Chapter 12 – Dryad

Triiii!

Bliss happily called out to the bright sunshine as we headed south together. It had only been a few hours since we first met. Our journey through the woods went quite well. By asking Bliss simple questions, I was able to learn that she has one power involving the use of vine that can constrict or capture her prey. However, she is still quite young, and her power will likely not hold the opponent very long. I was happy just to have a friend to talk to and I assured Bliss of this fact. I would never regret my bond with the most joyful and vibrant flowkra in the forest. Just a few seconds alongside the wiggling yellow flower with her happy tone was enough to make every day the best day. She pointed out other colorful flowers, she called to the sun when she was happy, and she asked me for water on some occasions. It wasn't hard for me to sprinkle a bit of cool water out of my Storage. When I first did this for her, Bliss began to shout in her excitement. Even her little face seemed to get more colored when she was motivated by something. If anything, Bliss was living up to her name.

As we continued south, a large tree only a few steps ahead of us suddenly opened like a curtain on a window. Out of the tree walked a beautiful, glowing woman with green leaves covering all the important places. She was a stunning and shapely beauty. The glow that seemed to hover over her body was also lightly green in color. As I stared at her, I felt entranced by her charm. Bliss was jumping up and down on my shoulder, calling out to the enchanting woman.

Triiii! Triiii, Triiii!

Bliss seemed to be telling the woman something important. I had very little focus on Bliss now. In fact, all I could keep my eyes on was this beauty before me. She controlled me in her eyes while I stared back at her with adoration. I started to push back against this feeling. Something didn't feel right about it. But how could I not have seen it from the start? I was clearly brought to this world to serve this woman! But no, I would not let her be my master. Why? I came to realize the effect of this woman's charm and focused more with my Mental Fortress skill. Matching that with my mental power of 104, there was no way that this seductress could hold onto my mind. While I did not select Mental Master as my Power, I did have the Mind Defender title, which increased my resistance by 20% to these types of attacks. It was only a couple of seconds that this creature had held onto me. I used Analyze Vision.

Name: Sandrine

Race: Dryad

Occupation: Protector of the South Forest

Level: 24

Analyze Vision would not give me everything, but it told me enough to realize that I was the invader in this situation. I had the right to be angry about her attack, but I also couldn't really blame her. She had a lot of creatures she was likely protecting in this forest.

"My apologies, human, for trying to control you. I see now that this would not have been possible. This flowkra seems to be vouching for your character, despite your impolite treatment at the beginning. Allow me to introduce myself. I am Sandrine, the Protector of the South Forest. I am a dryad assigned to watch over the plants and trees of the forest."

"Greetings, Ms. Sandrine. My name is Airey. I hope you will also forgive my intrusion into your woods. Yes, I admit that my introduction to Bliss started off with an unexpected incident. I am glad she was not injured. I'm even more grateful to have her as my companion. I hope you will not find a problem with that?"

I stared at the dryad in her beautiful green eyes. She was clearly contemplating my question. I chuckled in my mind, picturing this scene as if I was asking the mother of Bliss if it would be okay to play at the park together. I awaited Sandrine patiently. I doubted that she would go against Bliss on this matter. Instead, I received a stern warning.

"Mister Airey, I recognize the kind name you have given this youngling, Bliss. You will be permitted to leave the forest with her under the strict requirement that you protect her with your life. This little one may seem but a small pet for a human, but she represents the future of our forest. When she wishes to return, I also demand that you come back to the forest. For it is only in a true forest where plant beings can heal properly. The sun and moon and fields that you humans reside in will only give a partial amount of power to your companion. Accordingly, you may grow together with this youngling with great care and consideration for the dangers. Only under this stipulation will we consider you a friend to our forest, Mister Airey."

"I agree to your terms, Ms. Sandrine. And thank you for your polite warning. I already promised Bliss that I would treat her like my own family. And please just call me Airey. No need for formalities with me."

"Thank you, Airey. You can equally call me Sandrine. If you find need for us near a forest, just call my name."

"I will. Thank you Sandrine. I hope we can be friends."

With those words, we departed. We continued to head south. I honestly did not know where to find a town or village, but I had plenty of food and water for our travels. I was just grateful that the first two sentient beings I met in this world were friendly with me. Bliss even became my joyful companion. I was starting to like this world. I wonder who I would run into next?