“That’s Orc Forest,” Father said, pointing at it. “Orcs by themselves aren’t that dangerous, but they tend to gather in packs. When a large group forms, it will have a hierarchy led by an orc king, with orc generals and high orcs below him. That makes them far more dangerous, so don’t underestimate them.” He explained more about orcs as we got closer.
When we reached the forest, those on horseback dismounted and tied their horses to nearby trees. I walked with Leaf toward the center of the group for protection, but we didn’t find any mushrooms that looked promising.
Just then, two orcs appeared in our path. One immediately ran off while the other headed straight toward us.
“Yaaaah!” One of the knights cleanly beheaded the orc. Its head rolled across the ground.
“One ran into the forest, likely for reinforcements. Stay on your guard,” the Knight told everyone. We all nodded, scanning our surroundings cautiously.
Oh! Chatter mushrooms! I spotted them right at my feet, but then…
“Orcs coming in from the front! There are four, no five! Three regular orcs and two high orcs!”
Everyone readied themselves for battle.
“Ice Storm!” I cast my freezing spell at the group of orcs, aiming for their feet. The ice crackled and spread, freezing them in place.
“Thank you!” the Knights called out as they charged. Two of them took down an orc each by beheading.
“Air Cutter!” Father’s wind blades slashed through one high orc while the other Mage took down the final one.
Only one high orc remained.
Leaf charged forward and sank his teeth into the orc’s neck, tearing it open.
“Is it over?” someone asked.
Father looked around, signaling to the other members of our party.
Just then…
“Three orc generals are approaching from deeper in the forest!”
“Three of them?”
“That means there’s a king nearby.”
A group of orcs even larger than the high orcs appeared, wielding swords.
“Ice Storm!” These were clearly stronger than the others, so I gathered my mana for a few seconds before casting the same spell at a higher level. I successfully froze two in place, but missed the third.
“Great job, Daisy! Air Cutter!” Father aimed his spell at the orc I missed, slicing through its leg tendons. The orc general collapsed onto the ground with a thud.
Two Knights immediately moved in. One drove his sword into the fallen orc’s forehead while the other cleanly beheaded one of the frozen ones. As the knight who finished off the first orc turned to strike the last…
Clang!
A heavy clash of metal rang out. The knight fell, blood spilling from his mouth. The orc king towered over him, its eyes bloodshot with fury for his murdered pack. His sword had caused the clash.
The Healer rushed over to the fallen knight. “Hi-Heal!”
The Knight used his sword to get back on his feet. Now with the orc king and one unfrozen orc general at the center, we faced off against them, waiting for our chance.
That was when Leaf leaned in close to me and whispered into my ear. “Cast Rose Whip at them.”
I followed his instructions, raising my hand toward the orcs and shouting, “Rose Whip!”
Thorny vines burst from the ground and nearby trees, shooting toward the monsters and wrapping tightly around them. The orcs tried to slash at them with their swords, but more vines appeared for every one they cut. The more they struggled, the tighter the vines constricted. Eventually, the two orcs couldn’t take it anymore and both collapsed onto the ground with a thunderous impact.
“That was some spell!” A Knight let out a relieved sigh as he looked down at the restrained orcs.
“It’s a type of Earth magic,” I said. At least, that’s what I had decided to call it. To be honest, I had a feeling it had something to do with the nature spirits.
“This would’ve gone a lot worse if not for that spell.”
Two Knights moved in to finish off the orcs. Once our enemies were defeated, the vines slithered away and disappeared back into the earth.
After that, we collected several high-quality chatter mushrooms that I’d spotted during battle, and we set off for our next destination. We left Orc Forest behind and followed the road west toward the Orkenia Plains. I rode on Leaf like before, while the others continued on horseback.
Up ahead, we spotted a carriage under attack by ogres. Some adventurers were frantically trying to protect it. I wondered if the ogres had strayed from the forest.
“Shall we assist them?” one of the Knights asked Father.
“Of course! Let’s go!” At his command, everyone charged toward the carriage, Leaf running alongside them.
“Miss Daisy!” a Knight called out to me as we rode. “Can you use that Earth magic spell you used before? The binding one?”
I nodded. “I can do it!”
Leaf picked up speed. Up ahead, I spotted three ogres against four adventurers. Some of the adventurers looked injured; they were clearly overwhelmed.
But now we were within spell range.
“Rose Whip!” I grabbed Leaf’s reins tightly in one hand, raising my other to cast the spell at the ogres. Hundreds of thorny vines exploded from the ground beneath them and attacked. The ogres swung at the vines to try to fend them off, but more just sprang up. Eventually, all tangled up in the thorns, they toppled over.
With the battle suddenly over, the adventurers stood there in astonished silence.
Hey, don’t just stand there! Finish them off! I thought.
The Knights arrived just in time and cleanly beheaded the ogres. They seemed pleased the battle had ended so smoothly.
“I wish every expedition was like this!”
“Miss Daisy, would you consider joining the Order of Knights?”
Are they trying to recruit me?!
“I can’t! I’m an Alchemist, and I’ve already decided to open my own workshop.” I politely declined their offer. Meanwhile, the lady Healer tended to the injured adventurers.
I heard the click of the carriage door, and out stepped a broad-shouldered, well-dressed gentleman and an elegant middle-aged lady. I saw a girl still sitting inside the carriage, although she didn’t come out.
“Thank you so much for saving us today,” said the man. “I am Oliver, a merchant from the capital. My daughter has a condition that affects her legs, so I’m afraid she can’t easily exit the carriage. Please forgive her for not greeting you herself.” The merchant couple thanked our party.
“You should thank this young lady instead,” one of the Knights said, pointing at me. “She’s the one who bound the ogres.”
“This cute little girl?” Oliver said. “To think she can use such powerful magic at her age! Prodigies really do exist. Thank you so much for saving us, my lady.” He bowed deeply to me.
I gave him a shy smile, feeling flustered.
“Oh! Please wait a moment.” Oliver disappeared into the carriage, rummaging around before returning. “This is but a small trinket, but please accept it as a token of our gratitude.”
He held out a lovely hair ornament made of a delicate, flower-shaped aquamarine with a tiny peridot leaf at its side.
Is it okay to accept this? I turned to Father, who nodded with approval.
Our party wasn’t an official military escort. Publicly, they were just guarding my Alchemy expedition. There was no need to refuse a small token of thanks.
“Thank you so much for the kind gestures. It’s a lovely piece. I’ll cherish it.” I accepted the cute hairpin with a smile, expressing my gratitude.
After all the adventurers had been healed, we said goodbye to Oliver and his family and resumed our journey westward. We didn’t encounter any monsters in the Orkenia Plains, so we were able to focus on gathering. It didn’t take long for us to find donna herbs at all. Since its leaves and berries were poisonous, we had a Knight in full plate armor pull up the plant so I could harvest its roots.
Now I had all the ingredients I needed.