《No Strings Attached》Chapter 19 - Wild Chase

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When Christine's awareness came back, she found herself sucking on a nipple. With utter disgust, she quickly pulled her head away and cried. Why am I sucking on a breast?!

“What's the matter? Is mama's milk not good?” a soothing voice asked from above Christine. She looked up and saw the face of a beautiful woman peering down at her while she was being swayed gently back and forth. What is happening to me?

Her sudden awakening, the alien environment, and the large stranger talking to her were too much for Christine and she cried even harder. Her mind filled with confusion as her intelligence from her previous life clashed with her new instincts as a baby.

Christine tried to recall the events last night. She recalled crying in front of the bartender. She remembered getting robbed and slamming her head against the pavement. She remembered going home and sleeping away her troubles and worries. She remembered everything fully, and yet Christine couldn't comprehend how things suddenly led to this situation.

It took Christine the better part of an hour before she finally realized that she was a baby, most of which she spent freaking out and panicking.

After finally calming herself enough to analyze her situation, Christine surmised that she was probably inside a castle. The woman carrying her around, who was probably her mother, allowed Christine to assess her surroundings. They traveled through large hallways resplendent with decors, rooms big enough to fit in an entire house, and finally arrived in a massive outdoor garden.

Christine gazed in awe at the beauty of the garden around her. Carefully trimmed bushes and shrubbery lined both sides of the stone path the woman walked through, and now and then, they passed by large stone sculptures with features so realistic Christine thought they would move at any moment.

Christine's breath came out in white mists from the cold winter air, then she realized that despite the season, the plants and trees around them were still a vibrant green. How is that possible?

The woman entered a gazebo and sat down on a bench, Christine snug within her arms. The woman swung Christine gently from side to side while humming a tune.

Is this supposed to be my mother? Christine thought while looking at the woman's face. The woman had a fierce but beautiful visage. Her eyes were as dark as her long black hair, and her piercing eyes could give a look sharper than any blade, although it softened every time it landed on Christine. But the most notable thing was the small crown that rested atop her head.

“Are you enjoying your time with mama?” the woman asked. “I'm sorry if I'm not around too much, my little Christine. My duties are great, and I'm afraid it does not allow me too much time to spend with my daughter.”

Christine felt weird hearing another woman talk to her as a mother. Back on Earth, she had spent most of her childhood without a real person to call a mother. The last person who talked to me like that was Aunt Elena.

“As a Queen of a kingdom, I have far too many responsibilities to spend time with you, so I hope you forgive mama, okay? Don't worry, when you grow up into a fine princess, you'll be able to work with me and we'll spend a lot of time together. I'll show you all the beautiful sights our kingdom has to offer, eat delicious food made by the best chefs in Ocrana, and watch plays in the grand theaters of the capital.”

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Christine's troubled thoughts brought about by her mysterious reincarnation slowly relaxed. The revelation that she was reborn as a princess didn't matter much to her at the moment, her attention focused on the smiling woman looking down at her. Is this what it feels like to have a mother?

Christine couldn't help but cry at the thought, her sobs muffled as the Queen hugged her to her chest. She always convinced herself that she didn't need a mother to survive in the harsh and cruel world, and she already had, back on Earth.

But she recalled the time when Brogen's mother offered to take her in. If Christine was sure that she didn't need a mother, then why had she been so eager to accept Elena's offer of adoption? Looking at the Queen looming above her with a gentle smile soothed Christine's troubled thoughts. I never needed a mother, but it didn't mean I never wanted one.

With an unconscious thought, Christine reached out her small hands towards her new mother, and the Queen responded in kind by shaking Christine's hand with her fingers and cooing over her daughter. I wonder what would have happened if Brogen didn't bring me to his home that fateful day, Christine thought.

Christine would have stayed an orphan living in the streets, doing whatever jobs she could find not to live, but to survive. Brogen and his mother changed all that, and Christine could only regret that she no longer had a chance to repay him or Elena back for all the goodwill they had shown her. I hope they already found peace. I wonder where they… are… now…

Christine's mind blanked for a moment. Something gnawed on her mind, as if she was missing something. She racked her brain for an answer, no longer listening to the Queen's rambling. After a few seconds, Christine finally realized what she was missing. If I'm reincarnated as a baby right now, then doesn't that mean I already died back on Earth…

Like a stack of dominoes tumbling down one after another, Christine's thoughts cascaded from one deduction to the next. If that's the case, then that means after death, people are reincarnated once again. I don't know if that applies to everyone, maybe only a small percentage of people. Then that means—

With a sharp intake of breath, Christine froze. Her mind finally arrived at a conclusion that she feared to consider. She tried to think of other facts and information to deny the improbable conclusion her mind ended up with, but she came up with nothing. Christine feared to hope, but a flicker of it still blossomed in her chest and she hesitantly accepted her conclusion as a possibility. If I reincarnated here, then that means there's a chance that Brogen and Aunt Elena did too.

