It's been a couple of days since Lila left Gladeside. Sadly, this brave endeavor wasn't without its dire consequences. She might have called herself an adventurer, but that didn't mean she had all the skills required to actually be one. Funny, thinking about it made her feel like a child again. A naive and foolish child, playing at being an adventurer.

While she was lamenting her own shortcomings, she remembered her father mentioning an outpost worth a week's travel away from the village. He never told her how to get there though, as she would've most likely gotten lost on the way...

Her father's worries were indeed true, Lila was lost. She had no idea where they were, each turn they took seemingly led to the same destination. And as if navigating through these woods wasn't hard enough, there were no proper roads around the village either. As far as she knew, there was a single path leading to the village, which was currently not a feasible option since running into someone would mean certain doom.

To make things even worse, Lila's hunger kept worsening to the point that she could almost feel the cold embrace of death. She was bareboned with no hint of plumpness left inside her body and her muscles were almost at the point of giving out. On top of all that, the water she packed alongside her ran out. Crystal's magic was the only thing keeping her alive at this point but even that had its limits, it couldn't sustain her if she had nothing left to sustain.

Her occasional tree root and bark weren't enough to keep her on her feet, and she wasn't familiar with the berries they found because the berry season was in spring, not late summer. As for hunting, she asked Crystal if it could levitate animals but apparently, it can't lift live creatures so hunting was out of the question. She may be a fool, but even she knew that hunting was no easy matter.

Having walked for hours with no signs of civilization, it was time to rest. She needed to conserve her energy and aimlessly wandering through the woods wasn't doing her any good.

Lila sat down under a tree and dropped her backpack to the side. She wiped the sweat on her forehead with the back of her hand. She was starving, exhausted, and terribly parched.

"Crystal... I don't think I can walk anymore..."

Crystal knew how pitiful she was right now. All it could do for her was reassure her,

"Lass, don't give up. I'm sure your luck will turn up! Just be patient, you will make it out of this."

She slumped, keeping her arms steady felt as if she was trying to lift boulders, "I can't go on... Just leave me, it's over..." Lila said. Her voice was so weak that Crystal had to read her mind to comprehend what she said.

Then, a sudden tingle.

Someone came close enough to trigger its senses. Crystal's attention immediately turned over to where the presence was. Weighing the options for a while, Crystal had an idea. Under normal circumstances, the best option would be for them to hide. However, desperate times require desperate measures.

Whispering to Lila, "Wait here, kid. I'll be back soon. Eat those plants you stuffed in your backpack while I'm gone."

"Where are you going... Don't leave me alone..." Lila begged Crystal,

"I'll be back soon, I have an idea. Just wait, okay?" Crystal reassured her once again.

This was her only chance at survival. If Crystal lets this opportunity slip away, it is highly unlikely for Lila to survive.

Away from the duo, a lone alchemist was strolling through the woods in the mountains. The Bleakpeak Mountains, which were restricted by the Kingdom due to alleged high monster activity, were home to a large variety of different alchemical ingredients. Visiting this place was considered a fool's errand by many since the ingredients were plenty but not worth much to risk their lives for. For Nosdramo, the allure of research was good enough to balance the risks.

He was well aware of the warnings but the fact that these peaks weren't explored properly was irresistible to him. He could feel it in his guts, an undiscovered ingredient was surely waiting to be found here. Of course, the latest rumors about a hidden village close to these mountains being wiped out by monsters were unsettling, yet it wasn't enough to deter the ambitious alchemist.

And so, he pulled a parchment out of his satchel and began his search. Cheap or not, getting the materials he needed fresh and free had always been better than buying them from the marketplace in the town. Besides, he knew the shopkeepers had been slowly raising the prices lately, so not letting those sleazy people earn anything was a bonus for Nosdramo.

"Wolfsbane, Rabbit's Ear, Widow Muffler, and Iridescent Mushroom. Easy enough, shouldn't take that long. Must wait for the sunset for the mushrooms though," Nosdramo said, reading the list out loud.

The materials he listed were used in a specific concoction used by women to take care of a delicate problem, to say the least. People paid good money for that potion, though most of the payment was made for discretion rather than the potion itself. Not many alchemists were willing to make that potion either as it could be dangerous when the ingredients weren't used considerately, especially the Widow Muffler. That plant could get ugly since it caused unstoppable blood loss when it was taken in large quantities.

