The Forest Magician

「Looks like the spider doesn’t manage to have a bite of you, surly disciple. Did you deal with it properly?」

「I did it just as instructed.」

I showed master the spider’s head and sticky string that were stuffed into the bags. Master frowned a bit seeing that.

「You crushed one of its eyes. Couldn’t you defeat it more cleanly?」

「I’ll do better next time.」

Master grinned when I answered like that obediently. She then patted my head roughly.

「Well, it’s a good job no matter what if a rank 2 can hunt a rank 3 monster. We’re going to process the torso first, so wash your dirty feet first before bringing it to the processing spot at the backyard, surly disciple.」

「Roger, master.」

Master went to the back of the house with the two bags. I returned to the entrance and washed my dirty feet before lifting up the spider’s torso. The season had changed and four months had passed since I tumbled into master’s place. Now I’m eight years old and have grown a bit taller.

Who is this person who I called master? Why am I living deep inside the forest like this? I need to go back to four months ago after that fight in order to explain it.

I jumped into the strong current of the river’s rising water in order to shake off Grave’s pursuit. I used Hard just moment before I entered the water, changing the dirty maid uniform to be an improvised life buoy. But I still couldn’t rest easy. I curled my body and dived deeply without resisting the strong current’s flow. I continued suppressing my presence desperately until I gained some distance.

My chance to survive was low. I managed to to turn my uniform into life buoy, but I lost direction of which was up or down inside this darkness of the night. The strong current toyed with my small body and mercilessly robbed me of my stamina.

And then most likely there were monsters inside the water. There were few high ranked monster that would approach the bank and attacked people, but the inside of the water must be teeming with low ranked monster. I didn’t know whether monster could do activity inside this violent current, but I would be helpless if I got attacked in my current state.

I sharpened my mind and focused in using Stealth. I used my Search and Night Vision in full force to at least learn my direction. The Night Vision that used the reflection of magic particle was hard to use inside this violent current. The Night Vision that was looking using color was also incomprehensible because I was inside water where everything was blue colored. That was why I used both Search and Night Vision to at least gaze inside the dark water the whole time. Then while I was in the verge of choking and put between the interstice of life and death, my vision suddenly opened and I managed to grasp my direction.

My face broke out the water surface for just a moment and I sucked in air. If I became able to differentiate magic particle’s “color” even inside water, then I should be able to “see” the living thing swimming in the water. I expanded my Search’s range and accuracy while keeping that in mind, felt a presence that felt like a snake approaching me from the fish swarm swimming at the bottom of the river, and immediately cut it down with Battle Technique, Thrust.

I could fight even inside water. I could also take a breath if I understood my direction. In that case the only problem left was my stamina to keep enduring until the river’s flow slowed down.

Fortunately the effect of the mana recovery potion was still remaining inside my body. I squeezed out light mana from the magic stone in my heart and suppressed my stamina’s exhaustion and the decrease of my body temperature as much as possible.

I wouldn’t give up. I still couldn’t die. There was a chance that Grave might harm Elena in the future. So I had to obtain the strength to surpass and defeat him without fail.

Even while I rejuvenated my body with light magic particles, I used mana control to cover my body’s surface with water magic particles and attempted to camouflage myself as much as possible. How much time had passed since I was carried by the water flow……. When my mind turned hazy and my concentration was almost cut off, the river’s flow finally turned gentler together with the sunrise. I cut another snake that attacked me and carried its corpse with me as I managed to get back on land after several hours staying in water.

My body was freezing. My stamina and mana were also mostly exhausted. I would easily lose if monster or animal attacked me in this state. I dragged my powerless body and hid myself inside a thicket. I used Stealth while single-mindedly waiting for my stamina and mana to recover.

During that time, if I didn’t circulate the little mana in my possession to strengthen my internal organs, I would surely die from cold. A few hours later, I used Heal on myself using my slightly recovered mana, made fire, grilled the water snake’s corpse, devoured the meat, and then focused myself completely on recovering my body.

.

A whole day passed before I finally could move my battered body properly.

My mana had recovered earlier than my stamina and I healed all the wounds on my body with Cure. ……I thought it was Sera who told me to never leave any wound remaining on my body.

I wondered if my life was targeted by the order of that organization or if it was just Grave’s arbitrary decision. Either way, it didn’t matter as long as Grave was in that organization. I chose the path of separation from them.

I’d become strong and kill Grave. If anyone got in the way of that, I resolved myself to turn my blade toward them, even if it was Sera or Viro.

But, what should I do from now on……. As long as that organization that was connected to the nobility existed, it felt like it would be dangerous to enter a large city. At best I could only stop by at a village or small city……even so I should avoid other place than the countryside. The same with the adventurer guild, I couldn’t use them until the heat on me died down, so it was necessary for me to grope for a new way of living.

Right now I was near the border, so perhaps going north from here and crossed the border was a feasible choice. However, I still had a single prospect left.

First I checked my condition before taking action. Perhaps because of my battle against Grave and my struggle against death inside the water, my Throwing, Stealth, Night Vision, and Search skills had leveled up to level 2.

Throwing must had leveled up because of the fight versus the water spirit and because recently I had kept using only Throwing. Putting aside Stealth and Search, human should only be able to obtain Night Vision until level 1. It became level 2 light be the result of me combining the original method of night vision with my unique color sight.

I almost got killed, but I should just consider it as good thing that it became a “nourishment” for me to grow.

First, in order to hide myself and prepare, I used my leveled up Stealth and Search while running through the forest along the river. I headed toward the simple base that I previously created in the forest.

