A Gorgeous Beauty in the Forest

A dizzying sensation clouded Tyrak Morningstar's senses after he crashed the orb. His head started spinning, and he shut his eyes reflexively. An instant later, he opened them again and noticed he was no longer in the magical cave. Instead, he was in a lush green forest somewhere on the surface.

"Teleportation really works! I'm back on the surface!"

Tyrak Morningstar exclaimed again and again. Once again, he couldn't mask his astonishment, and for a few minutes, he stayed rooted in place, observing the refreshing sights of the forest around him.

His eyes took in the dappled sun rays that shone through the trees to create mysterious shadows on the ground, and his nose picked up the fresh scent of the jungle surrounding him. He could see squirrels, rabbits, insects, and other small animals moving about the place. He could also hear the soothing sound of river water gushing somewhere in the distance. Everything around him was pleasing to the senses and nothing like those monotonous sights he had gotten used to while mining underground.

The breeze blowing through the trees flushed across his face, and he felt truly alive for the first time in seven years. His eyes moistened, but he inhaled deeply and wiped the tears away.

He had endured the suffering underground for a whole seven years. He had slept on an empty stomach countless times more than he could remember. But finally, he had escaped the hellholes that were the mining tunnels and could thus start anew. His future was, without a doubt, promising.

There was also the opportunity given to him by the mysterious entity. He had gained strength and powers that he could never have dreamed about. As such, he had all the qualifications to look into what had happened to his parents without fear. He wished to find those enemies that had harmed his family seven years ago, and then he would show them what it meant to be better dead than alive.

"I need to get some clothes first."

Tyrak creased his brows as he looked at his tattered clothes. After years of use and after experiencing the earthquake within the tunnels, they were dirty, faded, and full of holes. They were a huge contrast to Tyrak's smooth and glowing skin, which looked like that of a newborn. He had to get himself a new attire or risk being identified as a former slave by someone.

"I better start moving."

Picking a random direction, Tyrak started proceeding carefully through the forest. Although he didn't know where he was, he wasn't worried. His newly gained abilities could allow him to protect himself from any dangers, and he could confidently traverse the jungle until he chanced upon another person and asked for directions.

"Pa... Pa, pa..."

Tyrak's tattered and worn-out boots continued crashing twigs and dry leaves on the forest floor as time flew by. He didn't meet any dangerous beasts but only saw some harmless small animals on his way. He had already chanced upon more squirrels, wild hares, insects, and small snakes. But they all raced away from him when he approached them. It was as if he was their nemesis.

After about an hour of walking, hunger assaulted his senses again. He felt the all-familiar demon that—was starvation grinding at his insides, and he readily decided to get himself a meal before continuing his journey.

Squatting behind a bush, he stealthily started observing two rabbits chewing on some green twigs in the distance. He waited for the right moment before racing forward like a predator to catch the helpless wild hares.

His speed was impressive, and he covered a hundred yards distance within moments. But alas, his efforts still bore no fruit as the rabbits dashed away to safety before he could reach them. He could only punch the ground in frustration after failing in his first endeavor to hunt.

"I need to find a way. I cannot stay hungry even after escaping that hellhole."

Tyrak hardened his resolve and turned his focus to his spatial ring. He immediately noticed that aside from the books and the scroll, a few weapons, like knives, daggers, a bow, and arrows, were hipped up in one corner of the contained space. Moreover, they all seemed brand-new, as if they had never been used by anyone before.

"Seems like the mysterious entity considered a lot on my behalf. These will make my life simple."

Tyrak didn't choose to summon the daggers or the bow and arrows out of the ring. As an amateur weapon specialist (who had last touched a weapon seven years ago), he went for the simplest-to-use weapons, which happened to be two sharp kitchen knives. He brought them out of the ring with a mental command and started testing them out with a few swings.

"Whoosh! Whoosh..."

The sound of knives cutting across the air immediately sounded in the forest. Tyrak relied on his recently enhanced agility and powers to slash around and about like a knife demon.

As he got more and more used to the weapons, his speed became so fast, and soon the knives started leaving only bright glints in the air. But he didn't stop. He wanted to totally master the feeling of using the knives before he could try his hand at hunting again. He didn't wish to allow another prey to escape from his grasp.

"Pa..."

Just as Tyrak was in the midst of his training, his ears picked up the sound of something stepping on a dry twig. His heart skipped a beat, fearing that a dangerous beast was stealthily approaching. But when he turned to look, his fear melted away like a candle exposed to a fire. In place of the apprehension, a weird sense of excitement surged through his mind as he noticed a lady on a majestic black horse approaching from a distance.

