Chapter 9: Vol. 1 Part. 09

The crackling of fire could be heard, and the smell of fish fell into the cave. In the meantime, Luna has made a fire over which she grilled the fish. She has already gutted and cleaned the fish at the river. So now she only had to prepare the fire. It didn't take long for Jannet to walk out of the cave, probably woken up by the intense smell. She had a lot of grass in her hair and on her clothes. Her eyes were still partially closed, so she probably didn't sleep well. After Jannet saw Luna, she rubbed her eyes and sat down next to her on a small log.

"Did you sleep well, princess?" Luna said with a smile on her face.

"Mhh." Jannet only nodded her head and closed her eyes again. It was noticeable how tired she still was.

"If you want to sleep a little longer, you are more than welcome to go back to bed. But you won't get a pillow from me, and you have to eat cold too. As you can see, I've already caught fish and made a fire. We'll eat soon, and then we'll take a closer look at the area. Who knows, maybe we even find a village," although she knew it was wishful thinking.

The fish was ready. Luna took it out of the fire and handed it to Jannet before she took it herself and started eating after it had cooled down.

"I never thought I would miss the food from home so much," Jannet said with a twisted smile.

"Oh, come on, the fish doesn't taste that bad either."

"Mhh." Jannet was still pouting.

"I suggest we go to the river first. If you want, you can wash in the river. Then we follow the river and see if there is a village nearby. I haven't seen any footprints yet, but who knows."

Luna had already thought about their situation, and finding a village or city was important. They lacked a lot of things to survive in the wilderness, so their first goal should be to locate one. Luna went back into the cave to get water for them. Jannet was still sitting there. It was the next day, and she still couldn't believe what had happened yesterday. But for some reason, her entire body hurt. 

'The bed was uncomfortable, but that can't be the reason why my whole body feels like it's getting stuck with needles. I should ask Luna about that.'

Luna was still in the cave, so she didn't notice that Jannet felt immense pain at the moment. Jannet did not experience a prickling sensation when she emerged from the cave to eat breakfast. However, this changed in the meantime.

"Luna! I...Urg...Could you come out, please?"

Jannet called out to Luna with a voice distorted due to the pain. Luna quickly noticed by that voice that something was wrong with her companion and went outside to take a look. Jannet sat huddled on the log with a pained expression on her face. Her whole body was tense, and her eyes narrowed. She didn't even notice that Luna had come out of the cave. Luna immediately rushed over to her and put her hand on her red forehead.

"The temperature is too high, way too high," she exclaimed in panic before picking up Jannet and carrying her to the cave to lay her in bed. After that, she got the bucket of water and placed it next to her. Luna started rolling up Jannet's pants. Ripping of fabric could be heard inside the cave as parts of the cloak, which was used as a blanket previously, were torn into a few small strips. The strips of fabric; were dipped into the bucket and wrapped around Jannet's calves.

"That doesn't look good at all." 

She poured fresh water into a mug and helped Jannet drink it. Hours went by as Luna regularly changed the water rag around the calves. She only left the cave to get food and water. On her way, she looked for fever-reducing herbs, but she didn't recognize any herbs that could help with illnesses in this world. After Jannet's state of health became more and more critical, Luna decided to analyze Jannet's blood for the first time.

"Don't worry; it won't hurt."

Janet was still asleep in bed. If the fever doesn't go down soon, severe damage could result. A little bit of blood flowed down her throat as Luna carefully bit Jannet. But this time, she didn't have time to enjoy the wonderful taste of blood. Luna focused entirely on the purity of the blood. But nothing seemed odd to her; everything should be fine. She put Jannet down on the bed and continued to change the water rag around her calves.

"All blood values ​​are normal, and no foreign bodies should be present. So, where does the fever come from? Even the magical energy is at a normal level. Something that was almost non-existent before." Her eyes widened in shock after she realized what the issue was.

'It is a mana problem.' Her body was never designed to produce and handle mana. Now that she is cultivating mana, it is forcefully transforming her physique so that the additional energy source can be used. The poison-like magic would gradually bring Jannet to the brink of death if not treated in time. The only problem was that Luna had nothing to treat Jannet with.

