I looked around. Trees. More trees. The same trees again and again, like the world had forgotten how to generate anything else.
"…Okay yeah," I muttered. "I'm definitely off the main road." Honestly, I didn't even notice when I started drifting deeper into the forest. One moment I was walking with confidence… the next, I was negotiating with reality.
I exhaled slowly. "Well… I guess it won't be an adventure if you don't get lost at least once." That sounded wise. It wasn't.
Time passed strangely after that. One hour became three. Three became a long stretch of silence where even the wind felt like it had better things to do.
And then–
Days passed. Four… maybe five. I stopped counting somewhere between "I'll be fine" and "why is everything edible here either bitter or suspiciously glowing?" I survived on whatever fruits I could find. At this point, I wasn't sure if I was exploring the forest or just slowly becoming part of it.
By the time night came, I finally stopped.
"…Yeah. Camp time." I found a spot between two large trees. Not safe. Not dangerous. Just quietly existing, like the forest had forgotten to care about it. Perfect.
I dropped my bag, sat down, and let the silence settle. No monsters. No people.
Just me… and the uncomfortable realization that I might be completely lost. I ate in silence.
Then stared at nothing. Then questioned my life decisions in alphabetical order. Eventually, I fall asleep.
The next morning–
I woke up like nothing had happened.
Which, honestly, felt suspicious. "Okay," I said while stretching. "New strategy."
If I couldn't find the road… I'd find higher ground. That was simple logic. Probably.
So I climbed a tree. Because of course I did. The bark was rough under my hands as I pulled myself up. Branch after branch, until the forest floor slowly shrank beneath me.
When I reached the top, I held onto a thick branch and carefully looked out. For a moment, there was nothing but green. Endless forest stretching in every direction.
Then–
"…Huh?" Something broke the pattern.
Far ahead. Maybe eight hundred meters, maybe a kilometer or two...something rose from the sea of trees. A Stone. Not natural stone. Structures. Broken walls. Collapsed arches..Ruins..Old.. Silent..
I narrowed my eyes. "…Now what is this?"
The forest suddenly felt quieter. Not actually quieter...just… aware. Like it was waiting for something I hadn't noticed yet. A small unease crawled up my spine. My instincts told me to leave it alone. My curiosity immediately strangled those instincts and threw them off a cliff.
"…Yeah, that's definitely not a good sign," I muttered. Still, I grabbed a few fruits from nearby branches because survival matters, even when you're about to do something stupid.
Then I climbed down. Landing softly, I dusted myself off and looked toward the ruins direction again. The air felt… different now.
Heavier. Like the world had shifted slightly while I wasn't paying attention. I exhaled once.
"…Alright." I adjusted my bag. "Let's go take a look." …Worst case, I run." pause. "Hopefully." I started walking. Each step deeper into the forest felt less like discovery… and more like crossing a line that shouldn't have been crossed.
And still–
I didn't stop. When I reached it.. I was in utter disbelief, as if a battle happened here..The ruins were even worse up close. This whole place looked like it's was burned down..all of it.
Broken walls leaned at strange angles. Half-buried stone arches clawed out of the earth. Cracks ran through the ground like old scars.
Whatever happened here… happened violently. I stepped carefully over loose rubble, brushing dust off my clothes.
"...Yep. Definitely haunted." No answer came. That should've been comforting. But ever since I entered the ruins, I could feel it–that strange pressure in the air.
Mana. Thick, restless, circling beneath everything like something trappep underground was breathing in its sleep.
Then it surged. A pulse ran through the ground. I stopped. "...There you are."
The feeling came from a collapsed structure near the center of the village. Most of it had caved in, leaving only broken stone and a pile of debris. But underneath it, faint blue light leaked through the cracks.
Then moved closer. The moment my foot crossed the broken stones–
*CRACKS*
Lines of light spread beneath the rubble.
A massive magic circle ignited under the debris, ancient runes spinning wildly for one brief second before shattering like glass. The pressure vanished. Then something small shot out of the pile.
"–What the?!"
A red blur flew straight at my face. I flinched. But instead of attacking me, it landed neatly on my head... I froze.
Two tiny claws grabbed my hair. A tail wrapped around the side of my neck. I slowly looked up. Cross-eyed.
There, perched proudly on my head like it paid rent, was a small red lizard. More like an iguana, really. Sharp little horns. Ember-colored eyes. Tiny smoke puffs coming from its nose. We stared at each other.
"...Get off." It blinked. Then made itself more comfortable.
"Absolutely not."
And then–
"Hey kid, thanks for that. Btw you're my familial now."
I jumped so hard I nearly fell over. "What?!" Then I spun around. But no one else is here nothing but ruins, dust, broken walls, and this lizard on my head. "Who said that?!"
"It's me," the voice replied calmly. "I'm speaking to you telepathically." I went completely still. Then slowly looked upward again. The lizard stared down at me. "No..."
"Yes."
"What the hell??!" I'm still shocked as hell
It yawned. "Honestly, rude reaction. I thanked you first." I grabbed it with both hands and lifted it off my head. "You talk?!"
"It would appear so."
"You're a lizard!"
"I prefer the term magical beast." ..I stared at it in disbelief. Then sighed. "...I've been away from home for less than a week." The creature flicked its tail proudly.
"Well, congratulations. You have me now."
Before I could question that terrifying sentence, something shifted inside me.
I frowned.
NOTICE
[FLAME AFFINITY ACQUIRED]
My mana flow felt... hotter...Sharper Like someone poured fuel into a fire that was already burning.
"...What now?" an then instinctively, I raised a hand. A small fire spell. Just a test. Nothing fancy. Mana gathered. Flames formed instantly. Too instantly.
"Wait–"
BOOOOM!!
A blast of fire shot forward and tore through a broken wall, exploding into the remains of a stone tower. Rubble rained everywhere. Smoke rose into the air. Silence. My jaw slowly dropped.
The lizard nodded like a wise old master. "Acceptable." I turned toward it. "WHAT DID YOU DO?!"
"It may be possible,that my presence has improved your fire magic" It said smugly
"Your presence blew up a building!"
"Details." dang lizard says while ginning.
I stared at the destruction. Then at my hand. Then back at the lizard. "No way." Iraised my hand again. "One more time." The lizard grinned. "Oh, this will be fun."
But this time I aimed at a different area since everything In front of me was destroyed.. Yeah well of course by me..Mana gathered in my palm. Heat swirled. A new fire spell began to form. Then I saw movement in the bushes a few meters ahead. So I stopped immediately. The leaves shook violently. Something...or someone..was running straight toward me... Then girl burst out of the bushes.
End of chapter