Crimson Moon Forest 5

In the early morning, just as the sound of monkeys leaping between the trees echoed, Yuna and Rian began their journey.

From the front of Rian's parents' house, they watched them walk away.

"The time has come," said Yuri.

"Yes, the time has come," replied Rian's father.

"They'll be alright, won't they?"

"Of course. They'll have many adventures ahead."

Meanwhile, Rian and Yuna...

"DO NOT TOUCH IT!" Rian shouted when he saw Yuna touching a vine crossing the path.

But it was too late. Yuna had already moved it out of the way.

"What's wrong?"

"Are you okay?"

"It’s just a vine, is it dangerous?"

"You’re lucky. Don’t ever touch parasitic vines in this forest again."

"Parasitic?"

"They look like regular vines, but they’re actually parasites. They attach themselves to large trees and drain their mana until there’s nothing left. They can even absorb the mana of humans."

"Like the one you just touched?"

"Maybe. You're lucky," Rian replied.

"..."

"Why do you want to go to Finalia?" Rian asked as they continued walking.

"To learn magic. What else would I want? Finalia is the best magic academy for humans."

"I mean, why do you want to learn magic?" Rian asked again. "Fighting, wars, throwing fireballs... isn’t that boring?"

"In this world, the most recognized power is magic. With power, you can achieve many things. For example, you can protect something."

"What about you? What do you want to achieve with your power?"

"Maybe start a guild. Or become a warrior. I’m still unsure. My father is a warrior. I want to master battle magic to help on the frontlines. That would help him."

"It seems like you care a lot about your father."

"By the way, when are we getting out of the forest?" Yuna tried to change the topic.

Change the topic? Rian thought. His mother said that when a woman changes the topic, it means she’s uncomfortable with the current one.

"Alright then. Like my old man said yesterday, I’ll take you to your destination," Rian said, glancing at Yuna.

"And we’ll soon be out of the forest," he added.

Hasn’t it only been an hour since we started? Yuna thought. The journey feels too fast. Yesterday, I got lost for hours. I thought going back would take the same amount of time. But ahead, the main road was already visible, the same one Yuna had taken before.

"You should’ve entered here yesterday," Rian added. They had exited the forest at the same spot Yuna had entered the Crimson Moon Forest. There were no remnants of the battle, but the large tree was still lying across the path.

How did he know? Yuna wondered. Her mind was filled with questions, but she chose not to ask them just yet.

"Finally, we’re free to use magic," Rian dropped his backpack. He stretched his arms before lifting it again and tossing it to the side. A black circle appeared in front of the backpack and swallowed it.

Is that spatial magic? Yuna thought. She had heard of a magic useful for storing items, but this was the first time she had seen it in action.

"Why didn’t you do that earlier?" Yuna asked.

"My father keeps an eye on the entire forest. He would revoke my permission to use magic inside the forest if he caught me using it freely," Rian answered, walking toward the fallen tree.

Watching the forest? Does that mean Rian’s father knew about the bandits? But if that’s the case, doesn’t that mean the area around the Crimson Moon Forest is also being monitored? Yuna thought.

"First, let’s clear this path."

Rian had reached the fallen tree. He raised his hand, and the trunk of the tree began to glow green. Roots started growing out from the bottom of the tree and moved. They extended and dug into the ground, slowly pulling the tree back up. The tree stood tall again, branches and leaves sprouting. Soon, the fallen tree that had blocked the path became a leafy tree beside the road. The path was clear.

A spell that can grow trees? Yuna thought, questioning the nature of the magic Rian had just used. The spell was far from simple. Yuna had never heard of magic that could manipulate plants. Plus, Rian mentioned that his father kept an eye on the entire forest. Yuna was starting to wonder who they really were.

"I think this is enough," Rian said.

"Who are you really?" Yuna couldn’t hold back her curiosity. Since yesterday, she had been questioning many things. And the magic she had just seen only deepened her curiosity.

"I’m just an ordinary young man who’s never left the Crimson Moon Forest," Rian said, scratching the back of his head.

"The magic you use isn’t simple magic. An ordinary person shouldn’t be able to do that."

"Actually, it’s just a variation of healing magic. I just happened to master it. You, yourself, have mastered healing magic, right?"

"True, but I’ve never seen magic that controls trees."

"It’s simple. Healing magic essentially manipulates living cells, and plants are living cells too. You should try it sometime," Rian said, releasing another spell.

\ Rian spread his magic energy in all directions, allowing him to detect anything within a nearly 2 km radius.

"There’s a group of people not far from here. They might be the bandits who robbed you. Or if not, we could hitch a ride on their carriage," Rian said, starting to walk. He didn’t give Yuna a chance to ask more questions.

How do you know that? Yuna thought, but there were still several questions in her mind. However, she knew now wasn’t the time to ask.

Maybe later, there will be time to learn who Rian really is, Yuna thought, following him. One thing was clear now: Rian possessed magic abilities far beyond hers.

"But wait, before that, we need to clean something up," Rian turned back.

"Weren’t you ambushed yesterday?" he asked.

"Yes."

Rian stomped his foot. A large magic circle slowly appeared on the ground. Its diameter was about 100 meters.

"That’s why. The bandits had set up a trap for you. Look, this is an illusion trap spell. If you didn’t notice, your eyes and ears would’ve been controlled by the trap setter," Rian said.

Yuna didn’t fully understand the magic circle, but Rian’s explanation made sense of the chaotic way the bandits had fought earlier.

Rian stomped his foot again, shattering the magic circle beneath him.

With the trap dealt with, Rian and Yuna walked away from the main road, heading toward the group of people Rian had spotted in his .

After walking for a few minutes, Rian saw a group of people gathered around, with several carriages nearby. Yuna recognized them. They were the bandits who had attacked her group yesterday.

Rian ran toward them. Yuna tried to stop him before the bandits noticed, but Rian was already too close.

"Good afternoon. Could we borrow one of your carriages?" Rian asked. Almost all the bandits turned to look at him, stood up, and slowly began to approach.

Too late. Yuna thought.

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