'I should have noticed that earlier. There might be a plant in the forest that absorbs magic, but I would have to go and look for it and leave her alone.' She thought for a moment. There was still a chance that she would survive that transformation, but the chances were slim. 

"Don't worry; I will be back soon." 

She took her bow and knife that lay on the floor and made her way into the forest.

'I can't go out too far, or else I won't be able to change her tie around her calves. I should be back in an hour at the latest.'

Her black hair flattered in the wind as Luna dashed through the forest. Her knife on the belt was swinging from her movements. The ground was green and covered with shadows. Single flowers could be seen, but unfortunately, none of these plants suited Luna's needs. To her knowledge, magic-absorbing plants were rare but found in the forest. But since she came from another world, her knowledge didn't necessarily have to be correct.

As she continued her search, black Slime and withered plants could be seen on the ground. The once green and lively nature became grey and dark and showed no signs of life. The longer she followed the direction, the worse it got. Small areas became whole trees until the entire forest looked burned.

'What the hell happened here?' Everything in front of her looked withered; the entire part of the forest was dead. Luna had to hold her nose under the unbearable stench.

'I hate disgusting stench; why does my nose,' she stopped her thought mid-way through as she heard something in the distance. Screams and the clash of metal echoed through the withered forest.

'Sounds like someone is fighting over there, maybe I'm lucky, and they have the medicine I need with them.'  But first, she had to take a closer look at her surroundings to avoid an ambush or other threats. She took out her daggers and made her way forward. As she entered the dead forest, she heard a rattle behind her. Like a snake, the sound seemed to follow her. As she turned around nothing was there. Only the black Slime and withered forest were in sighed.

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'Strange, I can feel something is here, but where and what is it?'

Behind her, the motionless Slime followed Luna slowly and combined itself with other slimes nearby. As Luna continued to walk forward, more and more collected behind her and connected with tiny threads. The biological web began to grow without Luna noticing; the slimy creature planned to surround her, and once its preparation was finished, it would strike like a net, trapping her in its domain. Once she was trapped, it would devour her and wait for the next victim.

Luna looked back regularly and noticed the increasing number of black masses. A frown appeared on her face as she noticed that a monster was trying to trap her. The same happened in front of her. Though, Luna hadn't seen any magical creatures for a long time. She recognized the trap and began to prepare. Because once caught, even the mightiest warrior would not escape.

'So, a net trap. It's been a long time since I met one.'

The network wasn't big enough to strike yet. Luna put her daggers back and assumed a tense posture. She took out her bow and concentrated her magic in the middle of the string. Slowly she pulled the bowstring; an arrow of electricity formed, which quickly grew in size. The lightning crackled and kept trying to change shape, but Luna wouldn't allow it until the spell arrow was complete. The monster saw something was wrong, but it had no way to do something in this situation. It was designed to trap its prey in a net, but as long as the net was not finished, it could only spectate how Luna charged up an arrow that crackled like thunder.

"You should have attacked when you had the time."

With a grin, multiple arrows shot forward, hitting the tree 7 meters in front of her and bouncing off like a bouncy ball. A crackle and chirp came from the darts as they bounced between the trees, clearing the Slime in their path. The afflicted trees all began to roar and tremble in pain, which caused Luna to cover her ears before the deafening scream shook the forest.

'Large area of ​​effect, but little penetration. But that's enough for the Slime. Good to know it's still working as intended.' Trees collapsed around her as the arrows continued to flicker and smothered the fading scream. It didn't take long for the trap to be eradicated. Smoke rises into the sky, and burned flesh lies around. The area was destroyed and stank even worse than before, forcing Luna to hold her nose and wipe her eyes that began to tear in the horrible stench.

 She quickly rushed in the direction the screams were coming from. The further she followed the sounds, the more swords, and dead bodies decorated the floor. Many of the trees she passed had deep cuts, and some even collapsed. It wasn't just people lying on the ground, but also figures that could only have come out of a nightmare. 

