The forest loomed ahead, its towering trees casting long shadows over the path the mother-son duo followed.
Gaela moved swiftly, her steps silent despite the underbrush. Davin clung to her, his small hands gripping her cloak as he peered over her shoulder.
The deeper they went, the darker it became.
The air grew cooler, and the sounds of the village faded, replaced by the rustling of leaves and the occasional calls of distant animals.
Davin's heart pounded. He had never seen his mother like this—so desperate.
"Mother," he whispered, his voice barely audible.
"Why are we here?" He asked because the System hadn't yet explained what was going on.
Gaela didn't answer immediately. She stopped at a small clearing, her golden eyes scanning the area. Finally, she set him down on a moss-covered log and knelt before him.
"Davin," she said, her voice trembling.
"You must stay here and not make a sound. Can you do that for me?"
Davin nodded, his wide eyes filled with confusion.
'What's happening to her?'
[Make sure to follow her.]
'Look who finally decided to speak. Good, now give me some answers.'
[Not yet host. I'm still in the process of analyzing her, so don't stay far from her.]
'Haah…I was still going to follow her anyway.' He sighed as his attention shifting back to the silver-haired beauty in front of him.
Gaela then cupped his face in her hands, which felt cold to the touch.
"I won't take long." she reassured him. Then, before he could respond, she turned and vanished into the trees.
Immediately after she left, the little toddler slid off the log and crept after his mother, his small feet barely making a sound on the forest floor.
'Shit, where did she go?' After walking a few steps, Davin realized something. He couldn't see her…
[Go straight ahead.]
'Do you have some sort of in-built GPS?'
[…I don't know what that means, host. But I can track your mother using mana.]
'Oh… right, this isn't Earth.' He thought as he continued walking forward.
But the three-year-old didn't go far before his system screen flashed red…
[Warning!]
[Magical beast detected!]
Then a loud roar broke the forest's previous silence.
'Are you sure I should go straight ahead? I mean, that's where the damn roar came from!' He asked wryly.
[Yes.]
'If I die a second time, you'll owe me a third life!' He said indignantly, a chill running down his spine.
[You should hurry.]
~~
A two-meter-tall bear with red fur stood looming over a lone figure whose veil covered the golden cracks on her pale skin.
Its fur shimmered under the dappled sunlight that pierced through the forest's canopy, and its black claws were long and sharp, as if they were constantly polished.
The bear raised its right paw and thrashed it toward the figure standing in its way, intending to turn her into its morning snack.
But to the bear's surprise, its attack was not only repelled—it also lost its right paw in the process.
The bear released a deafening roar of pain, causing Gaela's veil to flutter and reveal glimpses of the golden cracks that spread across her skin like cracks in a porcelain doll.
The bear immediately retreated to a safer distance, staring hatefully at the veiled figure, who gazed back as if it were her prey.
Gaela walked forward, but before she could get close enough to land another strike, the bear opened its mouth and released a stream of red-orange flames, attempting to burn her alive.
To the wounded beast's dismay, the figure emerged unscathed through the fiery attack. And with a single, precise motion, her hand pierced the beast's chest, cutting short its last-ditch effort.
The bear's body fell to the ground, convulsing as golden light spilled from the wound. The light flowed into Gaela, causing the cracks on her skin to dim.
[Threat has been nullified.]
[Analysis complete!]
Davin's eyes widened. 'She's—'
[Draining its life energy.]
'How? What is she?'
[Celestial Origin, beings who once lived in the **** Realm—]
[I'm afraid more information about them has been locked by the system's admin…]
'Huh? There's also an admin?'
[…]
Gaela stood still for a moment, her shoulders rising and falling with steady breaths. Then, upon sensing his presence, she turned.
Her golden eyes met his, and for the first time, Davin felt a little scared of her.
"Davin?" she whispered, her voice breaking.
"How did you get here?"
Suddenly, to the boy's shock, his mother crossed the distance between them in a split second.
"You're not hurt, are you?" she asked worriedly.
Davin shook his head, utterly stunned.
'How did she move so fast that my own eyes couldn't keep up!?' he wondered as he gazed at his mother in front of him.
Gaela heaved a sigh of relief after scanning her son's entire body to ensure he was unharmed.
"Would you like bear stew for dinner later today?" she added with a sweet smile.
That's when Davin noticed that the golden cracks on her skin had completely disappeared.
[Her body is strangely familiar to the Time Orb.]
'Huh?'
[It requires life energy to keep itself in check. I think she won't die if her life energy depletes to dangerous levels. Rather, she might uncontrollably devour life energy from any being around her.]
'What do you mean by that?'
[In simple terms. Your mother can accidentally massacre the entire village if her life energy level drops too low.]
'Say what now!'
"Is something wrong? Oh no, did I scare you?" she said, lifting up Davin into her embrace, who seemed too lost in thought to even hear her.
'… how can one be both seductively beautiful and life-threatening dangerous at the same time!?' The boy wondered as his gaze went past his mother's shoulder.
[Maybe is due to her peculiar race.]
'Maybe…'
'And what the hell was she fighting?' he wondered as his eyes stared at the bear's corpse.
'Never seen a fucking bear breath fire!'
[Skill partially unlocked: Celestial Eye]
[Celestial Eye: an appraisal skill that gives the bearer information about a target, be it a living being or non-living thing.]
[PS: The skill is not effective against living targets far stronger than you or higher tier enchanted objects. The dead are not counted as stronger targets.]
[Name: Red Bear]
[Rank: Mystic Class]
[Tier: High]
[Threat Level: D]
[Affinity: Fire Element]
'Whoa… my first skill. Is it a bonus skill?'
'Huh? But why is it partially unlocked?'
[It's an bloodline skill. Your desire to know more about the Red Bear must have triggered it. Bloodline skills are inherited from parents and require special conditions to activate. But since this is only partially unlocked, it will return to a dormant state.]
'Oh-man, so I'm still not eligible to unlock the skill?'
[I can fully unlock it for you at a fair price of 2000 points.]
'Hell no!'
[+1000 Pulse Points!]
'Huh!?'
[I managed to borrow a few from your mother's kill…]
'Nice!'
[How about reconsidering the earlier offer?]
'Still no! You want me to die early or something?'
"You're always lost in that little world of yours." Gaela said with a chuckle.
Suddenly, a grumbling sound reached their ears, bringing the boy back to reality.
"Oh my, you haven't had breakfast. I can't believe it slipped my mind," she added chuckling some more.
'Tsk! If not for your beauty, I might have already denounced you as my mother!'