Night of the Spring Equinox

"Ugh, it's so boring!" I exclaimed.

Sitting at the shore of a hidden lake deep within the Forest I tossed pebbles into the water to pass time. Today is the spring equinox, and I spent the last few weeks preparing.

Firstly, I scouted the way to the lake so that I would remember it perfectly and wouldn't get lost even during the night. I also prepared some food and other supplies so that I had everything I need during the trip. It didn't take me much time to prepare.

In the meantime, I collected 67 umbrifila in the Forest. During this time I also hunted 4 rabbits since I had nothing else to do.

This morning I was so excited that I headed out very early to not miss anything, which leads me to this moment. Everything is set up, and I'm sitting here bored as hell, waiting for the night to harvest this stupid flower and be done with it.

I can't even pass the time by training my magic since I have to stay vigilant in case some monster decides to come here to drink from the lake. But I have already been here for a few hours, and it's strangely peaceful and quiet.

For some reason, it makes me even more nervous than if something happened. It makes me paranoid, and I jump at every sound. This lack of action gets on my nerves. I looked up, and the sun was directly above me.

So it is midday. It will still take at least six hours before the sun sets and a few more for the full moon to come out. Hopefully, there will be no clouds, and I will be able to finish my task before midnight and then hurry back home.

The idea of spending a whole night here is not something I want to experience, so I would rather not sleep at all. I'm sure my parents will be livid and worried about me. However, they shouldn't find out what I'm doing out here for their own good.

I'm still not sure what the treatment of mages is in this kingdom, but magic appears to be a taboo subject; nobody seems to talk about it ever. That is why I will try to keep my abilities a secret for as long as possible.

Maybe Isadora can give me some more information about it since she seems more informed about these topics than most people. She looks like an honest person, but I'm still not sure if I can trust her with something like this. That is why I will first become her apprentice and observe her for a bit before deciding what to do.

Time passed slowly but surely, and after what seemed like an eternity of waiting, it was finally night. The Forest at night is a very different place than during the day. The trees' shadows twist and turn in the moonlight like beasts ready to pounce on me.

The darkness is almost palpable. There is total, almost unnatural silence. This makes every sound even louder and makes me jump in fright. The full moon shines brightly upon the lake's surface, creating a mysterious otherworldly ambiance.

Soon enough, the Moonlight Aster opened her petals to reveal a beautiful flower.

It was mesmerizing, with shimmering purple light dancing around the edges. I had never seen anything like this before. For a few minutes, I stood there looking at the flowers like I was in a trance. But then I remembered why I am here, and it isn't time to be idle.

I circled the lake to get to the plants and carefully harvested them one after another. My task is to bring one, but if I'm already here, why not gather them all?

I'm sure they will fetch a hefty price. I was grinning all this time, imagining the pile of coins I will be able to get for this.

After harvesting the last one, I carefully looked around. It is about time, isn't it?

From how things usually unfold in books and stories, this is the time when some big, scary Guardian of the Lake is supposed to jump at me for stealing his flowers, right?

But surprisingly, nothing happened. Nothing disturbed the lake's peace and tranquility. I was almost disappointed that nothing had happened. Almost. In order to avoid attempting fate, I fled as quickly as possible. I gathered all my stuff and turned back under the shade of the ancient trees toward home.

But my brief happiness at completing my task did not last long. About half an hour later, when I was still deep inside the Forest I heard the sound I was dreading.

A howl.

But it was not your typical wolf howl. No, this was the piercing and menacing type of howl that makes you shudder in fear and makes your hair stand out.

The type of howl only a monster can produce. And what was most annoying was that it was coming from right ahead in the direction I was heading.

Soon, several other howls joined the first.

Crap!

This is bad. I was confident about fighting a lone monster, but a whole pack of them? No thanks. I looked around, wondering in what direction I should go. Should I return to the lake? Or should I try to go around the monsters, hoping they will not notice me?

Wait, is it just me, or are the howls getting closer?

Crap!

They already found me; I need to run!

I decided to forget caution and started running back to the lake as fast as I could. The moon shone upon the Forest so the ground was still somewhat visible, but I still had to be very careful not to trip.

I saw a shadow moving between the trees, getting very close and ready to pounce on me. I fired [Stone Bullet] at it without stopping, and in that fleeting moment, I finally got to see the monsters pursuing me.

They looked like wolves but were twice the size of a regular wolf, with silvery fur and ruby-red eyes shining in the darkness. I heard a painful growl from behind. Yes! I hit him!

My attack must have confused them because they stopped pursuing me for a moment, which allowed me to get further away. But soon I could hear the howls again. Crap! They are surrounding me.

I could see shadows moving between the trees parallel to me, but they kept their distance so that I couldn't get a good aim. They are quite smart. They cut off my way to the lake, and I was forced to change directions.

Now I was running towards the mountains. I ran for many minutes, occasionally shooting at them when they got too close while looking for a way to save myself from this hopeless situation. I was getting tired from the constant running, and my speed slowed down.

The terrain here became rockier, and there were big boulders all around me. Then I saw it. A hole between the rocks. Is it an entrance to a cave? Should I run inside? What if something is in there?

I decided to take the risk since I knew I could not keep running much longer. What matters right now is that the hole is quite small, and they will have trouble pursuing me.

I quickly changed direction, running for the cave with all my remaining strength. Soon I was enveloped by the total darkness of the cave as I jumped right in.

I immediately turned around and fired my spell. It was just in time since one of the wolves was on my heels, and I managed to react at the last moment.

The wolf's head exploded and showered the walls of the cave with blood and pieces of brain. His heavy body collapsed and blocked the entrance. I fall on my butt totally exhausted.

I can still hear growls coming from outside, but they've given up trying to get to the cave. That doesn't mean they were leaving. It was a stalemate that lasted for several hours. I was very tired, but I cannot afford to fall asleep now if I want to live.

I could see an occasional shadow moving across the trees outside. They were still out there waiting. I gathered a few twigs scattered on the ground of the cave and ignited them, making a makeshift torch. The cave wasn't too big—around three meters wide and six meters in length.

But it didn't end there. I could see the end of the cave disappearing into the darkness, indicating some sort of corridor going further in. So what do I do now?

I can't just sit here forever. I couldn't see the wolves, but that doesn't mean they aren't out there waiting. I have food for a few days with me since I accounted for the possibility of having to stay in the Forest through the night, but what if something lives further in the cave and decides to come out?

Then I would be sandwiched on both sides. So I have to decide: do I face sure death outside or some unknown danger inside?

In the end, I decided to explore the cave. Not that it was the better option. But if there was one thing I was confident about, it was my magical abilities, so even if something jumps at me, I'm confident I can defeat it.

The deciding factor is the cave itself. There is a limited amount of space here, which means only one monster can face me at a time. While outside, wolves can surround and attack me from all sides.

So I gathered my things, cut out a few strips of meat from the wolf's corpse, and stuffed them into my bag. I also gathered a few more twigs from the ground. And with a heavy sigh, I carefully proceeded further inside the cave.