Hold up, what just happened? I remember I didn’t walk that far from the entrance of this forest. It was until a cold breeze brushed against me, my environment got shifted then I noticed I’m lost. Maybe it wasn’t me… Someone did tell me something was wrong with this forest.

It was after I retrieved my belongings from Dane, there was one person who pointed me to the direction best to gather herbs for potion brewing.

Let me think back from this morning.

-

-

“Dane, did Whelty ever tell you where he was going to hide my stuff?”

“Yeah, he drew it on this map.”

Dane, from behind the counter, unrolled a map of the surrounding area of this city. The location I’m currently at is at the very left corner of the map, Kingdom of Vilja. This city was portrayed with a lion’s cross-sign wearing a crown similar to the damn King’s.

Using the legend labelled on the bottom right, I measured the distances of the grid from X, Whelty scratched onto the paper. The place seemed easy to get to, and the mark was somewhere in the open plains near a tree out in the open. How cute, Whelty’s like a dog hiding his bones. However, Dane made an unwelcoming face as his eyes moved towards a nearby forest.

“So my things are there.” Sadly, my phone ran out of batteries. I had to sketch a copy of the map onto a separate piece of sheepskin paper. “And you said where was the merchant again?”

“Woodhurst.”

Woodhurst… Woodhurst… Found it. Judging by the map’s accuracy, the total distance would take me a day to reach the village by foot. If I go through this forest, I could cut the travel time by half.

“Kid, I wouldn’t go through the forest if I were you. I’d suggest if you to go with a group of adventurers if you plan on going there.”

“Good plan! If some monsters come my way, I can use them as decoys and run.”

“No-! Argh… that’s not what I meant.” Dane sighed for the umpteenth time. “You see, merchants used to go through this shortcut, but after two or three of them suddenly disappeared half-way. It was advised that they take the alternate route. Some say they were spirited away, other say the forest is alive and the road shifts in its favor, trapping them in a never-ending labyrinth. I'd advise you to stay away from that forest."

“What if your merchant went through there?”

“Not possible. I ordered my supplies way after everyone knew.”

A wide smile formed on my face. I could feel cheek muscles straining my face, trying my best to hide it from Dane. From what I’ve gathered, the incidents of the disappearance of many merchants renamed the forest to the Lost Forest. From the information I've learned from the library, magical beings such as; Dryads and Pixies have abilities to control the forest, another possibility could be just bandits.

I want to go investigate. If I’m lucky, I can find leftover merchandises I could take.

But first, I need to gear myself.

“Kid, I never got your name. Punch me if I'm wrong, it’s Arden isn't it?"

“If you know then why ask, Dane? I bet one of them guessed correctly I was behind the scenes?"

"No, but a beauty mentioned your name. I didn't know who she referred to, but after she left I got an idea it was you. Pretty sly of you hiding your name so I wouldn't be able to tell them you were here."

"I want to cut all ties with them. They were only good to earn us cash.” I heaved the shovel over my shoulder as I sheathed the dagger in its holster under my coat.

Testing the weight of my custom equipment, I swung the door open.

“Then adios! This human waste is about to take his first steps into his meaningless adventure.” I said not before grabbing the spare knives for my ballistic knife.

“Got it. Don’t die that easily on me.”

“This cockroach can crawl its way out of anything if he needs to.” I laughed.

-

My wallet’s gotten light.

Before I passed the gates, I bought a traveller’s package from the guild. Since it only came with cheaply made cooking utensils, a lantern, an empty waterskin, fire starter kit and a compass, I was forced to spend on other necessities at the market for preserved food. Thankfully my haggling skills were barely enough to leave me with emergency savings if I pass an inn by chance.

“And X marks the spot.”

I found a mound of dirt below the tree as stated on my map. This was why I needed a shovel.

After I removed the dirt from the bag, I immediately searched for my solar charger to revive my phone. As for my gun, I came into this world with four bullets. One was given to Dane to try and reverse engineer the product but sadly it couldn’t be done. At least he gained the knowledge of its mechanisms. These three would be used in emergency scenarios so they were stored in the secret compartment.

My trusty switchblade fitted in my sleeve, ready for malicious use. I’m especially proud of its sharp edge I personally grinded it back in my world.

As for the items I received from the apothecary for free; recipe books, mortar pedestal, flask bottles, a tiny alembic, they had dirt on them. As long as the contents aren’t broken, it’s not a problem how worn they are. They still have their worth.

“Okay! So Woodhurst.” I stretched, after I completed transferring my belongings between my bags. “The path says to continue East…”

Honestly, the most spacious area without buildings was the scenery of deserts from my previous world. The plains in this world could rival the scale of it seemingly spanning into the horizon infinitely in my perspective.

