GalaxyTL
* * *
A pale blue fog enveloped the entire area.
Emerging sporadically from the fog were large trees with gray bark, likely very old.
All of them stretched towards the sky, but their exact heights were obscured by the fog.
Looking down at the ground, springs of water bubbled up here and there, surrounded by clusters of white flowers resembling skunk cabbage at the edges of the beautifully mirror-like ponds.
In this landscape, which was fantastical and could be considered sacred and inviolable, and which might inspire fear in some, a girl was making her way.
Black hair, black eyes, and pale skin despite it being summer.
She was dressed in dirty black clothes made from the fur of a grim reaper wolf, and notably, she wore no shoes despite being in the mountains.
Her dirty yet beautiful features, combined with her expressionless demeanor, made her appear almost like a meticulously crafted doll.
Her name was Emi.
A 6-year-old girl who had set out from her deceased master’s hermitage, wandering aimlessly.
Grrr…
“…………”
In the midst of the fog, where neither bird nor beast made a sound, only Emi’s stomach was loudly voicing its complaint.
Emi involuntarily held her stomach and stopped.
She had wandered into this strange fog three days ago.
During that time, aside from water, Emi had barely consumed anything.
After all, strangely enough, there were no living creatures in this fog, except for a few sparse plants.
No birds. No beasts. Not even insects.
While this girl, Emi, would not hesitate to eat bugs or whatever else she could put in her mouth, if there were no prey to be found, there was nothing she could do.
The dried meat she had carried was long gone.
Even so, she never touched the white flowers resembling skunk cabbage that grew around the springs.
The name of those flowers was Sereu. They are highly poisonous. Do not eat them.
A voice only Emi could hear had taught her that.
Perhaps, with her current body’s improved resistance to poison, eating the Sereu flowers might not have killed her… but neither Emi nor the voice had realized this.
Now, after standing still and holding her stomach for a while, Emi got down on all fours like an animal, drank from the spring to fill her belly with water, and then started walking again.
She had to get out of this fog quickly.
Pouring magical power into her limp limbs to forcefully move forward, she staggered on, somehow managing to muster the strength to keep walking.
* * *
How much time had passed since then?
Emi’s black eyes, reflecting the unchanging foggy landscape, caught sight of something unusual.
It was a narrow path made of cobblestones.
Despite being in a mountainous area usually untouched by humans, the path clearly made by human hands cut across Emi’s view, extending through the fog far into the distance.
“…………”
Emi decided to follow the path.
Perhaps, at the end of this road, there might be people living.
She might be able to share some food.
If they were to chase her away, calling her a child of curses with her black hair and black eyes, she was prepared to kill them all if necessary to take their food.
Such a dangerous thought surfaced, showing how desperate she had become.
After walking on the stone pavement for several minutes, making pat-pat sounds, Emi arrived at the end of the road much sooner than she expected.
Unfortunately, this road did not lead to a human dwelling.
What was there could undoubtedly be considered an altar, a majestic stone stage.
Only around it had the pale blue fog cleared, and warm light from the sky shone down.
The springs surrounding the altar caught this light, sparkling beautifully.
And then…
Emi’s eyes were fixed on what sat atop the altar.
It was a beautiful, large snake.
Its scales, gleaming under the sunlight, were pure white.
Thicker than a man could embrace and incredibly long.
This enormous snake, coiled up on the altar, appeared to be sleeping comfortably.
Its overwhelming presence.
With the surrounding atmosphere, it was a snake that could indeed be described with words like majestic and sacred.
However, Emi,
The girl on her journey, gripped by hunger.
She paid no heed to such sacredness.
Didn’t care in the slightest.
Completely unconcerned.
In this girl’s eyes, the beautiful, large snake was nothing more than a massive lump of meat, ripe for the eating.
Emi instantly filled her body with magical power, readying herself for combat.
Given her age, her magical power was abnormally high, though it had significantly decreased over the three days of fasting.
If she failed in this hunt, there would be no second chance.
Emi, who had been staggering along just moments before, now stood firm on the ground and in the next moment, she leapt high into the air.
【Grasshopper】.
A technique that allowed for superhuman leaps, taught to her by her now-deceased master.
She planned to surprise the snake from its blind spot in the air and sever its head with a single strike.
Using her master’s hunting method, Emi challenged the giant snake.
However, this giant snake was not an easy prey.
Suddenly, it opened its red eyes, raised its head, and glared at the black-haired, black-eyed girl descending from above.
Emi realized she was in trouble when the snake’s tail sent her small body flying.
“……Gah……”
Emi flew several meters before crashing into a large tree, which creaked and fell over. Thanks to her magical enhancement and the conversion of the impact into magical power, albeit crudely done, she was saved from further damage.
