Forest of Spirits {1}

Aww jeez, it's getting darker and darker...

It was night. The light shining from the moon was the only thing that was guiding me. Damn, if only I was able to use light magic.

Also, didn't Divinus say that he was going to search for me if I ever get lost?

That lying dragon.

While I continued to walk deeper into the forest, it got darker and darker.

Rumble~

A noise uttered from my stomach.

"Man, I should've eaten more fish before I got here..."

It was quiet. The only sound I can hear was the chirping of crickets and the rustling of leaves. I even heard a sound similar to a wolf wandering around in the bushes. My stats aren't combat ready yet, so if I ran into any monsters now, it would be the end of me.

Trip~

"Aaauugh!"

Thud!

"Ow! Tch, that hurt."

The light had disappeared; it was only darkness now.

"Maybe I should go back. No, I should go back, should have done that a long time ago."

When I turned around to return to the shore, the path where I came from had disappeared.

No, the light from the moon had disappeared and I couldn't see a single thing, not even where I came from.

"Shit, I need some light quickly."

I searched my pockets for my knife. Then I searched for the nearest stick and rock. I struck the rock with my knife near the stick. The sparks would eventually light the end of the stick.

"Fuuuuuu~ Fuuuuuu~"

I blew on the little flame lightly and then slowly the flame got brighter and bigger. The surrounding area began to light up. As I explored my surroundings, none of the roads that I came from was the one towards the beach.

"Well, this is bad. That trip earlier messed my sense of direction. I don't even know if I'm looking the right way or not."

I looked up at the dark sky, no sign of the moon as the thick clouds hid it. If I can't tell where the moon is, I won't know which direction I'm going and I can't see that giant world tree with all these thick...trees!

"Shit, I guess the only thing I can do is go forward."

And so I continued.

***

Damn, I've burned through too many sticks. I'm beginning to not see any more sticks on the ground. If I run out of sticks right now, this fire will be extinguished and I'm going to be left with nothing but a burnt stick.

Shuffle.

What was that?

I heard a noise come out from the bushes to my right. Maybe it was a monster. If it is, I will get my ass eaten by... whatever is in those bushes!

The shuffling would become louder.

My teeth began chattering, hitting each other in uneasiness. I dropped my knife in I was cold and scared, I'm not trying to die at the age of 4.

Hooooo~

A tremendous gust of wind would blow on me, blowing away the flame on my stick. I dropped my knife is panic.

Shit! My only source of light! And my knife!

After that, it was complete darkness. I'd drop down and start searching for my knife as it was my only weapon.

Pit-pat-pit-pat~

I could hear footsteps approaching me. I began backing up until I bumped into a tree. I didn't have time to find my knife.

Damn it, am I going to die in such a pitiful place like this? This isn't even the 'Forest of spirits' that Ddraig was talking about. Was I led to a secluded island only so I can die? No, Ddraig wouldn't have a grudge on my dad, he's not like that, and Divinus wouldn't do anything either, he's too proud for that.

Pit-PAT!

The footsteps stopped in front of me.

Shit, this is the end.

Then the moonlight loomed over me. I slowly opened my eyes and in front of me was...a cat? It was a black cat with purple numinous eyes. It had weird markings all over its body, which also radiated a color the same as its eyes.

Wait, don't black cats symbolize misfortune or bad luck?

"Meow..."

"Eek!"

I'd make a sound that sounded like a startled girl. Well look, I am still a kid so I haven't gone through...you know.

The cat approached me, sniffing me as it inspected me. Back in my previous life, I was raised in America. I was told that black cats symbolized bad luck and that I should get as far away from them as possible.

But it looks like it's impossible now. As there is a black cat, right in front of me.

The cat stared directly into my eyes, giving me a strange stare.

Shit, this cat was emitting a dark aura. I don't know if it was hostile or not. I took deep breaths, ready for what was coming next.

Then...

"Purr~"

"Huh?"

The cat had laid next to me, grooming. I tilted my head in confusion. The cat looked at me and got up. Then it rubbed its cheek on my hand.

That means it trusted me. I know that because once I searched online that cats rub their cheek with someone or something that they trust or mark as their own. In this case, the cat trusted me. If the cat trusted me, then I guess I should trust it in return.

But...

Can a cat really help me get back to the beach?

"Meow..."

The cat was walking down the path. It looked back at me and meowed at me as if it was signaling me to follow it.

I got up. The moonlight had come back once more. I found my knife and began following the feline.

Along the way, I had met 4 other weird creatures that were also friendly. A small bunny that had grey fur and had a horn on its head. Then I met a large bird which had flames all over its body, I didn't even need the system to guess what this was. Shortly after that, I found a white fox that had icicles all over its body. Then I met a large tortoise whose shell was made out of a material similar to wood. Maybe it is made of wood, who knows? I can't tell since for some reason they didn't have a name above their heads.

