I Reincarnated as an NPC Witch

Leading Path

“We will go tomorrow.” Catrina looks at them, setting aside her glass tubes. “Should we go through the night rather than tomorrow?” A sweet voice speaks. It was from a girl which has pink hair that fades into a white trim on the edges of her hair. Her hands have these weird rings that are connected. Compared to the other girls, she’s the one who has fewer clothes. She has crop top-looking armor with pants that have some armor parts dotted around. “It’s better. Besides, we are running away from that guy. The night could be our friend.” Catrina grunts and glares at her, “Lavena, remember. We are just from a devastating accident. We should rest before we travel. We don’t want our wary minds hinder our thinking and reflexes.” The pink-haired girl raises her eyebrow, “I am not feeling wary. Instead, I am feeling so energized right now! The small nap after drinking that healing liquid makes me feel so new.” She looks at Abigail, “I believe you're the one who brewed that. Because it will be a surprise if Cat did. Her regeneration has that little kick when consumed. Yours was mild and soothing.”

Abigail was a bit surprised by her sudden involvement in the conversation. “Y-yeah. I brewed that.” She said a little bit nervous. “Anyway, for my introduction, I am Lavena. You must be Crocus.” She nods, “Yes, I am her…” Abigail gulps. Keeana looks at her with concern in her eyes. She holds her shoulder and rubs it to make her calm. She looks back at the rest of them, “As always, Lavena and Catrina have opposing opinions again. What do you guys think?” A boy tucked under a tree with a frayed brown vest and the dark green long-sleeved collared shirt looks at her, “I am okay with anything from those choices. How about you, Winsel?” He looks to his right. Abigail follows his sight and he’s looking at nothing but the landscape. Although, the name rings a bell in her mind. A rough masculine voice speaks, “I am down with both of them as well. But, if the situation is in need of an urgent escape, I will side with Lavena.” Then, another figure appeared next to the man who Abigail believes to be Edsel. Contrary to the features, the man has white hair and a much feminine body. He also wears a frayed vest but a black one with a white long-sleeve collared shirt. Edsel imitates a much happier and lively aura than Winsel which has a much darker tone of vibes.

Keeana looks at Gallant, Wren, and Abigail. “How about you guys? These twins don’t help much with the decision-making.” Gallant looks back at her, he was torn as well. “I don’t know. It’s been just weeks since we are encountering that dark wizard. The dark in its name makes me think night isn’t our friend this time.” Wren snickered, “Dark could refer to his magic and what he’s doing to people. Dark…”

“But, it’s not too far-fetched that one of his dark magic involves taking advantage of the night.” Keeana looks at Abigail, “How about you?” The latter was shocked, “M-me?” Keeana nods, “Yeah, because I am indecisive. Now we have an official tie-breaker.” Abigail gulps, “I have no idea what this dark wizard is.” She looks around nervously, she’s thinking for her next words. She knows who’s the dark wizard is. It was the character that was recently updated in the game to be one of the villains in the continuous and ongoing story that the RPG aspect of the game provides. With little information, she can’t decide well. She took a deep breath, everyone was waiting for her decision. “I think we should trek the night. I am sure there’s some civilization in the way. Catrina sarcastically snickered, “I supposed you haven’t had a walk away from your witch hut.” She shakes her head, “It will take us weeks to even get to the nearest civilization.”

“Don’t exaggerate things, Catrina. It’s not that long to get to the nearest town. Besides, most of us were wounded in the way here which makes things longer than it should be.” Lavena nods, “Everyone is already feeling well now. As long as nobody interferes in the way, we will be safe. The longer we are in this forest, the more dangers will await us around here and even in the outskirts. Although, I got to agree with Catrina about the dark wizard. We need to be careful and alert when we trek our way out of this big and dense landscape. We don’t know yet how powerful this wizard is. The only thing we know is it can harm us.” She fixes the frayed parts of her armor. “We should pack up. Wren and I have hunted enough food to last us for some days or a day.” Keeana glares at Wren who was shocked, “What?” She rolls her eyes, “We shouldn’t be worried. We have some animals to hunt while we are on our way. It’s not that they will suddenly be gone. Besides, I am a big man that has wings to flap. My diet is justifiable.”

