Elisia opened her slightly heavy eyelids. Her body lay on an indistinct, dark, sandy ground. Rocks were visible all around, making her sure this wasn't in the village. The girl moved her hand, the pain immediately felt. There was a stone stuck in it. She took it off and checked the stats.

Elisia Naumann

Level 5 (50/1000 exp)—Vanguard

Max HP : 700/714

Stamina : 560/560

Skill Point (SP) : 118/118

ATK : 360

DEF : 186

RES : 10,2%

Agility : 45

.

Skills

1. Molten Flame (level 2 (50/500 exp)

SP Requires : 44

ATK +40% and every attack gains 40% chance to ignore 20% Enemy Def

Duration : 27 second

2. [Unknown]

3. [Unknown]

4. [Unknown]

Sixth Sense (level 1 (0/400 exp)

Can see the level of other characters, including their enemies

Duration : Passive

5. [Unknown]

.

Equipment

1. Wool Jacket (equipped)

2. Dublin Spear (saved)

3. Flame Pendulum (equipped)

4. Book of Hex Aegis (not available)

5. Monstra, Book of Monsters (not available)

.

Elisia had only suffered a reduction in HP from the stab of the rock, but there was nothing strange about her. Her eyes searched for anything she recognized. However, there was nothing but dark blue and slightly glowing rocks. She also saw a cave mouth. She walked towards it, but she heard a heavy footstep. Her body laid back down on the ground.

The footsteps drew closer, and the ground trembled. Elisia heard a small growl from the mouth of the cave. Elisia narrowed her eyes to look at the creature. The creature entered the cave, and Elisia shocked. It was Forgotten!

The girl closed her eyes and made her body silent. Forgotten walked into the cave with resounding breaths. It took a rock and ate that. A small piece of the rock was flung towards Elisia. Several pieces hit the girl's head. The creature walked towards Elisia.

Forgotten sniffed Elisia's small body. She could feel the air from its nose on her body, cold and harsh. Elisia tried her best to unmove an inch, so she had to hold her breath. The creature was still watching her soft body. Elisia felt restless and wanted to run away from it. Finally, the creature turned around and left the cave.

After feeling that the creature had gone far away, Elisia took a deep breath and sat down. Elisia's heart was pumping quick and her head couldn’t think of anything. She mustered up her strength to find out her whereabouts.

I wonder why these creature kidnap children and women, Elisia thought.

Her head moved to see anything familiar. The rocks there seemed to glow brighter after the monster left. She didn't understand if it was just her imagination or reality, but the shapes of the stones there were like humans. In fact, she saw a skull that a rock had pierced.

Wait a moment! It means....

Elisia's power had gathered. She got up and went around the cave. As expected, the stones were humans who seemed to have been infected with Kryptida and their bodies crystallized. She remembered Upgrade's words about Kryptida.

Poor that human. But wait, a rock stabbed me. Could it be... Kryptadium? Elisia felt suspicious.

Elisia held her head in a heightened sense of dread. If Kryptadium impaled her, it meant it had infected her with Kryptida. She felt anxious that her fate would be unlucky for these crystallized people. Elisia also thought of a way to tie her scar using the cloth she tore from her dress.

I have to get out of here, she thought.

Elisia walked slowly towards the mouth of the cave. She climbed the rocks that became Forgotten's ladder. After climbing up, she could see sunlight entering the cave. She sped up her ascent until reached the exit of the cave. Elisia was happy to got out of the cave. Just about to set foot out of the cave, she heard a snoring sound from behind. The girl turned around slowly.

“Oh god, that creature is sleeping!” Elisia mumbled. “I have to be careful.”

Elisia tried to lighten her body so as not to create a heavy step. The first step she took to get out of the cave. There was no sign of movement from the monster. Elisia quickened her pace. Finally, she left the cave and ran into the forest.

She ran away until felt that she was far from Forgotten's cave. The girl rested under a shady tree while recharging her energy. She also saw the scars from the stone puncture earlier. It hurt, but Elisia could still move her hands.

“The patches around the wound look weird. Is it like this if it's infected?” Elisia mumbled.

Elisia hugged her legs and shed a few tears. She was afraid of death and her body crystallized, which meant her journey would end before arriving at Gwelissa. Sobs came out of her mouth. With the condition of being alone in the middle of the forest, Elisia's crying voice could hear clearly, even though no one was there.

Suddenly, something licked her hand. Elisia raised her head and found a dog. It looked chubby with its long legs. The dog sat across from Elisia and made a whining sound.

“It seems you feel what I feel.” Elisia stroked the dog's head. “Where are you from, haired fella? Is your master nearby?”

The dog tilted its head and stuck out its tongue. Elisia smiled and stroked her head again. The dog felt comfortable to the point of whimpering, and then hugged Elisia and licked her face.

