The Undead Knight's

Black Mapple Forest, Part 1

[Meanwhile it was Gillian. . . . . . .. .]

Feeling the gust of strong wind from behind Gillian, hit his back which began to run slowly.

Without looking back, Gillian tried to hide behind a nearby tree, tightly hugging the medicine bottle Grandpa Alf had placed on her.

Instead of panicking with the wind blowing suddenly, he laughed at the thought that the old man might have another fight with Sylph.

He leaned back for a while waiting for the Sylph wind to stop blowing, Gillian momentarily gazed up at the sky from behind the dense shadows of the leaves.

Sound of thunder from the cloud. . .

"I have to hurry!! "

He thought he saw a cloud over his head that was getting thickened. . .

It was not the rain that worried him, but because his view was now more limited, due to the sunlight covered.

The afternoon sky was covered in clouds, causing his footsteps not to be as fast as usual. In this Black Mapple Forest, even a clear sky can make people who are not used to entering into a lush forest, get lost easily.

He did not panic too much with his limited outlook, for him for 3 years training alone in the Black Mapple Forest, already like his backyard.

Almost every 15 meters, he stopped checking the number marks on the trunk of the tree that had been marked by him, as an aid to his navigation.

From a distance he now saw a faint red-colored light still not moving. . .

Without stopping to check the other sign he just ran straight into the light.

"From here. . . I have to find 45 more signs."

The silence made him speak for himself.

He pitched a little over the trunk of the tree that had some kind of glass lantern. Inside it contained a crystal stone that gave off a reddish glow.

Although this forest is dense, there are not many monsters around here. Only wild animals, birds, and deer that he sometimes met.

"Maybe it's the crystal stone in this lantern."

He said again, thinking that the stone was disliked by the lowly monsters.

"If it's not wrong Grandpa Alf once said his name, Batu. . . Stone. . ah Anti-Mana Stone ! "

He recalled the words of the Grandfather who said arrogantly that this forest was full of his Anti-Mana Stone, serving to ward off monsters from approaching.

Perhaps because recalling the grandfather's explanation ended his overbearing laughter, making Gillian's feelings uneasy.

"What an anti-monster stone, this stone of yours failed old goddamn grandpa!"

Gillian thinks Grandpa Alf's strange stone should only make dizzy monsters. Humans are also dizzy is a mistake according to him.

Actually, unlike the name, the mysterious stone does not neutralize where the monsters are approaching, instead sucking out the surrounding mana. Only the elf race was capable of making Anti-Mana Stones.

With the technique of blood alchemia elves that can attract natural mana, it is inserted in the crystal mana as a catalyst to improve the ability of the blood of elves in it. . .

Then by adding the word magical to the previous crystal stone, changing the nature of the blood of the elves that can initially attract the flow of mana from nature into the flow where living things. . .

So the reddish glow emanating from the stone was the mana crystal that reacted with the blood of the elves that had already changed its nature.

Gillian forgot Grandpa Alf's explanation in the last section that forbade her from being around the stone for too long.

The lantern shook itself. . .

"Aah?! I didn't do anything, I didn't even touch it!!"

Gillian frantically tried to justify herself.

Gillian's premonition grew increasingly uneasy at the lantern that was shaking itself, her breathing began to feel tight. His mind was trying to tell him to stay away from the stone,

but Gillian's footsteps felt heavy to move.

Only with his determination did he manage to step away. . .

"Haa. . . haa. . . what happened . . haa. . ."

His view is now blurry.

Even though he was already away, the lantern still shook violently. . .

"Oh no. .haa. . . .this feeling. . . . pe. .ra. . . . .sa . . .an. haa. . . . . this. . ."

Gillian increasingly lost consciousness, the air he inhaled felt obstructed to be expelled, his speech became stammering.

The glass from the lantern broke, bursting violently. . .

Miraculously Gillian who was only a few meters away was not exposed to the shale.

Gillian walked up to the tree in front of her. His body was left to fall along with the bottle of mandragora which he still hugged tightly.

"Ahhh. . This feeling is the same as it was 4 years ago. . ."

He thought of recalling the unpleasant sensation from his pants pocket.

Before being forced to close his eyes, he heard the sound of approaching footsteps and finally lost consciousness.