After taking a rest and another round of meal from the Inn she was currently living, Christa finally goes out again, heading towards the Adventurers' Guild. Of course, people flocking around her on the streets is unavoidable.
"Gotta go fast!"
Christa make haste towards the Adventurers' Guild, reaching the establishment rather quicker than usual.
"Alright! Just take a quest, show it to the receptionist, and go."
Christa went to the bulletin board, abundant with different kinds of quest. Especially the lower class ones. And the one she chose was a delivery quest.
"This should be fine."
She went to the reception corner to show the receptionist the quest she took, telling the receptionist that she will take the quest.
"I will take this one today, Miss Rita."
"Oh, Christa. This one, huh?" The receptionist stares at the quest. "Alright, you can take it. The package you're delivering should be in the Sword Maker's place."
"Oh, Mister Owen's place. Then, I'll be going." Christa then went out of the Adventurers' Guild. And went straight towards the Sword Maker's place.
As she met the Sword Maker along with Itsuo and Selene not too long ago, going to his place did not give her trouble. Knowing the shortest route that leads to the Sword Maker, it didn't take long before Christa reached her destination - A small house in the southern district - Where the Sword Maker lives.
The workplace was filled with metals, iron and mostly weapons such as swords that the Sword Maker made, although they are only normal ones. Christa approached the door as she knocks on it a few times. Waiting for someone to come out, she heard a rumbling sound of metal inside the house as if someone was in wrecking the house inside.
After waiting for a brief moment, the door opens, and an old man came out with a white beard, shaped like a boomerang that covers his top lip entirely.
"Mister Owen, Good Noon!" Christa's hand gestured on Owen. "You're always wearing your Sword Making clothes. Do you even change?"
"I don't want to hear that to someone who wears the same dress all the time." Owen took the dirt from forging earlier out of his clothes. "I don't see Itsuo and Selene, I guess it's not sword repair you're here after?"
Christa shows the scroll of the quest she took from the guild. "I came for this."
"Oh, I see. I'm glad you're the one who took my request. Let me get the thing inside."
Owen went inside, and took quite some time before he gets out, with a huge bag filled with swords. He then gave the bag to Christa. Which then Christa took from him.
"Is this it?" She asked.
Owen nodded in response. "Make sure you don't lose it."
"Alright. I'll be going."
With that, Christa went on her way with the package on her back. As she makes her way out of the city, she read the quest while also paying attention to the road.
"A sword package delivery to Eisvel Village... That's the village near the Forest of No Return." She puts the scroll back. "It's already been a while since I left the forest... And when I parted ways with Angelika. I'll visit the place while I'm on the way."
Christa continues to walk through the road outside the city that is leading to Carmila Town. It was then she realized, it'll take days if she go with only walking.
"I just realized how far it was." She spoke. "I guess I can fly if I want to."
Christa decided to fly, she flew at a permitted height and went ahead with a speed faster than just walking and running.
"Yeah. This is faster than walking!" Christa smiled as she soars through the sky. But the wind makes the swords on the bag almost falling as she makes a fast flight. Realizing this, Christa slowed her pace but still faster than sprinting on the ground. "Gotta be careful with these."
Christa continues to fly with enough speed, eventually reaching the town of Carmila. But with the sun still up from the sky, Christa went passed the town and moved forward, heading to the first town she went by when she was heading to Reilaea Capital - Martha Town.
By the time she arrived at Martha, the sun was already setting as it slowly hide from the mountains. With that, Christa decided to spend the night in the Town. Surprisingly, the people in the town knows her, too. Thanks to her sudden climb in ranks and slaying the Mother Bee that which Edle said to the public.
"Even here?" Christa spoke as she walked through the streets with people staring at her. "I wonder if Angelika was also known through out the cities and towns. She was also a high ranked Adventurer, after all."
Christa arrived at a small Inn. "Still, this is kinda bothering. It's not like I'm the only one with the Emerald rank."
Christa ate her dinner and immediately went to sleep. And early in the morning, she woke up, took the bag of swords with her, and went on her way to the south once again. Heading straight to the Forest of No Return. The sun was up when she arrived at the forest.
