That day, in a dark, cramped cellar that eerily resembled a grave, a lone girl awoke.
Ba-dum.
Her stopped heart sprang to life.
Her congealed blood began to circulate again; her lungs sought oxygen.
When she inhaled with a wheeze, a massive cloud of dust flew into her mouth.
“Hack, cough, cough, gack.”
Can’t…breathe… Air, fresh air…
Her head pounded from the lack of oxygen, and the first thing she noticed was how painful it was to breathe.
“Ventilate.”
Between her parched throat and stinging lips and tongue, she couldn’t manage to speak, but as long as she knew the incantation by heart, she could still cast the spell silently. Slowly but surely, the dust and stagnant air in the room were replaced with lifestyle magic, and she could finally breathe normally again.
Now, how did I end up here again…?
The girl pondered, her mind still foggy from the lack of oxygen. Although she wanted to scope out her surroundings, her eyes refused to focus, and she could only faintly feel the light shining through the ceiling from the back of the room.
It seemed she’d been asleep for a very long time. Her stiffened joints screamed in pain as she tried to get up, making awful cracking noises with her every movement. She managed to sit upright, her face contorting in pain from a splitting headache as she cupped her weakened hands together in the shape of a bowl.
“Drops of Life.”
Droplets of water glowing white filled the palms of her hands. The portion that spilled through the gaps in her fingers ran along her arms and dripped from her elbows, but it dissolved into thin air before it could wet her clothes. This was Drops of Life, an earthly blessing sourced from the soil’s ley lines.
Although most of it had already spilled from her hands, when she brought the rest to her lips, it proceeded to spread throughout her withered body. The water moistened her cracked throat, lubricated her joints, boosted her circulation, and made her headache melt away. Every cell in her body was invigorated. Had any onlookers been present, they surely would have gawked at this miracle liquid.
Only the alchemists with alchemic skills could use Drops of Life, and it was thanks to this liquid that the girl, Mariela, at last remembered why she was here.
“The Stampede.”
✦ ✦ ✦
The Kingdom of Endalsia, where Mariela lived, was a small country bordered by the Fell Forest and a steep mountain range. The kingdom had to be wary of the monsters that lived in the forest, but the mountain range acted as a natural fortification that both protected the kingdom’s people and provided an abundance of minerals. Endalsia was small, and there wasn’t much space for cultivation, but the land blessed the people with an abundance of bountiful harvests.
The multitude of blessings more than made up for the danger of the monsters in the forest, and Endalsia prospered as a small but powerful nation.
People from all walks of life gathered here, from the lowest-ranking nobleman looking to make a name for himself, or even a penniless villager, all the way to the most experienced adventurers and the merchants who served them all. The kingdom was always in need of adventurers to cull the monsters in the Fell Forest, and it was rich enough to provide for them.
Those who struggled to make ends meet were told to go to Endalsia.
In the blink of an eye, it had become a nation consisting of two main groups: the subjects who coveted the peace and tranquility found within its walls and the adventurers who battled the monsters near the forest.
Although some might call them adventurers, they were essentially just refugees who lacked adequate support. Many perished without ever managing to escape their day-to-day struggles, but some stubborn few were able to rise among the ranks and build themselves a small fortune. A vibrant food culture blossomed within Endalsia thanks to the earth’s bounty and the region’s multicultural cuisine, while the improvements in armor smithing developed to combat monsters were further boosted by the rare materials found in the Fell Forest. The marketplace was bursting with a wide variety of goods, and along the wall’s exterior were bars, gambling parlors, and bordellos that served adventurers who were just passing through. At some point this region became known as the Citadel City. The place was full of people and goods and was brimming with enthusiasm and ripe opportunities.
Mariela was an orphan within the Citadel City.
She had no recollection of her parents. As with most orphans, she was probably the result of an encounter between an adventurer and one of the bordello women, immediately cast into an orphanage the moment she was born.
