The Woodlands forest was incredibly dense. The leaves of the tall, ancient trees blocked out the sunlight, and everything felt damp, mixed with the smell of moss and old bark. There wasn't even a hint of wind, only a thin mist that slowly faded as the sun rose.
There were no sounds at all. No insects, no birds, nothing. Even the sound of his own breathing felt too loud.
There was a path there, clearly visible because of the stones laid along its center, slightly narrower than the wagon from earlier. Luke followed the path, and the deeper he went, the more he understood that wandering off the path in a fantasy world was a very, very bad idea.
Often he saw fleeting shadows moving quickly among the trees, or heard branches snapping on the forest floor. But nothing attacked him, only the hair on his neck standing up, signaling danger.
Every tree, every leaf, every shadow in the forest seemed to be watching him.
"I hope this path really does keep monsters or ghosts or whatever away from me," he muttered.
He didn't know why he said it, the words just came out of his mouth, trying to reassure himself.
And Luke kept walking. With no sunlight visible through the canopy, he had no idea how long he had been walking. His legs began to ache, and his stomach growled, but he ignored it.
Every so often, he felt eyes on his back. At one point, a shadow walked between two trees at a distance. It looked far too large for a normal animal, let alone a human.
Luke froze where he stood, but then the shadow vanished. After that, he walked as fast as he could, nearly running along the path.
After a while, he slowed down. "…It should be safe now, right?" he whispered, panting. Then he saw a tree trunk at the edge of the path, a little farther away.
Instinctively, he walked toward the tree, wanting to rest just to drink or eat. If something attacked him, he would jump back onto the path immediately.
He sat down, drank greedily from his waterskin, then paused, feeling the muscles in his legs throbbing from walking too far. He hadn't walked this much in years, not since childhood, used to the convenience of Earth's transportation.
As Luke reached for his rations, suddenly he heard the crunch of dry leaves and branches being stepped on to his left, freezing him in place. The sound came again, this time like something walking toward him.
He swallowed hard, ready to run back to the path, when a creature emerged from the trees. It was larger than a big dog, but its body was bulkier, with dark fur that looked oily. Its head was angular with many sharp edges, and its four yellow eyes were arranged vertically.
Luke stared at the creature, and it stared back without blinking. Then it roared loudly and began walking toward him slowly.
He stepped backward toward the path, and on his third step, his foot caught on a root, nearly sending him tumbling, flailing his arms before regaining balance.
The creature only watched him, then suddenly leapt to attack.
"AAAaaaaa!" Luke threw himself to the side, crashing hard to the ground. The creature lunged at where he had stood, then turned sharply toward him with terrifying speed.
Luke scrambled backward. "No, no, I swear to god, I taste like shit!!"
The monster crouched, ready to pounce again.
Suddenly his hand grabbed something that felt like a stone, and he hurled it at the creature without thinking. The stone struck its snout.
The creature yelped.
"Oh. That actually..."
But now the monster growled furiously.
"…made it more angry. Damn it!" Luke spun and ran as fast as he could. But the monster also charged, closing in.
When his foot touched the path, suddenly he was yanked backward, realizing the monster had grabbed the strap of his travel pack slung across his shoulder.
He nearly fell, but threw his body forward, snapping the strap, and tumbled onto the path.
Luke quickly looked at the monster, panting hard, as it now bit into his travel pack. The creature tossed the bag to the ground, then paced back and forth outside the path, snarling, its four eyes glaring at him with hatred.
But the monster truly couldn't enter the path, confirming Luke's suspicion that it was protected by magic.
He laughed weakly, mocking. "Hahaha, you can't get in here."
The creature seemed to understand his words, growling and roaring in frustration, then suddenly lunged forward. But it slammed into something invisible, recoiling with a hiss.
"Hahahaha," Luke laughed again, still sitting, stretching his leg slightly out of the path. The creature watched his foot, but Luke pulled it back.
He stuck his foot out and back quickly several times, taunting the monster. The creature grew angrier, then slowly walked toward Luke's travel pack.
It sniffed at it a few times, then lifted one leg and deliberately urinated on the pack, leaving Luke gaping.
"…Hey! That's my stuff!!"
The creature ignored him, continuing to piss on it.
"SHITHOLE!!! YOU ABSOLUTE, FUCKING, ASSHOLE!!!" Luke screamed at the top of his lungs.
It turned casually toward him, seeming to laugh, then disappeared into the forest, still making that strange laughing sound.
Luke remained frozen, half-lying there for a long time, staring at his travel pack now soaked in urine. Then he burst out laughing hysterically.
"ALL OF YOU ARE GODDAMN INSANE!!!"
After some time, once Luke was sure the monster was gone, he managed to retrieve his travel pack using a stick. The cloth bag and its contents reeked of piss, but at least the waterskin and some rations were spared, having been thrown out when the monster tossed the bag.
Grumbling, he used the stick to drag the waterskin and rations back, cursing nonstop, swearing he would skin that monster alive if he ever met it again.