Volume 1 Chapter 33 The Al-miraj Forest
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
We’d been lucky to survive the slaughter at Garao Village, but on the trek back to our base in Linto, just shy of Owens Village, these bastards jumped us.
They called themselves the “Weasels of Bohemia¹.” Honestly, calling them a mercenary group was a compliment; they looked more like common bandits.
Our carriage was a rolling morgue of dead men, the wounded, and a few terrified Militia.
We weren’t exactly in fighting shape, even against a pack of scavengers.
If we could just reach Owens Village, we’d find the Kingdom’s regular Infantry. We fled through the dancing snowflakes, desperation clawing at our throats.
Maybe we pushed too hard.
Halfway there, the axle—which had been screaming in protest for miles—finally snapped.
The carriage rolled with a sickening crunch, and I was launched from the driver’s seat.
I hit the dirt in a field blanketed by thin snow.
My body was a map of bruises, but everything still seemed to work.
”There’s a brat who can use magic! Don’t kill him—he’ll fetch a hell of a price!”
(So much for their ‘mercenary’ pride. In the end, it’s all about the coin. And of course, it’s about me.)
Fortunately, the snowfall thickened, turning the world into a blur of white.
It was too early in the season for the ground to be frozen solid.
A frozen field would have been easy footing, but this was a slushy, muddy nightmare.
Even in my combat sandals, every step was a struggle.
Still, I gritted my teeth and trudged toward the faint silhouette of the village gate.
The snow acted as a shroud, swallowing all sound.
I could only navigate by the faint, menacing presences nearby.
Far off, the muffled clang of steel and the echoes of shouting drifted through the air, making the battle feel like a nightmare happening in another world.
(Just stay alive. Get home. That’s what the Major ordered.)
I dragged my leaden feet forward. (If they see me like this, they’ll mark me as a deserter. That would be bad…)
I stopped and looked back. As if mocking me, the snow began to let up.
I saw the Infantry rallying around our wrecked carriage, forming a wall of steel against the mercenaries.
Edmond-san and Martin-san were frantically hauling the wounded out of the wreckage.
Suddenly, a fresh carriage thundered out from the village gate.
Seeing the reinforcements, the mercenaries began to fall back, giving the broken carriage some breathing room.
(Should I go back?)
”Found the kid!”
The man’s voice. I looked toward the gate and saw Rudy sprinting toward me.
”Found yoooou…”
And there she was. The Gorilla Woman.
Both the men and the woman were mounted, but they seemed to loathe the idea of bringing their horses into the muck of the field. They paced the farm road instead, their silhouettes flickering through the thinning snow.
”Which way?!” Rudy panted as he reached me.
We scanned the horizon, trapped. “The woods on the hill. It’s our only shot.”
”Fine by me!”
The hill behind the village sat right between the men and the Gorilla Woman—it was the perfect blind spot. With any luck, we’d find a path on the other side that led back down into the village. Fueled by that thin hope, we ran.
The Gorilla Woman finally lost her patience and dismounted, dragging her horse by the reins as she charged into the field. She was stomping through the mud, knees high, moving with a terrifying, predatory speed.
”Move it!”
One of the men followed her lead, leaping off his horse to join the hunt. The other stayed back, holding the reins for his partner.
”Wait, you little shits!” the Gorilla Woman roared behind us. Like hell we were waiting.
We finally burst through the edge of the field and into the treeline.
The forest was a tangled mess of unmanaged brush and tightly packed trunks.
I reached for my sword to clear a path, only to feel cold, empty leather.
My blade was gone.
It must have been ripped from my belt when I was thrown from the carriage.
”Dammit… Rudy, I lost my sword!”
”Typical!” he spat, but he stepped up, swinging his own blade to hack through the brambles.
I glanced back. The oppressive silence of the woods had swallowed our pursuers.
We scrambled up the incline until the land flattened out into a plateau.
The vegetation shifted, the trees spacing out enough for us to catch our breath.
”Hold up… let’s rest,” Rudy wheezed.
We’d climbed a hell of a distance. I brushed the snow from my hair and shoulders and sank down into the hollow of a massive rock.
”Now what?”
