Chapter 28:

28. Uncertainty

Waldina - Journey as a ninja in another world


Waldina let her friends get just five hours of sleep before waking them up and urged them to get on the horses and get moving on. The drowsy did as they were told and their journey continued.

Waldina’s goal was to reach the location of her third stage-exam during this day and complete it next night as Kiandra and Claudia would be sleeping. She knew she’d need sleep sooner or later, though this wasn’t the first time she’d pulled an all-nighter or two in a row. She was too afraid of taking risks by sleeping herself and letting someone ambush them during the night. Claudia was simply too good for a hostage.

Though this world was vaguely familiar for Waldina, due to her gaming experience, she was afraid of treating it like a game. If she were to believe the words of Slehtkubi’s leaders, then this surely wasn’t a mere videogame anymore. And that meant she was responsible for her and Claudia’s lives. She wanted to believe that Kiandra could take care of herself at this point. All in all, as a game this world was dreamy but as a reality it was more dangerous than her homeworld. She simply wasn’t used to this sort of stress and she was starting to feel the pressure.

Claudia dozed off on her horse’s back and Waldina wondered if she should actually tie the other girl to the horse to ensure she wouldn’t fall down. She really didn’t want to deal with her falling down and possibly fracturing something yet she was empathetic for her drowsiness. Even Waldina’s own eyes felt terribly heavy though she was used to staying up for nights.

She considered her choices. She could let Claudia ride in front of her, so she could rush for help at any tim. Though Claudia didn’t know their exact route which could end up hindering their journey. She didn’t want any extra obstacles that would slow their pace so it wasn’t really a choice. Yet her neck was starting to hurt from all this looking back and forward. Thus she’d need to find another way to keep an eye on Claudia.

Perhaps they could all ride on the same horse and let the other follow them without any cargo. Or they could ride side by side. However, that would be difficult to do in such a thick forest. Not to mention the strain that too would place on her poor neck.

Waldina sighed. She’d have to cave and give them longer rest breaks and not try and find such stupid methods to avoid breaks. It just wouldn’t be possible today.

“Kiandra? Would you go and keep company for Cl- Diaz?” Waldina asked for the small fairy once again swinging on the horse’s mane to help her out. At the same time she cursed her habit of calling Claudia Claudia, even when they were in such a public place and anyone could hear them. Yet in her mind she found it difficult to address the lady as Diaz and from time to time she slipped up. Once Claudia would learn to act more like her disguise as a Diaz, perhaps remembering the name would become easier as well.

“Sure, but why?” Kiandra rubbed her eyes as she spoke the words.

“Because I’m afraid she’ll fall asleep any minute now and then she’ll fall down from the horse’s back,” Waldina explained, smiling mildly. Kiandra gave a nod as a sign for understanding before flying to Claudia. Soon afterwards Waldina heard happy chattering from behind her. She was content and reined her horse to run a bit faster.

The day went by fast. At noon Waldina led the group for a break. They ate a bit while the horses rested. Though Claudia and Waldina herself were definitely in need of rest as well. Having rode all day yesterday they were both exhausted and their muscles ached. Claudia complained about it a couple of times, but Waldina was content about how long the lady lasted nonetheless. She herself couldn’t have gone for much longer.

Kiandra on the other hand was full of energy. Hanging onto the horse's mane apparently did not require too much effort on her part, or perhaps she had discovered a new, less tiring way of staying on the horse's back. The others were a tad bit jealous of her and for a good reason.

As evening came Waldina checked her map hopefully. They had moved with a nice steady pace throughout the day - Waldina felt like her body had given up at some point on signaling her of the pain riding caused as she now felt almost nothing but lightness. Perhaps Claudia was experiencing the same thing or she was too into chatting with Kiandra, because it seemed like her body had forgotten all about the earlier exhaustion as well. At least she didn’t mention it any more. That had somewhat made it possible to reach Waldina’s planned destination.

The third stage-exam was only a bit further away from the camping area marked in the map. The camping area was so safe-looking and perfect that it would have almost worked as an oasis in the desert, but Waldina wanted to believe it to be real. There was also the possibility of a trap but surely not even the leaders of Slehtkubi hated her that much. She was, after all, the back-up hero they had summoned so there was no use in hindering her journey. Other possible enemies on the other hand didn’t know of her plans for tonight so ambushing her with a trap wouldn’t be likely.

The objective of her third stage-exam was to defeat a group of gray bears. Gray bears in the world AO were similar to regular bears but they counted as monsters and not animals. They were slightly bigger than regular bears and they often didn’t enjoy being in packs. Obviously the third stage-exam was an exception and they were surely in a pack.

The camping area was located right next to a small cliff. The area was neatly surrounded with thick trees and bushes making it a relatively safe area. In the middle of it there were remnants of an old campfire. Around it were a couple of logs which were probably brought there by a prior adventurer. They made it comfortable to sit around the campfire. She clearly wasn’t the only one who deemed the area perfect for rest.

