Chapter 10

The ground below softened, a light drizzle mixed with the morning dew moistening Tom's forehead. As the mist slowly lifted, a dense forest fragrance filled the air.

Finally, when his vision became clear, Tom realized he was in the middle of a vast forest. The trail seemed endless as the two giant trees on the side of the path merged. The drizzle fell gently, resulting in a beautiful painting-like scene.

Tom was lost, the fog long gone without a trace. In every turn he turned, every tree looked the same. Following the path along with the trees, this arrangement of trees was most likely a maze.

Tom crossed the forest. Even though it was quiet, he could feel that under this desolate atmosphere of the forest filled with a scent, there was nothing but such a sight.

Based on his keen senses, Tom found bloodstains among the grass.

He followed the trail of blood, entering the deeper part of the forest. Finally, behind the hidden wood, he found a dog whose whole body was covered with white fur, as white as snow.

The white dog didn't move at all, on its back was a deep wound with fresh blood dripping on its snow white fur.

At first glance, it appeared that the white dog had a severe bite wound on its back. The wound was already starting to become infected with pus, any further delay would further reduce the dog's chances of survival.

Tom took a deep breath as she carefully stepped towards the white dog.

Sensing movement, the white dog's closed eyes instantly opened wide, preparing alertly as he watched every move Tom made.

When he saw Tom crouched down, the white dog bared its fangs and growled in warning. The dog struggled to his feet to land a fatal blow on Tom, but the man gently stroked the dog's forehead.

"Do not be afraid." Tom comforted the white dog.

With each soothing caress, the white dog gradually relaxed. The dog closed its eyes again, whimpering softly in pain.

Seeing the weakening of the white dog's defense, Tom immediately looked for medicinal plants to treat the white dog's wounds. Since Tom used to be an active student in the health department at her school, at least she knew what plants could be used as medicine for external wounds.

Tom wandered around looking for binahong plants. This plant can treat external wounds quickly. It didn't take long, the binahong plant, which had green leaves and was shaped like a heart, crept around the edge of the open field. Tom quickly plucked a few binahong leaves and pounded them with a stone and covered the binahong leaves that she had not crushed.

When he finished pounding, he carefully inspected the open wound, cleaning it thoroughly. The shrill moaning sound grew louder as the pain grew, but again and again he comforted the white dog. Gradually, the dog calmed down.

Tom was sweating profusely due to intense nervousness and being too focused on bandaging the wound. He didn't notice that the white dog was slowly regaining his senses, staring at him with teary eyes.

~~~~

The sky darkens as night falls.

The rhythmic drizzle had long since stopped.

With the wound clean and the painkilling medicinal plant bandage starting to work, the white dog's body temperature began to return to normal, no longer as cold as ice.

Just as Tom was getting ready to leave, the white dog whimpered.

"Is he still in pain..." he mumbled to himself as he stroked with his hand the white dog who was rolling his eyes happily.

"...There shouldn't be any more serious problems for now." Tom stood up and turned to leave, she heard again the shriek of pain emanating from the white dog.

"..." The human and the dog stared at each other.

Tom sighed as she glanced up at the night sky. He took off his black outer garment and placed it on top of the white dog then walked backwards to sit further down the tree.

The sunset compliments the serenity of the forest with its blue sky. Tom leaned against the tree as she watched the small white flakes that occasionally fell on her, the sweet scent floating in the forest.

In the midst of this confusing foreign world, Tom didn't feel as scared as she had previously thought.

Even though he couldn't shake off the restlessness in his heart, he could feel that the white dog wouldn't hurt him.

The night passed without a dream.

Morning came with cold dew forming a light breeze.

Tom woke up with her vision blurred to notice a white blanket filling her vision in front of her.

Is this snow? he thought. Why am I surrounded with a feeling of warmth when I'm lying in the snow?

The next second he realized that it wasn't the snow he saw, but the white dog's snow-white fur.

Tom felt an uneasy feeling well up in her as her consciousness began to gather. How could he end up lying at the feet of this beast and not even notice? How could the white dog, who should have been so far away from him, approach him even coiled himself around Tom's body?

The white dog was still asleep when Tom stood up carefully and walked away.

Walking alone through the forest filled with mysterious smells, he left a mark as a clue if he got lost later. However, no matter which direction he went, he would always end up in the same place where he left his mark.

Then reality came to him; all this time Tom had been walking around in circles.

As his strength slowly waned, he started imagining things: that something was following behind him, but when he turned around, there was nothing there.

Suddenly, a rustling sound came from above him. When Tom turned her gaze to the source of the voice, she was surprised to find several skull-like monsters on top of the branches staring back at her. Those creatures are the legendary forest goblins, Hollum

To be continued