”Look,” Rudy said, pointing. “The second village was down at the foot of this hill, right? And the first one was out on the flats. If we keep a straight line, we should hit the lowlands. From there, we hang a right and we’re back on the high road.”
It sounded simple, but the forest was a labyrinth, and the snow-heavy sky made it impossible to find the sun. Keeping a “straight line” was easier said than done.
”You got water?” Rudy asked.
I nodded and handed him the waterskin from my pack.
”Mine burst when I hit the ground,” he grunted, taking a long pull. “You still have food?”
I checked my own backpack. “Yeah. It’s a bit damp, but I’ve still got bread and some jerky.”
”Same here.”
We had enough for maybe a day. I bit off a piece of jerky, letting the salty grease wake up my senses. The clouds were leaden, but I figured the sun was still high. If we hit the road by dusk, we’d be lucky. If not… well, we’d survive the night. Or so I thought.
”Seriously, though… that woman.”
”Yeah,” I replied. “The guys from Olden—the ones in the 303rd with Kiridal—they mentioned her. Said they’re the ‘Weasels of Bohemia.’ Probably had a run-in with them before.”
”She’s got massive tits, though,” Rudy muttered.
(Really? Right now?) I looked at him. To be fair, even under that leather and plate, they were huge—each one easily the size of a bowling ball.
”What, you want to get a piece of that?”
”Tell me you don’t want to bury your face in those pillows.”
A sudden flash of the Parasite Host²‘s memory hit me—a much softer, gentler woman, his sister-in-law, and the feeling of her chest. (When I get back, it’s my turn. I’m not letting that damn Parasite have all the good memories.)
”Hey, what are you spacing out for?” Rudy poked me in the ribs, snapping me back to reality. “More importantly, that bitch knew you were a mage. She mentioned a ‘high price’.”
”Maybe she saw me lighting fires in Garao?” I thought back to the stables I’d torched.
”Or maybe she saw the Golem?”
The words had barely left my mouth when a voice boomed from the shadows.
”Heh… so you can handle a Golem, too? That bumps the price up to a hundred gold pieces, easy.”
The Gorilla Woman stepped out from behind the rock, looming over us like a mountain of muscle and spite.
”You for real?” a scruffy, bearded man added, stepping out from the other side. “With that kind of scratch, we can spend the whole winter drinking ourselves blind!”
”Tch!”
Rudy didn’t hesitate. His sword flashed in a silver arc, catching the man across the hand and face.
Before the mercenary could even scream, Rudy was already bolting into the trees.
I tried to follow, but a hand like a vice clamped onto the back of my neck.
”What are you standing there for?! Get him!” the woman barked at her partner.
But the man was down on his knees, howling as he clutched his mangled face. Rudy had gouged him deep.
The woman turned her attention back to me, her grip shifting to my collar as she hoisted me off the ground with one hand. I felt the air vanish. My vision began to swim. I searched the treeline for Rudy.
”Is he that way?” she growled. Her grip loosened just enough for my toes to scrape the dirt. “Listen up, kid. That way lies the Al-miraj Forest³. You go deep into those woods, you don’t come back out.”
I didn’t care if it was a threat or a prophecy. I funneled every scrap of Mana I had left into a Fireball.
”Hot!”
The heat was staggering—a roaring sphere of flame that nearly singed my own skin before I unleashed it point-blank.
It worked.
The flames licked across her leather armor and instantly caught in her hair.
She screamed and recoiled, her grip breaking.
I didn’t stick around to watch her burn; I scrambled into the brush after Rudy.
I glanced back once. The man was still on all fours, and the woman was frantically swatting at her head. They weren’t coming for us yet.
A few minutes of sprinting brought me to a gentle slope.
”Over here!” Rudy hissed from behind a tree. “They behind us?”
”I don’t think so. But Rudy… she called this the Al-miraj Forest.”
Rudy snorted. “The snow here is just like back home. If there were Al-miraj here, they’ve probably migrated by now.”
I remembered our militia drills from before the snow. “What if there’s a stray?”
”A stray? Yeah, maybe. They usually move in family groups, but the older males get kicked out of the pack. If it’s just one, we can take it.”