I wonder how far would a wildfire spread?

I quickly dumped the idea and moved back onto the road. A little while later, a farmer was kind enough to let me hitch a ride on their carriage.

“Hey, lad. Get off!”

“Why?” I slept above the hay stash, staring into the blue sky. “We’re going the same direction for a while. You look lonely so why not have a bastard like me keep you company for a while?”

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“I already said no! Get off before I report you to the guards!”

“I don’t think the guards would do much around the empty lands here.”

It’s true. As I sat above the carriage, I scanned my surroundings. There wasn’t a single person travelling on the same road other than us. It’s very quiet outside the city.

“Hrk…” The farmer frowned.

“If you like, I can start shouting. It might summon some highway bandits or monsters to give you some more company.”

“N-no. Don’t do that. You win. Just keep your mouth shut, okay?”

“Glad we came to consensuses.” I said, killing the conversation.

Nothing happened for the next hour as I tapped away at my phone, translating the recipes from books I got from the apothecary. It was suddenly when the horse pulling carriage suddenly stopped and cried.

“Whoa, girl! Steady!”

“What’s the matter?”

“She always acts up on this intersection. It’s that cursed forest over there.” The Farmer pulled on the reins, controlling the horse from running amok.

It’s that forest Dane warned me about. The sun’s glare was making it hard to see. I point my phone, using its zoom function to get a telescopic view of the mysterious forest.

There are red spots and a wall of… thorny vines? Each strand was as wide as the trees it guarded.

“Say, about the shortcut to Woodhurst. It’s through that forest, right?”

“Used to, about two weeks ago. Why you asking, lad? Are you going to be like them adventurers and challenge the dungeon?”

“It’s a dungeon?”

“Yeah, a dungeon. A royal noticed has pronounced it to be a dangerous area. Apparently, them magical spikes of energy converted the forest into a dungeon. Though its true that you can save time using it as a shortcut, monsters in there are stronger than the ones wandering in them plains.”

Like in games… dungeons. Fascinating! This world’s truly a wonder! That’s one more thing to excuse myself from being a suicidal freak.

“Then again, if you’re successful, you could sell many uncommon ingredients for potions and possibly ores that could earn you hundreds of gold coins. That’s only if you come out alive.”

“Like these ones?” I showed him photos of herbs I planned on searching off my phone, to which he thought was a magical device.

After he confirmed the ingredients I want that should be grown within the forest, I threw myself off the cart.

“You must be one of those travelling scholars to have them magic tablets. Why didn’t you say so?”

“Me? A scholar?” I laughed villainously. “Sure, whatever you say old man. I’m just trying to rebuild my goal from ground zero. I’m going to check out the forest.”

“Suit yourself. If you get killed, don’t blame me.”

“Never, in fact I’d welcome it as long I’m the one who gets to extinguish my flame in a glorious manner.”

“What a weird lad.”

-

Buds of roses sprouted from the thorn’s tip as red as blood. Thread of vines constrict human remains, those adventurers who attempted to challenge the dungeon for glory. As for the castle of thorns surrounding the perimeter forest I’d estimate its height to be around 3 meters tall. When I approached the entrance I a tunnel was created by the vines shifting a grand entrance for me.

The skeletons rattled in the squirming sea of wild vegetation. Their bones were crushed by the weight shifting above them then a cold breeze rushed to greet me from the dungeon. As I peered into the darkness, I realized my phone was charged at 20%. I struck a light into my lantern seeing as I have no other option to use a brighter light.

"Stay away human, or I will use your body as fertilizer for my dear children!"

“Huh… weird. You want me to stay away but you opened a road for me? Anyways, I think you’ll find my body poisonous for your babies. I’m full of junk.”

I carried myself past the gate and saw recently dead victims wrapped by vines. I inspected the wounds on it and found they were injuries that could be made from a sharp object like a dagger. The other decaying body beside it had small holes piercing through its shoulder, must be from arrows or spears. The weird thing was the arrows were absent.

I prepared for the worst. Just so you know, I have a good record of completing my jobs. As I accepted the job Dane offered and the King’s contract, I don’t plan to die yet. But this excitement! This spine crawling sensation pulling my curiosity into a dungeon! I had to give into temptation and explore the place.

Then I came across a dead end. Not quite.

“Fine, human. If you persist to challenge me, then prepare yourself!”

Strange hieroglyphics emerged under my feet, glowing intensely to steal my vision. A powerful gust forced me to close my eyes as I pull my hood down to cover my head and readied my tactical shovel. As I crack my eyes slowly, I noticed the air felt warmer. The tunnel of vines disappeared and now my sense of direction was lost. The leaves blocked my view of the sun so I couldn't tell which direction I was going looking towards.

