“How do I converse with this guy? He's the type of person that's impossible to negotiate with. I mean he's not entirely a person but the idea is there,” I thought.

He stood up like nothing happened.

“Give me back my bait! I'll use that to capture bigger and tastier food! Not like you who's all skins and bones!” He shouted.

“This guy!” I thought angrily as wrinkles started forming on my forehead.

I was gonna negotiate but I changed my mind. I wasn't scared at all so I provoked him. I put the fish down and started talking back.

“It's not my fault your trap is useless,” I replied hastily.

“What did you say?!? W-wait, you can talk???” He said with a shocked look on his face.

“How am I supposed to talk back when all you do was shout?” I retorted.

“Cause you ruined my trap!” he also retorted.

“Huh? Are you seriously expecting your trap to actually work?” I responded with obvious doubt on my face.

“Just give it back already!!!” He demanded.

“Okay fine! I'll give it back.”

“R-really!?!” He said loudly while forming a smile on his face.

“No…” I answered.

“Y-you!” He replied irritatingly.

“Oh god, we're like cat and dog arguing. Oh, right… we're literally a cat and a dog, though it's actually kinda fun teasing him.”

“Wait, what am I saying??? I was supposed to ask him for help! Get yourself together!” I thought while slapping my cheeks in disappointment.

“H-hey do you kn–”

I was about to ask him a question when things started getting out of hand. He growled at me as if he was ready to rip me apart. I instinctively hissed back as if we were born to hate each other. I don't know why I did that to be honest, Downgrading myself to his level, but this guy just irritates the hell out of me!

I was getting my powers ready when he suddenly just casually walked away. I was shocked that he was able to manage his anger.

“I'm out of here, I'm just gonna get another one,” he calmly decided.

“Tch, I missed my only opportunity to ask him to help me find the exit to this forest,” I thought disappointingly.

“I have no choice, he's the only one I can communicate with and my only chance of surviving. I have to follow him!”

I was following his every step when he suddenly stopped walking. He turned his head behind and looked at me fiercely.

“Stop following me! What do you even want? You've already ruined my day!” He growled.

“I wanted to ask you if you know a way out of this place but I didn't have the chance to bring it up,” I responded.

“Huh? Why would I care? Even if I know a way out I wouldn't tell you where it is,” he answered.

“Why?!? All I'm asking is for you to point out where it is!”

“As I said, I don't care!”

“Tsk, fine. If that's what you want then so be it. I'll just follow and bother you anywhere you go.”

“Stop it, you! Just leave me alone already!”

I was thinking of a way how to make him talk and an idea popped into my head.

“W-wait, don't tell me, you're lost too, aren't you?” I taunted.

“N-no I'm not!” He denied while turning his head and avoiding eye contact.

“Aah... It's so obvious, this guy can't lie.”

“I should've known, you don't know how to get out too, poor you.”

“Huh?!? How dare you! My race is born hunters! Of course, I know a way out!” He answered confidently.

“Then where is it?” I asked.

“In the northern part of the forest! If you want a way out then that’s the route. There's a small village there you can go to,” He answered truthfully.

“Are you sure you're not remembering things differently?" I jokingly asked.

“You! Of course, I don't! I will never lie!”

...

He paused for a while and caught up to what I was trying to do.

“W-wait... You're trying to trick me into accompanying you, aren't you?” He asked with a doubtful look in his eyes.

“Huh? Of course not, I mean you lied just now.”

“I'm not lying! I'll show you! Follow me.”

“Heh, he's so easy to manipulate.”

“Do you know which side of the forest we are currently in?” I asked.

“Yeah, we’re in the southern part of the forest,” he answered.

“W-wait, that's the opposite of north, we're too far!”

This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

“Stop your yapping and move already!”

We started walking but I began to notice something.

“W-wait, stop! Why are we casually walking in the open? Shouldn't we be more careful? I mean a lot of monsters might see and attack us,” I asked worriedly.

“Don't worry, I'm strong!” He replied confidently.

“I don't believe him, we're doomed.”

We continued walking in the direction he told me earlier. While we were walking, I was able to find an opportunity to chat. Get to know him better to be exact. As a starter, I apologized to him.

“I'm sorry about earlier, I mean it this time.”

“It's fine, I was getting bored anyway. If you didn’t come, I might have fallen asleep in the bushes waiting,” he responded.

