NOVEL NEXT Chapter 9: Leaving the Forest
I wish i had a watch right now.
I don't know how much time have i been walking through this forest...
But it doesn't seem to come to an end.
I just hope it's still early.
I don't want to fight zombies yet.
While walking through this forest i saw a lot of interesting things.
One of them was that there were a lot of copper veins on the ground from time to time.
Though i couldn't pick them because i don't have a pickaxe.
I tried hitting them with my sword but all i got was [0.0001] of copper ore.
...
Yeah, i don't think it's a viable way of obtaining ores.
I also saw a lot of slimes.
Once in a while i could find blue and green slimes jumping around across the forest.
At first i hid when i saw one, because i thought it could attack me at sight...
However, I later noticed that they are actually peaceful.
They just continue jumping around without any care of the world, even when i walk next to them.
Though i still try to avoid them.
It will be not a good idea if you try to stop them while they are jumping.
From what i have seen they are pretty heavy.
And when i say heavy...
It's HEAVY.
I assume they are over 1000-1500 pounds in weight (450-700 kg), based on the amount of destruction they create when jumping around.
I could even hear crack noises when they crashed against the trees.
And even with their absurd weight they are still incredibly agile.
They jump around like they were totally weightless.
I had to dodge them a lot of times, because they don't seem to care if there is something or someone in front of them or not.
Sigh...
They could probably break some of my bones if i were to be hit by them
At least they won't attack me if i don't attack them first, one thing less to worry about...
While i was busy narrating my adventure through this forest to no one in special, i heard some noises in the distance.
Goblin voices.
I quickly hid behind some bushes, and stayed completely silent.
It was a group of eight goblins, a new kind that i have never seen in the game, based on their looks and what they were doing right now, you could say they were Patrol goblins or Guard goblins. They were wearing tin armor, and were carrying iron spears.
I held my breath to stop any sound from leaving my body.
I could hear even my own heart beating fast, due to the stress and tension this situation was currently making me feel.
Finally, after some minutes i was able to leave my hiding spot, i was covered in sweat and i was out of breath.
That was really stressful...
The goblins were already far away from this place so i could be safe for a while.
However, there was still a possibility that there could come more goblins later.
So i spent the next hours traveling in complete silence. I wanted to hear any noise in this forest, so that if i heard any goblin voices, i could be able to hide before the goblins saw me.
...
...
After traveling for an unknown amount of time, i was starting to doubt that i was in the correct way to the city.
I mean, how long have i been traveling and i have yet to see any bit of civilization in this forest.
I encountered three more groups of Patrol goblins after the first one, i managed to stay hidden without being discovered, however, after that i didn't found more of them.
I probably left their range of patrolling.
...
Is it me or it is getting darker?
I glanced at the sun, worried that the night might arrive before i even reached the city.
Uhh...
It must be around 6 PM, so i guess i have some minutes before the night falls.
...
I'm not going to make it.
Oh sh*t, what should i do...?!
Should i make use of the cowards' techniques?
Should i confine myself inside stone blocks until morning like a little rat?
No, don't have a pickaxe to break stone blocks, and i barely broke the dirt blocks with my sword, so i don't think i will be able to escape from those stone blocks with just a wooden sword.
Should i dig a hole and then confine myself inside it until morning comes?
I know it's lame, even for me, but...
I mean... i want to live, so anything works for me.
I continued trying to think of any way to survive the first night in the forest, when i found the solution to all my problems.
I found a stone road.
Civilization at last...
It continued on a straight line until it reached what seemed to be some plains.
That's when i saw it...
Balroc city.
However, it was still far away from my current location.
Maybe 15 kilometers away...
*Fuuuuu...*
I exhaled.
"It seems it's time to prove the results of my training..."
I stretched my articulations, and then started running at my max speed.
Thanks to my extra large stamina i managed to run for 30 minutes continuously at full speed.
However, the city was still 3 kilometers away.
At this rate i won't make it.
Night should come at 7:30 PM, and i'm out of energy due to the continues running, so i'm pretty much doomed.
Should i really go with the "digging a hole" strategy?
But i really don't want to lose my dignity...
*Ta-ca-ta*
*Ta-ca-ta*
*Ta-ca-ta*
*Ta-ca-ta*
While i was still considering what to do to survive i heard the sound of a horse galloping coming from behind me.
When i turned around i saw a carriage coming at me at full speed.
So i had an idea.
"HEY MAN, COULD YOU GIVE ME A RIDE TO BALROC CITY?" I yelled at whoever was inside that carriage
"NO WAY KID, YOU MAY BE TRYING TO ROB ME, SO I'M NOT STOPPING"
Oh sh*t.
Well that was something to be expected...
"BUT I DON'T WANT TO DIE TO THE ZOMBIES WHEN THE NIGHT COMES"
"IF YOU'RE NOT A ROBBER, THEN HOLD TIGHT ONTO THE CARRIAGE IN ANY WAY YOU CAN, BECAUSE I'M STILL NOT STOPPING"
Oh, sh*t...
Well...
I think it's worth a try.
"Haaah..." i exhaled while preparing my self to jump on to it.
If i don't make it, then it's really gonna hurt.
...
"Here goes nothing..."
When the carriage arrived beside me, i jumped at it and held on to anything i could.
I almost fell, however i strengthened my grip and managed to hold my self into the carriage.
"THANKS FOR THE RIDE" I yelled at the person inside.
"WHAT THE HELL?!"
Yeah, i think that's a pretty normal reaction when you see a guy jump and hold on to a carriage going to at least at 70 kmh.
"DON'T WORRY, I'M NOT A ROBBER" I tried to calm the person.
"THAT'S NOT THE PROBLEM HERE, HOW THE HELL DID YOU MANAGED TO GRAB ON TO MY CARRIAGE?!"
"TRADE SECRET"
And like that, i managed to gain a free ride to Balroc city.
What a nice guy.
Meanwhile, at the top of a tree the figure of a person could be seen observing our protagonist Aspen
"What an interesting human, his mana is actually twice larger than any other normal human, and his physical abilities seem to be twice better than normal humans as well."
"I could also feel a connection to the nature in him, though a very tiny one"
"A truly unique encounter, even through my hundred of years alive i've never seen such a rare mutation in the human species"
"Maybe we will see each other again in the future, human."
Then the figure sunk into the tree, leaving nothing but empty air, like there was nothing there to begin with.