Edsel lit up the fire and grabbed the thickest stick in the pile that Gallant collected. The others packed their things for yet another journey they will take. Abigail approached her things earlier. She sighs, “I’ll take the Nightingales later. I am sure there will be some on our way.” She gathered the bottles of ingredients and even return some on their bottles. She draws a vacant handkerchief from her bag and stored them there. She tucked her grimoire in the bag and hangs it on her shoulder, strapping it across her torso. “Mind note: Look for Nightingale flowers. Don’t miss the chance to get some while you’re here.” She took a deep breath and comes back to the rest who are ready for the journey. Edsel and Winsel both have their own torch. “Are you sure you can keep that lit without screwing again?” The latter asked, “Yeah! I am sure I can. This is a large forest, Win. One fire on a tree will wipe this whole place off. Besides, my crystal is already wearied off. Going to a nearby town will help to fix this bad boy up. So, I can’t make a larger fire than this.” Edsel looks at the torch, it has a decent flame that could light up their way. “Just tell me if the moist of the air put out your fire.” He added. His twin nods, “Sure.” Winsel said in a rather unenthusiastic voice. The differences between the two are distinguishable and plenty.

Keeana hops on a nearby tree, climbing to the very top. “Wren, can you see something?” The latter flies up and scouts. “We came from east. So, we will go there. Also, no weird dark clouds, which is good news to bear.” He turns his head to her as she looks at the rest on the ground. “To the east!” She pointed in the direction they need to go. Edsel puts out the fire and they all start walking. Abigail decided to go at the back but she was pushed in the middle by Gallant. She glared at him but he maintained a serious face. “Don’t go in the back. You will be swiped away from us easily. You can’t defend yourself, can you?” She sighs and looks ahead. He’s right, she can’t defend herself yet. Even with evidence of weakness, it just made her more eager to learn about what she can do in this world except for potion brewing.

They started to walk to their destination and away from their camp which they left some evidence that they were there. Wren is flying in the air for ease of scouting and traveling for him. Keeana is hopping through the trees. “Don’t be loud, Keeana!” Catrina shushes her. “Just enjoying the vines and branches of trees here. You wouldn’t experience this in the towns and cities!” She giggled as she swings past them to another tree. Catrina sighs and continues leading them. She occasionally looks up to Wren to follow where he is flying. “You might lose Wren with your carelessness.” Keeana giggles, “I can’t! Besides, even he’s the bird, I have the eyes.”

“Quit now, Keeana’s voice is getting louder every time. It might attract attention to us. The only noises we must make are just our footsteps, Keeana’s loud transfer through trees, and Wren’s flapping.” Keeana looks at Lavena, “I am not that loud. What would you expect with this tree hopping, quiet?” The other just sighs and shuts herself up. Her silence made Keeana a little bit careful with her tree transfers. Abigail looks around for a Nightingale while they are traveling. “They should be glowing at night… It will not be that hard to find them around.” She whispered to herself. “What are you saying to yourself?” She turns her head to Gallant, “None of your business.” She looks away to look at every corner of the trees for the flowers. “Well, until you are in danger, it will be our business. Is that what are you implying?” She looks at him, she was not ready for yet another verbal fight. But, Gallant is getting to her nerves once more. “Well, you can absolutely screw off, mister. I can handle myself. I am not a toddler for you to look after.”

“Well, I will be like a toddler that will be scolded by everyone if I don’t look after you. What are you planning?” She sighs, “I am just looking for something, okay? Just stop bothering me and mind your own business. If I am a bit far from you, I will find you easily. Just shut your annoying mouth.” She walks faster than him to create a distance between them. She continued to look around for the flower she’s finding. She turns her head to her left, her eyes widen both in shock and amusement. In the distance, she can see something glow. It was blue in color. She immediately started walking up to it but a hand stopped her from continuing.

“Where are you going?” It was Gallant, again. She grunts and pushes his hand aside, “This is important, okay? Just let me do this. You could follow the others, I don’t want you to be lost.” He groans, “Say what are you going to do then.” She sighs, “I am finding this flower for so long. I need it as a catalyst of some sort. I already ran out of it, so I need more.” “Let her, Gallant. I am sure she could find us easily. Keeana’s noises and the torch the twins are holding could lead her to us.” Lavena looks at Abigail, “Be quick. We are walking rather at a fast pace. Just pluck the flower and run to us.” She nods at them, “It will just be quick.” She gave Gallant a glare and a smirk as she trots towards the flower. The warrior just sighs in defeat.

 She approached the flower. Without the skylight shining upon the area, its glow dominates the darkness around it. “The Nightingale Bluebell…” Abigail muttered to herself, “You are so beautiful.” It’s tucked on a tree. “They aren’t kidding when they said these glow in the night.” She looks at her back and saw the light from the torch fades out of her sight. “Oh right, quick. Stop looking at the flower, Abby.” She shakes her head as she kneels in front of the flower. “I just need to pluck it carefully…” She holds to the flower and pulls it out of its roots gently, even pulling the roots as she goes along with it. “Careful… Careful—”

“I spy a witch, not just a witch… The floral witch.” She was frozen, she can feel breathing in her neck. Her spine shivers and the hair on body stands. “Nice to meet you.”