Survival

A little girl lay on the floor, bleeding out with broken bones. Despite her condition, she was breathing. Not only that, she was also healing at a rate visible to the naked eye.

She breathed very slowly.

'Wake up…' a voice echoed in her mind.

Suddenly, the girl's eyes opened, and she quickly started coughing. Recomposing herself, she held her stomach while trying to stand up. She groaned as she fell to the ground again and started vomiting.

Wiping her mouth, she looked up, seeing the cliff she fell from. Her eyes widened when she realized that, aside from feeling dizzy, she was practically unharmed. Doubtful thoughts clouded her mind as the dizziness from before disappeared.

Shaking her head, the little girl focused on what was important. Looking around, she spotted her knapsack. Quickly swooping in, she took it off the ground and started to gulp down all the dried berries her mother made her pack.

As she finished eating, the little girl looked around once more. Unfortunately for her, what she saw almost made her throw up what she just ate. The corpse of a mage was lying on the floor, bones protruding out of everywhere, blood splattered on the floor, and his body a messy blob in general.

The girl gulped down her disgust, tolerating the scene before her. Walking over, she took out two knives from the corpse. An ice dagger, which was slowly melting, and a small metal dagger, which seemed to have fallen after she did.

Seeing the metal dagger, Artha decided to clap for her father, who was probably the one to think it's a smart idea to drop a dagger where the possible remains of his daughter were. Nevertheless, Artha felt a little grateful that her father was an idiot.

For a few minutes, she wondered how she survived the fall. Eventually, she shook her head and thought of a way to get back to her family. She knew how protective and emotional her mother was, and knowing her father, he won't be any help.

She ruled out the thought of climbing up the mountain, which would be impossible for any mage that doesn't have an affinity to wind. Fortunately, during the battle on the grand mountains, Artha learned she could manipulate wind mana.

Despite that, it would still take a few years for her to reach a mana core stage high enough to do that. Flight using wind mana was something a lot of people experimented with, and Artha read about some of those cases, meaning she was aware of how it would drain her core.

Her mana core might have a little more mana, but it was still only in the dark red stage. Given a few years, she'd easily moved on from this stage, but she didn't want to wait a few years, nor did she want to make her parents wait.

Stretching her limbs, she got ready to go find food, whether that be fruit or meat. While she wasn't hungry thanks to the dried berries that her mother made her pack, she would eventually need more food, and it was still daylight, so she won't have to worry about the dangerous mana beasts.

'Oh, you're awake.' An unfamiliar voice suddenly echoed in the little girl's head.

The little girl paled, but instinctively got into a stance. "Who's there?!"

Suspiciously, she looked at the corpse and nudged it with a stick she found on the ground. As she knocked the corpse over, she heard the voice again, and this time it was chuckling.

'You don't have to worry about that corpse reanimating, Artha.' The voice chuckled melodically in her head.

Hearing her name, Artha's eyes widened. "How do-"

'We'll speak of that once you reach my dwelling.' The voice interrupted.

Still cautious, Artha pressed. "You seem awfully sure I'll try to find you."

'I am the only one that can return you to your family, so I advise you make haste.' The voice reasoned.

Those words were like a trigger to Artha. Recomposing herself, she recalled her parents. She couldn't believe she forgot about her family because a random voice suddenly started talking to her.

Left with no choice, Artha decided to go with this. "Umm… Ms. Voice, may I know where you are?"

'You can tell?' The voice inquired, referring to her gender.

Artha smiled sheepishly. "Your tone sounds like the one my mother always uses."

Artha knew she couldn't compare this mysterious lady to her mother. Her mother might be a strong emitter, but she can't save someone from a fall of that cliff from afar. Aside from that, Artha knew there was a big difference. This lady's voice was powerful and resonant, but also silky and smooth. It would make anyone want to trust her.

It was the type of voice that would make anyone trust you.

'Is that so?' the lady mused before continuing. 'I'll show you the way to my dwelling.'

Artha felt her vision shift until it felt like she was staring at the forest from a bird's eye. As her eyes fully zoomed out, Artha could see a location far away, to the east. By her estimate, it was a one day journey.

As her vision returned to normal, the voice spoke again. 'I recommend you depart immediately. It will be a lot safer during the day, where the more dangerous mana beasts do not wander.'

"Yes, ma'am!" Artha quickly prepared for the journey.

With that, Artha began to travel through the forest. Despite her core being completely drained, Artha felt as if nothing happened to her. Her bones were fully healed, her skin as smooth and pristine as always, and the pain from her core was gone.

Thanks to the position of the sun, Artha knew it's been only a few hours since the battle.

Although she hated being helpless more than anything, she knew she couldn't offend this mysterious lady. Her mother was a talented and powerful emitter, yet even she couldn't heal bones this quickly.

She knew this lady wasn't so simple.