Chapter 16
Not Alone for the First Time in this World
Date : Unknown (37th day of the Journey)
Elise walked toward the riverbank. Hyoren watched her go, then followed. The water was clear and calm near the edge, but deeper in the center, it flowed steadily downstream. She stopped at the water's edge and spoke without turning.
"Three days worth of rations. I have a similar amount. It's tight."
Her eyes scanned the river, watching the current.
"We should catch something and eat fresh food. Save our rations for when we can't actually get fresh food."
Hyoren stepped up beside her and followed her gaze. He recognized them immediately. The red scales. The serrated, pike-like protrusion on their foreheads. Almost like a spear head—jagged and sharp. Red Pike Fish. At least that name he gave them..
"You… Lend me your Tangler rope. The longest but thinnest you have."
He reached into his bag and rummaged through his supplies. He handed it to her. She checked the length, measuring it against her arm. Testing the thickness between her fingers.
"Five meters length. And thin enough. Good."
She unslung her bow from her shoulder and nocked an arrow. Then, with practiced movements, she tied one end of the rope to the base of the arrow and the other end around her wrist.
She stepped to the water's edge and drew the bowstring. The Red Pike Fish continued their jumping pattern in the center of the river. Elise waited. Her eyes tracked the movement. Calculating the distance. Anticipating the arc.
A fish leaped. She drew a breath.
“Charge Arrow.”
The arrow shot into jumping fish . It lodged into it head. The fish thrashed in the water, but the arrow held firm. Elise pulled the rope hand over hand. Within moments, she'd hauled it onto the riverbank. It flopped once, twice, then lay still.
“Good. Red Pike fish for our dinner.”
She pulled the arrow free and handed the fish to Hyoren. She also returned the rope.
"You. Prepare this while I make the fire."
He took the fish and rope.
"And make sure to keep the serrated pike intact. I need it to craft my arrows later."
Hyoren nodded.
"Understood."
He sat down near the riverbank and began preparing the fish. The scales were tough, but his skinning knife handled them well. He worked carefully around the serrated pike, loosening it from the skull without damaging it. As he worked, his mind wandered.
So this fish monster is indeed called Red Pike Fish. My naming, if it was practical, actually match how the native call it here. But if I try to invent the words.…
The image of Elise's exasperated face came to mind. Her rolled eyes. He made sure to not name anything willy-nilly anymore.
While Hyoren prepared the fish, Elise worked on her own task.
She gathered kindling and dry branches from the forest edge. She picked through the material carefully, selecting only the driest pieces. She arranged the kindling in a small pile. Then she reached into her bag and pulled out a small, thin object.
Hyoren's hands paused over the fish.
The object was smooth and rectangular, with glowing runes etched into its surface. It looked like a tool of some kind—clearly magical.
She touched the runes, and fire sprang to life in the kindling. The flames caught immediately, crackling without smoke.
He stared. A magic tool fire starter. He'd been making fire the hard way all this time—using stone and flint.
He wanted to ask about it. About the runes. About how it worked. About where she got it. But he held his tongue. She was already exasperated with his questions. She'd dismissed his naming sense, his lack of knowledge. If he asked too much now, she might shut down entirely.
I'll ask more when she starts to trust me later.
He returned his attention to the fish, finishing the preparation. By the time he was done, the fire was burning steadily, the flames casting warm light across the clearing.
He brought the prepared fish to the fire. Elise had already set up a simple spit—a few branches arranged to hold the meat over the flames.
They cooked the fish in silence. When it was done, they ate. No conversation. No questions.
The fish was good. As he ate, Hyoren watched Elise from the corner of his eye. She ate quickly. Her gaze remained on the forest around them, her pointed ears twitching, trying to catch any sounds.
She was still guarded. Still wary. But she'd shared her knowledge. She'd accepted his help. She'd even shown a hint of amusement at his naming sense. Progress.
When they finished, they doused the fire and prepared to climb the trees.
***
They slung their bags over their shoulders. Gathered their gear. Prepared to climb.
Before they started, Elise gathered several straight ironwood branches from the ground. She examined each one. She set aside the suitable ones in a pile.
"Hey, you. Give me some Tangler resin and vines. And the Pike Saw too. I need to restock my arrows."
