Legends: The Emerald World

Little Char crawled out of the cave and into the luscious vegetation above its entrance. As she climbed over the leaves, she saw many more small bugs crawling along, living their lives in relative peace. She would normally be scared of seeing large spiders or praying mantises being so close, but this time, she didn't feel that fear.

Even with Shin fast asleep, the little power she gained from being tamed by him still far surpassed anything those bugs could even achieve. She nonchalantly climbed over the longest grassblade and looked at her surroundings. Shin had a strange dream; he was a tiny spider adventuring through the woods.

When humans sleep, their brains never shut off. The brain stays active, organizing and chugging along, which causes dreams, and the brain itself never truly sleeps. Now, that brain processing power was directed to empower Char's intelligence and thinking, merging her consciousness with Shin's dreams.

The faint power that his body generated through his sleep to turn and flip around was also directed to empower Char's body and grant a superspider strength and speed, nothing at the level of when Shin is awake, but enough to put her at the same power level as a cat.

"Hmmm…I see nothing. Those stupid Oak trees are too massive..."The thick foliage and countless thick oak trees blocked her vision.

Even a human would struggle to move without hitting one of the trees, let alone a carriage or a large animal.

The distance between each oak tree and another was less than three feet, sometimes even just one foot between one tree and another.

Char stood thinking, and a towering praying mantis crept up behind her, licking its mandibles.

The mantis swung its claw down, aiming at Char's massive stomach.

Char rapidly turned and blocked the mantis's attack with her right front leg. She looked at him with her eight eyes. She wiggled her fangs, "Bastard, why attack me?"

The mantis didn't respond and attacked again, swinging at her eyes. Char once again blocked his attack with ease.

"This isn't funny, green one. You remind me of my sister, die." She swung her fangs, biting the mantis's face off.

The moment her poison took effect, the mantis wiggled for a few seconds before dying. She started sipping its melted innards with joy, taking a moment to relax and bask in the warm sunlight.

As Char tried to get a moment of peace. A bird flew down at her, aiming to eat her alongside the praying mantis.

The bird bit on Char's head, lifting her and the mantis into the air as it flew away.

Annoyed, Char swung one of her limbs at the bird's head, knocking it out of the sky with ease.

"Can they eat this raw?" For some reason, Char knew from Shin's mind that humans can't eat raw meat. But due to how lazy she is, she just dragged the bird into the cave. The captain heard something moving, but he couldn't see anything in the dark.

As the spider presented the bird to Ase who was still hugging Shin to warm him up, Ase looked down and sighed, "He can't eat it raw, and we can't cook it." She patted Char's head. "Look for fruit, fruit!" She opened and closed her hands, trying to describe a fruit.

"I'll have this. Look for something else for Shin." Ase lifted the bird with her hand.

"I know what a fruit is." The spider knew from Shin's mind and she didn't need Ase's explanation. Without wasting any more time, she ran out again.

"Who are you talking with?" The captain asked.

"Yeah, you aren't going crazy, are you?" The large prisoner added. He too couldn't see anything in the darkness.

"Nothing, just the bugs around. Asked if there was any food nearby, nothing but dead lizards and frogs." Ase replied with a sigh, "I hoped there are some fruits of mushrooms nearby for you all, but this place is a dud."

"Hee…" The captain leaned back, "So you can speak with animals? Well, you're an animal yourself."

"She's a beast, not an animal you imperial imbecile. And not just any beast, it's rare to find one who can converse with animals. They are the guardians of nature and forests. Druids don't hold a candle to their might." The large prisoner growled.

"I'm not a little girl lost in the woods, your folktales and stories had long been debunked. Nothing but wizard's wizardry." The captain giggled, "The monsters are nothing more than animals mutated with magic, and beasts are nothing more than evil monsters, animals take a human shape to deceive and fool our kind."

The captain smiled, "I don't trust you, cat. Why don't you show us your real face, at least be honest like the dragon we faced."

Dragons were also accounted as beasts, just like Ase, they could take a humanoid shape and blend into the humanoids. Dragons are among the strongest beasts, up there with Fenrirs, Unicorns, Krakens, and alien abominations.

"I don't care if you trust me or not." When Ase glared at them, her eyes gleamed through the darkness like gems, "I'm a cat, a black house cat. I can leave if you don't want me around, but be sure you won't regret it."

Ase doesn't need to cook food or boil water to drink, like a wild animal, surviving in the forest won't be a problem for her. If she were to run away with Shin, she'd probably cross the border and reach Bluemoon in less than a day.

The captain and the large prisoner on the other hand can't do that, they must cook their food, avoid poisonous plants, and boil their water. Using fire might draw the dragon's attention, so they'll slowly starve and grow weaker and sicker with time.

The captain knew he was the strongest now, but in such conditions, Ase is held up better with time. What little food they brought with them had been drenched in water, the hard biscuits had turned into mush and the dried bacon wasn't so dry anymore.

"Forget it." The captain sighed, "Sorry about that." He looked away. For now, he needs her to stay around for defense, he can't lose half their group strength now. And what's more, he knew Ase wasn't stupid. If she is to leave, she'll try to injure him or the large prisoner to set the dragon on them instead of her.

Ase sat in silence, eating the bird that Char brought. And moments later, Char came back with a strange fruit, a long green fruit with spikes and it smelled really bad. But Ase knew it was edible so she woke Shin out to eat.

The captain and the prisoners ate from the ration that they scavenged from the fort, and they complained about how it tasted like mud.