"Oh, it's you guys again,"
Suddenly a green figure of a human appeared before us. A familiar face and one I bet Satou isn't happy to see. I wonder if she will make him feed her again. The figure turned out to be the dryad who helped us escape the Cradle. She beckoned us forward with a wave of her hand. She should put on some clothes because she is as bare as the day she was born.
"Mrrr, go away," But before we can get close, Mia stands between us. Stretching her arms out as if she is protecting us. "Drain."
By "Drain," Mia must mean the dryad's ability to suck up magic. She shouldn't be that worried. Satou has fed her before, and I have plenty of MP. But then again, I don't want to have to kiss her. Hopefully, Satou will take one for the team again if it comes down to it.
"Oh my. Don't be rude, child,"
Mia didn't seem to like being called a child. I could hear her let out a growling sound. She looked like she was going to start a fight, but I put my hand on her should before anything could happen.
"So, do you need something?" I ask.
"Oh, the chief of the Forest Giants just asked me to find out who trespassed through the barrier. But since it is you, though, I'm sure I can bring you straight to him. The youngling there can come too,"
Somehow that doesn't sound like a good idea. If I leave them, everyone, with Satou, I am sure they will make it to the village in one piece. Still, it is at least a full day, maybe two days' worth of travelling, to reach the village from here. I could go if I had to and made arrangements for the other's arrival, but I would rather all of us arrive together.
"Would it be okay to take all of us?"
"Sure, but I don't have enough magic for that, so you will have to give me some of yours,"
"Okay,"
"Don't," Mia tries to stop me, but I pat her on the head.
"Don't worry, I will be fine," I tell her before stepping around and offering my hand the dryad.
"Boo, this way isn't as fun," She pouts as I begin transferring my magic to her.
The dryad was more greedy than I thought, and I was lucky I had a fast mana recovery rate. I started off with four hundred and forty MP. By the time she was done, I had only twenty left. If I had added the amount of MP, I would have recovered during the process. I estimate that the dryad took roughly seven hundred MP.
I should have let Mia stop me. I felt so tired afterwards that I could barely stand, even with Pearl supporting me. Even after drinking an MP recovery potion, I still took a while to recover. I know one thing for sure now. I will never give a dryad any of my magic ever again. I completely overestimated my own abilities. Mia and Nana almost attacked the dryad, but I managed to talk them down.
"Well, that was stupid," Arisa comments as the dryad starts.
"Yeah, I underestimated how fast she could absorb my MP,"
"Alright, here goes, everyone. Please step inside the circle,"
The dryad instructs with a cheerful voice as a circle of mushrooms sprouts from the ground. Mia mutters the word "Fairy Ring" as we all group together in the middle. At least my Mp is going to good use. I can feel powerful magical energy beneath my feet a split second before we are teleported.
"Dryad, who have you brought here?!"
Chaos. Chaos erupted as soon as we arrived at wherever the dryad teleported us. Men and women the size of buildings stand and reach for weapons that could crush a castle with a single swing. Several other people closer to our size looked just as panicked. One of them, a man riding on a giant's shoulder, instantly demanded answers from the dryad as soon as we arrived.
