Chapter 26: Across the wilderness

After stepping down from the hill, I continued to walk ahead for at least an hour on a grassy plain, without many trees and without any hole like the ones I saw far away from above. With this clear view, I was confident that I wouldn’t be ambushed by any creature.

I tried to maintain a fast pace without letting my guard down, but as I walked among the tall grass shining with a mystifying green light, I couldn’t help but relax and allow myself to look longer at my surroundings. The green scenery was breathtaking and gave an eerie feeling.

It wasn’t like in the Great forest where nature seemed quiet and peaceful. In this vast plain, no matter where I looked, I had the impression of a more savage nature.

The animals in this place reflected that quite well, as I saw many different species that were just absent in the Great forest. I was glad to notice that the animals I saw along the way were clearly herbivorous and more afraid of me than the other way around.

After a couple of hours, I already saw a dozen of ‘Vormur’ moving together. They were just like deer, but a little smaller and with a single horn on their forehead. We could see some spikes on the back of the males. I knew that as long as they didn't feel threatened, they wouldn’t attack me. As a result, I paid extra caution not to come too close to them.

After all, even if they were herbivorous, their speed coupled with their deadly horn shouldn’t be underestimated.

I was glad to see that I recognized numerous species. The reason for that was simple, I studied about them mostly in class but also at home. When I still couldn’t read, I spent a large amount of time trying to read books. Well, more like trying to decipher the alphabet of this world.

I obviously couldn’t, but there was a thick volume in the house gathering numerous different species with a drawing to represent them. After learning to read with Gandalf, I was finally able to understand the description next to the picture along with the names.

Of course, I couldn’t remember every single one of them, but I knew quite a bit as it was a subject I found interesting before I could use magic.

After all, discovering new species from another world was just a thrilling experience.

As I made a small detour to avoid a small group of ‘Vormur’, I nearly stepped on a little white animal with red ears and sharp claws on its front paws. On its back, it had long yellow streaks. I remembered seeing its picture in my book, but I couldn’t remember its name. It was more like a dangerous rabbit to me.

*Grrrrr*

The small animal began to emit a threatening growl.

I was too close, so I stopped and took some steps back while getting ready to shoot a waterball if it chose to attack me.

We stared at each other for what seemed like an eternity.

As we were motionless, two of its mates came closer.

Three against one after only a couple of hours on this plain.

Apparently, my luck was still as good as ever.

Those animals were probably faster than me. If I wanted to touch them with my magic, I had to take the initiative.

However, I didn’t know how many of them were lurking around me. If it was only three, then I could still manage, but more than that and it would become dangerous.

I was confident in my ability to defend myself against ordinary humans, even with the body of a child, but animals were a different story altogether. I couldn’t predict or read their movements as I did with Humans. With fewer physical abilities, I could only rely on my still lacking magic skills.

Better safe than sorry.

I decided to take the initiative and attack first, but as I was gathering mana in my hand, the small creatures suddenly left.

They just turned their back on me and left together.

I was dumbfounded for a few seconds before breathing out the air I was holding without realizing.

Becoming all worked up for some rabbits, the beginning of an epic journey…

I was sarcastic to myself because I knew that those little devils were nothing more than food for most species in this area.

*Creeeak*

The sudden noise made me jump in surprise. I turned my head quickly toward the sky to see where the noise was coming from.

As soon as I saw the dozen little birds flying together, I breathed a sigh of relief.

"Just some Ellaf"

Those were just common birds found everywhere in nature or even in small towns. I didn’t see those in a book but in my hometown. There were always a couple of those little blue birds flying around. They didn’t possess any physical ability, only relying on their speed to escape from their predators.

That and their ‘mutual cry’.

It was one if not their only special ability. When they were in a group, they would shout together at the exact same time to amplify their cry and intimidate the predators around.

It was that ‘mutual cry’ that made me jump out in fright just a moment ago. Despite the terrifying noise that was disproportionate compared to the threat they represent, the ‘Ellaf’ were totally harmless and peaceful. Because of their calm and kind nature, those animals rarely became deviants.

They were so calm that it was easily possible to tame them. They were mostly used by Humans as a way to send letters.

However, even if they had a high flight speed over a short distance to escape their predator, they couldn’t fly fast for a long time. As a result, I couldn’t use this kind of bird to send my letter as it would just take too much time.

Remembering that I had to hurry, I turned my focus away from those birds to walk at a fast pace once again.

*Creeeak*

They sure are noisy. I silently thought while walking faster.

*Creeeak*

"Seriously, those damn birds."

I turned my head just in time to see a huge red bird just a few feet away from me. I immediately threw myself to the ground and felt the air moving right over me as the sharp claws of the creature closed just a few inches from my body.

With cold sweat on my back, I quickly stood up and prepared to fight.

As I looked at the sky, I understood why the ‘Ellaf’ were so noisy. There were three of those giant red birds flying in the sky.

Two of them were having a buffet of poor little ‘Ellaf’ who were desperately trying to escape from those predators only to be caught by the creatures that were obviously faster despite their larger size.

The third had decided that it didn’t want to eat these little sparrows, so it chose the side dish.

