Chapter 3-25 : Dryad

 

Mylia landed face-first on the ground real hard but she wasn’t hurt thanks to the parachute and the protective spell she cast on herself.

She was flying over the forest earlier but landed on a vast plain for some reason.

(Ughh… My head’s spinning… Heal!)

Mylia cast Healing Magic on herself to reduce her dizziness and raised her face which was covered with dirt.

(Did I make it…? Am I inside the barrier now…?)

She stood up and looked behind. She saw the ground had been gouged for about a hundred meters. It looked like she had been dragged on the ground after landing.

(Uwahh… I would have probably died if I didn’t cast a protective spell on myself… Aa-ahh, my clothes are all dirty…)

Mylia wiped the dirt off her clothes and face with her hands and looked around.

She immediately spotted an extremely huge tree with a height of about a thousand meters in the middle of the plain.

「Whoa! It’s freaking huge!!」(Mylia)

『Mylia, are you okay? Mylia?』(Titania)

「Ah, Master! I’m good. Just a bit dirty.」(Mylia)

『I’m glad you’re fine. I can’t see inside the barrier with my Clairvoyance but it seems like your Phone Magic is still working just fine.』(Titania)

「Is that so? I’m a bit worried if you can’t see me…」(Mylia)

The scenery inside the barrier was totally different from the outside.

Mylia saw only trees when she was flying but she ended up in a plain before she realized it. She felt like she had been teleported to another place.

The plain was vast and strangely quiet. It made Mylia feel lonely somehow.

『Don’t worry. Even though I can no longer see you, we can still communicate. You’ll be fine. You’re my disciple after all.』(Titania)

「Master… Un! You’re right! I’ll do my best!」(Mylia)

『That’s my girl.』(Titania)

Mylia imagined Titania nodded at her and stroked her head.

「Master, I see a huge tree. That’s The World Tree, right?」(Mylia)

『Most likely. It’s huge, isn’t it? The World Tree is hidden inside a barrier that only people with a lot of magical power can pass through. Even though we, elves, have a huge amount of magical power, only twenty percent of us can enter. Mylia, I’m pretty sure you’re the only human who can do it.』(Titania)

「Hee…」(Mylia)

Mylia looked up at the sky but all she could see were white clouds floating in the blue sky.

(I was flying over the forest but here I am now, in a vast plain… Does the barrier conceal this place…? It’s strange but I expect nothing less from a fantasy world!)

『Oh, right. I forgot to tell you. Mylia, you’re not alone there. There are dryads who protect the World Tree.』(Titania)

「D, Dryads!? They’re spirits, right?」(Mylia)

(I don’t know what dryads are in this world but in several web novels I read in my previous life, dryads are tree spirits.)

『From what I heard when I was still in the elves village, they are creatures that are close to spirits. Keep in mind that they rarely listen to people. They only listen to those who have a lot of magical power, so only a few people ever talk to them but I’m pretty sure they will listen to you. So, Mylia, if you find them, ask them to share some World Tree Morning Dew.』(Titania)

「Alright. But will they fulfill my request?」(Mylia)

『I don’t know but they will ask you a question. You must answer honestly without lying one bit.』(Titania)

「Uhh… That sounds like a ghost story or something… I’m kinda scared now…」(Mylia)

Mylia had no intention of lying but still, it made her anxious.

『Have no fear. You just need to answer frankly. After that, they will probably test your strength, so be ready for a battle.』(Titania)

「Alriー …Waaait a minute… A battle, you say!?」(Mylia)

『Yup. A battle. Didn’t I tell you?』(Titania)

「You didn’t!」(Mylia)

(I had a feeling she would give important information too late. She sometimes does that when I hunt monsters, telling me, “Mylia, its weak point is its tail, not its head!”, “Mylia, be careful! It can spit out stinky fluid!” right after I started fighting…)

Mylia sighed and shook her head.

『I’m sorry but I believe you’ll be fine. Oh, right. Please don’t use your Explosion or Magical Ray in the battle.』(Titania)

「Because I might damage the World Tree?」(Mylia)

『Exactly.』(Titania)

「Well, those spells are extremely powerful after all. …Hm?」(Mylia)

While they were having such a conversation, Mylia saw a girl with green hair fly toward her from the World Tree.

(A girl…? There’s a leaf stuck on her head. So cute~)

The girl was wearing a white shirt, and there was a rather large leaf on her head. Her height was not much different from Mylia’s but her hair was so long that it almost touched the ground.

While still floating in the air, she stopped in front of Mylia and stared at her with no facial expression.

