Chapter 15: Estella
The Aspen Realm was a large lake, covered in fresh sea-green trees. The trees' roots were halfway in the water, but not even the ends were in soil. It was like there was no land under the muddy water.
This caught Estella by surprise. Before, she had only lived on land, and had never learned to swim. But this time, when she fell into the water, her arms and legs automatically started moving, keeping Estella floating on the surface.
"What? How is this happening?" she asked herself. "What is this odd movement?" She clung onto the roots of a nearby tree and made her way to the top branches.
Around her, the vast realm seemed to stretch on forever.
A speck of light caught her eye.
Was that her guardian? She remembered that one of the unique species commonly found in the Aspen realm were Water Sypnaids. According to Noami and a book of hers, after the massacre in their home realm, which was unknown, only a few managed to escape the human hunters, then they fled to the Aspen Realm. Now, to the citizens of the Aspen Realm, they were 'spirits' protecting the realm.
The light was still there.
Estella decided to take a look and went from tree to tree like a leaping human monkey.
That reminded her of something. These aspen trees were particularly strange. She could hear sounds in the distance, but there were no animals around.
She stopped and squinted. There was a tall tree... there were holes here and there... it seemed to be the source of the noises.
Yes. Swarms and swarms of small birds. And they seemed to spot her staring.
In an instant, they all came flying towards her. Estella took her dagger. But she didn't unsheathe it. Noami would scold her later if she harmed these birds.
As they came closer, Estella realized that they were not birds, but mobs of darkness, called Dark Species.
She shrugged and unsheathed it anyways.
But still, it was as useless as a rubber sword. Those creatures, probably allies of Mother Nature's Sister, could run right through the blade without any damage.
Suddenly, she recalled one of her own books in the cave, called Different Demons and how to Fight Them. She thought it would be useful, so had memorized it before heading to the Aspen Realm.
In the book, it stated that these demons could only take damage from different types of Sypnaids, as they were the predators of these Dark Species. For a moment, she thought she was lucky. She thought that a Water Sypnaid would pop out somewhere and randomly attack them.
But then, she realized if that really happened, it wouldn't happen to her.
While thinking, all the demons had already surrounded her and were closing in from all sides.
She couldn't do anything but wait.
She closed her eyes and suddenly heard a shuffle from the tree on her right.
A barefoot, blue-skinned creature leaped in the air. Her hair was dark-navy blue, short and curly, and seemed silky. She was wearing a light blue jumpsuit, and she hissed at the demons.
The Dark Species were startled and tried to fly away, but the Water Sypnaid of course, was much faster than them.
Blue energy zapped out of the Water Sypnaid's eyes.
The enemy was shattered into sparks that eventually turned into dust and fell into the water.
The Water Sypnaid jumped to the roots of the trees and gulped down the water areas where the dark powder fell.
Estella gave a smile of relief and smiled weakly. "Thank you, Water Sypnaid."
The Water Sypnaid turned around and answered in a cold voice. "There is no need." She eyed Estella up and down. "What brings you here, Apprentice of Nature?"
Estella took the risk and replied, "I am here to find my guardian. One of your kindred."
"My kindred?"
"Yes."
"What will you need with that—so called guardian?" The Sypnaid bent down low.
"Nature is in danger right now. We need more help for helping Mother Nature."
"Ah, I see." The Water Sypnaid nodded her head. "Since it's orders of Mother Nature, we must follow."
The Sypnaid dived into the water and shot bubbles into the air. Estella was surprised but suddenly, sounds of the water splashing filled the air. All around Estella was surrounded with identical Water Sypnaids. They all whispered to each other, pointing at Estella.
"Now," The Water Sypnaid turned to look back at Estella. "Which one of us are you looking for?"
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone