The Wandering Witch Celeste

Before the ending the day, I tidied up the area surrounding the area around the tent as well putting some stuff inside the pouch and making the tent easier to clean up tomorrow morning. After cleaning the tent and surrounding area of the tent, I went back inside the end and ate the nameless fruit and slept for the day, I needed all the energy I could spare for tomorrow's exploration into the forest. 

...I donned the clothes I had made yesterday, securing the Bo staff to the right side of my waist. After putting on my gear, I gently folded the tent and tucked it carefully into my pouch. 

I took the tucked away [Verdant Staff] from my pouch and look towards the forest, encouraging myself and putting my anxieties away that could potentially stop me from journeying into the forest. I can't stay in the meadow all my second life. I was given another life; I can't waste it inside this meadow surrounded by a sea of forest. 

Taking one step forward, I once again steeled myself and took a deep breath before continuing to take one step after another into the forest, getting deeper and deeper into the forest and as I got deeper into the forest, the farther the meadow got and once it wasn't visible anymore as if signaling a start of a small journey into the forest. 

I pulled a book out of my pouch and started to take notes of the forest as I walked deeper into it. I made the book during the week I was defeating slimes and was mapping out the meadow and the outskirts of the forest for reference in the future. The book wasn't really a map, and more like a journal record. I drew the slimes in it at some point and included a few notes in it as well. I took notes of the environments, where the herbs grew, the small creatures, and lastly where fruits were located and what fruits were in what location. 

Oddly enough, small creatures often approach me with much fear. Sometimes they nuzzle their nose or beak against me when I am meditating. Thanks to that discovery, I found it hard to kill them for my own gain, but it was also thanks to this that I was able to take lots of notes and sketches of the small creatures when I had time. 

Another aspect of that encounter that was interesting was how the small creatures seemed to be able to understand speech, they appeared to be somewhat intelligent. It was thanks to this that I could eat fruits without worrying about it being poison, adding a small variety to my onigiri diet. While there are times, they have difficulty understanding my speech for a period, there was also a time when they could understand it, and another time where they can but refuse.

Just as I was recalling the event, rustling of bushes could be heard and suddenly 3 goblins jump out in front of me out of the bushes and just as I got surprised by their sudden appearance, another 2 goblins appeared behind me without me noticing anything until I was fully surrounded by the 5 goblins. 

I looked at the goblins in front of me, while holding the [Verdant Staff] in one hand and a book in the other, I noticed how the small goblins had grins on their faces and bulges on their loincloth. A shiver suddenly invaded my body as I was disgusted by their reaction. 

Disgusted and frustrated by their reactions, I quickly raised [Verdant Staff] and shot numerous compacted [Fireball] towards the goblins. The compacted [Fireball]'s appearance was a bit small compared to its normal size, but the heat was a bit more than a normal [Fireball] and the power was multiplied by 2, thanks to [Verdant Staff].

As the compressed [Fireball] hit the goblins in front of me, they were immediately engulfed by the flames, quickly spreading to other parts that weren't hit by the [Fireball], and as they burned I quickly turn [Verdant Staff] upside down and swinging it behind me as I took a small jump to the side, hitting one of the two goblins frozen by shook from the scene before them by its head. 

With only one goblin left, I raised [Verdant Staff] towards the last goblin, not giving it a chance to regain its composure, I shot a normal [Fireball] at it, fully defeating the group of goblins that tried to ambush me. 

I looked towards where the 3 goblins' body should be, only to find a small blue light blue crystal slightly bigger than the slimes crystal was peeking out in the pile of ashes. It seemed important, so I fired another [Fireball] towards the one goblin I had defeated using physical force with a compressed [Fireball]. I didn't want to dig through its body to find a small crystal whose value and use are unknown. 

As I collected the crystals, I reflected on how the ambush was somewhat successful. Had I been weaker, the ambush would have work, and I could have been in danger, and I realized that had I was constantly trying to sense my surrounding with magic, I would have noticed the goblins before they could try to ambush me or even from a distance, another realization was that had their numbers twice or were they a bit stronger, I only could no longer handle it on my own. 

Realizing this, I decided to call it a day and decided to set up the tent a bit farther from this area, as the sun was already setting, and I didn't want to take my chances of going deeper into the forest during the night, and I had been walking nonstop without eating much, I needed to both eat and sleep. 

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..

...

I found a nice location to set up the tent. It was covered by a big tree. It was perfectly hidden and with the help of the items I had made, as well as making use of the surroundings, it would be hard to spot this area, unless they got too close. It was a good area to rest for the night. 

I carefully set the tent up and dug 2 holes near it using [Earth Magic], one was dug straight down while the other was a bit slanted and connected to the straight one. With this, I made a smokeless campfire. After fully setting up a camp in the forest, I pulled some onigiri out and ate a few and ate a few of the fruits I had brought with me. 

Stuffed, I went into the tent and ate one nameless fruit and laid down inside the tent and slept.