Enchanted University of Magemenos

Chapter 21: Grave danger

"Ella, get us water right now, as much as you can," I urgently requested.

"Got it," she replied.

Ella quickly began spitting water into the wooden container we had, and together, we threw it onto Keth to extinguish the flames engulfing him.

As night fell, the shield we had fashioned from the fire began to show signs of weakness, with large holes forming in its once-solid surface.

In that harrowing moment, as the flaming branch emerged through the hole in the shield and struck Ella, instinct took over. I pushed her out of harm's way, but in doing so, found myself trapped with no means of escape. In the throes of despair, I questioned the fairness of my fate. Why did I intervene to save someone I barely knew? Why did misfortune always seem to find me?

As exhaustion consumed me and my vision blurred, I resigned myself to the inevitable. Should I surrender to the anguish and embrace my demise? But just as darkness threatened to overtake me, a faint figure emerged, cradling me in their arms as they carried me to safety amidst the flames.

In that moment, as I felt the searing heat envelop me, I found solace in the arms of my rescuer, knowing that even in the darkest of times, there was still hope.

Slowly, I opened my eyes, expecting to see darkness, but instead, I was greeted by the light of day. Confusion washed over me as I struggled to comprehend what had transpired. Time seemed to blur together, leaving me disoriented and uncertain of how much had passed since the ordeal in the fire.

"Finally, our princess is awake," Keth said sarcastically, his tone laced with irony.

"I'm alive? I thought I would die," I said, recalling the mysterious man who had saved me as I struggled to make sense of the situation.

"Yeah, if not for Keth, we wouldn't have been able to save you. He bravely entered the fire to bring you out, and in doing so, he lost his special protection," drake explained, gratitude evident in their voice as they recounted Keth's heroic actions.

"Thank you for saving me," I said, turning towards Keth with a heart filled with gratitude, acknowledging his bravery and selflessness in rescuing me from the flames.

"We need you to guide us to the exit, or else all of us are dead, including you. By now, I'm sure all of you are familiar with how real the game is. We get hurt, or we die; it happens in the most realistic way possible. So enough of your rest. Guide us now. Find the exit on the map quickly. We only have 5 minutes because you wasted all the time sleeping," Keth glared, his tone sharp with urgency and frustration.

"Only 5 minutes?" I exclaimed, my voice trembling with fear.

I tried to recall any specific places on the map. There were small crosses in some more places, but by now we knew crosses were for danger and not for the exit. The only thing I could see on the map were crosses and pine trees. Where is the exit?

"Wait, isn't this the Crape Myrtle trees?" I said, a glimmer of recognition flickering in my mind.

"Which? These are pine, Alyssa," Drake replied, his tone tinged with confusion.

"Oh, did I say it aloud? I meant on the map. You know how there are pine trees throughout the entire forest, but there is this one specific place which has Crape Myrtle trees," I clarified.

"Why do we care about that now?" Keth interjected, his tone impatient as he focused on the urgency of finding the exit.

"I don't know about that either, but it's just suspiciously different. Why not pine there?" I added, voicing my uncertainty.

"Maybe I know why," said Eagen, his voice tinged with intrigue.

"My uncle used to tell me that Crape Myrtle trees have the strongest scent in the world of trees, and smell is the sense to find the exit. There must be something we are missing," said Eagen, his voice filled with realization.

"And... they want us to get distracted by the Crape Myrtle smell and miss the exit," continued Ella, as she pieced together the puzzle. 

"Guide us there," said Keth, urgency evident in his tone.

"We have 5 minutes, and it's completely the opposite way. We have no time to walk. Guys, we have to run," I urged, the gravity of the situation pressing upon us as we realized the urgency of reaching the true exit.