With a sudden jolt, Christine's entire body stiffened and her eyes opened wide as her mind exploded. She felt like her brain was being crammed full of something, and as her eyes roved over her mother's panicked expression, the ceiling of the gazebo, the blue sky visible in her periphery, the swaying of the leaves in the garden, the sound of chirping birds in the distance, Christine knew everything.

The blue bird perched on the nearby tree is about to fly off. Its powerful, hooked beak implies that it feeds primarily on fruits, and its size, wingspan, and feather structure allows it to fly at a maximum horizontal speed of 80.46582 kilometers per hour, or 22.35162 meters per second.

A snowflake is falling. Air resistance is making its descent slow, and a weak wind is blowing it slightly to the side, prolonging its fall. If the air density, drag, and wind speed remain constant, the snowflake will land on a crack in the gazebo's tiled floor in 7.46 seconds.

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There is a faint heat emanating from Christine's brain, heart, and bladder. Mana is concentrated in the three organs, and a small percentage is flowing through pathways all throughout her body. The majority of her mana is currently concentrated in her brain.

The sound of crunching snow as someone is rushing to the gazebo is getting louder. Judging by the increase of volume at constant intervals, the person would be arriving at the gazebo in 4.83 seconds.

Christine snapped out of her reverie with a painful jolt. Her head pulsed with sharp pain and every throb felt like her brain was being stabbed by a knife. Christine's senses shut off. She flailed her arms as she became blind and deaf, and even her sense of touch disappeared. Her proprioception disappeared as well and she couldn't tell whether she was moving or not. Christine's body could have been dancing and she wouldn't have realized it.

With all her senses gone, Christine became a consciousness trapped inside her body that now felt like a prison. Despite her disabled senses, Christine could still feel emotion, and the only one she currently felt was fear.

After an indeterminate amount of time, Christine's senses started to slowly come back. Her sight, although a bit blurry, was returning, and her ears could hear distant sounds. A few more seconds later, Christine's senses were back to optimal condition. Immediately, Christine took a measure of her surroundings and saw that the Queen, who looked at her with concern and panic, still held her and that they were still in the gazebo.

Christine's senses must have disappeared for only a few moments then, but to her, it felt like hours had passed. What is happening to me? Christine thought in fear as she felt herself tremble in the arms of the Queen. Try as she might to resist it, Christine cried loudly, tears falling down her eyes in rivulets.

“Tell Chamberlain Barrister that I will be canceling all my appointments this week, then send a message to the Gardener. Tell her I'll be requiring her services,” Christine heard the Queen say in a commanding tone behind the noise of her sobs.

A deep and rough voice answered back. “As you will, Your Majesty.”

When she looked to the side, she saw a man dressed completely in black garb, a hood, and a mask covering his face except for his eyes. Countless blades and daggers were strapped to his body, and vials that sloshed with an unidentifiable liquid were attached to his belt. He held two black daggers in each hand, but after receiving his orders from the Queen, he quickly sheathed them.

With a quick salute, the man left quickly, but unlike earlier, his footsteps no longer crunched in the snow. Christine could see the snow get displaced, but there was no sound.

“Hush, my baby, everything will be fine,” the Queen cooed, a large smile plastered on her face, the panic from earlier receding and replaced with mirth. “I guess the Archbishop from the Holy Mother Church was speaking the truth. A miracle has graced our nation once again, and I am proud that it has come in the form of my daughter.”

Christine's sobs slowly died down as she listened to the Queen. She felt her cheeks burn in shame in letting another person see her cry, but she had more things to worry about.

Ever since her senses blacked out, Christine felt like a new one had appeared. For some reason, her mind felt sharper and no matter where or what she looked at, she seemed to gain a deeper insight into it. With a simple glance at the gazebo's structure, Christine knew that it was approximately 12.27 years old and was made of plain concrete mixed with a ratio of 1:2:4 with its components being cement, sand, and aggregates. What the fuck is wrong with me?

The Queen stood up and started walking back towards the keep of the castle. The same gentle smile was on her face, but Christine felt a feral glee from it. “Edria has been threatening us with war for years now, confident that they could deal with our sole Ascendant. I'd like to see the surprise on their faces once they learn that Ocrana has not one, but two Ascendants.”

The Queen laughed, a loud and elegant one that echoed throughout the garden, a faint hint of bloodlust in her eyes. Christine's earlier thoughts of her new mother being a gentle and kind one went out the window, and her mind became troubled once again. What did I just get myself into?

●●●

The sword I held steady on my lap shone under the midday sun, its sheathe propped up on the driver's seat beside me. The sword's double-edged blade was about a meter long and a small rune etched near the crossguard glinted with a dull red light. I recalled my slightly spotty knowledge of Mother Betha's runebook and remembered the rune on the sword as the one for ‘sharpness.’

Unlike the Preservation enchantments I applied to the fabrics wrapped around Mom's body, the one enchanted on the sword looked way more complex. The enchantment looked just like a magic circle I used for my spells, but instead of the four or five supporting runes I weave around a central rune to cast my spell, this enchantment easily had dozens of it. Comparing this simple Sharpness enchantment to the Preservation “enchantment” I used on Mom was like comparing a professional artist's drawing with a child's doodle.

