Rex walked with Maya through a familiar part of the forest. As they reached the stream Rex had spent most of his time in the forest following, they started heading up it. The whole time though, Maya looked apprehensive. Rex himself understood the reason and wouldn’t speak of it. He knew Maya was a strong girl and she would eventually come to terms with how she might never see Ann again, but the separation was too sudden. The young girl’s heart didn’t have time to ready itself and Rex was sure it didn’t even comprehend it. Her mind surely did. She was smart after all. But everything had yet to click into place.

Rex decided not to worry too much about the girl for now. She needed time. For now. He needed to worry about himself as he had already proven well enough that the scar of losing his sister hadn’t healed even with as many decades as it had been. Time heals all wounds didn’t seem to apply here. He needed to fix it. He couldn’t afford to be scared anymore. He knew... He knew. In the world loss is unavoidable. He couldn’t let himself be crippled every time he would lose something dear. Because he now knew he couldn’t avoid growing fond. Such was the weakness of the human heart. Such was his weakness. He clenched his teeth as he glanced sideways at the young girl. He would protect her. Yes. But he wouldn’t be able to do so forever. He’d give her a few days to calm down. Then he’d have to teach her to fend for herself. In exchange she would teach him more about this world.

He felt an itch on his forehead which was the perfect excuse to change his thoughts. As he scratched it he wondered how much time it would take to pass the forest. He would need to be careful going through this time. Maya might have to learn to sleep while being carried. No. That would be dangerous too. If something attacked while she was asleep Rex would have limited options in dealing with it. A solution to the problem... if they slept at night they would be attacked. Rex had no doubt. To correct that... they needed to either sleep during the morning or be knowledgeable in setting traps. And while Rex may have been an unparalleled strategist in his life, hunting and wilderness survival... weren’t his specialties, to put it kindly.

He had practiced throwing knives before as a hobby. His great talent in calculation, which ironically betrayed him in the dungeon in simple counting, he grumbled as he remembered the embarrassing mishap, and the great strength of his body, allowed him to pick up how to use a bow decently in no time at all. He knew a few traps he could set up for catching animals as well, just from random memory. But setting an alarm system around a camp... that was... not going to happen. Damn. He should have seen if Tristain was willing to teach him. Ah! He was such an idiot! No, no, no. He calmed himself down. It would have been awkward to ask Tristain for that. He was employed by him after all. Yes. It was that the situation just didn’t allow him to ask such things after one of their party members had died. It was definitely not that it had completely slipped Rex’s mind.

“Are you alright?” suddenly Maya asked.

“Huh? Yeah. Why?”

“Your expression was changing around like crazy...”

‘Shit! Since when did my face get so lax?!’

Rex cleared his throat “I was just thinking about some things. Don’t worry about it.”

“Alright... if you say so.”

Rex would keep a closer attention to what sort of faces he was making while thinking. How many days would it take to cross the forest anyway? It had taken him a week to get to the human lands, but he later found out he was closer to the northern border than anything and he had been taking the time to hide and sleep each night, also spending half of his days to search the forest around his previous sleeping spot. That and spending two days on the goblins. He calculated that they would probably need about five or so days if they kept a good pace. It could take over a week if they spent a lot of time to rest, but it was a more realistic time. He doubted that Maya would be physically able to walk for a whole day through the forest. No doubt even half of that was pushing it.

That became evident as a few hours of walking later, the girl was sweating and panting already. They decided they would stop for a break. It was a bit early for lunch but they ate anyway. Rex still had some smoked jerky in his backpack which they both munched on, though Maya had admittedly more trouble chewing the tough meat and neither of them was too fond of the taste. Sighing, Rex made a quick round around their resting place and found a tree with his favourite cherry-like fruits on it.

Gathering a bunch of them he brought a number for Maya, who happily munched on the deliciously sweet pink fruit. Rex did the same himself. These fruit were delicacies after all. He was surprised he couldn’t find much of them in a human market despite there being trees with them so close to the edge of the forest. Out of curiosity he asked Maya if she knew why.

“Ah. That’s probably because people are afraid. This forest is often treated as cursed. People consider spending the night in here suicide and while there are people who have survived they aren’t ones to return willingly. Most people that are willing to enter the forest are combat-able men and those kinds have much better ways of earning money than selling some rare fruit at a market.”

“What about using slaves?”

“Our country isn’t big on slaves, Rex. Have you seen one slave during your stay in Fyric?”

Rex thought for a moment “You’re right. I didn’t. But isn’t that rare? I thought slaves were fairly common in most human countries.”

“Other than in the Ash Empire you mean?”

Rex nodded

“Well. Yeah. But Hurria is against that.”

“So you’re on better terms with the beastmen then?”

“God no. In our cases they’re usually just sentenced to death instead.” She looked ashamed to say that. The young girl had never understood the beef between humans and beastmen. Unlike her though, most people hadn’t spent half their lives learning different cultures from around the world. Rex himself sighed. He told Maya he’d heard enough and thanked her for the information. Then they resumed their rest. Rex decided to try meditating again. For the first time since he had unlocked his mana.

