Trapped in Another World With No Magic

Chapter 162: Solo Scouting

When Hekate was little, she would play with her straw doll, tucked away in her small hideaway hole in the gulpoxen stables of Shialvalgarro's Hoard, dreaming of exploring the world out beyond the mountain where the ancient fortress is located. She had no idea the world was far larger and more beautiful than her imprisoned young mind could comprehend. Hills roll gently as waves of grass sway in the wind. Trees creak and groan as they whisper to each other, watching over all who pass through with passive, unjudging gazes.

Even now, Hekate looks up at the leaves fluttering lightly in a gentle breeze; what little wind manages to penetrate this deeply into the treetops. Bugs and birds are making noise in the distance, and she can feel only a slight tension in the air.

She's currently stalking quietly through the forest on a solo-scouting mission. It's a small place to start, but she got Daniel to trust her enough to handle it on her own; without Doephluev or Ryuogriar watching over her shoulder. She has even checked behind her, and all of her companions' mana auras are still providing a light pressure behind her. Even Doephluev, who is keeping hers hidden for the most part, can be detected now that Hekate learned from her how to seek out suppressed mana. Unless she's really careful, it's still easy to miss.

For now, Daniel is keeping his word and letting Hekate handle it on her own. She shouldn't be very long, or they'd likely have split up. The main goal is to be ready to fight if something big shows up, since the Mattarglos citizens have experience with fighting many species of monsters, and Hekate's allies have weapons that can take down almost anything under the right conditions.

Hekate has a lot of power in a tiny package, so she feels confident. She did her best in the Citadel when Morthybargaron sent her in to conquer it or die trying, and she was struggling against malnourished and barbaric feral goblins -now known as 'dumgobs' by the Fievegal-. She doesn't know if she could face Lugrae as she is now, even if she has more mana than him thanks to the Devourer. His mere presence, appearance, size, and mana terrified her. She can still feel the overwhelming pressure coming from him clawing at her soul, though thankfully it's just a memory now.

The young feldrok empress clutches gently at her chest as she walks. No one addresses it, mainly because she hasn't let anyone see her naked, but there is still a brand on her chest. The owner of that brand is dead and annihilated, but she still hears his voice surrounding and suffocating her.

Morty was weak, Hekate. Er... M-Maybe... No, definitely, Daniel is just strong.

She looks at her ice blaster's muzzle, which is visible to her at her left from behind her back where it's slung.

I'm stronger than Morty now. I just... I wish I could prove it... But, he's dead now...

The ravenette clenches her fist in front of her to pump herself up.

That's right! Daniel trusted me to scout. So, I'll just need to ask him to give me more important missions from now on. And, next time, I'll fight the big monster alone! Hahahaha!

The young feldrok snaps out of her inner thoughts as she walks into a strange part of the forest. The air ahead is hazy, and the leafy smell of soil and decaying foliage making up the forest floor has given way to a different smell. It smells more distinctly like rot, and it makes the teen scrunch her nose in disgust.

"Blegh!" she whispers. "What is that?" She cautiously looks around, listening as carefully as she can. Her helmet protects her hearing at the cost of her highly sensitive directional perception of sounds.

And, there's a strange creaking noise that startles her a little as it echoes through the ground. She quickly draws the ice blaster, aiming in the direction the sound came from, but there are just a bunch of trees with a rippling texture to the ground, which is mostly covered by a blend of brown and green with the leaves mixed with a grass-like moss.