5 Altwidus EbonyWood

Outside of a lone cottage surrounded by the advents of nature, a lone tree stood next to it as if to complement the scene. A man sat before twelve children who were far too different in shape to be considered human. Facing the man, the children were seated on wooden stumps arranged in a semi-circle aside from Nora, who was on Wendy's lap.

"Welcome, children. I am Altwidus EbonyWood."

A warm aura seeped out from the man, which eased Jae's body. However, at the same time, his wariness increased. This time, he was aware that this relaxing feeling was abnormal.

"Why don't you all have a cup of tea? I'm sure you are full of questions. I'll answer them one-by-one to the best of my ability," Altwidus swiped his hand as twelve wooden cups materialized from the ground. Emerging from the tree near the cottage was a branch holding a teacup, which poured freshly brewed tea in those cups.

Without hesitation, Jae snatched the cup and drank for the first time in three years. Considering the magnitude of his thirst, he could not bother about the temperature. The heat never bothered him anyway.

The other children followed his lead. Jae noticed that Layla Gibbs, the skeleton, did not drip any liquid through her exposed ribs despite drinking as well. Where did the tea go?

Jade lowered her cup, "First of all, I would like to ask the question we have all been wondering. How do you know our language? From what I know, the inhabitants of this world all speak a different language."

"Hm. It's very interesting that there are human children have a separate language, unless…" He paused for a second before continuing, "Every intelligent race uses a common language shared by the goddesses." Altwidus moved his hand onto his chin, "Let me ask this first, do you know what is magic?"

"Isn't it like how mages or witches to make fireballs and stuff?" Jae asked, thinking about the usage of magic in games.

"Similar, but not the complete answer. In this world, magic is the use of the energy called mana to convert what the goddesses have given us into another form. For instance, I am able to control this forest and anything with through mana, including your lives. And while I am in this forest, I can read your intentions. It isn't like I understand the words you're currently saying, but I can comprehend your meanings. In turn, I can send out my own intentions into your head as your mind automatically translates my sendings into the words of your own language."

"So, it's just translation magic with a few extra steps?"

"I suppose so. However, I'm not actually speaking out loud, the voice you hear is in your mind. I am creating the illusion of me speaking by moving my lips so you won't be confused by the thoughts I send." At some point, Altwidus stopped moving his lips to prove his point.

"But, what's far more intriguing are you, children. It has been such a long time since I've seen reincarnators from a different world."

"...!"

All of the children were shocked except for Jade, who figured moments beforehand that Altwidus knew something about them. However, what was important wasn't the fact he knew they were from an alternate world, but the fact that precedents existed.

"Then are you also-!" Scarlett began.

"No, I am not. But, I have met a young man hundreds of years ago who was," his eyes trailed off into a daze, reminiscing about a past long forgotten by others.

"H-hundreds of years ago?"

"Yes, I may not appear like it, but my age spans far longer than you will ever experience...Will you please shut your trap for one second?"

No one had spoken. Surprised by Altwidus's change in demeanor, the children traced his line of sight to a pink blob on Wendy's lap.

"But Nora didn't say anything~!" Wendy defended.

Altwidus rubbed his temples, "I did explain how I can change any being's intentions into words. This includes slimes. That young lady over there has been guessing everything I have been saying about magic, speaking about conspiracies or whatnot, and simply being a plain chatterbox."

"Don't bully Nora~!"

Sighing, Altwidus apologized and asked, "How long have you children been in the world?"

No one actually knew how much time passed in the facility, but they assumed around two to three years considering the ages of their bodies. Jade answered as such and explained how they used to be humans along with their situation.

"How vile! Such experiments persisted on…no, perhaps it may be different," he mumbled.

"Do you know something?" Jade inquired.

"Yes, a long time ago, a demon lord made of bones emerged from the netherworld and crossed into the Forbidden Lands. The same demon lord committed atrocities against mankind and experimented on many species in search of something...perhaps true immortality or...I am not sure of the current state of the world," he changed the subject, "Now, do you all have any other questions?"

"Why did you save me?" Jae probed. Although he was curious about the unfamiliar terms that surfaced, Altwidus did not seem willing to continue.

"It was not a mere coincidence that I found you, children. Ever since you all stepped into the forest, I have been watching."

Melody angrily rose, "So you've been watching since we got enslaved by those b****rds!"

In response to her outburst, Altwidus serenely observed her, "No, I have no idea about what goes on outside this forest nor can I ever leave. I only saw the moment you crossed the forest surrounding my forest."

Clenching her fists, she sat back down.