Goblins, lizards, and wolves decorated the ground, but they looked odd. They were darker than Luna remembered them to be, and their bodies emitted black smoke. It looked like some kind of mutation took over their colonies and twisted them into evil beings.

Rivers of blood made the ground partially challenging to walk on; due to the dirt being soaked with it. It was clear that a brutal battle was taking place here. Luna finally found a clearing in this apocalyptic forest, but she didn't enter it yet. In the shelter of the dark forest, she hid behind trees and looked at the scene in front of her.

Ahead she saw a battle. Or rather, what was left of it? Knights in armor put up a relentless fight against the wild beasts. They had formed a circular formation and killed the beasts with their spears as soon as they came close. One knight stood out from the defense. He wore incredibly massive armor. With a gigantic sword and shield, he slashed his way through the monster crowds alone. But he had difficulties. Lizards and wolves tried to bring him down en masse. They attacked him like a swarm, and it looked like he was about to be overwhelmed. His armor was scratched up and had dents in it. Although you couldn't see his face, you could tell he was desperate by how he moved.

All of the knights in the formation had worn-out faces. It was only a matter of time before the weakest link gave way, allowing the beast to charge their line of defense.

'I should help them and hope they have medicine on them that could cure Jannets fever. However, I can't go about it half-heartedly.' Once Luna grabbed the attention, she would just be overwhelmed by the sheer number of monsters. But luckily, she had an idea. 'A great spell should be able to settle the matter. I have to be careful not to drag people into it.'

Fortunately, the auras of the beasts are all quite similar. As a result, Luna could limit the destruction of her magic spell to the frequency that the monster possessed. So she began to prepare.

Luna raised her bow to the sky and closed her eyes. She slowly began to pull on the tendon. An arrow of pure energy formed, and many magic circles appeared at its tip. More Mana and Mana gathered in the magical circles; as they grew in size and number.

 

***

 

'If this continues, our entire unit will be destroyed. The victims are already in the three-digit range, and exhaustion soon brings us to our knees.'

This was supposed to be a harmless mission where the recruits can gather their first experience. They were tasked with eliminating small groups of monsters at the borders. Hjalmarr cursed himself. It was his job to guide and protect the newcomers. It can be done against a few wild wolves, lizards, or goblin groups. But not against a complete army. The monsters had almost overrun Hjalmar's unit, and only a small group remained, made up mostly of novices. This whole effort was initiated so that beginners could gain fighting experience.

'I don't even know if I'll see my home again.' His face was sweaty and red as a tomato. He was already fighting for almost an hour, but he was running out of breath. The youngsters had it even worse. Unlike him, they couldn't use magic yet.

"Keep it up! Soon we'll be out of the woods." He couldn't show any weakness. Should he fall as a leader, none of these aspiring knights would see their family again. It was then that he saw the sky darkening. He glanced up quickly to see what it was but couldn't determine it. Something was coming, but he had no idea what it was.

"Hold position. Don't lose heart no matter what happens." It was his last attempt to encourage the hearts of his pupils.

Suddenly an endless stream of arrows came shooting from the sky with a loud bang. The entire battlefield stood still due to the impact of such force. The arrows raged like a tornado, cutting through everything in their path. After a few minutes, the sky cleared, and the arrows that rained from the sky disappeared as suddenly as they had come.

Everyone was astonished, and every knight widened their eyes. No one could believe what had happened. They looked around for a person who had cast such a high-tier spell. That could oblidaret such an army.

Hjalmarr was dumbfounded. He wasn't able to produce a single thought. Despite having a helmet on, everyone could guess how shocked he was. His looked wandered around like the youngsters, and after a short moment, a woman wearing black clothing came out of the forest into the clearing.

The woman had a bow on her back and looked in their direction. After a couple of steps, she stopped and waited for something. Hjalmarr was still on guard. There was no guarantee that she was peaceful. But as he saw that the woman had no weapons in her hand, he sheeted his sword and slowly made his way towards Luna.

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