Awakening in the Forest
The forest was unfamiliar.
She looked around silently for a while.
The trees she had never seen lined up.
When the wind blew, a strange scent of grass filled the air.
It didn't seem like a dream.
She looked down at her hand.
It was white and slender.
She pulled her hair forward.
It was snow white.
She touched her ears.
They were pointed.
“...... It's real.”
She thought for a moment.
“Status window?”
Name: Minjun99 / Lv. 1 EXP 94%
HP: 600 / 600
MP: 853 / 2,100
Race: Elf
Effects:
● Mana Resonance
○ Float
Traits:
● Mana Resonance
● Mana Purification
● Calmness
● Float
● Fast Growth
● Coldness
“It's real.”
She decided to find the village first.
Everything around was trees.
Instead of searching on foot, it seemed faster to look from above.
Float
Her body began to slowly float up.
MP 766 / 2,100
MP 678 / 2,100
MP 591 / 2,100
“......”
MP decreased rapidly.
In just a few seconds, the branches went below eye level.
MP 504 / 2,100
MP 416 / 2,100
MP 329 / 2,100
MP 242 / 2,100
MP 154 / 2,100
Float deactivated
She landed on the tree branch and immediately deactivated Float.
She started looking around.
Nothing but trees.
While changing direction and searching, she saw faintly rising smoke in the distance.
“That way should be fine.”
She confirmed the direction and looked down below the tree.
“......”
It was higher than she thought.
She probably couldn't just go down.
She tried to use Float again, but a number on the status window caught her eye.
MP 117 / 2,100
“......”
Considering how much she had used to go up, it was ridiculously insufficient.
Even so, the number kept decreasing.
MP 110 / 2,100
MP 102 / 2,100
MP 95 / 2,100
⋮
“Why is it decreasing.”
“Status window?”
Name: Minjun99 / Lv. 1 EXP 99%
HP: 600 / 600
MP: 88 / 2,100
Race: Elf
Effects:
● Mana Resonance
○ Float
Traits:
● Mana Resonance
● Mana Purification
● Calmness
● Float
● Fast Growth
● Coldness
“Ah.”
She glanced at the status window for a moment and checked the toggle next to Mana Resonance.
Mana Resonance deactivated
MP 83 / 2,100
MP 86 / 2,100
MP 89 / 2,100
The decreasing mana began to rise slightly in the opposite direction.
She sat down on the branch.
It seemed she would have to wait a while to go down.
10 minutes later.
MP 1,970 / 2,100
This seemed sufficient.
She stood up from her spot.
Float
She slowly descended from the tree.
A short while later.
Her feet touched the ground.
Float deactivated
She started walking in the direction where the smoke had been earlier.
How far had she walked?
She checked the status window.
“Status window?”
Name: Minjun99 / Lv. 1 EXP 99%
HP: 600 / 600
MP: 2,100 / 2,100
Race: Elf
Effects:
● Mana Resonance
○ Float
Traits:
● Mana Resonance
● Mana Purification
● Calmness
● Float
● Fast Growth
● Coldness
A few seconds later.
[Level up!]
“Oh.”
“Status window?”
Name: Minjun99 / Lv. 2 EXP 0%
HP: 600 / 600
MP: 2,078 / 2,100
Race: Elf
Effects:
● Mana Resonance
○ Float
Traits:
● Mana Resonance
● Mana Purification
● Calmness
● Float
● Fast Growth
● Coldness
Remaining Stat Points: 3
Nothing to think about.
Mana 19 (+3)
Remaining stat points 0
Max mana increased.
MP 2,049 / 2,400
“Got it.”
She closed the status window.
She started walking again.
'Rustle—'
She stopped in her tracks.
Something moved in the bushes on the right.
A short while later, a small figure appeared.
Green skin.
An old knife in its hand.
Then two more came out.
“Goblins?”
Similar to what she had seen in the game.
She thought about her own status for a moment.
No weapons.
No traits suitable for combat.
Strength was only 1.
“......”
The goblins looked at her.
No one moved for a moment.
One goblin scanned her up and down.
Long ears.
Snow white hair.
And.
“......”
The goblin's expression hardened.
He stepped back.
The one next to him followed.
“?”
The next moment.
The three turned at the same time.
And ran into the forest in an instant.
“......”
She stared at that direction for a moment.
She didn't know why, but it was a good thing.
She walked again.
How far?
The dense trees started to get a bit wider.
Footprints of people appeared occasionally on the ground.
In that time, she leveled up by 3 levels.
A bit more walking, and the forest ended.
“Oh.”
The village was visible in the distance.
No high walls.
A fence surrounding the village and roofs rising beyond.
