Part 1 – The voice that ceased

  Its been a week since I destroyed that Kobold dungeon and I still didn't find a town. My luck really is bad. To land in a place like this and get lost in a thick forest. During th epast week I've been attacked by all sorts of creatures with the exception of humans which annoyed me greatly. If they were bandits then I could force one of them to reveal my current location and possibly the location of the nearest town. But no, there's not one trace of humans anywhere.

  [….................listen.......................know..............................]

  And this voice has been here as well trying to communicate with me. The problem is that the voice is completely fragmented to the point that the words have no meaning at all with each other. Though it got better with time. At first I could only hear parts of words and now I can hear the words completely even though they don't connect in a sentence. I sighed at this fact.

  “Man I really have nothing to do if I'm listening to a voice that may or may not be there.”

  I checked the mana detector again. The target was still around 40 kilometres away from me which didn't help. Another thing that didn't help was the the target was moving. That means something picked the mana fragment up. Which also mean I have to face a creature that was overly bluffed by the mana fragment.

  Rustle Rustle

  Was it time to be attacked by wolves again? Good. I was getting a bit bored all by myself and this voice. 4 white wolves jumped in front of me. It was indeed a foolish idea to let me see you wolves but this was a mere decoy.

  Rustle Rustle

  There seems to be some more wolves hiding in the bushes aiming to ambush me. Well might was well play into their hands...in case it would be claws right? One of the wolves jumped towards me, intending to take a bite.

  “Wow. Mana Shield.”

  Mana Shield took 86 damage

  The wolf instead hit the mana shield which I used frequently. As a result it had levelled up twice during these two weeks and could withstand up to 500 damage now with a cost of 90 mana. Another thing that was nifty was the fact that I could summon more shields now to be more precise up to 3. I also found out that I could manipulate the shield as well as use it on any target I desired. By focusing the shield in one area instead of my body, it would take less damage and would protect my body more easily.

  “Mana Shield. Mana Shield.”

  I covered my right hand in the transparent shield then ran up to the wolf that tried to bite me and punched it in the face.

  The wolf was thrown back into a tree and was bleeding from the mouth. Even though my character wasn't a melee type I still dealt quite a bit of damage there, even getting a critical hit in.

  Ah it seems the other wolves decided to me to help their injured friend. And speaking of friends the other ones hiding came out. What wonderful companionship. Now to kill them all. I imagined a field of fire which the wolves cannot escape from. They will be sucked into the middle of it being burnt to death.

  “Fire Field. Wind Vortex.”

  The ground being a field of fire of course centring around me. The wolves which numbered 13 I believe including the one I punched were forcefully sucked into the middle of it along with the fire. The wolves cried in pain but their fate was sealed. After no more than a minute they all died leaving the pieces of loot they held. Lets see...a couple pieces of meat I can fry and eat later....some fur and some teeth as well. Nothing of too much value but I can still sell these things off at a NPC store or something.

  Oh what good timing. I can fry these pieces of meat and eat them now. I went around and gathered some dry twigs into a pile and lit it on fire using my magic. I also collected some dry leaves as well and placed them in the fire as well which increased in size rapidly. Taking out a piece of meat, I stuck it through a long stick and planted it at an angle into the ground so the meat was above the fire. I took several more pieces of meat out and did this as well.

  “Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr”

  Looks like the smell of meat attracted more wolves. Even though the meat was their comrade's. I should find some rabbits to kill. But there's a lacking of them in this area for some reason and the other creatures usually come out whenever I make a fire to cook some meat.

  “Hmm.....I shouldn't attract more attention then I am by cooking meat here.”

  “Ice Bolt.” I said without any concern to what's there.

  A bolt made of ice appeared in my hands. I threw it at where I thought the enemy was.

  BONG

  Eh.....what was that sound? Did I hit metal or something?

  “Ah that was close. You almost killed me mage.” said a male voice.

  That was strange I thought there was the sound of a wolf nearby but I was wrong. From the brushes came a man in his late twenties wearing a worn out outfit and was carrying a metal pot with my ice spear stuck in it.

  “Man now I have to replace this.” complained the man.

  I really have no idea what was happening. This person doesn't seem like a player like me so....he's a NPC. Well NPC or not, the chances of being back stabbed are the same either way.

  “Sorry about that. Everytime I made a fire to cook with. Wolves and other creatures came out to kill me so I didn't bother to check.” I commented on what happened the last couple of times I tried to light a fire in the forest.

  “I see I see. You have that problem as well.” The man nodded understanding my situation.

  The man looked at the pieces of meat I was cooking over the fire and asked, “Can I have one.” with drool slipping down from his mouth.

  A bit stunned on how a person can be so hungry I said, “Su-sure.”