The vicious giant bird was most likely from the ‘Zaël’ species. A kind of scavenger, eating corpses and small birds. It was already bad luck that they spotted me, but it was really the worst that it had to be in an open plain like that without anything to cover me.

In this place, I was a prey they could attack from any direction without any disturbance.

Those birds were cowards, so they wouldn’t easily attack an opponent stronger than them, which meant that I was just like a little bird for them.

I made a bitter smile after reaching this conclusion.

I didn’t move from my place as I watched the ‘Zaël’ making circles above me readying itself to duck toward the ground at any moment.

I couldn’t just run away as I would just expose my back to the creature, but I couldn’t just shoot it blindly either.

I was unlikely to touch it while it was flying high above me.

As I carefully scanned its movements, the creature suddenly plunged to the ground. 

Fast.

In just a few seconds, the creature was already just a few feet away from me with its sharp claws ready to tear my head apart.

I released my magic immediately.

Since I saw the bird flying above me, I concentrated mana in my feet. I instantly released my wind magic to propel myself to the side, away from its deadly claws.

“Waterball!”

Before the giant bird could gain altitude again, I fired more than a dozen waterballs toward its head. Only a few hit him, but it was enough to stun him.

A waterball wasn’t nearly hard enough to kill it.

Therefore, I concentrated fire magic in my left hand and slowly created a fireball. It was just too slow to form. The bird was already gaining height when the small ball of fire left my hand.

Fortunately, I hit him in the back just before it was out of reach. Its beautiful red feathers began to take fire. The bird flew higher and faster to try to extinguish the flame, but the wind was just making the fire on its back stronger.

The giant red bird with its feathers in fire was exactly as I imagined a phoenix even if this mythical creature from my old world didn't actually exist.

The shriek of pain from the bird was powerful enough to make my eardrums hurt.

I decided to leave the crime scene before reinforcements were drawn by the horrifying screams of the beast.

As I was running away, I heard the sound of the bird falling to the ground behind me. I turned my head to see that the bird was lying on the soil still burning. Its body was still moving from time to time, but it didn’t have the strength to extinguish the fire out or to shout in pain anymore.

I finally understood why fire magic wasn’t popular.

I wasn’t bothered because I had to kill a creature that was gladly going to eat me alive, but burning a living creature to death wasn’t a pleasant experience either. It left a bad aftertaste in my mouth.

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

As I made a complicated face in front of my burning foe, the two other birds quickly came in my direction to avenge their comrade. I wasn't fast enough to run away while they were busy.

Not hesitating, I activated once again wind magic under my feet to propel myself ahead. I was getting used to run like that. Of course, it was only a rough technique, not useful for precise movements, but it was still quite useful to accelerate for a short while as long as I focused enough.

At first, I had to stop each time I touched the ground, but now I was able to use it a couple of times without any problem. Of course, I didn’t have a good control over my magic, so my propulsion was far from graceful.

Sometimes I used too much magic and was propelled further than I expected which almost made me fall. I couldn’t change direction either. To avoid some obstacles and holes along the way, I still had to run around.

But even with that, I was able to put some distance away from my angry pursuers.

After what seemed like an eternity, I finally saw the end of the plain a few hundred meters away. Just like I saw when I exited the Great Forest, the grassy plain ended abruptly leaving the place to a profound valley with a steep fall. The grass was replaced by small rocks and a dry soil. It was difficult to understand how those two landscapes could exist so close to one another.

As I was wondering about that, I looked back and saw that the two birds hadn’t yet given up. Their speed was truly impressive. Each time my magic put some distance between us, they would accelerate to close the gap.

I was starting to get tired. I didn’t train physically before and was starting to regret it as my breathing became rougher.

A sharp pain also appeared near my ribs.

I clenched my teeth to hold on.

I could see the valley ahead. By reaching it, I hoped that I would be able to escape those troublesome fellows.

After all this time, my running speed had shrunk by a lot. Without the propulsion of my wind magic, they would have caught up with me already.

They were only a few feet behind me when I was finally just sixty feet away from the end of the plain.

However, I couldn’t hold on any longer.

My breathing was painful and uncontrollable as my legs began to collapse under my own weight.

I gathered as much mana as I could under my feet to propel myself ahead.

From a single giant leap, I was able to cross nearly the remaining distance.

However, I wasn’t able to remain standing when I touched the ground. Unable to support the impact, my legs finally gave in.

My speed made me roll head first on the harsh ground for a distance long enough to reach the slope. The birds were only a few feet behind me when I finally rolled down.

I couldn’t see if they pursued me anymore as I was rolling at high speed on the harsh ground. I tried to fix my posture and stand up, but the slope was just a lot stiffer than what I had expected.

As I was rolling faster and faster, I felt my skin tearing from the friction and dizziness spreading in my mind.

I could only use earth magic to cover as much skin as I could and placed my arms around my head to protect me.

I rolled for what seemed like an eternity.

When I finally stopped, I was completely disoriented with my entire body in pain.

I stood up and focused my gaze, but the whole world around me was spinning as every breath of air I took burned my lungs.

