Chapter 116

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'Am I lost?'

Angelica checked the map again.

'I took the correct turn... I guess? But why do I feel like I'm going in circles?' She looked back to the way she came from and checked the compass.

Currently, Angelica was in the Sterron grasslands of the Velven Empire in the middle of a job she accepted at the mercenary guild.

Or it was where she was supposed to be.

'There's grass on the land. But no grasslands here' Angelica sighed.

As far as she could see there were only trees and bushes.

Only the sound of insects and owls hooting was heard in the darkness. There were no moons in the sky and the only source of light was the small flashlight made of magic stones in her hand.

'Maybe I should've bought a bigger flashlight. But I also didn't want to spook the resting animals... Haaah'

For the sake of navigating through the forest, Angelica had tied a small piece of red cloth on the branch of a large tree to mark the place she passed by.

Everything was set up perfectly.

Yet there was one important thing that Angelica had forgotten to take into account.

It was an undeniable fact that she was terrible at navigating, left alone in an unfamiliar area. Her condition was close to being directionally challenged.

'I'm definitely sure I've seen this large tree a couple of times' She folded the map and tucked it inside her pocket.

There was no use in blankly staring at a piece of paper while having no idea how to use it.

A total of eight months have passed since Angelica disappeared from the capital. She had dyed her hair brown for the sake of concealing her identity and traveled while doing jobs at the mercenary guild whenever she ran out of money.

After staying at the local tavern in a town in Northern Velven, she decided to accept a job at the guild after seeing multiple requests for the 'Golden Rosales plant' that grew in the Sterron grasslands. Since the plant was only identifiable in the darkness Angelica left for the search after sundown.

"I'm lost" Angelica declared, throwing her hands in the air.

While she was debating which way to proceed, there was a rustle in the bushes behind her.

*rustle* *rustle*

"Hmm?"

Angelica searched in the direction of the sound. But there was nothing there.

*rustle* *rustle*

There was another rustle in the trees behind her. This time, there was forward movement.

Something was coming towards her and whatever it was she knew that she was not alone.

Angelica shifted the flashlight towards the bushes.

A shadow of a large beast protruding its sharp teeth and claws was visible in the light. But as the rustling got closer and closer, the shadow got smaller and smaller.

*rustle*

Finally, the fantastic beast that emerged out of the bushes was just a small squirrel.

*squeak*

"Hey there little buddy" Angelica kneeled down next to the squirrel, finding it cute.

The squirrel blinked its eyes and took a few steps towards her. It held its hand out to her like it was asking something.

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