Chapter 54: Surviving in (TBD: Missing Context)

I opened my eyes in a dense forest, cautiously surveying my surroundings.

Where…

The area around me was teeming with plants I’d never seen in the Empire.

Towering trees.

Surrounded by unfamiliar flora, this place felt strangely familiar.

Because it was one of the locations featured in the comic.

“W-Where are we…?”

Elena, belatedly grasping the situation, looked around with a bewildered expression.

Instead of answering, I pointed uphill.

Following my hand, Elena gasped at what she saw.

“The World Tree?”

Beyond the high hill stood a sacred tree of immense size, supporting the world.

The World Tree.

“Then, is this the Lunaria Forest?”

Seeing the World Tree, Elena seemed to think this place was Lunaria, the elven nation.

Since the only known World Tree was in Lunaria, it was natural for Elena to think that way.

But this wasn’t Lunaria.

“No, I don’t think so. Look at that tree over there.”

“That’s…. a Sunril Tree, isn’t it? Oh? Then this isn’t the East…?”

Brightly colored trees with unique patterns.

Sunril Trees were planted abundantly here.

Lunaria, the elven nation, was located in the warm eastern climate.

But the presence of Sunril Trees, known to grow only in the western part of the continent, proved that this place wasn’t Lunaria.

Then where was this, and what was this World Tree?

The answer was simple.

This was another World Tree that existed in this world.

Karditir.

People thought there was only one World Tree in Lunaria, but there were actually three.

Legit, located in the frozen lands of the far north.

Eldrian, in Lunaria, the elven nation.

And lastly, Karditir, located in the high mountains called the Dragon’s Nest.

There were three World Trees in the world.

But this place wasn’t Lunaria.

And definitely not the far north.

Then there was only one possibility.

This was Alkelion, the heart of the Dragon’s Nest.

Leaving Elena, who still looked bewildered, I examined the surroundings.

An ordinary forest.

Although the surrounding plants were all unfamiliar.

There was nothing particularly special about it.

But there was one peculiar thing.

‘…It’s completely silent.’

No matter how hard I listened, I couldn’t hear any sounds that should be there.

The chirping of insects.

The singing of birds.

The usual cacophony of nature that should fill a forest was absent.

And that proved this was indeed Alkelion.

Dragons lived here.

Small creatures that couldn’t withstand their presence wouldn’t be able to come near.

“What should we do now?”

Elena, who was staring blankly at the World Tree, asked me.

“Well….”

At her question, I recalled the events of the comic.

Lumine teleported the entire Class E to Alkelion under the pretense of testing the students.

And she left them here for three days.

So we had to.

“Find a place to rest first.”

We needed to secure shelter for the next three days.

If it rained, we would be in trouble.

“The professors will come rescue us, so let’s hold on until then.”

“Alright. Then we need to find a suitable place first.”

Elena grasped the situation relatively quickly and started thinking about solutions.

But then she tilted her head.

“But where should we go? Hehe.”

Chuckling at Elena’s awkward laugh, I walked ahead of her and said.

“Just follow me. Let’s look around.”

I led Elena deeper into the forest.

After walking for a while, we found a long river.

Looking at the clear water, free of impurities, we finally felt a little relieved.

Securing water was the most important thing in this situation.

It was one of the most essential requirements for survival.

Since it was clean, unpolluted water, it should be safe to drink.

Of course, we should purify or boil it just in case.

But I felt it would be fine to drink it as is.

“Shall we rest here for today?”

The sun was already setting.

Fortunately, the weather wasn’t too bad.

So it would be alright to stay outside for one night.

“Wouldn’t it be dangerous? Monsters might appear.”

But Elena, who had never slept in a forest like this before, seemed quite worried.

However, there was no need to worry about encountering monsters.

Even though Lumine was the type to act recklessly for her own amusement.

She wouldn’t give us trials that would lead to our deaths.

It would be more like a ‘suffer a little’ kind of thing.

So there were no predators dangerous enough to threaten us here.

She would have cleared the surroundings beforehand when setting up the stage.

There would be at most a few beast-type monsters.

“It’s alright. There won’t be any monsters near the World Tree.”

Moreover, the World Tree was emitting a bright light nearby, illuminating the surroundings.

Unholy beings wouldn’t dare approach this area.

There was no need to worry.

Leading Elena, who seemed a little relieved, to the riverside, I gathered the dry branches scattered around and piled them up.

Seeing what I was doing, Elena started gathering branches as well.

Looking at the pile of branches, I took out the Orb of Dreams.

I needed to start a fire.

Perhaps because the sun was setting, the temperature dropped considerably.

If we fell asleep like this, we would definitely be in bad shape tomorrow.

I leveled the ground and piled the branches on top, creating a decent-looking structure.

Then, I channeled my mana, concentrated the electricity into a single point, and released it.

Whoosh

A small flame ignited the branches, and they quickly began to blaze.

A bonfire was created in an instant.

Elena, who watched the entire process, widened her eyes in surprise.

“Louis, what was that just now…? Electricity came out of your sword….”

“Ah, this? My mana attribute is lightning.”

“…Lightning?”

Why was she like this?

I was puzzled by Elena’s sudden contemplative look.

But I decided not to think too much about it and settled down by the bonfire.

I gestured to Elena, who was still standing blankly, and said.

“Why don’t you come warm yourself by the fire?”

The area around the bonfire was quite warm.

Enough to block the chilly wind blowing through the forest.

Elena hesitated for a moment at my words.

Then she cautiously sat down next to me.

“……?”

I didn’t mean for her to sit right next to me.

Feeling awkward with our shoulders touching, I poked at the bonfire.

The bonfire crackled.

And the gentle sound of the flowing stream tickled my ears.

“…….”

“…….”

A brief, awkward silence followed.

After a while, Elena spoke.

“Louis, you seem to know a lot about this kind of situation. Finding water, starting a fire so quickly.”

Elena, staring blankly at the burning flames, suddenly spoke.

To her, who had never experienced a situation like this, it all seemed unfamiliar and intriguing.

“Adventure was my dream.”

“…Adventure?”

Elena turned to look at me, as if she’d heard something unexpected.

“My dream is to travel the world and have adventures after graduating from the academy.”

“…That’s cool. It suits you, Louis.”

Elena’s eyes shone quietly as she listened to my words.

Come to think of it, this was the first time I’d told anyone about my goal.

“It sounds fun. I love that kind of thing too. Stories about adventurers traveling the world.”

Elena, excitedly, began to explain how much she loved adventures.

She, who had always been sheltered by her family, seemed to harbor a certain romantic fantasy.

Elena’s chattering voice vaguely reached my ears as I stared blankly at the bonfire.

The sound created a pleasant melody, calming my mind.

My eyes slowly started to close.

It would be good to rest, considering tomorrow.

Just as I was about to close my eyes, not resisting the drowsiness.

“Roar!!!”

“!!!”

We sprang up at the loud roar that echoed through the heavens.

And then we saw a giant shadow looking down at us under the moonlight.

A brown creature with its arms raised high.

A wild bear had appeared.