The wagon jolted from a pothole and the blade of the enchanted sword accidentally slipped from my hands. “Oh shit!”

The sword fell and its sharp edge landed on my thread suit's foot. The blade managed to slice a few inches into the Authority-reinforced fabric, and that's from simply falling due to gravity alone. I felt a bead of sweat drip down my back. If that was my real foot, it would have cut straight to the bone.

I carefully picked up the sword, almost dropping it again when the wagon crossed over another pothole, and sheathed it on my hip. Despite my nervousness around a dangerous weapon, excitement still bubbled within me. I have a real magic sword!

I was sure that the enchanted sword I got from the bandit leader that attacked me yesterday was probably one of the cheaper ones, but that didn't dampen my mood. My mind was already starting to imagine situations where I fought like a gallant knight, fighting evil with a magic sword. “Fighting evil.” Hah! There's nothing glorious about killing other people, even if they were evil.

My jubilant mood immediately plummeted when I remembered the events of yesterday. I was trying to distract myself from it by assessing my new magic sword, but I still ended up leading my mind back to it.

The fight yesterday was terrifying. Although I mostly felt rage when I began slaughtering the bandits, my anger immediately dissipated when the bandit leader fought back. I always told myself not to be arrogant with my power, but I still ended up underestimating the bandit leader. I've fought with countless dire wolves when I lived in the woods, and I was used to my fabrics being virtually indestructible under their attacks. So when the bandit leader cut through my supposedly-indestructible spider legs yesterday with ease, I felt true fear again.

When the bandit leader started darting around me with a speed so quick I could barely follow him with my eyes, that's when I knew I bit off more than I could chew. It was only through sheer luck that I managed to exit my thread suit at the last second before he could behead me, or else I'd be the one getting my corpse eaten by scavengers instead of him.

“I think I've had my fair share of fighting augmenters posing as bandits,” I muttered to myself.

Before the fight with the bandits even began, I already knew the bandit leader was an augmenter thanks to my mana sense. The bastard's body was suffused with mana, but compared to the amount I had, it was negligible. That was why I thought I could easily overpower the man, but I had to learn the hard way not to underestimate my enemies. Looks like the amount of mana a person has isn't the sole indicator of how strong he or she is.

I shifted my focus back on the road. The scenery around me was still the same old plains I've been seeing ever since I left the city of Vont, but directly north of me, I could already see the edge of a large forest far in the distance. To my northwest, I could see a looming mountain, its peak hidden behind thick clouds, and to the east, I could see the familiar walls of a city.

I considered the idea of visiting another city to resupply, but I decided to continue traveling towards the forest. I didn't have money to buy more food anyway, which meant I'd have to sell some of my products first before I could purchase supplies, and I didn't want to stay too long in large settlements like a city.

As Clip and Clop slowly pulled my wagon towards the Wild Woods in the distance, I used my free time to train my magic, although “training” might be too strong a word. It was more like “fucking up again and again until I got it right.”

I memorized a lot of runes during the time I studied under Mother Betha, and I even made a small notebook made of fabric and stitched the runes on its pages so I wouldn't forget them, but magic wasn't simply about combining the runes I want into a magic circle and start blasting away at my enemies. I had to know which runes were compatible with whom, all while keeping it stable with my will.

Since my magic lessons with Mother Betha were cut off, I had to learn everything myself by experimenting which of the runes were compatible with each other. It would have been an easy trial-and-error procedure if not for the magic circles blowing up if something went wrong. Fortunately, I could use my Authority to cast spells from a safe distance.

I sent out a bunch of threads about ten meters east of the wagon, far enough to avoid getting my face blown off but near enough for me to sense it with my mana sense. I shaped them into three concentric circles with a central rune in the middle.

A central rune, the symbol located in the middle of every magic circle, was an integral part of a spell since it determined what type of magic was being cast. The central rune could be a fire rune for Fire magic, a water rune for Water magic, and so on. In this case, I was using the Wild rune.

With a few more threads, I added the supporting runes, which were placed along the circumference of each concentric circle. They were responsible for determining how the spell would act once the magic circle was activated, and if even one of them was incompatible with any of the other runes, the spell would blow up. A failed spell usually included a mental backlash on the mage casting it, like a sharp headache, but for some reason, I felt none of that if I used my threads for casting magic. Another mystery to solve in the future.

The third-circle spell I was trying to cast was “supposedly” a better version of the second-circle spell Shove, which I already knew. The problem was, I didn't know the correct combination of runes to successfully cast it, and I've been trying to figure it out for a long time already.

I brought out my notebook made of fabric and went to the page where I listed all the failed combinations I already tried. There must have been dozens of failed combinations on the list, all of them Wild magic, and each of them were stitched onto the page with red thread.

Although I tried to reassure myself that there was no rush in learning magic, I still felt frustrated with my lack of proper knowledge. If I was able to finish my magic lessons under Mother Betha, I bet I'd be casting fourth-circle spells already.

