New World - A New Beginning

Chapter 6: The Girl in the Woods (1)

"Thank god I decided to go out with actual clothes today," I muttered as I trudged through the barren wasteland. A massive fire had erupted all around me, and if it weren't for my reflexes and quick thinking, I would've died. I dragged my heavy body forward, one foot at a time, my ripped beige cloth pants and shirt revealing cuts and burns on my white skin.

I checked my belt. The knife was still there.

I sighed at the little good news, I could at least defend myself.

When the fire had set ablaze, I had looked at all the opportunities presented in front of me. In a split second, I had decided that the best course of action was to run deeper into the woods, right into the forbidden kingdom. I was sure the fire wasn't an accident, or it wouldn't have reached such an unbearable level in such a short amount of time. Somebody, or something, had purposely targeted the little part of the forest that was drier than the rest.

A part of me worried about my parents, but Star had told me that they were both A-rank adventurers, so I was confident that they both made it out alive if they looked after each other. I had never known that ranks existed in this world. It was what defined us on Earth. Always trying to achieve the number one rank, trying to fight for survival, trying not to be swept up by the patrols and the HEG (Hunter Extermination Group).

I shivered at the thought of the brutal organization and shook my head, dispelling the thoughts from my mind. I concentrated on one course of action, a simple task. Unearth the identity of the person, monster, or group that had put my family in danger.

"Maybe it had to do with the strategic location of the village?" I whispered to myself, trying to think up possibilities for the reasoning behind the attack.

No. If it really was the dragonkin, I doubt they would've resorted to starting a fire. I had read that the dragonkin held honor to an extremely high degree of importance, and even if they weren't extinct yet, which I believed to be the case, I didn't see any reason for an attack of the sorts.

I stopped in my tracks, sensing something off. There was a massive source of energy right ahead of me. I will bind into my body and leaped into the air, barely managing to land on a thick branch.

"I definitely need to practice that," I whispered as I approached the source of the aura.

A... child?

Right below me was a child, around the same age as me, sitting with her head tucked into her bent knees, her arms wrapped around herself tightly. I could barely hear the occasional whimper from the girl.

The girl had long platinum white hair, a color I had never seen before. Her silky hair wrapped around her like a blanket, a semi crown braid wrapping around the back of her head into a small ponytail.

I dropped down quietly as to not frighten her.

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"H-hey," I said. My skills in interacting with people were still pitiful. How was I supposed to approach her??

The girl looked up at me, revealing her hidden face. She had ruby red eyes that glinted like the stones that they resembled, her long black eyelashes sparkling from the tears. She was wrapped in a simple cloth, but what stood out the most in her entire appearance was what lay on her head.

Small black horns.

She was a dragon, and she was the source of this power. I was lost for words, and I think she was too. Two species had finally made contact for the first time in centuries, a boy from a lost world, and a girl from a lost kingdom.

"What are you doing here?" I asked after receiving no return from my greeting.

"I'm being hunted," she responded simply. It was such a straightforward answer, but it took me by surprise. She was more honest with herself than most five-year-olds.

"By who?" I asked. This girl didn't seem to be scared by me, and I would use that to get information.

"Adventurers."

Huh? Adventurers were hunting a little girl? I thought they stuck to domains and monsters, why would they attack a helpless little girl? Did they realize she was a dragon?

"Do they know you're a dragon?" I asked, realizing I probably wasn't helping her situation, but she understood the severity of the situation we found ourselves in.

She merely shook her head, and I bit my lip in anger. These guys didn't know she was a dragon, but were still attacking her? I suddenly heard two howls of laughter approaching from behind.

"Come on! She went this way!" cried one of them. I closed my eyes and tried to feel the power of the people approaching us. If one were a similar power level or higher, it was impossible to sense their aura and binding attunement, but I was easily able to identify the two approaching assailants. Both D-rank adventurers, wind, and earth attunements.

My guess was that these guys were actually bandits rather than full-fledged adventurers, maybe their low rank incited them into participating in illegal markets?

"We sell the girl, then buy magical items!" screamed another.

Right on. I looked at the girl, her hands trembling ever so slightly. I could tell she was trying to hold it in, but she was rightfully scared. If I didn't have eighteen years of death matches in my consciousness, I would've already sprinted away from the two oncoming bandits.

"What's your name?" I asked the girl, trying to at least calm her a little. Was I suppose to ask her for her name? I don't even know at this point.

"Asthia," she responded, her eyes clearly judging whether my intentions were moral or not.

"Wait here, Asthia," I stated, unsheathing the knife I had brought from the kitchen back to my house. It wasn't a designated weapon, but it was more than enough.

I shot myself up into the trees, landing decently well. I was getting better, all I needed was a small amount of practice, I thought as I waited for the two to arrive.

"She's got to be around here somewhere!" said one of them. I looked down and saw both intruders. One of them was a scrawny man, probably in his twenties, with a badly shaved beard and a golden tooth shimmering in his mouth.

"Yea, these guys are bandits," I muttered.

The other guy was massive, his bald head emphasizing how huge he was.

Go for the weaker one first, I thought as I dropped down behind them.

"Hey, Duk, don't you hear something up ahead-"

SHING

The small guy suddenly stopped talking, his complexion frozen in shock. Blood suddenly came pouring out of his throat as the body slumped on the ground.

"Gor?!" roared the other as he turned towards his teammate. All that he was able to see was his companion's dead body surrounded by a sea of blood, and a small man standing on the corpse, knife in hand.

"W-what did you do?!" he bellowed as he pulled a rusty ax from behind his back.

Shut up.

The thought seemed to echo around me as my aura unleashed, the man named Duk suddenly turning blue. He dropped his ax, the weapon thumping on the floor due to its unquestionable weight. Almost like his body weighed more than the weapon itself, Duk fell to his knees, his eyes locked with mine. I could see his pupils shivering in terror.

I willed bind into my body, enhancing my speed, and appeared next to him.

"T-This kind of murderous intent... you... how have you felt so much pain already?" he croaked, his mere voice shaking.

"I don't think you want to know," I responded before swinging my arm to the side, the massive body falling to the ground.

I sighed, so auras were directly linked with past experiences? Considering all the pain and misery that Earth had generously given me, I would have to be more careful when unleashing my emotions, especially negative ones.

Even in a new world, the systems implemented drove people to unspeakable ends. Taking a life was something that imprinted you, scarred you, and it seemed like my past had caught up to me, pushing me to take my first life in this new life.