Zarin followed Eddie on their way through the forest. They didn't try to hide between trees or anything like that, but it looked like they followed some kind of path. Still, most of it was covered by leaves and branches, making it difficult to follow it. Still, Eddie moved at a decent rate, like he knew exactly what direction to go.
Zarin had noticed that his sense of direction once they got deeper into the forest was affected. Still, Eddie didn't seem to have any problem like that. Ray of the sun barely passed the thick top of the woods, but they couldn't see the sun, making it harder for at least Zarin to understand what way they were heading.
Before the first hour passed and the potion's effect was almost over, Eddie gave Zarin another similar vial. As Eddie drank it, he was under the effects of the [Aura of the Holy Faith] once more. The only difference was that the decrease was 48% instead of 50%, but its duration was still one hour.
They continued their way, and another hour passed in almost no time for Zarin. If he couldn't see the actual remaining time of the effects through his Status, he could have missed it.
Eddie acted first and brought out another vial before Zarin could get the chance to say anything.
The effects didn't get weaker this time, but the duration changed from 1 hour to 59 minutes.
Eddie also was drinking the same potion each time, which meant that he should be at the same effects and most likely had the same decrements each time.
'Did he find out how to open his Status window without telling him how? '
Zarin hadn't told him how everything worked yet, or that he could see his Status window. But this was the only way Zarin could think that Eddie was so precise with his actions.
Once more, as almost only a minute was left, Eddie brought out another pair of vials— one for Zarin and one for himself.
This time, the effect's chance got decreased to 44%. The first time the decrease was 2%, then there was none, and now it was 4%, double from last time.
Zarin didn't know how long they still needed to travel or how many of those vials Eddie had. The vials appeared at Eddie's hand out of thin air, which reminded Zarin of the staff that Eddie had summoned similarly recently.
'Is that some type of magic, or does he have a special tool? '
Zarin had noticed that Eddie had four rings on him, which he didn't wear before. He was confident that they had some enchantment, but he wasn't sure what kind. They didn't look like his [Ring Of Invisibility], and currently, Zarin couldn't try to maybe trigger an identify roll.
Zarin's senses were weaker in that forest. He sometimes felt like he became very drowsy and almost passed out. Fortunately, the strange feeling didn't last for long, but the time between its reappearance was getting shorter as time passed.
Close to ten minutes before the potion's effects reached its end, they had reached an opening.
There was a circular opening of land with no trees, with a white monolith at the center.
"We will rest here for today. "
After saying so, Eddie moved closer to the monolith but still kept a couple of meters' distance from it. The opening looked to be a circle close to two dozens meters radius, giving more than enough space for them to make a camp.
Similarly, as he did with the vials, Eddie brought out a pair of tents ready to get set up.
"Put them up while I am checking out surroundings. We should be safe, as none of the forest's creatures can get near that place, but we better play it extra safe. "
Zarin worked on them, and fortunately, they didn't work too different from the tents back to Earth. He used to be a scout, after all, for a couple of years before high school, so if he didn't know how to put up a tent, he wouldn't be much of one.
The more time he spent in this open area, the clearer his mind got. His mind was back to normal in a couple of minutes, making his movements less sluggish. Fortunately for him, putting up the tents was tasking on his mind, but it took him longer than usual.
After he finished, he looked around for any fallen branches and any rocks so that he would make a campfire for them. He wasn't sure what provisions Eddie had, but the fire was always helpful in a camp.
He moved to the edge of the clearing but tried not to get too far into the woods to not get affected by that strange effect. On the other hand, he also didn't move too far from where he set up the tents just in case Eddie came back.
He found a few branches here and there, and most were a few meters into the woods, but Zarin quickly got in and out before the forest could affect his mind. Fortunately, no other creatures looked around, but Zarin was on guard to be safe.
As he had gathered close to a dozen branches suited for what he needed them, he noticed a smell in the air. It was a sweet smell, like getting into a candy store when they brought out fresh products.
Zarin almost started drooling as he hadn't had anything close to candy all this time in this world. There wasn't any store selling anything close to candy or even chocolate. Sugar was a thing, as he had noticed Lady Emlyn having some in her kitchen, but she never had made any dessert.
The closest thing to sweets was what Aldis had given to Gele the first day he met them. But when he tasted them the next day, they were far from the candies he was used to. They were sweet, but something was missing in them he couldn't explain. It was still a tasty sweet for anyone who had never had candy, but it was like a defective product for Zarin, who came from Earth and had his share of candy.
He decided to follow the scent, but first, he left the branches on the ground so that he would have his hands free. Then, he moved carefully but didn't use his [Stealth] yet. He was still under the aura's effects, so if it was some kind of spirit's trap, he had a significant chance to avoid it.
The scent had led him to the other side from where he made the camp, which was a great distance. This made him be on guard more but also raised his curiosity.
As he reached the edge of the clearing, he tried to check if he could see any sign of the source without getting into the woods.
It took him a bit, but he noticed a figure just a couple of meters from him. The figure had its back on Zarin, and he could barely see the top of its head.
The only reason he detected it was because the color of it was bright blue, which didn't blend well with the forest.
As he focused his senses on the figure, he detected sounds of it eating something.
'Does it have cake? '
Combining the smell and the munching sounds had led him to that conclusion. However, now that he was somewhat closer, he had a more straightforward scent of chocolate.
He barely could keep his drooling, as he wanted to go check if the person could give him some for him to eat. But he wasn't sure if all of this was a trap.
He decided to risk it and started his way toward the figure, but he used his [Stealth] this time. The [Aura of the Holy Faith] was still in effect, with just a couple of minutes left. He knew that he could safely be in the woods for a minute or two before his senses got too affected; as before, he had also Eddie helping him to keep him awake other than his willpower.
The distance between Zarin and the figure wasn't that great. So even if he moved carefully to not make any sound, he still made it there before his [Stealth] could reach the first half of its duration.
At that point, Zarin had a good view of the figure, while a bush kept him well hidden.
The figure wasn't a blue-haired person as Zarin first thought, but its entire body was bright blue. The figure looked the same as a young adult human, maybe close to Zarin's age. But her whole figure was slightly semitransparent, but Zarin only noticed it when he was that close.
She didn't just have the same hair color, skin color, and clothes being the same color too. It was like she was a creature made of energy or something and just had the color of said energy.
'Is she one of the spirits we tried to avoid? '
Eddie never told him about what they would face in the forest or any other information. But from the effects of the potion they kept consuming, he had an idea. Also, if anything, fitted how he imagined a spirit to look; this creature did so.
Zarin had to admit that the spirit wasn't as scary as he had in his mind and was kinda cute. He then noticed something in the hands of the spirit.
'Is that a piece of chocolate cake? '