When I woke up, it was still dark. The sun hasn’t started to show up yet, and the sky was filled with shining stars.

Very carefully and slowly, I took Tara and Hybry off me and put them back in the hammock without waking them. I slip past Lendwrek and Mendry, who formed a kind of circle around me. Their egg was the furthest I ever saw from its mother, a few meters away from her, just beside my bed.

To get out of the safe zone they created, I had to climb on Lendwrek, with as little noise as possible. Climbing his scale and the few spikes on his back, I was able to get on top of him and jump to the other side.

When I hit the ground, he moved a little but didn’t show any sign of having being wake up. Look like he was just as heavy sleeper as the rest of us.

I made my way to the border of the island and sit on its edge.

Under the tranquil breeze of the night, I was kept warm by the fur coat I made with Lavanda. It survived our first battle with the mad monsters, and with some patch-up, it was almost as good as new.

Looking at the sky, I inhale deeply, waited a few seconds, and exhale slowly. Letting any tense feeling escape my body. These last days have been a lot to take in.

It hasn’t been two days since I fought and tamed Tara, and with what followed right after, I haven’t taken the time to think about what happened.

The feeling I had during our fight, was something I never felt before. At each spider that had died that day, I took pleasure in their suffering, while enjoying what I thought was invulnerability.

I can still hear their exoskeleton crack under every spell I launched. Their screech was covered by the burning crisp of their meat suit.

While I hate what I have done and remember it feels awful, at least it didn’t make me want to puke. I don’t know if that a good or bad thing.

I always wondered what made me different from others. Being born with my disease, may have been what shape me into what I became, but would I have been like that, even if I never had my disease in the first place?

Without my disease, I could have lived with my mom, dad, and brother. Go to school like a normal kid, made friends, and maybe even get a boyfriend.

When my brother presented me his girlfriend and start acting like they were close to each other, I remember feeling like romantic love was something I never would have the chance to get, and to this day I haven’t been proven wrong. She and I quickly became friends, and she visited me regularly, even after she dumped my brother. I didn’t share my delight at that news, their behaviour was starting to get on my nerves.

In this world, I still don’t have anything I can call a friend. Lavanda and Caryly were more like a mother and tutors. As for my familiars, the feeling was too special to simply call friendship. I guess Randal which isn’t MY familiar was the closest thing I had for a friend. But he only got back two days ago, and I haven’t got the time to play with him or anything. When he was away, Lendwrek kinda took his place, as my caretaker each time Lavanda was not looking.

Even out of the hospital, in another world, after being healed from my disease, I still needed someone to look after me and wipe behind me. I was now sixteen, even without a calendar, counting the approximate number of days that have passed, I knew that my birthday passed a while ago.

With everything that could have been my life without the disease, I can’t say anymore if that “what if” scenario would have been better. After all gods, goddesses or maybe even fate itself might not have taken pity on me the way they did, and I probably would have never got here. Lavanda, and others, are too important to me to still wish I never had that disease. It was a strange feeling, being grateful for the thing I hated for most of my life was not something I ever expected.

The time I spent here was, in some weird way, the best time of my life. My only wish was for that to continue as long as possible. Injuries and scars did not matter to me, as long as my family was safe.

Even if I am not strong enough to repel a Calamity monster, if that thing wanted to harm those I cherish, it will need to go through me. Living was worthless without what gave it meaning in the first place.

While I had no way to compare my power to anyone else other than Lavanda, I knew that I was not weak. I already proved it when I survived my first fight against Tara. But I am not immortal either. I do not need unlimited power, I just need enough to keep me and others alive, them at the very least.

I needed an edge against others, an unwavering sharpness that would never betray me in a fight. Something that could harm and protect at the same time. Something I could use and abuse unlike everyone else.

Swordsmanship, martial art, and raw strength were useful, but not ideal for me. They offered speed and strength, but not versatility and utility. Learning one of them could be useful, however, any situation remotely complicated would make them just as useless as I was.

It leaves me with magic, I had a myriad of affinities. Mastering them was already something I’m working on, but it’s going to take me a while to get to Lavanda level. Magic was great but had its limitations. Mainly my mana supply, having a higher mana capacity than average, did not stop it from running out. As always, I can’t carry an entire forest of mana leaves with me.

Time was not something I had on my side. Forget the Calamity monster, Lavanda was an exiled magician, I come from another world, I have a Calamity monster as my pet, and we have other powerhouses with us. In the case that we ever leave this island to live in a country, we were bound to gather attention quickly.

This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.

While first-hand experience was the best way to learn, I do not have the luxury of slowly accumulating it.

There was only one thing that I could think about that might be what I was looking for, and I had it since I got into this world. My plant affinity.

It saved me so many times, without it, I would have been eaten, melted, cut, and digested by the first spider I saw. As far as I know, I was the only one in the world who had that affinity. I already confirmed it with Caryly, she does not know of anybody else alive who possesses what I have.

