Waking up in Another World

Chapter 9: My First Quest

Celine's POV

I stared at the signage in front of me and it is read as, 'Lullin Village'

Wait, I remember this village in the map. Just like Norbury village, nasa loob din ito ng forest but it is closer sa Cresthill, yung town na balak kong puntahan.

Chubby hopped on my shoulders and I scratched his chin with my hand. Nangangalay ako pag nasa balikat ko si Chubby, that's why I gently carried him as I walked towards the village.

Maliit lang tong village na to, smaller than Norbury village, I think? but there's a lot of people in here. There are also kids playing outside and to be honest, they just look like the kids in the world where I used to belong, they're fond of playing too. However, it seems like there's no gadgets or any devices in here unlike in my world where most kids have their own ipads and phones.

"M-May manlalakbay!" sigaw nung lalaki sa gilid kaya bigla akong napalingon doon.

Biglang nagsilabasan yung ibang mga villagers and they started murmuring which made my eyebrows creased.

What the hell? susunugin ba nila ako? parang nagchachant na sila ng kung ano ano, baka mamaya bigla akong ialay dito.

Tatakbo na sana ako kasi sobrang creepy nila kaso biglang may humawak ng palapulsuhan ko kaya nanlalaking mata akong napatingin don sa lalaki.

"WAHHHHH!!! BITAWAN MOK---" sigaw ko pa at napabitaw naman siya bigla kasi mukhang nagulat siya sa pagsigaw ko. Napatigil ako sa pagsasalita kasi nung pagtingin ko sa mata niya ay medyo maluha-luha siya.

O-kay? anong nangyari? ba't siya pa naiiyak?

"P-P-Please, tu-tulungan mo ka-kami!!!" nagmamakaawang ani pa nung lalaki na lumuhod pa. Nagulat ako kasi lumuhod din yung iba kaya nagtataka ko silang tinignan.

Wait, di nila ako iaaalay? bakit naman kasi ganon ang pagwewelcome nila sakin, akala ko kung anong espirito na sinusummon nila.

"A-Anong nangyare?" takang tanong ko.

"Someone from our village is currently ill. W-We need herbs to cure her..."

"Ha?" anong gusto niyang gawin ko?

"P-Pwede bang sumama ka saken? I'll just show you to her para maintindihan mo" he asked and I just nodded.

Ibinaba ko si Chubby at hinila na niya ako patungo sa isang bahay. Medyo luma na yung bahay kaya nagcecreate ng sounds lalo na kapag naapak ako sa sahig at kada binubuksan yung pinto.

The guy knocked three times and said, "M-May nahanap kaming adventurer, maybe she can help us in collecting the medicines needed for Kierra to recover"

Binuksan na niya ang pinto at tumambad sakin ang isang kama at ang batang babae na nakahiga rito. Mayroon ding isang matandang babae sa gilid ng kama na nakaupo, tapos meron siyang parang turban sa ulo.

"Magandang araw, hija. U-Umupo ka muna" she said while motioning the chair.

I slowly walked towards the chair and I sat there as I listened to her.

"As you can see, our Kierra is currently ill with a some sort of sickness. W-We don't have any herbs to create the necessary medicine to cure her. Kailangan namin ang tulong mo hija sa pagkuha ng mga sangkap, i-is it fine for you to do that?" nakayukong ani niya.

My mouth gaped, she wanted me to collect the ingredients? so this is the favor that Sam is talking about but I don't want to risk my life anymore.

Maybe these herbs that they're talking about is inside the forest... I'm sorry but this time, I'll think of myself first. There's still a lingering threat of the hounds in the forest and who knows, I might die the second time I encounter them. I just got lucky back then that's why I survived.

I gently shook my head and looked at her then I smiled bitterly, "I'm sorry... I'm really sorry but I don't think I'm capable of doing that favor... I'm not strong enough and it might be dangerous again, especially when the hounds are already roaming inside the forest"

I slowly walked towards the door to get back but I was surprised when I saw the other villagers kneeling in front of me while begging me to help them.

