NOVEL NEXT Chapter 1: This Witch is Safe
To make a long story short, I died on Earth. Well, that’s fine since I lived a long enough life, dying at the age of 25. I was reborn to a new world. There was no growing up process, though. I just awoke in a random cave in the wilderness around the same age, which was fine. I could sense magic power in the atmosphere. Everything was fine.
Not! This was a twisted world of magic power and monsters lurking in the forest. I was made aware of their presence as soon as I came here. Kill the monsters? Level up? No!
I was a modern Earth child. There was no way I was doing any of that! Especially since I wasn’t prepared! The only safe refuge for me was that cave. So, I did the only thing that any sane person would do.
I spent the next thousand years honing my magic power in that cave. The first five hundred years or so were spent with me erasing my magic presence so I could find herbs in the forest. My strange body made it so that not only could I quickly learn and use magic, but I could also immediately identify herbs. However, I never really questioned how I could live for one thousand years and not change my appearance. It was better not to think about it. Yep!
Well, the thousand years I spent wasn’t completely hopeless. I learned a few spells, give or take. I built up my cave to look like a modern house with comforts. However, there was just one problem…
“I AM SO LONELY!”
My yell echoed into the forest. At least all of the furniture in my cave was enchanted with magic because it seemed my scream had taken out the nearby trees. Maybe yelling was super bad in this world? I remembered words of power and what they could do to a dragon.
“Yep, it’s safe to say that yelling is out of the question,” I said as I walked outside. The nearby trees were all blown apart like they had been crushed by a strong wind. “I wouldn’t want to Fus Roh Dah this whole forest. Though, it’s not like I am strong enough for that anyway. It’s only been a thousand years.”
I could sense the monsters, even now, but luckily, my yelling didn’t attract them. I realized that was the first time I had yelled in a millennia. This forest was crawling with monsters. In every direction around me were monsters. It’s good I had honed my senses to the max and suppressed my own magic power. A monster never once attacked me in the thousand years I lived here. I never had to use the magic that I spent so much time learning.
“Seriously? What was the point? And now, I am only just realizing how lonely it’s been.” Had I just sat here for a thousand years without talking to anyone? Maybe it had only been a few days, and the reincarnation was affecting my brain?
“Yep, that’s it, the reincarnation has made me lose track of time. Well, I trained my magic, so I should be able to at least meet people now? Hmm—” I focused my search magic over a wider area. To the East was a giant lake, and I could make out the signatures of people across it. To the West was a massive volcano, and it seemed there were dragons that way. There were also giant red blips on my minimap magic.
“So, the West is out of the question? The sun sets in the West, so if I go that way, it’s my sure death? Well! East it is!” I looked back at the cozy cave that had kept me comfortable and well-fed for at least a few years. Maybe it was longer or shorter?
Either way, if I was leaving, I had to make the most potent enchanted clothes and flying broom I could. I was a witch, after all. I couldn’t afford to die just after gaining the courage to leave.
I walked back into my large cave—made large by space magic on the inside. It was practically a giant mansion at this point, or maybe even more extensive, but my goal was the enchanting table inside the library I made. That’s right, I had a library. What can you do when you start getting bored for centuries? Write books, of course!
I had gathered ingredients from the forest nearby, but every time I chopped down the magic trees or plants, they would grow fast. It was a treasure trove just waiting for me. And I mainly used it to make books or potions. I documented every single spell I learned.
I walked over to the enchanting table. I pulled a bunch of brooms out of my inventory until I found the strongest one. It was already barely bendable by my measly strength, but I wanted it to be even stronger. Obviously, with such a weak broom, it would break if I even hit a tree. I gave it two enchantments. The enchantments were vital for durability and magic power.
With that out of the way, I finally moved onto my robes. I had found the shredded skin of some black creature, and I had made the robes out of them. They had an aetherial quality to them, but that didn’t matter. What mattered was that from my magic power reading, I could tell they were the strongest robes in my inventory. Naturally, I also gave them durability and magic power enchantments because if I died, it was over.
I spent the next while enchanting staves, wands, and other weapons without watching the time. If I was going to adventure into the world for real, I needed to be prepared.
When I was finally done, I walked outside of my cave. The trees surrounding the place had already been healed up. “Maybe I had imagined the Fus Roh Dah moment? That would make sense. I haven’t even killed a monster, so I haven’t leveled up. Obviously, I would be fragile. Yep!”
I sucked the cave into my inventory as I mounted my broom. There was no way I would leave my quaint home with modern amenities behind. Then, I took off towards the East and crossed the giant lake. I closed my eyes to stop imagining the giant red blips below the lake’s surface.
“Civilization, here I come!”
