Fall Into The Wild; BOTW Fanfiction

Chapter 128

The next morning, I stared around the room, only to find a Link leaving the tree. Grabbing my stuff quickly, I followed him out. "Link, hold on a second!" When I met his eyes, they were cold and unfeeling. Just the same as both of our first meetings. "Link?" Not a word. Not even a measly scoff. Nothing came from him and this had me concerned. Link, leaving me in the dust, ventured to a Korok.

"Hey! Are you the hero? Could it be? Welcome to Korok Forest! You're... much, much cooler looking than I thought you'd be! But to be sure you're up to the task at hand... I prepared a trial for you! What do you think?! Will you accept my trial?" The seedling asked, as Link accepted the quest, "Hooray! Show me a rod with the power of ice, please! You can wave this rod to freeze monsters in their tracks! Ice Wizzrobes love to wreak havoc with them. If Mr. Hero were to wield a rod with the power of ice, he would be even stronger... and cooler!" After that Link ventured to the second oldest Korok, Chio.

"Huh? You... Could it be?! You're Mr. Hero! Mr. Hero is here! And Miss Seer too?! The mushroom on my head suddenly sprouted yesterday, so I knew something was up! It was a prediction that you'd come!" A pause, "... I think." The way the spirit spoke was something close to a mutter, before the Korok continued, "Us Koroks all got together and prepared some trials just for you, Mr. Hero and Miss Seer! Although you may not need them, since you already pulled the Master Sword and all... But these trials will help you grow even stronger than you are now! Among them is an extra-tough one designed by me, the elder of Korok Forest. So will you test your mettle in the Korok Trials?" A brief pause, before the blond accepted. But instead of celebrating, Chio sighed, "Ya know, if you keep doing everything everyone asks of you without question, you're gonna get conned eventually..." I don't remember this... though I did skip past this dialogue. "Anyway, where was I? Oh, yeah! The Korok Trials! Long story short – you need to visit all the shrines in the Korok Forest so that you can be considered a real grown-up! Trial one! In the southwest forest: Trial of Second Sight! Trial two! In the northwest forest: The Lost Pilgrimage! Trial three! In the eastern forest: The Test of Wood! If you can overcome the Korok Trials, you can overcome anything! We've also prepared some wonderful prizes for you! Now show us that you're made of! All right! Do your best!"

Accepting, Link walked eastward, climbing the trail in the process. I followed behind him like a lost puppy, wondering what was wrong. Was this my doing? Did I do something wrong? The Deku Tree watched from a distance, mumbling something to himself. "Poor girl, you haven't realized his remembrance, have you?"

Reaching the start of the Test of Wood, Damia, the Korok called Link over, "Hey, hero guy! I was told you'd be coming. But do you really think you're ready for the Test of Wood?! Some say it's the hardest of the Korok Trials. But it's not complicated – all you need to do is equip this Korok weapon set and reach the shrine at the back of the area. Are you ready to try it?"

"I'm ready."

"All right. Go get 'em! You have to keep the sword, bow, and shield equipped the whole time. If they break or you unequip them, you're out!" The Korok pointed to the weapons gingerly before the blond suited up. "All you have to do is reach the shrine in the back of the area. Off you go!"

"Wait a moment, Link." Another cold glare. But it wasn't a glare. I wasn't being delusional. It was the truth. Link, though he wouldn't tell me, was contemplating. He remembered the moment when he forgave me. When he realized that I could see the usually shy Koroks. Was I really as bad as I thought she was? What a question it was. "'What are you doing here?'" He once asked me, "'Can you see them?'" Something that day had changed in the hero's eyes. Link was once unnecessarily cold, but at that moment, something changed. He was no longer cold, just unsure. And Link at the current moment, acted the same. I connected two and two together, after the Korok disappeared. I guessed he went to congratulate Link on finishing the test of wood. That was my time to go back to the Keo Ruug Shrine. After a few minutes, Link teleported back, eyeing me up and down. "Did you have fun? Maag Halan Shrine was a Blessing isn't?" Not a word, before he took off, "Link! What did I do?!" As I followed behind him, he opted to ignore me. I continued to poke his back over and over again, feeling more and more unsure by the moment. He never told me to stop. I stopped until he approached Zooki, another Korok.