Chapter 23: The Druid Maiden

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【The black bear noticed Vivian.】
【The black bear displayed an expression of vigilance.】
【"Come on! Eat some fish!" Vivian pulled out a piece of grilled fish and gestured toward the bear.】
【The black bear was clearly tempted by the grilled fish.】
【It asked in a very cautious tone: "Are you here to catch me, too?"】
【It was a very pleasant, girlish voice.】
【Vivian was surprised that the black bear had spoken.】
【The creature then shed its disguise, revealing a young girl's form.】
【She was a Druid.】

A Druid, huh...
A look of nostalgia appeared on Ron's face.
Once upon a time, he had imagined that Druids could transform into various beast-girls, allowing him to taste the flavors of different beast-girls all at once.
However, after truly getting his hands on one, he discovered that in this world, Druids could only transform into full-fledged magical beasts during combat.
Still, the taste was quite good, at least.

【"Wow!" This was the first time Vivian had seen a real-life Druid, and she looked pleasantly surprised. "A Druid!"】
【"You're not here to capture me, are you?" The Druid girl looked at the grilled fish in Vivian's hand and swallowed hard.】
【Vivian patted her chest in assurance: "Of course not!"】
【"That's great!" The Druid girl happily ran over, took the grilled fish from Vivian's hand, and began to devour it.】
【She even sat down beside you as if they were old friends.】

Wait... are you really just going to trust Vivian's word like that?

【"I don't know what's gotten into everyone lately; people keep coming here to catch me, and I can't even practice properly."】
【The Druid girl’s name was Hedy, a Druid of the Natural School.】
【Hedy and Vivian hit it off, and she gave some of her collection to Vivian as a gift.】
【As a Druid of the Natural School, her path of cultivation involved traveling the world, observing the life cycles of various magical beasts, and occasionally acting as a veterinarian for them.】
【Most of her collection consisted of items she had removed while performing surgeries on these magical beasts.】
【"Have you offended someone?" Vivian felt an instant connection with Hedy and naturally didn't want her new friend to be in danger.】
【"Maybe I was targeted when I sold some materials..." Hedy said uncertainly.】
【"What did you sell?"】
【"A whole dragon tail." Hedy gestured with her hands, "It was this long."】
【Vivian’s eyes lit up: "Wow! You killed a dragon?!"】

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【"No." Hedy waved her hands, shaking her head repeatedly. "A dragon made a bet with some black dragons, claiming that a black dragon's elemental immunity also worked against volcanic lava, and then its tail got badly burned. So, I just cut the tail off."】

Wait... when did dragons become so abstract?
But on second thought, dragons do seem to be exactly that abstract.
Dahlia had once bet her companions that the Mad Demon King had no interest in dragons, then flew over to provoke him.
Naturally, she lost the bet.
At the time, the dragon was isolated overseas, and Ron had been busy collecting encyclopedias of all the races on the continent and hadn't gotten around to finding the dragons yet, only for one to deliver itself to his doorstep.

【At Hedy's invitation, Vivian arrived at her temporary dwelling.】
【It was a crude grass hut, simply camouflaged with leaves and branches.】
【Druids rarely use their transcendental powers when not in combat, as the Natural School believes this allows for a closer connection to nature.】
【"I've been observing the birds on Lake Lamo from here," Hedy explained.】
【Ever since she arrived, she hadn't known a moment of peace.】
【This was already her third hut; the previous ones had been destroyed by mercenaries who came to capture her.】
【Hedy wasn't a fan of fighting either; if it weren't for the fact that her observation of the birds had reached its final simulation stage, she would have packed up and left long ago.】
【Just as Hedy finished speaking, a fireball flew out of the forest and struck her hut directly.】
【The hut ignited instantly, the roaring flames illuminating Hedy's stunned face.】
【"Hahaha! The intel was right! There really is a Druid here!" Several men’s excited voices echoed from the dark forest. "The bounty is ours!"】
【As soon as their voices faded, a barrage of fireballs flew toward them.】
【The opponents were highly professional mercenaries; even while talking trash, their attacks never ceased.】
【Under the cover of night, the mercenaries' silhouettes flickered in and out of view.】
【Through the flashes of the fireballs, Vivian saw their formation.】
【Three warriors, one mage.】
【A standard mercenary party configuration.】
【"I'll handle the mage. Leave the rest to you!" Vivian volunteered.】
【At that moment, Hedy transformed into a ferocious Aurora Tiger.】
【The white light from the tiger's stripes illuminated everything in the vicinity.】
【"Then I'll leave it to you!" Hedy didn't refuse; if the enemy had a mage, she really couldn't win.】

Ron didn't rush to intervene.
He wanted to see exactly what Hedy's strength was.
From just now until this point, she had already performed two transformations; she could be considered an initiate Druid.
If she was strong enough, it would be fine to trick her into joining Vivian's team.

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When collecting the Demon King's remnant souls later, it would be inevitable to encounter and clash with various forces; if they kept fighting alone, they would easily fall into a disadvantage.
Besides, a Druid could better assist Vivian in searching for lost remnant souls in the wild.

【Vivian's opponent was a Level 2 Mage.】
【When he saw Vivian, he displayed a look of disdain and gave a contemptuous smile: "An apprentice?"】
【Vivian gripped her staff with both hands: "Why are you trying to capture Hedy?"】
【"You're better off not knowing!" The mage looked at the others already locked in combat and chuckled, "Otherwise, you'll lose a friend forever."】
【"Besides, do you think you have the qualifications to make me answer that question?" With that, he pointed his staff, and a fireball appeared before him.】

Good, good! Say more of that!
Ron’s eyes lit up as he saw the opponent’s remarks.
Say more!
Unfortunately, this mage wasn't interested in chatting; he wanted a quick victory so he could capture Hedy.

【If it weren't for the mission requiring a live capture, Hedy would already be dead.】

The mage's thought wasn't an exaggeration.
At this moment, Hedy was gradually falling into a disadvantage under the siege of the three warriors.
If not for Vivian holding that mage back, she would have already been captured.

【"I'm telling you..."】
【Just as the mage turned his attention to the other side of the battle, Vivian’s lowered voice came through: "Setting fire to the forest is a punishable offense."】
【"What?" The mage's brain failed to process Vivian's disjointed remark for a moment.】
【He subconsciously launched a fireball at Vivian.】
【Then, he witnessed a bizarre scene.】
【Vivian swung her staff and actually swatted his fireball back?】
【She swatted it back?!】
【The mage stared at the incoming fireball, hurriedly chanting a spell to prepare a defense.】
【Suddenly, he felt the magic power within him abruptly stagnate, and the spell he was casting was directly interrupted.】
【Silence?】
【Why was there no wind-up animation?!】