Callow Revels

The mornings in the Red Forest are generally foggy; well, except in the soaring summer days when the temperature crosses 25 by midday. But those days do not last very long, and by the end of the seventh month of the year[1], the temperature trickles down until it reaches only about 15 by midday. And slowly but steadily, the temperature falls down further. So, by the end of the next month, the midday temperature climbs only to about 10.

The sun is usually late in the morning, and the cold, humid air from the Lake brings the usual dense fog in the Red Forest with it. Though it makes the mornings very difficult for those creatures which are unskilled in sensing a magic presence, it is a prime time for those hunters who rely not only on their eyesight for vision.

After dealing with the squad of undead soldiers at dawn, Kenny was making his way back to the camp of the expedition group through the fog, which was at its thickest point. The temperature was very low too, at about 4 degrees, as winter was near.

But then, Kenny sensed the presence of some more unusual creatures which he had never seen in the forest before. Though they were in the far end of the forest, near the foot of the mountain, he decided to have a closer look.

By concealing all of his magic presence, which he does by using a make do technique he invented himself, Kenny ran towards them. The method is a straightforward one, where he collects all of his mana near his heart area, passing only the bare minimum to his limbs required to many basic movements.

When he reached there, he stood on a high branch of a tree and watched the mysterious but beautiful creatures of the Red Forest. What he saw there amidst the fog was a cute white fox running gleefully after some hares.

The mountain hares themselves are not very rare. About the size of a large dog, the hares roam freely near the town of Alison. As the fat content is low in their meat, they are rarely hunted by the large carnivores of the forest. But they are prized preys for the hunters of Alison. And, as for their feeding habit, they are herbivores and are very swift on their legs.

But the junior hunter running after it was not ordinary. It was a child of one of the most mystical creatures of this mystical world - a pup of Celestial Fox. It is said that Celestial Foxes have a golden color, jade eyes, and nine tails, and are as big as an ancient dragon. Though this small pup is only the size of a giant mastiff, it is slender and snow white with only one tail and looks more like a giant arctic fox. But Kenny could tell that it was a pup of a nine-tails from its beautiful glowing jade eyes and the enormous amount of mana that it possessed.

Hmm... It will be a formidable opponent if it learns to make proper use of all of its mana, thought Kenny.

Ignoring all the intricacies and troubles of the world, the young, innocent fox was running merrily after its prey. Though it could easily catch it by making use of body enhancements, it looked like the young fox didn't know how to do that yet. But it probably knew some elementary spells.

Sometime later, it shot small icicles by converging mana in its mouth at the hare. The hare quickly managed to avoid the incoming icicles by making full use of its agility. But the fox didn't give up and finally managed to injure the hind legs of a hare after about 6 attempts.

But there was not only one rare creature that had attracted the attention of Kenny. Another occasional visitor of the Red Forest was also keenly watching the young fox hunt from one of the treetops opposites to Kenny - It was a mountain eagle. With a wingspan of 4 meters, it is a giant bird that can hunt down any unwary creature of the forest. But it was also a youngling too. Kenny had heard from the prof. that the adult birds can even hunt stray wyverns.

As the hare stumbled down after getting injured, the young fox joyfully ran towards it to claim the prey. But before it could reach, the ever-observant eagle swooped down lightning-fast, picked up the hare, and perched some 150 meters away from Kenny on a branch glaring at him. Following the eyes of the eagle, the young fox also noticed him and stood stiffly scared. Slowly moving back while keeping its eyes on him, the young fox turned back and ran fast as if to escape. Leaving behind the hare, the eagle soon followed the fox back to the mountain.

Yare, yare. I didn't mean any harm, you know, sighed Kenny. Picking up the injured hare as a souvenir for the others, Kenny decided to quickly return back without wasting too much time.

