Felicia was still disoriented, and slightly irritated that she had been sent here with no warning, but it all quickly vanished when she really took in the surroundings.

Truly, the sights before her were mesmerizing. If foreign and unfamiliar, the forest Felicia had landed in was at least incredibly beautiful. It almost felt like she had landed in the midst of a fairy tale. She couldn’t explain how exactly, but every color seemed more pronounced, every smell that surrounded her more enticing, she even felt an urge to consume the berries hanging from a bush not too far from her.

But she held back.

Who knew if they were poisonous? They were green in color with a red stem securing them to the branches of the bush, nothing she’d ever seen before, or she knew existed on earth. Plus, she’d always been told not to eat anything given to her by strangers, and this forest counted as a stranger in this case.

[A certain being is impressed by your mental fortitude.]

[A certain being wants to offer you a sponsorship contract.]

‘This again…?’

She’d been receiving this notification ever since the first trial had ended. She’d read over it a few times by now, but Felicia still decided to open the contract offer and read it again.

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

Sponsorship Contract

Contractor : [-Revealed upon agreement-]

Contractee : Felicia Harbridge

Duration : Indefinite, terminating upon death of either party

Terms :

The Contractor promises the following benefits

1. Regular rewards fitting your level

2. A rank A, Legendary rarity skill upon reaching level 30/ class level 25

3. A rank S, Mythical rarity skill once [Sword Domain] has been achieved

4. A scaling stat increase when wielding a sword.

In exchange, the contractee promises the following

1. They will fulfill one wish of the contractor, so long as it does not result in the contractee’s immediate or subsequent death.

*Beware that breach of the contract will result in dire penalties to either party.

Do you accept?

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

Honestly, she still wasn’t sure what to think of it. She didn't know much about this ‘system’ or this world as a whole, but the rewards did seem good. Her skill with the highest rarity and rank was [Sword Body Enhancement] which was rank C, and Uncommon rarity. Yet, this person was offering her two skills light years beyond what she currently possessed, on top of the other rewards.

It really looked incredible, but that condition seemed… strange. She would have to fulfill one wish of her contractor. What could such a being, able to shower her in rewards, possibly want from her? The fact that she couldn’t understand the being’s motivation was what made Felicia hesitate in the end. She was someone who relied on logic, and she knew that anyone who was a functioning member of society functioned according to a certain logic.

Of course, different people had different logic, but that could be elucidated by simply digging deeper. It wasn’t as if Felicia was an emotionless, manipulative monster, either, just that she understood social cues very well, and knew how to get along with others by accommodating their internal logic. That is why she did so well at the bank, and also why she would have risen to a credit officer within the next month, had this whole thing not happened.

‘Ah…My promotion…’ She thought melancholically.

She looked back at the window, and still, it made no sense. Felicia would have understood if the being had asked her to act as some sort of prophet, or enact its will as it deems fit, but the phrasing of the entire thing made it seem that this being needed Felicia, and not the other way around. Like a noble drowning his queen in gifts to obtain more land.

As far as she knew, Felicia was no queen, so she could not understand this contract, and so she would not sign it, for now at least.

Intruder! Intruder!

Felicia stumbled, startled by the sound.

‘What the hell was that!?’

Human! Evil!

The voices seemed close, but simultaneously far. They sounded like children, and every time they spoke, Felicia’s head throbbed.

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Pretty human! Not evil!

The voices multiplied. They all spoke in unison, but with each sentence, there seemed to be an added one or two voices. Each addition made it more painful to listen to them, and Felicia plugged her ears.

“What the hell..!!” She muttered.

Hurt! Hurt!

She hears! She hears!!

Human? Fairy? Which?

They were growing larger and larger, and the strangest of it all was that Felicia still couldn’t see anyone, or anything around her whom this voice could belong to.

The headache grew.

Felicia grit her teeth, and stood up. If the pain wasn’t going away, then she had no choice but to fight this invisible enemy. She placed a hand on the hilt of her shattered goblin sword, and channeled mana into-

Human-fairy! Breathe!!

Calm! Calm!

No harm! No harm!

‘Are they telling me to calm down…?’

Her head still hurt like crazy, and she still wished she could make them shut up, but strangely, Felicia felt that she should listen to them, so she stopped her attack.

Breathe!

Calm!

No harm!

‘They’re telling me to relax? Can’t hurt to try…’

If it was going to make this headache go away, she was willing to try anything. She sat down cross-legged, clasped her hands together, and took deep breaths.

Feel!

All around!

Everywhere!

She wasn’t sure what they meant, but she complied. With each breath, she tried to feel the environment around her, the rustling of leaves, the soft breeze, the smell of grass, the soothing sunlight, everything. The more she breathed, the more she felt ‘something’ open up within her. The more that something opened, the milder the headache became. It was a strange sensation, as if… she was accepting foreign energy that her body had been rejecting until now.

