The second female lead Dual Cultivates

“This is the forest of submergence. They say that a witch lives here that has extraordinary powers to be able to pinpoint any location. Of course, I've never met her before today but I do know that-” the princess rambled. Her nervousness showed in her words.

The pair had been lucky enough not to have faced any more beasts on the way here but Maria was just counting time till their next big hurdle. Things were never this easy and she had learned this the hard way.

“-but they say that he’s an old witch and a guy to boot as well. How weird is that? A guy using holy magic and being good at it-” the princess continued, unaware that she had lost her companion’s interest a long time ago.

And as interesting as the princess’s words were, Maria was just not interested in knowing this much about someone she was only going to meet first.

But the forest around her was starting to lighten. The sun was finally showing the signs of rising and the rays were beginning to warm the forest up. Various animals were also starting to make sounds around her and give the forest an actual effect as a forest.

But Maria knew that it would also make things difficult for her. She had been relying on her ears and the site to alert her to the presence of the beasts and avoiding them. The quiet allowed for the noise to echo.

But the waking forest was a little more lively than what Maria would like it to be.

“Venus, it’s interesting and all but you need to keep quiet. We won’t be able to hear the beast coming if you ran your commentary” Maria had no mercy for the princess, her voice showing her irritation.

As much as she sympathizes with the princess and her situation,(she did not) she could not find herself liking the princess at the first glance. She was not even sure why the other had decided to come out and join Maria.

She said that it was because she needed to see Maria die with her own eyes but so far she had only been a hindrance and not even a good one at that. It felt more playful than it was dangerous and gave Maria a headache.

“How rude. I’m a princess and you can’t expect me to keep quiet and-” Maria decided she had enough of that moving mouth. She moved her fingers in a ‘keep quiet’ motion and the princes went tight-lipped.

Was it an abuse of her power over the other? Absolutely. Did it change Maria’s behavior toward the princess? No way.

It also did not help that the princess had taken to lathing on to her arm and tugging Maria after her whenever she wanted to show her something worthless or just wanted to gain her attention.

The tug was also strong enough for Maria to lose her balance and fall back into the princess. It was not dangerous, just annoying and it made Maria want to yell at the princess.

But as she turned toward the princess, she could see a frightful expression on the other’s face. Venus looked a little scared and tried to point toward something.

Her face was the only reason Maria relented and she hesitantly lifted the spell on the princess. And the princess immediately made use of this opportunity to let out some un-dignified words Maria was surprised to hear.

“Fucking hell. Why did you do that? And also when I was just about to tell you that someone had been following us for quite some time now” the princess almost yelled before she realized where she was and toned her voice down.

Maria felt her eyes narrowing as she quickly scanned her surroundings. But she could not find anyone in her vision or senses.

Her system was not useful since the forest had too many life forms to keep track of. Even if she opened it right now, her location would show dozen of blinks since there were too many creatures surrounding them in the forest.

“How do you know that we are being followed?” Maria asked as she narrowed her eyes, the nervousness the princess displayed looked real enough so it was not a trick.

“It’s the magic. It is communicating with me and telling me to tack off. This forest is not safe for us and it’s quite vengeful since we crossed the neutral threshold” Venus replied.

The magic felt peaceful to Maria but maybe it was different for someone who had grown up in Jamaica and had a more intimate relationship with it.

And besides, Maria was sure she did not feel magic the same way as Venus felt and there was hostility between the princess and the magic surrounding her.

“It is capable of communicating?” Martia asked. Even if it did turn out to be a Jamaica thing, Maria was curious enough to ask this question. None of the other words had mentioned this phenomenon to her.

“Of course not. But the feeling of foreboding is still the same. It’s almost like it’s telling us not to bother going deeper inside” Maria rolled her eyes, finally realizing that the princess was making a mountain out of a mole-hill.

That forbidding feeling was likely the change in magical pressure that Maria had felt as well. The forest here had denser magic than before and purer as well. But for the princess who had been sheltered her whole life, it likely felt like forbidden territory.

“It’s not a big deal then. Let’s go deeper and find the boy-witch” Maria replied back. Her system already had the coordination for the nearby settlement and Maria didn’t even want to think why that was.

The more she tried to figure out her system, the more complicated it became. It was better to go on with an ‘I believe you’ attitude than to try and second-guess her actions.

The princess gulped down her nervousness but she did not turn back on Maria.

The grip on her arm tightened as Maria ventured deeper and deeper into the forest. It was all quiet except for the natural calls of the animals around her.

But then a sound of clashing broke this silence and Maria instantly made her way toward the sound. She had a feeling that she needed to be there. The magic was gently probing her to move toward the way and Maria followed it.

She ignored the way Venus clung to her arm as she scouted the source of that clashing noise but Maria did not slow down. And finally, she entered a clearing where two figures seemed to be practicing their sword-play.

(Can't keep up with 2 ch/day. Will give you one longer chapter everyday)