Three weeks had passed, and Alice's felling of trees had paid off. Alice and I returned to Luby Forest and got the result that we came back here for.
"Um, that's very interesting."
The results of soils exposed to sunlight show them forming into new soils. They were originally muddy ground and very pliable to walk on, but now, they have become rather dry and easy to walk on.
I can conclude that the ecosystem in this world can change when a change occurs. This is like the real world, where tall buildings are built without thinking about the future bad impacts. Curious globally, maybe that's what I can describe the consequences they do in the real world.
"Alice, help me to plant them."
Of course, I have to return the soil to how it was. I am doing how to replant so that my actions do not damage this forest.
"You're telling me again? I'm not your laborer, as you know."
"Okay, okay, I know that. Anyway, put them back the way they were. Use your magic to water them, and I'll give them the fertilizer I just bought."
Keeping ecosystems sustainable is a good thing I can do in this world and the real world. I don't want to be a man who doesn't know how to be grateful. I've been given a life in this world and the real world, so I can't be a bad guy to them.
"Hmmm..."
Somehow she suddenly looked at me. Her gaze was as if she didn't take my orders.
"Do it!"
I forced her but didn't scold her. And then, she obeyed my orders and used her water magic to water the seeds planted in some soil.
The water magic is quite beautiful, making the surroundings feel cool. But somehow, I can feel the heat in some places. I felt someone was watching us from a distance, and they had hot air.
"What's wrong?"
Alice asked that maybe because she noticed I was acting strange, looking here and there like someone on alert. I was acting weird because I was paying attention to my surroundings. I realized there was something dangerous in this place.
"Can't you feel them?" I finally asked her that.
"Feel what?"
I glanced at Alice for a moment, realizing something was wrong with her.
Honestly, this was the second time she couldn't realize something. First, she didn't notice when Veronica smiled sarcastically at her. Second, she couldn't notice the heat around her. This made me suspicious that she could not be aware of anything around her, even if it were very close.
"Stay close to me, Alice!"
"Why? What's wrong?"
"You don't need to know. You have to do what I say."
"Um, okay." She ran to approach me.
"Can't you feel the heat around you?" I asked out of curiosity.
"No. Isn't it cool here? Using my water magic, I've made the place as cool as possible."
This forest has humidity, and the trees are so close together that the sunlight cannot enter, but strangely, my character feels the heat in some places far from us.
This is very strange to me. How can such a humid forest have such heat in some places? How did it happen? The right humidity will get so humid it creates moss everywhere, so it's unlikely to be able to generate heat in some places.
"Well, you sure do cool this place, but look over there! Over there! Over there! And over there...!"
I pointed out some hot spots while putting my arm around Alice's shoulders.
"Um..."
She thought for a moment. Then, she turned to me with a tilt of her head.
"I didn't find anything."
Hearing that from her, I patted my forehead and resigned myself to her ignorance.
"Anyway, stay alert! We don't know if it's dangerous there or not."
"Okay."
She nodded in agreement.
We continued our work.
My and Alice's friendship relationship only reached level 3, and it's still a long time since to know her level. But from my guess and what I saw of her, maybe she has a high character level, 50-100. Most likely, she has great water magic that she is hiding. So depending on her right now is an option I can choose.
However, seeing the way she couldn't notice anything around her, was she that reliable? I can't keep her, even if I notice something dangerous nearby. I'm scared we'll run into something higher than our level. I was so afraid that we were in such a dangerous condition that we couldn't escape. And one more thing, I am very afraid of losing her.
I've been thinking about this for three weeks. I always ask in my mind, will an NPC respawn or not if they die? That question kept popping up in my mind when I saw an NPC. I feel... I'm so scared to know about it. I was so anxious even to be able to ask anyone that.
I have studied and realized the knights that burned in the palace of the Armstan Kingdom some time ago and Alice's story about Veronica killing them are all intertwined with my question. I don't know if they will respawn or not. I know they have died, but have they died and left this world? That's what makes me so anxious to ask anyone that. I don't want to know about it and don't want to ask about it.
But at least, since I kept asking that question in my mind, I had to protect Alice at all costs. I won't let anyone or a monster kill Alice. After all, she is the first NPC I've made friends with. Losing her was like I had wasted her presence by my side.
"Alice, you know what, you are so special to me. So for that-"
"W-Why do you say that at a time like this?"
I ignored her. Her cheeks look red. Maybe she's embarrassed because I said something she didn't expect.
"Listen!"
I had a plan if the heat came near us. I'm afraid it's from some wild monster that's stalking us. So, the plan was to either kill them or escape from the place. We have two choices, kill or escape.
"To what extent can you use your water magic?"
I once read a guide on how to use a skill, and I did it often to understand it. There is a cost to using magic, and it will reduce MP.
If Alice had low-cost or less powerful magic, it could save her MP. But if it turns out that she has one or two high skills, then her MP will be easily depleted. And as far as I know, according to what I read in the guide on how to use a skill, if someone makes his MP to 0%, then his HP will replace it. In other words, if your MP runs out, your HP will continue to decrease every time you move or use a skill.
Well, even so, there is one item that can anticipate this. The item was the Mana Bottle. However, it requires a definite amount. If you have high Mana Points, and you have the level 5 Mana Bottle, it will increase your MP quickly. But if you have high Mana Points but only the level 1 Mana Bottle, you have to be patient to wait until your MP is completely replenished. So, it depends on the Mana Points and Mana Bottles you have.
I'm afraid Alice's MP will run out if she uses her high-cost magic. I'm afraid if she runs out of MP because she keeps casting her magic. And I'm very afraid she didn't bring the ready-made preparations; she didn't bring the Mana Bottle because she didn't anticipate when her MP ran out.
"As far as I want. So what?"
"Have you ever run out of your Mana Points?"
"That happened before. Well, I used up my Mana Points while chasing you, you know."
Yeah, she's right. She passed out once after she chased me a while ago. At that time, she fainted after grabbing my arm so I couldn't get away from her. So, I had to take her to her house after that.
If she said that, fainting from her MP being depleted, then I can confirm that she would faint when her MP was depleted. That meant the effect of depleting her MP would knock her out.
"Make sure you don't drain your mana."
"I said, why?"
"I..."
Before I could finish my words, several monsters appeared and revealed themselves from behind the bushes.
I reflexively grabbed Alice's hand and took her away from there.
I bit my lip and looked back several times to confirm the number of monsters.
But a few moments later, the heat far from us seemed to be getting closer. They felt like they were running toward us. They and some monsters were chasing us. I can only keep running with her.
When they got close, it happened in the blink of my eyes. I let go of Alice's hand, which I gripped tightly.
"Eh?"
"Alice!!!"
I screamed as loud as I could call her name.