----

From their last campsite, the expedition group continued south, towards the north-eastern tip of the Aster Mountains. As they had entered the final phase of their journey to cross the Red Forest, they were very cautious of any probable danger that may try to hinder them, as happened with the others who ventured this far but never returned. So, although they were progressing very slowly, it might also be because of the occasional steep slopes and rugged terrain that was harder to cross by the cart and the non-combatant members of the group. The had to heavily rely on scouts and mages to find traversable paths, and for clearing rocks and earth from their way.

They even found a 23 feet long python blocking their way. But, as the cold-blooded creature hadn't soaked enough warmth from the sun to attack with its full agility, it was pretty easy to deal with by the keen adventurers of the group.

Sometime later, after the sun rays filtered down from the dense canopy of the forest, the Captain sensed Kenny, who was approaching the group.

A moment later, Louis also noticed him, "Oh ho ho. Didn't I tell you all that Kenny would return?" As he said that, Kenny appeared from the disappearing fog with an animal on his shoulders.

The members hurled towards him and started asking various questions. Although Kenny answered with a just 'stroll for a small hunt' and managed to pass the inquiry, he had to again explain to the inquisition of the Captain as he had gone out without taking permission.

After Kenny answered him too with the same excuse and a poker face, the Captain continued preaching him for some time. ".....we are an expedition team, ain't we? So, you should refrain yourself from taking independent actions, and always try to maintain the order in the group. Even if you are going for a hunt, you should take prior permission. Everyone was anxious for you....."

Geez, Captain! Cut me some slack, will you? Puffed Kenny.

After the situation had calmed down, everyone, including the Captain, praised Kenny for capturing the mountain hare. Though it was not him, Kenny decided to keep quiet about the rare visitors of the Red Forest for the safety of both sides. Apparently, the meat of the mountain hare is a delicacy reserved for the wealthy. Though it is abundant in the surrounding areas, it is tough to catch, for it is quick to escape on its last legs.

Cutting their quick break further short, they immediately continued on their journey after the dismantling the hare. Surprisingly no more undead monsters or wraiths attacked them for the rest of their journey, and so they reached their next camping point by dusk.

But before they could settle down, they felt high amounts of natural Ynni in the surroundings.

"Hou, is this mana? It seems very well dispersed, though," asked Louis.

"Waterfall? There is a faint sound of falling water," exclaimed Janet.

"Yes, I hear it too." said another of her teammates.

Of course, Kenny knew about it. "Well, there is a beautiful waterfall called 'SnowFalls' some 600 meters ahead. The water in its small 'waterfall lake' contains mana and lifeforce. So, the mana in the surroundings probably originated there."

"A waterfall containing such large quantities of mana, that it has spread till here!" Janet was shocked after hearing the explanation from Kenny.

"Right. This is quite unbelievable. Let's check it out." said the Captain.

"Captain, let me check it out first to ascertain its safety," asked Mylisant.

"No. I think it will be difficult for you to handle if it becomes dangerous." said the Captain. "Alfosdor, you stay here to protect the others. Louis, Janet, Filbert, and Kenny come with me. Mylisant, inform us immediately in case of any danger."

After giving out his orders, the Captain left for the waterfall with the assigned members, while the others set up a perimeter and started preparing wood for the campfire and food for dinner.

As all the accompanying companions of the Captain were all high leveled, they decided to run fast through the forest and the rough terrain. And while they approached nearer to the waterfall, the sound of the falling water as well as the mana in the surroundings, started increasing.

Coming out of the forest, they were awestruck after seeing the mesmerizingly beautiful waterfall. The small water streams falling from the high cliffs sparkling in the moonlight like snowflakes was a surreal sight to behold. The water in the small waterfall lake was as clear as freshly mined Virgin Crystals. But still, the bottom could not be seen, and so the source of the faint white light coming from the depth could not be identified. Nevertheless, the rare flowers which Lady Janet managed to identify surprised everybody the most.

"Hey, are those La Vie lilies?" she asked, pointing towards the beautiful lotus-like bluish-white flowers blooming near the center of the Lake.