Subconsciously, while I was in my thought, vines were coming out of the ground and covering my body. Their gentle touch and warmth were what would keep me safe in this insane world. As some little plants were coiling around me, I felt at home and safe. My plant affinity was something that had always acted like it was not a part of me, but something that wanted the best for me.

Controlling plants was easy, and never was something I had difficulty with, still the more I used it, the more I started to notice something strange with the surrounding nature. Plants all had a little presence in them. With a single flower, it was undetectable, in a forest, however, it felt alive and aware.

Without it, I never would have found the Calamity monster nest. The actual cave was too well hidden for my current ability, but when I search for a track, the forest answered me. Without a thought or warning, I sensed that the cave was there. I almost didn’t sense that help, it was like the forest willingly became an extension of my ability on its own.

Plant affinity was definitely my biggest asset, and not using it more would be a mistake. Discovering the full potential of this affinity was a must if I wanted to make the most of it.

I let out a sigh. With all going on these last two days, being alone under the stars, with a breeze pushing against my hair, was something I truly needed. It has been a while since I meditated like this.

The last time I did it, I had a big dragon breathing on my neck, I still don’t know if he was that stealthy, or if I was just meditating that deeply.

Strangely, that breeze on my neck feels oddly nostalgic…

Turning my head around, I was greeted by a sharp draconic head, a few centimetres behind me. Lendwrek was sitting there, just like he had always been there.

“Hi,” I said softly. After noticing that I notice him, he moved his giant body to my side. What should have caused the ground to tremble, let alone make noise, did nothing. He was completely stealthy, even when moving his not-stealthy build.

As I lean my head on his side, we simply look at the dark horizon. Even when I was alone, I felt like they will always be there for me, whether I want it or not. Not that I complain. Whatever happens, they can count on me to do my best, and I knew that they will too. Having someone and something to rely on was priceless, I knew that, even with the little life experience I had.

As I admired what this world had offered me, I felt a small bump on my arm, and something slide under it. What I found was a half my size spider looking for a nice sleeping spot. With some patting, she found what she was looking for. Lendwrek didn’t refuse some scratch either.

Looking at the others, Mendry and Hybry were still asleep. It seems we were the only insomniac here.

On the sound of Lendwrek and Tara beating hearths, vines started forming a safety net around me, and I was sent back to the dream world. Where any worries were to be forgotten.

----------------------------------------

Phyralia

In my bedroom at our house. I was working late at night on some documents when my sister came knocking at my door.

“Come in,” I said.

She opened the door and closed it behind her. “Did I wake you up?” Her golden blond hair was a total mess compared to mine, granted she was busier than I was, but if Mother was here, this would not be a valid excuse.

“No, I was just rereading some document Mom left us with,” At these words, her eyes looked down.

“What is it?” Whatever happened out there, it must be bad news. The fact that she was reluctant to answer only served to make me worry more.

“What happened?” I said, as I sit up and get closer. As we were elves, she knew that she could trust me. Our elven instincts were more trustworthy than anything else. The fact that we were twins also helped.

“... We spotted what seems to be Viperearth, near Founderland village,”

“Reylia, you can’t be serious,” This has to be a joke. She was supposed to scout for a potential plague-type monster lodged in the forest near the village. Not THE plague monster.

“I am, I saw it myself,”

“Who was with you?” If it was to be known, chaos would spread like wildfire. The kingdom was already tense, we didn’t need a Calamity monster to worsen things even more.

“Sereph, and a knight who was accompanying us for safety, I already made them swear to keep this silent until we found a solution,” Silence was all I could answer. Against Viperearth itself, there was nothing to do, the entire region of Yiony was the living plagued proof.

Reylia was the one to break the silence. “If only mom was here,”

“...”

“How long did she say she would be gone for?”

“Two to four months,” I said.

“Let hope we can last until she returns, if anybody can find a way out, it is her,”

“Should we warn the king? It's his country, after all. Maybe he got an ace in the hole, we certainly don’t.”

“I don’t think so, he probably sends as many knights as he can or abandon the whole area altogether. We can’t let that happen.”

“Maybe he knows someone as powerful as a hero, or maybe a hero himself,”

“Probably not, and even if he did, he cares too much about keeping his secret to let other countries know,”

“But we can’t let the villagers just die without doing anything,” The life of too many people was on the line, and we were the only ones who knew about the situation.

“Then let's tell the villagers that the forest contains a very dangerous monster and that they need to avoid it at all costs,”

“Good enough,” I said. “This will buy us some time we can use to gather intel, and maybe find a solution.”

“Okay, as soon as the city gates are opened, I do that,”

“...”

“...”

As daughters of the most prominent magic researcher of this land, it was our duty to investigate magic and monster-related things when she was away. If we are lucky, she be back before too late.

The problem was that it will take more than just luck to deal with Viperearth, the plague Calamity itself.