Haunted Forest

His shivering bones force him to crawl into a fetal position.

The campfire flickers as it is about to go out. Unable to keep warm, he partly hugs himself while his eyelids flutter.

It's a little after midnight and the chill of the night becomes penetrating to his very soul as morning draws closer.

"How are you feeling?"

The sudden voice coming from behind him startles Nox.

Almost whispering, he utters. "What happened?"

Drowsy, he looks around and finds himself in an unfamiliar location. The ground is soft, almost velvety, and massive trees surround him.

He tries to get himself in a seating position when a strong pain, as if it's coming from a thousand needles, bombards his head.

Almost instantly, he puts his hand on the side of his head where he hit it. He checks for blood when he feels a strange wet cloth on it. There are traces of blood, but the wound itself appears to be closing.

His curiosity peaks when he sees bloody bandages on other parts of his body as well.

The calm voice from earlier startles him once again. "It looks like you banged your head pretty good"

Nox turns around and sees a girl close to his age wearing light armor. Basic protection for her chest and metallic horizontal lames like a skirt protecting her waist and hips.

Beneath it, she wears a tight black cloth forming outlines to her lean arms and legs and slender waist.

Her long silver hair contrasts with the background, making her face brighter.

It's dark, and his vision is blurry. The dim light from the fire only casts sporadic shadows. He, therefore, has a hard time making out who the girl sitting beside him is.

From a glance, Nox doesn't recognize the girl with the silver hair. He averts his eyes so she won't notice them. "You helped me? Thank you"

He takes a breath, and holding his ribs, he utters. "Was I attacked by an animal as well?"

The girl sighs and cheekily retorts. "You weren't easy to carry, you know. You kept phasing in and out of shadows and I kept dropping you"

The baffled young man attempts to stand up. "Phasing in and out?"

The silver-haired girl nods. "It's like your body was trying to protect itself"

Nox ponders why something like this was happening.

['It is a reflex from a dream you were having']

The response from Grimmy brings the memories of Nox back. The betrayal he was feeling and his desperate attempts to help the young boy. With a hand on his chest, he grabs the fabric covering his battered body.

The pain in his heart is immense. His already weakening state fuses with the distress of the memories. The built-up anxiety weighs on his trembling knees.

He stands still for a while, saying nothing. He takes a few deep breaths to calm his nerves.

The awkward silence makes the girl cough a few times to break the ice. "My name is Mirena"

Nodding, Nox responds to the girl's attempts at conversation. "I'm Nox, nice to meet you"

His shaking legs cannot support him. Mirena, saying nothing, lends her shoulder to support him. "Don't push yourself too hard"

He accepts her help and tries to balance. His flimsy posture continues to betray him as he feels the stagnant blood in his body thickening in his muscles.

With the assist from the silver-haired young woman, Nox stands. Like a falling leaf that floats to wherever the wind takes it, the young man sways.

They walk together around their camp to get the blood flowing. Each step, Mirena's armor makes a clanging sound every time the lames hit one another.

The colliding metals muffle the singing of the bugs that come out during the night.

The young man halts when the unknown scenery registers in his mind. "Where are we?"

The sudden question startles her and, fidgety, she replies. "At the Haunted Forest"

Standing still, he utters internally. 'System Map'

Visible only to him, the translucent map appears. His eyes follow the path from the Prairie to where he's at.

Through what appears to be a dense forest all the way to the clearing towards the center of the forest. His expression changes to that of admiration when he utters. "You carried me this far?"

Mirena shows a warm smile and shakes her head. "I couldn't leave you bleeding in the middle of nowhere"

The young man reveals a smile. 'This is how other people see what I'm experiencing?'

He chuckles internally. 'Middle of nowhere. I guess she's not that far off considering…'

Nox is reluctant to trust the girl supporting him. For one, he doesn't recognize her as one of his classmates, but there's a chance she's inhabiting another body, like him. "Why the Haunted Forest?"

Mirena, even though she saved him, she has the same insecurities. She keeps the friendly facade to not worry him, but she keeps her guard up as she clenches her petite fists the entire time. "There are rumors of a treasure"

With the map screen open, Nox locates the Geo-Markers. He sees two crystals with different colors. One is red, which is further in, whilst the other one has a blue color.

'Grimmy… What's blue?'

['Blue is the color for knowledge. It can be anything from information about the world and magic to random thoughts of previous land owners']

'Sounds interesting'

Without the lames hitting against each other, the chirping of the bugs makes its way to their ears, accompanying the otherwise silent night. Their chorus soothes those that hear it.

The vibrant nature warmly envelops Nox's heart, caressing it with gentle musical notations, relieving his earlier pain from the stream of memories.

Nox lies on his back gazing at the stars. "The Haunted Forest is dangerous. Why go through the trouble to carry a wounded stranger all the way here?"

Mirena's muscles relax and with stress in her voice she utters. "I'm in a hurry and I didn't know what else to do with you"

The young man redirects his gaze towards the girl. "In a hurry?"

The girl looks down, saying nothing.

They remain silent for a few minutes until Mirena changes the subject. "You should get some more rest. I'll keep watch for the night"

He nods and turns around. He checks his status in silence and then his inventory before nodding off.

A few days pass quickly and Nox is already feeling better and more energetic. Mirena handles the hunting and cooking, all the while changing his bandages in between.

Nox actively tries to help to the best of his abilities, but quickly enough he notices that his level is lower than hers. In all their interactions, the young man averts his purple eyes, fearing what she might do.

The memories of his host's life are still vivid in his mind. Whenever he unconsciously looks at her, remembering the difficulties the previous young owner of the body went through, is forcing him to close them.

"We've been living together for a week now. Do you think I didn't notice you have purple eyes?"

Nox looks toward the young woman standing in front of him, revealing his purple eyes. His face has a visible sadness and his eyes convey exhaustion.

The pouting girl reveals a warm smile. "I don't know what you went through but I know you are not a bad person"

He brings an end to the saddened face by expressing his gratitude with a smile.

The thought of revealing his role as a Demon Lord crosses his mind, but then realizes that he doesn't really know her, and his lack of trust forbids him from doing so.

She may have nursed him back to health, but her identity is still unclear to Nox. He's unsure of her purpose in the Haunted Forest. It's been a while since the last time posing the question. "You said before you were in a hurry"

The girl's attention moves from the plate of food in front of her in his direction.

Nox takes a deep breath and utters. "Can I help?"

Surprise forms on the girl's face. A sudden gust of wind interrupts them.

Even though she is still cautious, Mirena brushes her hair out of her face while looking down. "My family is in danger. They asked for compensation. The treasure in the Haunted Forest for their safe return"

At her response and willingness to open up, Nox can't help but stand up and exclaim. "And yet you've been helping a complete stranger?"

He barely finishes his sentence when a screen pops up.

[/Bonus Quest\]

Help Mirena find the treasure

Rewards: 50 EXP

Rewards: Positive Karma

Rewards: 100 Gold Coins

[/Bonus Quest\]