  And so the two of us sat down by the fire waiting for the wolf meat to cook properly even though I didn't have an once of cooking skill. As we waited we chatted for a bit to get to know each other better as fellow humans in a forest without humans civilisation.

  “So why are you starved for some cheap meat?” I asked still wondering why someone would starve themselves to such an extent.

  “Eh? Oh. It was because every time I tried to cook something in this forest recently, some creature comes out of nowhere and steals it or tries to eat me.” said the man while still staring at the meat cooking in front of him.

  “Anyway I didn't get your name. Mine's Eden.”

  “Patrick Danite.” said Patrick as he smiled.

  3 minutes of awkward silence later...

  “The meat seems to be done now. Though a bit burnt.” I said prompting Patrick to eat something. Well I was hungry too.

  Patrick immediately grabbed two of the 5 sticks I had and started munching down the meat. I took one too and ate it. It didn't taste good since it was wolf's meat but it didn't taste too bad. It was a bit hard to chew on since it was mostly muscle but there was enough fat that it was durable.

  Patrick finished the two sticks he had and took another one saving the last one for me to eat. After we were done eating...no when I was done eating. Patrick finished long before me. We got up and started walking East since it was my destination and Patrick was following me.

  “So where are we heading?” asked Patrick trying to get a general idea we would end up at.

  “East” I answered. Not that I had any other answer than that.

  “Umm...where exactly East?” asked Patrick again this time a bit more concern by my blunt answer.

  “Until I find what I need to find.”

  After that Patrick was a bit depressed for the next couple of hours. Then I heard or rather we heard the noise of wolves nearby.

  “Get behind me!” I commanded.

  Patrick hid behind my back as a group of wolves came out. They had the feeling that they were very hungry. A common trait that I have been encountering wolves recently.

  “Mana Shield Mana Shield.”

  I casted a mana shield for both of us. Patrick was a bit surprised when the mana shield was around him as well.

  “Eden what is this?” asked Patrick as he poked the Mana Shield around him.

  The wolves whom were surrounding us slowly started their assault. First I need to get rid of some of them. I aimed at the ones in front of me first.

  “Fire Field.”

  The ground under 3 of the wolves suddenly caught on fire and the wolves themselves were burning.

  “Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!”

  I looked behind me to find a frightened Patrick on the floor with a wolf's mouth just a bit away from his head, obviously being blocked by my mana shield. Man this was a efficient and handy skill unlike the magic creation one.

  I pointed my hand to the head of the wolf and said, “Ice spear.”

  An ice spear as produced from my hand and pierced the head of the wolf that was trying to get Patrick. Blood spattered over him and the wolf dropped dead. There's.....4 of them left. Aiming at the one nearest to us I said, “Chain Lightning.”

  From my fingertips lightning came out and stuck the first wolf and it then jumped and hit the second then third and finally fourth wolf. The wolves dropped dead as well. It looks like I'm strong enough to handle these guys even when I'm completely sealed.

  “That...that was intense.” shuddered Patrick

  “Yeah.” I responded emotionlessly.

  “What do you mean yeah. You killed so many of them so easily!” exclaimed Patrick.

  “True.” I started to gather the loot the wolves dropped as Patrick continued to pester me.

  As he was complaining about stuff I eventually asked, “Hey, you know why the creatures in this forest seem so hungry?”

  Patrick was taken back by my question but after taking a moment to think about it he said, “Most likely a foreign creature came in and started consuming everything in the forest or a group of them did.”

  That seems plausible but there's only one mana fragment in this forest so I assume its been eating things quickly.

  “Is there any chance that it was a creature that originated from this forest?” I asked knowing that it was a high possibly that the mana fragment was involved.

  “No unless it has been sleeping for a very very long time. Something like this never happened in the past 400 years as far as I know.” answered Patrick.

  Ah so this guy has knowledge about this place from 400 years back. Does this mean he knows the way to a town?

  “What's the nearest town?” I asked immediately trying to escape this forest in an instance.

  “Ponit why?” Patrick had a confused look on his face.

  I have no idea where that place is.

  “You know how to get there?” I asked again hoping that Patrick would give me some good news for once.

  “Only if you asked a month or so back. The place has been a mess ever since then and even I can't find my way around here anymore. So many creatures have moved from their original positions and even the trees aren't in the same place as they were.”

  I see so you're useless. I started walking East to the target. It was probably big. That's what I know. And it has been eating a lot of stuff in this forest. Maybe some of the creatures as well. That Kobold from before which I killed with delicate handling also complained about being almost eaten. So what kind of creature would be capable of doing so much destruction to such a large forest?