What's with that french naming? Kenny wanted to retort but was quickly overwhelmed by the excited shout of Louis. "Hou, you mean that legendary plant whose extract is used to make super high-grade recovery potions that can even recover lost limbs or organs."

"Yes, they are certainly those, I think," said the equally excited Captain.

"Then, won't we be filthy rich if we present them at the auction in the capital?" Saying so, Filbert ran towards the water after quickly removing his long boots.

"Wait!! " Ignoring the warning of lady Janet Filbert jumped in the Lake. But as soon his legs touched the water, he let out a pained scream. His eyes glowed white, and his consciousness escaped immediately.

Seeing his nephew in great pain, the Captain let out a loud shout, 'Filbert... ', and ran towards the water with all his might.

But Kenny acted even faster and held him down. Of course, Kenny could have stopped Filbert too if he knew that the water has adverse effects on humans.

Blood flowed out from Filbert's nose and eyes and started changing the color of the water near him. "Quick, we have to get him out immediately." cried out, Lady Janet. And Louis quickly pulled out a rope from his backpack.

"Wait. Let me get him," demanded Kenny after pushing away the Captain towards Janet, and jumped in the water.

All three of them were surprised to see that the water had no effect on Kenny and how he was unconvincingly swimming in the Lake carrying FIlbert to the sandy bank at the opposite side of the Lake. They all rushed towards the bank immediately and helped him move Filbert to the shore.

Filbert was still unconscious, but the glow from his eyes had faded, and his heart was still beating, though at a fast rate. It was because of mana poisoning. The extremely high quality and quantity of mana and lifeforce - though from the viewpoint of people with not very high levels - which entered his body through his skin burned his capillaries, and his body trying to maintain bearable amount of mana in the circulatory system made the arteries contract, which resulted in extremely high blood pressure.

Lady Janet quickly cast a spell while holding Filbert's head with both of her palms. And Filberts consciousness returned seconds later. The spell has the effect of oxygenating the brain, which forces it to activate. Louis pulled out a small case and passed it to the now awake Filbert. "Pour out the excess mana in here."

And as he did, his complexion slowly changed for better, and the case turned from blue to deep blue and then purple. "It is overloading," exclaimed the Captain seizing the case from his hands. He then threw it towards the Lake. And, as it touched the water surface, it burst like a pressurized glass bottle.

Now, that the mana circulation in his body has stabilized, Filbert was safe from danger. But several parts of his body were still unmovable from pain due to internal damage. Suddenly Kenny passed a blue bud towards Lady Janet.

Surprised, she asked, "Is it perhaps..."

"Yes. Let us use it as it is for now," replied Kenny while cutting her short.

She peeled the petals of the bud and used another spell with her wooden wand. The nectar beautifully separated and floated like a water-droplet-in-space, enveloped by a thin film of mana. And after Filbert was made to drink that drop of nectar, he let out another small pained scream. His original yellow mana gushed out from every orifice of his body and enveloped his body. Though he didn't lose his consciousness this time, he was in intense pain, which was noticeable from his constant scratching of the ground with his nails.

The old Guildmaster had adopted Filbert when his parents, who were former adventurers and his colleague, died during a dangerous job. But he could do nothing but watch his nephew struggling in pain, as he was not knowledgeable in healing arts. Instead, he consistently gave him courage, "Hang in there, my boy," while holding his body.

A few minutes after suffering, Filbert's condition became stable, and blood returned to his body parts as his damaged blood vessels were healed by the nectar.

Everybody gave out sighs of relief. But apparently, the suffering was still not over for Filbert as the Captain started shouting at him for his stupidity.

"Aldy, calm down." urged Louis.

After the yelling of the Captain slowed down a little, Louis continued, "The west side of the waterfall lake looks relatively safer to me for camping than in the middle of the forest."

"The high cliff at the back will also serve as extra protection. And monsters and beasts will also stay away from the strong mana emanating from the Lake," added Lady Janet.

"Okay, then. We should guide everybody here for tonight's camp." agreed the Captain. "But pass the warning that no more fools should touch the water."