Chapter 11: The Choice of a Mage
517 Words
The forest was unusually quiet.
Even the birds seemed to sing more softly.
Echo glanced toward the basket hanging from his shoulder.
"...We've gathered quite a lot today."
Kodie looked inside.
"...Enough for soup."
Echo laughed.
"...You really do think about food all the time."
"...Food is important."
"...Fair enough."
The three continued deeper into the woods.
Without warning...
Dorothy stopped.
She slowly turned around.
"Echo."
"Yes, Ma'am?"
She pointed toward a narrow trail.
"Walk ahead."
Echo blinked.
"...By myself?"
She nodded.
"I'll be right behind you."
"...Trust yourself."
Echo took a deep breath.
"...Alright."
The path became narrower.
Leaves crunched beneath his feet.
The forest grew quieter...
And quieter...
Until...
A faint cry reached his ears.
"...Help..."
Echo froze.
"...Someone's there?"
He followed the voice.
Pushing aside the thick bushes...
He found...
A young hunter.
His leg was trapped beneath a fallen tree.
"...Please..."
"I can't move..."
Echo immediately rushed forward.
"I'll get you out!"
He grabbed the heavy trunk.
"...Hng..."
It barely moved.
His mana instinctively began to flow.
Hum...
The air trembled.
The trunk shook.
But before Echo released his blessing—
"Stop."
Dorothy's calm voice echoed behind him.
Echo looked back.
"...Ma'am?"
"Look again."
"...At what?"
"The whole picture."
Confused...
Echo forced himself to calm down.
He looked around carefully.
The broken branches.
The torn bushes.
The footprints.
Then...
He noticed something.
"...Wait..."
"There aren't any footprints leading here."
The hunter's expression changed.
Echo slowly looked at the fallen tree.
"...And..."
"The trunk isn't crushing your leg."
"...You're holding it yourself."
Silence.
The hunter smiled.
Then...
His appearance dissolved like mist.
The entire scene disappeared.
Echo stood alone.
"...An illusion?"
Dorothy nodded.
"Very well done."
Echo looked confused.
"...You created it?"
"I did."
"...But why?"
Dorothy walked beside him.
"A mage who rushes to save everyone..."
"...May one day walk into a trap."
Echo lowered his head.
"...I didn't even think."
"You thought."
She smiled.
"You simply stopped thinking too early."
Kodie yawned.
"...I knew it was fake."
Echo stared.
"...You did?!"
"...Mm."
"...How?"
"There weren't any birds."
Echo blinked.
"...What?"
"If someone had really been hurt..."
"The birds would've been making noise."
"...Or flying away."
"...It was too quiet."
Echo looked around.
Only now...
Did he realize...
The forest had been completely silent.
"...I missed that."
Dorothy smiled proudly.
"And now..."
"You won't miss it again."
As they walked home...
Echo quietly replayed the lesson in his mind.
Strength alone...
Would never be enough.
A mage needed calm.
Observation.
And patience.
Perhaps...
That was what Dorothy had been teaching all along.
Just before the cottage came into view...
Dorothy suddenly stopped.
"...Hmm."
Echo looked over.
"What is it?"
She pointed toward the chimney.
"...Someone's home."
Echo frowned.
"...We have a visitor?"
Dorothy smiled.
"...It seems so."
Kodie stretched lazily.
"...I hope they brought snacks."
Echo sighed.
"...That's your first thought?"
"...Always."
The three walked toward the cottage...
Completely unaware...
That the visitor waiting inside would quietly begin the next chapter of their journey.
Power can save a life...
But wisdom decides when it should be used.
A true mage learns both.
- Writer