”You seem to know a lot about them.”
”My gramps was a hunter. I used to go out with him all the time.”
”What about Red-Eyed Wolves?”
”They follow the Al-miraj herds. If the rabbits are gone, the wolves are gone.”
I remembered Bours-san saying something similar. We moved forward, but the terrain was wrong. Instead of the open plains I expected, low, jagged hills began to rise to our right and front.
”Rudy… which way are we even going?”
”East. Or South.”
”Then why haven’t we hit the plains yet?”
The snow had tapered off, but the sky was a bruised, heavy purple. The light was failing fast.
”You want to go back?” asked Rudy.
I shook my head violently. If those mercenaries caught us now, a hundred gold coins wouldn’t save us.
”Hey! I see water!”
Rudy pointed toward a break in the trees.
We scrambled toward it, sliding down a small embankment until we reached the edge of a pond.
It was a wide, sunken bowl of water, silent and eerie.
There were no houses, but the gravel shore was covered in footprints—some human, some not—stamped deep into the frozen slush.
”People have to be nearby,” I whispered.
A small stream fed into the pond from the right. The tracks seemed to lead across it toward the far side, where the shore gave way to jagged, jutting rocks.
”Let’s fill the water and keep moving.”
I reached for my pack, but Rudy went still.
”What?”
”Dammit… I left my waterskin. Back at the rock where they jumped us.”
My heart sank. I checked my own shoulders. “Rudy… I left my backpack too.”
All the bread. All the jerky. Gone.
Rudy looked at me, a grim smirk playing on his lips. “Well… my bread was probably soggy anyway.”
He saw the look of pure despair on my face and let out a short, dry laugh. “Relax. I’m kidding. I’ve still got some of mine. I’ll share.”
He glared at me and spat the words out. “We’re brothers-in-arms, aren’t we? Hand over half.”
”Haaa… fine, you leave me no choice. I’ll lend you one,” I replied.
”We’re even now for that time you forgot the water skin,” Rudy said.
”It’s because you’re like this that you don’t have any friends, you know?”
I started to snap back that I didn’t want to hear that from him, but it would have been a hassle, so I bit my tongue and held it in.
The stream had a decent flow, and rocks were tumbled all about.
”Wait a second,” I said, stopping Rudy as he approached to drink.
I waded into the cold current up to my knees and reached my hand deep under a rock.
There. A fish about a palm-and-a-half long brushed against my fingertips.
I thrust my hand in tight, grabbed the slippery thing as it tried to bolt, and tossed it toward Rudy.
My aim was a bit off, but I managed to land it on the bank.
Success.
As I looked at the flopping fish, I spotted a pair of feet covered in white fur just beyond it.
I slowly raised my gaze to find an Al-miraj⁴—a horned rabbit—staring me down with blood-red eyes.
I’d felt safe because there were human footprints around, but the damn thing showed up anyway.
I lowered my center of gravity and felt around for a decent stone.
”Skree!”
It let out a strange cry and lunged at me.
I hurled the stone in my hand, but it dodged, its maw split wide as it came for me.
Terrified, my stance crumbled. I thrust out both hands to stop the Al-miraj’s assault.
Even though it had the face of a rabbit, its mouth was torn open to reveal bared fangs.
The monster threw its weight into me, extending sharp claws.
Fortunately, my leather armor held against the talons, but those fangs were sharp and long—it didn’t look like the leather would stop them.
Crack!
I released what little Mana⁵ I had left. The monster was blasted backward, tumbling into the rushing water.
”Hell yeah!” Rudy yelled. He leaped, pouncing on the struggling Al-miraj and plunging his sword into its head with practiced ease. The white beast thrashed for a few seconds, convulsed, and then went still.
”There shouldn’t be any more of ’em, right?” I stood up, my backside soaking wet, and scanned the area. It seemed clear.
”Told ya. See? It’s a young male. A stray. Just a stray,” Rudy said, beginning to skin the Al-miraj with a veteran’s touch.
”You sure about that? A Red-Eyed Wolf won’t come sniffing around, will it?”