Hyoren opened his bag and retrieved the materials. He handed them to her. She accepted them without comment, already sorting through her supplies.
Hyoren looked up at the sky. The sun had almost set. The orange glow was fading, replaced by the deep purple of approaching night. Soon, the forest would be pitch black. He rummaged through his bag. His fingers found the soft, fuzzy patches he'd collected weeks ago. The glowing blue patches from the backs of Mossback Squirrels.
"Elise. Here. I have a few Mossback Squirrel patches. I used them as light sources in my cave. It's not bright, but it'll help."
Elise took it and examined the glowing blue patch. Taken from the back of the creature.
She took them from his hand. She examined the glowing blue fuzz, turning it over in her fingers. The faint light illuminated her face, casting soft shadows across her features.
"I can work in the dark. But the result might be sloppy. With this, I can work well."
She paused.
"Thanks."
It’s short. But it’s the first appreciation Elise gave to him.
They turned to the trees. Each selected a different ironwood. Elise climbed first. She ascended the trunk with ease, finding handholds in the bark, pulling herself up branch by branch.
Hyoren followed his own tree. His climbing was less graceful, but his days in the forest had taught him the basics. He found secure handholds. Tested each branch before putting his weight on it. They reached the top within minutes.
He found a secure bough and settled onto it. He gathered leaves to create a soft cushion against the hard bark.
Elise had found her own spot on a nearby tree. Close enough to see him, but far enough to require a significant jump. She'd chosen a position that was accessible only to someone willing to risk the leap.
They secured their belongings on stable branches. Hyoren wedged his bag into a crook where it wouldn't slide. He positioned the Mossback Squirrel patches around their workspace, creating a faint but decent glow.
The blue light cast strange shadows through the leaves. The forest below was dark and silent, but here in the top, the soft glow made a small trace of civilization.
Elise sat on her branch, facing him. Her face was faint in the darkness, illuminated only by the blue glow. She set out her materials—ironwood branches, Mistdart needles, wings, resin, vines.
“This is good and secure. And the light. You thought well of secure camp.”
She began to craft. Hyoren watched in silence.
She started with the ironwood branch. Using the serrated edge of the Red Pike saw, she carefully cut a section to the right length. Next, she took her short sword and began shaping the shaft.
When the shaft was smooth, she made a small depression at one end—a socket for the arrowhead.
She selected a Mistdart needle and examined it. She cut it to the right length, shaping it into a proper arrowhead. Then, using the Tangler resin as glue, she secured it into the depression she'd carved.
The Mistdart wing came next. She cut it carefully, creating three fin-like stabilizers. These she attached to the back of the shaft with more resin. The result was a perfect arrow.
Hyoren watched, amazed by her craft. Elise finished her first arrow and set it aside. She picked up another branch, preparing to start the next.
Then she noticed his gaze. Her eyes darted to him, then back to her work. She picked up the branch. Set it down again.
And then she locked her eyes on him.
He couldn't see her expression clearly in the darkness. The blue glow created shifting shadows across her face. But something in her posture had changed. Her shoulders were tense. Her ears keep twitching.
"You..." her voice was quieter now.
"You said your name is Hyoren, right?"
He nodded.
"Okay… Okay… I haven't properly said it yet..."
Her head bowed slightly in the darkness. The glowing patches cast a soft light across her silver hair.
"Thank you, Hyoren."
The words hung in the air between them.
"Thank you for saving me from the goblin warband."
Her voice was sincere.
"I don't know what would have happened to me if you hadn't saved me this morning. Fighting those dangerous warbands alone should have taken a lot of courage."
She paused.
"A courage which I haven't acknowledged because I was too angry at myself."
Her voice grew quieter.
"Because of my wounded pride. Being saved by someone else when I always work alone… Because I always thought I can do anything alone…"
She looked up.
"Again. Thank you Hyoren."
Hyoren stared at her. He hadn't even realized she hadn't thanked him yet. The thought hadn't crossed his mind. He'd saved her because it was the right thing to do. Because he couldn't have lived with himself if he'd walked away.
He didn't need thanks. He hadn't wanted any.
