“Okay, tree. I may have forgotten about you and fallen asleep in the green bubble for a bit, but now I’m back for my revenge.” I pointed my finger at the tree. Menacingly.

Moreover, even though I slept for what felt like quite a long time, it was still the middle of the night outside. Time dilation was cool and all, but this was definitely gonna mess with my sleep schedule.

“You may be acting all innocent, but I know it’s your fault I’m stuck in this illusion nonsense! So, what’s the easiest way to dispel it?” I gave it an evil grin. “To remove you from the equation, of course.”

I turned my right hand into a finger gun and pushed it up against the tree. My expression turned into a frown, as if I was looking at filth.

“Nothing personal, tree,” I said.

“Bang!”

The tree disappeared.

Meanwhile, my cool green bubble gained a new woody resident.

I nodded to myself and set off once again according to Chad’s directions. Just as I had hoped, the curse had been lifted. I didn’t end up back at the tree spot anymore and safely made it back to the cozy ancient ruins.

For a second, I wondered whether Willow would still be there, of whether she had left to look for me. But since I had no way to tell, I knocked on the door three times and waited.

…

And waited…

And…

Yeah, it didn’t seem like anyone would be coming to open it up for me.

So, just like before, I decided to move the door out of the way with my ability to get past it.

As soon as I did, I discovered the reason why the gatekeeper hadn’t answered my plight.

“Aww…”

There was a goblin curled up on the ground next to a shining lantern, sleeping away. Her stern and serious nature was nowhere to be seen. Only the most cuddleable creature on the planet over here.

“Okay, let’s get you properly tucked away. Sleeping on the cold floor can’t be comfortable. And you might catch a cold.”

I squatted down and wrapped my arms around her to carry her.

But as soon as I touched her, her eyes shot open, she sprung up, and somehow, in about two seconds, I found myself pushed against a wall with a sword next to my neck and a goblin glaring at me.

“Well, good morning to you too!” I automatically yelled out.

“Fei?” she asked, her eyes widening. She lowered her sword while continuing to stare.

“Hi,” I squeaked out, regretting I turned the sleeping princess back into the angry dragon with my unlucky touch.

“Hello…” she said absent-mindedly before shaking her head and continuing to glare at me, this time without holding a sharp weapon to my neck. “What took you so long? I thought you ran away. ”

Aww, she was afraid I’d left her.

“Well, it’s a long story. Basically, there was this really clingy tree…” I began telling my story as she picked up the lantern and we walked back to the main room.

“A mana tree…? Hmm…” The goblin looked thoughtful. She probably hadn’t heard of a mana tree before, considering typical goblin knowledge.

“Yeah, we can speed up your magic training exponentially!”

“That… sounds great. But is it really safe?” she asked.

“Hmm? Yeah, definitely. I ate one and I’m still alive, after all.”

“That doesn’t fill me with much confidence,” she admitted.

“It’s fine! I promise!”

She gave me a noncommittal grunt instead of replying.

“Also!” I remembered. “Maybe these fruits also restore your ability! We should totally try it!”

“Oh? Hmm…” I might have piqued her interest, but she still seemed quite reluctant.

I let her think about it while we made it back to the camp. As soon as we did, I noticed something odd.

“Hey, is it just me or is that thing swirling faster?” I pointed at the black fog inside the crystal.

Willow frowned at the crystal in question before answering, “I noticed it sometimes speeds up and sometimes slows down. I have no idea what it means, but rule one still applies.”

“Yeah yeah, I know. No touching that thing.” I waved my hand with an eye roll. “More importantly, here it is!” I pulled one of the mana fruits from my bubble and held it in front of Willow.

Her eyes widened at the sight of a glowing fruit.

“You can feel it too, right?”

“... yeah.”

“Wanna try it then?” I danced with my eyebrows suggestively.

She gazed at the fruit for a second before resigning herself with a sigh and taking the fruit off of me. After scrutinizing it for a few seconds, she closed her eyes and bit into it.

Her eyes shot open, happy sparkles appearing in them.

I grinned at her. “See? I told you.”

“Oh my god! What the heck?” she exclaimed while looking at the fruit in her hand. “I feel…” She searched for the words to use. “Full of energy… or something. This is so weird!”

“Yeah! Awesome!” I cheered. “And now you can channel that energy and use your ability on me to turn me into a cute girl!” I raised my arms in excitement.

“What? No, my charge didn’t change,” she said, before frowning. “Wait, was that your intention all along?”

“Come ooooon! Just do it! I have a feeling things will be great once you do it!”

“Fei, I told you, I need to use my charge wisely. Especially now that winter is just around the corner, we need to focus on getting through it.”

“Fiiiine…” I pouted with my arms crossed.

She sighed. “Look, I promise once winter has passed, I’ll try using it on you, okay?”

“Alright, deal! It will be a very late Christmas present then!” I proclaimed.

“Christmas… Huh, I completely forgot about the Earth holidays,” she whispered to herself. “Yeah, sure, consider it a late Christmas present then.”

“Yay!”

“But…” An uncharacteristic grin appeared on her face. ”You also recall what happens to naughty kids when Christmas rolls around, right?”

“Huh…?” I stopped in my tracks. “Well… I mean… coal can be useful too. But, no! I won’t be naughty! I will be good! I promise!”

“Sure, sure.” She smiled.

Damn! Where had the serious Willow gone? What’s up with the teasing little devil now?!

“Anyway! Magic!” I steered into another topic. ”With these fruits, I will turn you into a legendary archmage in no time!”

“Hahaha! A goblin archmage. You know what? Sounds good to me.”

And thus, the grand magic training began.

BottledChaos

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