Chapter 78: The Dance of Butterflies

  Two days later, Gorul arrived to collect his armor and wouldn't stop thanking "Miss Emilia." She, however, threatened him that if he continued to call her "Miss" or "Little Miss," she would stop helping with the formation repairs. Gorul instantly changed his tone, but the gratitude still shone in his eyes.

  "Zevan said he explained it to you, but these are zero-level formations and can't be compared to the work of a master inscriber. After a few serious hits, the formation's 'eyes' won't last because they are made of weaker, alternative materials. They will need to be replaced and the formation repaired. I fix our group's armor after almost every serious fight."

  "Yes, of course, I know all that. But my sons shouldn't be taking hits. They are with a special training group assigned by Chief Nikos. Half of them are old elite masters who are compensated by our guild to train the new generation. But you know how it is. Anything can happen in the Dark Forest."

  Emilia quickly agreed, and after taking the twelve silver coins, she sighed.

  "Even a mosquito's meat is still meat." She could have made several talismans in that time, but then she wouldn't have been able to gain the invaluable skill points. She was still weak and couldn't activate the next level of glyphs, which meant she couldn't work with stronger talismans. Instead, she had chosen to train her other skills.

  Emilia was progressing much faster than the other young apprentices, but her body still lacked the necessary strength. "Fjorn was right, I need to consume more Earth Treasures. Far more Earth Treasures."

  After sending Gorul off, Emilia began to wander through the market. She stopped periodically, buying her favorite food and drinks. Today, she had secretly decided to fill her ring with supplies. She had already filled several waterskins with water, and now she wanted to add a good amount of food and some general provisions.

  First, she bought a sturdy, heavily reinforced rope for twenty-nine silver coins, and a simpler, thinner climbing rope for four silver coins. Next, she purchased various small tools—threads, needles, three different-sized knives, a small hatchet, a fire-starting kit, a small metal cooking pot, cups, spare clothes, and a blanket.

  If she decided she needed to free up space, she could always discard some of the water and food. The blanket and clothes weren't expensive, and the tools took up relatively little space.

  Emilia had hesitated a lot about the expensive rope. It not only took up a good amount of space but also cost a lot of money and would be hard to throw away.

  On the other hand, Petra very often used a similar rope in battles and had great success with it. Emilia had discreetly inquired, and such magical storage rings were extremely rare and expensive, especially one with a whole cubic meter of space. She intended to keep her ring a secret and only take out the rope in extreme need. She could always explain that she had carried it in her backpack, or come up with something else depending on the situation.

  After storing the food, she still had a lot of free space left, which she planned to use for various herbs and other materials she would find in the forest.

  Most importantly, the ring held her inventory of magical tree bark, pebbles, paper for talismans, inks, and everything else she needed to work on her formations. Now, she could quietly practice her skills anywhere, anytime.

  While Emilia was circling the market for a small treat, Lora appeared from somewhere.

  "Emilia, I'm glad I found you. Your mother said you would be at the market. We found information about the Kozori. We'll be leaving early tomorrow morning."

  "Aunt Lora, tell me, which mirror is better? This one, the size of my hand, or the one that folds?"

  "What do you need them for?"

  "Well, I was thinking of keeping one in my backpack. You never know, it might come in handy."

  "Emilia, don't carry unnecessary things into the forest."

  Emilia sighed. She was going to have to hide almost everything she carried in her ring. Now, she wouldn't even be able to freely use the small mirror to comb her hair in the mornings. Zevan already joked with her about carrying a comb at all.

  "Aunt Lora, are those Kozori very dangerous?"

  "Yes, they are quite dangerous, and that's why we're taking another group of hunters with us. Chief Nikos assigned us Trim's group; he has twenty years of experience as a hunter and will help us. Some day, we too will have to help the new generation gather parts for armor and weapons."

  Lora sighed, then continued. "If you still think it's too dangerous, you don't have to come with us."

