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“This is as far as we can take you. From here on, you’ll have to go on by yourself.”

Aria pointed deeper into the forest. We were now almost a kilometer from the forest entrance—right on the edge of the safe zone.

“From here, the safe zone extends just a little further. Up to that thick stake we hammered in earlier is the boundary where you’ve been hunting until now. Beyond that point, kids are generally forbidden from entering.”

I nodded at Aria’s explanation.

“You’ll be camping in this area, on this side of the stake.”

She swung her outstretched finger from the way we’d come, then looped it around to point forward again as she spoke.

“Our team will be watching over you from a distance, so do your best!”
“Good luck, Lady Susie!”
“Miss, please be careful not to get hurt.”
“With you, my lady, there will be no problem at all! Be calm, we’re watching over you!”
Thank you, Ilta, Katy, and Millie. And I’m counting on you, Aria.”

I thanked the four who’d offered their words of encouragement, then headed deeper into the forest.

“Alright, first things first—I need to find a campsite.”
After parting ways with Aria and the others, I walked on for a while, glancing around and muttering to myself. The sun hadn’t been up for very long yet. My breath still came out white.

From between the leaves of the trees to the east, sunlight flickered through in bright flashes, blinding my eyes. They say the first-day routine was to find a campsite at this time of morning and start building your base.

Well, apparently Dana and Irvine hadn’t exactly followed that, but I was just an ordinary commoner, so I would stick to the textbook approach. Yes, a commoner! And since it was important, I had to say that twice!

First, I should look for somewhere with good drainage and some shelter from the wind.

The Amukham Forest wasn’t flat terrain. Just like the village, the land was full of gentle waves and slopes. In the village, the roads were maintained, but out here, the rises and dips were covered in vegetation, with cliffs and rocky hills scattered about. Unless you were used to mountain walking, trekking through trackless paths like this would be hard work for the average person.

That said, for the children of Amukham, this level was still basically just an extension of their playground.

After about an hour of wandering around, I found a few promising spots. A small stream running through a little valley. A hollow scooped out from a rocky hill—probably where someone had camped before.

I even found some rock salt on an exposed cliff face.

(So, rock salt can be found around here, too.)

Rock salt wasn’t unusual in the Amukham Forest, but the quality and taste weren’t great, so people didn’t usually bother mining it. High-quality salt came in from the east, from New Knoxport, so there was no reason to dig out inferior stuff here.

Still, it wasn’t bad enough to be poisonous, so people would use it in a pinch. And right now—yes—this was exactly one of those “in a pinch” situations. So I took a chunk with me. Now that I know where to find it, I could come back for more if needed, meaning I could use salt freely during this survival stint.

As for the campsite—if possible, I would rather pick an untouched spot, not somewhere someone else had used before. So, I decided to climb the slope right in front of me to check out this little hill’s surroundings.

I climbed, avoiding the trees and protruding rocks. The trees here weren’t that big—at most, thick enough for me to wrap both arms around. So I made quick progress. If you went deeper into the forest’s core, you would find massive trees with trunks as wide as houses.

I felt like there had been a time when I would cut down those giant trees and charge through the forest like it was nothing… but now was not the time to reminisce. Forget that! Yes, forget it!!

When I reached the top, the summit was somewhat flat—about ten square meters or so. Of course, it wasn’t perfectly level, and the grass and shrubs were still thick, but the bushes were dense enough that trimming just the right amount would make a good windbreak. Maybe I could copy Mia and surround my tent with plants.

First, I’d clear the grass to secure some living space. I set my pack down by a nearby tree, removed my sword—still in its scabbard—from the holster, and leaned it against the pack. This sword belt was great—it made things like this so easy.

Feeling lighter, I pulled the bush knife strapped to the side of my pack. For the record, I also had throwing knives on my belt and a sheath knife strapped to my right leg. Yep, knife girl here.

The bush knife had a blade about thirty centimeters long, small but efficient. It sliced easily through twigs and undergrowth. I could probably clear this area quickly with it, but even so, if I wanted to trim out the spot I needed, it would still take two or three hours.

So—I’d also use magic.

“Kelm eigo spelo eude! I, Susie Cloud, daughter of the Cloud family, call upon you, great spirit of wind, Sylph. Imbue my weapon with your edge—Wind Edge.”

A blade of wind shimmered along the bush knife’s edge. When you heard “wind blade,” you might picture a vacuum slash, but in reality, it was a compressed, ultrasonically vibrating layer of air. Basically, this was an ultrasonic cutter. This layer of air spun at high speed around my blade, compressing and vibrating while refracting light into a faint yellow glow.

When I swung the bush knife with the wind-wrapped blade, the brushes parted cleanly without any resistance.

(Nice.)

Next, I imagined the blade as slightly longer before swinging—the wind blade extended to about my height, cutting the grass cleanly.

(Yes! Yes!! This is perfect!!)

Not only was it easy to use, but the power was nicely restrained.

Before, I would have probably carved up not only this little hill but also the surrounding ridges with a single swing. But now, it stayed exactly within the strength I had pictured.

That must have meant my effort to keep my Chi small was working! Right now, anyone looking at me would probably think my Magic Power was only about the same as Mia’s or Bibi’s.