I shook my head to clear my mind of useless thoughts and finished making the magic circle with a new combination of supporting runes. Unlike my past experiments, I tried to make the magic circle as simple as possible this time. I'm starting to think that the leading cause of my failures was the large variety of runes I always used, so I decided to use only a single type of rune.

I started channeling mana into my magic circle made of thread. The central rune for Wild magic, a symbol that looked like a bunch of arrows spreading outwards from the same source, started shimmering, as if an invisible field of force surrounded it. The shimmering spread outwards towards the twelve supporting runes. There were four supporting runes on each concentric circle, located in the four cardinal directions, and all of them were the same rune that had a single purpose: to push forward.

My eyes almost popped out of their sockets as I felt the spell activate with my mana sense. With a loud boom, the magic circle disappeared and a small wave of force shot out of where it used to be, striking the ground and throwing up snow and dirt half a meter into the air.

I would have started dancing a little jig of victory if not for Clip and Clop freaking out from the sudden noise. It took me several minutes to calm them down until they no longer struggled in their reins.

I excitedly opened my notebook once again and flipped to the page where I listed my small repertoire of third-circle spells. I summoned a piece of black thread and stitched a drawing of the magic circle I used to cast the third-circle spell along with some details. After a short contemplation, I decided to name my new spell ‘Force Blast.’

Spell: Force Blast Type: Wild Mana Cost: at least 100 mana Description: sends a wave of pure force in a single direction. Important note: creates a loud booming noise. Avoid use when trying to be sneaky.

With a satisfied nod, I closed my notebook. With my new Wild spell, I now had three third-circle spells in my repertoire. The other two were Life spells I learned from Mother Betha a long time ago: the Preservation spell and the Metabolize Spell. I can't wait to start testing my new Wild spell.

Learning a spell didn't stop at finding out its magic circle. I had to know every single detail about it if I was going to use it in combat like its strengths and weaknesses and how to optimize it as much as possible.

Third-circle spells require at least 100 mana, but that didn't mean they were limited to that amount. I could channel more mana to make its effects more powerful, and as a general rule, the maximum amount of mana I could put into a spell before it becomes overloaded is just before it reaches the minimum mana required by a spell of the next tier. So for a third-circle spell, I could theoretically channel about 999 mana into it before it became overloaded since fourth-circle spells started at 1000 mana. Keyword: theoretically.

Channeling the exact amount of mana into a spell was almost impossible, especially for someone like me who had an extremely large mana pool, which was why I trained my mana manipulation skills so much back in Erfeld just to cast low tier spells. It was like using a waterfall to fill a glass of water with just the right amount without any of it spilling.

This is where training came into play. If I used the Force Blast spell regularly, I'd be able to adjust the mana I channeled into the spell according to the strength I wanted until the feeling becomes instinctual. This was the same training I did for the Metabolize spell. After all, I wouldn't want to accidentally cook my patient while intending to treat them.

For the next several days, I tested my new spell, using it with varying amounts of mana and measuring my cast time. For second-circle spells and below, my cast time was usually instantaneous, but for third-circle spells that I used regularly, it usually took about three seconds. Since the Force Blast spell was new, it took me about seven to ten seconds to cast it.

I cast the spell again and again during my breaks, acclimating myself to the feel of weaving the magic circle for Force Blast. My large mana pool gave me all the resources I needed to train, and it regenerated at a quick pace that allowed me to train for hours on end. When Clip and Clop finally brought me to the edge of the Wild Woods, I could finally cast Force Blast within five seconds. Still a bit too long to use in combat, but progress is progress.

I signaled Clip and Clop to halt several meters from the edge of the Wild Woods and took the time to observe the looming forest before me.

Directly in front of me, the dirt road continued in a winding path, flanked on both sides by towering evergreen trees. The thick canopy above left the forest bereft of sunlight, casting a gloomy darkness that made the shadows look deeper. My fabric sense told me that there were no monsters or animals within a radius of a hundred meters in front of me, but judging from the silence, I knew they were present all the same. Forests were supposed to be noisy from the buzzing of insects and the chirping of birds, but the Wild Woods was eerily silent.

It was pretty late in the afternoon, and although the sun's rays were still bright, I decided to make camp. This would probably be the last time I'll be able to get a good night's sleep. One thing I learned from living in a forest in this world was that predators didn't limit themselves to hunting during the day. If I let my guard down when I'm sleeping in the forest, I won't be surprised if I woke up and found my face getting eaten by a monster.

I guided Clip and Clop a fair distance away from the edge of the Wild Woods and gave them some hay I bought back in Vont. I practiced my Force Blast again and again until the sun sunk below the horizon.

After eating a quick meal composed of hard bread and biscuits, I expanded my fabric sense to its maximum range for a few seconds, gritting my teeth as my mind flared up with a sharp pain from all the information flooding my mind. I tuned out the useless info, like the thousands of leaves swaying in the wind, and focused instead on anything made remotely of animal fur. I sensed dozens of small creatures in the forest and judging by their shapes, they were probably harmless ones like wild rabbits and small birds. I didn't sense anything large that might be a predator, so with a relieved sigh, I reduced my fabric sense back to its usual range of a hundred meters.

