After everything had been said and done, Yaku and Emilia headed out of the city with hope and a new determination to get stronger. They decided to walk to their next destination, which was only one day away from Bagio city.
Their goal was to take a ship through one of the many great rivers on the continent to get closer to the north and to maybe reach the grand archives to train there to get stronger.
As Yaku and Emilia were walking on the dirt road surrounded by trees, talking about random topics, Yaku was making Emilia giggle and laugh as if he were her own court gesture. They noticed someone sitting on the side of the road, covered; she was an old woman, no less than 80 years old, she had silver hair. Her wrinkles were a true witness of the time she's lived.
"Come here, dear boy and fine lady, let me read your fortune," she said in her old, tired voice.
"I don't believe in that nonsense. No one can truly see the future," Yaku said in an annoyed way.
Emilia puffed up her cheeks and looked at him angrily. He got flustered, "Oh, well, maybe let's try anyway," he said
"Yay!" Emilia jumped up in joy.
Emilia went first. The old lady touched her hand and looked her in the eyes. The old lady's eyes started to shine as if mana was dancing inside of them.
"You will become a fine mage, young lady. I can see great potential within you, don't waste your life and don't die so early, because once you live until old, your magic will be second to none," the old lady told Emilia, making her jump for joy.
"Did you hear that? My magic will be second to none, yes, yes," Emilia said as she was flexing her biceps.
Yaku looked in suspicion, but he still went with it," ok now, do my fortune," he asked.
The fortune teller grabbed his hand and looked him in the eyes. She went completely silent; this time, her eyes weren't shining with mana, they were engulfed in complete still darkness.
She screamed in anger, showing her teeth and spitting everywhere, "I won't let you break this world!" she screamed on top of her lungs, and within a split second, her cape lifted off, showing her frail body; her mana aura exploded in size, engulfing both Yaku and Emilia.
Yaku startled, immediately jumped in front of Emilia, and whipped out his sword. In less than the blink of an eye, the old lady was between him and Emilia. Yaku tried to turn around, but he was too slow; her spell was already done. "Yaku," Emilia screamed, then her voice faded away.
"Emilia!" Yaku screamed, then the scenery changed, as if he was teleported to a different world.
He looked around. There was nothing but dead, pale purple-looking trees; the grass looked dead and decaying, and he was somewhere he had never heard of, somewhere otherworldly.
Looking around, he realized that he and Emilia had been separated; he couldn't see her anywhere near and couldn't sense her mana at all.
The air was still, as if there wasn't any wind at all. Then, out of nowhere, a grey Goblin with an iron helmet and a club jumped out of the bushes, immediately attacking Yaku.
Normally, Yaku could kill a goblin in a split second, but this one was different; his club was infused with its own mana. Yaku blocked the club with his forearms, forming an X in front of his chest. The attack was so powerful that it sent Yaku flying back many meters.
Confusion set in; not only did a Goblin push Yaku back, but he was also using mana, something Yaku had never seen before. Yaku stood up and unsheathed his sword.
The goblin didn't attack this time; it just stood there watching Yaku, waiting for his move.
"Something isn't right. This goblin is standing there waiting for me to make a move; that's not something a monster would do. Where the fuck am I?" thought Yaku to himself
Yaku's sword started glowing with faint mana; his feet also started glowing. Yaku split his mana into attack and speed. He immediately lunged towards the goblin, aiming to slash its head in half
The goblin dodged to the left and head-butted Yaku's side super hard, taking his breath away.
Yaku fell to the ground, grabbing his side and screaming in pain, and in a split second, the goblin lunged at him again, but this time trying to hit him with a two-handed club attack. Yaku disappeared and appeared behind the goblin, striking it with a kick to the back, sending it flying.
"What the fuck is going on? I had to use 100% of my mana to dodge him, and what the hell is that strength? My bones are still ringing from that headbutt. I need to kill this goblin fast," Yaku kept thinking to himself.
"Hnnngghff aaaaghhh," the goblin screamed, exploding his mana to its fullest potential. Green mana engulfed his body as he set his sight on Yaku.
Yaku's eyes opened wide; it was as if he were fighting a less powerful version of Geo.
The goblin sprinted towards him, aiming to attack his knees. Yaku jumped over him and attempted to slash him in half, but the goblin dodged to the right and jumped towards Yaku while he was in mid air. Yaku put one of his hands on the goblin's helmet, using it as leverage to dodge. While he grabbed the goblin's helmet, he hit the goblin's small back with both of his knees. The goblin tried to turn around and hit him with the club, but Yaku cut its arm off. The goblin screamed in pain as they both fell to the ground. The goblin looked at its cut arm and started to flee in fear.
As it was running away, its back was impaled by Yaku's sword, hitting its heart, killing it on the spot.
The goblin's lifeless body was just lying there as Yaku walked towards it to grab his sword. He put his hand on his side as he walked, visibly struggling from the pain.
"This bastard, I think he fractured one of my ribs. It makes no sense how a goblin is this strong. I've never seen a grey goblin before, but I've never heard of a goblin reaching this strength. I need to figure out where I am as fast as possible. If Emilia is here as well, she's in huge trouble. I need to act quickly. Said Yaku to himself as he removed his sword from the goblin's back.
Then some faraway bushes started to rustle, grabbing Yaku's attention.