The compass was twirling uncontrollably. Not very useful.

“Teleportation?” I muttered, quickly inspecting myself and check my belongings. “Oh crap…”

I can’t help but worry if the scale of magic extended to spatial transportation, there’s a high chance a mind reading spell might exist. However, if I could get my hands on that spell, I could essentially eavesdrop information with ease. I’ll have to consult an expert on magic.

For now, I climbed, jumped, crawled, over, under, around the tree roots and vines. Around twenty minutes I found myself a spring and took a break. The empty waterskin were taken out and filled with water, then I started walking again.

I haven’t thought about being teleported. Finding an escape route may be troublesome.

Then I moved for about 3 hours.

How long do I need to walk until I can reach the edge of the forest? If this map I copied from Dane’s was correct, I would’ve left the area two hours ago. I drank the last bit of water from the tiny waterskin after swallowing a piece of dried jerky. Man, for someone who doesn’t often exercise, this is hell. Not the kind of hell I ever imagined myself to be in.

*Crunch

Not only was the noise loud, the tremor startled me. As usual, my curiosity was always more influential than my common sense. I decided to crawl behind trees to locate the source of disturbance.

From the shadows of the tree I spotted an oversized-, crocodile? Aligator? I’ll call it a dinosaur. It’s similar to a Sarcosuchus except it had six legs covered with sharp scales over its body using its razor sharp teeth in its duck bill ripping its meal into pieces. Now that it showed it’s face, it looked more of a Platypus with its beaver like tail.

*Snap

“Oh fuck…” I looked down to find a snapped twig under my foot.

When I looked up again, I could see a glint in the monster’s eye. It found me. The Dinosaur gulped the rest of its meal and-.

“GaaaawwwWWAAAHHHHH!” It quacked while it flung its body towards my direction and began crawling in a frenzy.

“Aw shit, it’s damn fast too!”

I immediately ran in the opposite direction, finding cover but it was quickly closing the distance. I was able to squeeze through small openings curtesy of giant roots, but that Dinosaur pulverized every obstacle I threw at it in its path. I didn’t want to look back to find how close it was and I’m growing tired. On my left, I spotted a cliff and headed for there. I only had a fraction of a second to decide if I should head there.

When I noticed a shadow growing over me, I flung myself to the side, avoiding the Dinosaur diving its teeth at me. At an instant’s decision, I circled behind a tree for a quick breather. Man, my lungs are killing me.

Slow and steady deep breaths. Good.

But unfortunately, it knows where I am and slowly moved to my hiding place. I guess its time for me to experiment a bottle of Dragon’s Spittle. Without preamble, I threw the flask of red powder at the monster and tossed a lit match before sprinting away.

“Ngh! Wow…”

That thing is potent. I could feel a strong heat wave strongly even though I wore a coat.

“GaaaawwwWWAAAHHHHH!”

“You’re kidding! It lived through that!?”

I forgot this is a fantasy world. If monsters in this world follow game logic, it would have resistances. Using this chance, I moved to gain as much distance as I could. About ten meters from my current location, I stumbled onto a group of caravan pulling a giant cage. I was preoccupied being chased, I couldn’t tell what they were transporting.

Knowing I’ll collapse if I continue to run, I changed my course and headed towards them and brought this oversized Platypus behind me.

“Hey! Care to give me a hand?”

I don’t know if they’re friendly but all I’m trying to do is get this Dinosaur off my back.

“Boss, do you see that?”

“Hm…?” One of the armed men squinted his eyes. “Is that… it’s a Razor Beak Drake! Hide the merchandises quickly! We’ll come back after we lose that monster!”

The three men pushed the cage into a hole and started to run away from me. When the cage crashed into the ground, I heard some screams. That’s not important. With incredible leg strength, the monster leaped into the air snapping its jaws against tree in its path, crushing the trunk with enough force to separate it into two halves.

One bite from that duck and your body find a gapping hole. If its food it wants, I’ll need to pass the ball to someone else. I pulled a sack of food from my bag and chased one of the armed men fleeing the scene.

“Slow down for a bit!”

“Hell no, are you nuts!? I’m not going to slow down and get eaten by that thing!”

“You’re bandits right? Here, take my stuff! Steal it!”

“What are you-?”

“Good luck!” I smiled as I separated from him.

He opened the bag to search for its contents, but when he looked behind it was too late, the Dinosaur’s jaws was over his head and everything about him was tear to pieces. Feeling content, it calmed down and began wandering aimlessly.

I’m spent. Oh god, that was tiring.