In front of the inn, the group gathered.
Horses were saddled. Packs were checked. One by one, the expedition members emerged from the building—Drobar cracking his neck, Fifi yawning, Levain already scanning the horizon.
They soon departed on their journey.
But as they walked toward the forest path, Drobar noticed something strange.
Ayumu, who was usually so cheerful, so bright, so glowing—wore a slightly serious expression. Her lips were pressed together. Her brows were drawn in quiet concentration. Her hands were clasped in front of her, perfectly still.
It was unlike her usual self.
Drobar fell into step beside her, his heavy boots crunching on the gravel. He looked down at the white magis that is slightly shorter than him with a raised eyebrow.
"What's gotten into Lady Ayumu? An upset stomach?"
Ayumu shook her head. "Oh no, Sir Drobar. I am just…" She paused, choosing her words carefully. "I promised Rhea to keep my emotions in check so I won't glow and put people in danger."
Drobar stopped walking.
He turned to look at Rhea, who was a few paces behind. His face broke into a wide grin, and he slowly raised his thumb—a clear, deliberate thumbs up.
Rhea blinked, confused at first. Then she understood. She gave him a nod and a look that said, clear as words: It's for our safety anyway, you're welcome.
Drobar chuckled and turned back around.
------------------------------------------------------
They soon reached the base of the forest and noticed the change was immediate.
The air here felt heavier—thicker, denser, as if the trees themselves were breathing. It was almost like an ominous feeling.
Levain gulped audibly. Fifi rolled up his sleeves, revealing the intricate tattoos that coiled around his forearms that is glowing faintly as a defensive spell already priming itself.
One by one, the magis removed their shoes. Bare feet touched the earth. It was easier this way for the magis people to absorb energy from the earth to conjure their magic for spells, defence and fighting.
Kaiser turned to face the group, his red eyes sweeping over each of them.
"So, we are to begin. Everyone be on the lookout. Anything can come after us now. Prepare yourselves." He said, his voice low and steady. "And Lady Ayumu, you need to make sure—"
He looked around again and Kaiser's eye twitched.
"Where is Lady Ayumu?"
A voice drifted down from above. "I am up here, Lord Kaiser!"
Everyone looked up.
The trees rose above them like ancient pillars, their trunks wider than carriages, their branches spreading into a canopy so high it seemed to touch the clouds. This forest had remained untouched for centuries, and the trees had grown abnormally large and impossibly tall.
And perched on one of those branches, high above the ground, was Ayumu. She sat lightly on the tall branch as if it were a bench with her white robes dangling.
Kaiser's jaw tightened. "And what do you think you are doing, Lady Ayumu?"
Ayumu hesitated for a while before answering, "...but Lord Kaiser said to be on the lookout…that is...what I am doing."
She genuinely seemed to be wondering if she had done something wrong.
Behind Kaiser, the group exchanged glances. Drobar's shoulders shook with suppressed laughter. Fifi covered his mouth. Even Levain cracked a small smile.
Technically, Ayumu wasn't wrong.
Kaiser stood there, seething, his hands clenched at his sides, his pride warring with the undeniable logic of her answer.
Drobar clapped his hands together. "Didn't I tell you? She will be the death of us all." He grinned and started walking into the forest, pushing aside a massive fern with his forearm. "How exciting! Let's go into the forest now. Leave that angry black magis behind."
Fifi hurried after him, glancing back nervously. "Don't joke like that, Sir Drobar. You are jinxing us."
Drobar's laugh boomed through the trees—loud, genuine, utterly unafraid.
Rhea followed, shaking her head. Levain followed her. The silent knight, Osmond, followed behind Levain.
One by one, they walked into the forest, leaving Kaiser behind.
Kaiser exhaled sharply through his nose and soon followed.
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At the top parts of those gigantic trees, Ayumu was jumping casually from tree to tree.
Since she was very light, she traveled with ease—barely touching each branch before springing to the next, her white robes trailing behind her like a banner.
Below, the others struggled.
