As the Rose Garden members, Elite Forces, and Commander Layhunt walks into the woods, the ground trembles slowly. Magical lights surround each and every one of them. A minute later, they are teleported into the deeper part of the woods.
Melisa opens her eyes. Seems like the teleportation effect made her terribly dizzy and fainted. She looks around, trying to find any companion that ends up at her place too. Luckily, she spots Warrior Pijanes and Knight Sigrun not too far from her. They are still unconscious under the teleportation effect. Melisa walks closer to them.
"Warrior Pijanes, Knight Sigrun, wake up!" Melisa tries to wake them up.
"Where...am I...?" Warrior Pijanes opens his eyes slowly.
"I guess the three of us are sent off into this part of the woods." Knight Sigrun stands up, feeling slightly dizzy.
"Where are we?" Warrior Pijanes asked.
"According to our map, we are at the south part of the woods. I don't know the monsters details, but we should get moving soon. Let us take a short rest while I try to contact the other troops." said Knight Sigrun.
The three of them sit down and try to regain full consciousness. Knight Sigrun opens his tracking device and tries to search for the others' location. A raged wolf suddenly comes out from the bushes and dives at Melisa.
"Watch out, Melisa!" Warrior Pijanes quickly gets up and hurls his huge greatsword at the wolf. He kills it and successfully protected Melisa from harm.
"Warrior Pijanes! Thank you for protecting me..." Melisa is shocked, since she did not notice the sudden attack by the raged wolf.
"It's nothing. Address me as Pijanes. I do not like formality with frail beauties like you, Melisa." Warrior Pijanes smiles at her as he takes his sword from the dead raged wolf.
"O-okay...Pijanes..." Melisa blushed after hearing Warrior Pijanes romantic words.
Knight Sigrun stands up and takes his sword out. They need to find a way out. It is dangerous to stay, considering there might be more raged wolves or other sensitive creatures lurking around nearby.
"Commander Layhunt, Paladin Von Sozou and Mage Samael is in the West part of the woods. There's a clean and safe path over there that leads to the west route. Shall we move now?"
"Sure!" Melisa and Warrior Pijanes answered at the same time.
The three of them walks into the mentioned path. Minutes later, they encounter a large raged wolf boss. Knight Sigrun is slightly confused.
"This path should be safe. What gives?" said Knight Sigrun.
"May;be the map is outdated. I heard from the hunters that recently, a wolf boss is lurking in the green plains. I didn't expect to see it inside the cursed woods." Warrior Pijanes explained the details.
"We should get rid of it." Knight Sigrun suggested.
They hide behind trees and make a plan. Knight Sigrun will be in front and take all the hits. Warrior Pijanes will run to its back and deal some backstabbing blows. Melisa will heal and use some explosives to support them.
Following the plan, Knight Sigrun dashes towards the wolf with his shield, stunning it for a few seconds. The wolf boss is threatened and attempts to claw him. Knight Sigrun blocks the attack and swings his sword, dealing small damage. Warrior Pijanes runs off to its back and swings his greatsword, slashing it from the back and implying bleeding effect. The wolf takes damage over time due to bleeding and howls in pain. It then jumps into the air and slams the ground, knocking back both Knight Sigrun and Warrior Pijanes.
Melisa casts a spell.
"Healing aura, comfort the injured ones and bless their fortitude, Solid Regen!"
Two healing waves surround the two fighters and regenerate them, as well as providing a weak defensive protection that reduces damage taken.
Knight Sigrun thrusts his sword into the ground using both hands.
"Bearer of Light, come forth from the earth and purify my enemies, Grand Ray!"
A golden magic circle is formed below the wolf. Rays of light come out from it and burn the wolf boss, dealing painful damage and blinding it.
Melisa throws a purple potion at the wolf. The potion crashes into it and explodes into purple smokes. The wolf feels dizzy and falls down due to the potion's effect.
"The purple potion, 'Mind Killer' is a dangerous potion that heavily debuffs anyone or creatures that get caught in its purple smoke. Pijanes, finish it now!" Melisa shouts at Warrior Pijanes who is standing behind the wolf boss.
Warrior Pijanes charges at the immobilized wolf boss after the purple smokes fade away. He then jumps to the air and cast a destructive spell.
"Destroy, Great Durga!" Warrior Pijanes shouted his greatsword's name and crashes it to the ground where the wolf boss is lying. Strong explosion covers a small area. Knight Sigrun and Melisa are amazed by the great power.
The wolf boss is defeated. Knight Sigrun thank everyone for their great cooperation and support.
"Now that's what I call, a perfect strategy." Knight Sigrun smiles at them.