"P-Please, help our dear Kierra..."

"K-Kahit ano, gagawin namin... parang awa mo na, tulungan m-mo lang si Kierra. Sh-She's a kind child and everybody in this village loves her. Kaya parang awa mo na, h-help her"

Inilipat ko sa ibang direksyon ang paningin ko dahil medyo nakokonsensya ako. Shet, anong gagawin ko?

I sighed and closed my eyes for a second, "F-Fine... t-tell me the details of this herb you're talking about"

They all shouted in glee and some of them even thanked me. Bumalik na ulit ako sa loob at saka umupo sa inupuan ko kanina, "What kind of herbs do I need to acquire?" I asked the old lady.

"Auviary and Wolf Peppermint" she muttered and showed me a picture of the said herb. She also pulled a map and spread it across the table.

She encircled a certain place and to my surprise, it's located at the territory of the hounds.

The den of the hounds is located in north, nakabukod siya sa forest pero malapit lang yung distance niya sa forest kaya it is not impossible if the hounds would show up in the forest since their den is just near however the chances are also low because they're separated, that's why I'm wondering how did they end up here. Maybe there's an external factor that forced them to evacuate and roam in another place, well, that's just my speculation.

She also encircled another area and it is inside the forest, "This is where you'll find Auviary while the Wolf Peppermint is in here, the hounds' territory"

"Hey, can I ask a few question before I start collecting the herbs?" I asked. She looked at me and I stared back at her. Well, it just bothers me a little so I thought maybe I should ask. She then nodded that's why I proceeded.

"How long has Kierra been ill?"

"I think, 5 days ago? hmmmm, 5 days ago nga when she had her first symptom which is trouble in breathing. Then at the following day she began to have a high fever and she became unconscious"

"Can I touch her?" I asked.

"Sure. Go ahead"

I slowly walked towards Kierra and I put the back of my palm on her neck, shet, ang init nga.

She's also sleeping at medyo nakakunot ang noo niya, she must be experiencing something painful that's why her expression is like that.

"If her illness is not cured, is there a possibility that she'll die?" I asked once again. I thought it might be insensitive but I just wanted to confirm something.

Nagulat siyang napatingin sa akin but she nodded her head, "I think so"

"Is there a time span?"

"W-We don't know. Ito ang pinakauna-unahang beses na nangyari to sa amin. This is also the first time I encountered this case... her sickness is new, that's why I'm having a hard time figuring out the medicine but since I have knowledge about herbs and medicines, I thought of combining herbs that can cure her symptoms. But the thing is, her illness looks like it's getting worser each day that's why we need to treat it as soon as possible"

Now that she confirmed it, I will now ask the question that has been bothering me. "If you think her sickness is something that should be treated right away, then why don't you ask some of the villagers who looks capable to get the ingredients sooner rather than waiting for an adventurer to come?"

Napatigil siya sa pwesto niya and she looked at me.

I don't know, it just seems weird for me. Based on my observation earlier, may mga lalaki dito sa village na mukhang malalakas, that's why they should be atleast capable of getting the ingredients but they chose not to, instead they waited for me to arrive to assign this quest for me.

That girl, Kierra, also looked like she's an important person here in this village. If not, then why would the villagers even beg for me to get the herbs? if she's that important, then they should atleast initiate getting the herbs, isn't it? but they didn't that's why I thought, isn't it quite weird?

"The truth is..." she started that's why I focused my attention at her. "... we can't leave this village because we're cursed"

"Cursed?"

"The curse is, we can't leave this village that's why we need someone from the outside to get the ingredients because they're the only one capable of entering and leaving this village"

Medyo nagulat ako kaya taka ko siyang tinignan, "Do you know the reason why you were cursed?" I asked.

She sighed, "I-I also don't know the reason why but all I know is that..."

Medyo tumigil pa siya sa pagsasalita, "... Zephora is the one who cursed us"

"Who's Zephora?"

