Ebony walked along the riverbank, carrying her elven companion on one shoulder and a half-naked young man on the other, the one assigned to monitor her journey.
The clouds were already stained amber as night crept in, and despite everything, the slim, small blonde girl smiled at the thought of how exciting it would be to live in a world overflowing with magic.
But as the minutes passed, the darkness wiped that smile away, replacing it with a cold sweat.
In her previous life, she had always been afraid of spending the night in the wild, something that caused constant fights with her father, and now the dark forest unleashed her imagination with every rustling leaf.
She tried to distract herself by thinking about the game she now lived in, in her former life she had explored every corner of it.
"(The long-eared guy said we're in Lithany, it wasn't the richest country in the world, so I doubt there are bandits at this hour… I hope)"
Ebony swallowed hard as she tried to sharpen her senses to compensate for her limited vision, to make things worse, the moon still hadn't come out.
"(This is uncomfortable, in the game nights weren't this dark… I can't even see where I'm stepping… Would it be better to stay here and light a campfire?)"
The blonde girl slowed her pace to better control her footing, but walking blindly in the dark was more dangerous than camping. She had hoped to reach a town by following the river, but that was no longer possible.
In her previous life, she had been as stubborn as her father, the same man who had forced her to go camping more than once, but just as she had promised herself upon arriving in this world, she wouldn't repeat the same mistakes.
Near the trees, she laid the unconscious bodies of her companions on the ground and, with what little she could see, gathered some dry branches. After a few failed attempts, she managed to light an improvised campfire.
"(I hate to admit it, but I guess that old man was right… Knowing this stuff gets you out of more than one mess)"
The fire illuminated her face as she rested between the forest and the river, but unwilling to waste time, Ebony began cutting cloth from one of the cultist robes she had taken from the rubble.
"(In the real world, when you have serious wounds, your life hangs by a thread, a simple infection could kill you without immediate care…)"
With the help of her purification magic, she finished creating white, fully disinfected gauze and bandages.
"(But in this world, the rules are different, with a bit of imagination, maybe I can save his life…)" The girl looked at the body of the boy assigned to watch her.
She approached him and began changing the bandages on his hands. The bleeding had stopped, but the holes in his palms were dangerous if left untreated.
Despite having tried to kill her, Ebony didn't want that young boy to die, judging by his face, he was barely fifteen years old.
"(If this idiot dies, the bastard with the mask will come back with more men and I'll definitely die)" she thought, her expression showing exhaustion from caring for others, she was still just as selfish as ever.
After finishing the bloodied bandages, she went to check on the elf, he was still unconscious, and hours had already passed.
"(This sadist must've burned through all his mana, in the game, if you hit zero mana, you only get stunned, I guess this is the closest thing to that… but I hope it doesn't last more than a day)"
At that moment, a sound interrupted her thoughts, heavy footsteps, accompanied by harsh breathing. From between the bushes and trees, a bear emerged, walking on all fours, the size of a grizzly from her world.
Its fur was white, its eyes yellow, and pale yellow crystals were embedded along its back. That massive creature was a thunder bear, lethal during mating season and docile as a puppy the rest of the year.
The moment Ebony saw it, she froze, trying to figure out whether the bear was a threat or just passing through.
"(Please don't be in heat, please don't be in heat)"
The bear frowned and bared its teeth as it rose onto its hind legs, sparks of electricity crackling from its eyes while the crystals on its back glowed intensely.
"(Of course… I ran into a horny bear…)"
With a single motion, the bear slammed its front paws into the ground. The instant they hit, a bolt of lightning struck from the sky, causing an explosion.
The blast sent Ebony's companions flying deeper into the forest, while she herself ended up stunned in the middle of the river.
She dragged herself to the shore, coughing up water, she had to act fast or her defenseless companions would become the bear's dinner.
But when she looked back at the forest, she saw her campfire had spread to the surrounding trees, and the flames were starting to spread.
"(This is bullshit… I have to get the sword the long-ears had before—)" A threatening presence appeared beside her, towering and shadowed, staring down at her with glowing yellow eyes.
"Why don't you go eat those two first? I bet Lucian tastes fruity, heh heh… heh…" The bear roared and slammed the ground again, trying to crush her, but she leapt sideways and narrowly dodged the attack.
"(No lightning this time, if I'm right, that spell has a two-minute cooldown, I have to take it down before then, with my new strength I might be able to—)" Without wasting time, the bear lunged at her and with a single swipe sent her flying into the trees.
Ebony crashed several meters into the forest, her body smashing through a tree. Her clothes were shredded by the claws, but her skin held, though the pain was unbearable.
"(Knock it out, that's it, I have to knock it out, there's no reason to kill a noble creature…)"
The bear charged to finish her off, but before it reached her, Ebony grabbed a fallen tree trunk and managed to block the beast's bite, the animal pushing her back centimeter by centimeter.
"(Run! I have to run! This bastard is way too much for me, I don't even have a damn weapon!)" With all her strength, she shoved the trunk upward along with the bear's weight, slamming its body into the ground.
Ebony tried to flee, turning her back on the bear, but it sprang up violently and with a swipe of its claw sent her even deeper into the forest.
Among the trees, the girl's blood began staining the ground, this time her skin failed to withstand the creature's claws.
As she struggled to breathe, Ebony searched her memories for a way out, but her throat filled with blood with every passing second. Still, stubborn as ever, she decided to make one last attempt.
"Heal"