Chapter 9

It was a bright, clear morning. Aslan sat in front of the hut, sharpening his knife.

"Looks sharp enough... I really can't put this off any longer," he muttered to himself, sheathing the blade before turning to go back inside. But as he turned around, he was surprised to see Amanda standing there, looking a little down.

"What's wrong?" Aslan asked.

"It's nothing... I'm going to start cooking," Amanda replied quietly, then headed to the hearth.

"What's going on?" Ishak asked groggily as he came out of the hut, noticing his sister looked upset.

In the kitchen, Amanda was preparing breakfast. She didn't realize it, but tears had begun to fall. She was sad—she was sure Aslan was going to leave soon to search for his family. Even though she had been the one who encouraged him to go, deep down she wished he'd at least stay until the harvest festival was over.

Earlier, when she saw Aslan sharpening his blade, Amanda was convinced that he was leaving. Just as she was about to ask him to wait until after the festival, Aslan had muttered that he couldn't delay things any longer. That made her bite her tongue.

She knew she had no right to ask him to stay, but that didn't make it any less painful. So, she decided to make their farewell special. She cooked more than usual—some birds, bird eggs, and several vegetables. She also laid out the cakes they had bought the day before.

"Let's eat," Amanda said, trying to sound cheerful.

"Whoa! Why so much food? Usually, you only make veggie soup," Ishak commented, wide-eyed.

"Galang's going to leave soon, so I wanted to make a special meal before he goes," Amanda said.

"What?! He's leaving? Why not wait until after the festival?" Ishak asked, turning to Aslan.

"Huh? I was planning to leave after the festival," Aslan said, just as surprised as Ishak.

"Wait… then why were you sharpening your blade?" Amanda asked, confused.

"Oh, that? I was just planning to go into the forest for a few days. I'll be back soon," Aslan explained. Amanda immediately felt embarrassed.

"Ohhh…! So you looked upset because you thought I was leaving for good? I didn't expect you to be sad about me leaving," Aslan teased with a grin.

"Ugh!" Amanda, flustered, pinched his arm in embarrassment.

"Then why are you going into the forest, Galang?" Ishak asked.

"Well, remember that wolf we ran into before? I'm planning to take care of it before I leave for my real journey. It'd be dangerous for you two to keep gathering herbs if it's still around," Aslan replied.

"But that's dangerous. We can just stick to the edge of the forest. You don't have to do that," Amanda said.

"No. Ishak told me you sometimes barely make two copper coins even when you go deep into the woods—how much less if you stay near the edge? Don't worry. That wolf was already injured. Unlike me, it hasn't had time to recover. I was able to corner it even without a weapon. Now that I have a sword, I'll be fine. Trust me."

"Then why do you need a few days? From the way you said it, it shouldn't even take one," Amanda asked.

"Uh… well, I have to find the wolf first. And I plan to do some training out there too," Aslan admitted.

"Alright then. I'll pack you some food later. But for now, let's eat."

---

Later that day, Aslan left the village. He had planned to leave all his money with Amanda, but she refused. So he only gave her a few silver coins and told them not to go into the forest until he returned.

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By now, Aslan had arrived at the forest. As Amanda had mentioned, hunting a single wolf shouldn't take more than a day. But the problem was… that wolf wasn't alone. Aslan knew there were more. There was no way he could face an entire pack all at once. He'd have to pick them off one by one.

Amanda didn't know this. She had never even seen a wild animal before. In fact, she didn't even know what a wolf really was—she had thought it was just an unusually big stray dog. Aslan chose not to tell her, just so she wouldn't worry.

Eventually, Aslan found the injured wolf lying near the river. As he started to cross the stream to check if it was alive, his food pack slipped and got swept away by the current. He had planned to take the wolf's meat, but the carcass had already rotted and was crawling with maggots.

So, Aslan decided to keep looking for the rest of the pack. He searched for tracks but couldn't find any. The only trail he saw probably belonged to the same wolf that had just died. Still, he followed it, hoping it might lead to the others.

As the sun began to set, Aslan came across an open area—and to his surprise, there were lots of deer there. Hungry, he tried to hunt one.

"Strange... there's so much wildlife here, but meat is still so expensive in the village…"

He carved a bow from a branch and infused it with Tors energy to make it stronger and more tense. But unfortunately, he missed every shot. Frustrated, he gave up and started looking for fruit instead.

As he sat and ate, he thought that maybe that wolf had been a loner. There were rare cases like that. Still, he didn't plan to return just yet. He used the time to train.

Three days passed. His archery had improved. He finally managed to bring down a deer.

"Haha! Gotcha!" Aslan shouted happily.

He roasted the meat in a cave he'd been using as shelter. After eating, he packed some of the meat to bring home. The harvest festival was just three days away, so he decided to return the next morning.

As he wrapped the meat in cloth, a sound came from the bushes. Startled, Aslan instinctively hurled his sword into the brush. But when he checked—nothing was there.

Then the sound came again. Aslan followed it. But it was dark, and he didn't notice the pit ahead of him. He slipped—and fell.

The drop was at least fifteen meters, but luckily the ground below was soft with layers of leaves and dirt. He wasn't hurt.

At the bottom, there was a wide open space. A faint glow caught his eye.

"Weird… it's already night. What's that light?" Aslan muttered, walking toward it.

He was stunned when he saw the source. It was a plant. Its stem was thin, but its roots were massive. The plant had glowing fruits, each about an inch in diameter. They were even brighter than the stem or roots.

Aslan picked one of the fruits—and instantly, the plant wilted. The glow vanished. Darkness swallowed the room.

"Damn it."

To be continued…