The late afternoon sun indiscriminately shines its intense golden rays upon all of the vegetation in the dense forest, creating a hazy and dreamlike world. The humidity licks my skin while I breathe in the damp air, knit with the overwhelming scent of wet grass. The moments when the foliage shades me, are the times I feel a small relief. 

“We should look for the plants as fast as possible, master,” my slave mentions. She looks attentive and ready to start the search.

“I agree. I want the little girl to get well soon. Find what you can on the forest floor while I'll search the trees and tall bushes."

The plant species in this world are akin to those on Earth, but I cannot count on that sort of judgment. Some could be poisonous or toxic, so to play it safe, I shouldn’t touch almost anything in this forest.

“Yellow, pink, red ...” I mumble to myself over and over, as if that would help me find the ingredients more easily. Even after I stared at the images in his book for a concerning amount of time, I still don’t know what I am looking for. 

“Found one,” my slave calls out. She is crouching low, hovering over a tulip-like plant.

I approach closer, “Good job. Pull the flower out, roots and all."

I mark every couple of trees we pass with my knife so we will not get lost on the way back.

This place seems ... familiar. Could this forest be identical to the one I woke up in? I don’t know, but if it is the very same site, then I didn’t think I would be back here again so soon; to the place where it all started.

A yellow leaf falls gently in my peripheral vision. “Found the second ingredient,” I crane my neck awkwardly, gazing underneath a gigantic tree. Its branches mimic a bending barbell, heavy with glistering leaves. The needles are like feathers, spread out over wing-like branches. However, as many of its leaves grew out to reach the sun, abundant and excessive they became, only to fall back to the earth.

The ones loose at my feet are swatched with unique hues of dull brown. They are piled high in a ring around the trunk, but I do not reach for them because they probably won't be effective or potent enough for the medicine.

I grip onto the rough tree bark and climb, anchoring myself just beneath the foliage so I can harvest a single leaf. “Got it,” I cheer. As I prepare to descend, I notice I am at the height where jumping down will break the average person's neck. My eyes wander farther, taking in the bird's eye view of the picturesque image of the forest floor. It’s so pretty. I want to climb higher. 

A dark shape mars the scenery similar to a black sheep in a herd of white; only this black sheep is a humanoid creature with a lipless mouth covering three-fourths of its face. It’s skinny and fucking creepy as hell. I’ve never seen such a creature quite like this before, despite all of the manga and games I consumed. To be in the same place with a creature like that. Should I run? It doesn’t appear to be hostile...

I mentally berate myself. Fuck obviously, a thing looking like that is not going to act all sunshine and rainbows.

It starts to descend headfirst from the tree it’s on, just like how a squirrel would. A normal human being would climb down feet first. Then again, it's not a human.

Well, time to go!

Once I safely reach the bottom, I grab my slave’s hand and pull her in the direction whence we came from. 

“he-heh-hehh-he-hi-hii!” a gurgling, high-pitched cackle squeals out like a dying radio.

A whiff of rotting flesh and guts convulses in my lungs. I cough but more of the smell enters my body as I inhale. My eyes catch the space between my slave and me, which threatens to set asunder. My hands can't be this sweaty. 

It's right behind me, isn't it? I swear to God if it is... I check, and sure enough, it is slinking towards me while jerking its torso. I blink, and it’s not there anymore. I frantically swivel my head to find it. 

The smell of rotting flesh is more intense now; almost as if I am drowning in a bed of human corpses and can only escape by eating the chewy meat overflowing my mouth. 

It suddenly appears again, blocking my path. It widens its mouth into a shit-eating grin. If it could speak at this moment, then it would be saying “I’ve got you,” as its freakish arm shoots to my face.

*Yank* My vision shift sideways; a blur of trees zooms in my vision. My hand that tried to lead my slave away gets pulled with a surprising burst of strength. Everything spins as I land on my back, letting out a pained "oof." From the forced exhalation, I immediately become light-headed, finally realizing I have been holding my breath since the moment it almost killed me.

Where is it now!? My eyes frantically search for the disappearing creature.

“Pull yourself together! You can kill the monster!” my slave grasps my face and fixates her eyes at mine's, however, I am looking anywhere else but her. 

“Hah ... me?” my lips smile, but my eyes are weary in the face of the setting sun.

“You beat my old master, his teammate, me, and countless wolves without even trying. And now you’re just going to run at the sight of some ugly beast? You are strong,” she spells out proudly.

Another round of laughter resembling a deranged human speech rings in the forest, caging me. 

A blue window pops up.

“Its weak point is the head. Go for it, or don't. Up to you. (^w^)”

“Telling me what to do, all of you,” I mutter under my breath. I look past my slave's form. It’s there, taunting me with its sick laughter and toothy grin. It approaches closer, but not in the same lightning speed as before, giving off the air that it has already won.

Fuck you.

I pull out my dagger, being conspicuous and in plain view in the eyes of the creature. And yet ... it doesn't seem to care; continuing its dreadful pace towards me. I squeeze the hand clutching the knife, holding onto the pressure for a split second before naturally relaxing my grip.

Videogames are usually programmed to make it obvious of when the boss is letting its guard down, so the player can strike at that very moment. I rise without laying my eyes off the creature, waiting for the window of opportunity to appear. My patience wavers as it inches closer; only seeing an impenetrable stone wall. I smile bitterly. Of course, life isn't conveniently built like a videogame. But I need to try something now. I can't be waiting for the right moment every time, just to bring myself to do anything at all. 

Well, here goes. I leap forward, covering over ten feet of ground, and run my dagger through its head. The force of my weapon pushes it back, as its face holds onto my knife. I drop down, weaponless, yet I hardly feel naked. There is an unfamiliar heat burning in the pit of my stomach for blood, unyielding, and refusing to quietly smolder. That plunge of my knife was the finishing move I couldn't have done better. 

“Hahah-ha-ah...!” it turns its split face and gives my slave a knowing look.

She stares it down with unforgiving eyes.

“Kek-kek-ke ...!” it manages to voice before its neck buckles and its body slumps without making a noise. 

That thing was surprisingly easy to kill. I just have to put my fear aside. Okay, for now on, monsters are cute! I take a deep breath, “We still have to find the third ingredient, but it’s going to be dark soon. Let's head back to the city for now.” 

“Master, the last ingredient is right there,” she points to a pink root-like plant on the ground next to the monster’s corpse.

“Huh? Was it there all along? That’s perfect. Go grab it,” I rub my face in relief, thankful that the encounter with the creature and the pursuit of the quest objects ended on a gratefully, uneventful note.