Maiden of the Lost Woods

"Our initial exploration went very smoothly. Although the goblin tribe was large in scale, it lacked depth. Even the elite goblins were defeated with our cooperation. "Alec moved his Adam's apple and said in a low tone.

"However, just when we let our guard down, the monster appeared!"

Having said this, even Agnes on the side couldn't help but flinch slightly, and Alec also looked stern.

"It had already reached the Transcendence level. Even without using its abilities, it was not something we could handle. When I saw its eyes, my heart sank."

"In the end, only I barely managed to escape, while my four teammates, including Agnes, were captured by the Goblin King and locked up in prison," Alec recounted, his tone full of self-blame and anguish.

Upon hearing this, Agnes bit her lip slightly, and a layer of mist floated up in her beautiful eyes. Her lovely face turned pale, as if unwilling to recall that experience.

"I lurked alone near the goblin tribe for a whole night, drawing a crude map on the ground with sticks and making various plans, but there was no chance of success. That monster was just too powerful!"

Alec's brows couldn't help but furrow, his expression showing frustration.

"Just when I thought I had to give up hope, a beautiful girl suddenly appeared, followed by villagers..." Light appeared in Alec's eyes again.

Leah and Clara exchanged a glance, vaguely recalling when they first met Alec.

"The local villagers called the girl a 'goddess'. When I saw her graceful gait and determined eyes, I couldn't help but admire her extraordinariness,"

"But she also reminded me of another ancient legend about this forest - about the true eternal master of these woods!" Alec said, his tone full of reverence and yearning.

As the story went deeper, more and more people gathered around to listen with great interest.

Someone couldn't help but ask, "The Lost Woods has an owner? There's such a thing?"

Another burly man scoffed, "As far as I know, the most powerful beast in the Lost Woods should be the Land Dragon! It rules this place!"

"No, no, the Land Dragon is still too young. It should be the Dark-Horned Bull! It left many legends a century ago!" an elderly white-haired man interjected.

"Brother, your information is a bit outdated. The Dark-Horned Bull hasn't been seen for at least half a century. Legend says it was killed by an even more powerful beast..." another robust man retorted.

Everyone began to discuss the powerful creatures in the forest, temporarily digressing to the legends of the Lost Woods.

At this time, a voice suddenly inserted itself into the discussion: "Wait, the legend you just mentioned Alec, the image of the girl? Could it be you're talking about - the Maiden of the Lost Woods?"

The question came from a middle-aged man who looked like a scholar. His words immediately drew everyone's attention, and they quieted their discussion, all eyes turning to Alec.

"Hahaha, what kind of joke is this? How could something like that be real? The most powerful existence in the Lost Woods is a human? You guys read too many fairy tales! Always dreaming of meeting a beautiful and powerful girl on your adventures..."

But Alec cut off their ridicule very firmly: "That's right! It's her!"

The crowd fell silent again, all looking at Alec.

"I didn't believe in the existence of the Maiden of the Lost Woods before either, I just took her as a fictional legendary character." Alec went on.

"Until we saw her tremendous power with our own eyes. With just one move, she destroyed the Goblin King and rescued Agnes!"

Beside him, Agnes also nodded. Although she had lost consciousness at the time, after the big explosion, she was awake for a while and vaguely knew what had happened.

As Alec told about the Maiden of the Lost Woods, Colin snorted disdainfully, "Tsk tsk, now you're making up stories, an immortal young girl alone guarding ruins, who would believe that? Seems like you can't give a clear account of the battle."

"No, I can accurately describe what ability the Goblin King died from," Alec uncharacteristically refuted firmly.

The crowd suddenly became interested and kept asking, "What? Tell us quickly!"

"The mage's Fireball spell," Alec said matter-of-factly.

"???" Everyone was stunned.

"Huh? Are you kidding?" someone asked in disbelief.

"Fireball? The most basic mage ability?" another person also asked.