They continue their short journey and manage to reach the west route. Melisa notices Commander Layhunt is waving at them from afar. The three of them quickly run to him, feeling relieved that Commander Layhunt is safe.
"What's up?" Samael initiates the conversation.
"We encountered a raged wolf boss on the way back then. I guess we cannot rely on the map's monster awareness. We need to be ready at all times during our next journey." Knight Sigrun explained.
"Hmm, now that we have to make our way out without knowing what's waiting further inside the woods, we need to stick together and avoid reckless actions. I lost contact with the troops from the North and East sides. Luckily, I spotted you guys coming from the South route." Commander Layhunt lets out a sigh of relief.
"So, where to? North or East? We have no idea who ended up at either sides, therefore we need to choose a first route and quickly move our ways to reach it there. North is the most dangerous area and the nearest to our place, so we can go there first. East side, on the other hand, is the safest area according to the outdated map. Be careful on the way, though." Paladin Von Sozou let them decide.
All of them are hesitating to choose their destination, since it is quite clear that they do not know what dangerous creatures are wandering at both sides. East side should be fine, but they cannot trust the map. A minute has passed and they are still keeping a silent atmosphere.
Suddenly, a loud explosion can be heard and seen at the North side. Everyone is temporarily shocked by the bursting sound.
"What the hell?" Samael walks to the North route, trying to see if he can identify the cause of the explosion.
"I guess we are now going to the North route." claimed Commander Layhunt.
"I hope the others in the North area are safe..." Melisa hopes for the best.
Knight Sigrun assembles all of them before going further into the North route. He comes up with a detailed plan and combat strategies for safety. Knight Sigrun and Palaldin Von Sozou will be in front, since they are tankers. Warrior Pijanes and Commander Layhunt will follow behind the front lines, helping to dish out free damages when enemies are focusing on the tankers. If things are going well for the tankers, they will scout the area further in front and fight any lurking enemies to ensure a clean path onward. Melisa and Samael will stand at the back, since they are ranged fighters. Samael will act as a glass cannon that deals magical blows to enemies. Melisa acts as a healer, supporting and providing some useful items for the party.
Following the plan, they go to the North route and constantly being aware of the surroundings. There must be a fight going on over the North area, considering the strong explosion before.
Knight Sigrun halts, warning everyone that enemies are lurking further in front. It appears to be a few wild sprouts and other unknown floral creatures. Everyone takes out their weapons. Knight Sigrun charges at one of the wild sprouts. He then taunts a few nearby creatures to attack him. Paladin Von Sozou joins him and delivers some quick slashes. They manage to take out a few monsters, opening a path to the rest of the party. Warrior Pijanes and Commander Layhunt run past the two tankers and spot a few raged wolves not too far in the front.
"Raged wolves again? This is getting repetitive..." Warrior Pijanes sighs.
"Well, easy job for us then." Commander Layhunt begins casting a spell.
"Iron walls, cover our skins from harm, Battle Guard!"
Commander Layhunt blesses the two of them with a defensive buff that lasts for a long time. It reduces taken damage by a percentage amount, improves physical defense rate, and avoids bleeding effect. Warrior Pijanes quickly charges forward, swinging his greatsword and killing a few raged wolves. More raged wolves come out from the bushes and dive at him.
"Burn them away, Fireball...times three!"
Samael cast a few fireballs from afar and hits the diving raged wolves. Warrior Pijanes nods at him. His help is kindly appreciated. Another raged wolf claws Warrior Pijanes from behind, dealing small damage. Luckily he is under Battle Guard buff, or else he must have suffered bleeding effect from the sudden claw. He slashes it and returns to where Knight Sigrun and Paladin Von Sozou are at.
"There are less raged wolves now. Commander Layhunt should be able to clear the area soon. Are you guys alright?" he asked.
"We're fine. It looks like the wild sprouts are not that strong compared to Fiora's minions. We can make it to the North. Let us go now. Remember, stay behind me and Paladin Von Sozou." Knight Sigrun assured their safety and warned them to stay behind the front line.
Melisa gives a small health potion to Warrior Pijanes. He accepts and drinks it slowly. His slight injury from before is perfectly healed. They spot Commander Layhunt waiting for them in front. He successfully killed all the raged wolves. Knight Sigrun kindly tells him to return to his position.
Minutes have passed and they finally reached the North area. Luckily there were sign of monsters on the way. The explosion mark can be seen not too far from them. Knight Sigrun tells them to halt and let him examine the area.
"No one is here..." Melisa is slightly worried.
"There should be people here...hopefully our comrades." Samael pats her head.
Knight Sigrun walks towards them. From his observation, the explosion is caused by a siege attack, not from spells. He found scattering ashes, possibly from a mortar or a catapult. Everyone is slightly confused.
