Chapter 33 In the forest

I looked abound; at the edge of the forest lay multiple dead beasts, in some of them human-made weapons still stuck in their flesh. “These must be what the innkeeper talked about.” The elf inspected them.

“They are creatures that live deep in the forest and usually don’t come out, let alone attack humanoid beings. Did they flee from the monster you mentioned?” I looked at the elf and Fay.

“That’s highly likely… We should hurry. I hope mother and the others are fine.” The elf looked worried in the direction of the forest.

The deeper we went, the darker it got, the giant trees blocking every last ray of sunlight, but there was no need for the sun here since the flora and fauna had evolved to adapt to the dark.

“Look!” Fay pointed up in excitement, “Luft Quallen!”

I and the elf’s eyes followed in the direction Fay pointed. On the stream of mana that colorfully ran through the forest, spending light, swam small translucent jellyfish.

“These cute little things swim on the currents of mana that are more concentrated in this forest, albeit not as dense as in the spirit ream. And they absorb the mana, making them glow in all kinds of colors~ One of my favorite animals!” I thought as I enjoyed the view.

“I always get the urge to poke them…” I mumbled as Fey flew closer and was about to do just that.

“Wait!” The elf called out to Fay, who had already made contact with one of the squishy jellyfish, “Did you forget that they have a paralyzing poison all over them!”

The elf quickly caught the paralyzed Fay, who almost fell to the ground, and sighed in relief. “You should be more careful; how many times has this happened already…?”

“This is why I didn’t touch them; one paralyzes was enough for me…” I shuddered as I recalled the memory of my first time coming to this forest.

“You really never learn…” I looked at Fay, who was lying in the elf’s hand, unable to reply.

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“It should wear off in a few minutes.” He said holding Fay in his hands and proceeded to walk deeper into the forest.

The forest was dense, giant roots protruding from the ground on which new trees and plants grew; it was nothing like the artificial forests from my past life.

I jumped over a fallen dead tree. On it grew glowing moss, and other tiny insects made it a home for themselves.

“It’s quiet… too quiet…” I looked around and noticed that fewer animals than usual were around.

“Most animals are hiding because of the beast coming from the deeper parts of the forest…” He looked around, following a glowing mark made out of tree sap from the “Gläserner Baum”, a tree that looks like it’s made out of glass. Its sap is translucent, but as soon as it solidifies, it begins to glow. The elves often use it as way-marks.

“A small village should be near here,” His voice giving away that he was in low spirits, “It was abandoned when the residence evacuated after it was attacked by beasts that fled from the monster.”

Not long after, we arrived at the village that was hidden under big roots, which stretched over the buildings like a ceiling. The houses were smaller trees that grew in such a way that they were empty inside, so the elves of this village made them their homes.

“They must have left in a hurry…” I looked around, belongings scattered, scratch marks of the beasts on the trees, and leftovers of the ransacked food lying around.

“This village cultivates a large portion of the fruits we eat; abandoning it was not an easy choice, but we don’t have the manpower to protect it.” He looked distraught at the fields of fruit trees in the distance that had been greatly damaged as well.

“I never thought about that…” I mumbled to myself as the impact of the situation dawned on me.

“Don’t worry!” Fay that could move again flew up proudly, “Me and the other spirits can help regrow or heal the trees!”

“Thanks, Fay. I and all the other elves would be forever grateful.” He said in a polite tone, and relief showed on his face.

“Leave it to me!” Fay flew around, bursting with motivation.

While they continued their chat, I looked around the village a bit more. It wasn’t my first time here, but it’s been ages, so I was curious if the lake still existed.

I made my way further under the roots and into the giant tree, which was like its smaller counterparts, hallow. A big lake stretched out inside of it. Around, lush green grass grew, and sunlight fell on the water, rich with mana, making it glow in different colors.

“This is one of the few places in this forest where the sun reaches.” I looked up the hollow tree that let in the sun, and then back at the lake, where I could see a deer observing me carefully; its antlers appeared transparent.

“You are quite lucky, having avoided the beasts…” I casually talked to it as if it could understand me, which it obviously couldn’t.

It stared at me for a while and then continued to drink, having me determined as no threat.

I sat there for a few minutes, enjoying the scenery, until the deer reflexively leaped up its head, looking in the direction of the abandoned houses. My ears twitched in response, and I quickly ran back to Fay and the elf.