At this time, a robust middle-aged mage in the crowd stood up: "Hey, I'm a mage myself, how could I not know the power of Fireball? You might as well believe I'm God rather than believe a Fireball could instakill the Goblin King!"

He even jokingly condensed a tiny fireball on his fingertips, as if to demonstrate the weakness of this basic skill.

"I'm not kidding. She cast an ultimate Fireball and the Goblin King turned into flying ash on the spot!" But Alec's tone was firm, as if the lofty figure of the Maiden of the Lost Woods that day was still lingering in his mind.

"Interesting, one Fireball instakilled the A-rank Goblin King, and it was even in its berserk transformed state after activating its abilities? Is this so-called Maiden of the Lost Woods a deity?" a mocking voice sounded.

"Yes, the villagers do call her a 'goddess'!" Alec affirmed without hesitation.

Immediately the crowd burst into laughter: "Hahaha... Hey Alec, you're really telling myths, you're killing me!"

"What good does killing me do for you? Poor Alec, beaten silly by the Goblin King!"

Hearing the ridicule from the crowd, Alec sighed and shook his head helplessly: "If you don't believe me, I can't help it. I can only say you haven't personally witnessed the might of the Maiden of the Lost Woods."

"But the huge lava-filled crater, the destroyed goblin settlement, and the aftershocks spanning dozens of kilometers, are all undeniable facts." He went on explaining.

"For this mission, I can submit the shattered magic core of the Goblin King as evidence. The Goblin King is undoubtedly dead. No matter if the officials send an investigative team, they can only come to this conclusion."

Alec was too lazy to explain further, and calmly ended his account, no longer paying attention to the others' discussions.

The important thing was, the medal for defeating an A-rank monster was the proof of honor that every adventurer dreamed of obtaining.

He had the duty to deliver the medal back to the families of his fallen teammates, to tell them that they had fought against such a terrible monster!

At this time, a tall, muscular man in the crowd frowned: "Wait, the aftershocks you mentioned...are you referring to the ones that occurred a week ago in the southern region of the Lost Woods?"

Alec nodded: "The Goblin King's settlement was indeed in the southern part of the forest."

The adventurer pondered for a moment and said: "A week ago, I was also on a mission in the south. I did feel a very strong tremor then, the whole forest was shaking. I thought it was the Land Dragon's wrath."

The onlooking crowd let out a gasp and began whispering to each other.

"Now that you mention it, I remember too! Because I'm a Paladin, my hearing is very sharp. Around that time, I sensed a horrible disturbance even in the central forest!" another man said seriously.

As the exact location and timing were revealed, more people in the crowd spoke up, saying they had also sensed the anomaly in different areas.

"Wait, according to what you said, those tremors were actually the result of the Maiden of the Lost Woods' lethal blow on the Goblin King?" someone concluded in terror, still struggling to fully believe it.

"That's right!" Alec nodded affirmatively.

Just then, Zachary, who was in charge of inspecting the magic cores, also walked over. The crowd quieted down instantly, all eager to hear what conclusion he would draw.

Zachary carefully examined the core fragments, sighing as he did: "Incredible, this is the first time I've seen an A-rank magic core shattered completely!"

"Based on the core's freshness, its owner must have died within a month," he continued analyzing. "The surface traces indicate it suffered extreme explosive and tearing damage."

"And the fact that these black scorch marks penetrate deep inside shows the attack temperature was extraordinarily high...but please pardon my lacking imagination, I simply cannot conceive what means could have caused such horrifying destructive effects..."

Alec calmly supplemented: "It was the Fireball spell used by the Maiden of the Lost Woods."

"Huh?" Zachary looked at Alec in surprise, instinctively wanting to deny this seemingly preposterous claim, but hesitated when he recalled his earlier analysis.

Zachary struggled for words before finally speaking: "Hmm...the situation you describe is indeed possible, since all the indicators match. It's just that Fireballs with such power levels are unheard of!"