”Well, I reckon we’ll be alright, but get a fire going. The Red-Eyes won’t come near a bonfire,” Rudy replied. He shot me a look that made it clear that was my job while he handled the kill. Left with no choice, I gathered whatever I could—driftwood, dead branches—but as I tried to light it, the Mana wouldn’t gather.
”What’s the holdup?” Rudy asked.
”I think… I think I used too much Mana,” I admitted. Between the Gorilla Woman and the Al-miraj, I was tapped out. Honestly, between yesterday’s fire-starting and the Golem manipulation, I might have been running on empty from the start.
”Hah, you’re useless. Fine, stay on guard with a stick or something until your Mana fills back up. I’ll get dinner started,” Rudy said.
I felt a surge of anger—couldn’t he have found a single kind word to say?—but I had no choice.
I gripped a suitable stick and kept watch.
Above the small cliff by the pond’s shore, there was a forest.
Something black began descending from the trees.
It had a body the size of a fist and legs slightly longer than fingers—a spider with a sickening red pattern.
”Hey, a weird spider’s coming,” I called out.
”Oh, probably a Man-Eater⁶. The ones with the red markings. Must’ve been lured by the scent of the Al-miraj,” Rudy noted.
”Is that a Man-Eater Spider? The ones in Dish Basin have the same red pattern, but their base color is gray, not black. They aren’t this disgusting.”
”Don’t worry about it. It won’t do a thing. They’re just scavengers,” Rudy said.
They were called Man-Eater Spiders because they gathered on drowned corpses, but they were actually aquatic-adjacent monsters that ate dead fish.
Like normal spiders, they spun silk from their abdomens.
Because this silk conducted Mana, it was often used as wiring to connect Magic Lamps and Amber.
Rudy gave the spider a brief glance but didn’t pay it any mind, continuing his butchery in the river.
The spider in question crawled onto the fish I’d tossed onto the bank earlier and seemed to be digging in.
(It wasn’t a pretty sight…)
After a while, another Man-Eater descended from the woods and approached the fish.
I expected a fight, but the two of them just shared the meal peacefully.
Before I knew it, the sky was darkening.
I managed to conjure a Fireball just before the curtain of night fell completely.
”You gotta cook this meat thorough, or it’ll rot your guts,” Rudy warned.
He skewered the Al-miraj meat and propped it around the fire.
Once it was done, we ate.
”This is actually pretty good,” I said.
”What, you never had it before?”
”First time. Is this all the meat?”
”The rest is submerged in the water with the pelt. If we leave it out, the Man-Eaters will get to it,” Rudy explained.
”Won’t the crabs or shrimp eat it?”
”Maybe a bit, but it’s nothing compared to the spiders. Once we finish this, I’m making jerky,” Rudy said.
He looked like a meathead, but he was incredibly resourceful when it came to nature.
I guess that’s what happens when you spend your life hunting with your grandfather.
After lightly searing the remaining meat from the water, he hung it to smoke.
By then, the Man-Eater Spiders had swarmed over the entrails we’d thrown across the stream, blanketing them completely.
”This’ll be enough food for two days,” Rudy said.
That night, we talked about taking shifts, but by dawn, we were both dead to the world from exhaustion.
Fortunately, there was no pursuit from the Gorilla Woman, no attacks from other Al-miraj or Red-Eyed Wolves, and no one got nibbled on by spiders.
We made it to morning.
”So, what’s the move?” I asked Rudy, who was more at home in the wild. I didn’t bring up the fact that we’d both fallen asleep.
”What do you want to do?”
”I have no clue where we are. But there should be a river flowing out of the pond. If we follow it down, we should hit a settlement. There were footprints, after all,” I replied.
”And then what? You gonna ask ’em the way to the Kingdom of Schuberitz? You think we’ll even understand ’em?”
Even if it was a village, we were in enemy territory. No one was going to be kind enough to give us directions home. But if we didn’t figure out our location, we were screwed.
”Even if it’s a different country, it’s just over the border. The language shouldn’t be that different,” I said.
”You’re a real piece of work, you know that?” Rudy said.
”Fine. You got a better idea?” I threw the question back at him, and he looked away.
”Should we head back?” Rudy muttered.