「Hello there.」(girl)

「He, Hello…」(Mylia)

(She looks a bit sleepy… Is she a dryad?)

『Mylia, what’s wrong? Did you find a dryad?』(Titania)

「Yes. She’s right in front of me now.」(Mylia)

『Alright. Remember, don’t lie.』(Titania)

「I’ll keep that in mind.」(Mylia)

Mylia whispered to talk to Titania so as not to be heard by the dryad.

「……..」(girl)

「……..」(Mylia)

The girl stared at Mylia from her head to her toe, observing her for about twenty seconds.

After that, she suddenly introduced herself.

「You can call me Dryad. You are?」(Dryad)

「I’m Mylia…」(Mylia)

(”Dryad” is the name of her race, right? Does she not have a name?)

「……..」(Dryad)

「……..」(Mylia)

After introducing each other, they stared at each other again for another twenty seconds.

(This is awkward… Ask me something please!)

「……Do you think the leaves of the World Tree look delicious?」(Dryad)

「Eh…? I’ve never seen them closely, so… I don’t… know?」(Mylia)

After Mylia answered her question, Dryad blinked a few times and turned around.

「Follow me.」(Dryad)

Because she was floating in the air, Mylia cast Levitation Magic and followed her.

『Mylia, what did she ask?』(Titania)

「She asked, “Do you think the leaves of the World Tree look delicious?”」(Mylia)

『That’s a weird question… What was your answer?』(Titania)

「I said I don’t know. Is it the right answer?」(Mylia)

『Beats me. However, as long as you don’t lie to her, I think it’s fine. Now you should be prepared for the battle.』(Titania)

「So I’m really going to fight her… Do dryads love to fight?」(Mylia)

『I don’t know. No one understands how they think. By the way, have you told her why you came?』(Titania)

「Aa…」(Mylia)

『You haven’t, huh? You better tell her just in case.』(Titania)

「Alright.」(Mylia)

While looking at Dryad’s long green hair fluttering in the wind, Mylia called out to her.

「Dryad-san?」(Mylia)

「…Yes?」(Dryad)

After replying a bit late, she turned her head and looked at Mylia.

「I need some World Tree Morning Dew to heal my sister’s eyes. Would you please give me some?」(Mylia)

「……..」(Dryad)

Dryad didn’t say anything. She only stared at Mylia for a few seconds and turned her face forward.

「Umm….」(Mylia)

(Is she even listening to me!? …Oh well… I’m going to fight her, so I better find out how strong she is… Please excuse my rudeness~)

While staring at Dryad’s back, Mylia concentrated her magical power in her eyes to find out how much magical power Dryad had.

She saw a huge, thick, glowing aura enveloping Dryad’s entire body.

(Whoa… I think she has more magical power than Master… She must be very strong! I need to be careful!)

After they reached the World Tree, they started flying up following the trunk until they reached the middle of the tree.

The branches were huge and connected to each other like bridges.

(Whoa! There are houses on the branches! I feel like in a fantasy town!)

Wooden houses were built on the branches with the leaves of the World Tree above them as their natural roofs.

When Mylia looked around, she saw some other girls with green hair who seemed to be dryads walking around the branches.

It seemed that the dryad who was with Mylia was not alone. There seemed to be many dryads living on the World Tree.

While Mylia was looking around, appreciating the scenery, Dryad landed and started walking on the branch.

Mylia then immediately landed as well.

(Whoa… Now that I look at them closely, these branches are kinda flat on the top. It’s easy to walk on~)

However, when she was about to follow, Dryad stopped her.

「You stand right there.」(Dryad)

「A, Alright.」(Mylia)

After walking for about twenty meters away from Mylia, Dryad nodded to herself and turned around.

「Let’s fight.」(Dryad)

「Eh? Are we doing it now!?」(Mylia)

「The battle begins in three… Two…」(Dryad)

They were about to fight each other but the dryad was still expressionless as ever.

On the other hand, Mylia panicked.

「Hold on! My heart isn’t ready!」(Mylia)

「…One.」(Dryad)

As soon as the dryad finished the countdown, her long green hair and white dress started flapping violently as if they were blown by a strong wind.

Right after, a huge green magic circle appeared in front of her.

 

TOC


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7 Comments

    1. I mean it’s what she thinks of as the truth. I think it counts, she doesn’t really think of herself as the same person she was in her past life as some protagonists but has gone the route I prefer and completely accepted and embraced who she is now.

    2. As we Chinese say, keep your mind on the present, because the past is the past, you can only learn from it, but the present determines the future.

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