Unlike the Spirit Jungle wherein you could feel its ominosity as soon as you stepped into the Revalia Forest adjacent to it, the forest in front of Yuuta and Yua was more ominous compared to it. This Forest is located a few kilometers north of the City of Revalia and ever since the appearance of countless high-rank Evil Spirits, this place was off-limits to anyone since entering it would mean certain death. Warnings aside, Yuuta and Yua were prepared to cross it, no matter what.
The gravity of the situation dawned on Yua all at once and suddenly, she felt herself trembling. Although she made up her mind that she would accompany Yuuta in his journey, she could tell that the forest contained stronger Evil Spirits, even stronger than Aarkra who is already an S-rank Evil Spirit.
"Um, are we sure about this?" Yua nervously swallowed her dry saliva as her eyes were fixated on the moving Evil Spirits behind the trees. Yuuta couldn't see them so he wasn't the least bit bothered by it.
"Don't worry, I called someone. She's almost here." Yuuta announced, much to Yua's surprise.
"Someone is willing to go with us? Who is it?" Yua curiously questioned. If that someone were willing to through hell and back with Yuuta, Yua concluded that the person invited is probably someone close to him.
Few minutes passed and a girl not much older than Yua came to the scene, she had light footsteps as if she was going on a field trip rather than a death mission. The girl's most notable features were her orange auburn hair and her clear blue eyes, which were a stark contrast to each other but rather appealing. And just like Yua, she was surprised that there was another girl with Yuuta.
"Yuuta, who's the girl?" Miki was the first one to ask. "Is she a fellow adventurer? Is the reason why you weren't contacting me these days is because she was helping you?"
"Yuuta, who is this? Is she another person from your world?" Yua, on the other hand, was quick to assume, which in turn made Yuuta feel relieved since he won't have to explain more things than expected.
"Miki, remember that girl kidnapped by an S-Rank Evil Spirit? This is Yua. And Yua, this is Miki, one of the few nice Dreamers out there. She was the one who guided me through the tutorials on being an adventurer." Yuuta quickly explained. "And Miki, the reason why I couldn't contact you these past few days was because of a certain Quest."
"A Quest? Was that the one you mentioned before?"
"Yes, click on the map. And then click on the Spirit Jungle."
Although Yuuta already informed her about the quest, Miki didn't know what sort of rewards he would get from the quest. That's why, when she saw that he was already the legitimate owner of the entire Spirit Jungle, she was astounded. In all her days staying in the world of Lucid, she had never heard of such a generous quest. But here it was, right before her eyes. "There really is nothing impossible in this world, huh. In any case, where are we going? Are we really going to cross this forest?" Miki asked, she decided not to pursue the topic of the Spirit Jungle's ownership since they could talk about it when they have the time. Yuuta did give her an urgent call, after all.
"Yes, and we'll need your help. What level are you in now, Miki?" Yuuta asked.
"Level 81, why?"
"Oh, that's barely above the limit. Here." Yuuta tossed a sword towards Miki, which smoothly stabbed the ground right in front of her.
The sword was a Greatsword, about four feet in length, with a blade that's one foot thick. Its handle was of gold with white engravings and the insignia of a lion was etched on the frontal part of it. A steady 'shiiiing' sound could be heard emanating from the sword as it shone with unnatural brightness. Hazy white smoke surrounded its blade, and from it, a mysterious power could be felt. Somehow, the sword felt so alive that Miki pondered whether she should get the sword or not.
"That's the Holy Sword of Light and Truth. With your 'Bearer and Wielder of the Holy Sword' and 'The Second Sword Maiden' titles, this sword is a good addition to your overall combat power. You should try it."
Miki blinked twice and then realized that the sword in front of her was, in fact, a Holy Sword— something that she has been searching for ever since she got her title in-game. "W-w-where did you get this?!" She exclaimed before taking a step backward. "No no no, I can't possibly accept this from you, Yuuta." She continued, vehemently shaking her head but it was clear that she badly wanted the sword.
"Take it, the reason why I got it is for you have it," Yuuta told her once again. He remembered telling her about it before but it seemed like she didn't want to accept it without something to give back.
"Oh, I'll buy it! How about I just buy it from you... or maybe rent it? Is it that expensive?" Miki was flinching even before Yuuta could answer. Her reaction came to Yuuta as a surprise, making him almost chuckle in response.
"No, just take it. I have no use for it anyways. Well, if you insist on paying me, how about you... mmm..."
Gulp!
"... How about being a permanent member of my party? That would be enough as payment. Is that all right for you?" Yuuta simply told her. Frankly, he had no idea what would count as payment. As it is right now, he needed allies in both the Lucid world and the real world. As for money, he currently has more than enough so he doesn't necessarily need more. Both in the real world and the world of Lucid, he had more than enough money to spend.
"Sure, I would've agreed even without the Holy Sword in exchange. But are you sure that's it? You could've gotten a huge sum of money from me or something." Miki half-joked. However, Yuuta just brushed her off.
"There's no way I could ask a friend for something like that," Yuuta responded. "Now, you did say you're level 81, right? Can you keep up with my speed?"
After hesitating for a few seconds, Miki nodded but she was still doubting herself. As for Yua, she was vehemently shaking her head since she knows that she couldn't keep up with Yuuta at all. Even though she has a higher level and that she is basically a fairy who could fly faster than a lot of adventurers, she knew that Yuuta had something up his sleeves— and that something was what enabled him to defeat the serial killer Ki-ru Shoumetsu even though he's only a level-20 adventurer.
"Right, so here's the plan." Yuuta sat down and drew a rough map on the ground using a stick he picked up on the way there. "We're here, and the Beginner Village is somewhere over here, about twenty kilometers from where we are. If we run at Yua's top speeds, we can get there in one and a half minutes maximum."
"My speed can get us there in fifty seconds," Miki clarified.
"That's even better. So fifty seconds. On our way there, I want you to blindly swing that Holy Sword around, so the High-ranking Evil Spirits won't attack us that much. They're extremely sensitive against Holy Swords after all."
"Swinging this heavy sword would really slow me down, so you're estimate of one minute and thirty seconds is more or less accurate. How did you calculate that?" Miki suspiciously eyed Yuuta but she couldn't detect anything from him. Little did she know, Yuuta was heavily relying on his skills to ascertain information.
"And as for me, I have my own ways of warding off these Evil Spirits. We will be traveling in one line, with me at the front, Yua in the middle, and Miki at the rear. Yua, your job is to be a guide. Direct us to where there are fewer Evil Spirits around. I have a skill that lets me see Evil Spirits but I wouldn't want to use it, I have to focus on leading the group, so, that would be your job."
Yua nodded.
"Okay then, let's go. Follow me. Onward to the Beginner Village." Yuuta braced his ankles and clenched his core, and in one stride, he was already a hundred meters from Miki and the others.
"So fast!" Miki exclaimed before following the two. She was surprised that a mere level twenty is actually faster than her in terms of raw speed. "What kind of Skill is that?!"