Weird...

Now that I've been traveling with these 5 creatures, I have noticed that some of them represented natural elements, like powers from those magic novels. The cat represented darkness, the bunny, well I don't know, the bird was a phoenix, so fire, the fox was ice, and the tortoise was life.

I haven't asked anyone how many elements there are in this world, but all I know is that there are currently 5 of them.

As we were wandering around the forest, we eventually stopped in front of a cave. There was this eerie presence oozing out of the cave. I wanted to head back, but the animals decided to go ahead. So, I followed them in, because I didn't want to be alone in this forest.

As we traveled deeper into the cave, I could hear the dripping sound of water echoing through the cave. I sat on top of the tortoise and so did the others. Later, there was light at the other end of the cave.

Then all at once, the passaged opened up into a huge cavern studded with stalactites, shimmering with what seemed to be glow worms that surrounded a ginormous underground lake. Or that's what I thought until I looked up at the ceiling which turned out to be a humongous hole. It was so big, probably 10 times the size of Divinus' dragon form. And let me tell you, he's big, same size as Ddraig. They are definitely brothers.

As I inspected the cavern, it turns out that this wasn't actually a cavern, it was a kind of forest. The trees were illuminating many colors and there were little tiny lights which were pixies.

"Is this the forest of spirits?"

I asked myself. This has to be the forest of spirits because this is the only part of the island that looks different.

There were a variety of animals that fled when they noticed me. The creatures beside me began walking past the lake.

Where are they going? Maybe I should follow them.

I looked up into the sky and I would notice the tree Yggdrasil.

"Ahh, so the beach is that way."

I looked back at the cave, then I turned around and looked at the creatures.

"Hmm, maybe I should stick around for a bit."

So I followed them.

***

Pit-Zap!

What was that? I thought I heard electricity.

Pat-Crack!

I heard the trees behind me moving apart as if something big was approaching this way. It might be another one of those creatures. It probably won't mean any harm.

Well, I was wrong. As soon as I turned around, the face of a giant growling wolf appeared in front of me. (Check comment for reference)

"Woaaaa!!"

I stumbled on my back. The creatures hopped in front of me as if they wanted to protect me. They'd start grunting at each other as if they were communicating. Then the giant wolf let out a cry that sounded like thunder.

Crackle!

The metal spikes on its body let out countless bolts of lightning which struck down the surrounding trees. The turtle acted as a shield by jumping in front of me. When the bolts of lightning settled down. Auras according to the creature's element began wrapping around them.

Then when the aura's dispersed, the creatures differed completely from what they were.

The cat was now a panther, the bunny was a...well, it didn't change besides becoming bigger, the bird also becomes bigger. The fox had become bigger as well, its fierceness had equaled to the wolf, and the tortoise had grown larger, probably 2 times the size as the wolf.

I realized that I was in a battlefield and decided to hide behind a rock. For some reason, that wolf also didn't have a name above its head. Maybe the system was broken.

Crash!

Boom!

Oh jeez, I can hear them fighting behind me. As long as I hide behind this rock, I'm safe.

Or that's what I thought when I saw a large snake hissing right at me. This snake looked like a cobra, with its hood began expanding.

[Level 5 Malevolent Cobra]

Hisssss~

It began hissing at me. I reached for my knife, which was in my right pocket.

"Oh, so you've chosen death, huh?"

The cobra hissed at me loudly and charged forward. I swung my knife in front of me. No one can dodge while they are charging forward, it's impossible.

When the blade on my knife approached the snake, it suddenly zipped away.

"Huh?"

It was gone, why? Because it was now right next to my legs. It hissed once more and sunk its fangs into my leg.

"Gya-"

I could feel it pumping venom into my leg. Shit, this is bad.

I adjusted my knife and grabbed onto its slithery body. I then stab it directly in its heart. The snake was somehow unaffected. So I began slowly driving my blade down its body. That's when the snake reacted.

Yeah, that's what I thought. You can't possibly resist this kind of pain.

I continued moving my blade down its body until I completely sliced it in half. I stabbed its head just so it doesn't somehow come back to life.

Ding!

[You have slain a Malevolent Cobra. Data will be added to the encyclopedia.]

[You received 250 xp.]

Whew... I killed it. That's a relief.

Now to just wait out until those 6 are done.

"I think I should just... take... a rest..."

It was the venom. It had probably spread up through my entire leg by now.

I tried to find any sort of cloth to wrap around my leg tightly, but nothing was in sight.

I was too weak, my strength had faded away. The venom had probably spread through my entire body by now. Shit, it's fast.

"I... should just... take a... rest..."

And then everything went black.

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