Upon exiting the shop, Jade decides to grab a quick bite at a nearby tavern, getting a simple loaf of bread before going back to the tree in where she found Konnie

she stops midway through and thinks "wait.. oh no.. I forgot to buy water" she looks around and sees a small pond with multiple slimes just floating

"eh, why not" she walks to the pond and uses her staff to create a small tree that she morphs into a wooden cup, she places the end of her staff on top of the water and the surrounding water gets purified, scooping a small cup of water

after chugging the whole cup, she finally heads to the tree, looking around and finding multiple slimes of different color, but none purple, after what feels to be hours of searching

Jade stretched her arms with a groan, deciding it was time for a quick rest. She reached out, wanting to conjure a small tree stump with her staff, unfortunately, her staff is nowhere to be found

"Huh?" She blinked, patting her side. Nothing. Her eyes darted around. "Wait, where's my-"

"AAAAAA! I LEFT IT BACK AT THE POND!" The thought hit her like a lightning bolt. She could already picture it, her precious staff lying helplessly in the grass, surrounded by slimes with ,excited expressions

running back to the pond, she sees that her staff is perfectly intact, non of the slimes really cared or even battered an eye on her staff

Jade, relieved but utterly exhausted, collapsed onto the soft grass, her breathing heavy. She closed her eyes for what felt like only a moment

"Jaaade~! Jade!"

The voice was distant at first, a soft call, but it grew louder and closer. Jade's eyes slowly opened as she felt something poking her cheek

slowly, her vision started to adjust, young girl with vibrant red hair crouched in front of her, poking her

A second voice can be heard, monotone and dry "I'm pretty sure she's dead."

the red haired girl looks back and scolds the person "TOUMA!"

"heh, sorry" 

Jade groaned, "I know that voice..." she thought to herself, Her gaze flickered between the two figures "Akane...?"

"Jade?" Akane looks at her with concern "are you okay?"

Jade slowly gets up with the assistance of Akane and Touma 

"thanks-" Jade muttered

she glanced between them, confused. "Why are you two out here?"

"Mom told us to check on you. She forgot to mention that purple slimes are kinda rare at this hour and figured you might tire yourself out"

"And Akane wanted to see you work," he added, his tone nonchalant. Then, with a slight grin, he added, "You should really tie this thing to yourself"

Jade looks at Touma with widened eyes "what-"

"we sa-" before he could finish the sentence, Akane covers his mouth "NOTHING!" 

A quick flash back shows both Touma and Akane's perspective

From a distance, the two had spotted her, panicking and running back

"You think she'll be fine?" Akane asked, tilting her head

Touma watched for a moment, then shrugged "She's been through worse."

Akane paused, watching Jade's chaotic sprint for another second before shrugging as well. "Eh, true."

Back in the present, Jade suspiciously stares at Touma. "Oookay then," she muttered, whilst looking around

Akane sighs and asks "so.. wanna head back with us..?"

Jade, still looking around for the purple slime "uhh, no, I think I'll stay here for a bit"

"okay then, dont overwork yourself" Akane gives Jade a quick hug before going, as the two head on back to town

"stay safe you two" Jade waving them, though.. she suddenly stops and sees something at the corner of her eye, she turns to look and sees a SINGLE purple slime

"yes..!" she loudly muttered to herself, she quickly makes her way to the purple slime, reaching behind her belt, she grabs a jar that was given to her by Red, and slowly but surely, without scaring the slime, she scoops out a chunk of it

the slime soon notices her and is a bit confused, as Jade jars up the collected slime, she notices the slime looking at her "what..?"

they both stare at each other for a bit as Jade eventually shoos the slime away "go on! get out of here, before I feel guilty taking a piece of you"

After tying the jar securely to her belt, Jade's left ear starts twitching a bit, she turns to look from through the lost woods and senses something "oh? new comer already?" Quickly, she made her way to the forest's entrance, stopping just before the entrance.

"oh-" She glanced down at herself noticed smudges of dirt and bits of leaves clinging to her clothes

"It's probably best if I clean myself up before greeting them.." she muttered, quickly, she starts patting herself down, A cloud of dust and dirty puffed up as she brushed at her sleeves "There we go! Much better"

Gripping her staff firmly, she raised it high before slamming the end into the ground with a sharp thud

A green magical force rippled outward, and the dense woods ahead responded, the trees shifting and parting to reveal a narrow path that led deeper inside, deep within the forest she spots someone, a man who seems to be frantically looking around

"HEY! Over here!" she called out, one hand cupping her mouth while the other waved enthusiastically

"FINALLY!" The stranger muttered to himself, frantically running towards Jade

Jade whispers to herself "cmon, you can do it, just a little closer-" 

At the last moment, Jade struck her staff into the ground once more. The entrance to the Lost Woods closed behind him with a shimmering whoosh, sealing him inside safely

Just as the barrier closed, a dark shadow lurking at the edge of the woods. A hulking, barely visible figure, crossed the boundary where the entrance had just been

It tries grabbing the stranger, but luckily because the stranger has crossed the boarder, the hand of the creature hovers above the leg of the stranger

"uhh, you should probably move back a little before it grabs you" head tilted, holding her staff while her hand is on the side of her shoulder

The stranger's eyes widen as he panics, quickly scrambling backwards, hands frantically pushing against the ground to get away

 she uses her staff and lightly taps the monster's hand "Now now, go back, That's not part of the rules."

An audible, frustrated groan echoed from the creature as it slowly withdrew, its form sinking back into the darkness, retreating into the depths of the woods

"welcome to whispering woods, I'm Jade Valentine, allow me to show you around!" she bends down a bit, offering her hand to the scared stranger

"what is this place-" his hand, shaking as he gets up with the help of Jade

"oh, well.. long story short, its basically a safe haven for people who want to start fresh on their lives, or a quick one stop area to get a quick bite, your chioice!" giggling while giving him a soft smile

"so.. I'm trapped here?"

"didnt you listen? a one stop area, you can leave at anytime, just come and find me and I can open up a safe path for you to make it past those woods" the both of them start walking towards the town, as Jade explains everything to the stranger

Meanwhile, at the entrance to the woods, a figure emerged, dragging himself out of the shadows. A man with a pink fur collared jacket, his saturated red hair matted with dirt and blood, he stumbled forward with his clothing stained with a dark, viscous substance, eerily similar to the black ichor of the creature lurking in the forest

His every step was followed by heavy breathing, as he limps forward towards town, clearly struggling to stay on his feet, but..

With each step, the man's breathing steadied, heavy gasping turning into normal, controlled inhales, his limps eventually lessened, and soon, he was walking with ease again, his bruised and battered body restored to its healthy state, as he stretches he mutters to himself "well, lets hope that town has some decent drinks"