Chapter 43: Unusual Dangers, II

It is early morning, around six right now.

Everyone is awake currently, although Ren woke up after the whole ordeal happened.

We just survived the activation time of a Grendel. Me and Sean were quite damaged, but it is alright, it could've been much worse.

I patched ourselves up with some healing magic and we were back to moving properly again.

We packed our stuff, and we were now diving deep into the forest or the jungle, call it as you may.

We walked, walked, and walked in a straight line.

The air was thick with the pleasant smell of grass and wood. I somehow felt nostalgic, as if I was back at the forests of Stera, the hometown where I was born in.

How many times did I go hunting like this? Probably hundreds of times, if not thousands. I recalled my time in Rora as we gradually dove deeper into this place.

I was also registered at the guild, and just so you know, I was a B-Rank adventurer. I was a solo adventurer. Whenever I wanted to ask someone to form a party with me, they'd just look at me weirdly and move away.

I thought I was quite social in this world compared to my former one.

I certainly would've enjoyed some companionship like this, even in Crisyes… Bygones are bygones, the past can never be changed.

"What's wrong, Helis?" Mai asked, noticing the frown on my face even though it was always the same.

"No, nothing really," I nodded and showed appreciation, "Thank you for your concern, Mai."

"Gah!? No, I wasn't concerned about you, I just don't want my comrades to be in a low mood while we need to be on our top form." Her face flushed, trying to reason her question towards me.

So she's a tsundere, huh…

"And, why are you scoffing now? Am I so under the human level that you have to scoff when I show concern for my comrades?" She said with a bemused look.

"Eh, but I wasn't scoffing though… I was just reminded of some stuff in the past, that's all." My gaze was down-casted as I reminisced about Selica… How I wish I could see her… even if her doppelganger is here.

"Hmmm, what were you thinking about?" Mai tilted her head, asking me with an earnest look on her face.

"Just about a long-lost acquaintance," I said.

"And was that acquaintance important to you?" She questioned me.

"She was… Truly, she was very important to me." The corners of my lips raised unconsciously.

We walked a little further, I just noticed the two of us were four meters apart from the party. "So she was a girl… Was she your girlfriend?" Mai squinted her eyes as she asked that.

"Hmmm… No, she wasn't, we couldn't be a thing yet–"

She interrupted my sentence in half, "Phew, thank god. Wait, no! So she was just a companion?"

I guess she didn't hear me say that we couldn't be a thing yet…

"Yes, we lived in the same town."

"And where is she now?"

"That, I don't know. But she teleported just like… us?" I recalled the events before I teleported here.

She was in my hold, bleeding to death, and then the crack of space swallowed her. The next instant my senses were all shut off from the world.

"I don't know how she teleported, and I won't ask for the details, but let's do our best to save her and get out of this hell right away!" Was this her way of being considerate?

Does she think Selica could be here?

No, that's plausible. If an outer force, being, took hold of us, they could've easily healed her.

If so, where could she be?

"Yes, let's do so!" I nodded and we continued our walk in this jungle, bringing a hand to cover my wide smile as I felt a glimmer of hope.

***

It has been another four hours of adventuring on this floor.

"Guys, look over there," Luke pointed with a finger toward a part of the forest.

The trees were filled to the brim with fruits of some kind.

"Now they sure seem tasty…" Ren was already drooling as he made his way toward the branches.

And so did we follow him.

"Fresh food, fresh food, fresh food!" the Japanese guy was already mumbling like a crazy psychopath while climbing the tree faster than a monkey could.

That was when I noticed something was amiss, the trees we were standing and leaping on had no insects to be found, nor any birds resting on them.

Just this moment, everything around me came to be in slow motion, or did my thought speed accelerate? I don't know.

What I know with certainty, is that the maws from the body of that tree are opening to fully swallow Ren.

In that instant, I activated Super-Augmentation and in the next second, I was already holding Ren's body while flying away from the wooden jaws munching on empty air.

Green thundery ripples escaped my body as Ren gasped, "Kgha!" His breath escaped his lungs with difficulty because of the pressure and speed I took hold of him which did internal damage to his body.

"Sorry, bear with me, Ren."

I princess carried him till I landed on the ground.

The others were all shocked to see me move so fast, and more so when they saw the tree's body moving so unnaturally.

"Are you alright?" The party approached us.

"Khca, khca!" Ren threw up some blood, but it wasn't much, so it wasn't a big issue.

"Sean, I used Super-Augmentation," I told him and deactivated the spell.

A second later my body went slack and Sean lent me his shoulder so I could keep standing.

"How did you know that would happen, Helis?" Haruka asked.

"It was too quiet, I couldn't see any insects either. The fruits were also all aligned perfectly and didn't seem to be touched by any worms either."

"Does that mean the ecosystem is against us too?" Luke frowned as he laid his eyes upon the so-called tree.

"No, not every tree is like that," I took a pause, still breathing heavily because of my pounding heart, "That, too, was a monster. It is simply disguised so it could secure its food."

"Food? In that case… that would be me." Ren spoke in sheer terror.

Because of the swirling emotions of fear and how easily his life would've been lost, he was now puking as tears strode out of his eyes.

After he calmed down a little, like that on the ground, he crawled to my feet and took hold of my shoes, prostrating himself, "Thank you, Helis… I'll never be able to repay you!"