BRAND NEW WORLD

Chapter 73: The Forest Holds New Secrets

After leaving Tazik City, our group traveled along dirt roads surrounded by vast grasslands, finally arriving at the campsite after a nine-hour journey. The rhythm of horse hooves and the creaking of wooden wheels accompanied our trek. We were fortunate to reach the camping ground before dark. Thus, everyone immediately set up their tents upon arrival.

The academy members were divided into several groups of 8 to 10 people each. Two supervisors and several guards accompanied each group. Ryda, Hellen, and I were assigned to guard Princess Verni and Lenti’s group.

With this arrangement, the students were expected to build their own camps. By the time the tents were finished, night had fallen. After setting up camp, the students then prepared dinner together.

• •

Our group gathered around a campfire, enjoying warm soup.

"Wow! This is delicious!" exclaimed Princess Vernotta.

"Yes, really. This doesn’t feel like camping outdoors. It feels like we’re with Big Sis Luna," Lenti replied.

Beneath the night sky, we exchanged stories late into the night—or rather, I did most of the talking, as they had so many questions about everything. They had also been staring at Putih ever since we arrived. Though I had permitted them to touch Putih, they lacked the courage to do so. When it was time to sleep...

"Alright, everyone, please return to your tents," said a female teacher.

"Lady Luna, are you sure you’ll stay outside?" asked a male teacher.

"Don’t worry. I’ll sleep here with Putih."

I then took out a sleeping bag and climbed inside. With Putih around, we didn’t need to worry about keeping watch, as Putih could sense if anything happened or if monsters approached.

[The Next Morning]

Birdsong woke me at dawn. I stretched my lazy body. When I opened my eyes, the teachers were already awake and preparing breakfast. I fetched a bucket. I reached out my hand, and a blue magic circle appeared, from which clear water flowed into the bucket. After that, I dipped my hands into the water. I used fire magic to warm it to a specific temperature, then washed my face.

"Ahhh~"

Warm water in the morning truly felt wonderful. As I wiped the water from my face...

"Wow, is that warm water? May I...?" exclaimed a female student.

"I want some too!" called out another.

And so, I suddenly became both the water-heating attendant and a magic teacher for our group. After washing our faces, we continued with breakfast together.

After breakfast, the students and teachers gathered for a briefing. They would embark on an expedition into the forest and return before sunset. This would test their outdoor survival skills. Each group consisted of four to five students and one teacher as an evaluator. Groups that managed to defeat monsters would receive bonus points.

"Isn’t this too soon for them to venture out?"

"I heard the core of this test isn’t about how many monsters you can defeat, but about teamwork and surviving in the wilderness," Ryda replied.

"I’ve heard that the supervising teachers are equivalent to D or C-rank adventurers. So even if they encounter goblins or ogres, they can handle them," Hellen added.

"I hope so..."

For some reason, I have a bad feeling about this. I hope they’ll all be safe.

• •

As the sky turned orange, people began emerging from the forest one by one.

"The forest is really scary," said one female student.

"Right! I was so afraid of the monsters," said another.

"We’re back!" called Princess Vernotta.

"Good work! How was the expedition?"

"Tense, but we were lucky not to encounter any monsters," Lenti answered.

Not a single monster?

After returning, everyone began wiping themselves down with cloths. The students then helped the teachers prepare dinner. Just like the previous night, we sat around the campfire for tonight’s meal.

[The Next Morning]

Our morning activities were the same as the day before. After waking up, we had breakfast together. As everyone was preparing, Putih was jolted awake from its sleep. Its eyes were fixed on the forest.

"What is it, Putih?"

Putih suddenly bolted and ran into the forest.

"Putih, wait!"

"What’s wrong, Lun?" Ryda asked.

"I’m going after Putih. I need you both to be on alert."

Ryda and Hellen exchanged confused glances but nodded. I then ran after Putih.

As I chased Putih, I activated my *search* skill.

"Hah? Them? Why are they here?"

Two kilometers from my position, I sensed five figures being chased by two others.

[A Short While Earlier]

Inside the forest, five figures moved cautiously through the woods. They were Aldian, Kyle, Elise, Phina, and Lynn.

"Haahh... We’ve been patrolling for two days now, and still haven’t found anything," Phina sighed.

"If we still don’t find anything today, we’ll just head back to town," Aldian replied.

"Alright!" everyone answered.

They continued deeper into the forest. After a while...

"Everyone, stop!" Lynn whispered from atop a tree.

"What is it, Lynn?" Al asked.

"I sense two goblins five hundred meters from here," Lynn answered.

"Two goblins?" Kyle murmured.

Everyone then turned to look at Al.

"They’re likely goblin scouts. That means..." Al said, stroking his chin.

"There’s a goblin nest nearby," Elise finished.

"Should we turn back?" Kyle asked.

"Let’s take these two goblins down as proof before returning to the guild," Al said.

Everyone nodded in agreement. They then drew their weapons and advanced carefully. A few minutes later...

"I see them!" Lynn whispered.

"How far?" Al asked.

"A hundred meters ahead of you," Lynn answered.

"Lynn, take out one goblin with a direct vital shot. We’ll handle the other up close. We strike together," Al ordered.

"Got it!" Lynn answered firmly.

As they drew closer to their targets...

Hah? Are the goblins wearing full armor? This is the first time I’ve seen such a thing— Al thought.

Everyone was then prepared to ambush. Al turned and nodded. After receiving the signal...

SWOOSH!

An arrow shot swiftly from atop a tree, aimed directly at one of the goblins.

THWACK!

"Rraargh?"

As the arrow struck one goblin’s neck...

"Now!" Al shouted.

From behind a tree, a fireball shot forth. Unable to dodge, the fireball struck one of the goblins. Smoke and explosion obscured their vision. But that didn’t stop Al from charging in, swinging his sword. As Al swung into the smoke...

CLANG!

As the wind swept away the smoke, shock appeared on Al’s face. The goblin had deflected his attack.

What the hell? Its strength is incredible— Al thought.

The goblin then swung its club, and Al’s body suddenly...

WHAM!

"Brother!" Elise cried.

CRASH!

Al’s body crashed heavily. His breath stopped for a moment before he slammed into a tree. Elise, seeing this, rushed to Al’s side, followed by the others.

"Brother! Are you alright?" Elise cried, her face filled with fear as she cast healing magic on Al.

"Nghh! I’m... fine," Al replied.

"What happened, Al?" Kyle asked.

"I don’t know either, but when I swung my sword, something blocked it and sent me flying," Al answered.

Everyone’s eyes turned toward where the goblins stood. As the smoke cleared, the two goblins were still standing.

"They’re still alive!? But my arrow hit one of them right in the neck," Lynn murmured.

The goblins then turned toward Al’s group with rage in their eyes.

This is bad! My instincts are telling me to run!

"Everyone! Run!" Al shouted.

At Al’s command, everyone fled. They had only run a few dozen meters when...

"Al! Look out!" Lynn screamed.

Al, who was at the rear, turned. One of the goblins was already leaping toward him.

SWOOSH!

Lynn released another arrow. The goblin, about to strike Al, was hit by Lynn’s arrow and fell to the ground.

"Thank you, Lynn!" Al called.

They ran as fast as they could. A few hundred meters later, they spotted someone in the distance. As the figure became clearer...

"Big Sis Lun!" Elise cried.

Suddenly, from the side of the forest, a goblin leaped toward Elise, who was at the front.

"Elise!" everyone screamed.

Just as its fist was about to strike Elise...

Grrrawwrr!

Putih charged from the opposite direction and tackled the goblin.

"Are you all alright?"

"Big Sis Luna... why are you here?" Phina asked.

"I’ll explain later. First, let me deal with these goblins."

Without waiting for an answer, I walked past them. The goblin that had survived Lynn’s arrow emerged.

Click!

With a snap of my fingers, numerous magic circles appeared around the goblin. From them, countless ice spears shot forth, raining down on the goblin until it was powerless. Then, from within the forest, Putih emerged carrying the remains of a headless goblin in its mouth.

"Good work, Putih!"

WOOF!

Why have Elite Goblins come this far? Has the barrier of the Forbidden Land begun to leak?

"Big Sis Luna!" a girl cried.

"Wow, Big Sis Luna is amazing!" Phina exclaimed.

Elise ran toward me and hugged me.

"Hi, Elise! Are you alright?"

"Mm!" Elise nodded.

"As always... you finish off your enemies with a single strike," Al said.

"How are you all doing?"

"We’re fine. Thank you for saving us," Al said.

"What are you doing here?"

"..."

On the way back to camp, Al explained that they had accepted a request from the Adventurer’s Guild to investigate the mysterious disappearance of monsters around Tazik City.

"We’ve been investigating this forest for two days now, but we haven’t encountered a single monster," Al said.

No wonder the students didn’t see any monsters.

"Those goblins earlier... what were they, really? Why were they so strong?" Kyle asked.

"Because they’re not ordinary goblins. People call them Elite Goblins. You could say they’re a superior version of ordinary goblins."

"If even the scout goblins are like that, what about the Goblin Leader? And they’re never alone. This is serious. We need to report this immediately," Kyle replied.

Before long, we arrived at the campsite. There, I saw the students gathered in the center, surrounded by teachers and guards. All were holding their weapons, ready for battle. At the front, Ryda and Hellen were also prepared, mounted on their horses.

"Luna!" Ryda and Hellen called out.

Upon seeing us, they lowered their guard.

"What happened? Who are they?" Hellen asked.

I then explained everything to everyone. As I had expected, it caused widespread panic. Their faces turned pale with worry. After a discussion among the teachers and some staff members, they ultimately decided to end the camping trip early and immediately pack up to return to Tazik City. Once everyone was ready, they swiftly headed back to Tazik City. Elise and the others also returned with the students.

"Lun, aren’t you coming?" Ryda asked.

"I’ll catch up. You all go ahead."

"Alright. We’ll go first, then. Take care!" Hellen said.

"..."

"Now that everyone’s gone, I can go all out."

I drew and gripped my sword. For the next few seconds, there was only silence and the sound of the wind whistling. Before long, something shot out from the forest and headed straight toward me.

CLANG!

The sound of two pieces of metal clashing. When I saw who had attacked me...

"Luna?"

"Hah? Axxel? Why are you here?"