His words made the surrounding crowd fall silent, deeply pondering.

The timing and location of the great explosion aligning with Alec's account, as well as the damaged state of the core, did seem to indirectly prove the "Maiden of the Lost Woods'" existence.

Just then, a gruff, robust man walked into the crowd, carrying a blue goblin leather on his back, beaming with joy.

"Oh my, why are there so many people gathered here today? What are you all talking about?" he asked curiously.

"Wow, this is a rare blue goblin leather!" someone in the crowd exclaimed.

The man laughed smugly, "Hehe, I was just lucky to come across it."

"Let me tell you, I discovered a huge crater deep in the Lost Woods, easily several hundred meters wide, filled with lava!" he said mysteriously. "There used to be a large goblin settlement around it apparently, but it was gruesomely destroyed."

"By the time I got there, the lava had nearly solidified, but goblin remains were countless, spoils of war everywhere. My carry weight limit couldn't fit it all, so I could only take this precious blue goblin leather to trade for a bounty!"

The man looked around proudly at the crowd's expressions, laughing loudly: "What's wrong? Has my good fortune left you all speechless? Too envious of my spoils?"

The crowd was silent for a time, still trying to digest everything Alec had said.

"Could it be...what Alec said is true?"

"That legendary Maiden of the Lost Woods really exists?"

"You guys were talking about the Maiden of the Lost Woods, is she pretty?" someone couldn't help asking curiously.

The crowd immediately erupted in discussion, babbling about all kinds of rumors regarding the Maiden of the Lost Woods.

Alec finally smoothly obtained the quest reward and the glorious medal representing victory over an A-rank monster.

Colin and his gang, who had opposed Alec all along, were now completely speechless and slipped away in embarrassment.

"My brothers, may you rest in peace. I will definitely deliver this honor to your families!" Alec clutched the medal representing glory, a hint of tears glimmering in his eyes.

After leaving the Adventurers' Guild, the group went to a famous local restaurant for a meal.

By now, the entire restaurant was heatedly discussing the legend of the Maiden of the Lost Woods, undoubtedly due to Alec and his party.

Alec said somewhat apologetically, "Now the whole town is talking about the Maiden of the Lost Woods. I wonder if it'll cause her trouble."

But David simply shrugged and smiled, "It's alright, no one can affect her."

In the depths of his mind, a trace of Lynn's consciousness still existed. These words were as if spoken by Lynn herself.

Emma laughed, "It's fine, at most it'll bring some 'trouble' to the village, like a wave of pilgrims coming to worship her. It might even help the village develop!"

After the meal, Alec took them around the adventurers' hub, to help everyone become more familiar with the environment here.

The adventurers' hub was extremely large, practically a new small town of its own outside the main city.

The large number of adventurers and the spoils they brought back supported a thriving industry and commerce.

In the evening, they arrived at an adventurers' inn. It provided lodging and retained a strong adventurous atmosphere.

"I've booked two large rooms here for you guys, paid half a month's rent as deposit. You can stay for a while first," Alec told everyone.

"We'll set off tomorrow to visit the families of my former teammates," Alec sighed, his tone somewhat low. "It'll be good to get some emotional release as well."

It was evident the battle with the Goblin King and the loss of his comrades had taken a heavy toll on him.

"You'll be starting your own adventuring journey too. Remember to start from District D of the hub, and find ways to increase your strength. The wilderness is dangerous, with not just monsters but treacherous people too." Alec solemnly reminded them.

"Alright, we'll be careful," Emma and the others nodded seriously too.

After that, Alec and Agnes patiently explained a lot of adventuring knowledge and skills to them until late into the night before taking their leave.

"Farewell, who knows when we'll meet again. I hope you'll become stronger by then!" Alec waved goodbye to them.

The group watched their figures disappear into the night. A brand new world and unknown adventure lay right before their eyes, filling them with excitement and anticipation.