A completely unfamiliar forest came into view. Tike sighed in frustration and flopped down on the grass.
The distance of this spatial teleportation was just too far, and the landing point deviated ridiculously. Not only did he fail to reach Magnolia, but he also ended up in a completely unfamiliar region.
However, it wasn't a big problem.
He could still sense the spatial mark left at the guild. At most, a few more teleportations would be enough to return smoothly.
It was just, when would he be able to teleport accurately just by sensing others' magic power like his future self?
"That guy, how many years in the future is he?"
Tike muttered softly, then flipped over and stood up. Magic power began to circulate at his fingertips. Just as he was about to activate teleportation magic again, the corner of his eye suddenly caught a dazzling blue light streak across the horizon.
"Hmm? A shooting star?"
Tike closed his eyes, put his palms together, and silently chanted quickly in his heart.
(Hope my Space Magic becomes more proficient!)
After making the wish, Tike opened his eyes again full of expectation.
Then, something went wrong.
"This 'shooting star'... why is it getting bigger and bigger?"
Not only did that blue light not streak across the sky and disappear, but it also expanded rapidly in his field of vision, diving straight toward his location!
However, Tike didn't panic at all.
"Isn't it just a rock? Let me push it back!"
He took a half-step back with his right leg, assumed a firm horse stance, clenched his right hand into a fist at his waist, and wildly compressed and condensed near-dark water energy on his fist, emitting a low hum. The surrounding air distorted slightly due to this condensed power.
"Nether Dragon's—"
With a low roar in his throat, just as the fist containing terrifying power was about to be thrown—
"Crushing... hmm?"
A strange yet somewhat familiar scent drilled into his nose as the blue light approached rapidly.
Too late to think about the situation, he twisted his waist fiercely. The fist originally aimed at the sky turned sideways by a hair's breadth and smashed ruthlessly into the dense forest beside him!
"—Fist!"
Boom—!!!
A violent torrent of water swept out with destructive force, forcefully clearing a shocking fan-shaped clearing in the forest.
Immediately after, the internal force exploded, sending shockwaves spreading out in a ring, knocking down trees even further away.
But it wasn't time to relax yet. Tike turned around, just about to extend his arms to catch this person falling from the sky, when that petite figure slammed heavily into his chest with huge impact.
Crack!
"Ugh!"
The powerful inertia took Tike backward, making him fall onto the grass again.
The boy looked down expressionlessly at the tiny existence currently pressing on him.
It was a little girl with short blue hair, her face tender, looking about the same age as Yukino.
Tike leaned in slightly, flared his nostrils, and carefully sniffed the scent on the girl, his expression changing slightly.
A magical scent full of heterogeneity entangled the girl, but this wasn't emitted by her; instead, it was forcibly attached by some external force and was gradually fading.
Besides this, Tike also captured an incredibly familiar scent.
"This scent... is she the Wendy of this world?"
(Did the future me take the future her to treat Mom?)
Tike knew he would meet the Wendy of this world sooner or later, just didn't expect it to come so quickly.
What was even more bizarre was...
Why did she fall from the sky?
Could this be the legendary "sky-falling type" entrance?
Tike held the little girl in his arms and looked up at the sky, which now appeared exceptionally empty.
If four more fell down, they could form a five-person sentai team, and he could make do as an extra warrior.
After waiting for a moment and confirming no more anomalies in the sky, Tike withdrew his gaze and rested it on the girl in his arms again.
What to do next?
Take her home directly and ask Mom Ur to adopt another one?
No, no, no, Mom Ur would definitely have no problem, but this kind of thing had to ask Wendy's own will first.
Moreover, the most critical question was, he still hadn't figured out why she fell from the sky.
It couldn't be that she had an accident while playing high-altitude bungee jumping, right?
Tike guessed wildly in his heart, secured the girl firmly on his back, and prepared to leave.
"Mmh?"
The little person on his back fluttered her eyelashes a few times, then slowly opened a pair of somewhat bewildered brown eyes.
Her vision first focused blurrily on Tike's side profile close at hand, then looked blankly at the surrounding forest ruined into a mess.
The unfamiliar environment made the little girl feel extremely uneasy. Her small head moved slightly, and a voice with obvious trembling spilled from her lips:
"You... who are you? Where are you taking me?" Her voice paused, then she pressed urgently with a crying tone, "Grandeeney... where is Grandeeney? Where is Grandeeney?"
"Grandeeney?"
Tike thought briefly, confirming he had never heard this name.
"Sorry, I don't know anyone by that name."
"Ooh..."
Seeing more panic well up in the girl's eyes, he added hurriedly: "You fell from the sky alone just now, and this is the wilderness, so I thought about taking you away from here first."
"The sky?"
Hearing Tike's words, the little girl looked up subconsciously, gazing at the sky just like Tike had.
Seeing her like this, Tike also felt somewhat surprised: "Do you not know what happened yourself?"
"Mm..." the little girl responded in a low voice.
Seeing this, Tike switched to a more direct question, "That Grandeeney, who is she to you?"
"Grandeeney is my mother," the little girl answered without hesitation, her voice full of admiration and longing.
Tike's expression turned somewhat ugly.
(Could it be another mother who abandoned her child like Irene?)
Suppressing the anger rising in his heart, he softened his tone and guided as gently as possible: "Can you tell me what Grandeeney looks like? That way, if I meet her in the future, I can recognize her."
Hearing that Tike was willing to help search, the little girl's eyes lit up, and she began to recall seriously.
"Mother Grandeeney... her feathers are snow-white, like clouds in the sky, so very, very warm to lean on... her eyes are green, always very, very gentle when looking at you..."
She described the most beautiful existence in her heart word by word with a soft, sweet voice.
"And, Mother Grandeeney's voice is also very nice. Every time I hear her speak, I feel very safe and happy, afraid of nothing... I like staying by Mother Grandeeney's side the most..."