Extra's Descent

According to Carl, the forest wasn't like this back then. It must've been one of the aftereffects of the calamity.

Now, the terrain changed drastically. Some parts of the forest seemed to be elevated. The undergrowth of trees were dense, with foliages scattered all over.

"This is the first I've seen of this. There hasn't been any reports of a forest with mana this thick."

Amelia stated as she gazed ahead.

It seemed like this phenomenon had only recently happened. This meant they had no prior knowledge of whatever danger lurked in the forest.

"Are you sure about this, Carl?"

Brandon asked.

"....Maybe we can take a detour. Just until the fog clears?"

"The fog isn't clearing anytime soon."

Amelia's voice cut in.

"We don't know anything about the forest. It's too dangerous to navigate."

"....Yeah."

Carl lowered his head in disappointment.

"I guess we were asking for too much."

"Don't worry. We'll get you there."

Brandon reassured him.

"The forest is pretty cliche. It's fairly obvious there's some kind of danger we would struggle against in there."

He stifled a laugh.

"If we don't have any choice but to cross the forest, then…"

[Aeolus Blessing]

Mana started coalescing around Brandon's feet. A cool breeze brushed past his bangs.

The ends of his fur coat fluttered from the wind, even blowing Amelia's hair.

Step—

He walked in the air as if he was walking up a flight of stairs. Each step he took, he gradually ascended up in the air.

"Woah."

Carl voiced out his astonishment.

"Emi, look. He's flying."

Carl turned his head to look at his little sister, then pointed up at Brandon with a shocked expression marred in his face.

Though Amelia was used to seeing the exact same ability from Belle, it seemed like she couldn't hide her surprise.

"Kukoo!"

Even Kukoro was astonished as his eyes widened. The same went for the other goblins who were jumping up in the air.

They seemed to be copying him, but failed to do so as they fell flat face on the ground.

Brandon continued to ascend in each passing second, and finally, he was high up in the air.

Looking down, he could see the entire overgrowth of the forest.

"Hmm…"

The forest stretched far wide. The thick fog permeated the air. It looked as if it filled the entire forest.

He scanned each nook and cranny, but he couldn't find any shortcuts to cross the forest.

Was there really no other choice?

The forest aside, the only thing that concerned him was the fog. It somehow felt eerie.

Brandon descended down and deactivated [Aeolus Blessing].

"What did you find?"

It was Amelia who asked.

Brandon then gave his report. Carl listened to him and the disappointment in his face became even more visible.

"So there's no other way, huh?"

Amelia pinched her chin as she seemingly pondered.

Actually, there should've been a way. Brandon had already thought about it.

But he wasn't sure he had enough mana capacity to cross the entire forest.

[Aeolus Blessing] would most probably drain his mana before they even crossed half of the forest.

But that was when he had thought of another plan.

But for the moment…

"For now, we should find some place to recuperate. The fog aside, this snow isn't going down anytime soon."

As he gazed up, the sky seemed to darken several distances ahead. Most likely, a blizzard was coming.

If he were to execute his plans, by the time they would cross half of the forest, the blizzard would've already struck.

With such thoughts, the group set the forest aside for now.

Looking around, a cave was situated several distances away from them.

Although it was far, there was enough time before the blizzard arrives.

"Let's go there, guys."

Brandon pointed at the cave and the group followed his direction.

"Kukoro."

"Kuuu?"

"For now, we'll recuperate in that cave over there."

—I see.

"Sorry, but I don't have enough supplies to feed all of you."

—Oh, that's fine. Goblins don't need to eat as much as you humans.

"That's great."

That was at least…

…How he interpreted the entire conversation.

"Come on, Kukoro."

Brandon turned to look at the other goblins.

"You too, guys. You don't want to get swept up by the blizzard."

—You're so nice.

—So handsome too.

"Haha, no need to flatter me little Kuoh."

That was totally how the conversation went.

Brandon then looked at Amelia who seemed to have the look on her face as if she had given up on him.

Tilting her head, she spoke.

"Kuku."

"...."

She seemed to be mocking him.

"Kukukuku?"

"Kuku?"

And Brandon returned her mocking.

"Kukuku!"

"Kuahhh!"

The two spoke in goblin language as if they were the only people around.

The others looked at them as if they were crazy.

Even the goblins were no exceptions as they stood stupefied.

Probably.

"This is kind of fun."

"Yeah."

Amelia chuckled and Brandon agreed.

At that, the group ventured forth. The goblins followed them closely from behind, acting as bodyguards, while the humans were their VIP guests.

After several minutes, the group finally arrived at their destination and entered the cave.

The cave was dark and cold. Snow fell outside, making the air inside icy.

Drip. Drip…!

Water dripped softly, echoing in the silence.

Thankfully, Brandon had already prepared for such a scenario as he quickly took out a lantern from his inventory.

He did it as discreetly as possible, just enough for Carl not to notice where it came from, as he pretended to take a lantern out from his bag.

"Kwooah!"

The goblin that seemed to be Kukoro was surprised at the source of light.

Actually.

Truth be told.

.....Brandon couldn't even begin to distinguish who was who.

The only one he could make out was little Kuoh since he was the smallest goblin present.

The one who he deemed as Kukoro was the goblin who would always stay close to him.

But honestly, he wasn't even sure if he was Kukoro.

All the goblins looked the same, and he didn't care enough to try and distinguish them from each other.

Brandon set the lamp down, and the others rested, crouching down on the cold hard ground.

Brandon quickly took out several sleeping bags from his bag, and set it for Carl to lay on.

"Here you go."

"...Thank you."

Carl voiced his appreciation.

It was big enough for him and his little sister, as Carl bundled up inside the sleeping bag.

"And this one's for you."

This time, it was for Amelia.

"Thanks."

"Mhm."

Then, his attention was fixed on the goblins who were walking around the lamp. It couldn't be helped. It must've been their first time seeing such a thing.

"Kht."

Brandon covered his mouth, trying to hold back his laugh.

There was a certain melancholic feeling about the journey. But the goblins were a nice change of pace.

Looking at Amelia, Brandon leaned close and whispered something in her ear.

"Eh? Are you sure that would work?"

Amelia asked.

"Probably."

"...Probably?"

"Kuku."

"Pfft…"

Amelia chuckled at his goblin impression.

"Kukuku?"

And she returned his gesture with an impression of her own.

"Kuahh!"

"Kuoooooh!"

"Kukukaa!"

"Kuaku—"

Brandon paused as he noticed Carl was sleeping yet again.

The young boy seemed to sleep a lot.

And Brandon was well aware of the reason.

It was one of the symptoms of…

….Depression.