"What do you say, Commander?" Knight Sigrun asked Commander Layhunt's decision.
"I think we should wait for a while. There must be some sort of a fight before. If we go to East, we might miss our comrades here." said Commander Layhunt.
"Do we even know if some of our comrades are sent here? They may be searching for us too, leaving this place and who knows, they might be currently at other region." Warrior Pijanes stated out the possibility.
A sparkling light appears from the shadows. Everyone notices it, feeing slightly shocked. The light emits weak rays and transforms into a spirit. Knight Sigrun widens his eyes.
"Help...us..." The spirit is asking for help in a weak tone. Knight Sigrun walks towards it while having a serious look on his face.
"So the legend about fairies living in this woods is true." Knight Sigrun gazes at the spirit.
"Fairies?" Melisa questions about it.
"Fairies are neutral creatures that live in most woods in Astral World. Before the seven invaders came and attack this world, fairies have been endangered by the empire's activities. The soldiers explore the woods and destroy their homes for training and camping excavations, as a result in extinction of fairies. Poor creatures, I stand against their plan to destroy the fairies' home years ago, but I have no power nor the authority to forbid the empire's actions..." Knight Sigrun lets out a sigh.
"Since nobody from the empire is brave enough to enter the cursed woods, this place is their only safest home. Such beautiful small creatures. I would love to see their home, but I doubt that the other fairies would be kind enough to greet humans like us." Paladin Von Sozou joins the conversation while walking towards the spirit.
"Help...us...werewolves...destroy...homeland...no...place...to...live..." said the spirit. It looks rather sad.
"Werewolves? Now that explains why there are so many raged wolves lurking around this place. Tell me, fairy, where is your homeland?" Knight Sigrun is willing to help the poor fairy.
"Humans...help...me...really...? Me...happy...me...name...is...Nio..." the fairy lets out a wide smile at Knight Sigrun.
"She's adorable..." Melisa smiles at her. Nio notices and slowly flies to her.
"Human...female...fighter?? Rare...all...male...here...you...lovers?" asked Nio.
Melisa blushes hard after hearing that question. Some of the guys are slightly blushing too. Nio tilts her head in confusion.
"No, they are not my lovers, Nio...I'm just helping them with their journeys. Now, I want to help you defeat the werewolves and save your homeland."
"Wah...Nio...loves...human...female...thanks..."
"My name is Melisa. I hope we can do our best, Nio!"
"Okay...Melisa...Nio...will...guide...humans...to...me...homeland..."
Commander Layhunt nods. From his observant mind, the explosion might have something to do with the fairy's case. They should be able to find the answers when they arrive at the fairy's homeland. He explains to everyone, assuring them that they should help the poor fairy first.
"I guess we can involve ourselves in some fun experiences like helping Nio with the werewolves case. It is also a once in a lifetime chance to see a fairy's homeland. Legend says their home is ultimately beautiful. It would be a waste to leave the woods without exploring the wondrous place." Paladin Von Sozou is interested.
Everyone else smiles and nods. Knight Sigrun takes out his sword and points it to the front.
"Well then. Now that everyone agreed to join, to the Fairy Homeland we go!"
Nio tilts her head in confusion as she stares at Knight Sigrun.
"Um...home...not...that...way...follow...Nio..."
Melisa giggles after seeing Knight Sigrun pointing his sword at the wrong way. Knight Sigrun blushes a bit and equips his sword back. Nio flies slowly to the right path. Everyone else follows her lead. The path seems safe, as there are wandering glowing wisps and jellypops, neutral creatures.
Minutes have passed, and they are still walking on a straight path, totally going deeper into the forest. They finally see large mountains ahead. A small tunnel gate can be seen in front. It is the end of the path, since there are only huge boulders blocking every other path. Nio halts and turns back to face them.
"Homeland...there...welcome...humans..."
"Your home is inside that mountain?" Warrior Pijanes is not impressed.
"Don't judge the golds by its treasure box. Who knows, we might find something beautiful inside the old and dull mountain." said Paladin Von Sozou.
"As expected from the charming Paladin Von Sozou. There's a lot of beautifully carved steel treasure boxes with unworthy items inside them. In fact, most of the golds and valuable artifacts were found inside a dusty, cracky and wooden treasure boxes." replied Commander Layhunt.
"Ah, okay." Warrior Pijanes understood.
Nio flies to a fairy that is guarding the closed gate. She explains every details about their purpose of coming to the fairies' homeland, that is, getting rid of the werewolves. Everyone walks into the tunnel after the fairy guard opened the gate slowly.
End of Chapter 13