*Sigh*

“I'm glad I finally found someone I can communicate with cause everything I saw here just wants to either eat or kill me,” I complained.

“Wait, how did you even manage to get out scot-free? With that small and fragile body of yours?” He confusedly asked.

“Oh, you don't know what I've been through alright! I've been at Death's door in the past few days. I just wanna get out of here as soon as possible,” I answered.

“How the hell did you even get lost here?” He followed up.

“I actually don't know, I just woke up in this forest with no recollection of past events. I don't remember anything.”

“I smell something bogus with your story,” he doubted.

“No really, I can't remember anything,” I defended.

“Fine, I believe you.”

“My name’s Komraad by the way, what about you?” He followed up.

“My name huh? Now that I think about it, I can't even remember my own name.”

“I-I don't know my name,” I responded.

“You can’t even remember your name?”

“That's why I want to get out of here, to get answers about who I am or what I'm doing here. I have so many questions but priority first, my survival,” I explained.

“By the way, I’ve been meaning to ask. What’s that thing around your arm? That bracelet looks so important and expensive,” I asked him out of curiosity.

“This? It’s a magic item I received from my parents. It keeps my power in check,” he answered truthfully.

“What happens if you remove it?” I asked out of curiosity.

“I won’t be able to control my power and I’ll go berserk.”

“I don’t buy it, but at the same time, everything here has been weird so it's not far-fetched.”

We continued walking and talking for hours. We were able to bond and know each other well. He's actually pretty okay, we just started on the wrong foot. We rested for a while and sat on the corner. I'm thankful we didn't encounter any monsters on the way.

“Are we there yet?” I asked while panting.

“We're not even halfway there,” he replied.

I was ranting to him when I suddenly felt something wrong with the atmosphere.

“Wait, is it just me or did it suddenly get windy? I'm getting chills.”

I thought I was cold but it was actually my instinct telling me that something bad is about to happen. I heard something coming towards us and it was really really fast. I looked in the direction where the sound was coming from and a giant snake suddenly appeared destroying everything in its path. I got no time to dodge, thankfully Komraad's reaction time was fast and he was able to save me in the nick of time.

The giant snake got stuck between two trees giving us time to decide our course of action.

“Oh God, what was that?” I asked nervously.

*Badum* *Badum* *Badum*

My heart was beating so fast. I was still processing what just happened when Komraad shouted excitedly.

“This is what I've been waiting for! A worthy opponent!”

“W-wait, what are you saying? We should run away while it's still stuck.” I said worriedly.

“You run away! I can handle this on my own, you'll only slow me down,” he replied.

I don't know if he's serious or he's just concerned but as he said, I'll only slow him down. I know what he said is right but I just can't leave him alone! I mean he's my only guide out of here, I don't have a choice but to help him.

He ran towards the snake to attack it but only to get thrown off by its tail. The giant snake was able to escape from being stuck and immediately noticed me.

“I'm so small, how did it even see me?” I asked myself while running away from it.

The moment it saw me, it didn't even hesitate to rush toward me.

“W-what's wrong with this monster? I can't outrun it! It's too fast!”

I was gonna get caught when it suddenly fell into the hole in the ground.

I know what happened, it's a threat to my life so I guess it triggered the bad luck powers I possess, I just wish it was enough to stop it.

The snake got up fast.

“Oh never mind.”

Komraad recovered from the last attack. He got close and talked to me.

“Why are you still here? I told you to run away!”

“As if, I still need your help so we gotta stick together,” I answered.

“But why is it after me and not you? Do I look tastier than you? Look at how small I am!" I added.

“Who knows,” he replied.

I finally snapped and decided to take action.

“Grrrrr... I'm so angry! I'm done being the prey! If this is how they wanna play then so be it!”

“Komraad, I have a plan just follow what I'm gonna say,” I demanded him.

“Huh? I told you I can handle it on my own.”

“Just do what I say, will you?!?” I said while asserting my dominance.

“Gah, fine!”

“Don't attack it head-on, just exhaust it or something. Also, distance yourself if you don't wanna get caught.”

“Caught in what?” he asked.

“Caught in that…”

The moment I said ‘that’, thunder suddenly appeared out of nowhere electrifying and paralyzing the snake.

“What the?!? What was that? The sky is so clear! Where did that come from?” Komraad asked in confusion.

“Don't worry, I'm as confused as you are," I replied.

“Anyway, just don't get too close, I can't guarantee that you won't get caught in whatever bad luck that snake would receive,” I added.

