Three weeks ago, in the Kingdom of Belm, human territory.

“Your Majesty!”

A robed old man knelt in front of the king, his great white beard almost touching the floor.

“Master Mulk? It’s rare for you to bother yourself and leave your studies… Is something the matter?”

“W-well, yes, your Majesty. Our Oracles… received a vision.”

The atmosphere within the courtroom immediately began to turn serious. The king slowly placed his chalice on to the table and eagerly awaits what the man before him is about to say.

“…and?”

“They saw a man… falling down from the sky.”

“…”

A long, painful silence.

“We have good reason to believe that this is the chosen one.”

The king sighed.

“Of course, it is the chosen one. So, did they see where he supposedly fell?”

“In the forest… your Majesty. In the Forest of Sok…”

The king breathed deeply, as if a huge weight has been lifted off of his chest.

It was known that the location of the falling chosen ones would happen randomly anywhere in the world, and it is a given that whichever nation the chosen one falls on are the ones who greatly benefits from his abilities, so it was a huge relief that this time, the chosen one would fall on the Forest of Sok itself, a completely neutral territory. That means that everyone has an even chance. No, they, the humans and the elves have in fact, better chances than the others since they’re the only ones directly bordering the forest.

“How long?”

“Your Majesty?”

“How much time do we have until the chosen one appears? We must make sure to welcome him immediately.”

“Oh, well, unfortunately, our Oracles are not sure of the exact time, but it should within this month, your Majesty.”

“Hmmm… I see. Very well.”

The king stroked his chin.

“Lord Tali!”

“Yes, your Majesty?”

The man replies as he bows.

“You are to lead an expedition towards the home of the gods. You have two weeks. Bring a thousand men and make sure that you’re there when the chosen one arrives. Understood?”

“Yes, your Majesty. I shall get it done at once!”

♦ ♦ ♦

Three weeks later, in the Forest of Sok.

“Their hairs aren’t silver so they’re not elves. Humans?”

“I need to inform Tylla about this…”

Reinhard looked at the tree that’s supposed to serve as the landmark to where the entrance of the barrier is.

As he was hiding behind the rock, he would be about six to seven meters away from the barrier of the Garden.

“Crap, I’m too far… What do I do?”

“If what the elder said was really true, then they’d probably cast some spell on me that would make me obey them, making the branch effectively theirs…”

“What do I do? Should I just run away? But there’s too many of them… Should I just sneak out? My stealth skill is at level 2. Is it enough?”

“Aaah, what am I supposed to do?”

“Hmmm? Hey, Sir Velram. Is the door of that hut open or am I just seeing things?”

Lord Tali asked the knight commander beside him.

“I believe the door is indeed open… *cough* you Grace.”

The knight commander replied as he clutches his abdomen tied up with bandage. There’s a subtle tinge of blood surfacing from it.

“Aha… The possessor has already arrived, it seems. Then that means…”

Suddenly, a bush far behind the hut started rustling. Everyone’s attention snapped to it, Reinhard included.

Lord Tali signaled one of the knights to come check it out, which the knight did.

He slowly approached the rustling bush, walking past the rock and Reinhard who’s hiding behind it.

*Ping!*

[SYSTEM]

[Stealth 2] Leveled up to [Stealth 3]

He tightly held up his sword, ready to swing it downwards to whatever may come out of it. Slowly but surely, he walked towards the rustle, with silent, big steps. One could see the utter effort in his graceful movements as not a single clanking of metal could be heard from him even though he’s currently wearing full plate armor. In fact, every single knight present wears full plate armor, which just shows the wealth and capability of the kingdom that they’ve come from. It wouldn’t be surprising to say that they’re some kind of an elite force, though their sheer numbers seem to suggest otherwise.

After an incredibly long hold of breath, the knight finally made it to the rustling bush, and with a quick, explosive movement, he swiftly swayed the bush open, revealing what was moving within it.

It was a dryad woman. The one that was picking nightshrooms last night, though this time it looks like she’s collecting brown colored ones.

The dryad woman was totally unaware and was caught incredibly off-guard. The moment the knight swayed the bush aside, all she did was stare at him, unmoving. After what feels like an eternity of staring, the knight grabbed her by her arms, dragging her towards Lord Tali who was yet to cross the creek.

“Oh, hoh~. What are you doing there, young lady?”

He asked the dryad while the knights around him force the dryad to kneel down with a sword on her throat.

The dryad however did not utter a single word. In fact, she was exhibiting a rebellious behavior by looking up at the lord with furious eyes despite the knights forcing her to bow down.

“You heard him miss. Just answer and we won’t hurt you any further.”

The knight commander beside the lord said to the dryad. His voice was empathetic, yet detached at the same time. You could tell he was feeling sorry for her but can’t do anything. Compliance is the only path.

In response to this, the dryad woman spat on the lord’s shoes, looking at him with resentful eyes even more furious than the one she had just earlier. It was an incredibly stark contrast to the way she behaves normally. It’s as if she was suddenly a different person altogether.