The lady was, without a doubt, a beauty of the highest standards. Atop her gorgeous head lay a small hat that allowed her long silky purple hair to cascade down her shoulders like a waterfall. White leather armor and body-hugging riding pants accentuated her red-hot figure, while leather gloves and boots sheathed her hands and feet. She had smooth skin, a graceful appearance, and an angelic demeanor, and because of her get-up, she just looked like a painted figure instead of a 'real' person.

"Hello, stranger..."

The enchanting lady jumped off her horse and greeted Tyrak. Her smile was gorgeous and refreshing, like a chilly breeze in the summer. It caused Tyrak's heart to go on a wild caper, and he even forgot himself and failed to return the greeting. He just continued admiring the lady's stunning face without a care for anything else in the world.

"Hello, are you okay?" The lady called out to Tyrak again. She waved a slim gloved hand in front of Tyrak's face.

"Yes, I'm fine," Tyrak finally answered with a sheepish smile. "Pardon my rudeness. You're so beautiful. I forgot myself for a moment while admiring your beautiful face. Hopefully, you won't hold that against me."

"Oh, smooth! Don't worry! I won't hold anything against you." The lady said with a chuckle. Her hazel eyes twinkled like stars in the night sky, and her delicate cherry lips curled upwards at the corners. She had that delicateness about her that caused Tyrak to want to protect her even with his life on the line.

"I'm Tamara, by the way," she said, extending her gloved hand. "Tamara Wisetree. It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance."

"No, no, the pleasure is all mine," Tyrak said and took her hand for a firm handshake. "I'm Tyrak... Tyrak Blackwalker. Nice to meet you." He had been about to give out his real surname but remembered what had happened to his parents seven years ago. He immediately decided to stay on the side of caution and gave out a fake name instead.

"So, Miss Tamara..." Tyrak paused and regarded the captivating lady and her majestic black horse. "Why is a lady as delicate as you out here and alone in the forest?"

Tamara smiled. "Would you believe me if I said I lost my way? I was headed to Ellwich City and took a wrong turn somewhere. I hope you can point me in the right direction."

"Ellwich City!" Tyrak creased his brows and shook his head. He had become a slave before he could learn most of the geography knowledge. As such, he didn't know about the areas beyond his birth city, which happened to be Albroria, the capital of the Albrorian Empire. Once or twice, while slaving in the mines, he had also heard the guards talk about the towns close to the mines, but there was no Ellwich City in the mentioned names.

"To tell you the truth," Tyrak said to the lady, "I also lost my way after spending some time training in the forest. So, I'm sorry. I can't offer any directions that can be of help to you."

"That's regrettable," Tamara said with a sigh. "I guess I'll have to pick a random direction and move forward until I find the main road or meet other travelers who can point me in the right direction."

"That was also my plan," Tyrak said with a chuckle.

Tamara tittered out a laugh while glancing at him like an old friend. "If you don't mind, maybe we can travel together and help each other out along the way. As the saying goes, two heads are better than one, and maybe, we won't lose our directions while traveling together."

Tyrak's heart skipped a beat. "How can I refuse an invite from a beautiful lady? I'm in."

"Excellent!" Tamara said.

But just as she was about to add more words, Tyrak's stomach grumbled like a church drum. He willed it to stop, again and again, but it continued groaning in protest. It made a lot of noise in the otherwise silent atmosphere of the forest, causing him to blush with shame. He had lost all points in front of the gorgeous lady, and at that moment, he felt like finding a hole to dive in.

"Are you hungry?" Tamara asked, her eyes filled with concern.

Noticing that the lady wasn't laughing at him, Tyrak relaxed. "My lady! I'm really sorry. My stomach is protesting after not getting nourished for quite a while."

Tamara chuckled. "Don't worry! Feeling hungry is normal. I packed a lot of ready-to-eat food for my journey. We can have some and then quickly be on our way. We must exit the forest before nightfall, or we might face some hardships."

"Okay, thanks!" Tyrak's eyes lit up as he no longer needed to suffer with hunting and cooking food. "You are a real angel. It was really a blessing to meet you."

"Is that so?"

Tamara smiled and started unloading the saddlebags from her horse. She unpacked a wide variety of foods, including dried meat, bread, and fruits, and then set them up on a mat on a clear patch of the forest. After arranging everything, she also brought out two large water bottles before inviting Tyrak for a feast.