Before I retired to my wagon, I made sure to leave my only magic lantern activated outside so Clip and Clop wouldn't get spooked by the dark. Once everything was set, I went inside my wagon and transformed Mr. Marion into a comfortable sleeping bag. The stress from all the traveling and magic training made me fatigued, and not even a minute had passed before sleep finally took over me.

●●●

The scenery of the Wild Woods slowly passed me by as Clip and Clop trudged through the winding dirt road. Clip eyed every bush he saw by the side of the road with hunger, and I had to pull on his reins gently every time he did. Clop, meanwhile, chomped at the air now and then every time a bug flew too close to her mouth. My horses' shenanigans often led them astray from the path and I had to nudge them back to the road, but I was already used to it.

“Don't eat that,” I chided Clop as she eyed a large centipede crawling through the ground. I swear it was bigger than my arm. Clop snorted at me.

Compared to the open fields I traveled in during the past days, the Wild Woods was significantly warmer, although it was still cold. The wind was almost nonexistent and there was only a very thin layer of snow on the ground. The thick canopy not only blocked most of the sunlight, but also the snow that steadily fell over the past months. With the roads mostly clear of snow and debris, the travel through the Wild Woods was smooth so far.

But despite the more comfortable traveling conditions, my nerves were on edge. I set my fabric sense to a hundred-meter radius around me, but it could only detect creatures with fur, and I know well that not all monsters had hair. My mana sense could detect all living creatures, but it only had a range of about ten meters around me.

So for my first day of traveling through the Wild Woods, I kept my eyes constantly peeled for any possible threat that might have avoided the detection of my senses. During the night, I kept my sleep light to keep my mind ready for any sudden situations, and I even set up tripwires made of thread around my camp to warn me of any approaching enemy. Nothing came close to me.

The second day was much more stressful. The tension from yesterday along with my constant vigilance during the night deprived me of much-needed sleep. Even with the constant jostling of the wagon, I was sorely tempted to take a short nap and let Clip and Clop graze for a while, but I knew it was more important to stay focused now that we were deeper in the forest. Especially when unknown creatures were starting to appear at the edges of my fabric sense.

The first one appeared in my fabric sense thirty minutes ago, just less than a hundred meters to the northeast. Little critters like squirrels and rabbits were always present in my fabric sense and I usually pushed them to the back of my mind, but this time it was different. Since I could sense furs from animals, it goes without preamble that I could also sense hairs from humans too, and in this case, humanoids.

The strange creature I detected at the edge of my fabric sense had a humanoid body shape and its size was similar to a child's, but the similarities ended there. It moved through the forest with a nimbleness only years of living in a forest could give and caught a fleeing rabbit. It swung its arm down on the small critter with something, I assume it was a weapon of some kind, and proceeded to skin it.

What made things worse was that more of the humanoid creatures entered the range of my fabric sense, joining up with the first one that killed the rabbit. There were a total of seven of them, and they seemed to be fighting over the rabbit that the first one killed.

I would have loved to sate my curiosity and learn what those humanoid creatures were, but it was more important to move away from them as soon as possible. I was confident I could take on those little creatures if it came to a fight, but I preferred to keep my presence in the forest as subtle as possible. The last thing I wanted was to attract something stronger.

Just as I solidified the thought in my mind, a squirrel suddenly climbed a tree we were passing by and started chattering like a madman, making noises far louder than what its body should be able to produce. I must have trespassed its territory, but before I could even think of shooing it away, Clip and Clop got spooked.

My horses neighed loudly and struggled in their harnesses, trying to move away from the squirrel as quickly as possible. The wagon jolted forward as they attempted to run, but I immediately soothed them and knocked the mad squirrel off its perch with a threadtacle. Damn critter, we're just passing by!

Once Clip and Clop calmed down and walked at a sedate pace again, I shifted my focus back to the humanoid creatures in my fabric sense. They were running towards me.

“Oh shit!”

The humanoid creatures had short strides but they were fast. They had already crossed half the distance towards us in the time it took me to calm my horses. I considered instructing Clip and Clop to turn around and run back the way we came, but I belatedly realized that the dirt road was too narrow for them to maneuver the wagon.

My only choices of action were to stay and fight or keep moving forward. I considered the thought of meeting the humanoid creatures halfway and ambushing them, but there was too much risk in going straight at an unknown enemy that I knew nothing about.

In the end, I decided to stay and fight. Even if I signaled Clip and Clop to start running, we wouldn't be able to accelerate in time before the humanoid creatures arrived. Besides, fighting on a moving wagon was way too risky, although my childish mind can't help but imagine the cool action scene it would have become if it was in a movie.

I positioned myself in front of my whinnying horses and waited. It only took ten seconds, and soon, five small figures emerged from the underbrush. One glance was all it took for me to immediately recognize what they were.

The humanoid monsters in front of me had green and leathery skin, pocked with warts and blemishes. Oversized heads sat atop their childish bodies, and their faces had large noses, small squinty eyes, and big mouths filled with sharp teeth. I was facing goblins.