Enlarged roots twisted across the path. Low-hanging branches forced them to duck and weave. The trail—if it could even be called that—was a muddy, slippery mess, each step a gamble.
And the insects, they were larger than normal.
Crawling things with too many legs scuttled across tree trunks. Beetles the size of fists trundled through leaf litter. Centipedes longer than a man's arm slithered across branches overhead.
Fifi let out a high-pitched eek—the first of many.
He jumped sideways, nearly tripping over a root. "Did you see the size of that bug?!"
Rhea sighed, swatting a mosquito the size of her thumb. "Can you man up a bit, Sir Fifi? They are not even remotely bothering you."
"Easy for you to say!" Fifi squeaked, pressing himself flat against a tree trunk as a hairy spider rappelled down from above. "You brown magis play with these creatures for fun! I cannot stand the sight of them! Eeeeeeek—"
He scrambled away from the spider, which was, by all accounts, completely ignoring him.
Rhea pinched the bridge of her nose.
Above, Ayumu landed on another branch—then stopped.
She raised one hand, fingers spread, a silent signal.
Kaiser's head snapped up. "What is it, Lady Ayumu?"
Ayumu's voice drifted down, calm but urgent. "A swarm of spiders…"
Fifi froze. Then he screeched—a sound so high and so loud that birds took flight from three trees over.
Drobar shoved him hard. "Shut up!" he hissed. "Do not be afraid of a bunch of tiny little—"
The spiders pushed through the branches.
They were not tiny.
They were three times the size of humans—eight legs thicker than a man's arm, bodies covered in bristling black hair, multiple eyes gleaming with predatory hunger. They crawled over the trees, across the trunks, down the vines—a tide of chitin fangs moving at terrifying speed.
The swarm was coming straight towards them.
All shock vanished in an instant.
Drobar drew his sword—a massive blade that gleamed even in the dim forest light. "Osmond!" he barked, and the silent knight was already beside him, with his sword also drawn.
They met the first wave head-on.
Swords flashed. Drobar cleaved through a spider's head with a single brutal swing, black ichor spraying across the leaves.
Kaiser raised both hands.
Fire stream erupted from his palms—incinerated three spiders at once. They shrieked, a horrible chittering sound, and collapsed into ash.
Rhea slammed her bare feet against the earth.
Vines exploded from the ground—thick, thorned, alive—tangling around spider legs, immobilizing their bodies, slamming them against trees. She moved like a dancer, each gesture commanding another wave of vegetation.
Levain swept his arms forward.
Pressurized water—sharp as glass, fast as arrows—shot from his hands. Each blob found its mark, punching through the spiders that were immobilized by the vines.
And Fifi?
Fifi was uselessly defending himself.
He crossed his arms and his defensive tattoos flaring a defensive blow barely managing to keep a spider's fangs from sinking into his shoulder. "SOMEONE HELP ME!" he shrieked.
---------------------------------------------------
As the last monster spider fell, the group stood amidst the carnage—panting, weary, covered in ichor and sweat.
The forest fell silent again.
And from above, Ayumu was glowing softly.
Her hands were pressed together near her chest, her eyes wide, her lips parted in awe. She had watched her powerful friends defeat the enormous spiders in unison—swiftly, beautifully. The sight had moved her deeply.
Rhea's head snapped upward. "Ayumu! Stop glowing! You will attract more monsters!"
But the warning came too late.
From behind Ayumu, a hiss.
A massive snake appeared. Its body thicker than a tree trunk, its head large enough to swallow her whole in a single bite—struck from the shadows. Its jaws gaped wide, fangs gleaming, aimed directly at the glowing white figure.
Kaiser's voice tore through the air. "BEHIND YOU, LADY AYUMU!"
The snake lunged but in a split second—a piercing light exploded from above.
A sharp beam of light like a lance of pure radiance shot down from the sky. The light pierced the snake's head clean through.
The massive creature convulsed once, twice—then fell.
It crashed through branches and vines, its enormous body slamming onto the forest floor with a thunderous impact that shook the ground. Dirt and debris erupted outward, clouding the air.
The group coughed, waving their hands to clear the dust.
