Chapter 10: Night time
That Night — Aric's POV
Both of us must have dozed off without meaning to. The air had gotten cooler, and the sky had darkened. Sarah gently shook my shoulder.
"Aric, wake up... look," she said softly.
I blinked and looked up — the moon had already risen, casting silver light over the trees and the still pond. We had slept longer than I thought.
I sat up quickly, brushing dirt off my clothes. "Damn, we really lost track of time."
Without wasting another second, I activated all my system powers — Inspect, X-Ray Vision, and then I triggered Physical Boost just in case something jumped at us again. My body felt a little lighter, stronger, like I could sprint through trees if I needed to.
"Let's get out of here," I told Sarah.
We searched for a way back, and this time, I paid close attention to the landscape. With the help of X-Ray Vision, I found a path that seemed familiar — broken branches, some footprints, and that same weird tree with three trunks. After a while of walking, we finally made it out of the forest.
We had managed to collect 40 logs between us, and when we traded them at the village woodkeeper's stall, we received 40 copper coins. It wasn't a fortune, but it was enough for now.
When we reached home, Darcy — my stepmother — looked like she'd been pacing the floor for hours. As soon as she saw us, her face twisted with worry.
"Where were you two?! Are you okay? What happened? Why did it take so long?"