“Wait is that? Your power?” He asked.

“Kind of? I don't know. I still have something up my sleeve but I need some time to prepare so please distract it first.”

“Gah, fine!”

Komraad provoked the snake. The snake recovered from the shock and started following him. I started preparing my beam to counterattack. The snake noticed what we were doing so it attacked me instead.

“Hey, I'm your enemy! Look here!” Komraad said whilst trying to grab its attention.

It ignored Komraad and decided to spit acid toward me so I had no choice but to dodge it. I was interrupted so I had to start all over again but it's not giving me time to do it. I kept dodging its spit and Komraad kept on attracting its attention. We can't defeat it, the bad luck isn't even doing anything anymore. My only chance is the beam I used last time.

We were at our wit's end, the current enemy is too strong. We were out of options, even running away was not possible anymore. The snake knocked me out with its tail, throwing me off below a cliff. Komraad was reaching out his hand to save me. I was about to grab his hands when the snake wrapped its tail around him pulling him away from me. I’m about to meet my end again. Anyone who’s gonna fall into this height would definitely die.

“Ugh, here we go again.”

I closed my eyes and accepted my fate. I was waiting to hit the ground. It's been seconds and I still can’t feel the ground so I opened my eyes and saw myself floating.

“Wait, I'm flying?!? Oh God, I can fly! I wish I tried it sooner.”

“Oh right, I have to save Komraad.”

I flew upwards to where the fight was currently taking place to try and save him. I'm currently channeling my beam mid-flight. The moment I got above, I saw him struggling with the snake. He saw me getting ready for my attack so he bit the snake, loosening its grip on him and giving him the opportunity to escape before my attack hit. The snake saw me but it was already too late. I released my beam disintegrating it from the inside out. I landed on the ground exhausted. Using my power just tires the hell out of me.

*Huff* *Huff*

“I-I survived again, somehow.”

“H-hey Komraad are you ok?” I asked him out of concern.

“What was that? You didn't tell me you can use magic? That was awesome!” He said with a brimming look in his eyes

“I can't believe you, I thought you were strong and that you could handle that monster on your own.”

“I could! I just need time to defeat it!” He replied whilst stuttering.

“Well sorry to burst your bubble but time is not on our side,” I responded.

“I’m just glad that’s over but ugh... I'm so hungry and exhausted, can we find food and water first? I need to replenish my strength,” I added.

“You can't,” he replied.

“Huh? Why?” I asked cluelessly.

*Sniff* *Sniff*

“A thunderstorm is coming," he answered.

“Huh? How would you know that? Look at the sky, it's so clear and sunny.”

“I have a very keen sense of smell so I know what I'm saying. Let's take shelter first and find food after the storm,” he suggested.

“Fine, let's take shelter,” I agreed half-heartedly.

We were looking for shelter when the sky slowly turned gray.

“I guess he was right, it's really about to rain.”

Thankfully, we found a small cave so we stayed there to take cover. The rain started pouring and thunders started roaring.

“Let's wait for the storm to settle and rest for a while,” Komraad suggested.

Our stomachs started growling. We were taking a rest when I suddenly heard something.

“Wait, can you hear that?” I asked him.

“Yeah, the noise this thunderstorm is making,” he sarcastically answered.

“No, not that! I can hear someone.”

“Huh? How is that possible when it's this loud?”

“I can hear a girl, a girl in distress. Someone is calling for help,” I explained.

“Huh? Did you hit your head earlier? You're going nuts.”

I rushed outside to follow the voice I heard.

“H-hey, stop! Gah!”

Komraad started following me in the rain.

The voice is getting louder and louder. I ran and ran until I saw a girl unconscious on the ground, wet and wounded.

“Komraad, let's help her!”

“Yeah, I'll carry her, let's get her back in the cave,” He said without any further questions.

Komraad is surprisingly cooperative. He's actually as concerned as I am, even though we're helping a complete stranger.

We brought the girl into the cave. Thankfully, dry woods were inside.

Komraad started making fire.

“I didn’t know you could do that. I’m surprised.”

“I’ve been living in this forest alone for a long time, I gotta learn a thing or two if I wanna survive,” he replied.

We brought the unconscious girl near the fire to keep her warm. We also tended to her wounds. Thankfully, it was just small scratches. We don’t know her story yet but once she wakes up, we’ll ask her directly.