Positioning himself in a cross-legged position and closing his mind off to outside influences, Rex quickly and clearly sensed his mana this time. He could even sense sort of properties from it. His mana felt in the first place very mouldable. Like it could change its own properties with ease. It also felt influential, for lack of a better word, and it would easily separate from his body. On the other hand, his mana felt like it would have a hard time moulding something else. It also felt like it would be hard, though not as much to use it to make something stronger or to materialise something physical from it. This was all instinctual to Rex. If he had to describe it, no doubt he would fail to put it into words. Yet. As he experimented he couldn’t cause any effect to happen. He was just limited to control for now, for whatever reason. Perhaps it was lack of practice or perhaps there was something he was missing. But for now. He meditated on the shield he always maintained around himself.

The shield itself didn’t waste any mana at all. If anything, while he could feel mana leaking out of Maya by default he could feel none leaking out of himself. His mana was completely under his control. Now that he thought about it. The trees and grass in the forest didn’t leak mana either. Did plants act differently? He meditated on his shield for some time, while trying to understand the workings of his mana, but had little success. When he opened his eyes he saw Maya staring at him.

“Hoe does it feel...?”

Rex didn’t quite understand the question “What?”

“Being a mage.”

“I wouldn’t call myself a mage yet. I haven’t figured out how to use magic.”

“But you can use mana right? How does that feel?”

“...Like a whole new world has opened up to me. Like a third eye I’ve had all my life but never noticed has opened up and allows me to see so much more.”

“Must be nice...”

“I’m sure you’ll find out how eventually as well.”

“Can you teach me? You understood it right?”

“No... mine was... forced out of me. I think I almost died when that happened. If I wasn’t advanced enough to control my own mana well enough, or if I had been unable to keep a cool head... I’m not sure if I would’ve survived. I probably wouldn’t have.”

Maya looked at the ground dejectedly.

“Keep meditating. Focus on your inner self. Eventually you’ll feel your own mana. Then its up to you to unlock it. Just don’t do something dangerous.”

“...I got it.” She looked up with a determined expression, which Rex nodded to. They spent a few more moments resting before resuming their journey. They walked again ‘til evening, Maya again getting tired. While Rex was confident she would adapt to the situation mentally in a few days, the physical aspect would most likely have to wait. As they set up a camp, if you could call it that, considering they didn’t even have a fire going, Rex scratched his forehead again while Maya covered herself in a cloth sheet to keep the cold away and prepared to sleep. In this forest, building a fire was impossible. Why? Was it too damp? Or was there magic that prevented it? No. It was much more fundamental. The trees and grass wouldn’t burn. And they were tough. Even to Rex, who could only break the smallest of branches.

Rex stayed up all night. He didn’t meditate as that would defeat the purpose of being a lookout, but he still practiced controlling his mana. He didn’t try anything drastic since he didn’t want to risk alerting the local wildlife to their presence if he miraculously succeeded, which he did not.. Thankfully. They were attacked by nothing that night all the way until Maya woke in the morning. After breakfast they gathered their belongings and set off again, spending another day travelling in a similar fashion. Maya joined Rex in meditation during their breaks this time. She had always admired the idea of becoming a mage so she couldn’t resist trying, especially after seeing Rex achieve her dream in only a few months.

It was at the end of the day when they made camp again did Rex smell a familiar, yet foul smell in the air.

“Ugh.” He groaned “We’ve entered goblin territory.”

“Goblins? Here?”

“Yeah. But don’t think just because its “their territory” we’re safe from other beasts. I highly doubt it.”

“Why would they mark their territory if they can’t defend it?”

“That’s... a good question. Now that I think about it wasn’t marked last time I came here. Only the small area around their cave was. And even that was done in reservation. Like they were afraid a monster would smell it out.”

“Maybe their clan expanded?”

“In only a few months?:

“Goblins might not seem like it but they are magic creatures. A goblin can grow up to my size in only a few days though they would then be very limited in growth afterwards. Until they became hobgoblins.”

“How do hobgoblins happen again?”

“We don’t really know. People have theorised before that it might have something to do with goblins accumulating mana in their bodies or that its just another growth spurt that goblins endure like their first one, and the time it happens at simply varies between goblins.”

“I see... Maybe they can defend their territory after all then. Still. I’ll stay awake. Even if we don’t have to worry about beasts and I still doubt that, we still have goblins to deal with now.”

Maya simply nodded. Afterwards they had dinner. Despite the smell completely ruining Rex’s appetite he forced the food down and meditated to escape from it. Unfortunately that only lasted until Maya fell asleep, after which he was left alone with the smell for the rest of that night. He was ready to cry and beg Maya to move on during the night the whole time. That night again though, they encountered no opposition.