The smoke she saw earlier was rising from there.
“Perfect, I came the right way.”
She walked towards the village.
At the village entrance, two people were standing.
Men in leather armor holding spears.
They looked like guards.
One of them spotted her.
“......?”
At first, he looked without thinking.
Then the ears of the approaching person caught his eye.
Long and pointed.
Elf.
That was not strange up to this point.
The problem was the next.
Snow white hair.
The guard's expression hardened a bit.
The guard next to him saw and asked.
“Why?”
No answer.
He also spotted the approaching elf.
“......”
Their gazes naturally fixed on her.
She saw the two and slowed her steps a bit.
“What?”
Was she at the wrong entrance?
But no other entrance was visible.
She just kept walking.
As she got closer, the expressions of the two guards became strangely hardened.
She stopped in front of them.
“Can I enter?”
“......”
One guard opened his mouth belatedly.
“Eh?”
“The village.”
“Ah.”
He hurriedly stepped aside.
“Yes. Of course.”
“Thank you.”
She passed between the two without saying anything.
The two guards didn't say a word.
Only after she was far enough did one speak softly.
“... Did you see?”
“Yeah, I saw.”
“......”
They stared at the elf disappearing into the village.
She was looking for the inn.
She had arrived at the village, but had nowhere to go immediately.
She only knew about this world from what she saw in the game.
First, it seemed better to find a place to stay.
The problem was.
“Where is it?”
She couldn't tell which building was the inn.
Every sign had unfamiliar characters.
***
“An elf has come, they say.”
“Elves come sometimes, you know.”
“But they said her hair is snow white.”
The merchant displaying fruits stopped his hand.
“What about that.”
“Have you seen a white-haired elf?”
“......”
No.
The merchant thought for a moment.
“There are such elves too, I guess.”
“Is that so.”
They fell silent for a moment.
“So where did she go?”
“She came into the village.”
A bit away.
The man who was cutting meat lifted his head.
“What came in?”
“An elf.”
“Why?”
“She said her hair is white.”
The knife stopped.
“Is it an old one?”
“...... An elf?”
***
Around that time.
The subject of the rumor was still looking for the inn.
“......”
She didn't know how many alleys it was.
The village didn't look that big.
She looked back at the way she came.
It was somewhere familiar.
“Here, I passed by earlier.”
At that moment.
She met eyes with the man on the opposite side of the road.
“......”
The man's eyes lingered on her hair for a moment.
And then to her ears.
“......”
She looked at him.
It was perfect timing.
“Excuse me.”
The man's back straightened.
“Yes.”
“Where is the inn?”
“...... You mean the inn?”
“Yes.”
The man hesitated for a moment, then pointed to one side of the street.
“If you go straight that way, you'll see a large sign. That's the building.”
She looked that way.
She couldn't read the letters, but she could probably find the sign.
“Thank you.”
She bowed slightly and passed.
The man watched her back.
She walked in the direction he told her.
Before long, she saw a building with a large sign.
In front of the door, a carriage was parked, and faint voices of people could be heard from inside.
“That must be it.”
She opened the door and entered.
'Clang—'
It was wider than she thought.
On one side, several tables were placed, and some people were sitting and eating.
At the front, there was a long counter.
'Creak—'
The door closed.
“......”
The voices that were heard until a moment ago noticeably decreased.
She looked around.
“Is this the inn?”
The people's gazes turned towards this way one by one.
She didn't pay much attention and walked to the counter.
The owner, who was wiping a glass behind the counter, looked at her.
His gaze lingered on her ears for a moment, then went up to her hair.
“...... Welcome.”
“Do you have a room?”
“Yes. We do.”
The owner hesitated for a moment and took out his ledger.
“What is your name?”
“Your name?”
“Yes.”
“......”
She thought for a moment.
Kim Minjun.
It was a bit strange to say it in this appearance.
But.
Minjun99.
That was even stranger.
“Min.”
She took only the first part.
“Min...... sir.”
“Yes.”
The owner wrote the name in the ledger.
Min.
“How long do you plan to stay?”
“At least a day.”
“I see.”
“How much is it?”
“25 copper coins.”
“......”
She stood still for a moment.
She had no money.
“I'll come back later.”
“Eh?”
She turned her body as is.
'Clang—'
The door closed.
“......”
The owner stared at the closed door for a while.
“Status window?”
Name: Minjun99 / Lv. 5 EXP 83%
HP: 600 / 600
MP: 1,842 / 3,300
Race: Elf
Effects:
● Mana Resonance
○ Float
Traits:
● Mana Resonance
● Mana Purification
● Calmness
● Float
● Fast Growth
● Coldness