It has been two days, since Snow's arrival in Magnolia and so far, she had been enjoying every aspect of the town. The city was much larger than she had expected and was always active. The people in the community around the inn were always amiable and eager to help her out whenever she needed assistance. With a book clutched in her hand and a small bag draped over her shoulder, the young maiden was resolved to explore the town and perhaps, do some quests to kill some time.

The town was a maze of narrow winding streets, as complex as the heart. Around the corner of the street were a group of children dueling with sticks, to the loud encouragement of some and the furious curses of others. She could hear the clamour of the market even at this distance, the sellers yelling, "Apples, apples, five at half the price!" and "Tomatoes! As red as blood!" and so on. The sound of the smiths; the dull pounding of beating swords and breastplates into shape was the consistent reminder that the town was more alive than the usual.

At the end of the dark red cobblestones that led down the street was a huge wooden board that had numerous papers pinned against it. She noticed a group of people, mostly young ones, cladded up in armour and weaponry as they stared at the board. Missionboard? she questioned to none other than herself and approached closer. The lines that were written on the brittle pages of the paper explained in detailed about the mission, from D-Ranks to even higher ones. Among the quests, the particular one that caught her attention was the delivery to a hermit. It sounded like one of those tedious missions, however, the reward was what she was originally after for.

Ripping the piece of paper off the board, she folded it twice before placing it inside her bag. It demanded her to meet an old man at a magic shop for even more details about the quest. The so-called magic shop was just a few blocks down the street, which was really convenient. She rapped the door lightly with her knuckles and was greeted by a short old man a few seconds after. He was dressed in a long blue cape that was almost too long for his height and wore a hat that looked like the ones that magicians had. ”Hello, sir. I’m here for the quest you requested?” she raised her eyebrows and gently tugged onto the strap of her bag.
”Oh! Yes, yes. Do come inside.” he closed the door behind her before retrieving small bag from the table. ”I’d like you to deliver this to a hermit living in the forest. We’re extremely great friends, which is why I ask you to present this gift to him. In return, he’d give you a bag of herbs and then, bring it back to me.” The old man dropped the bag in her hands with shaky fingers and broke into a grin. ”Oh! You might also need this map to go to his place. It’s rather far from here but I’m sure you’ll be fine.” His voice quavered as he passed an old sheet of paper towards her. ”Now, since I have an appointment for my foot massage, I’ll leave the rest to you.” He let out a guffaw while stroking his grey beard as he exited his shop, leaving her stunned.

The forest was located on the far edge side of the town, away from everything. It took her quite a while to reach there until Snow noticed the massive realm of woodland with dense bushes and trees. It was silent, apart from the whistle of the gentle wind and the rustle of the leaves that collected around her feet. Snow entered the forest without any hesitation and meandered through the wilderness, without exactly knowing which way to go. She took a glance at the map that was given to her and roughly spotted where his house was located. It was in the center of this thick and enormous forest and it was nowhere near where she was at currently.

The deeper she went into the forest, the darker it became and before she knew the almost claustrophobic blackness got her wondering whether darkness had fallen beyond the woods. The gaps between the leaves barely permitted any sunlight into the woods. The smell of damp soil and the fragrance of leaves filled the air while the branches that protruded from the trunk of the trees scraped every exposed part of her body. The twigs and dry leaves that were scattered on the forest floor would make sounds every time she took a step.

She did not know how long she had been in this forest but she did not need to confirm herself that she was well lost in the forest and had been walking for hours. The forest had made it almost impossible for her to see where she was going and which way she was heading to. Her legs had begun to ache and she could feel blisters forming at the heel of her foot. Desperately, she would grab onto each branch of the tree to help her lead the way further into the forest.

The sunlight that shone down into a single house in front of her almost blinded her eyes. Snow tilted her head upwards as locks of blue hair fell past her shoulder and tumbled further down her back. There was a huge circular gap between the trees and above the tiny house, as if it was letting the sunlight through area. The chirping of the birds snapped her back to reality and she reached into her bag for the gift that the old man had given her for his dear friend. With the present held in her hand, she approached the door and knocked on the door gently. The old hermit emerged and stared at her in confusion, as to how she had ended in the middle of the forest. ”Uh, Khalash told me deliver these for you since he was busy.” The old man broke into a huge smile and somehow he reminded her of the Khalash, the man she had just met back in the magic shop.
”Ah, thank you so much, my dear. Hold on a second. I’ll get the herbs for him as well!” The hermit was a lively person and he was extremely adorable for his age. Another minute later, the old hermit appeared with tons of different herbs packed in a worn out cloth.

As they handed the bags into each other’s hands, the old man gave her a root stick to chew on. ”This is a gift for you for coming all the way here to deliver the food. Thank you, dear!” With that he disappeared back into his house, humming to himself. The girl smiled and retrieved the root stick gratefully and returned back to the magic shop to give Khalash his herbs. On her way back through the forest, she chewed on the root stick she had received from the old hermit. Once she had arrived the shop, she felt a difference in her body, as if it had evolved somehow.