by myself, but it was too hard and I hadn't enough mana to finish it. With you it should be a piece of cake."

A wild boss? Edwyn raised his head. Did she said she almost killed it alone? Just who exactly was her?

Aelya didn't seem to find that strange and nodded.

"With pleasure, but if there something interesting for a priest, i'll take it!"

Arymoon raised an eyebrow and looked at the young boy with a mix of curiosity and interest.

"Is it for him? Come to think of it, i'm surprised you took fancy on a boy like him, especially a priest. Are you trying to replace the other one?"

Aelya's gaze became colder and she looked at her friend, as if she was warning her.

"None of your business. Do you agree or not?"

Arymoon looked back at her, then at Edwyn before nodding.

"Fine. Do whatever you want it's not of my concern, however I hope he's not too bad, because I don't want a burden. Follow me now."

The mage turned back and began walking away. The young boy stared at her before turning toward the female warrior.

"Milady Aelya, I don't think she likes me."

The woman laughed and carefully patted his shoulder.

"Don't worry, Arymoon doesn't like a lot of people, but that's fine. She's powerful and will do whatever work you ask her to do."

Edwyn shuddered but before he could say anything, Aelya followed her friend and disappear in behind a trunck, obliging Edwyn to follow after her.

Did she mean that he would have to lead for that boss too?!