Battle Mage

Chapter 5: An Archer, Two Swordsmen, A Warrior, and A Mage

It wasn't later that Lara, heard a surging water. Moving her way, she found a river. The water is pure, clear and sparkling as it surging down the stream. The trees in the banks, and radiated light from the sunlight glisten surrounding making the view a picturesque.

Seeing this view, Lara paused and vigilantly looked at the surrounding. After realizing that she is in a magical world, and from the stories she read, most of beautiful sceneries hide danger. As it sometimes beauty is laced with poison.

Setting down with her bundle meters away from the river, she picked a stone nearby and throw it to the calm water. With a splash the stone falls, then silence. It seems that there wasn't anything dangerous living in the water.

With ease, Lara bend to the water and look at her dreary appearance. Her clothes could barely cover her because most of its part are burned. Her hair sapped and tangled. The scratches from the earlier fight already healed.

"Who would have thoughy that my transmigration would ended me looking like a beggar." Lara remarked after seeing the image reflected in the surface of water. She smiled at herself.

Bending down, she washed herself and the red fruits. She also took care of the snake corpse using a sharp edge stone. As a guardian beast, its skin might fetch a good price if she made it to a human settlement or village to sell.

As for the meat, she throw some to the wild, and saw a small animal feasting on it, and it seems fine. Lara roasted the remaining and eat it.

When the meat enter her stomach, Lara somehow felt an energy rushing to every corner of her body. First it was surging and somehow it became docile to circulate on her body and nourish every part of her. She felt she gotten more strenght. Noting this Lara eat the meat one after another, it seems it give her a good boost.

Her injury also healed faster after eating. She noted that it seems the energy helps her body regenerate faster.

Feeling satiated and full of energy, and seems that its midday, Lara made a pouch out of largest leaves for water.

It may take awhile to get out of the forest so she need to prepare a little. Her gains wrapped snd tied with leaves and vines she found, Lara continued her journey out of the forest.

Since she's full, she didn't stop. She still practice cautiousness and evade the location if she felt that there is a being there. It wasn't until the sky darkens that she stopped, and looked for a safe place to spend the night.

The forest is so massive that she traveled almost 200 kilometers away from the river running still she haven't found the outer ridge of the forest.

She found a cave. Cleaned it a little leaving some animal droppings left by the animal that dwells on this cave, this could veer away some animals who will stray to her place.

She also hunted a small animal, thanks to her strength she captured it easily. She also found dry woods and branches nearby. She smashed some trees, and covered the entrance of the cave leaving a small outlet enough for her to make an escape if an unexpected situation arises.

Nodding her head as she finished her work, she entered the cave and started the fire.

Camping was easy for her. The company she worked for, sometimes held a camping activity for its employees, there, she learned the essentials for camping, so she knew how to lit a fire using dried woods.

Settling inside the cave, roasting the prey in the fire and eat it, Lara finally had the time to examine the red fruit.

It is small, enough for one bite. It smell good, so good to stimulate herself to take a bite, still she control her eager self for this.

"It looks like a red cherry but much bigger than it. I wonder what effects is?" Lara muttered.

Pinching a small piece of the fruit, Lara took it to her mouth. Upon entering a burst of pure energy flooded in her body giving her warmth and comfort. She felt like she soaked in a warm water, easing her fatique and calming her nerves. Lara was astonished, such intense and pure energy in just a small piece, she wondered what would it be like if she taken the whole fruit.

Without hesitation she taken it into her mouth. The burst of pure energy rushed wildly in her body making her felt pain and comfort at the same time. Closing her eyes trying to feel the energy, she was stunned as her consciousness was able to guide the energy and calmly set it down.

Seeing this, she calmly guided the energy to circulate in her body, a portion of the energy remain to the part it passed and seem to nourish the flesh and bones making that section stronger as well as resilient.

As the energy circulate and nurtured every part of her body she felt that there is a film being broken. Her consciousness becoming acute, and her strength rising doubled. She knew she move to a direction unknown to her but it made her drunk from the feeling of gaining power.

She is ignorant of the system of this world. Now she got an inkling of that, people in this world must cultivate this energy to become stronger. This magical world must be like those novels where strength matters and survival of the fittest is the rule. So to face the unknown world she must become stronger herself, only this way she could protect herself. Unbeknownest to her, the people in this world do cultivate, but with a specific kind of energy, known as the elements.

People of this world born with a specific attribute and cultivate it to walk the path of a mage or a warrior. And this two profession is divided to more paths.

Lara continue to cultivate, unknowingly time passed, and when she open her eyes, letting out a turbid breath, it is already morning.

Leaving the cave, she continued her journey. She stopped when there is a water source and do a quick refill and continued. Seemingly she covered more than hundred miles, when she finally made to a clearing, and there are traces of someone camped there for night. With the embers still warm, Lara look at the traces, and with certainty she walked to the direction the group took.

Lara needed to meet this group, whether their characters good or bad, she doesn't care. What matters to her is to get information to understand the world.

It didn't take awhile for her to trace them for she felt a vibration, like two strong force colliding with one another. The enrage roar of the beast lingers in the air and a bloody scent, Lara ascertain that the group is fighting a beast.

She cautiously made her way, up ahead she saw two women and three men fighting a three meter tall leopard.

Hiding her existence meters away from the fight, she observe the group.

The group composed of a female archer, two swordsmen, a female mage, and a warrior with axe as a weapon.

The group collaborate with each other well. The two swordsmen attack the front, the warrior with an axe to the back, the archer would attack for distraction and the mage let out an ice spell to slowed the beast movement. Their tacit cooperation shows their experience and camaraderie they had with each other.

The leopard is enraged and furious. It would let out a wind blade and its speed is fast but because of the ice magic, it slowed considerably. It didn't take long for it to accumulate wounds on its body. As the battle continues, sensing that its losing, the leopard made a dashed to the side creating a distance to the group and made a run. It wants to escape.

Seeing the leopards movement, the group reacted quickly, the axe man struck down its axe with might that could crush anything, the two swordsman one went to the front to intercept, the other made a s***h that want to split the leopard apart. The archer let out series of arrows, sharp enough to penetrate even the toughest steel. And the mage cast a higher level of ice spell. They give their all to slay the leopard.

Lara watched as everything unfolded. She was stunned surprised and excited. She got it right. She really did transmigrate in a world of magic. Mage, swordsman, archer, warrior, this are profession one can only meet in video games, or fantasy genre novels or movies.

The leopard fought bravely still it couldn't match the ability of the group. As it struggle it let out roar full of unwillingness before weakly slumping to the ground with a crash. A few moments its eyes dull and breath its last.

Seeing this, admiration flashed in Lara's eyes. Eventhough this world may be full of dangers and perils, it doesn't dampen her spirit of adventure. She is now looking forward for what this world wonders offer.