The territory of the goblins did extend to the creak but it didn’t cover much of it. The two travellers quickly left its boundaries the next day, causing Rex to feel frustrated that he could have avoided that whole night by just travelling a bit more, yet only a few minutes later would a group of goblins pass through the foliage to come face to face with them. This was the first threat Rex had encountered ever since Maya joined him. He needed to protect her. He drew his hammer, but didn’t attack. Instead he told Maya to shut her ears and let out a battle shout that almost shook the surroundings in its intensity towards the goblins. This immediately spelled trouble for the group of small green and brown men. Rather than fighting at that point they all understood they held no chance of victory against a creature that could let out such intense pressure. Their legs felt weak, but they knew what they had to do. They all immediately fled.

Rex sighed in relief after they were long gone and turned back to Maya, who looked at him, startled.

“Wasn’t there a better way to handle that?”

“The highest chance of surviving a fight comes from avoiding the fight in the first place.”

“No I get that, but wasn’t there a better way of avoiding it?”

“Goblins are easy to scare. So that’s what popped into my head.” He would never admit it, but he panicked. There were better ways to show off his strength. Striking a tree with his hammer could’ve done. Or just defeating them in combat. Goblins didn’t pose a threat to him. This was it. His fear. He was terrified of being unable to protect Maya so he panicked. He clenched his teeth. “I’ll try to handle it better next time.”

“...Okay.” Maya decided to be satisfied with that and they proceeded forward.

The day was spent in walking with limited breaks once again. The breaks were only more frequent today, as the pain in Maya’s legs was catching up to her over the days, making it even harder to walk. As they were taking another rest and Rex was meditating he decided something and opened his eyes.

“Maya, tomorrow we’ll be resting all day.”

“What? Isn’t that bad? What if a pursuit from the country catches up? This isn’t the time to be worried about how tired I am.”

“No that’s not it. We’re deep enough in the forest that a pursuit won’t come, but I’m starting to grow tired. If I don’t rest tomorrow I won’t be able to stay awake during the night, so I’ll sleep during the day when its safe.”

“Oh... I guess that’s fine then...” Maya replied unenthusiastically. Though that was only to hide her fear. So tomorrow was the first time she would be completely alone. She hadn’t realised until now exactly how much of a reassurance mentally, Rex’s constant presence had been. He was strong. Beyond measure. With him she almost felt like she was taking a normal stroll even if this forest was a place most humans wouldn’t step in even if they were paid.

Rex didn’t say more on the topic for the rest of the day and simply acted as lookout for the rest of the night. He only fell asleep a good hour after Maya had woken up. Now she was by herself. Suddenly she felt that way. Even with Rex right there, even he seemed vulnerable while he slept, which didn’t reassure her at all. What should she do? She didn’t know. Meditate? No, no, no. That was terrifying. What if something snuck up on her while she did? She knew there were predators during the day here as well and they were sometimes more dangerous than even the night-time hunters Rex had named the forest for.

It was terrifying. Being alone was terrifying. She remembered she had a time where she felt like this in the past. She remembered. It was when her parents died. When they both fell sick and she couldn’t do anything for them. Would that happen again? Would she be left all alone? Would Rex leave her all alone too? No! She shook her head. She wouldn’t allow that! Wasn’t that why she studied like there was no tomorrow for all of those years? So next time she wouldn’t be helpless? Why was she sitting there and hugging her knees? Weren’t there things to do? She stood up and opened her pack, taking out some alchemy equipment. Making a circle around where Rex was resting, she gathered some herbs. They were good quality. As expected of something from deeper in the forest. They were so much better than the scraps she had gathered for Ann and herself at the edge of the forest.

She prepared all the ingredients and took some out of her pack as well, some she crushed with a mortar and pestle, other she boiled with water. She prepared them all in different ways according to what she knew and after that she started mixing them together. By the time Rex woke up, 4 dark red vials of liquid sat in front of her and the equipment was cleaned up and packed back up. Rex cocked his head.

“Um. Next time you need to go to sleep, please take one of these. They’ll keep you up, though I don’t know how much it would be for you.”

“You knew of a useful potion like that? Why didn’t you say so earlier?”

“It just didn’t Pop into my head.”

Rex burst out laughing “Wow! Alright. Next time I’ll drink one of those. There aren’t any side effects?” Maya shook her head. Side effects would only occur if the one mixing the potions didn’t do it correctly, but she had. All of her life, she had probably been preparing for this. She definitely wouldn’t allow herself to be useless. To just be a burden.

“Um. Since there’s still a few hours before the sun sets would you like to make a bit of progress today after all?” Maya asked, her feet having gotten some rest, though admittedly not nearly enough.

“Sure. If you’re up for it.”

Maya confirmed and they once more gathered their belongings and left behind their resting place. They both carried two of the potions in case something happened to one of the packs. And though their time of day was limited, Maya walked the furthest she ever had in one go.