As the haze settled, they saw Ayumu stood on top of the snake's head.
Perfectly calm. Perfectly balanced. Her white robes were immaculate, not a single speck of dirt on them. She looked down at the massive corpse beneath her feet with mild curiosity, tilting her head.
"I wonder why the snakes are the ones always so naughty."
The group stared at her, speechless.
But the moment of relief was short-lived.
The loud crash sound caused by the impact of the snake's body, had echoed through the forest like a dinner bell.
From every direction, new sounds emerged. Growls. Howls. The rustle of many legs. The snap of powerful jaws.
More monsters were coming.
"Battle positions!" Kaiser roared.
They fought for hours.
Wave after wave. Oversized wolves with eyes that glowed in the shadows. Bears the size of small houses, their claws carving furrows into the earth. More snakes—coiling, striking, relentless. Swarms of insects that buzzed so loudly they drowned out all other sound.
The group fought with everything they had.
Drobar's and Osmond's swords grew heavy in their hands. Levain's water blasts grew weaker as his energy waned. Rhea's vines came slower, thinner. Fifi's defensive tattoos flickered like candles in the wind.
And Ayumu?
Ayumu looked refreshed.
She moved like light itself—dodging, weaving, striking with precise bursts of radiance. Her cheeks were flushed with joy. But at the same time she was fighting to prevent her happy self from glowing. Overall, she was clearly enjoying every moment.
---------------------------------------------
Finally, they found refuge after fighting for hours.
A small hole in a stone formation—a natural cave, just large enough to fit them all. They checked it thoroughly: no monsters, no traps, no signs of habitation. Safe.
They stumbled inside.
Weapons clattered to the ground. Packs were thrown aside. Bodies collapsed onto the cold stone floor, backs flat, chests heaving.
All of them were exhausted.
All except Ayumu.
She stood near the entrance, peering out at the darkening forest, her hands clasped behind her back. She looked like she had just returned from a pleasant walk.
Drobar lay sprawled on his back, one arm thrown over his eyes. "What's… what's with this forest?" he panted. "The animals are rogue… and big…" He groaned. "Haaa… I'm hungry. I need a pint of beer."
Kaiser, still standing—barely—leaned against the cave wall, forcing his breathing to slow. "We cannot light a fire," he said, his voice clipped. "It will attract more monsters. We will make do with dry rations." He paused. "And we need to take turns on watch."
"We don't need to keep watch." Ayumu turned from the entrance, her expression serene. "I can set up a barrier."
Kaiser's eyes narrowed. "Barriers take up a significant amount of energy to maintain, Lady Ayumu. Save your breath."
But Ayumu was already moving.
She knelt on the cave floor, near the entrance and began scribbling—rough patterns, symbols and lines. "The barrier my father taught me," she explained, not looking up from her work, "only needs one pump of energy. It can protect us until morning."
She then rummaged through her bag and pulled out a plant—something she had gathered from the forest during their flight, its leaves still damp with moisture. She placed one hand on the scribbles on the floor, held the plant in the other, and drew.
The plant withered instantly—its life force siphoned and channeled to the markings on the floor.
The markings then blazed to life. A soft, translucent dome rose around them—barely visible.
Ayumu smiled. "With this, we are safe."
Everyone stared with impressed expressions.
Levain's sharp eyes then wandered to Ayumu's bag, which was still open, still spilling its contents. Something glinted in the dim light. Something yellow and shiny.
"Is that… gold?"
Ayumu's smile widened. A soft glow began to emanate from her—just a little, just at the edges—before she caught herself and tamped it down.
"Yes, yes!" She reached into her bag and pulled out handfuls of golden trinkets—coins, small statues, fragmented jewelry. "While you all were fighting, I managed to pick up the gold on the floor. I got a whole bag! See?"
She showed them her hoard, her eyes sparkling with innocent pride.
The group stared at the gold. Then at each other. Then back at Ayumu.
While they were struggling, bleeding, exhausting themselves against monstrous spiders and giant bears…
She was picking up treasure off the ground.
This damn, careless, impossible white magis.