Panic surged through my body until [Unyielding] kicked in. At first, I sought out the fastest exit while contemplating the speed at which she had appeared. She could very likely catch up to me within seconds even with my current speed. If it came down to combat, I was still a bit inexperienced. And something told me the dryad would be difficult to take down even with my new found strength.
As I was weighing each of my options, the dryad spoke, startling me, “You don’t need to be so defensive. I’m not going to harm you if you don’t attack first.”
I at first considered not listening to her. Everything and anything in this place seemed to want to kill me. Even the rabbits, which were now dead and half of them inside my stomach, seemed to snarl at me before seeming to realize that they weren’t a match for me.
But then I thought about it. The other monsters didn’t actually converse with me. Even the gangs of goblin, though showed some type of sentience as they used weapons and wore clothes made of some fur, conversed on what seemed like groans and grunts. They seemed more akin to insane people they kept in asylums with their irrational laughter and strange comical behaviour.
But this lady seemed to have common sense. At least more so than the goblins. She could be trying to lower my guard so that she can strike me down when I least expect it. Even so, I gave her the benefit of doubt and lowered my weapon slightly, enough to show her that I wasn’t going to be a threat to her but not enough to not get the dagger up in time to defend myself.
As if sensing my motive she said with a smile, “Smart. Not at all like the other humans who drop their weapons as if I were no more than an ordinary woman.”
I chuckled, earning myself an even broader smile, as I said, “Well, any man would be fawning over a pretty lady. Especially one with beauty such as yours.”
“My, what a charmer. But you don’t seem to have been mesmerised by my beauty as you claim others would.”
“Well,” I said looking into her emerald eyes that seemed to glow in the moonlight, “I’m no mere man. And you definitely aren’t a lady.”
Though her smile remained her eyes became dead serious as she looked me from head to toe, assessing me.
“My name is Ambrosis. Queen of the local dryads and Supreme Caretaker of the forest Notlis.”
“Local?” I asked, raising one of my eyebrows.
“I do not govern the dryads in other forests scattered all over the realm. Only the dryads living here fall under my domain.”
“I see.”
These dryads seem to have hereditary system among them.
As I was contemplating whether the goblins, though single-minded, had something similar, she asked, “What name do you go by?”
I blinked, as the question registered.
“Forgive me, I was so lost in my thoughts that I didn’t introduce myself. You can call me Hirai.”
The woman stiffened at the name. Those emerald eyes that were full of mischief a second ago was replaced by something else. Something ancient.
“Is something wrong?” I asked.
“Your name. It’s in the form of the Ayoni.”
Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings.
“Ayoni?”
“Yes. A language that was claimed to have been spoken by the gods themselves millennia ago. Long forgotten by most races.”
“What does it mean?”
Ambrosis remained silent for a long time that I thought of repeating my question. Her eyes shone with ancient wisdom as if she was looking through me and trying to understand what exactly I am. She finally spoke a few seconds later, her tone grave, “The Nameless.”
I stood still as her words sank into me for a few seconds before my shoulder shuddered and I convulsed with laughter. It took me a few minutes to calm my nerves, my gut aching before I faced the woman. Her smile now gone, stern face not bulging even after I gave her an apologetic smile.
“This is no laughing matter. Your name…” she started.
But before she could say more, I interjected and said firmly, “Was given to me by my parents. They did not know Ayoni, and did not name me after something as stupid as that. I’m not nameless. My name is Hirai.”
The dryad looked at me, perhaps debating on whether to argue with me but instead breathed a sigh and said, “Alright. Your parents may have named you unknowingly.”
I nodded in affirmation. But there were still two things lingering in my mind.
“Why did you seem startled when you heard my name?”
She looked into my eyes, her posture the utter definition of graceful calm, “Your name, being in Ayoni… it surprised me a bit.”
“I see. One more question, why exactly are you here?”
Ambrosis blinked as if stunned before she gave an embarrassed laugh.
“I’m so sorry. In all this talking, I forgot to tell you why I was here. You have been trapezing through the forest and damaging everything in your path. Most of the other dryads desired to eliminate you.”
My face drained of all blood and I thought my heart had just stopped beating. I unconsciously gripped my dagger so tight that my knuckles became bone white. The move didn’t go unnoticed by Ambrosis.
“Do not worry,” she said, offering a friendly smile, “I have persuaded the dryads. They won’t harm you. But I suggest you avoid wrecking the forest further. Nature has a way of healing itself. But if keep going the way you are going, it’s going to take nature a long time to recover from your damage.”
I gave a nod and said, “I’m sorry. I was just… trying to get stronger.”
She gave me an understanding series of nod and said, “The world is not a pretty place. You have to fight to survive and fight even harder to protect what you love. So I understand.”
Suddenly I realized something and asked, “Why? Why help me at all? It seems an awful lot of work just for a guy you didn’t even know about a few seconds ago. Wouldn’t it be easier to just send someone to kill me? Or kill me yourself if that’s what you want?”
Though I was infinitely grateful to her for not killing me when I just recently got a second life, I was still a bit apprehensive. Human beings are greedy pieces of shit. They have no end of want. And are outright hostile when someone damages what is theirs. Even if it was accidental. They would want something of equal value in return. Although this being in front of me was technically not human, there was still a catch.
I asked, narrowing my eyes, “What is it that you want?”
Ambrosis’s smile turned slightly frightful, broad enough to show bone-white teeth, though not aggressive.
“I have only one question,” she said, showing a single pale slender finger, “You could answer it, or not if you want to.”
I gave a nod.
She put down the finger, a satisfied look on her face, and asked, “Where did you come from?”
I blinked, the only sign of surprise I allowed to show on my face.
She continued, “You suddenly appeared in the far north of the forest. Not one of the dryads were aware of your presence before that. At first, we thought you were some rouge mage fleeing from the capital or some other town. But you didn’t seem to have any knowledge on Magicite before Fallrik. So, where did you come from?”
I at first pondered on telling her some sort of lie. Though I quickly reconsidered. She could see through the lie and may change her decision on letting me go unharmed. But I couldn’t tell her the truth either. Even as I recalled everything that Machina had previously told me, it still sounded stupid.
“I want to tell you,” I started, “But you wouldn’t believe me even if I told you.”
She thought about what I said for a very agonizing second and thankfully said, “I understand. I won’t press you on this matter further.”
The wind picked up and leaves rustled. I was dumbfounded when I saw that her body was slowly turning into petals and was being carried away by the wind.
She continued, “You can keep practising your skills, but remember not to damage the forest too much. With that, I take my leave.”
In a few seconds, her body completely turned into pink flower petals. She gave me a wink before her face too altered and was carried away by the gust of wind. I kept staring at the branch where the dryad was sitting. Nothing remained of her there, as if I was just hallucinating.