“Hey, stop that!” Elisia laughed amusedly. “You tickled my neck!”

After the dog licked Elisia, she sat back down. It looked at Elisia with the innocent look of a dog. The girl stood up and wanted to continue on her way. The presence of the dog made Elisia's heart feel happy. At least, she didn't have to worry about the infection she got.

As it walked, the dog ran in front of Elisia, as if wanting to go with her. Elisia was astonished and knelt down to pat its head again.

“Are you lost? You want to come with me?” Elisia asked.

The dog barked and jumped up and down. Elisia smiled again and walked with the dog following. They crossed the grassy ground under a shady tree. Elisia tried to guess every direction, even though she didn't know where she was. She kept walking until she brought her to a lake.

The girl ran to the lake. She immediately knelt down and took a palm of water to drink. The taste of the water was very fresh. The dog also put its snout into the lake water. They sat there to rest again while contemplating which path they should take.

“I’m far from the village. It will take quite a while, moreover I don't know about this forest. Plus, I found a stray dog. I have to get out of this forest immediately before my stomach feels hungry,” Elisia muttered.

The dog walked over to Elisia and lay down. A message appeared in front of her.

“New Achievement unlocked : Support Friend”

“Reward : ATK +10”

.

Elisia read the description of the achievement. Apparently, she had made her first friendship with an animal. She glanced at the snoring dog and felt that the animal was also experiencing the same condition, being away from family. Elisia stroked its slightly dirty body. The dog got up and looked at Elisia.

“It seems you already consider me a friend. If so, we can be good friends. My name is Elisia. Nice to meet you,” Elisia said.

The dog barked softly, as if saying hi to Elisia.

“You definitely don't have one. What if I call you Gray? Your body color is gray, so I want to call you that,” Elisia said.

The dog jumped up and down and pounced on Elisia. Her face licked again. After that, Elisia washed her face with fresh lake water.

“You're a vivacious dog. I hope our friendship will last until one of us dies,” Elisia said with a happy heart.

Besides that, Elisia reminded of the Kryptadium stone stab wound again. However, she didn’t feel sad, because there was Gray nearby. Elisia hugged her new dog tightly, and Gray responded by licking her neck again.

“Hey, stop it! It tickles!” Elisia laughed so hard that she lay on the floor. Her breath hitched a little.

The girl stood up again. “Okay, I guess we should continue our journey before the sun will shine overhead. Are you ready, Grey?”

Gray barked a little louder. Elisia thought that the answer was yes. They continued their steps by entering the forest, and enjoying the beautiful and peaceful forest scenery as untouched by humans.

Along the way, Elisia could feel the emptiness in her stomach. She looked in all directions. There was nothing but trees that did not bear fruit. The bushes nearby are also not edible plants. Elisia also felt that Gray was hungry. It kept jumping up and down near the girl.

“As I thought. Is there no food around here?” Elisia mumbled.

Gray ran towards the bushes. Elisia chased after it and called its name. She kept running through the grass and bushes until she passed many trees. Her steps stopped at a wooden house hidden in the middle of the forest. Elisia dared not approach the house, but seeing Gray break things there forced her to enter.

She pulled Gray's body from the strange things in the yard. “Gray, don't run suddenly without taking me along, and don't break other people's stuff either!”

“Hey, who are you?!”

Elisia surprised and turned around slowly. A young woman between the ages of 26 with long black hair and tan skin. She saw carrying a pot with smoke coming out of it. Elisia gulped.

“Eeee..., sorry that I entered your yard,” Elisia said while bowing, and still holding Gray.

“Are you from Grasswood village?” she asked.

“Eeee..., Yes. I'm a newcomer there,” Elisia replied.

The woman put the pot on the ground and approached Elisia. Gray, who saw it, barked at the woman. Seeing the woman's face made Elisia remember something. She tried to remember it more deeply.

“Are you... Mr. Tivet's older sister?” Elisia asked doubtfully.

The woman surprised. “How do you know?”

Elisia released Gray from her arms. “Mr. Tivet asked us to defeat the creature that attacked the village of Grasswood named Forgotten. I saw your face at your house too.”

The woman hugged Elisia. The girl didn't understand the meaning of the hug, but she seemed happy to see a villager from Grasswood. Elisia responded by hugging her tighter. She let go of the hug then.

“I know you're hungry. How about you sit down and eat the soup I made?” the woman offered.

“Eee…, okay.” Elisia sat on a large log.

The woman took two bowls from her house. She scooped the freshly cooked soup into a bowl and gave it to Elisia. She looked at the gravy food, rich in vegetables she didn't know about. The color of the sauce was also slightly yellow. The woman started eating the food while it was warm, followed by Elisia. The woman also threw meat at Gray.

The food had devoured. Elisia felt full of the dish. She saw the woman tidy up all the cutlery and walk into the wooden house. Elisia glanced at every corner of the yard. There were only a few items that came from the forest, such as stones, wood, leaves, to soil. She thought that this woman built everything herself.

