❦ℂ𝕒𝕘𝕖𝕕 - ℝ𝕖𝕒𝕕𝕖𝕣 𝕩 𝕋ℙℕ❦

«15 - The Forest»

It's been three days since we started going through the tunnels with Musica and Sung-Joo. We've been training our survival skills and as one would expect, a lot of progress has been made.

I learned how to use a katana, knife, bow and arrow, and even how to cook. We have to make a lot of detours travelling through this labyrinth, but as long as the destination is the same, we can endure anything.

Gilda scolds us, the older kids, a lot when we stay up late honing our skills.

The kids make fun of Ray for trying to get himself killed twice and make predictions about the next time. I'm just hoping there isn't a next time, haha.

We told Sung-Joo and Musica about our plans.
"So you want to go South-East towards here." He says with a map out pointing to the location, B06-32.

"Then we should exit this forest through the northern side and wak around."
"Is it to avoid the pursuers?" I ask.

"That and to avoid any dangerous species like the vampire trees and wild 'demons'. We should be able to get out of the forest within five days through this route and one day to get to your destination."

«•»

"Sung-Joo? Are you going up?" Emma asks.
"Aye." He replies. I walk over to the pair,
"Can I come along?"

Emma and I say in unison,
"I want to take a look at the situation." Emma continues, "I swear I won't do anything risky or anything dangerous."

"I understand... but do not stray. Stay next to me the entire time." We nod as he brings out the horse he was riding back when he saved Ray and I.

As we make it through the forest, I study my surroundings and any clear trails left by other species.
"Wow!" Emma says amazed by the scenery.

Tall, growing trees surround us as a light breeze brushes past the leaves. The water is crystal clean, sparkling under the rays of light as they pass through the trees that are hanging over the sky.

"The river itself is shallow if the water is cold enough." Sung-Joo begins, "The problem is your pursuers. Are any lurking around? If so, how do you escape if they come?"

"I understand. I'd look around the perimeter through the trees. They're tall and a hard for them to climb as I saw earlier. They're a great vantage point." I say.

"Earlier, when you were escaping the 'demons' with your friend. You climbed up a tree with almost no branches. How did you do that?" Sung-Joo asks.

"At the plantation, I would always get a stop watch to see how fast I could climb a tree. It came in pretty helpful during our escape and can definitely be useful here as well. These trees were harder to climb, so I used my nails to dig into the trees and create hand engraves." I explain. Emma looks at me surprised.

She didn't know about my tree climbing hobby since I kept pretty much everything about me secret.

Sung-Joo jumps off the horse and looks around while staying next to us. I jump off and climb one of the trees to get a better view of the forest. No movement.

"Doesn't look like there are any pursuers nearby." Emma reports.

"Nothing in the trees." I report and jump down confidently.