"What I am going to do, at this rate, I'll never find it." I said, sighing.
"Find what?"
I heard a voice behind me, startling me. I didn't feel anyone coming.
Turning around, I could see nothing. Only the darkening surroundings could be seen.
A fresh breeze passed near me, giving me goosebumps. It was really creepy.
"Is there anyone?" I asked out loud, "Who are you?"
Silence.
I received no answer except for the sounds of the leaves and the various little insects. Apart from that, it was really silent, giving the impression that the voice from earlier was just an illusion.
But I knew it wasn't. Even though I couldn't pinpoint where they were exactly, as the time passed and I concentrated my energy, I could sense their presence more and more.
"I know you are out there; stop hiding." I repeated a little more firmly.
I was fighting my urge to just use my powers and kill them instantly. That was my assassin's instinct taking over: when I was threatened or angry, I couldn't control my blood lust.
I understood that at my expense during one of my many unfortunate encounters.
"I'm not kidding; if you don't stop right now, I do not promise you will come out unscathed."
"Hahahaha... And what are you going to do? Scream for help?" The voice responded, finally stopping ignoring me.
'Oh, I see. You look down on me, huh!'
Well, it was not surprising, and surely not the first time. In fact, I quite actually liked it when my enemies let down their guard because they thought less of me. It made my job easier and quicker.
After all, who would believe that a fourteen-year-old little young lady, and of noble origins at that, could kill people twice her body count.
"You're right, I would scream. So it's better if you don't scare me. Come down; it's scary," I said, with the most tame voice I could gather. You could even hear a little shiver behind my voice.
Pretending was my predilection skill.
Maybe I should have become an actress in my last life?
"Don't try to fool me, stupid girl."
'...Who did he call stupid?'
'Okay, stay calm, Ge. Stay calm.'
"It's really not pleasant to talk to the void; don't you have basic manners? Who are you anyway?"
"You know me. Try to remember."
"Well, how could I remember you if you didn't show yourself?"
"Hmm, you are right; I would give you that. How about a guessing game?"
Sighing from frustration, I reluctantly accepted. If he wanted to play, I would play. But he better hurry up; my time was limited.
"I am tall, handsome, and furiously charming. Do you remember?"
"Maybe you should have begun with your oversized ego."
"Tsk. Don't spoil my fun, stupid girl."
I was really wasting my time talking to this moron. I better go my way.
I looked at the map, to see where I should go next, and I activated my magic to make my pace faster. Ignoring his rumbling and complaining, I took my leave without saying a word.
There was nothing worth it out of that interaction, and he didn't seem to have the intention of killing or fighting me. So there was no reason for me to stay.
"Hey! I am talking to you. Where are you going? HEY! Don't go!" He screamed from behind as he saw I was going further and further.
I ran and practically fled to my next destination without missing a bit. Soon I found myself in the southeast part of the forest, landing in a vast open space with a lake in the middle.
The lake was tranquil and vast, of a deep, dark blue color. At the edge, there were many different little pebbles bordering the lake.
The water was clear and slightly cold, contrasting with the hot weather in the forest atmosphere.
This forest, in addition to its magic beasts, was known for its hot weather all year long. It never snowed.
I approached the lake, looking at the bottom of it. I wanted to know if there were any living creatures other than fish in it. Like magic beasts that could become a potential danger under the lake.
From the map, I was supposed to plunge in there. In a cave underwater, some of the flowers remained.
I looked around and activated my detection magic to see if the strange man was still following me. But again, I couldn't sense anything.
There were three possible reasons for that: either he had a camouflage device or he was stronger than me. And the third reason was that he wasn't there anymore.
Earlier, he succeeded in avoiding my detection because I didn't use magic to find him, relying only on my skills as an assassin and the senses God gave me.
It was better for me to rely too much on magic.
Well, I didn't have time to make sure he wasn't there. I had to bet on the fact that he was probably not after my life.
I took out my outer garnishment, only leaving my underwear (who were classical underwear's of medieval style, actually covering the entire body). I was now in what I called my night gown.
I took the ribbons out of my hair and attached them in a bun, tightly on top of my head.
Then I took off my shoes and my white socks, remaining barefoot on the gray pebbles surrounding the lake.
They were big and round, so they didn't really hurt or feel uncomfortable.
Then I took a fluorescently illuminating crystal ball and attached it to my necklace. It shone in the dark, creating an enchanting vibe.
Putting away the rest of my belongings in my subspace container, I then went to slowly dip my feet into the clear and cold water.
Little fish came to swim around my feet, gently tickling me.
Then I walked deeper and deeper, until the water was above my chest.
I was now completely wet and humid.
'It's not too cold.'
I took a little time to get used to the temperature before diving down, deep into the bottom of the lake.
Looking around, I could only see the algae and some fish.
I tried to swim as fast as I could to regain the surface as soon as possible since I couldn't last long underwater. I couldn't use magic to breathe underwater, as I wasn't an elemental magician.
Only specific tamers with spiritual beasts could do that, and they could be counted on the fingers of a hand. There were a lot of conditions to meet to be able to do that in one lifetime.
Magic could do wonders, but it couldn't go against the law of nature. Just like technology.