She finally decided to walk as she enters the forest. Making a sound from the dried leaves as she makes her every step, the sound of the birds chirping rang through her ears, the trees rustled as the wind blew them gently. But at the same time, roars and other noises from monsters scattered around the forest echoed in the area. It was a territory of monsters after all.
Unlike ten years ago, the forest that is known as territory of monsters which no humans dare to enter, have changed drastically. The forest looks more peaceful than it was back then.
"It's been a while since I left this place, but I don't see dead monsters anywhere anymore. Looks like things changes by the time, huh?." Christa spoke as she enjoys the scenery of the forest radiated by the sun.
On her way, she encounters monsters who she fought back when she was training with Angelika. But instead of them mindlessly rushing on a human, they didn't show any violence at all. They all just went on their way without any trouble. It's most probably because they recognize Christa, the girl who lived in the forest along with them, and making them her training dummy. While some monsters still hold their aggresive nature towards the other ones, they see Christa as someone above them all. Like an alpha of a pack, the one on top of the food chain, they show their respect towards the boss of the forest as she continues to push forward.
"Eh?" Christa said in confusion, looking at a giant tree conveniently placed in the middle of an open area. She arrived at the place where she and Angelika once lived. But the wooden house that was supposedly standing in front of her was replaced by the tree.
"Where's our home?" Christa said with an odd look on her face. Her eyes wandered, looking around to see if there's a sign of their house being destroyed. But there was none, the house completely vanished and a tree spawn right where it was once standing. Then suddenly...
*Kaboom!*
A resounding explosion somewhere not far from where Christa was echoed all the way to the forest. The explosion made her thought that it was Angelika, but at the same time, she knew that Angelika wouldn't do something like that in the forest unless Christa did something that made her mad. Even so, she dropped the bag of swords, lying beside the giant tree as she draws her wooden sword.
"I'll get you back, I need to see what's happening." Christa leaped through trees in a hurry, jumping through them one by one. As she gets closer, some beasts and other animals who are running as they shriek in terror caught her attention.
"What is..." She frowned in confusion.
Right after, she saw one of the giant trees from a distance tilting down and eventually falls on the ground. Seeing that, she went to a higher ground with giant trees, giving her a clear view of what's happening near the tree that fell.
And when she did, her eyes met a sight of the trees being cut down by a number of people. At the same time it was all happening, some of them are fighting the beasts who's territories have been disturbed by the people.
"Hurry! Cut them faster!"
"These freaking monsters are so persistent!"
"Those people..." Christa suddenly remembered that Angelika was not there anymore to restore back the trees whenever she destroys them. Seeing the people cutting down the giant trees, seeing them doing something that cannot be undone especially to the place she lived once, makes Christa lose her temper.
"... That's enough! If you don't stop, the forest will..."
It was then, the trees on her left started moving one by one as if someone was rustling inside the grass. Then, a slithering sound and hissing like a snake approaches the people down below. From the high view, Christa can see its black skin as it moves in an incredible speed. Its long and giant slithering body is almost bigger and more than twice the length of the giant trees that it bumps into.
"It's huge." Christa's eyes widens as she watched the creature getting closer and closer to the wood cutters cutting the trees.
The people saw the trees in front of them suddenly shaking and rustling.
"What...?"
In that instant, the monstrous creature swallowed the man whole in one fell swoop. The other beasts who are fighting the humans backed off as the other men who witnessed their fellow wood cutter got swallowed to death in an instant by a giant monster.
"It's a Boa! Run!"
"I thought you said there are no more boas in this forest?!"
Up above the tree on the small cliff, Christa saw a scar that looks like it was made by a slice of a sword right on top of its right eye.
"That scar..." Seeing it with her eyes, Christa finally decided to go in.
The people tried to run in fear of being eaten, leaving their tools behind just to live for tomorrow. But the path suddenly got blocked by the boa with its long body, circling around them as if it traps its prey, slowly twining them until there are no more space for them to even crawl.
"We're trapped!"
"We're dead!"
The men are crying and trembling in fear, even their leader could not help but to leak down there due to his fear. After putting the people in an enclosed small circle with its body, the giant snake's head circles around them, as if it was choosing who to eat first. But in the nick of time...
"That's enough!" Christa's voice caught the attention of the snake before it could put one of the men in its mouth. "That's enough. Let them go, Titania."