The lord immediately got furious and kicked her face as strong as his fatty legs could.

“Y-YOU IMBECILE! H-how dare you d-d-d-disrespect me!? Me!? YOU WILL PAY FOR THIS!”

Everyone there, even the knights and the knight commander himself was shocked at the scene. For Reinhard though, all he could see was the lord suddenly kicking the woman in the face. This enraged him, but he knows he can’t go out. Not anymore after what he had just saw.

The woman’s cheek grew purple and her nose began spilling blood, yet her eyes and expression never changed.

The lord held her by her green, florally hair. He grasped it so tight that some strands began to get uprooted.

“Now listen here you little elf. You’re going to take us to the Garden, you hear me? If you do, I might just reward you by sparing your life and making you my bed wench.”

Lord Tali menacingly whispered to the dryad woman. The knight commander beside him couldn’t help but turn away at the sight of it.

“Your Grace. I-I believe that if we threaten them like that, then the chances of us actually getting to the Garden would be lessen.”

Sir Velram, the knight commander said, trying to stop the lord’s actions while looking away because he’s unable to bear witness to the man’s repulsive actions.

The woman on the other hand, whose head was held up by the pulling of her hair, once again spat on the nobleman’s face. This time, a mixture of blood and saliva.

“I… am… not an elf!”

She said, struggling to get her voice out.

*Slap!*

The lord slapped her so loud that even Reinhard was able to hear it.

She collapsed to the ground. Soil kicking up on her bruised and swollen face. She’s still fully conscious, however.

“Tie her up.”

The lord commanded the knights around him, where they immediately carried it out.

“Your Grace, what do you plan to do with her?”

The knight commander asked, looking pitifully and sorry at the woman as she was being tied up.

“We’re taking her hostage.”

Lord Tali replies with obvious annoyance as he wipes off the bloodied spit off of his face.

“THOSE BASTARDS!!!”

Reinhard, incredibly furious at the disgusting display of the man, tightly clenched his fists out of anger. He knows by intuition what they’re after, and what they’ve probably asked of her, so he can’t just casually go out, reveal himself and act like the hero. He knows that the dryad woman was probably getting hurt because she’s not divulging the information about him, about the branch. What he has no idea however, is what they’re going to do to her next, and this is making him nervous.

“Gaaaaa! These kinds of people really make my blood boil.”

He materialized his [Earthwood Staff of Venom] and held it firmly.

Deep in thought, he weighed all the possibilities, all the steps he could take, all the tactics and moves that would allow him to save that woman and get out safely.

“If I do that… no, that would only lead us to be surrounded. Wait, if I try to… Bah! I’m not fast enough. Maybe I could try killing him then… but then the other knights… Aaaagh! What could I do? What the hell should I do?”

While he was racking his brains, trying to come up of the most optimal course of action, the lord began getting inside his litter once again. The litter was lifted by four knights, possibly the same who did it earlier, and crossed the creek towards the side of the hut. After successfully crossing, they placed him down and the lord emerged from the litter. He took the dryad woman and held her by the throat from her back, pointing a dagger at her heart.

“Listen, those who call yourselves ‘dryads’! I have come here to talk about the possessor of the branch! I demand that you give them to me or I will kill this woman right here.”

He shouted as loud as he can, to all the direction that he can possibly face, then he began to tighten his grip around her throat, choking her, which made her struggle for air. After a while though, he stopped the choking, but only when the dryad was almost purple already. She desperately gasped for air the instance the throat was open again.

“Well!?”

“…”

No response.

“Y-you… are… full of yours— *cough* yourself…”

The dryad woman softly said. Despite the small tears forming up on her eyes, her spirit remains unbroken.

“Shut up wench. I’ll be having fun with you later…”

The lord said to her as he shakes her body by jolting her neck.

At this point, the knight commander didn’t even bother paying attention to what’s happening. Or rather, he does not want to pay attention, as his face that’s turned away from the scene is the one that reflects of not just disgust and repulsion, but also of hatred and pure anger. It would be the face that’s saying “if I’m not forced to obey your commands, I would have stabbed you right then and there.”

“Your Grace, I told you. Threatening them will just make it harder for us to—“

Before the knight commander could even finish, the space near the tree that’s supposed to mark the barrier to Garden suddenly warped and contracted. At first no one was able to notice it, but then the knights closest to it started to notice something’s amiss with the space, so they started making a commotion, catching the attention of everyone present.

And then, the space tore open, vision on that area melted into something else, revealing within the secluded village of the dryads: the Garden.

Everyone stared at it both in awe and confusion. Even Reinhard, but he’s mostly just confused.

“What? She’s opening the barrier? But why? No! Don’t open it! That’s what they want you to do!

As the full view of the village come to surface, everyone can only see one individual standing on it. A little girl, barely a meter tall, looking at them in full of contempt, anger and pity for the female dryad.

It was Tylla, and she’s taking no effort to hide her animosity.