This is it… Finally.
Light… Simple, elegant, often taken for granted…
After months of darkness, he was finally seeing it trickle through the crevasse, his hands and feet helping him climb toward its embrace. His eyes, unable to move away from its beauty, started to tear up and squint, though he was unsure if it was because they needed to adjust or because emotions were welling up after all this time.
But ultimately, he didn't care. It was right there, within his grasp.
Even its warmth sent shivers throughout his body, a body that had so far only learned to deal with cold and harsh conditions.
One hand here, a foot over there…
Soon, he began to hear birds singing and the wind howling.
It's real… It has to be.
And then, a flash, a flash so bright he couldn't help but completely close his eyes and use his hands to cover his face.
Bliss… Pure, unadulterated, bliss.
He was finally outside.
The blue sky, the clouds, the vegetation… He also didn't know how bad he had missed fresh air, his lungs quivering from joy.
After reveling in these sensations for a while, he looked around and tried finding any sort of visual reference, only to see completely foreign scenery.
The only obvious thing surrounding him was a thick and apparently limitless forest.
"Come out Io. We're going to do some reckon."
The nightmare bat subserviently came out of his shadow before lowering its wing, the routine ending with them both taking flight shortly after.
A thousand feet, two thousand, three thousand…
But no matter how high they went, it didn't seem to matter: the forest simply looked endless in all directions.
Sadly for them, this eliminated any type of logical bearing, leading Derrick to pick a random direction and stick with it.
However, this unfortunate situation resulted in multiple days of consecutive flight, with the necromancer growing desperate for any sign of life. He even began doubting his eyes, thinking he'd begin seeing mirages…
But then…
What's that? Surely not???
Through the endless vegetation, he finally noticed a plume of smoke, a sight that nearly made him joyfully scream. They had found a settlement!
But before rushing toward it, he pondered. His class, or Io and Drako for that matter, were sure to be unwelcome, so he couldn't just carelessly approach. He also wanted information on his whereabouts, leading him to store his armor to avoid any misunderstanding. Friendly relations were a must, and it wasn't like he'd need it anyway, especially with his summons lurking in his shadow.
After stealthily landing at the outskirts, Derrick then began to craft his identity. It was essential in this unfamiliar land, and since he was someone completely new, he was free from all restrictions bar one: Why he was here in the first place.
Suddenly, a brilliant idea struck him, prompting to smear mud all over his body.
A lost adventurer!
Everything fit the puzzle, and even if he was only 16 years old, his stature exuded an aura of experience, which made him look way more professional than his age let on.
His plan was foolproof, or so he thought.
"Let's do this."
While carefully going through the thick foliage, he scouted the camp: wooden stockade all around, one gate serving as both entrance and exit, two surveillance towers…
While rudimentary, he was impressed. This had been built in the middle of nowhere, and most likely in very hostile conditions. This had required a lot of skill and a rare level of leadership.
After eliminating a lot of variables and making sure he hadn't forgotten anything, Derrick then left his cover while mumbling and bumbling toward the gate, his rough acting meant to fool the lone guard at his post. Once close enough, he even 'fell' to the ground in a grotesque thump, almost really hurting himself in the process.
The guard, which had been on edge since the start, immediately noticed him, prompting him to brandish his rudimentary spear in his direction while yelling instructions.
"Sed ut perspiciatis unde omnis!"
That's when he realized he had omitted something crucial : the language. Not only was he clueless about his location, but he also now couldn't understand a thing. Exaggeration and ignorance were his best bets at the moment.
[Would you like to learn the
The prompt surprisingly rang in Derricks' mind. This was pleasantly unexpected!
After accepting, he decided to stay still no matter what. He just had to hold on during this time, since it became evident that he wouldn't be able to use his adventurer's alibi until then.
In the meantime, the burly and armed man kept shouting in Derrick's direction, but to no avail.
After a few minutes, he cautiously proceeded forward and started probing the necromancer with his weapon. When he saw that there was still no reaction, he finally called for help.
