Bab 3: Meeting Trouble
While the little redhead paid no attention and continued walking ahead, I was still standing there, for a while, trying to decide further actions. To follow or not to follow- that was the question.
And as I continued to glance around, still trying to wrap my head around my circumstance, I could think it wouldn't hurt to ask a few questions. Perhaps she knew more about this world. I jogged to catch up.
"Hey, wait up!" I called out, hastening my pace.
The girl stopped but didn't turn around. "What is it?" she asked in an irritated tone.
I finally caught up and stopped beside her, trying not to look like a complete idiot. "So, uh… I'm kinda new here," I started, rubbing the back of my neck in an awkward manner. "Can you tell me where we are? What this place is?
She eyed me suspiciously. "You don't know where you are?"
"Not exactly…" I admitted. "I kinda got dropped into this world, and I'm still figuring things out."
She sighed, not buying a single word of it. "Right… 'dropped into this world.' Sure." Heavy sarcasm laced into her words. "Look, I don't have time for your nonsense. I've got things to do.
"Wait, I'm serious!" I said, stepping in front of her and blocking her path. "I really don't know anything about this place. I need your help!"
She stared at me a while, her green eyes searching my face. Then, with an exasperated sigh, she crossed her arms. "Fine. I'll humor you. We're in the Kingdom of Asphar. You're standing in the Wildlands-a forested area near the northern border of the kingdom."
"The Wildlands?" I echoed. "Sounds dangerous."
"It is," she said and narrowed her eyes again. "There are all manners of monsters running around here, not to mention bandits and outlaws. Therefore, if you are really as clueless as you claim you are, you should better be careful."
Monsters?" I grumbled, and shivered as though a cold breeze had just coursed down my spine. "Great. just what I needed.
She wheeled around with her heel then and started to walk away, making it rather starkly apparent that the conversation was now over.
"Wait!" I again called out, scrambling after him. "What's your name, by the way?"
She hesitated but did not turn around toward me. "Elara," she said after a long silence.
"Elara, huh? Cool name," I said, smiling. "I'm Kaito."
Elara nodded shortly. "Nice to meet you, I s'pose.".
We walked in complete silence for several minutes, during which I couldn't help but notice how tensed she was. She never took her hand off the hilt of her sword, her eyes scanning the treetops as if something would spring out onto us at any moment.
"So… what's a girl like you doing out here in the Wildlands?" I asked, trying to break an almost awkward silence.
She shot me an angular glance. "A girl like me?"
Yeah, I mean, you don't exactly look like the type of person who would be wandering around some monster-infested forest.
Elara smiled with her lips in a half curl. "Shows how little you know.
Before I could answer, a loud rustling sound came from the bushes nearby. At once, Elara unsheathed her sword, and its blade shone bright in the sun. The pounding of my heart came to a stop as I froze.
"Stay back," she warned, her body stepping in front of me.
I did what she said, not wanting to get in the way of someone who clearly knew how to handle a sword better than I did.
The rustling grew louder, and then from behind the bushes a creature emerged that looked like a crossbreed of a wolf and a bear. It had dark fur that was matted into his body, with glowing red eyes and massive sharp claws, capable of tearing through metal.
"What in the world is that?!" I yelled, stepping backward.
A direwolf," Elara said, her tone almost soft, but with underlying, keen restraint. "They're dangerous. Stay behind me.
The direwolf growled, then locked its red eyes onto us. Then, without warning, it lurched forward with teeth bared.
With lightning speed, Elara dodged the assault and swiped her sword across its side, drawing blood from it. Yelping in pain, the direwolf spun to face her again almost in an instant.
I stared in amazement forth towards the swiftness and accuracy at which Elara moved. Not only was she powerful in her power, but she could fight with a touch of class. Each swing of her sword was deliberate; each step managed with purpose.
"Are you going to stand there all day, or are you going to help?" she snapped at me, never taking her eyes off direwolf.
"Right, help…" I muttered, and started to glance around me for things I could use. Then I remembered—*Infinite Abilities*.
Wait," I muttered to myself, my head lowering to stare at my hands. "I have infinite abilities, right?
I closed my eyes and focused, trying to call upon some sort of power. Anything. And then, like the flick of a switch, I felt it—a surge of energy growing in my body.
Elara slashed at the direwolf once more, but it proved too quick. It dodged and lunged at her, forcing her to roll out of the way in time.
"Okay, time to see what I can do," I said, raising my hand toward the direwolf. "Let's try… fire magic?"
A burning sensation fluttered in my palm, and before I even knew what was happening, a fireball illuminated bright right in my hand. I stared, my eyes wide.
"No way… this actually works?" I beamed.
The direwolf growled once more, this time finally ready to charge at Elara if I had anything to say about it.
"Hey, ugly!" I yelled, hurling the fireball at the beast.
The fireball hit the direwolf full in the face, and it yelped in pain, with small, dancing flames licking across its fur. Elara exploited the opening and struck. Her sword sliced neatly through the creature's neck. It dropped to the ground with a sudden, complete absence of motion.
Elara was panting slightly before turning to me with pure incredulity. "Did you… just throw a fireball?"
I shrugged, trying to act as though the matter wasn't of that big in nature. "Yeah, I did.".
She stared at me a long moment, then finally sheathed her sword. "Okay, maybe you're not completely useless after all.".
"Gee, thanks for the vote of confidence," I muttered, though I couldn't help but grin. "I'm just full of surprises."
Elara raised an eyebrow; the youth left her clearly unimpressed. "Don't get cocky. That was one direwolf. There are a lot worse things out here.".
"Worse than that?" I said, looking down at the charred corpse of the direwolf and shuddering. "Great…
She started walking and this time I followed without being told. As we walked, my mind wandered to my new powers, trying to gauge just how far they went.
If I had everything times infinity that means I could probably do just about anything, right? "What's up with you, huh?" Elara asked all of a sudden when the silence between them had grown too thick. "Huh? "You said you got 'dropped into this world,'" she said, her voice inflecting as if to mock my words. "What's that supposed to mean?
Are you from some other kingdom or something?" I hesitated, unsure of how much I should let her in on. "Something like that," I said vaguely. "It's… complicated." Elara snorted.
"Yeah, I bet it is." She wasn't buying it, I could tell, but for now at least, she was willing to just let it be. We kept going, in silence, the tension of the just-passed fight still hanging heavy between us.
As we reached the edge of the forest, Elara suddenly stopped and glanced over at me. "You're not bad in a fight," she admitted grudgingly. "For someone who claims to know nothing."
I grinned. "Thanks. Yourself're not so bad either."
She rolled her eyes but didn't say anything more. We stepped from the Wildlands, and afar, I could make out the high spires of a town rising up against the horizon.
"Welcome to Asphar," Elara said flatly. "Let's see how long you survive here
Status Power Mingguan
-- Peringkat
Power 
-- Power
stone