"Elise… You're welcome. But I didn't save you for any particular reason. I just couldn't forgive myself if I knew someone was going to die without me trying to save them."
He let out a short, wry laugh.
"And it wasn't courage. Maybe it was just recklessness. Haha..."
He tried to dismiss her praise. Tried to downplay what he'd done.
But even in the darkness, he could see her expression. The sincerity in her face. The genuine gratitude in her eyes. She meant it.
He stopped laughing. He took a breath.
"You're welcome, Elise... Really."
She held his gaze for a moment longer. Then she nodded once, turned back to her materials, and resumed crafting her arrows.
***
Hyoren's gaze lingered on Elise as she continued crafting her arrows. He watched for a moment longer. Then he realized. His own gear needed attention.
He looked down at his makeshift spear. The connection between the shaft and the steel dagger had loosened during the day's fighting. The Tangler rope was still holding, but barely. If he used Piercing Thrust again, the weapon might fall apart mid-strike.
He needed to secure it properly.
He untied the connection and examined the problem. The dagger's hilt and guard were the issue. They were too wide, too bulky. They prevented a tight fit against the shaft. The rope could only do so much.
He pulled out his obsidian knife. The sharp edge caught the blue light.
Carefully, he began cutting away the leather binding on the hilt. The material was tough, but the obsidian blade handled it well. He worked slowly, peeling away layer after layer until the leather fell away.
Now he held the naked dagger. The blade portion was about thirty centimeters long. The tang—the metal extension that would normally fit into a sword handle—was about ten centimeters. He ran his finger along it, tracing the structure. Understanding how it fit together.
He nodded to himself. This would work.
He picked up the ironwood shaft. Using his knife, he began carving a depression at the tip. Not a shallow notch—a deep socket, about ten centimeters deep. Matching the length of the tang.
He didn't realize Elise had slowed her arrow-making. Her eyes were on him now. Watching his movements.
"Hey, you. I mean..." she paused.
"Hey, Hyoren."
He looked up. His hand was still carving, though more slowly now.
"What is it, Elise?"
She continued working on her arrow, but her gaze kept drifting back to him. Contemplating.
"It's been on my mind for a while."
Her voice was still guarded with suspicion, but there was something beneath it—curiosity.
"What are you doing in this forest? In this Forest of No Return?"
She gestured vaguely at his appearance.
"And looking like... that. You don't seem like you're from around here. You're too... clueless. About common sense. Like the names of fruits and monsters."
Hyoren stopped carving.
He'd made a blunder. She'd noticed. Of course she going to notice.
"Err..."
He considered lying. Making up a story about being from a remote village. Amnesia. Something believable.
But he decided not to. Elise already show him a measure of trust. She share her knowledge, her supplies, and most importantly, her gratitude.
He decided to tell her the truth. If she didn't believe him, then so be it.
"I'm actually not from around here."
He set down his knife and met her gaze.
"Not even from this world."
The blue glow of moss lit their faces.
"I came from another world. And I suddenly woke up in the middle of the forest. With just clothes and shoes on my body. Nothing else."
He let out a breath.
"I came from a world without magic. Without goblins or other monsters. I was a student. I was studying to be a doctor... or you could just say... a healer."
He looked down at the shaft in his hands.
"It happened suddenly. And I've just been trying to survive. For thirty-seven days now."
The blue light of the Mossback patches was low. But even in the dimness, Hyoren saw Elise's eyes widen. Then they narrowed again. Processing it.
Then she looked at him with new light.
"That explains how your knowledge is jumbled."
A hint of amusement crept into her voice.
"Melopple... pfft..." she chuckled softly.
Hyoren tried to ignore her amusement. He picked up his knife and started carving the shaft again.
"Spirited Away? So you know about my circumstances, Elise?"
She selected another branch for her arrows.
"Well... yes and no… From stories and records. There are people like you, from time to time. Maybe once every two hundred to four hundred years? They suddenly appear near cities. Clueless. But with weird, useful knowledge."
She began shaping the shaft again.
"Most of them end up carving their names into history."
Hyoren paused. So he wasn't the first. Wasn't alone. Others had come before him, appearing in this world. Surviving. Maybe even thriving.
“But carving their names into history. Sure. My history will be about someone with bad naming sense.”
His self deprecation made her chuckled a bit, before she continued.
"Scholars of old say the Aethell pulls souls from other worlds. Then drops them here."
She shrugged.
"We still don't know how it happens. But it can happen."
Aethell. The word was new to him. It sounded important. Significant.
But he held back his questions. She was sharing information willingly now. Pushing too hard might make her close up again. He'd ask more later. When she trusted him more.
"I see… So I'm not the first, or alone."
He turned the shaft in his hands, examining the depth of the depression.
"Are Spirited Away people able to return to their original world?"
Elise set down her finished arrows. She'd completed six now. A good addition to her quiver. She looked at Hyoren.
"No... From what I know, all of them live in this world until they age and die here."
The words settled over him. His only hope of returning to Earth. Returning to his old life. All of it—cut off.
But he'd already suspected as much. He'd given up hope of returning weeks ago. The news didn't hit him as hard as it might have.
"I see..."
He let the information sink in. There was no point dwelling on it. He focused back on his spear.
The depression was done. He inserted the tang into the socket. It fit snugly. Perfectly.
He reached into his bag and pulled out the Tangler resin. He poured it into the connection, filling the gaps. While he waited for it to set, he wrapped rope around the connection point. Extra security. Then he poured more resin over the rope.
He held the spear still, letting the resin harden. When the resin had set, he tested the connection. He twisted the shaft. Shook it. Pressed against it.
It was secure. Solid. Almost as if the shaft and steel spearhead had been made from a single material.
He stood on the branch, testing the balance. The weight distribution was good.
And the shape—the curved guard from the dagger gave it a unique appearance—almost like a Japanese yari. The curved guard would help with parrying enemy attacks. And the long blade increased his slashing capabilities.
He was satisfied. He sat back down and placed the spear beside him.
"Good?" Elise's voice drifted from the other tree.
"Good. It'll hold now."
She didn't respond. She'd already returned to another ironwood branch.
***
Hyoren watched Elise work again. She was making another arrow, but this one was different. She modified the tip, carving a small depression with her knife. A pinpoint hole at the very end. A chamber inside the shaft.
He leaned forward slightly, curious.
She reached into her bag and retrieved a small bundle wrapped in flower petals—the Dreambloom pollen. She carefully poured a tiny amount into the arrow's chamber, tapping the shaft to settle it. Then she sealed the opening with resin, securing it tightly.
After that, she took a piece of charcoal from her supplies and painted the shaft black. A marker to distinguish it from her regular arrows.
"What are you making, Elise?"
She looked up from her work.
"Trump card."
She held up the arrow, examining it in the blue glow.
"This Dreambloom pollen is potent. It can instantly make low-level monsters fall asleep. Higher-level ones might just get lethargic, but even that can turn a fight."
She set the arrow aside and began preparing another.
"I can only make three from this amount of pollen. But that's enough."
He nodded slowly.
"As expected of an Elven Ranger. Always know and always be prepared."
A small smile crossed her face. She returned to her work. Hyoren watched her for a moment longer.
Her guard had lowered. She was still cautious—she'd chosen a separate tree, kept her weapons close—but the wariness from before had faded.
His curiosity couldn't be held back anymore. Shead already asked what he was doing in this forest. And now he wanted to know her situation too.
"Hey, Elise… What are you doing here? In this forest. Alone."
He paused.
"Are you on a quest? Are you an adventurer?"
The words just burst from his mouth, the curiosity removing all his restraint. Adventurer. Quest. Terms from the fantasy stories he used to read.
Elise was silent for a while. She finished the second arrow and set it aside. Then she looked up at the sky, where the first stars were beginning to appear through the canopy.
She took a deep breath and released it.
"Yes. You're right."
She spoke without looking at him.
"See, your knowledge is jumbled. You don't know Dew-heart. But you know about adventurer guilds."
She shook her head.
"Really weird."
She picked up another branch, but she didn't start working on it. She just held it in her hands.
"And yeah. I was tasked by the Adventurer's Guild in Frontier City Akela—that's my base of operation—to scout the increased activity of the Shadowden Collective."
She turned the branch over in her hands.
"It's led by a Goblin King Warlock. In this Forest of No Return. I was supposed to observe. Report back. Not engage."