After a few seconds, I saw that the ‘Zaëls’ seemed reluctant to follow me in this little canyon. They were circling in the sky glaring at me probably with hate.

I smiled a little understanding that my guess was right.

We weren't on their hunting ground anymore. They hesitated whether they should pursue me here or not.

I began to recover my breath, but my head continued to furiously spin. It took me a while to repress the urge to throw up from this alcohol-free hangover.

The furious cries of the birds above my head made me understand that they made their decision.

They were going to attack me at any moment.

I lacked the firepower to confront them both at the same time. If I wanted to kill them with a waterball, I had to shoot them behind the neck or on another sensitive spot, but with their aerial advantage, it was unlikely that I would be able to hit the two of them at those spots.

My other magics were too slow to form, so I had to think of another way than a direct confrontation.

The only good news was that their aerial advantage over me was less important in this narrow valley as they couldn’t attack me at their top speed on my sides.

Suddenly, the two ‘Zaël’ plunged toward the ground.

One was aiming straight ahead while the other was making a small turn to catch me from behind.

I was surprised by their smart combination, but I didn’t lose my calm. This didn’t change what I had to do.

I gathered mana and released it in every direction a few seconds later. However, this wasn’t water magic I used.

I created a gush of wind all around me. It was a strong wind, but not nearly as strong as it would have to be in order to hurt them.

This didn’t matter as this wasn’t my objective.

As soon as I created this wind, the dust and sand around me began to move. This magic only had the purpose to hide my figure from them.

It was getting thicker every second. As I controlled the wind, so that the cloud of sand didn’t fall down, I closed my eyes.

I robbed them of their sight, but I did just the same for me. I had to rely on something else than my eyesight.

I concentrated and, after a few seconds, I was finally able to feel their position in the sky by sensing the mana coming from them.

I grinned a little after succeeding.

I trained for several long months on my own for that. I had no choice but to learn to feel my mana if I wanted to start learning magic. Therefore, I naturally became much more sensitive toward the mana around me. It was only during the week that I spent in the Great forest that I realized this ability to differentiate and locate the animals by sensing their mana. 

Without their sight, the two giants crimson birds stopped in the middle of the ‘sandstorm’.

It was my chance.

I created a pillar of earth under my feet just large enough to allow me to stand on it without any trouble.

The pillar slowly rose in the sky, but as I was using earth magic it became too difficult to use wind magic at the same time.

The wind stopped and the sand began to fall toward the ground clearing little by little the sky.

I hoped that the dust would stay longer in the sky but the reality was harsher.

As I was slowly rising on my earth pillar, the birds began to turn their head around them to look at me.

I was only a dozen feet below them.

It was enough.

I used wind magic under my feet to propel myself above them.

As soon as I left, my platform crumbled, but I didn’t need it anymore.

While soaring in the sky, I gathered mana in my hands as fast as I could.

The two fireballs slowly formed in the palm of my hands. They were only the size of a tennis ball when I began falling from the sky. The light drew the attention of the two beasts.

I had to be the first to attack. 

All or nothing. 

I released the fireballs.

One for each bird.

The closest ‘Zaël’ didn’t have any chance to avoid and was struck directly in the head, but the other one managed to avoid by a thin margin.

I thought that I was close enough, but the speed of my attack was insufficient.

After my failed attempt, I was still falling toward the ground without any means to fight on equal terms with my flying enemy.

This was probably what the ‘Zaël’ thought as it furiously flew toward me to crush my body with its sharp claws keen like sharp blades.

I knew that I didn't have any chance to win if it came closer.

Therefore, I released a barrage of Waterballs toward the approaching bird. Even with its superior speed and incredible reflexes all of it was meaningless in front of dozens of waterballs shot from point-blank range.

If I had to shoot at the two birds at the same time, I wasn’t confident that I could hit them with enough power, but with a single target, it was possible as long as I was close enough.

The last ‘Zaël’ made a desperate attempt to avoid the water magic but it couldn’t. Two of them touched it in the head while its large wings were also hit a couple of times each.

Unable to stay in the sky longer, the ‘Zaël’ fell to the ground along with me.

I was the victor, but as I was falling from this height, I didn’t find any time to celebrate.

I gathered as much mana as I could in both of my hands that I directed toward the ground and, when I was only a few feet away, I released the most powerful wind I could to slow down my fall.

However, it was almost useless.

*Boom*

I fiercely crashed on the hard ground.

It took me a long time to carefully stand up.

While I was suffering from the pain of the impact on the hard ground, I quickly inspected my injuries.

I knew that it wasn’t rare for people breaking a bone not feeling pain immediately, so I inspected my limbs carefully. However, except for some nasty scratches on my arms and hands, I saw nothing wrong.

I was bleeding from my arms and legs but they weren't serious injuries. After confirming that, I finally slowly got back on my feet.

On the contrary, the birds stayed motionless on the harsh ground of the valley.

As soon as I confirmed their death, I decided to rest.

I couldn’t help but sigh a little.

My trip was just starting, but I already fought with my life on the line. My face grew darker as I started to wonder what was waiting for me on my journey.