The Beginning After The End novel Chapter 10

The trip through the dimensional rift invoked a very peculiar sensation. It felt as if I was trapped in the middle of a fast forwarded movie scene. My surroundings were whizzing by in an indistinct blur of colors as I sat on my ass, staring blankly off in the distance with no more tears left to cry.

The ground I landed on cushioned my fall with a pile of leaves and vines. It didn’t matter, though. Even if I landed on jagged rocks, I probably wouldn’t have noticed.

I remained in same, seated position I was in during the trip, not even bothering to take in my surroundings.

She was gone.

I would never have the chance to see her again.

Those two thoughts triggered another wave of emotions as I heaved out dry sobs.

I began recalling the near four months we had spent together; how caring she was, treating me like her own blood. I didn’t care that she had prolonged sending me home so that I would stay with her. Through the short time I had been with Sylvia, she taught me so much and given me insight that I had been lacking since coming to this world.

Succumbing to the faculty of my mind that desired sleep in order to cope with the pain, I curled up into a ball where I landed when a searing pain props me back up.

The burning sensation spread from my mana core throughout my body until a voice echoed in my head.

"Ahem! Testing, testing... Ah good! Hello Art, this is Sylvia."

My heart fluttered as I instantly responded to the voice. "Sylvia! I’m here! Can you hear..."

"If you’re listening to this right now, it means I have shown you what I actually am..."

Ah, it was some kind of recording that she had infused into me when she gouged that small hole into my mana core.

"... You’re nowhere near ready right now to know the whole truth. Knowing you, if I were to have told you who that figure in the sky had been, you would have brashly tried and fight. Little Art, you are barely passed the age of four. Upon looking at your mana core, I have realized that you have a rare talent seeing that your mana core is already dark red in color. I will leave you with this: I have infused with you my unique will. This is something incomparable to a normal beast will. Your future progress as a mage depends on how well you will be able to use my will that is embedded into your mana core..."

Was that why the purple in her eyes and golden patterns disappeared?

"The moment your mana core reaches a level past the white stage is when you will hear from me again. At that time, I will explain everything and what you do from there is your choice."

There was a stage past white?

"Lastly, Art... I know you may be in grief, but remember that you have your family to look out for and the stone I entrusted you with. My only wish is for you to embrace the joys and innocence of childhood, train hard, and make your parents and I proud. Do not go chasing after shadows in a fit of rage. Killing the ones that are responsible for my death will neither bring me back to life nor make you feel better. There is a reason for everything and I do not regret what has happened. With this, I bid you farewell for now. Remember, protect your family and the stone, study what I have left you, and enjoy this life, King Grey."

"..."

That name and title was from my previous world.

She had known the entire time...

Did she discover something in my mana core? Was she able to look into my memories? So many questions but the only one who could answer them was gone.

I refused to move for a long time, staying in my cozy fetal position, deep in thought.

Sylvia was right. She had said all of this knowing what my life back in my old world was like. I can’t make the same mistake of living for the sake of solely pursuing strength. I wanted to be strong, but I also want to live my life without regret. I want to live a life that Sylvia would be proud of. I don’t think she’d be happy even if I reached whatever stage was after white while living a life of only training. No, I needed to hurry and reach my family.

But before that... where the hell was I?

Looking around, trees that towered high over my head surrounded me. There was a dense fog that loomed thickly a couple centimeters off the ground, filling the air with nearly palpable moisture.

Trees and an unnaturally thick fog...

I sank back on my butt, crestfallen at what this could only mean.

I was in the Forest of Elshire

A disheartened sigh escaped from my mouth as I picked myself up.

It seems like I won’t be meeting my family anytime soon. It had been over four months since I had fallen off of the cliff. My family had most likely either gone back to Ashber or had maybe even decided to stay in Xyrus.

I didn’t have any sort of provisions except for the clothes on my back and the strange stone that was wrapped in Sylvia’s feather. This cursed fog limited my vision to about a few meters around me. While reinforcing my eyes with mana helped quite a bit, that didn’t solve the even bigger problem of how to get out of this place.

I reinforced my body, enabling mana rotation that had become second nature to me by now. Right now, I could only absorb about roughly twenty percent of what I could do while just meditating, but I couldn’t complain.

The only downside to mana rotation was that it wasn’t a replacement for strengthening your mana core. In order for me to purify my mana core and get it to the next stages, I need to solely focus on gathering mana, from both my body and the surrounding atmosphere, and use that to get rid of the impurities little by little. One notable thing I felt was that after getting my mana core to dark red, the amount of mana I could store inside increased significantly. While the size doesn’t increase, I’m guessing the purity allows more mana to be stored.

I climbed a few branches up the nearest tree and situated myself once I got high enough. I focused mana into only my eyes, enhancing my vision even further.

What I was looking for wasn’t a way out but more so for any signs of humans. Sylvia had said that I would be teleported close to humans so I was hoping that there may be adventurers traveling through here that would direct me out, or even escort me.

After about ten minutes of searching, jumping from tree to tree, I found what I was looking for.

I hopped a few more trees, feeling quite proud of my primate nimbleness, stopping at a branch just a few meters away. Hiding myself behind the thick trunk, I observed the group of humans.

Something was off.

I hid myself completely behind the trunk and closed my eyes, imbuing mana into my ears.

"NOOO! HELP! SOMEONE PLEASE HELP! MOMMY! DADDY! NOOO I’M SCARED!!!"

"Someone shut her up! She’s going to attract attention!"

*THUD*

"Quick. Put her in the back of the carriage. We’re only a few days away from the mountain range. We’ll be safer then. Don’t relax and keep moving."

"Hey, Boss? How much do ya reckon she’ll sell for? Elf girls go for a lot, don’t they? Hehe, she’s a child too so a virgin at that! I bet she’ll fetch us a lot of money, huh!"

Slave traders!

I carefully took a peek to spot the small-sized carriage, enough to tightly cram in about five or six adults. I turned back around just in time to see a middle-aged man hauling a little girl into the back of the carriage. She looked to be around six or seven, with a silvery hue in her hair and the trademark pointed ears that elves were known for.

What should I do? How were they even able to kidnap one in the first place? The Elshire Forest’s magical fog was supposed to disorient the senses of even the most capable mage.

After a few more seconds of observing, I found my answer.

Attached to leashes were mana beasts that looked like a mix between a deer and a dog, with antlers that branched out, looking like a complicated satellite. They were mentioned briefly in the encyclopedia I had always carried with me. The forest hounds were native to the Forest of Elshire and could navigate even better than the elves could.

How those brutes acquired forest hounds, I had no idea but I needed to think of a plan.

Option one: Steal one of the forest hounds and have it lead me out of the forest.

Option two: Kidnap the kidnapped elf girl to have her lead me out of the forest.

Option three: Kill all of the slave traders and set the elf girl free, then take the forest hounds and have them lead me out of the forest.