She looked down at her hands. They were trembling slightly. She stared at them, as if seeing something else. The words from her mouth next came out bitter.
"But I was complacent. I thought it was the usual forest. I've scouted this place multiple times before. The patrols are never this numerous."
Her grip tightened on the branch.
"The increased patrols caught me off guard. I was fighting a large group when another warband came from behind. Led by the Goblin Warrior."
She touched the back of her head. The spot where the club had struck. It was still swollen. Still tender.
"I tried to fight back. Killed maybe fifteen goblins total. But one of them managed to smack the back of my head. I went down instantly."
Her voice was flat now. Reciting facts. Trying to distance herself from the memory.
"And then… they captured me."
Hyoren absorbed the information.
An adventurer. A guild. A frontier city called Akela. A Goblin King Warlock leading the Shadowden Collective. The fantasy trope kept coming.
But now wasn't the time to ask more questions. She was sharing. He wouldn't push.
"I see… No wonder. When I saw you fight and walk through the forest, I knew you were definitely a veteran. That's why I was curious about how you got captured."
Elise smiled wryly. Shame flickered across her face.
"I won't get careless again. I won't repeat the same mistake."
She said it like a promise to herself.
She set down the branch and looked at him. Her gaze swept over his primitive gear. His rabbit-leather clothing. His newly reinforced spear. The tools and materials scattered around his branch.
Curiosity sparked in her eyes.
"How about you? You said you were Spirited Away thirty-seven days ago. But you're already quite knowledgeable about surviving in the forest. You can keep up with me. You can create good gear, albeit primitive. And the way you fight… It's not amateur."
She leaned forward slightly.
"How high is your level?"
"Level 6, Elise."
The words hung in the air. Elise's eyes widened.
"Level 6?"
She stared at him.
"No wonder you could fight all of them and emerge victorious…" she shook her head slowly.
"You said you used Dreambloom nectar. But if your level were lower, you definitely wouldn't have had any chance against the Goblin Warrior."
Then the realization hit her.
"Wait a minute. You achieved all of this in thirty-seven days? How?"
She held up her hand, ticking off points.
"Leveling up to level three or four in one month is understandable. But level six requires high experience points. And you were just Spirited Away. Based on stories I've heard, most Spirited Away are clueless upon arrival. They can't even do simple work well. They have weird, useful knowledge, but they definitely can't survive in the wilderness on their first month of getting thrown here."
She looked at him more carefully.
"How?"
Hyoren considered the question.
"I just survived… I had knowledge of surviving in the forest from my late father. I applied what I knew from my old world and from him to this world. And time went by itself..."
He gestured vaguely at himself.
"And here I am."
Elise was quiet for a moment.
"You must have worked so hard. The fights you must have endured. The loneliness."
Something shifted in her expression. The last of her wariness faded. In its place was something else—respect.
Hyoren noticed the change. Before he could stop himself, he asked another question.
"So... everyone knows about levels and experience points? The adventurers, the soldiers... everyone?"
Elise nodded and gestured broadly.
"Of course. It's the most basic measure of one's Attunement to the Aethell. Of one's growth in power and skill. It's how the guild ranks its members. How armies gauge their strength. How nations measure their heroes."
She locked her eyes on his face again.
"But to achieve level six in just thirty days... you definitely worked very hard, Hyoren."
The words settled over him.
His hard work. His relentless grinding to gather experience points. Alone in that safe but lonely cave. Day after day. Night after night. Killing monsters. Harvesting materials. Crafting tools. Pushing himself to survive.
She recognized it. She didn't call him a maniac. Didn't call him obsessed. She wasn’t weirded by it.
"I don't know, Elise. I just focused. Kept killing monsters. Crafting tools and gear. I did all that to survive this forest."
The early days of his time in the forest flashed through his mind. The fear. The confusion. The desperate scramble to find shelter, water, food. The first time he'd killed a horned rabbit. The long nights in the cave, talking to himself.
It seemed so long ago. Almost nostalgic. And it had only been a month.
"You definitely worked very hard, Hyoren. Isolated. With just clothes and your body to help you. In this dangerous forest."
She paused.
"Not even I'm confident I could do it myself."