”Impossible. We’d get lost for sure,” I said. Rudy didn’t have any confidence either. We’d thought we were heading straight, and look where that got us.
”Fine, fine. I guess we’ll do it your way,” Rudy said. (What a prick…)
”Then follow me,” I said.
As I took the verbal lead, he made a visibly annoyed face.
We built up the fire, warmed up the jerky from yesterday to fill our bellies, and set off.
For some reason, I ended up carrying the soaking-wet Al-miraj pelt.
Beyond the left side of the stream, the hill dropped off.
We headed that way.
The snow was half-melted, but those footprints remained in the sand.
Following them led us to an artificial sluice gate.
Water flowed out from there into a small river, and beside it was a well-maintained road.
”Hey, you sure about this? There are definitely people here,” Rudy said. What was he talking about? We wanted to find people.
”We have to go,” I said, slapping Rudy’s hesitant backside.
”Hey, look over there,” I pointed.
From atop the sluice, through a break in the trees, a town came into view. It was no Obernbach, but it was a walled city, and what looked like a highway branched out from it.
”Something’s weird,” Rudy said.
He didn’t even have to say it.
Outside the walls, a line of carriages—looking like tiny grains of rice—were jammed up in a morning bottleneck.
It stretched from the town on the right to as far as I could see on the left.
”Did something happen?”
”Doesn’t look like anyone’s leaving. Maybe they’re evacuating into the city?” Rudy suggested.
”I’m telling you, let’s turn back,” Rudy added.
He kept saying it, but if we couldn’t go back, we had to go forward.
As we descended the path from the sluice, a series of crack-crack sounds drifted toward us.
”Hey, now what?” Rudy asked. Rudy was fine against nature, but he was useless when it came to people.
”Don’t get cold feet. They’ll get suspicious. Stand up straight,” I told him.
Further down, sure enough, two young girls were doing laundry.
When they saw us, they stopped, looking at us with puzzled expressions.
They were on the opposite bank of the brook, and behind them, I could see a fence—likely a village.
”Morning!” I raised a hand in greeting.
One of the women immediately dropped her laundry and ran back toward the village.
”Hey, let’s bolt,” Rudy whispered from behind, but this was the moment of truth.
”What’re y’all doin’ ’round here?” one of the girls asked.
Based on the vibe, I figured she was asking what we were up to.
”There was a battle, so we fled ‘way out here,” I replied, matching her local lilt.
”That’s some strange talk ya got. Y’all come from ’round Plzenid?” she asked.
I nodded along. “My, you’ve come a mighty long way.”
”Got turned ’round in the woods. What’s that town over there?” I pointed toward the city we’d seen earlier.
”That’s Opcheri, that is,” she said.
Bours-san had mentioned it. We’d come here to cut off the supply lines from that town to Vod Fortress.
”I see. So if we keep goin’ straight, we’ll hit Pannonia?” I asked.
”Ya talk real funny, don’t ya? Aye, but it’s closed up tight. Refugees ain’t allowed in, so they’ve barred the gates,” she explained.
So Kiridal was turning away refugees. But now things were clear. If we went to that town and took a right, we could reach the first village, Haraens.
”What if we head right?” I asked.
”Can’t do that. It’s all blocked off. Schweilitz is on the warpath, burnin’ villages and carryin’ folks off,” she said.
It seemed the road to Haraens was a dead end. Just then, the girl who had run off returned with three men. And those three were brandishing spears.
”This is bad. Let’s get out of here,” Rudy hissed.
”Run where? There’s nowhere left to run,” I replied.
The men crossed a bridge just downstream from the laundry area and leveled their spears at us as they approached.
”You lot, stop right there!” they shouted.
They were speaking too fast to catch every word. Their faces were twisted in grimaces as they glared us down. If they realized we were Schweilitz Militia, they’d kill us for sure.
I couldn’t let my guard down. I had to bluff. I’d play the part of a traveler from Plzenid and somehow push through. (But despite my resolve, my legs won’t stop shaking…)
—
Summary:
After escaping Garao Village, the protagonist and Rudy are ambushed by the ‘Weasels of Bohemia’ mercenaries.