She had no broken bones, nor did she have any cuts on her white skin.
…But the damage was significant.
As she coughed and lifted her head, she saw the giant snake charging towards her.
The red eyes of the snake twisted in pleasure, toying and cornering its prey.
The roles of hunter and hunted had reversed.
“!!”
Emi, bouncing back to her feet, tore up the ground and hurled clumps of dirt at the snake.
These were not mere clumps of dirt but pebbles hardened by magical power, far more solid than any small stone.
Sensing that being hit by them would not end well, the snake skillfully dodged the projectiles as it closed in on Emi.
Now, only a few meters away, it was a distance the snake could cover in a mere instant.
The end seemed certain.
Opening its wide mouth to swallow its prey whole, the snake lunged at Emi.
…But.
A question flickered through the snake’s mind.
Why wasn’t this girl trying to dodge?
Not attempting to flee?
Why was she so boldly waiting for it?
Considering the girl’s previous movements, she could have easily leapt away to escape.
Yet, she did not flee.
Continuing to throw pebbles that wouldn’t hit…
A waste?
Was it not a waste after all?
As if.
As if it itself was.
Could it be, this girl had.
Used herself as bait.
Guided its path with the pebbles.
…Lured it in, all the way here?
The wise snake had quickly come to this realization, but it was too late.
Its massive body was already in mid-lunge towards the girl, its trajectory unchangeable.
And then.
Just about a meter before its wide mouth could swallow the girl whole, it touched something invisible, like a thread, vertically emerging from the ground.
It was split in two, right down the middle.
The snake’s life was extinguished the moment its head was split, but the momentum of its charge did not stop until about half of its body was divided into two, finally ceasing to move.
Emi, who had barely leaped away to avoid the charge, clung to a nearby large tree, silently observing the scene.
Only after confirming that the convulsions of the snake had stopped and it was indeed dead, did Emi noiselessly drop to the ground and slowly approach the corpse.
…Had she been an adventurer, she would have undoubtedly been delighted to strip the snake of its scales and fangs.
Such a trophy.
The amount of magical power contained in the materials was immeasurable, and one could only imagine how many magical tools, weapons, and medicines could be made from it.
Selling them to the right place would undoubtedly yield a great fortune.
However, she was not an adventurer.
She was just a hungry girl.
Without wiping away the drool flowing down, she staggered toward the corpse of the snake, her eyes fixed on the pale peach-colored flesh of the giant snake. That was all she saw.
Emi bit into the raw flesh of the snake, utterly engrossed in it. The meat, which should have been too tough for ordinary people to tear with their teeth, was easily ripped apart by her enhanced jaws, chewed, and swallowed with a tearing sound.
The toxicity that the raw meat of the snake should have carried was of no consequence to her stomach, which was not only enhanced but also possessed a resistance to poison. All of it was converted into nutrients, and any excess energy was transformed into magical power.
But that was not all.
The long-lived snake’s flesh itself contained a large amount of magical power.
The magical power created by her body, along with the magical power originally contained in the snake’s meat, continued to accumulate within her.
This accumulated magical power induced a transformation in her body, making it more robust and allowing for even more magical power to accumulate…
In the end, Emi consumed all of the snake’s meat over three days.
During this time, the changes that occurred within her body were largely as described above.
Eating led to becoming stronger.
This type of enhancement is a common phenomenon in Ardyst, a world where magical power exists and can occur in any creature.
However, the changes induced by this phenomenon are usually minimal.
But in this case, the snake’s meat, which contained an unusually high amount of magical power, significantly enhanced Emi’s body.
This was, in fact, the second time she had experienced such a substantial enhancement.
The first time was when she ate a large owl she had hunted in the Naso Forest, which used to be her base. …However, Emi was completely unaware of her body becoming stronger and the power she possessed. She didn’t realize her physical abilities had significantly improved or that her total magical power had substantially increased. She simply thought, “I’m feeling better because my hunger has been satisfied.”
In any case.
After completely consuming the giant snake, Emi left the altar and resumed her aimless journey. By the time she departed, the oppressive pale blue fog that had covered the area had completely cleared, and the hot summer sun shone through the gaps in the leaves, brightly illuminating the surroundings.
Indeed, the sunlight feels good! It lifts the spirits!
Despite having nearly died of hunger just a short while ago, Emi chuckled inwardly at her internal companion, who had already returned to her usual carefree demeanor, and started walking with a light step.
As she moved away from the altar, the sounds of living creatures gradually began to fill the air.
From afar, the cries of Myogomyogoshugo could be heard.
The presence of life stirring amidst the fresh greenery.
The malice of monsters directed at her.
Feeling nostalgic for these sensations she had not felt in a while, Emi continued on and on, down a pathless path.