An elven ranger. A veteran adventurer. Someone who'd survived this forest multiple times. And she was saying she wasn't sure she could do what he'd done.
As the word settled on him, small details caught his thought.
Wait… What about Elise level? Should I ask her level now. No. I will let her say it when she ready to tell me. Level is personal info. A secret.
If she is not ready to tell me about her secret like level, status, skill. Then he won’t pry.
***
Elise carefully gathered her newly made arrows.
Six normal arrow. Three special ones with the blackened shaft and Dreambloom pollen tip. She inspected each one, testing the balance, checking the fin, ensuring the heads were secure.
Satisfied, she slipped them into her quiver. The addition brought her total supply to a comfortable number. Enough for several more encounters.
She gathered the remaining materials and prepared to sleep.
"The night is already high. We should sleep. We still need to rush out of this goblin territory tomorrow."
She adjusted her position on the branch and leaned back against the trunk of her tree.
"No need to take turns watching. We're safe up here."
Hyoren nodded in agreement.
He gathered his own materials. The Tangler resin. The remaining vines. The tools he'd used to repair his spear. Everything went back into his bag, secured against the branch.
"Okay, Elise. Let's sleep. Thanks for all the explanations. Good night."
She looked at him across the gap between their trees.
"It's me who should say thanks, Hyoren. And yeah. Good night."
Hyoren lay down on the bough. The leaves provided a thin cushion against the hard bark. Not comfortable, but better than bare wood. He shifted a few times, finding a position that wouldn't leave him sore in the morning.
He closed his eyes. Trying to enter his usual soldier’s sleep. But it took him for a while.
Something distracted him. Small sounds. Rustling. Movement from the other tree.
He kept his eyes closed. His breathing steady. Feigning sleep.
Elise.. . She still can't sleep easily with me nearby, huh.
The thought was understanding, not resentful.
She's still wary of me. Waiting for me to fall asleep before she sleeps herself.
He didn't blame her. They'd known each other for less than a day. She'd been captured, rescued, and now was traveling with a stranger who claimed to be from another world. Trust took time.
Trust is earned. Not easily handed.
He stopped his thought. And focusing on his breathing. Slowing his heart rate. Let his body relax while his mind stayed alert. Slowly, he drifted into soldier's sleep.
***
Nearby, Elise wasn't sleeping either. She sat on her branch, her back against the trunk. Her eyes were locked on Hyoren's sleeping form across the gap of leaves.
He'd finally gone still. His breathing had evened out. But there was something off about it. The rhythm was too controlled. Too measured.
She opened her bag quietly. From within, she retrieved four small objects. Square white stone, pulsing with faint runes. The markings glowed softly in the darkness, casting a pale light across her fingers.
“Ward Stones. Barrier which going to protect and conceal us from nearby monster...” the words were barely a whisper. Meant only for herself.
She stared at it. Then at Hyoren.
"I really should trust him more. He's harmless. Trying to help me without any bad intention."
She turned one of the stone over in her hand.
"And here I am. With my high but wounded pride. Thinking he's just like other..."
She trailed off. The word men hung unspoken in the air.
She let out a soft sigh.
"I should have suggested using this Ward Stone. Instead of sleeping on top of trees like this."
She looked at the uncomfortable branch beneath her.
"We could have had a comfortable, restful sleep on the ground. Protected by the ward."
She glanced at Hyoren again.
"I can feel he's not truly in deep sleep. It's the sleep with one ear open. Ready to wake at a moment's notice."
She'd noticed it the moment he'd gone still. The way his body rested but never fully relaxed. The way his breathing slowed but never reached the rhythm of true sleep.
"Did he keep doing that sleep for thirty-seven days...?"
The thought weighed on her. And she shook her head slowly.
"He's truly weird. But amazing at the same time. How is his mind still sane? Thirty-seven days without any restful sleep."
She tucked four Ward Stones back into her bag.
"Okay. Tomorrow. I'll use these Ward Stones. Let him get his deserved restful sleep."
She shifted on her branch, trying to find a comfortable position. She attempted to enter a similar state of rest as him.
But she wasn't practiced in it. Her body wanted to relax fully. Her mind wanted to drift. The discipline required was unfamiliar.