  "But I want new armor too! Besides, if we gather more parts, maybe I can use them for my formations."

  Emilia and Lora talked for a while longer, even stopping to treat themselves to sweets and warm tea at a small restaurant. Emilia was explaining her new talismans, and Lora was trying to decide if she approved of Orlen, Petra’s newest boy friend. They had been dating for almost a month.

  "If he shows up again tomorrow morning with flowers to see her off, I'm going to feel sick," Emilia said, making a face.

  "Emilia, you are still young. When you grow up, you will want people to give you flowers. Just wait a few years."

  "So if he comes with flowers, you'll approve of him?" She said mischievously.

  "I didn't say that."

  "So if he doesn't show up with flowers, you'll approve of him?"

  Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

  "I didn't say that either," Lora sighed.

  "I think the best thing would be to invite him and Petra over for dinner at your place and get to know him a little better."

  "That is an excellent idea, Emilia. I will organize something when we get back."

  ---

  The next morning, Orlen did appear with Petra to see her off, but he was not carrying flowers. After they said their goodbyes, he simply waved one last time and headed toward the forest district where he lived.

  Lora approached Petra, and the two began to whisper to each other. Emilia pulled two herbs from her ring, first reaching deep into her backpack as if taking them out of there. She intended to try and purify their impurities with her mana. It was excellent practice, and it also made the herbs better.

  She had found references to this skill in several different alchemy books in the library and now wanted to develop it.

  A little further into the forest, Emilia noticed Velka, who was sitting on a rock with many beautiful butterflies fluttering around her. Emilia pointed them out to Lora and Petra, who were still talking.

  "Yes, Emilia, very interesting butterflies."

  Emilia had long begun to suspect something, and now she decided to confirm it.

  "And do you see anyone next to the butterflies?"

  Petra paused briefly and even slowed her pace slightly.

  "Oh, yes, that's Velka. She is very kind and often feeds the animals in the park."

  “Did you only notice her just now?” Emilia pressed.

  "Well, I didn't pay attention to her because of the butterflies."

  Petra was the scout for the group. They were still on the outskirts of the forest, and she wasn't rushing ahead to scout, but not noticing Velka "because of the butterflies" was quite unbelievable.

  "What about you, Lora?" Emilia asked.

  "What about me?"

  "Did you also not notice Velka?"

  "I didn't pay attention."

  Emilia was determined, however. She questioned Boss Titus, whose mana was unlocked, then Zevan and Big Han, who were quietly arguing about something, and finally even Garrick—none of them had noticed Velka, or even the butterflies.

  Emilia did not know what to think. Instead, she simply waved at Velka, who returned the greeting and continued to enjoy the strange dance of the colorful butterflies.

  "How does she even do that?" Emilia wondered.

  The group walked for a long time, and around noon, they met up with Trim's group, who joined them. They were currently training four new apprentices, but those would stay behind to practice at the various training grounds and would not be coming along.

  Emilia felt more confident because of their large number and the experienced hunters. Trim had been informed of Emilia's role, but he still insisted on personally testing her skills. He attacked her from several different positions, then made her run with all her might to a tree and back, and finally tested the defense of her talismans. In the end, he examined her honorary hunter badge and sighed.

  "You're doing well for someone so young. I've participated in the training expeditions of young nobles a few times, and I can confidently say that even though you have less mana, you fare far better than almost any of them. You're not at the level of the Mayor's son or the fifth grandson of the military garrison's commander, but if you stay close to me and my hunters, I don't think we'll have a problem."

  The group made swift progress, and despite their large number—or perhaps precisely because of it—they had to fight three different Level 1 monsters.

  Emilia gladly replenished her supplies, and the group gathered a good amount of meat.

  The information about the Kozori had come from higher-level hunters, and their territory was relatively deep inside the forest. They would have to travel quite a distance, and the places were unfamiliar to Emilia.

