Chapter 6

My spirit awakened when I felt an attack coming at me.

I quickly opened my eyes, and when I saw a black snake lunging at me, I swiftly grabbed the dagger at my waist and sliced off its head. Its blood splattered around.

I immediately stood up and looked at the multitude of writhing snakes scattered around.

Hypnalis!

They were surrounding me and Nyebe.

When one of them crawled toward the still-sleeping Nyebe, I quickly cut the snake in half. "Nyebe!" I shouted at her to wake her up, and she bolted upright.

"NEHEEEEEEEEEE!" she screamed upon seeing the hypnalis surrounding us.

I dropped my dagger and drew two swords from my waist. I was ready for the attacks on us both.

So many approached us that I swung my sword at all of them. Every one I struck was split in half, but I heard Nyebe's frantic cries beside me, so I turned to her.

She couldn't move from her spot because I had tied her to the tree we had rested against. I quickly cut the binding, and she was free. She stood by my side, and I saw in her eyes that she was ready to fight too. It was as if she had human-like thoughts.

They were truly surrounding us in droves.

What was once a vibrant forest had turned dry, with the only source of light being the moon's glow. I continued to stab and slice at the snakes, but they seemed endless in number.

I pointed my two swords at them, preparing for more attackers.

[Trabem.] I heard my Nana Thelia's voice in my mind.

"Trabem!" I exclaimed to try it out. Suddenly, my two swords glowed, and my eyes widened. A tremendous explosion occurred, causing me to crash into the tree behind me. Nyebe was hit as well.

The explosion ignited a fire that spread to the dry trees, blazing intensely. As a result, all the hypnalis surrounding us fled. Even Nyebe was panicking beside me because of the fear of the fire.

I stood up despite feeling the pain in my back.

I smiled broadly because my magic had worked alongside me with the guidance of my deceased Nana. Although I wanted to celebrate fully, I prioritized calming Nyebe first. I gently stroked her face and placed my two swords back into their sheath at my waist. I mounted her, who was somewhat calm now, to leave this place, but I remembered my pack, so I looked back at the tree I had leaned against earlier to check where I placed it.

My eyes widened when I saw that it was no longer there.

I violently scanned my surroundings when I sensed the presence of a strange being.

When I looked in one direction, I saw a small creature running away with my pack slung over its shoulder. My brow furrowed. "Hiyaahh!" I kicked the side of Nyebe's belly to make her run.

We chased after that creature, but it was incredibly fast.

"Nyebe, hurry up! You're the fastest horse in our kingdom, so don't let that little thief get away!"

"NEHHEEEEEEEE!" She ran even faster.

The path we were on grew denser and darker. Nyebe was struggling to run because of the thin branches blocking our way, so I sliced through them with my sword as we passed, but thankfully, the small creature with my pack did not disappear from our sight.

The contents of that pack were crucial for my journey, so I couldn't let it get away because otherwise, I'd have a hard time reaching the ocean of Syierian.

Now we had entered a new forest.

The little thief was still running away, but I smiled because we were getting closer to catching it.

As we neared it, I jumped down from my horse and rolled onto the ground, pinning the thief under my pack. Nyebe also stopped running.

"Ouch! Ouch! Ouch! G-get off me! I can't breathe!" complained the small voice coming from beneath my pack.

I was now crouched over my belongings, forcing my arms and elbows down, so the thief couldn't escape. "Why would I do that? So you can run away from us again and steal this pack?" I pressed down harder on it.

"N-no! N-no! I won't escape! I'll explain to you..." the voice weakened as it spoke.

I felt pity, so I slowly lifted the weight off of it.

I sat on the grass. Gently, I removed the pack that was pinning it and saw a small creature lying there, eyes closed and seemingly lifeless.

It had short white hair, and I thought it was a girl. Its nose was also very small and flat. She was dressed in what looked like commoner's clothes, but they were very dirty and torn in some parts.

I tapped her chubby cheek to wake her, but she didn't open her eyes. Nyebe approached us and sniffed the small creature.

I looked closely and saw that she was not breathing. "I'm sorry, little creature. I didn't mean to take your life. I hope you can forgive me for what I've done to you." I picked a lilac flower nearby and placed it on her chest.

I looked around to see where Nyebe and I had ended up. It was another forest, but an ordinary one, because unlike the first colorful forest we had visited, this one had only green leaves.

"Haahhh!"

I was startled to see the little creature standing up, gasping for breath while holding her chest.

I stared at her, and she stared back at me.

Her eyes were huge and reddish, with only one tooth on the top and bottom. Her body was very thin, and her bones were almost visible. I estimated she was only knee-high to me or even shorter.

I blinked. "You're not dead yet?"

Her eyes widened even more. "Do I look dead to you?! I'm still breathing! Why did you take so long to leave?! I had to hold my breath for so long you wouldn't know I was still alive, but now you know, so you've ruined my wonderful plan!" she shouted at me, breathlessly.

She was gasping for air again from all the talking. Suddenly, she looked at the pack resting on my thigh and then back at me. Without warning, she snatched it, but she was unsuccessful as I quickly grabbed it.

She kept trying to take it from me. "Give it to me!"

I simply shook my head. "Come out! I know you're there, and you've been watching us for a while!" I shouted as I looked around.

From the moment Nyebe and I entered this forest, I could feel many eyes watching us. They observed my every move.

I stood up and slung the pack over my back. The little living being that was still fussing around hung there.

Slowly, small creatures like the one hanging from my pack emerged from behind the trees. There were many of them; I estimated there were over thirty, and they were all small. They all had reddish eyes and only a few teeth. There were adults, both male and female, and some mothers were carrying even smaller children.

I approached Nyebe to keep watch over her. If these little beings had any ill intentions, I could protect her quickly. I couldn't afford to be complacent because, even if they were small, I didn't know their abilities.

"Well done, human girl. You've figured out that we are watching you," I heard the voice of an old man say.

The small beings parted in the middle, and an elder emerged who looked like them. His long hair was white, and his skin was wrinkled. His eyes were almost closed, and his old age required him to lean on a staff for support.

I just stared at him.

"We are hoblins from the Kobal forest, and I am Orum, their leader. You, miss, what is your name?" he asked me.

"Hemira. A warrior from the kingdom of Gemuria, and I come from the third clan of Tritus, the white mages," I introduced myself.

They all gasped in amazement upon learning I was from Gemuria.

"A warrior from the kingdom of Gemuria?" Elderly Orum confirmed, and I nodded in response.

Suddenly, he knelt before me, despite his apparent struggle. "P-Pardon, warrior of Gemuria! We had no ill intentions towards you! We only needed something from you, which is why one of our companions took your belongings!"

The other hoblins also bowed to me. "Forgive us, warrior of Gemuria!" they all said in unison.