Delving deep into the forest, Arthur's nose grimaced as he walked forward. The revolting smell continued to seep into his nostrils, a smell in which there was no getting used to.
"What a horrible stench! It's as if multiple animal's took one huge sh- "
*Snap*
Arthur stood at the ready, unsheathing his sword. His eyes started to dart left to right and right to left. What possibly could've made that noise? Arthur could not sense any magical energy. Not even a small spec, even through countless days of training and fine-tuning his ability to sense life, he could not feel anything. A trickle of sweat ran down Arthur's cheek, falling down from his chin.
*Crack* *Crack* *Crack*
"What the hell are those noises?!"
Soon Arthur's vision became blurry. He started then to feel numb. First, his left leg gave out, dropping him to one knee. He planted his weapon firmly into the ground, clutching the handle with both hands.
"It's the miasma...I need to cast an incanta-"
Arthur fell onto his side, completely unconscious. In this unconscious state, he could still sense somewhat his surroundings. His body shook as he felt he was being carried–no–dragged swiftly and viciously. He was tied by something sturdy, a somewhat familiar sensation.
Shortly, Arthur woke up from this unconscious state, unable to stretch his arms out or move his legs, however he could wriggle a tiny bit.
"Where the hell am I?!"
It was dark but there was some light seeping through very narrow gaps. Arthur was high up off the grassy ground. There was a cool breeze sensation he could feel, nevertheless there was still that bad odour suffocating his nose.
"God dammit! I need to escape. I'll just burn my way through!"
「Палец-фонарик」
A sharp, piercing torch of blazing hot fire burst out Arthur's index finger. He then fell from a great height onto the grass, but with quick reactions, he manifested wind magic to land perfectly on two feet as well as making the impact null.
Arthur dusted himself off and observed his surroundings. The torch from his finger acted as a light, making him able to see what was around him.
He found himself inside a large room, the floor made out of dirt with grass and flowers all around.
"I'm still in the forest." Arthur looked around a bit longer and he found no exit. Arthur then walked to the centre of the room, where what seemed to be a huge, wide and sturdy tree connecting the ground and the roof, acting almost as a pillar. It was wrapped by a spiralling, thorny vine.
"Wow! It's hard to see the top...maybe if I..." Arthur started poking his head around, looking up but only to find huge bunches of leaves. This was certainly the largest tree Arthur had ever seen.
"How have I never come across this place until now?"
Arthur stretched out his hand. His palm rested completely flat against the bark of the tree, and then he closed his eyes.
"This tree has a lot of earth magic...no not just this tree. A great amount of earth magic is surrounding this area."
The walls that made a dome-like appearance were made out of trunks of oak, making an open and huge space; light barely came through. Hanging off the sturdy branches were large cocoons of webs. This raised several questions in Arthur's mind.
"How are their flowers blooming? There's almost zero sunlight in this place. What's in those cocoons? Some seem to be made out of wood, and others out of webs. Could there be other people like myself? Well, there's only one way to find out."
Arthur then enlightened the flame even more, making it a large sphere. He then threw it gently up into the air, making a floating big ball of fire, acting as a huge light.
"This whole place looks...kind of beautiful." Arthur looked at all the nature. "Maybe I could bring Amygdala, Chronos and Kagekawa...it would be nice if they got to see this sight." Arthur grinned to himself.
"Now, now what to do? I guess I should cut those cocoons open but carefully. Slow and steady..."
Arthur, boosted by his wind magic, leapt a great distance into the air, cutting the hanging cocoon and separating it from the tree. He carried the cocoon in both his arms, gently landing on his feet.
He placed the cocoon on the floor and sliced right through the centre from top to bottom. Being careful as to make sure the cut did not reach too deep. The web-like casing fell apart, revealing an unconscious and heavy-breathing boar on its side.
The boar was covered in a fluid that smelt rather unpleasant, making Arthur lurch back for a moment. Arthur stretched his hands towards the stringy casket, his fingers swabbed the sticky fluid. He wanted to inspect the fluid closer but he couldn't identify it. All he knew was that it was sticky and had a smelly odour.
Arthur pressed his finger to the boar's throat, feeling the airway of his throat.
"This boar is still alive but clearly injured and tired, and it doesn't seem to be a natural cause either. What could've possibly done this? Regardless, I need to find an exit or I could just burn my way through."
*Snap*
Arthur, within an instant, grabbed the hilt of his sword that was strapped to his side. His senses quickly sharpened, trying to grasp any sense of another magical presence. Arthur's eyes darted around the room.
"I can't sense anything... goddammit! No need to focus. Concentrate!"
Arthur closed his eyes. A moment passed. He could hear a breeze passing through his ear. Another moment passed. He could feel the sensation of the grass swaying. Arthur was still crouched with his shin touching against the ground. His hand was still firm on the handle of his sword.
"There!" Arthur's eyes opened wide. Within a second, he unsheathed his sword and twisted his body, his back now towards the cocoon. Its dark, pitch-black eyes stared inside Arthur's soul. He stanced himself ready to slay this fearsome-
"–deer?!"