After a few hours of gathering the materials, Nosdramo began to feel the suffocating heat of the summer get to him. Even in a dense forest, the scorching heat of the afternoon sun could get to a person. He took off his large hat and hung it on his back by its straps then took a large sip out of his flask. As he looked back up after placing the flask in its place, he noticed a blue glow up ahead. Was he hallucinating? That couldn't be real, could it? No, it couldn't be, Maybe his eyes were deceiving him or maybe the heat got to him worse than he thought. He closed his eyes for a second then re-opened them. It was still there.

Nosdramo gasped as he realized this was what he truly came for. Today would be the day when he finally makes his name known as the man who discovered something new! The man began to slowly approach the light source. The possibility that it could be a monster luring its unaware prey never crossed his mind as he was busy imagining the prestige and the grandeur it would bring him.

After coming close to the vicinity of the glow, his eyes widened with utter disbelief. This wasn't as simple as a plant, this was a glowing crystal that levitated entirely on its own. Was it a new magical ore? Or maybe it was an object that could make things levitate? Could he use this object to make levitation potions? Awestruck, he began to approach the levitating crystal, mesmerized by its blue glow. Nosdramo never believed in a God or a Creator but he reconsidered his views as he knew this could only be a gift from God! Those religious fanatics were right after all...

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

Right before making contact with the crystal, a voice echoed in his mind, snapping him out of it.

"Greetings, young one!" the voice echoed.

Shocked and startled, Nosdramo jumped back. He yelled, "Who's there? Show yourself!"

The voice continued, "Look no further than what's in front of you, young one. You have been chosen to be the challenger."

Genuinely confused but still cautious, Nosdramo did not drop his guard. What kind of fool would trust the words of a crystal in the middle of nowhere? Rather than talking back, Nosdramo began inspecting the crystal without getting close to its blue hue. Crystal, on the other hand, was getting annoyed with the distrust of this man. He could've killed him at any given moment but chose not to and this is how he repaid it? Calming itself down, Crystal continued,

"I can sense your distrust young one. Do not worry, for I am not here to cause harm to you. I have chosen you, to be the keeper of the arcane."

This instantly changed the look on the alchemist's face. Did this crystal just say keeper of the arcane? How can a monster know about the crisis? Mages stopped being able to use magic, more than a week ago and now this crystal was telling him that it chose him to be the keeper of the arcane? No, it can't be a coincidence...

Crystal read the man's mind while he drowned his mind thinking about the endless possibilities. So, its disappearance was felt instantly throughout the realm of humans. It wasn't its fault, humans should have kept to tradition and shouldn't have constantly used the bridge, save for the hardest of spells. Regardless, that was a problem for later.

Crystal continued, "Will you accept my offer, young one? Will you take up the mantle and accept this grand task?"

This lit up Nosdramo's eyes. What was happening right now was beyond his wildest dreams. The man straightened his posture and gathered himself to accept the task at hand, "I'm ready. I shall accept your offer and take up this grand responsibility!"

Like a moth to fire, the man just couldn't help himself. If Crystal had a mouth, it would be giving the most unsettling grin at the moment. Now, all that was left was luring him to Lila.

With a soft yet stern tone, Crystal pandered to the man's delusions,

"Good. To prove your worth, you must challenge the current keeper, young one. Will you accept the challenge and claim your destiny?"

Nosdramo was too caught up in his own arrogance, causing him to drop his guard. He nodded with confidence and made a proud gesture, implying that he was ready for any challenge. With him accepting, Crystal made its way to a particular starving girl, with the unsuspecting fool in tow.

Surprisingly, this person made Crystal reconsider its options for a short time. The man was confident and knew what it took to survive. In hindsight, he could actually be a much better option than a naive village girl. Just as Crystal had these thoughts, it didn't take long for it to discard them. Lila may be a naive girl, unaware of the world but she is pure and she has potential. Most importantly, she wasn't arrogant... And even if she was, Crystal doubted that she would be nearly as bad as this one was. This sad little man had the nerve to think that he could be the successor of Altherio. Hah! What a joke...

After quietly following the crystal through the woods, Nosdramo noticed that it stopped in front of a tree, with a young girl sitting beneath it. If she hadn't opened her eyes upon their arrival, he would have assumed that the girl had been dead for a while. He was expecting a mage to be waiting for him at the end, seeing a half-dead girl as his challenge made him let out a sigh of relief. This was going to be easy!