When I arrived at the simple base in the forest, I discarded my maid uniform that was in tatters and washed off the remaining mud on my body. After that I changed into the tunic and trouser that I was using during my travel to here, and for the last I wrapped a shawl around my neck to hide my face.

I had lost all of my weapons except the black knife, the other thin knife that I received from Sera and the steel knife from Feld were in the simple base. I stored them on my waist band and my boots.

I didn’t have throwing knife, but if it was now that my Throwing skill had become level 2, I should be able to manage somehow. With that thinking, I threw the steel knife as a test. It stabbed into the tree trunk without problem.

The money that I was hiding, the salt and portable food, the dried medicinal grasses were put into the bag where I stuffed my clothes and I shouldered the bag.

My destination was two days of walking through this forest from here. At the end I used Hard and boiled water in a clay jar. I put salt into it and drank up the hot water to replenish the water and salt in my body. Then I started running soundlessly inside the forest that was starting to turn dark.

Stealth, Night Vision, Search, then daily life magic. With them I wouldn’t find too much difficulty even inside a forest. I also encountered goblin and wolf midway, but there was no high ranked monster that could discover me when I was hiding.

.

Two days later……at that location that I headed toward based on that woman’s memory inside the “knowledge”, I discovered a single 『house』 that was made from wood and stone and mud.

The garden had become slightly bigger compared to that woman’s memory. The weeds were somewhat increasing but there was no mistake that this was the right place. I tried knocking the door lightly, but there was no reply from inside. I dismantled the trap on the door using the information remaining in the “knowledge” and stepped inside──

*Tan-!* There was such sound as a strange shaped knife pierced the door.

「……Who’s there? Entering someone else’s house without permission like this, you really don’t know any manner aren’t you brat.」

From the table located at the back of the house, a woman wearing a robe that looked like the picture book description of a magician toyed with a strange shaped knife while sending Pressure at me.

……Strong. I can’t accurately analyze her because her figure is hidden by the hood, but even just from the feeling of paralyzing pressure, she should be stronger than level 3.

「I come to return this.」

With a minimum movement so as to not provoke her, I showed the hand written her book in my hand by waving it around. Seeing the book, the Pressure that was placed on me vanished. In exchange that woman’s magic teacher emitted a faint anger while scoffing.

「Hah, are you that stupid disciple’s acquaintance? How is that stupid disciple who stole money and potion from my place doing? Has she died already?」

「I killed her.」

I answered her calmly with a dispassionate tone. The anger vanished for an instant from the woman and silence filled the room.

「……I see. It must be a very idiotic way to die. I’ll give that book to you. It should fetch you some money if you sell it. Go home already.」

「…………」

It seemed that she held a bit of feeling as a teacher toward a disciple even for that kind of woman. Originally I only planned to return this book but, right now I have a more important business with this woman.

「I want to learn sorcery from you.」

「……I told you to go home right? Nothing good even will happen if you get involved with this kind of old hag living this far from human settlement and can only raise a stupid disciple.」

Her voice still sounded like the voice of a young woman. And yet she called herself an old hag. That woman knew really well the reason for that.

「Is that because you are a demon?」

Silence fell once more in that instant. The next moment, a killing intent that froze my body is thrown at me.

「……Who told you that? Did that stupid disciple blab at you? I don’t remember raising her to be that stupid though……what do you think I should do to someone like you who know about that?」

If I didn’t have any experience of feeling the killing intent of high ranked person from Feld, Viro, and Grave, I would surely faint or lose my fighting spirit.

But, I’m not scared although I’m trembling. I’m feeling threatened but there is no fear.

「I want to learn sorcery from you.」

「…………You, who are you?」

When I stared straight at that woman’s teacher and said the same words again with the same dispassionate tone like before, the killing intent slackened and her atmosphere changed into a faint astonishment.

「It will be a long story. Various things happened after your disciple attacked me.」

When I hinted that I wasn’t the aggressor but the victim, that woman’s teacher let out a deep sigh and stood up from her chair. She seemed to accept my words.

「Come over here and tell me everything. I’ll at least brew you some tea.」

That woman’s teacher said that while taking off her hood. She looked like she is still in her thirty. Now I can see her lustrous skin that is black like obsidian, her silver hair, and long ears that stretched out from her hair.

Dark elf……. It is said that their skin color came from selling their soul to the evil god of darkness. The dark elves who are living at the west coast of this continent are called as the evil race in this continent.

「Call me Serjura. What’s your name?」

「You can call me Aria.」

The large scale war was already over, but even now the evil race is still in a continuous state of dispute with the southwest countries that are centered around human race. Why is this woman who is a dark elf living in Claydale that is located at the southeast edge of the continent? Even that woman’s “knowledge” contained no information about that. But, such thing doesn’t matter for me. I only wanted even more knowledge and the strength to overturn fate, nothing else.

.

I talked about how that woman attacked me in order to take over my body. Then how her knowledge accidentally flowed into me from the magic stone that had been grafted with that woman’s mind.

To be honest, the thing about this otome game whatever isn’t something that I myself really understand so I can’t explain about it, but when I revealed how I feel, that I want to avoid following the odd fate of becoming a noble, Serjura seemed like that she also has some ideas from the past about that woman’s action. She nodded deeply and fell into thought before she leaned back on her chair while pointing her thumb at the passage behind her.

「For now, you can use the room back there. It was that stupid disciple’s room and right now it’s half turned into a storage but, you understand if it’s you right?」

「……Hm?」

I tilted my head a bit to show that I don’t understand. Serjura grinned in respond.

「I’m saying that I’ll train you. I’ll make you strong just as you want so prepare yourself, surly disciple.」