  As they walked, incredible sights unfolded before them. At one point, they had to cross a fairly wide river—perhaps ten minutes by boat.

  The river flowed slowly, its bends disappearing among the trees. In one clearing, there was a small dock with two boats, and next to it, a hunting cabin made of rough-hewn wooden logs. In front of the cabin, there was a huge table, a fireplace, and a long lean-to. Someone had placed several pots with interesting plants, and the spot looked well-maintained.

  "Chief Nikos and some of the older hunters often come here to fish," Titus quickly clarified.

  Emilia completely understood the appeal of fishing. The river meandered lazily, and the view was incredible. The surrounding trees swayed slowly and rhythmically, and birds sang listlessly in the branches.

  Nikos had clearly purged the weaker creatures in the area, and the place was peaceful and calm. A group of deer could be seen in the distance as they drank water. A huge stag, with regal antlers, looked at the group, and Emilia waved at him.

  “I wish I could just sit here in front of the cabin forever, painting all day, with a loyal friend beside me writing poetry. And in the evenings, we’d have mana-rich meat and hot, spiced tea.” Emilia got lost in the thought for a while, even starting to fall slightly behind, but she caught herself and quickened her pace.

  She looked around; there were other wild animals nearby. Two rabbits watched curiously, hidden behind the cabin, and a small fox, almost a baby, peered out from some bushes in the distance. Clearly, someone often fed the animals here.

  To Emilia's delight, who wanted to look at the river a little longer, the group stopped and rested. Then, they slowly got into the boats and crossed the river.

  They traveled for a few more hours until they were finally attacked by three "wings" of harpies. Emilia was not sure exactly what measured how many harpies were in one "wing." But after asking, she learned that it wasn't a matter of "how many" harpies, but that a high-level harpy was leading her subordinates into battle.

  Harpies frequently utilized air magic and inflicted numerous damages on the hunters. Emilia had to protect herself with her armor's magic, and by the end, she had completely exhausted the three eyes of the formation, requiring a more serious repair. Petra used up many of her arrows, while Emilia had to distract the larger harpies with her magic. The battle was long and grueling, but they eventually forced the harpies to retreat.

  The harpies did not possess many valuable ingredients, and even after collecting some of their feathers, the group would not be able to pay even for Petra's arrows. If they had managed to kill one of the three larger harpies, they would have at least been able to gather its core.

  Afterward, the group encountered some huge ants, almost as big as a tree leaf. Many of them used mana, and their bites were extremely painful. Such ants were often used for torture and extracting confessions from criminals.

  Emilia was narrowly spared from a bite, somehow managing to escape it. Two of the huge ants succeeded in climbing onto her, but luckily for her, they mistook her body for the skin of her armor. This happened because Emilia had used various silver threads through which she could send mana and activate her talisman defenses, but the ants were confused and apparently decided these were her energy channels, and the magical creature skin was her flesh.

  Following the battle with the harpies and the escape from the ants, the group crossed the periphery of a swamp, where a gigantic Level 3 alligator lived.

  However, it rarely hunted outside the swamp and fed primarily on the magical fish coming from the river. They had to be extremely careful, because if they provoked it, they could easily lose their lives.

  Late in the evening, tired from the long trek and the numerous adventures, the group camped in a shallow cave, where Emilia finally managed to work on her armor.

  She was far from the only one who needed repairs, though. The others in the group had also sustained damage from the harpies' magic, and Emilia worked late into the night. Sometime around one o'clock past midnight, she gained another level in her formation skill, prayed to Hecate, and gave thanks for Chiron's blessing. Then, exhausted, she fell asleep curled up near the fire, wrapped in the warm blanket that her mother had personally made with much effort and love.

  While recording her log, she recalled the evenings at home by the hearth and Ronan, who loved to gesticulate animatedly while talking passionately about various topics.

  Mira always smiled, and the two often discussed one minor topic or another. "What wonderful parents," she thought, just before falling into a deep sleep, a smile visible on her face.