Hazel and her group proceeded to find the first store they came across and took everything that they could from food, water, and other supplies for their trip and survival. Hazel even took a couple of tents since they would be useful for camping.

They ran into a couple of monsters, but nothing too dangerous for them to handle. Mostly giant wasp creatures, dire wolves, and monster insects like a centipede and beetles. The centipedes were a little difficult to deal with, mainly because Hazel found them disturbing. This resulted in her spamming [Curse Bomb] and getting rid of the insects in an instant.

Of course, due to her distress and reaction, Astrid and Chegyaeyi took note of her disgust and fear of centipedes with a teasing interest.

Around when she was seven or eight years old, she fell into a dirt hole that was crawling with centipedes, and it traumatized her to this very day. Sometimes, she could still feel the long, multi-legged creatures crawling all over her body. And after seeing those giant monster centipedes she just killed, a part of her dreaded over what would've happened if those things crawled on her as well.

Just the thought of such a scenario made her nauseous. After killing those centipedes, Hazel and the others, mostly her, decided that it would be best to leave while they could. And they did. Once they got what they needed, the trio then made their way back to the forest, heading over to where the rest of their group was.

In the end, none of them encountered any players, which essentially made that town a ghost town now. Maybe there were players previously before they arrived, and they just left for some unknown reason. Regardless, the trio's trip into town was uneventful. And honestly, that was for the best.

Because they were desperate to get to the Great Forest of Meir, none of them wanted to deal with any problems that were unrelated to Meir. If they did, their trip would be on hold while they were forced to handle whatever issue was happening within the town. Then again, because of their situation, Hazel and the others were likely to ignore whatever issue there was and go on with their trip.

Hazel and the other two soon made it back to the campsite, where everyone else was. As they arrived, they noticed that the elves and Evelyn had already taken out blankets and were setting up a campfire for both warmth and grilling some food. There were several metal rods with pieces of meat skewered, roasting by the fire in preparation for consumption.

Evelyn and the elves quickly noticed the other trio's presence and gave a collective smile and sigh of relief.

"So, everything went well?" Tine asked.

"Yep," Hazel nodded. "We raided a store and headed back before stumbling across any trouble."

"So, you didn't encounter any players?" Runa chimed in.

Astrid answered. "No, just monsters. Including centipedes..." She said while nudging Hazel's shoulder in a teasing tone.

Hazel gave the dark elf a brief glare before looking away, maintaining a smile. Once Evelyn heard the word centipede, she expelled a heavy sigh.

"I see you haven't gotten over that phobia..."

Hazel's face flushed in embarrassment. "Everyone has a phobia, alright? Or do I need to remind you about your fear of needles?"

Evelyn's face turned pale at the mere mention of the word as she got flustered. "I-isn't it natural to be afraid of something that hurts?!"

"Then my fear of centipedes is valid, considering that they do harm you!" She countered.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

The mother and daughter banter continued for a bit until the food was done. The group then ate around the campfire, relaxing with the time they were given. They cherished the peaceful moment for a while until they were finally ready to resume their journey, getting on their respective mounts and quickly took to the skies once again.

They left the town as soon as they entered it, and without kicking up a single fuss as well. Just as they intended in the first place.

While in the air, Hazel communicated with Astrid through their chat room.

[Hazel Thatcher: So, how do you plan to deal with this situation once we get to the Mapleash tribe?]

It had been on her mind since they first departed about what Astrid's plan was about the whole thing happening in Meir. Her brother took control of her tribe, her people had either fled for their lives or were taken prisoner by the traitors, and she had no clue as to what happened to the rest of her family, like her father, mother, or siblings other than Kollr.

[Astrid Skogr: For now, I need to talk to my people who took refuge in the Mapleash tribe to get a better understanding of what's happening. After that...I guess I should try and search for my family.]

[Hazel Thatcher: Maybe they got sent to some other part of the world? Considering how that happened to you and my brother, it's very possible, right?]

While the status of Astrid's family was unknown, Hazel guessed that instead of returning to Meir like Kollr, they likely got sent to another place, likely due to a party member who belonged in that part of the world. Astrid and Damien were prime examples of this happening.

Astrid was supposed to have been teleported back to Meir, but because she was in a Party with me, she was inevitably sent to Portland instead. The same applied to Damien since he should've been sent to Portland but was teleported to Meir. It was a complete reversal of their destinations.

Of course, there was another possibility that neither Hazel nor Astrid wanted to think about. And that was that the rest of her family didn't survive their tutorials. It was a morbid and dreadful thought, but that didn't stop them from thinking about it in the back of their minds, letting it linger ominously.

[Astrid Skogr: Maybe...]

Hazel could feel the hesitation in her tone through the text alone. A part of her partner wanted that to be true...and yet the other part couldn't help but consider the more morbid possibility.

[Astrid Skogr: For now, I think it would be best to handle this situation one step at a time.]

[Hazel Thatcher: Agreed. First, talk to the dark elf refugees, then move on to the next step once you have the information needed.]

She didn't want to bring the mood down and simply followed along with Astrid's reasoning. And for the most part, this was good thinking. In a situation like this, overthinking things would only make it worse, not better. Especially if your thoughts were to spiral into morbid conclusions that could keep you from sleeping at night.

[Astrid Skogr: By the way, what do you plan to do when you encounter your brother? According to Tine and Runa, he's currently aiding them in the civil war against the High Elves. A problem that should only involve the residents of Meir.]

Hazel mulled over her partner's message, trying to find the right words to reply.

[Hazel Thatcher: Since he's clearly helping them of his own volition, I can't really pull him away from it. If anything, it would be better to help him instead. As the saying goes, the more, the merrier, am I right?]

It was clear to Hazel that this civil war wasn't going to end with just the High Elves' victory if they won. No, if she were right, those guys would then spread their influence and attack the rest of the continent to try and control them. That was how it always was with wars. Once the enemy won some territory, they were eager to obtain more, and they weren't going to be shy in expressing that desire.

If Hazel didn't want the rest of the world to get taken over by the High Elves, and in turn, the otherworlders they were working with, then she needed to help her brother stop this civil war before things got any worse. And knowing what she had seen ever since the apocalypse started, it would very well get worse from here.

The group continued to soar through the sky, making their way to the Great Forest of Meir. Looking ahead, Hazel noticed something that made her eyes widen in shock.

"Whoa..."

In front of her was a dense and large forest with tall trees that stretched thousands of feet into the air, to the point where even when Hazel and her group were high in the sky, the trees before them reached an even higher height.

[Astrid Skogr: Looks like we finally made it to the border. Welcome to The Great Forest of Meir.]

Hazel glanced at the message before turning her gaze back to the giant forest standing before her, mesmerized by the sight. She had encountered large forests before and seen plenty online. But this...this was truly otherworldly.

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