Once another few minutes had elapsed, the small wooden gate finally cracked open, letting through 6 people, the group composed of 5 well-built soldiers and a beautiful middle-aged woman.
A back-and-forth then began between the guard and them, their voices not hiding their nervousness about this unusual situation.
After gathering all the facts they could, the group then made its way to him, still on high alert and with their weapons at the ready.
Thorough and prepared... I see why they've lasted here.
The woman then began meticulously evaluating Derrick. No deep cuts, no severe bleeding, no broken bones... If anything, he looked relatively young and healthy under all that mud, especially for someone who had just come out of this accursed forest.
Once satisfied with her assessment, she then ordered the soldiers to carry him to a large hut before laying him to bed, although not without a guard stationed outside.
[The
Thank god!
While delighted, there was no time to waste since a very important conversation was currently taking place just outside his hut between the woman and what appeared to be the leader of this village.
After a brief adjustment, it wasn't long before he understood the gist of it, realizing that they were discussing whether to help him or not, making him frown.
What sort of shitty hospitality is this!?
He definitely couldn't be thrown out without knowing of his whereabouts.
Now under a time crunch, he then used
The only 2 standing out of the mold were the woman and the village chief, the former having a
Still, this meant that if they chose to kick him out, he'd stop pretending and get the information he wanted. He certainly hadn't just crossed an ocean of vegetation to leave empty-handed!
After a lengthy debate, they finally agreed on a plan before returning to his side, their glares full of suspicion.
"Who are you and what are you doing here?"
The village chief quickly took the lead, prompting Derrick, who decided to continue acting up, to mumble in response.
"My name's Derrick Tarlin... I'm a lost adventurer... Please help me."
His acting skills were rough, but they appeared to be just enough, since the chief visibly lowered his guard.
The village clearly was in a very remote location, and Derrick could tell that it was not their first time encountering lost explorers, even if extremely rare.
Seizing the opportunity, he immediately asked where he was.
"You're in Akata, a village located at the border of the Serichi and Krakow kingdoms. Are you from one of them?"
Derrick was startled, and most importantly, clueless. As someone from the countryside, his education also hadn't exactly been the greatest. It was time to improvise again.
"Yes, I'm from the Serichi Kingdom..."
After weakly answering the question, Derrick's gaze then landed on the woman, who had so far remained silent.
"What... What are your names?"
"My name's Lacha and this is Gregor. We are both respectively from the Serichi and Krakow kingdoms. Can I know the name of your town? We may be able to help you."
Lacha obviously didn't trust him, since this question was meant to make him slip up. He was sure her distrust stemmed from having found nothing wrong with him during her evaluation, thus making his true motives murky.
Since she was from the area, she'd also be able to easily confirm his story.
A simple yet cunning trap, and one that made his heart sink in his chest. He couldn't give an answer at all, meaning his cover was blown.
Sensing that something was wrong, Gregor's gaze turned cold before he unleashed his aura.
"Ah... I think apologies are in order. To be honest, I only want information on how to get to the nearest town. I have no ill will."
With the act over, Derrick sprightly rose from his bed during his monologue, his impressive stature now facing them both. He also tried to clumsily clean himself up, only to somehow end up dirtier than before.
"Ahhh, why is this mud so difficult to clean?!"
"Who are you really?!"
Despite his reassuring words, Lacha and Gregor still assumed fighting stances, their trust evidently lost. Her posture also intrigued him, since it showed a high-level of proficiency in hand-to-hand combat.
For a healer to be this skilled. Interesting.
Nevertheless, they clearly didn't know who they were up against.
"Let's start from the beginning. My name's Derrick, and I'm obviously not an adventurer, but I'm -"
But before he could finish his sentence, the duo pounced in a bid to catch him by surprise.
They knew that no ordinary person could survive this forest, so they decided that going for a sneak attack was the right strategy.
When he felt their killing intent, Derrick harrumphed whilst his eyes grew cold, his emotions overtaken by the dark and lifeless aura suddenly exploding from his body.