章節 19: Chapter 17: Inside Kraken Forest

The Kraken forest was moist and humid. The air felt suffocating as Erick walked cautiously deeper into the woods. It was a bit dark inside as only little light seeped in through the cracks of the leaves and branches of the trees. It was eerily quiet inside as if time stood still. Further in, the area was overrun with numerous plant life and it seems like it has been years since someone had stepped into the forest.

Erick had to avoid several branches along the way as he walked further in. There were no man-made paths so most of the walking that he had to do usually call for climbing over several large rocks and uprooted trees. He wanted to explore the forest and get himself familiar with the place. He took note of several locations that seems like a good place to hide or rest. As he walked, he did not forget to check on the ground and even the branches on the trees, to see whether the plant was there. He also marked some of the trees to indicate that he has been there. And with the markings, it would help him if he got lost, trying to find the exit.

Although, Erick knows how the plant looked like but the book did not tell where to find them. So, Erick has no clue whether its grown on the ground or on the trees. The picture itself was not that helpful as it literally only shows the plant itself.

He had been inside the forest for more than two hours now. He touched the amulet that was hanging from his neck. Before going here, Paccia had handed him an amulet, which seems to be a strong protective amulet. It seems very effective because for that few hours he had been inside the forest, he had not encountered any monsters or danger inside. Which, of course, he was grateful for.

Though, he should not be too dependent on the amulet itself because he believed that even though it may protect him from supernatural being, it might not protect him from others, such as wild animals.

Erick immediately set out to look for a long wooden stick. And when he found one, he sat down on the ground and began to carve a sharp tip at the end, with his utility knife. As he was carving, his stomach began to growl with hunger.

He ignored his stomach for a moment as he wanted to finish carving his stick. Once he was done, he hoisted up his backpack onto his shoulder and began to walk towards the safe spot he had taken note earlier.

With his long stick on one hand, he maneuvered his way, ducking many low stray branches and jumping from one large stone to another. It was a good thing that he has a very good memory. He does not really need a map since he can rely on his photographic memory.

Following the path from his memory, he finally reached the safe spot.

The area that Erick had found was quiet and serene. There was a small stream in the middle of the area. What surprises Erick the most was that he had just noticed that there were more lights in the area, compared to the other places.

Earlier on, he did not notice the light because he only glance at the area before taking off to explore more. Now, advancing more into the area, he felt the air was cleaner and fresher. How does he know this? Dane was jumping around inside him, in joy and happiness. It has been awhile since Erick went to the forest for camping and hiking. But Erick was surprised to feel Dane being so happy like this. Erick sniffed the air. The atmosphere and environment here must be perfect for Dane.

Once Erick had looked around the area and investigate whether it was safe or not, he went on to look for small twigs and wood to make a campfire. Even though, it was a bit dark here, but from his wrist-watch, it was still around six o'clock in the evening. So, before it was getting darker, Erick planned to build a campfire.

A couple of minutes later, Erick squatted in front of the pile of twigs and wood that he had collected. Luckily, he once joined the boy scout when he was a child. Learning how to make a campfire was one of the basic tasks every boy scout should know.

Once the fire was lit, he began to get some water from the stream, which he used his pot that he brought with him, to scoop in. He boiled the water, placing it on top of the campfire, which was covered with a grill pan.

While waiting for the water to boil, he took out his notebook and pen from his backpack and began to plan what he wants to do. With the light from the campfire, it was easier for him to see what he was writing. Using his thigh as a table, he began to write down the areas that he went to and so forth.

After a couple of minutes, the water was done boiling and Erick reached out inside his backpack to grab a few instant noodles packets and tore them open. He then put the uncooked noodles inside the water to cook and started to tear open the packets of the sauces and oils into his big plate.

His backpack was like Doraemon's pocket. He has a lot of things inside that it was no surprise that it was huge and bulging. He only packed things that he thought was useful and important for this mission; items necessary for camping such as food utensils, tent and so forth, a notebook and a pen, some change of clothes and underwear and small box of first aid kit. Oh, and of course, some foods. But all of those foods were inside his duffel bag. That was the purpose of the duffel bag. For his food. He certainly won't be eating beef jerky everyday.

After he was done eating, he settled down for the night. He did not want to rush into searching for the plant. He wants to take his time, looking around. He had a feeling that he probably would be visiting this place again in the future.

The next morning.

Erick was already packing his stuff into his backpack. He took some snacks from his duffel bag and put them into his backpack. He planned to leave his duffel bag here since he did not want to carry too much stuff while searching for the plant. He climbed up one of the tall trees, with his duffel bag and placed the bag on one of the sturdiest branches. He tied a rope around the duffel bag to the branch, to ensure that it would not get stolen or fall from the tree.

He climbed back down the tree and hoisted his backpack up on his back. He stretched his arms up, relaxing his muscles with a big yawn. It was only day two but it felt like a week. It was probably because the day was always dark and there was hardly any sunlight seeping in.

Few minutes later, Erick was in another area, with his stick on one hand and his backpack on his back. He was plodding through the vines infested areas with low branches. He had to duck here and there to avoid the branches.

He was about to crawl down on his knees, to go through an uprooted tree. The root was uprooted high enough for a human being to go through. But then, he suddenly heard a cracking and growling sounds. He froze and cautiously looked up.

A few meters away, there was a huge animal. Erick wasn't sure what kind of animal it was. But it does look like a tiger yet not a tiger. It has a light yellowish orange mane with deep dark strips all over. Its body was of a tiger but its head was large, similar to a lion. Its fangs were long and sharp with its tips reaching below its chin. Its eyes were glistening in the dark, as it flickered around its surrounding. It looked like it had smell Erick but could not find him.

Erick stealthily hid behind one of the big trees, climbing on top of the uprooted root. He held his breath, not wanting to catch the animal's attention. Erick fingered the amulet that was around him. The amulet may have protected him from supernatural beings but it probably was ineffective against living things.

Erick was glad that his sense of hearing was better than normal.

He looked around to see whether it has a "friend" with it. He let out a breath of relief when he saw it was alone.

Erick held his breath again as he backed against the trunk of the tree. He waited for the animal to walk passed him. He hoped it doesn't smell him.

Erick discreetly smell himself and nodded inwardly. Nope, no smell.

He waited for a few more minutes until the animal was finally out of sight. He let out a breath of relief again. 'I need to get out of here and fast,' he thought to himself.