  Part 2 – The man known as an Explorer

  Several days has passed since Patrick joined up with me in travelling in this forest and he proved to be useful in some ways. For starters he had the identify skill which he used on my recently acquired new gloves and boots. The second was that had had the skill Medical Botany which he used to dig out some herbs and other plants form the ground. Apparently it was very useful since he can identify the plant before he digs them out so he knows the true value of the plant in the first place.

  Well they were often closely related to potions crafting and such so they must make some sort of money off it. Speaking of money, I'm planning to sell the gloves but not the boots later on. The reason was simple.

  Those effects were enough for me to burn the damn thing but Patrick said that if I did then I would be also cursed and if I abandoned it then I would also be cursed. So the only option I had was to keep it until I could see it off. The boots on the other hand were a bit better.

  They did increase my magic resistance even though I haven't been fighting those types of enemies yet. Also my stats increased in battle every time now since I'm protecting Patrick from the monsters as well. It was a very small bonus but a bonus indeed. It wasn't that comfortable to wear but it was much better than going around bare foot in a forest.

  “By the way, have I told you about my job here?” said Patrick trying to make some conversation.

  “No.” I wasn't interested but knowing a bit more about someone didn't hurt.

  “Ah. I come from a line of explorers. My family has been in service of countless Kings and their Kingdoms throughout the ages. There were many that were recorded in history. Mostly we are recruited to scout an area out regardless of the dangers, sometimes we are used to start a town in the middle of nowhere which is very hard mind you...”

  Yadadadadadadadadada. Some stuff about his family. I don't care. I don't want to listen.

  “......Tellap...”

  What? Tellap?

  “Wait are you related to that Tellap?” I was stunned.

  A descendent of a famous explorer. I read a lot about this Tellap. From what I know he was a pretty cool guy. Except when he died protecting others. Why would one protect others with their life. Did he have something to gain from it? Perhaps his family was compensated for the lost.

  This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  “Yes I am. Though a very distanced relative. I'm related to a few other famous ones but none of them match the achievements of Tellap though. A lot is known about the more recent one but the more ancient one, not many knows what he did. If they knew then they would be praising him.”

  “I'm interested. Speak.” I wanted to know as much as possible to tell Dan later on.

  And so started the discussion on history. (You may skip this if you want.)

  “Tellap was also part of the Danite family. Well both of them were. The more recent one was employed by the late King of Kallamore whom wanted some background for his citizens if he failed in battle. Which he did. Before that Tellap had been exploring the continent in search for ancient ruins left by his ancestor Tallap whom he was named after. Now what are these ruins the previous Tellap left you say? Let me explain that as well...”

  (Lot of stuff is said so I'm going to give a summary in a text box below.)

  Wow..that's a lot of information feed to me. A lot of details on how two very powerful and renown Kingdoms were built as well. Who knew that such a person was involved so much in the events he described. Dan would be very happy if I gave him this information as it involves the Kingdom he lives in. Hell I could get a reward from a noble if I told him in story.

  “Part of the reason I'm here is because of that story you know.” said Patrick in confidence.

  “Really.” I replied with a bit of respect now.

  What could he do here that relates to the story.

  “Apparently Tellap was buried in this place so I'm trying to find it.” said Patrick indifferently.

  So he was stuck here god knows when because of a minor thing like that.

  “And his legacy was said to be there as well. His treasure were placed in his tomb which on the other hand made my family pretty poor afterwards.” His eyes sparkled at the thought of what he could find about the past.

  Treasure you say? I'm all in now. Lets find this place!

  “All I need is a sign that says we're going in the right direction....any thing even a rock....” Patrick sighed at the fact.

  Patrick looked down depressed. I don't blame him, he spent so much time in this place and yet to have any success. I started to look around the place as well trying to see anything. While trees covered most of the place which made any kind of landmark near impossible to find, else taller than the trees and seeable from high up which would mean every fool whom are searching for the treasure would find it which I'm sure the people who built it did not want to happen.

  Wait there seems be be a conveniently placed rock I can see that may or may not lead to such and such tomb. (Its either this plot mover or I make them search or a couple more days....wait lets try that way)

  Several days later....

  I am exhausted....the two of us have been trying to track down this tomb with no luck. And luck has it, more and more wolves have been attacking out for no reason and less and less more um...innocent creatures such as raccoons and rabbits disappear from sight either by hiding or being eaten. I'm pretty sure the ecosystem of the forest is screwed.

  “How...how many days has it been since we've tried to find this tomb?” I asked trying to focus on finding some way to locate the damn thing.

  “4 days. How many times have you asked me this question today?” said Patrick pretty annoyed right now.

  “7 times.” ignoring the fact that he was annoyed badly by my inpatient. I can't blame him though. I walked up to another large rock and started to feel it. Damn I sound like a pervert. Huh? This one feels a bit different.....and I sound like a pervert.

  “Patrick get here now.” I commanded.

  Patrick came over and looked at the rock I was feeling and said, “Why are you feeling that rock.” staring at me like I was crazy.

  “It feels different.” moving my hand over it in a circular manner.

  “Yeah its a rock.....and why are you feeling it?” repeated Patrick still thinking I'm crazy.

  “Feel it.”

  “No.”

  “Why not?” I shot a glare at him

  “I'm not crazy.”

  “I'll cook and eat you with fire magic.” I threatened.

  Patrick went and felt the rock as well. Now who's crazy. Not me. Definitely not me nut but you....muhahahahaha......I need to meet new people....before I go insane.....

  “Oh your right, this one seems different. It feels man-made.” Patrick said in astonishment.

  “Then...” I waited in suspense.

  I hope this is the right one. Else we're going to stay in this forest together for a while more...for the treasure.

  “Yeah the tomb should be here somewhere. Maybe underground.” He finally confirmed.

  “With my Earth magic we could dig in.” I suggested.

  “No. It might damage the tomb itself. But considering that we spent so much time searching for it, go ahead. Try to keep the damage to a minimal.” Pondered Patrick.

  “Right Earth Rip.”

  The ground next to the rock split open. It seems that there was a tomb down there. Well time to jump in.

  “Eden we have to be careful. Don't jump in.” advised Patrick.

  I jumped in.

  “You son of a bit-” muttered Patrick.

  My foot landed on the very old stone.

  Well I didn't die yet so it shouldn't be trapped..I think. I called out to Patrick, “Get in here!” After grumbling a bit Patrick also jumped in the tomb and started to examine the walls.

  “This detail! This style of carving!” exclaimed Patrick.

  And now he's going on about something.

  “And what about it?” I asked trying to understand what was going on.

  “I can't understand it at all!”

  I literally almost stacked myself from that. You don't usual says stuff and then proceed to kill off hope like that. Pacing my breathing I also took a look around. It seems that we're not that far from the actual entrance of the place though it might be trapped so I have no intentions on going out that way. The colour of the place was the first thing I noticed. It was a rusty yellow colour. The ones you would see in the old Egyptian tombs. Now I have a bad feeling about this.

  “Lets go Eden!” said Patrick.

  He was quite energetic for a guy that was grumbling a bit before about my actions. We went in the next room with me leading of coarse. Patrick argued that I had my mana shield so I should be fine even though I could cast it on him as well. Then he said I had magic so the possible of me living was still higher. Its not like I have that much more chance of surviving a cruel cruel trap like spike walls closing on me or bottomless pits or the classic boulder crushing me.

  In the next room it was well pitch black. That's what you expect from a tomb hidden away underground.

  “Light balls.”

  I summoned several light balls. One was kept near me and Patrick and the others went around the room to allow us to see if there were any traps that the human eye could see. One characteristics of the light balls were that they had physical properties which I was very surprised about. Unless the trap was designed to bring the place down, we were mostly safe. Examining the room I noticed that there were no traps yet.

  “No traps.” I said.

  “Hopefully.” responded Patrick behind me.

  I took a step forward. I was well aware that there could be traps that activate using pressure pads but still....it would take us forever if we were completely conscious about setting traps off. I stopped for a bit. No traps were activated. I took another step. Nothing happened again. Was this part of the trap or was there nothing here? I should test it with some Earth magic. I imagined a small layer of dirt being produced and spreading, pushing down everything it goes under.

  “Earth Wave.”

  An extremely small amount of mana was consumed since the spell was designed for much larger targets. A very small wave went from my feet to the 4 corners of the room. Nothing still happened.

  “Its perfectly safe.”

  Patrick sighed in relief. We started to examine the room more closely before heading to the next doorway. I made sure that the light balls were the things that entered the next room first. It was a stairway down. It seems the place had more than one floor. That would make sense. It was pretty hard to get to the top floor in the first place.

  “You first.” said Patrick.

  He was definitely trying not to get killed here. Well I still didn't tell him I was a player so it was fine. Maybe he thought I couldn't revive as well or something. Well either way he still prioritized his life first. That's fine. I'm doing the same as well. We walked down or rather tip toed our way down the stairs.

  “Don't you have a skill to identify traps or something?” I asked since he was an explorer.

  “No. Usually you have a thief to do that. But since we don't have one...” replied Patrick while looking away from me.

  We agreed that it would be best to be more careful from now on.

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  Author's Notes:

  - Word Count 5394

  - Introducing a new character!!!!! Yay. Nothing will kill this character.....

  - The next chapter could've been longer and fun but.....I'm writing THAT much in a chapter.....you will understand tomorrow.

  - No skill to identify traps.....the tomb is going to be fun.....very fun.....