The next day, the party was getting ready to explore the dungeon when they heard knocking on their door. When Naofumi went to see who was at the door, he was met by a pair of people with short horns and goat-like legs, and a pair of humans with green hair and eyes, their legs and arms adorned with vines. From what he learned, they were fauns and dryads.
Male faun: Are you Naofumi?
Naofumi: I am. Is there a problem?
Female faun: We need your help. Can you come with us?
Naofumi: Help with what?
Dryad 1: Our queen is dying. We need your help, since we heard you were strong enough to defeat a draconic. We suspect that a powerful foe is poisoning our queen, so someone as strong as you is one of the few who can help us.
Naofumi: I'll gladly help.
With that, the party set out into the forest. After a bit, they got to a giant tree, and one of the fauns took out a key, opening an invisible door in it. As they went inside, they suddenly found themselves in a village with houses inside trees. They went towards the biggest tree in the village, where they found the dryad queen.
Dryad queen: Thank you, adventurers. I ask you to help me defeat the monster attacking my tree. To find it, you must venture north and find a big, white tree. It's my original tree that gives me my strength.
The queen looked frail, with black sacks under their eyes and white skin, her blonde hair looking as if it were barely holding onto her head. With the information and a map showing them their direction, the party ventured towards the tree, together with the group who brought them to the village, to help with the journey by carrying their food and water. As they went out of the village, Naofumi noticed a shadow in the corner of his eye. When he looked there, it was only trees.
Naofumi: I must be imagining things.
As they got deeper into the forest, they started seeing a lot of different monsters, from white wolves to stone bears, and the monsters seemed to be calm, leaving them alone and only watching from afar. As they were getting closer to the tree, Naofumi kept seeing the same shadow in the corner of his eye, and the shadow kept disappearing as soon as he tried to get a better look. The next day, the closer they got to the tree, the worse the scenery looked. The grass was dying, the water was dirtier, the trees were losing their leaves, and the monsters began to attack them. As they were almost at the tree, Naofumi saw the shadow once again, and as his team was taking a break, he used teleport and hit the thing with the handle of his sword on the back of its head. When the thing passed out, he looked at it closely. Its body was covered in armor, and it looked as if it were made of smoke. After tying it up, he took it to their camp and waited for it to wake up.
New skill acquired
Skill name: Telepathy
Skill description: Allows you to speak with any living object through thoughts.
Price: 70MP (current MP: 870)
When the armor-clad shadow woke up, it tried to escape.
Naofumi: What are you?
Shadow: I am a warrior from a forgotten land. My country died long before me, but when I went to a new place, I was met with hate. I learned there that my king was incredibly corrupt and that the new kingdom I was in was made only from people who were forced to escape to save their lives. As one of the most loyal of his guards, everyone was filled with incredible hate towards me, and a witch cursed me with everlasting life. The curse, however, was made so that only my soul was immortal, not my body. I spent a long time traveling, after a hundred years, my body began to rot, my skin and flesh falling off of me. I felt the pain, and yet, all I could do was watch. After a decade, all that was left was just a skeleton, and after another forty years, my skeleton got destroyed, and all that was left was a soul. After that, I learned that my armor was also cursed, making it impossible to take off, and no matter how much of my body was changed or how much of it was gone, the armor would always stay the same size, never break or rust. All I can do now is travel and seek people to fight. You are the first person to speak to me. So I ask you, sir, could I join you and your party?
Naofumi: Well, all you did was watch me, so I think you could join me if you prove your strength. We are about to fight a draconic, so if you help us kill it, I will grant you a place in our party.
As they went forward with their new companion, they were being attacked by many different monsters who, for some reason, were surrounded by a really murderous aura. With the help of their new companion, the trip was going smoothly, even with all the attacks. When they finally arrived at the tree's location, Naofumi saw a draconic, with scales black as night and red eyes that looked empty inside. As soon as the demihuman noticed them, it rushed towards the party. As the monster was getting closer, Naofumi took out the Sword of Sloth and blocked its attack. When the monster got pushed back, a sudden barrier appeared, blocking out everyone except for the man, the draconic, and the spirit.
Spirit Knight: Allow me to support you in this fight.
Naofumi: Sure, I don't mind.
As the draconic attacked them again, the knight took a shield off his back and blocked the attack. When the strike connected, Naofumi quickly slashed at the monster, hitting its arm and cutting it open. As the monster staggered back, the knight attacked with his sword, but the draconic flew up and avoided it. Naofumi used gravity well, which made the monster land on the ground, unable to move. The spirit ran to the draconic, but the monster used its fiery breath at Naofumi, forcing him to jump away and break the spell. After the draconian gained the ability to move again, it quickly pushed away the knight, making him hit the barrier. Naofumi quickly rushed towards the monster, slashing at it with the dragon sword and creating a new sword from ice and using it to cut one of the monster's wings. With the inability to fly, the monster started clawing at the man and kicking him in his stomach. With the wind kicked out of him, Naofumi was unable to fully dodge the draconic's attack. With the next slash of its claws, the dragon hit Naofumi, filling him with sudden pain. As the man looked to his right, he saw that the monster had cut off his arm, which flew towards the spirit lying on the ground. As the pain filled his brain, making it unable to fully focus, the man used fireball, burning the stub on his right side and allowing him to think clearly. With the adrenaline pushing him forward, he used quick movement to make it impossible for the monster to fully focus on the man. He ran around the enemy, he kept slashing it, cutting it in various spots, and making it bleed more and more. As he cut the monster with deeper wounds, it kept trying to grab him, but the man moved too quickly. With his last attack, and the adrenaline wearing off, he cut off the monster's head, killing it and ending the fight. With the battle finished, Naofumi tried to walk towards the rest of his party, but he fainted and hit the ground. With the barrier broken, the team quickly rushed towards the Mage.
Male faun: If we're quick enough, our queen might be able to connect back his right arm.
They all rushed towards the village as fast as they could. Cutting their previous time from five days to three, the party got to the town and rushed to the queen.
Male faun: My queen, we need you to heal Naofumi.
The queen, with her strength back, quickly rushed towards the man, grabbing the cut-off arm and bringing it close to the stub. She summoned vines to connect them, and after a quick chant, the vines started glowing from the inside with a green light. After finishing the chant, she took off the vines and uncovered his newly connected arm. To thank the party, the queen invited them to stay for a while. When the next day came, the man woke up, quickly checking his side and seeing his arm back in its place. Besides him, in the room was also the spirit, sitting next to him and watching over his body.
Spirit Knight: Good to see you alive, sir. The rest of your party is out right now; they went to gather some food for tonight. After the fight, do you think I could join your party?
Naofumi: Sure, I don't see why not. Welcome to the team ... Actually, what is your name?
Spirit Knight: From what I remember, my name is Raphael.
Naofumi: I see. Well then, welcome to the team, Raphael.
As the man got out of bed, he felt sudden hunger rush through him. The two of them went into the kitchen, where they found a bowl of fruits with fruits that reminded the man of apples and oranges from his old world. Grabbing one of the apples, he ate the thing with incredible speed. Devouring one after another, he finished the whole bowl within minutes. After getting full, he went outside to look for the dryad queen. While walking towards her house, he noticed her next to the well, speaking with a group of children.
Naofumi: Hello, your highness.
Dryad queen: Ah, Naofumi. I'm glad to see you back. Is your hand alright?
Naofumi: Yeah, it feels as if it was never cut off.
Dryad queen: Good to hear. Your friends agreed to stay here for three more days, so after that, you will all come back to your town. And as they were falling asleep, they all started thinking of what they would do the next day.