The five goblins shouted at me with their strange guttural language and pointed their makeshift weapons at me. In my fabric sense, I could sense the other two goblins skulking around in the underbrush, moving towards my back.

“Hey, I don't want any trouble! I just want to pass through!”

The goblins answered me with more guttural cries and threatening shouts, not showing any signs that they understood me. I would have preferred a more diplomatic solution to my problem, but I wasn't about to let myself get eaten by goblins.

I quickly formed a blunt-ended threadtacle at my back and struck the nearest goblin's head. It didn't react in time and took the threadtacle directly to the face, knocking it to the ground, unconscious.

The four remaining goblins cried in rage and charged at me, their rusted knives and spears raised high. I didn't have enough time to beat them with a single threadtacle, so I formed three more using the extra fabrics I stored in my thread suit. The goblins' charge slowed after seeing the threadtacles, but I didn't give them a chance to retreat and struck again, this time with four threadtacles at once.

But what the goblins lacked in strength, they made up for in speed. Only two of my strikes managed to land, the other two missing completely as their targets dodged to the side. The two goblins I hit writhed on the ground in pain as they clutched their bloody faces, out of the fight.

The two remaining goblins lunged at me, closing the few meters left between us with a snarl. I didn't have enough time to bring back the four threadtacles I used initially and I already used up the excess fabric stored in my thread suit, so I had to use Mr. Marion's body itself to create two more threadtacles to repel the lunging goblins.

The cool winter air caressed my skin as my thread suit deformed around me and turned into two threadtacles that whipped towards the two goblins, knocking them down and out of the fight. That's when the underbrush behind me burst apart, leaves and twigs flying all over the place as the two goblins skulking around earlier made their move while I was distracted.

Their ambush would have been successful if I didn't have my fabric sense, but unfortunately for them, I had been expecting their attack since the battle began.

The counters on my wagon fell down and a mass of threadtacles suddenly burst forth from the window and caught the last two goblins. The two childlike creatures snarled and shouted, but their limbs were held in place with my threadtacles.

I sent some of the threadtacles to restrain the other goblins and after a few minutes, I had all seven of them lying on the ground in front of me, their wrists and ankles bound with loops of thread. They never stopped snarling and shouting at me in their guttural language, but they no longer posed a threat.

“Whew, that was a bit exhausting. The question is, what now?”

I stared at the group of squirming goblins in front of me with a frown as my thread suit started forming around my body once again. The first thought that entered my mind was to kill them, but I immediately ruled it out. It would have made my efforts useless.

While I was fighting the goblins earlier, none of my threadtacles were overloaded with mana or boosted by Wild magic, which was why my strikes were only strong enough to incapacitate the goblins. One reason was that I was unwilling to kill the childlike creatures, but the primary reason was my limited supply of fabric. My threadtacles would have broken down into fibers if I overloaded them, and spinning them into usable threads and turning them back into fabrics would have cost a lot of mana. Even with my crazy mana regeneration speed, the last thing I wanted to happen while I was in the middle of a monster-infested forest was to run out of mana when I needed it.

The goblins' cries brought me out of my thoughts. One of them was struggling in its bonds so hard it ended up hitting the goblin next to it with its elbow. The two ended up bickering and started snarling at each other, no longer paying me attention. The others still uttered their guttural language at me, but the last one was peacefully sleeping. Are these even monsters?

Their faces were ugly, but I was pretty sure the goblins in front of me were children. I once read a monster almanac in Erfeld and according to that book, goblins had different stages of growth, with the youngest ones having a similar size to human children. The goblins in front of me fit that description.

After a moment of contemplation, I decided to let the goblins go. Even if they were considered “monsters” by people here, I don't feel comfortable killing creatures that look so eerily similar to human children. Besides, the term ‘monster’ wasn't an absolute concept. Humans just used it as a way to refer to anything different from them or creatures that were too scary to be considered normal animals. To me, monsters are just normal animals that won the natural selection. Besides, if I were to compare myself with one of the goblins in front of me, I bet I'd be more of a monster.

My mind wandered back to all the dire wolves I killed over the past months. I'll admit, I sounded like a hypocrite when I said I wasn't willing to kill goblins but was okay with killing dire wolves. Sorry dire wolves, but none of you look like human children, so I've no sympathy for any of you. Plus, I love your soft furs.

With my personal ethical dilemma resolved with dubious justifications, I was about to release the threads binding the goblins' limbs when another monster entered the range of my fabric sense.

“Damn it, what is it this time?”

I looked to the south, past my wagon, to the direction where I sensed the monster. This time, there was only one, and its shape seemed to be that of a very large cat. It's like a panther.

I readied my four threadtacles again, but this time, I was no longer holding back. Unlike the goblins, this new panther monster didn't invoke my sympathy and the moment it showed up, I intend to go for the kill.

“Excuse me for a moment, my new friends, but I have a cat to neuter,” I said to the goblins behind me, adopting Mr. Marion's persona once again. But when I looked at the goblins, they no longer snarled at me but looked in the direction of the new monster, their faces etched in fear. I guess a large predatory cat would be scary to a bunch of weak goblins.