The woman came back and sat opposite Elisia. “What is your name?”

“Me? Elisia Naumann.”

“My name is Tevanny,” the woman replied. “How did you get here? Was it that creature that brought you to its lair?”

“Yes.”

“That damn creature. Attack the village and take the children away. If I had the ability, I would love to kill that creature,” Tevanny said. “You said earlier that you could defeat that creature. Who are you really? Monster hunter?”

“Eee…, my friends and I are just wanderers stopping at the village of Grasswood. We met Mr. Tivet and he told us everything. My friends helped the people of Grasswood,” Elisia explained.

"Wow, you guys must be great!" said Tevanny, “since the creature's appearance, I've determined to finish it. It destroyed my farm. I fought it, but it took me to its lair. Luckily, I could get out of its nest while it was sleeping. However, I can't go back because our position is quite far from the village. So, I built this house.”

“Actually, I want to go back to the village and meet my friends. They must worry about me,” Elisia said, somewhat glumly.

“Don’t be sad. Eventually, we will get out of this forest and return to normal life,” Tevanny comforted. “By the way, how do you know the name of that creature?”

“I found Monstra book in your room. You also left a small note in it. I made a plan to defeat it. Almost succeeded, but the creature took me to its lair instead. Besides, a rock pierced my body in that cave.” Elisia showed the scar on her right arm.

Tevanny saw the wound. “It will be dangerous! I'll take some medicine.”

Elisia touched the scar. It hurt like she was still being stabbed by the stone. She also felt the skin around the wound harden slightly. The infection was spreading further in her body. The girl tried to think normally without remembering the things that made her sad. She saw Gray fast asleep under a tree. Her heart was happy again.

Tevanny came back with a box. She opened the box; it displayed various kinds of leaves in it. She picked up a leaf which he soaked in a strange liquid. The leaf attached to Elisia's wound. The girl screamed in pain because the drug reaction was painful. Tevanny ties the leaf on the injured arm. Elisia couldn't bear the pain.

“It is the ancestral natural remedy of Grasswood Village to treat various kinds of wounds. This treatment is very effective to withstand the pain of the wounds that we experience. I don't understand why stone punctures can be so painful like this,” Tevanny explained.

“That's because the stone is Kryptadium. A stone that contains a virus that causes a disease called Kryptida. The virus can infect the human body that touches or pricked by it,” Elisia said.

“I don't understand what you're saying, but it seems very dangerous.”

“You’re right. My friend explained everything. I think he has a medicine that can cure this disease,” Elisia said with a smile.

“If we can get out of this forest, we can find your friend,” Tevanny replied, “Actually, this is not a large forest, but there are many dangerous creatures here.”

“Looks like we'll have to spend the night here indefinitely. I don't want to take any risks, especially for Gray,” Elisia said while looking at Gray, who was still sleeping.

“Okay. At least we're still alive in this forest.” Tevanny got up and went inside the house.

Elisia stood up to walk around the trees around Tevanny's house. There wasn't much she could see other than trees and bushes. Gray, who had been sleeping, ran over to Elisia. The girl picked up a stick and threw it the other way. However, Gray didn’t chase after it.

“Huh, looks like you need to learn about the game of throw and catch,” Elisia said while stroking Grey's head.

Finally, Elisia took out the spear from the pendulum to practice. She swung the spear well, just as Risk had taught her. She pushed, swung, and slammed the spear with great force. Elisia felt her abilities were getting better with time. She had two skills now and her stats were thriving.

That movement made Elisia remember Risk. She didn't know how the man was now. Elisia was sure that he worried. One day, Risk and the others would come to their rescue.

“Risk....” Elisia held the pendulum and necklace of fortune that Risk had given her.

Tevanny approached Elisia, who was standing near a big tree. It surprised her to see the weapon of her new friend. Elisia also surprised and put the spear back into the pendulum.

“Elisia, is that… a weapon?” Tevanny asked for sure.

“Yes. I'm a vanguard. I trained to protect everyone, including defeating Forgotten. With my friends, everything will be resolved well.” Elisia looked into Tevanny's face. “Are you afraid of me?”

“Afraid? Not. I'm just surprised a kid in your age already carries such a beautiful-looking weapon. Where did you get that weapon from?”

“I don't know, but this pendulum gave me that weapon. It also gave me great fire power. If the energy flows in my body, you can feel the surrounding warmth,” Elisia explained.

Tevanny looked stunned by Elisia's explanation. “Apparently, I met a warrior. I hope your friends and you can kill that annoying Forgotten.”

Elisia bowed and walked back to the house. Gray also followed her while running happily. Elisia calmed down and sat on the log. She believes that Risk and her friends will find her and bring peace to the village of Grasswood.