"I also don't know who that person is... she just came in this village and chanted an ancient spell that forbids us, the villagers, to exit this village and anyone who tries to leave this village meets a horrible death"

"H-Horrible death? w-what kind of death?" I asked. Medyo kinabahan ako ng kaunti kasi ako yung lalabas ng village, what if kapag lumabas ako di ako exempted? aba pota, baka lahat pala ng pumasok sa village na to ay under na ng curse.

"The villager who tries to exit this village burns into ashes... that's what happened to Kierra's father when he attempted to leave the village to collect the ingredients a few days ago"

Napatango ako at saka tinignan yung matanda sa mata, okay, I've made up my mind.

I'll help them... I'm their only hope to cure their own family, Kierra, and my conscience won't handle it if ever I just let someone die when I can do something to keep her alive.

"O-Okay, thank you for clearing things up. I'll now go to collect the herbs, please wait for me" I said and smiled at the old lady. I took the map as well as the picture of the herb.

She smiled back, "By the way, do you have a knife?" I asked.

Tinignan niya ako ng nagtataka kaya napa-explain ako, "I'll use it to cut the herbs if ever they're hard to pull. I will also need it in case I run into hounds again, for self defense purposes hehe"

Napatango naman siya at sinabing wait lang daw. She went into the kitchen and brought a knife, "Here, you can have it" nakangiting ani niya na inabot pa sakin ang kutsilyo.

I thanked her and she escorted me towards the exit of the village as well as the other villagers.

I took a deep breath as I forwarded my right foot and gladly, nothing happened at me.

I lifted Chubby and I turned around to see them waving at me. "Wait for me... I'll try my best to collect the herbs as soon as possible!"

I continued on my track and I headed north. Base sa mapa, madadaanan ko yung Auviary habang papunta ako sa den ng mga hounds that's why when I arrived at the spot where the Auviarys are located, I immediately collected it and slid them into my pouch.

In fairness, mabango siya. Atsaka kakaiba ang itsura niya, wala pakong nakikitang ganto sa normal world. Kulay violet and white ang petal niya tapos may ombre effect pa kaya ang gandang tignan. Dark red yung pinaka gitna niya tapos yung stem niya ay medyo sticky na ewan, parang uhog? charot lang.

I collected enough amount of it and I'm glad that I didn't run into any hounds. Ibinaba ko na din si Chubby kasi pagod nako magbuhat, I just let him follow me since he's quite obedient naman.

I proceeded towards my next destination and it took me atleast 42 minutes before I reached the territory of the hounds.

Bale dito ay wala ng puno puno, may formation ng stones sa teritoryo nila kaya nagtago ako don sa bato. I peeked at them and my jaw literally dropped when I saw hundreds of hounds, some are sleeping and some are not.

Putangina? andami naman. Ano ba namang mga hounds to napakadami, di ba sila nagsasawa mag reproduce?

I grabbed Chubby immediately kasi baka gumawa siya ng noise, kapag nahuli kami dito baka mamatay na talaga ako. Gladly, Chubby is cooperative and he's not creating a sound.

Tinakluban ko na din ang bibig ko when I remembered something. Wait lang? diba stealthy ang mga pusa?

That means when they walk, they don't create noises. Basically, pwedeng siya ang pakuhanin ko ng wolf peppermint which is located in?

Teka, nasan nga ba yon?

I looked around and I even squinted my eyes to see from a distance. Bingo, I spotted it.

Siya yung color silver ang leaves kaso ang problema lang ay nasa kabilang side siya. Think of it this way, may isang line tapos ako yung nasa right side, nasa gitna yung mga hounds na almost a hundred ang bilang tapos nasa left side yung grass kung saan natubo yung wolf peppermint.

In short, we need to walk past the hounds first before acquiring wolf peppermint. Just how unfortunate are we?! I thought, malapit lang siya sa position namen pero puta, bakit anlayo.

I closed my eyes to devise a plan when suddenly someone behind me spoke, "Hmmm, boss mukhang may naliligaw dito ah?"