To my surprise, Clip and Clop were also neighing in panic beside me. When I looked at their eyes, I saw a primal fear within, as if their instincts honed through years of evolution were telling them to run, and only their training as draft horses prevented them from running.

Then the goblins started whispering a word over and over.

“Urka, Urka…”

“Ei abu Urka…”

“Urka unga ao…”

“Urka…”

My earlier confidence in facing the new monster started wavering after seeing the goblins and horses' reactions. As a precaution, I summoned more fabric from the wagon and created eight spider legs, attaching them to my back.

The panther was now only twenty meters away, stalking underneath the bushes in a cat's hunting stance. It seemed to be eyeing the goblins and my horses, which made them tremble even more. The goblins were now shouting the word “Urka” again and again as they struggled against their bindings.

Then I felt the panther in my fabric sense shift its gaze on me. That's when I felt fear. Pure, primal fear paralyzed me in place as cold sweat dripped down my back. I tried to speak, but not even a whisper could escape my mouth. I attempted to move and my head finally managed to budge an inch, but all it did was level my gaze with a pair of glowing yellow eyes hiding behind a bush less than ten meters away.

That's when I realized I could detect the panther in my mana sense. Like a blazing bonfire, the panther had a lot of mana in its body. Oh shit…

Panic finally took hold of me. I could not move my body, but I didn't need it to use my Authority. In an instant, I detached all four theadtacles from my back, overloaded them with thousands of mana, and sent them hurtling towards the panther.

With a loud boom, the threadtacles impacted the area where the panther was hiding, but I knew with my fabric sense that it managed to dodge my attack. I didn't bother crying over the missed attack, instead creating more threadtacles and picking up the terrified goblins. I put them inside the wagon and shut the windows, sealing them inside.

I felt the panther's gaze on me again and my body went stiff once more, but it wasn't as effective this time. With an incoherent scream, I forced my body to move and cast a powerful Force Blast I'd been preparing earlier towards the panther.

An invisible wave of force rippled through the air, kicking up dirt and snow as it careened towards the panther. The lithe monster dodged it again, but I already knew it would. The Force Blast was only a distraction and I used the time it bought to get back to the driver's seat and shout at Clip and Clop to start running.

“Go, go, go! Start running, you damn horses!”

Clip and Clop began accelerating, more from fear rather than understanding my command. But we were accelerating too slowly, and sure enough, I felt the panther start catching up to us.

Using my spider legs, I climbed over the top of my wagon, using the eight limbs attached to my back to keep me from falling. The panther was already running right beside the wagon, and that's when I realized it was huge. It was almost the same size as the wagon itself, and its feline face somehow managed to look smug and disdainful as it looked at me.

“Eat this, you overgrown cat!”

I started casting Force Blast again, overloading it this time. My spellcasting range was ten meters, the same as my mana sense, and I put the magic circle as close to the black panther as possible.

The panther sensed my spell coming to life but instead of getting away, it started moving closer to my spell. Milliseconds before the magic circle formed completely, the panther slashed at the spell with its claws, and to my horror, the spell dissipated.

A stab of pain suddenly assaulted my mind as the spell's backlash hit me. I should have used my threads to cast the spell!

The panther used my distraction as a chance to pounce from more than ten meters away, and the sight of a several hundred-pound cat flying at my face with its teeth bared made me forget my headache for a moment.

I quickly used four of my spider legs to block the panther's pounce, straightening them towards the monster's direction with their ends sharpened and overloaded with mana. At the same time, I ducked, keeping myself low against the wagon's roof.

I expected the panther to impale itself on the sharp ends of my spider legs, but the panther twisted in the air and swiped its claws in a smooth motion, easily cutting down my spider legs. Damn those claws!

Luckily for me, swiping its claws at my spider legs meant the panther could no longer strike at me. It flew over my head, only inches away from my crouched position, and landed on the other side of the wagon gracefully, easily keeping pace with the speeding vessel. I swore it had a playful look on its face. This bitch is playing with me.

Fear still dominated my thoughts, but anger was slowly creeping up. I used my rage to keep my fear at bay, but I made sure to keep my mind as clear as I possibly could in this situation. The last thing I wanted was to lose my head and doom myself because of an irrational decision.

The panther was too strong for me to handle directly and it was fast enough to keep up with the speeding wagon. Killing it was out of the question. The best choice I had was to slow it down enough for me to escape.

With a pained grunt, I withdrew more fabric from my wagon and overloaded them all. I could already feel my skin burning from the large amounts of mana I was using in such a short period, but I simply gritted my teeth and formed more spider legs to keep me stable on the moving wagon and more threadtacles to keep the panther at bay.

While I was preparing, the panther didn't make a single move, waiting for what I intended to do with a smug face. The monster's behavior irked me, but I wasn't complaining. I'm taking every advantage I could to escape. You're going to regret this, pussycat.

