Mark observed Norunta the witch’s healing technique. He saw that it was a combination of spells and potions, and it was effective. It could heal minor injuries fast and those who had severe injuries would heal in a few days according to Sunetta, the witch’s apprentice. Mark thought of the fact that with one cast of his Dryad’s Circle spell, all of those injured would be healed immediately but he didn’t know what impact it would have on the caravan.

Since the witch’s spells and potions were effective, Mark held himself off in casting his healing spells to avoid trouble. He did help in carrying the wounded by using his telekinesis spell and everyone he helped was grateful.

During the cleanup, Mark ignored the bandits who survived and allowed Hamil and his men to handle it. To be honest with himself, it was the first time he killed people, and he was surprised that it was hitting him hard. He thought that since he was a veteran in battles, battling monsters in his dungeon, it wouldn’t be difficult to adjust himself when it came to murdering people who were his enemies, and he did prepare himself for this particular situation, but the reality was different.

Mark felt dirty and disgusted with himself. He knew that he should try to adjust himself since this would be his life from now on, but he didn’t know how.

After everyone was taken care of, Mark asked Hamil if there was anything else he was needed for, but the caravan leader said that everything that needed to be done was handled already. Hamil mentioned that they would move the logs blocking the road then travel for a bit and stop once twilight arrived.

Mark cooped himself inside his caravan and allowed Nedertu to drive the cart by himself. He concentrated on his business and raising a family on his Sim 4 game, but it only made him miss his old world too much, so he played Skyrim instead. He slayed dragons, monsters, and bandits for hours on end.

After several hours, he heard Nedertu knock on his door. The coach mentioned that the caravan was parked already, and it was time for dinner. Mark opened the door and gave Nedertu a bento. The coach said that there would be a memorial for those who died.

Mark was sad to learn that two of those who died left widows and children, but Hamil said that the caravan would take care of their own. He gave the widows two gold coins mentioning that it was to help them and their children.

After the sad memorial, Mark went back to his caravan to continue playing his game not even sleeping. The next day, after giving Nedertu his breakfast, Mark binge-watched an anime with hundreds of episodes. While watching, he thought of the reasons why his hikikomori tendencies were returning. He knew that he was sad when he realized that he murdered somebody, but he admitted it was the widows and their children that hit him hard. He knew that this was his reality now and that he should accept it. He stopped watching and went outside to mingle with anybody willing to talk to him so he could re-adjust his mindset.

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Mark first went to Norunta to check if she needed help with healing the wounded. When he saw the witch, she and her apprentice were still busy healing the wounded people and he noticed that she was low on energy. The witch saw him and asked for something.

“Mark, I’m glad that you’re here. I was informed earlier that you summoned a forest guardian. Can I ask you to summon them again? They could provide me energy to help with the healing.”

Mark said that of course he would but instead of summoning the tree golems, he summoned the actual forest guardians. They looked like living ancient trees that were revered by the forest folk and they had actual skills that they could use in battle. He reckoned that if the witch could borrow energy from the summons, the forest guardians would be more useful.

The forest guardian appeared and all the people surrounding the witch’s caravan were surprised and in awe to see the living embodiment of the forest appearing before them.

Mark saw that the witch and her apprentice actually kneeled and worshipped the summons, and he told her that she should do what she needed to do since there was a time duration before the forest guardian disappeared.

“I didn’t expect that you’re that powerful, able to summon the forest god!” The witch told Mark with reverence. Mark thought that it could be a mistake summoning the forest guardian but what was done was done.

Norunta informed Mark that he should ask the forest guardians to allow her to siphon power from them. Mark really didn’t know what the witch meant but he commanded the two forest guardians to allow the witch to borrow their power.

Mark told the witch that it was done and Norunta promptly muttered a spell. He actually saw Mana come out from the forest guardian and go to the witch. The Mana was so huge that Norunta went from being a crone to a young lady in a few minutes. The witch mentioned that this was the first time she was able to gather so much power and she said that it was so bad that it was temporary. She promptly used the power to heal the wounded and her healing spell was boosted significantly, comparable to the Dryad’s Circle spell.

In a few minutes, all of the wounded were healed. The summon expired and the forest guardians disappeared. Norunta went back from being a beautiful lady to a crone. She thanked Mark and told him that she was exhausted. She and her apprentice went inside their caravan to rest.

Mark then visited the Eilintraee, Monterra, and Solinae. They talked about the spells they’d used during the battle, and they told Mark that they were impressed that he was able to summon the ents, living guardians of the forest. They also asked if he knew more plant spells and Mark admitted that he did. As a show of goodwill, Mark cast the Goodberry spell and offered the berries to the sisters which they promptly ate. He noticed that they were familiar with the fruit and Solinae confirmed that there were fruits like that on the elven island.

Mark admitted that the fruits should be eaten immediately since once the spell duration ends, the fruits would disappear.