With a dirty grin on his face, Nosdramo challenged the helpless girl, "I, Nosdramo the Alchemist, challenge the esteemed Keeper! I will defeat you sorceress, and I will clai—"

Before he could finish his sentence, a flash of white lightning appeared in Nosdramo's eyes and a loud thunk was heard. A moderately sized rock bounced from his head to the ground and a moment later, Nosdramo followed suit.

"You could have told me beforehand you know... " Lila protested, "I was scared that you left me here to die..."

"I told you, lass, we formed a bond. As long as you don't become like this poor sod here, I'm not leaving your side,"

Looking at the man and the rock, Lila was dumbfounded by this man. She would have commented on his naivety if she hadn't given her own situation a little thought. However what puzzled her the most was how he didn't notice a rock big enough to knock him out cold floating above his head.

Reading her mind, "He was caught up in his arrogance, girl. That doesn't matter though, how would you like your meat?"

Lila tilted her head in confusion. Did she hear Crystal right? No, no, no, no... It can't be suggesting what she's thinking. She may be willing to do a lot of things in order to survive but this was out of the question. The thought alone was enough to make her sick to her stomach. Crystal though, didn't understand why Lila wasn't happy with this. Why let a perfectly good specimen go to waste? If it were in Lila's position, it wouldn't have hesitated even one bit.

Feeling that its own efforts were for nothing, Crystal was angry,

"Why would you let it go to waste?! You're on the verge of death! Just get on with it."

"There is no way that I'm going to do what you're suggesting... You would have to kill me before I do something like this..." Lila protested in disgust.

"Okay, then what do you suggest?! We still need to get rid of him. And even if you don't do it, monsters won't be so kind to him," Crystal added, "I could liquefy him a little if that makes it any easier."

"That's even worse! No!"

Defeated, Crystal stopped trying to convince Lila. It levitated the alchemist's belongings and dropped the satchel and the flask close to her, spilling the contents of the satchel on the ground. "If there is food there, go ahead. Enjoy."

It didn't take long for Lila to notice the food on the ground. He must've prepared a lot for this trip since there was a plethora of food there. Grabbing the flask first, she quenched her thirst. Immediately after that, she began to eat the food he brought along. At first, she couldn't taste anything but her sense of taste returned as she took more bites.

"Easy on the bites kid. We have a long way ahead of us, savor them and save the rest for later," Crystal said, "Or if you want to eat yourself to an early grave, be my guest."

"So. Wat're we goin' to do..." Lila asked, with her mouth full of delicious food,

"Up to you lassie. If you want him undone, it wouldn't be too hard," Crystal replied.

Gulping down the food after giving it a good chew, Lila pondered on what to do with the man for a while. The best thing they could do for the guy would be ending him but could she do it? Or could she allow Crystal to do it? If she asked herself the same question a few weeks ago, the answer would have been a definite no but she wasn't so sure anymore. They could leave him here but animals, or worse, monsters would get to him and he would go out in great pain. Would that be more merciful than taking his life?

Having made her decision, Lila uttered swiftly but coldly, "Let's take what we need and tie him up. I had my chance before, he should too."

"You know that isn't mercy, right lass?"

"Everyone deserves a chance, Crystal. Wouldn't it have been more merciful for you to let me die in the village?"

She was right, it would have been merciful to let her die alongside her people but it didn't let him, did it? Relenting to her request, Crystal opened Lila's backpack and levitated the leather she used as a belt to tie his hands behind his back. Having finally solved the dilemma, the duo decided to rest until Lila had the energy to get back up on her feet. She first took the food and the flask, then checked the rest of the items on the ground. Sadly, none of them were useful to her. With that done, she then turned her attention to the unconscious man on the ground.

The hat strapped to the man's back looked pretty interesting to the young adventurer, interesting enough to take it off him and put it on her head. He also carried a pouch on his hip, full of copper coins, which Lila now knew were important. After taking everything that would be useful to her, she grabbed her backpack and began her journey once again, Crystal following her from behind.

As they made their way deeper into the forest and disappeared into the trees, a small purple hue appeared on the man's eyelids, followed by loud snoring. Lila may have decided to give the man a chance, but Crystal didn't.