Once I finished hiding the surprises I had in store in the dozens of threadtacles I just created, I faced the panther and gave it the finger. It didn't know what the gesture meant, but it knew it was an insult. The panther growled, somehow managing to exude disdain.

The panther must have decided that playtime was over and pounced, its fangs bared and claws outstretched. I responded by sending three threadtacles to meet it midair, moving like snakes swimming in the air. The panther swiped at the threadtacles, and I laughed loudly.

The moment its claws rent apart the fabric, the threadtacles suddenly explode into a large net, entangling the massive beast. The panther soared over my head, roaring in indignance as it landed on the ground like a heavy sack of bricks.

“Haha! Take that, you arrogant bastard!”

It only took the panther several seconds to rip apart the threads trapping it, but by then, there were already dozens of meters between us.

Then it roared in anger, a loud noise that seemed to echo throughout the entire forest. For a short moment, it felt like the Wild Woods had gone completely quiet. Then the panther started chasing again, this time with a furious look on its face. Oh shit, did I just anger it further?

In seconds, the panther was starting to catch up with the wagon again, as if the earlier headstart was just an inconvenience. I was afraid that enraging the panther further would make the situation worse, but then I realized the alternative was me becoming cat food. Once that realization took root in my mind, I gladly sent threadtacle after threadtacle at the panther and entangled it again and again in threads, much to the feline monstrosity's anger. This is fun.

I was enjoying it so much that I forgot to limit myself. Soon, I ran out of threadtacles to throw at the angry cat, who was once again catching up.

“This is the last straw, pussycat! Turn back now or you'll regret it!”

The panther only growled back loudly in response to my threat.

“Fine! Don't say I didn't warn you!”

It was time to trigger the surprises I set up earlier. If the panther thought that my plan ended with the nets, then it was dead wrong. There was now a large mess of tangled thread on the panther's back, remnants of the nets it ripped out of for the past few minutes. Hidden within that mess were the surprises I prepared earlier.

When the panther finally entered the range of my mana sense, it was time to enact my final surprise. This is gonna hurt so bad…

With clenched teeth, my will reached out to the dozens of magic circles made of thread hidden within the mess on the panther's back. They were all magic circles for the Force Blast spell.

“Time to go back to whatever hell you came from, you oversized house cat!”

With my corny line delivered, I flooded all the magic circles on the panther's back with thousands of mana, overloading them. I felt my body burn from the intense heat resulting from the torrents of mana exiting my body, but I persevered. The panther realized what was happening and tried to get the threads off its back, but it was too late.

The overloaded magic circles became unstable from the overwhelming mana being channeled into them and exploded violently, large waves of force flying in all directions. Trees, snow, and soil flew everywhere as the shockwave traveled farther than I expected, reaching even the wagon I stood on.

The heavy wagon shook violently from the shockwave, but thankfully we were already far enough from the explosion that we didn't tip over. I could feel the goblins struggling in their bonds inside my wagon, terrified of the loud explosion.

I signaled Clip and Clop to stop running, and when the two tired and terrified horses finally stopped, I deactivated my spider legs and fell off the side of the wagon. I landed painfully on the snow-covered ground, but it didn't register in my mind. I was too busy writhing from the pain from all the burns that probably covered my body.

I wanted to scream, but only groans came out of my mouth. It felt like I was being burned alive, and only the coldness of the ground beneath me mitigating some of my pain helped me stay sane.

For the next few minutes, I lay on the ground, cursing the panther for my predicament. I could feel Clip and Clop acting restless in their harnesses, but I didn't mind them. Even the goblins were struggling frantically in their bindings inside the wagon, probably wondering what happened. Fortunately, I made sure the bindings were extra durable to prevent them from escaping. Good thing too because my consciousness was starting to wane from the pain and fatigue.

Just as the edges of my vision were starting to darken, I heard the crunching of snow and rustling of leaves as something approached from the underbrush. Oh shit, I can't move or use mana right now!

A nearby bush split from the middle and a large, black beast emerged. Oh, fuck me. So that's why the horses and goblins were restless.

Less than two meters away, the panther was staring at me with quiet fury. Its once-glossy black fur was now in tatters. Here and there, patches of burnt fur and skin marred its earlier elegant appearance, and a deeper wound on its side was dripping with blood.

Its yellow eyes filled with rage pierced into my soul and I felt myself freezing up again, just like what happened earlier. The panther seemed to have an ability to paralyze prey with its gaze.

Instead of feeling fear, all I felt this time was resignation and defeat. Looks like this is the end of the line, huh?

I expected myself to be a bit more fearful of dying, but who was I kidding? I literally desired death several times in this life already, and I even got it in my previous life. It'd be really funny if I started crying because of my imminent death. What's scarier is if I reincarnated again after I die a second time. That'd be shitty.

With resignation, I waited for the panther to finish me off. But then it surprised me. The panther looked away from me and eyed the wagon. With a quick swipe from its claws, it rent the backside of my wagon asunder, ripping off the wooden door I installed there and exposing the restrained goblins.

The last thing I saw before I lost consciousness were the goblins trembling in terror as the panther started biting their heads off one by one.

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