"Activate ice slide skill."
[Ice Slide activated!]
I leap into the snow before me. Just as my feet come in contact with the 2 feet deep snow, the floor turns to ice. I slide down the snowy mountain with ease, creating a bridge of ice on my way.
The hourglass doesn't seize pouring its sand onto the other side. Any time, Glazier would come for its next snack. I only have an hour to enter, accept the challenge and leave the mountain. Hence why I am wasting my mana to go down a mountain.
The winds lash at me, but I keep the balance. I've slid through harsher winds.
Luckily, I did not meet the Glazier twice on my journey.
I slide off the snow-covered path into the main roads once again.
"Ha, thus begins the hard part."
I look into the distance. I can see no end to the path with the woods covering the entire road from both sides. The castle was too far from these Eternal Frozen Peaks of Muri. To reach that, I must have a horse, or I'd die by just walking down that road.
'Down that road is the castle of Muri,' I think, scratching my chin. 'There is no time to waste. I have to pull a hundred princesses by the end of ten years. The nearest castle is this. So, why not start with this one?'
The choice is obvious. However, to get to the castle without dying is the question now.
The snowstorm does not stretch down to this main road. It ends near the Eternal Frozen Peaks.
Both sides of the paved road are covered with trees and wild bushes. An eerie creature makes a strange sound every minute that passes by. My choice was to wait for someone generous who could take me to the city or just steal the horse of a man who wouldn't even help an innocent being in need.
I climb up to a tree and sit down on a strong branch.
It was night and it was the day of the full moon. There might even be werewolves hiding in the woods. So I have to be cautious. It had taken quite a bit of mana to travel down the mountain path using a skill also.
"I guess I'll have to stay here till someone arrives," I say to myself, leaning against the trunk of the tree.
Gladly, there's no rain or a storm in these parts. Otherwise, I wouldn't be able to sleep like this.
Moments pass as I cover my eyes with the white hood, making myself comfortable in the tree branch. I lie my head against the bark, taking slow breaths.
The journey has been quite tiresome.
Before I know it, my eyes close. My senses shut down. I drift away into a sweet slumber.
///
Stomp! Stomp!
The very familiar sound of a horse's hooves striking the earth wakes me up. The sky had shifted its colors to an eerie purple. Birds cheerfully sing in the trees.
It is the early morn.
I gradually shift my body to the side, casting my glance upon a strange short fellow riding down the roads on horseback. It's quite short, even for a dwarf.
The leaves hide me from the eyes of the short fellow.
My ears are long enough to catch any sound. An advantage of being born into the elven race.
"Stranger! Up here." I call out to him, sitting up on the branch.
The horse stops with a soft neigh as the stranger tugs on its strap.
"I am in need of a ride to the castle of Muri, little fellow. I see that you're traveling with a bit of luggage, but surely, there is space for another there, isn't it?"
"No." A very youthful voice replies to me with determination. The stranger pulls out their hand and draws their hood, revealing their face to me.
I narrow my eyes upon seeing the sight. 'It's a mere child?'
It's a little girl with a human-like face and purple hair. Her big eyes stare at me, and she pouts.
"Why not, may I ask, little girl?" I ask her, raising my eyebrow.
"You're a stranger, aren't you?" She squeals. "Mom always says not to talk to strangers on the roads. And never to do what they say."
She is not being generous at all.
Parents teach kids these days not to help the innocent. What has the world come to?
"Dear, you look very similar, you know? What are you doing in the middle of the road, alone, and on horseback at an hour like this?"
"Well, Mom and Dad sent me on horseback saying that they loved me. They wanted me to ride Nelly to the other side of the road where the city is. They said they'll meet me there. I cried, but they wouldn't listen," she sniffed.
'Hm… strange to be sending a little girl on such a path alone. The situation must've been crucial,' I ponder.
"Well, child. I am a friend of your Mom's." I play the oldest trick in the book. "So, I might just help you get to the castle without facing any inconveniences."
She looks at me, her eyes sparkling with hope. "You are? Well, what's Mom's name then?"
The kid is smart.
I frown in annoyance. "I haven't been with your Mom for a long time, dear. It's hard to remember all the women I've been with."
"Liar. Liar, little liar! Liar!" She starts screaming at me, pointing a finger. Nerves begin to pop on my forehead, making me irritated.
The girl has been an annoying little creature, whatever race she is. And I don't like people getting on my nerves. Since I see no carriage or another horse coming down the road, I have no option. Only this.
"So, you won't help me, huh?" I ask one last time.
"Nope, you're a l-i-a-r."
"But, do you like berries? Blueberries that grow in the wood. It's delicious, a sweet a child can love more than anything. Oh, I know where it grows. And it's near. Do you want to go pick those berries while I hold that horse for you, little one?"
"B – But –" Before she finishes her words, her stomach growls. She has been on a long ride, and she is hungry. My lips curl into a smirk.
"Um… mister. Can you not come into the woods with me?" She asks me shyly.
This brat thinks she could outsmart me.
"But the horse. What if bandits steal it, dear?" I ask her.
"Aw, ok." She frowns and gets ready to climb off the horse. I jump off the tree to help her down from the horse.
"Good luck," I say to her, patting the girl's head. She smiles at me one last time. I point in the direction where the imaginary blueberry tree is, and she runs away into the woods. "Just a little further, child! You'd be able to find it!"
"Yes, but – am I tall enough to pick it, mister?"
"Blueberries grow in bushes, honey!"
"Oh, ok…" Her voice becomes less audible by the second.
Just as she disappears out of my sight, I grab the horse's strap and leap onto its saddle.
*Brr!* At first, the horse shakes its body, stepping back and forth in an attempt to refuse me. Maybe the horse has more heart than me, but I can't die in the woods like this.
I kick the horse in the back twice, striking it with the strap. I cut off the bag of luggage connected to it, dropping those on the ground.
"Go boy, ha!" I whip it with the strap again, and it moves forth. I keep lashing it until it's running, and I finally feel comfortable with the wind in my hair on horseback.
The image of the girl comes back to my mind. I close my eyes and shake my head.
This had to be done. It's just not her day. I mean, a little girl has the chance to get help from a stranger more than I do at least.
One day, I can tell my future apprentices how I managed to steal a horse from a corrupted woman who attempted to perform witchcraft on me to survive the road to Muri.
///
An innocent little girl walks on an unexplored path into the forest, tears filling her eyes. In her back is a bag she could hardly carry, and her soft feet had been bruised by the thorns in the woods. Lost, without a path, without a horse, she feels hopeless.
"Remember, never talk to strangers… ok, Sol?" Her mother's voice echoes inside her head.
"Mom… Where are you, Mom?"
She sits down on a rock in the middle of the dark woods, hugging her legs.
Suddenly, leaves rustle behind her, and her heart begins to beat faster. She looks back in terror, jumping away from the rock.
Behind her is a very tall lady, even taller than the stranger who had stolen her horse. She has a dark green body with hair that looks similar to the veins of a tree. She's a beautiful creature, like a goddess.
"Child, what are you doing in the middle of the woods alone?" She asks kindly.
"A – A white-haired elf stole my horse, miss! He was such a liar!" She began to weep helplessly.
"What the – he did what? That fucking shameless bastard."