Chapter 11 - Escape

Walking toward to collapsed woman, it takes me nearly two minutes with my tiny body coupled with my food being forced out of my stomach due to the thick stench of death.

Once I'm about five feet away from the woman, I realize a few key facts.

First and foremost, I really don't want to get any closer as she may attack me.

Secondly, even if she is out cold, I am three. In the body of a three-year-old, I don't think I could even drag her.

Great.

What was the point of this? What did Ego want me to do?

Watch them die? That's basically all I could do. I couldn't act, and because of it, four people died.

Help them? Even if I killed the Carnivoro, four are dead and I can't even move the fifth one, who passed out upon seeing me.

Do nothing? Then they'd just end up dying anyway. Unless the halfling or the blue-skinned woman would have done anything if I didn't, but there's no way to guarantee that.

Well, if no matter what I did these people were gonna die, then he sent me here for one of two reasons. Either to save this person or the reality that I'm choosing to ignore.

No matter what he sent me for, it's undeniable that I've helped someone, and that's how I'm gonna see it.

Stopping the flow of healing mana through my body, I gather my focus and begin to gather earth mana.

What I need to do now is obvious, move the unconscious woman away from the dead bodies, then I need to burn the dead bodies with fire magic. I don't know why, but every single time I've seen my father kill something, he's always burned the corpses.

After gathering my mana, I place my hands on the ground, sending my mana to the ground beneath the woman. Then, I raise it up beneath her into a ramp, with the hopes of sliding her unconscious body over to around six or seven feet away from the bodies.

What seems to have ended up happening, is that she was forcefully flung to the top of my ramp, and then slid down and landed right next to me.

Ehhh, it worked out in the end. She is away from the bodies and far enough back to where I can burn them.

Firstly, I place my hands back on the ground and sink the group of bodies, Carnivoro included, into a pit around five feet deep.

Standing up and walking over to the newest hole in the forest, I place my palm towards the pile and flood my hands with mana, similar to the spell Kindle, but with about twice the mana output.

Out of my hand launches a sphere of orange and blue fire, about the size of a basketball that sticks to the clothes and corpses like glue. That should be good enough.

Looking back at the unconscious woman, she is no longer unconscious and instead is standing on her feet, her ornate sword pointing at me.

"Who and what are you, monster!" They yell, taking a step closer to me.

This is bad. Really really really bad.

"What?" I say, putting on my best scared face and looking around, as I secretly begin to harness wind mana into my palm.

"Where?" I ask, looking up at the no less startled adventurer.

Damn, I really thought that would work.

"Don't try and play me a fool, monster. I saw you finish off that monstrous creature, and still have the mana needed to bury and burn the corpses of my party. I don't know what magic items you used or how you could have chanted without our detection, but even you should understand that you have no chance at this distance. Identify yourself and your race." She says, taking another step forward.

Fuck. At least she isn't wildly swinging and is instead talking to me. But why ask for my race? Isn't that obvious?

"My name is Antonio Razorhog and I'm a human," I say putting my hands up, palms open and forward. It's probably better, to tell the truth here.

"Now is not the time to lie. It is obvious by your ability to have a conversation at this level, cast such magic, and remain calm in the front of a sword that you're not a toddler. I've never heard of a race that remains through their life looking like children, the closest would be a halfling but they show aging. So, Antonio, state your race and business within this forest." She is incredibly calm and also saw basically right through me.

But I'm not lying! I'm a human, I think, just reincarnated! Of course, I can't say that, nor the fact that I was sent here based on the advice of a god, but I need a convincing lie.

Whatever something will come to me.

"You've seen through me. I am one of a rare few whose name I am unsure of. I was coming into this forest in an attempt to gain strength, you could say I was coming here to test something. Now, who and what are you." I say, keeping my hands up, yet filling my other hand with water mana.

If this conversation goes south, I can try and liquefy the soil under her feet, or just try and hit her in the jaw with a chunk of ice.

"I am known as Teresa. It should be easy to see that I am a Jeralik, given the horns and skin. Now, Antonio, you will turn around and return from where you've come from. Your quest in this forest will bring nothing except your own death. I am unsure how you've even entered the Sacred Forest, but there is no way you can remain here. Consider yourself lucky, if you had not saved me and instead ran across my party, by Royal Decree I would have had you executed on the spot." She says with an angry expression, softening it before continuing.

"However, it appears I am in your debt, so if we happen to meet outside of this forest, I will accommodate you for your services." She says, inching ever closer.

What a pompous asshole! Lady, I'm basically your neighbor, and I just saved your life! You have some audacity! Besides, I literally just walked here, nothing else!

"How do I know you won't attack me as soon as I turn my back to leave?" I ask, pouring more and more mana into my palms. If she plans to kill me, I'll need at least this much to escape.

"I swear it upon my name as the heir of the throne of Elarus." She says, in a stern yet confident tone.

That means nothing to me, do you know how many times I swore to some arbitrary title or nonsense in my last life?

Whatever. I can't think of anything else, so I begin to slowly walk backward, never breaking eye contact with the strange woman.

Finally, I reach the treeline in which I came from and I break out into a full sprint back out of the forest. However, I quickly realize something as I run.

I am completely turned around and lost.