Yet, she never considered herself unfortunate.
There were many children just like her, and most of all, her mother had written the name Mariela on her swaddling clothes. This was her True Name, one given to her by a blood relative, something necessary to harness the world’s powers and utilize skills. Possessing this True Name was what led Mariela to be taken in by an alchemy master before eventually becoming a successful alchemist herself.
Alchemic skills weren’t uncommon, and potions weren’t as easy to use as healing magic. Alchemy wasn’t a particularly profitable trade, but she was able to eke out a living in the small cottage her teacher had left her on the edge of the Fell Forest. Though she wasn’t wealthy, she enjoyed crafting a variety of potions, and living on the edge of a forest suited someone like her who was lacking in social graces.
She thought her modest way of life would continue forever—until the day it met an abrupt end.
Why the Stampede happened was beyond the comprehension of a humble alchemist like Mariela.
Once the desperate screams of those trying to escape alerted everyone to the Stampede, the Kingdom of Endalsia shut its outer gate tight. The swarm of monsters came crashing down like a tidal wave and threw the Citadel City into utter chaos.
Adventurers young and old took up arms with a rallying cry: “Protect our town! Now is the time for glory!”
Some of those unable to fight packed the narrow roads like sardines and evacuated to the mountains, while others who hoped to ride it out barricaded themselves in their homes.
Mariela hurried to the cottage her master had left her. She didn’t think she’d make it in time to evacuate, and there was nowhere in town to take shelter. The thin wooden walls of her house would be as fragile as scraps of paper in the face of the horde.
Monsters reacted to human magic.
Long ago, her master taught her that rampaging monsters were very perceptive of human magic, and in such situations, even wards wouldn’t be effective.
So if the creatures from the Fell Forest ever grew out of control…
Just as her master had instructed, she rushed to her cellar and locked the heavy iron door securely shut.
To minimize the chance of being detected, she chose not to use illumination magic. Instead, she lit an oil lantern with a substantial supply of fuel and took out a large piece of parchment from a box in the corner of the room. In the dim light, she spread the huge three-foot-square sheet on the floor and checked the magic circle inscribed on it for any defects.
This was a last resort, her master had said, and she’d reluctantly prepared it.
Stolen from the monsters, this parchment was worth a month of Mariela’s earnings, and the ink used to inscribe the magic circle was even more expensive; it was specially crafted from dissolved magical gems. Even the magic circle itself was dense and difficult to create, and she had drawn it over a period of several months so as to not waste the expensive materials.
When her master told her that creating this circle would serve as her final certification exam, Mariela had thought, What a waste! but thank goodness she’d done it.
The cellar was so small that the petite young woman felt her head might touch the ceiling merely by standing. If she sprawled out on the floor, she and the parchment would be enough to completely cover it. But unlike the house, it was sturdy, built from stone, and the iron door wouldn’t break even if it was trampled by monsters. If they sensed that someone was inside, however, they would dig her out in an instant.
Unless every last monster was killed, the Stampede wouldn’t stop until all the humans were dead.
She could hear the earth trembling. The swarm was coming.
Mariela lay down on top of the magic circle.
I’m scared.
In the cramped, dark cellar, the flame in the oil lantern trembled.
I’m so scared.
How many monsters were coming? The rumbling was getting closer.
I’m really, really scared. Somebody, anybody…!
Mariela’s extremities were colder than the stone floor, and her thoughts became overtaken by fear.
If I don’t trigger the magic circle correctly… If this cellar can’t withstand the weight of the monsters, then I’ll…
Her breathing grew shallow and quick, and her heart hammered so loudly, she was sure the swarm could hear it. As the tremors grew, both the cellar and the lantern shook, making the flame flicker and dance.
I’m scared. I’m so, so scared. I don’t want to die here all alone.
Just as she felt as if she would be swallowed by fear, Mariela activated the Magic Circle of Suspended Animation.