They manage to escape into the dangerous Al-miraj Forest after the protagonist uses a Fireball to burn their lead pursuer.
However, the victory is short-lived as they realize they’ve left their vital survival supplies behind.
After escaping the ‘Gorilla Woman’, the protagonist and Rudy survive an Al-miraj attack and rest by a stream.
They realize they are in enemy territory near the town of Opcheri, which is currently blocked off to refugees.
The chapter ends with them being confronted by hostile local men with spears as they try to blend in.
—
Trivia:
- The protagonist lost his sword during the carriage crash.
- Mages are considered high-value commodities on the black market (valued at 100+ gold coins).
- Al-miraj are creatures that move in family units; solitary ones are ‘strays’ or rogue males.
- Red-Eyed Wolves follow Al-miraj as their primary food source.
- The protagonist’s internal monologue is influenced by ‘Parasite Host’ memories, implying a duality of consciousness.
- The protagonist is nearly out of Mana from previous events involving a Golem.
- Man-Eater Spiders are scavengers, not hunters, and their silk is a conductor for magic technology.
- Kiridal is currently at war with Schweilitz.
- The Al-miraj is a horned rabbit monster whose meat is edible but requires thorough cooking
—
Character Insight:
The protagonist shows growing ruthlessness, willing to use lethal fire magic point-blank on a human. Rudy displays country-bred survival instincts but also classic teenage boy levity even in life-threatening situations.
The protagonist shows a willingness to assume a lead role and use bluffing/adaptation to survive, whereas Rudy is physically competent but socially anxious and panicked in human-centric conflicts.
—
Lore And Worldbuilding Context:
The author uses the Al-miraj (a horned rabbit from Islamic poetry/myth) to establish that this world’s Bestiary includes creatures from various Earth mythologies.
The author intentionally used Owari-ben to highlight the cultural/linguistic distance between the protagonists and the locals in Kiridal.
—
Glossary:
Notes:
• Edmond – Second son of a farm, tall and lanky with wiry frame, he missed the academy until Bours-san’s harsh lesson on punctuality—now a militiaman from Mauer Village and Mary’s brother, he teases Martin and Larry, mocks manual labor, plots village celebrations, and dreams of the Officer’s Academy. An experienced scout with grim insights into enemy movements, he recently rescued wounded near a broken carriage, delivers updates on military law and orders, and still burns with restless ambition—his discipline untempered, his drive fiercer than ever.
• Martin – Mar, a boisterous young recruit from a neighboring village, dons Shinto‑inspired armor and fights in a Shinto‑linked style. Loud and erotic‑obsessed, he flirts with Ferris‑san, proposes to Felice, pursues the elf Granny Ferris, and trains with Larry. Polite yet eager, he tries to calm regular army soldiers and proposes to Ferris without knowing her age, often seen rescuing wounded near a broken carriage.
• Ed – A lanky village youth in simple farmer’s garb, Larry’s close friend and soon‑to‑be conscript, fiercely protective of Larry’s interests, now serving as a militia member assisting in spear‑wall training.
• Rudy – Black-haired 14-year-old militia member from Heberlich Village, formerly of Garao Village, who fled with the protagonist; grandson of a hunter, he possesses deep knowledge of forest creatures. Bunkmate and self-proclaimed brother-in-arms to Larry, he mocks Larry’s condition yet visits him daily. Elitist toward Strock Village, struggles with armor upkeep and horse handling, excels at math, and battles severe war anxiety.
• Gorilla Woman – A mercenary belonging to the Weasels of Bohemia. Large build, aggressive, and possesses knowledge of the value of mages.
• Al – Alberto, a massive red‑haired man recently married to Mary, just finished his village wedding. He is a companion of Hans, helping intimidate and gather elders as a villager and leader working alongside him.
• Bours – Tall, scarred, in a faded Royal Army uniform, captain‑turned militia instructor — stern, cold, tactical, iron‑fisted, broken moral compass. Married to Sheeta‑san, father of a son conscripted on the Imperial border, veteran of the Western Front, Elders’ Council member, commander of cavalry and infantry during the Kiridal attack. As militia leader and expert marksman, he mercilessly saves Larry and Rudy from ambush.
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
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