"Furthermore, I'm curious about how you all entered my barrier, but I suppose you children wouldn't know," he examined the children.

"To continue in answering the question from before, I noticed how you all are different races. Some rare, some who are classified as monsters, others who are considered intelligent by mankind, one originally extinct, and one whom I cannot identify." After saying those last words, he glanced at Jae, then to Iris. "I have an old obligation I made towards the last dryad in existence."

As he gazed at Iris tenderly, he sighed, "Never had I thought I would live to witness another live dryad no matter the origin. A young one at that." He stood and strolled to the tree next to his cottage. Patting the tree gently, he softly spoke, "I suppose they are not really dead, but forever one with the trees of this land." The children were silent; no one interrupted the man.

Turning back to the children, he said, "At the very least, I will help you all become accustomed to this world. I will provide shelter and in return, you will help me with various chores. I will be needing plenty of young hands."

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"Aaaaah-!"

A high pitch voice resonated in the forest. However, no one but Natalie reacted to this. It was no wonder since this was the fifth time in just one day.

"Bridget, y-you're fine. It's a-all good. Take deep breaths. In...out...in....," Natalie comforted the trembling arachnid. She seemed more panicked than the arachnid.

"But, but, but, but. I'm hideous," she wailed. Tears flowed out of all eight of her eyes.

"You aren't helping her at all," Jae sighed as he pulled a needle attached to a thread. He was sewing new clothes for the children.

"You seem good at that," Iris peeked at Jae's craftsmanship.

"Yeah. I took care of my little brother and his necessities, so sewing children's clothing is easy peasy."

"Hm…"

A week had passed since their agreement to stay with Altwidus.

When Bridget's blindfolds were first removed, she fainted. The second time, she screamed while all her limbs moved erratically before fainting. The third, she was used to seeing her lower half, but after looking at her reflection by the stream, she fainted. The fourth time...the fifth…

"Enough is enough Bridget," Clara scolded, "I can't believe you're still hung up about your body."

"Easy for you to say! You pretty much look like an angel!" Bridget rebuked.

She wasn't wrong. From Clara's lower back protruded a pair of pure white wings. Except, unlike an angel, she had a white lion tail slightly above her small bottom.

"For the umpteenth time Bridget, Altwidus said I am not an angel. I'm some cross between some mythical beast of this world and a human." The actual name was too long for her to remember.

"But, but, but-"

"No more 'buts'! It sounds vulgar coming from a lady such as yourself!"

"There, there~" Wendy, who came shaking like a newborn fawn, comforted the girl.

"You should be happy that you have become something that normal humans from Earth would never experience being! Having eight legs sounds great! Although arachnids are charming, I'm quite happy being an amorphous pink blob! It's just like that one light novel! If only, I was blue...but being a mascot character isn't bad at all! Ahahaha~!" A very enthusiastic tone surfaced from Nora Cheng, a slime.

After being introduced to magic, Nora quickly learned to channel mana and speak. It was unprecedented for a human, not to mention a slime, to learn to use magic after five minutes of explanation. It was as if this world to Nora was like water to a fish. She was in her element.

Clap.

Clap.

"Now, now. Everyone, get back to work. Bridget, I'm sorry that I can't do anything for your condition, but we will all help you adapt to your new body. Think of this as a new beginning. You always loved running and spiders happen to be really fast. I believe that you can reach higher speeds than anyone else," Jade said as she passed by the loitering group, "And don't you guys dare question why my hair is like this. It just is." Her horns were tangled in her hair, creating a large mass of dark purple similar to a cotton ball.

Jae was about to tease the student council president's untidy appearance but refrained.

He did not want to get an uppercut like Scarlett.

She was still stuck in a tree at the moment.

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Half a year passed in the forest as the transmigrators learned the common language, what's edible or not, the basics of channeling mana, and household skills. Wendy, Nora, and Bridget, whose bodies were far from humanoid, finally grew accustomed to their changes.

However, Altwidus refused to teach any more than the basics as he wanted the children to experience the world for themselves. After so much suffering, he did not want them to continue hating the world and its inhabitants.

That and he had no clue how much the world outside the forest had changed.

So, instead of misleading them with outdated knowledge, he decided to let them work out the common sense of the world over time.

He was totally not lazy.

It was also about time Altwidus kicked them out of his forest.

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As the children were walking away, only Jae halted as he glanced at Altwidus.

"Why don't you ever leave?"

"Because I shall always be Altwidus EbonyWood, keeper of her forest--Dahlia's Forest of Rejuvenation."