Chapter 5: Beings in the forest

I peer at the stream from the bush I’m hiding in. Somehow it looks like the stream has shrunk in size, forcing the monsters to be closer to each other when they want a drink. Thanks to that more fights break out among them.

It isn’t that strange that the stream is smaller since it hasn’t rained a single day since I arrived in this world. Maybe it will rain soon? It’s something to watch out for. I don’t want to fight flying fish.

Earlier today, I pondered about going up or downstream. The upstream must lead deeper into the forest while the downstream looks as it goes towards the borders of the forest.

With a shrug, I follow the stream downwards, hoping for some weak monsters to take down as I once more move to the edge of the forest.

As fruitful as yesterday was, I don’t think that any other birds are suicidal enough to jump out of the trees.

I halt when I reach a bush with yellow berries. One of those Blossom deer noticed something move in the corner of its eye. I stay perfectly still and blend in with the branches of the bush.

The Blossom deer turns its head back towards the stream and resumes lapping up the water.

I should have gotten a stealth skill for this whole thing. But the system doesn’t work like that as it seems.

I need to find a moment where I can get some water too when there are no monsters around. Plants need to drink as well. Now that we are talking about plants I realised something when I was walking towards the stream.

I don’t need to eat, but I do need to use Photosynthesis to get sustenance.

Now what I need to find out is if I can get the same sustenance from eating food. I kind of regret not taking a bite out of that Cokoca when I had the chance. Well, I’ll probably get another opportunity soon enough.

***

The stream stretches on further than I thought. With its winding curves and paths, it leads me through the forest. The surroundings stay relatively the same, though the monsters don’t.

There are lots of types of monsters. And I mean lots. Some are close to the animals back on earth like rabbits, though the one I saw was green.

But there are also a few monsters that seem to belong solely to this world. One time there was some strange creature that can only be described as slightly feline. It leapt from branch to branch with its two arms. The most terrifying thing was that it had arms with two joins like a human’s but the rest of the body was just like a panther or a lion. That thing is gonna give me nightmares for days.

The forest opens up into a large clearing with an ocean-blue lake in the middle. The lake itself is a picture of serenity with lily pads covering parts of it. They have beautiful flowers that span from yellows to deep sunset oranges. The lilies rise above the lake, attracting small insects.

Tiny caterpillar jump from one lilypad to another. I follow one with my eyes until it gets snatched up by a green clump of moss.

I stare in confusion until I’m able to make out the form of the green creature that blends in with its surroundings. I gaze around the clearing, seeing no threats, I move forwards, eager to Identify the monster made out of moss.

[Moss Flamingo] lvl ??/?? (G)

Better not make them mad.

My eyes rove around the clearing, constantly scanning for monsters and points of interest. One tree, on the opposite side of the clearing, stands out from all the others. Most, if not all of the trees, I’ve seen in this world have been a lush green with slight tone changes in their bark. This one instead, is surrounded by a thick carpet of moss that stretches out a good five metres around it. Colourful mushrooms that glow from within are strewn about the verdant carpet. When I stare at the tree’s canopy, I notice that the leaves of it too are several shades darker than the trees around.

Curiously, I get closer, still keeping stock of the few deer around the lake and the flamingos that are feasting on the caterpillars that are trying to flee their hungry beaks.

Slowly, very slowly, I close in. This might be the home of a forest monster that has an affinity with nature. I circle around the tree, searching for a monster that will pop out and rip my head off. I look up, searching between the branches. I’ve seen enough movies to know that you always have to look up in situations like this.

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Instead of a monster, I meet the eyes of a man in his mid-twenties that is lazing on one of the higher branches of the tree.

Without sparing a second, I turn around and sprint away. I forget to dart from bush to bush, leaving all my cares to the wind. I give in to some kind of primal fear that I installed upon myself to survive contact with any sentient being. Only one thought floats through my mind. Run!

Run fast enough that he can’t catch you.

Run fast enough that you can escape his reach, and not be turned into a potion to cure a fever for an omniscient dragon.

RUN!

The treeline gets closer every moment, spelling cover for me to hide in. A possibility to lose him if he is faster than me. I can hide. I need to hide.

But most importantly. I don’t want to die. Not a second time. Not again.

Even with all my speed, my legs pumping, my Stamina flowing through my veins along with the burn of adrenaline and roots slowly tearing like muscles. He simply stands in front of me, as if he appeared out of thin air.

