Escape and Purpose

***

Eve began to stand. That morning, he tried to stand up straight with his leg strength. I tried to help her, holding on tight in hopes that I could hold the woman's weight as she fell.

"I'm good, Arthur. You can take your hand off me," Eve pleaded.

I do exactly what she said. My feet started to move away from near Eve while both of these eyes continued to focus on the woman's body. In the end, Eve could stand on her two feet.

"It's good but not strong enough to walk," I said.

I immediately held my iron rod to Eve; I thought she needed it more than I did. Eve accepted the wand I gave her and tried to walk with its help.

At the beginning of the experiment, she had difficulty walking because she was not used to it. However. On several occasions. She managed to do it and could walk well; I no longer worry about the woman's condition.

"Thank goodness the wand fits you." I smiled widely. Finally, the two of us could leave the wooden hut to escape to Eve's hometown. The woman said that the village where she was born is behind a hill, just above the sunrise.

"I'll borrow your wand first," Eve said. I nodded, not having any objections.

I noticed the sun was shining outside the hut, a sign that the morning had passed. We immediately left Stockhelm Village to go to Eranor Village, Eve's birthplace.

After feeling safe, I opened the door of the wooden hut and walked out. As far as the eye could see, there was not a single person in this forest. Looks like our escape for the day is safe to make.

"You can come out, Eve."

Not long after, the woman behind me started to slowly walk away. She squinted her eyes; the sun's glare seemed her temporary enemy that afternoon.

"I'll take care of you."

Eve nodded and started to walk out of the wooden hut. We walked down the forest, through the river, and took shelter in the shade of the trees to reach Eranor.

"My condition right now reminds me of memories from the other day," Eve said, starting to tell the story to break the boredom between us.

"Memories? Do you have a worse memory than this?"

"Sure. I'm an adventurer; I've had an attack from a forest monster. They even almost raped me," Eve said, chuckling.

I don't know what she's laughing at, but it seems she's laughing at her past self, who wasn't as skilled as she is today. The woman kept on telling her bad memories from the past without feeling the slightest bit embarrassed.

"The worst moment that almost took my life was when I trusted someone," Eve said; I gasped in shock.

"Why with that? Isn't it good to trust someone?" I asked.

"Depends on who you trust. You'll get in trouble if the person you trust is a two-faced swindler," Eve replied.

"That is what happened to me. They trapped me in a forest and tried to blackmail our party by a bunch of bandits who were none other than the members of the people who betrayed me," Eve continued; she kept walking on the flat path with her eyes focused on the front.

Sometimes I look at the woman with a sense of admiration. If only she was an Adamas, perhaps she would be the most famous and greatest person in the whole country.

However, because she has a green cursor, she only has a limit of level 100, and the class she has is limited. Therefore, I feel a little pity for the fate of the woman.

"Then what happens?" I asked, curious.

"I killed them all, including the man who betrayed me," replied Eve; I was silent hearing the woman's explanation.

We decided to stop at a large tree for the second time. Eve looked exhausted from the look on her face, glistening with sweat. Luckily our place to rest is close to the river, so I can refill my water bottle with clear water.

"Drink it."

Eve nodded and immediately took a few gulps of the drink in her hand. The river water felt refreshing, allowing Eve to breathe more normally, who sounded tired.

"Are we still far?" I asked, sitting down as I put down the refilled bottle.

"Yeah, pretty far," Eve replied.

"I have no problem with long distances, but I do worry about you. Are you sure you're all right?" I asked, looking at Eve sitting beside me.

"I'm sure I'm fine; I just need some adjustments."

"Never doubt your teacher's abilities, Mr. Paladin," Eve continued, teasing me by calling the name of the class I belonged to.

I laughed a little; I took another gulp of the water in my hand in a few gulps. Then, just before we started walking again, the sound of someone calling for help startled me.

I immediately pulled out the sword at my waist. I asked Eve to stay here while I finished seeing the one who asked for help.

Before leaving, Eve threw my iron rod. She said I could earn more EXP points if I used a spear instead of a sword.

"But what if—"

"SOMEBODY HELP ME!"

"Hurry up and help him!" Eve insisted, ordering me.

I made up my mind while agreeing to what he ordered. Immediately I pressed the circle button on my wand and turned it into a perfect spear shape.

These legs immediately ran quickly, slashing the unfamiliar forest in front of me to arrive at the person who asked me for help. The distance was quite far, and I saw him being chased by a large grizzly bear.

I immediately approached him and began to think of ways to immobilize the bear. Maybe I'll try to stop it with skill two I just acquired.

"Sir! Help me, sir!" he asked; the young man's face was white.

"Pull aside!"

"Spinning Dragons!" I said.

Instantly my body moved on its own right after I cast the spell for skill two. The bear came over and was immediately injured by a fairly deep cut. The beast was much stronger than me.

"Reinforce Elements!" I said again.

My spear immediately glowed bright red. I used it to parry, swing, and slash the body of the beast in front of me. It was difficult to immobilize him because he was twice as big as mine.

If I can't kill him, I just need to blind him. Then, of course, I would need to slash the bear's eyes in one swing of the spear.

My legs immediately jumped high, and I cast a spell for skill two, "Spinning Dragon!"

By jumping, the chances of my spear hitting the Grizzly bear's two eyes increase. I tighten these grips, and I can finally blind him.

"Good! Now let's go," I said, grabbing the boy's hand to run in a different direction.

"Why don't you kill him?" the young man asked, his breath coming out of breath from exhaustion.

"If I kill him, then we will all stay in this forest," I said, leaning against a large tree trunk.

I decided to take the young man with me to just rest, after that he will go alone. So I immediately ran away from the battle arena to arrive at the location where Eve was resting.

A surprising thing happened, we could not find the whereabouts of Eve in that place. I'm sure I didn't get lost. There was only my bottle left in that place.

"Where is she going?" I muttered.

I looked around the forest; there was nothing suspicious at all. No one was hiding behind a tree or in a tree branch.

"How many grizzly bears have chased you?" I asked the boy.

"J-Just one."

There's no way the bears did it. He might scream for help and so on when the beast attacks. Another possibility also emerged, namely the Union or Alliance that had kidnapped him.

I combed the area to see if there were any other clues to the woman's disappearance. However, I found nothing.

When I was about to refill my water bottle, I saw a blood stain on the grass. Not so much, but the colors of the two are quite a contrast. I'm sure Eve must be being kidnapped by a group of people.

"You, get out of here!"

"A-Alright, Sir."

The young man immediately left after taking a sip of my drinking water. So now, all I need to do is follow where these bloodstains take me.

"I'll save you. Wait for me!"