It was different from the sense of ‘everything falling into place’ that she had gotten when she fought against that orc, but it didn’t feel bad…

The sensation of that energy seen grew clearer, and more potent, until the headache had completely disappeared.

Yes!!

Open eyes!

Open!

She slowly opened her eyes, as instructed, and now, in front of her, were a dozen or so wisps of light flying around frantically.

‘Wow…’

She almost felt like a child. Felicia tried to touch them, but they seemed to be incorporeal, only able to be seen. This was disappointing, as she’d have liked to pet them, but she could live with only talking to them.

She even thought it appropriate to show her appreciation. After all, it was thanks to these wisps of light that she was able to feel this new energy.

She bowed her head. “My name is Felicia Harbridge. Thank you for your help… strange beings.” She said.

Felica!

Harbrudge!

Friend!

Hears us! Hears us!

“It’s uh… Harbridge, not Harbrudge…” Felicia corrected them.

Harbrudge! Harbrudge!

“No, seriously. That sounds really-”

A voice emerged from the trees, cutting through the conversation. “To think a human would have an affinity to spirits…”

Felicia whipped her head to the side. Was there someone else in the forest? Would she have to fight?

She rushed to her blade, but what met her gaze, was something straight out of a fantasy story. It was a wolf, at least five times her size, with sky blue fur and emerald green eyes. It was imposing, and Felicia felt that it was stronger than anything she had met thus far, but surprisingly, she was not afraid. Perhaps intentionally, a soothing aura emanated from the wolf, which made Felicia feel at ease. This didn't mean that she wasn’t startled, though.

‘Can this get any crazier…’ She asked herself.

Since the wolf did not seem hostile, she thought she’d show some manners. She bowed again. “My name is-”

The wolf interrupted her. “I’m aware. Call me Erilsa.” It then turned around. “Come, the Queen awaits.”

Felicia stood starstruck for a moment as the wolf slowly walked away.

‘I.. don’t even know anymore…’

Wide-eyed, she ultimately sighed and followed after it. They walked through the beautiful forest for quite a while. They met a few monsters along the way, mostly goblins, and white-skinned humanoid creatures as well. None of them had been friendly, some even salivating at the sight of Felicia, but as soon as they laid their eyes upon Erilsa, they were compelled to avert their gazes in fear.

It looked like this wolf was quite the big-shot around here, which made Felicia more hesitant to ask who the hell this ‘Queen’ was.

Suddenly, the great wolf stopped, causing Felicia to bump into her surprisingly soft coat of fur.

“We’re here, walk forward and you’ll find what you’re searching for.” It told Felicia before disappearing into thin air, only leaving a gust of wind in its wake.

Felicia did as she was told. She couldn’t very well go back in the forest. Those pale skinned monsters, at first glance, exuded a much more dangerous aura than the orcs. She couldn’t afford running into one of those. Plus, if the mystical wolf, Erilsa, had wanted to harm her, she wouldn’t have needed to do it in such a roundabout way.

So, she moved forward, and when she exited the trees, what she saw was a lone woman standing atop a rock in the middle of a pond. The woman was… strikingly beautiful. More than Felicia herself, and more than anyone Felicia had ever seen in her life.

She had long, flowing hair as green as the leaves of the trees, only accentuated by her eyes as deep as the sea. There was not a single imperfection on her porcelain skin, and her entire body seemed to have been sculpted by divine artisans harboring no other emotion but pure, passionate love.

She was perfect.

But more importantly, the woman carried a thin sword of a shining silver glow. And as Felicia witnessed her swinging the sword in the air, she realized that even more perfect than she was, was her swordsmanship.

It was… more than perfect. Transcendental was the word.

She was a novice with the sword, but because of her Sword Genius trait, Felicia could tell immediately. This wasn’t an ordinary person.

Instinctively, she drew her own sword, and started swinging it. She entered a deep trance, hoping to imitate a fraction of what she could see before her. She swung her sword over, and over again, until she could grasp every last drop she could before she inevitably collapsed.

[Your understanding of the sword grows.]

[Your understanding of the sword grows.]

[Your class has leveled up.]

The woman waving a sword on top of a rock quickly noticed the human woman by the edge of the pond. She did not want to jolt her out of her trance by stopping her sword practice, so she kept going as she scanned her.

Queen! Queen!

Good human! Good human!

No harm! No harm!

The queen smiled, a soft chuckle escaping her lips. “I’m aware, young ones. The great spirits have warned me of her arrival.” She studied the human woman intently. “...But she’s even better than I had expected.”

That is how Felicia met her master, Queen of the Forest, Senna Rella, also known as the Heavenly Sword.

Somewhere, on a snow mountain, far away from Felicia’s forest, another was experiencing a similar encounter.

“Damn it! Why is it so cold here!!”