I slow down, almost stumbling over my own legs. Before I know it, he is walking towards me, a passive grin on his face. Thoughts tumble through my head. I can’t escape, he’s faster than me. I can’t fight him, he must be strong if he can move that fast.

He kneels down in front of me, ready to pick me up and throw me into a cauldron to create the perfect potion.

His hand touches my shoulder, he gives me a wicked smile, his emerald eyes glowing with ill-disguised malice.

Oh god, he’s going to kill me.

I can barely stop shaking, my life flashing in front of my eyes for a second time. Deep in my throat, I feel something new build up. It tastes like blood and rage with a tinge of fear. It grows and reaches upwards, splitting my mouth apart.

“Easy there little one. Are you okay?”

Whatever was building up in my throat recedes as he speaks the words. I’m able to breathe again and let out a ragged gasp as my throat finally lets air through again.

He pats me on the shoulder again and looks into my eyes, searching for something.

“Oh. I scared you, didn’t I?” he comments to himself. “Sorry about that little mandrake.”

It takes me a moment to process the words. It takes me another moment to gather myself as he steps back, giving me all the space I need.

I look at him again, now seeing him up closer than before. His shoes are simple with no laces. It has a brownish, mossy tint to it. Slowly my eyes travel upwards. The man is wearing some sort of stretchy pants made out of the same material as his shoes. A brown cloth is wrapped around his middle, patterned with green ferns that almost seem to glimmer with light. Bark armour protects his chest and upper shoulders. The armour may be made out of bark, but it looks as strong as metal for some reason. Above that he wears some kind of cape made out of living leaves and is somehow tied to the bark armour.

Slowly, as if afraid, my eyes rove upwards to his face. While looking at his neck I finally realise that his skin has a healthy, green tinge to it, and has a woody texture to it, albeit very slightly.

Then I finally realise it. Green eyes, wood armour, green woody skin. This man standing in front of me isn’t a human. He must be a dryad, but weren’t those all female? Maybe pop culture made a mistake there.

Almost as if to confirm it, I finally look at his face. He can almost pass for a human when you don’t look at the skin tone, ears that look elven and look like leaves at the same time, and all the tiny twigs and leaves that are sticking out of his brownish hair.

[Dryad of Moss and Decay] lvl ??/?? (E)

(E) grade? Just how strong is he? He was fast enough that my eyes couldn’t keep track of him. And he is just E grade. What is the highest grade anyway?

I bet he can make me go splat in less than a second if he wanted to.

He keeps standing a good meter away from me. He shows his empty hands to me and makes himself slightly smaller than he is, “See? I mean you no harm.”

He looks back to the tree he was lazing on, “Why don’t we have a talk at my tree? I always love meeting new second-lifers.”

I freeze again. How does he know?

As if he is reading my thoughts he elaborates, “Mandrakes tend to get along with dryads since both strongly belong to the nature element and a few other things. They don’t usually sprint away from a dryad as if their life depends on it.”

I follow him towards the tree with the darker leaves. I’m a bit hesitant to step onto the moss. Clearly, it is the work of some sort of skill. I don’t trust that dryad as far as I can throw him. Dryads need potions too.

The strange dryad has decided to laze against the trunk of the tree. He seems to be carefree, but his eyes spell that he is clearly searching for something.

After a long moment, he speaks his mind, “What is your name little one?”

I open my mouth but no words come out. Samuel. That was my name before I died. Am I still that person? I do have a different body now. I live in a different world. But most importantly. That name belonged to a human that was hit by a car and then get crushed to death by a pedestrian light. As much as I like to be that person, I’m not anymore. Mind you, I still am the same person, yet I feel like something has ended and something else began when I died.

I guess I need a new name for a new world and a new life. But what is a good name? Certainly no human names since I am not human anymore. Sadly, I don’t know any mandrake names. Do mandrakes even have names?

You know, why don’t I go with something simple? I am so weak here. I almost died fighting a baby bird that was just a few days old. Now that I think about it, the question is not if I die, but when.

At the end of the day, I am a realist, not an idealist. Who knows how many levels it takes to reach (E) grade? And from what I know, you have to be willing to face the odds for gaining each and every level.

So something simple it is. I take stock of my surroundings, hoping to find something that might help me find a new name for myself. In the end, I only see one thing that makes sense, not just for me, but for this body and for myself. I decide to pick it as my name and say it to the dryad.

“Green,” I taste the word with my lips. It feels new; a good new. “My name is Green.”