Luckily the place was empty on this fine night. Earlier today she had noticed a couple of adventurers venturing through the woods, though as the day went by, she saw less and less other people. Currently they were rather deep in the forest between Twande and Drittio. Likely many adventurers wouldn’t enjoy being here as there weren’t that many great camping spots nor monsters to fight. A B ranked team such as Jaspis was rare around these parts - higher ranked teams were surely after money and prestige. That was found from more important areas, the grounds of important nobles and at the other edge of the world; by defeating the demons attacking humans. On the other hand lower level teams weren’t too keen on staying the night surrounded by trees and monsters. Thus, they were most commonly found close to towns, and not this deep in the forest. Waldina wasn’t exactly sure why she knew all this. It was as if the knowledge had been written somewhere deep inside her. It bothered her but only a little. After all, it was useful to have knowledge of her surroundings, even if the source of information wasn’t clear.

This evening Waldina took Claudia with her to gather sticks and branches for the campfire. She wasn’t exactly sure what she should teach the lady, but she guessed basic camping skills wouldn’t cause much harm. Besides it would be something a boy from the countryside most likely knew. At least she wanted to believe so. She wasn’t either male nor from the countryside so all of her speculations were based on assumptions. Assumptions which she had based through her experience in the modern world and the depictions that time had had of medieval times.

“Ugh,” Claudia yelped as she grabbed a stick covered with mud. Her expression was filled with disgust and Waldina smiled shortly at it.

“No worries, we want to only get semi dry wood for the fire,” Waldina comforted Claudia who dropped the stick back to the ground, with relief. Then she turned to search for more suitable wood.

After a couple of mismatched sticks she managed to recognize sticks and branches that Waldina approved of. While looking for more wood the ninja told the lady all sorts of skills that could help in surviving living in the forest. In Xunte Sintra she probably wouldn’t need to camp outside nor in the forest, but perhaps it would be more weird if Diaz didn’t have those skills. Imagine if she went outside the megalopolis for a trip and had zero survivability skills.

Besides it was always possible that Claudia would end up becoming an adventurer, and then those skills would surely be helpful.

Waldina sighed quietly.

In reality she had an idea of what she really should be teaching Claudia. She should help the lady become less uhh a lady. Cruder. More confident. Independent. To become something Waldina herself desperately tried to be.

“Don’t worry so much about me,” Claudia began after noticing how the purple haired ninja was fidgeting, touching her black ninjadress’ hem. “Your job is just to ensure I get to Xunte Sintra in time. Thus, you don’t need to teach me anything else.” Claudia’s face was adorned with an apologetic smile and Waldina felt a twinge in her heart.

“I’m not worrying I just… I want your plan to succeed. It would be absolutely terrifying if everything failed because you didn’t seem manly enough although you have your artefact,” Waldina explained shrugging.

“And that’s what we call worrying,” Claudia laughed before quickly returning to serious expression. “Anyways, won’t you tell me why you’re suddenly taking helping me so seriously? I’m obviously grateful but I was just wondering.”

“Hmm,” Waldina stopped, still carrying the wood they’d found in her arms. She was focusing on somewhere far away, not even sure what she was looking at. She just felt she was responsible for Claudia for now. Or perhaps…

“We haven’t known each other for long but I truly enjoy your company,” Waldina began while continuing walking towards their camp. “But perhaps I feel sympathetic towards you. It’s absolutely terrible when someone else decides for your way in life. I want to help you enjoy your freedom.”

“Is that so?” Claudia’s heart was fluttering faster. Waldina was speaking so, so beautifully of her that she couldn’t help but smile.

“Yes,” Waldina nodded and put the wood down to the ground, next to the campfire. She began setting them optimally for proper campfire whilst talking of all the basics of litting up a fire safely. Claudia nodded though she was still thinking of their prior conversation.

“Is it because you see yourself in me? Do you feel like your life was decided for you?” Claudia bit her lips knowing how uncomfortable the question she asked was. Waldina herself stiffened visibly, letting the words sink in her mind.

“Umm. Perhaps. Actually, maybe I could tell you a story,” Waldina voiced after a moment’s consideration. Finally she’d decided Claudia was trustworthy enough to hear of her story.

The campfire was burning hot when Waldina told her story to Claudia. She told how she’d ended up in a strange world, a world she’d partly seen before. She told about the mystical powers she’d earned - powers which didn’t exist in her world. She told about Kiandra. About Slehtkubi and Oziel. She told her about the shackles bounding her to this world and how it forced her to focus on certain things. About the shackles she herself had forced on herself.

“But couldn’t you just decide to enjoy your life here without a care for Slehtkubi. I mean, they’re not interested in you, so why would you focus on them?” Claudia snapped once Waldina had finished her story.

“That’s what I’ve been trying to tell her,” Kiandra joined the conversation agreeing with Claudia. “But no, Waldina just wants to train to become a better ninja and show everyone who doubted her.”

“I mean, I guess that’s a choice as well,” Claudia wondered.

“Well I can’t exactly return home without following the path set for me,” Waldina pointed out, though feeling ever so slightly lighter.

“Well, at least you get to level up now that we’re accompanying Diaz,” Kiandra laughed trying to lighten the mood. Claudia nodded in agreement, but Waldina herself stayed quiet. The closer they came to Xunte Sintra, the more likely they’d meet enemies. And those enemies surely wouldn’t be afraid to aim at a person riding the horse. She wasn’t sure if her level would be high enough by then.