Episode 4
‘Of all people… the High Chief Aunt showed up.’
She was the leader of all Dryad tribes in the world and the spirit of the oldest and wisest tree in this forest.
So, of course, she knew everything that happened here.
Like all Dryads, the High Chief Aunt was kind to Selly.
But her words were always filled with vague, poetic emotions that Selly—who had a logical, science-focused brain—just couldn’t understand.
Which meant… Selly had no idea what she was here for now.
‘If she’s blocking my path, she probably wants to stop me.’
Selly’s lantern-like glow flickered with tension as the Dryad stepped into view, green hair falling over her brown skin.
“Child of the forest.”
Her voice wasn’t gentle like usual—it sounded stern, like a scolding.
“You’ve forgotten something.”
Forgotten what?
Her mom?
The connections she was leaving behind in the forest?
Or was she saying Selly was being foolish for wanting to go to Spellmore?
Because of the High Chief’s vague and roundabout way of speaking, Selly had no choice but to interpret it that way.
She thought the Aunt had come to stop her from going to the magic school…
But then—
“Take this.”
The Aunt handed her a glass bottle filled with potion.
Since she was born, Selly had a strange illness—maybe something carried over from her past life. Whenever the full moon rose, like it would tomorrow night, she’d lose consciousness.
That’s why she always had to drink a potion made by the Dryad Aunties before moonrise.
She only had one dose left in her bag. How did the Aunt know…?
But more surprising was what came next. The High Chief Aunt smiled like she could read Selly’s mind and asked,
“You thought I’d stop you?”
“Yes… I thought you were on Mom’s side. I’m sorry I doubted you.”
“Child, I cannot stop the winds of fate.”
The Dryad raised her hand toward a dandelion and gently blew on it.
With just her breath, the huge dandelion swayed, and its fluffy seeds scattered into the air.
One of the seeds curled at the stem like an umbrella handle and gently landed at Selly’s feet.
“But I can help you ride that wind and claim your destiny.”
Understanding what she meant, Selly quickly climbed onto the large, bent dandelion seed like a saddle.
Then, the Dryad picked a flower from her own hair—something Selly had never seen her do—and placed it in her hand.
“I swear on the roots of my mother, the World Tree.”
The flower sparkled and melted into Selly’s hand. A glowing flower mark appeared on her palm and then faded away.
“Wherever you go, the spirits of the World Tree will watch over and protect you.”
A Dryad—who normally hated humans for harming nature—was saying she’d protect Selly, a human?
Selly was too shocked to say anything.
“Auntie…”
She acted like she’d lived a long life, just because this was her second one—but her longest life only lasted 16 years.
‘Truth is… I was scared.’
Her heart was still that of a child. Even though she stepped out boldly, she was anxious inside.
And now, knowing a powerful adult was protecting her—it made her feel safe.
No matter what scary things were waiting out there in the unfamiliar world, she wasn’t afraid anymore.
“So don’t forget—you’re still a child of this forest, even out there.”
“I won’t. I promise.”
Selly wiped away the tears welling up in her chest and hugged her aunt tightly.
“Thank you so, so much. I know you’ve already helped me so much, and this might be selfish… but please take care of my mom.”
The wise Dryad tilted her head slightly, as if she didn’t understand why Selly would say that.
“I only return what I’ve received. And your mother is the same.”
“Huh?”
What had Selly ever given them? What had Mom given? She’d only ever received things here.
“Don’t worry about your mom. She has her own destiny too.”
The Aunt didn’t answer her questions. Instead, she gently blew another breath toward the sky.
The dandelion seed caught the wind and began to rise.
“Go fulfill the dream from your past life. And you are always welcome to return.”
As the tree spirit grew smaller in the distance, her final words floated to Selly’s ears on the wind.
“Selena, this will always be your home now.”
But that message didn’t quite reach Selly—her mind was already full of another question.
…How does she know about my past life?
The chick in Selly’s pocket flapped its tiny wings.
“I, the mighty rooster, shall now fly!”
“It’s ‘fly,’ not ‘fllya.’ Try proper pronunciation.”
“Shut up!”
Bonk.
“Human approaching!”
“Ugh, yeah. Let’s both shut up now.”
Even though her noisy runaway buddy was being chaotic, Selly felt like she was floating too. If she’d walked, she probably wouldn’t have even made it halfway out of the forest by now.
‘Looks like I’ll make it to the entrance ceremony!’
She wasn’t sure how long she’d been flying on the seed, but just around sunrise, she started to see cities below.
Then… they vanished. Fog rolled in.
‘What is this, a giant humidifier?’
The mist grew thicker until she could barely see her dangling feet.
Then… she noticed something ahead.
The fog was glowing faintly.
Too low for sunlight. And just when she thought that, the light revealed itself—cutting through the fog like a ghost ship.
A ship?
There was a ship floating in the sky.
‘Is this really a ghost ship?’
A sailing ship silently slid above the clouds.
Selly clung tightly to her dandelion seed, shaking.
On the ship’s deck, a ghost—or maybe a person—froze in shock and stared straight at her.
‘This is a world where ships fly in the sky, but I guess they’ve never seen someone ride a dandelion seed?’
She thought it would just be a strange moment and pass by…
But then, a man who looked like a pirate captain pointed at her and shouted,
“She’s a mage! Catch her!”
Everyone snapped to attention and rushed to the side of the ship, grabbing something.
‘…A cannon? I need to dodge!’
But there was no way to steer. The dandelion seed had no controls.
BOOM!
“Ahh! Nooo!”
The cannon didn’t fire a normal projectile—it shot a strange lump.
It opened in mid-air.
A net.
Just as Selly thought she was caught—
WHOOSH!
The seed shot upward. The net barely missed her feet and fell below.
‘Auntie, thank you for sav—wait, what?’
Suddenly, the seed dropped… and gently landed.
On the pirate ship’s deck.
“…Why’d you dodge the net so perfectly just to hand me over to the pirates now?”
Of course, yelling at the seed flying away didn’t help.
‘Auntie, you said you’d protect me!’
“But I can help you ride the wind and claim your destiny.”
…Wait. Don’t tell me getting captured by pirates is part of my destiny?
Selly looked around, confused. The pirates looked just as baffled.
After all, they were trying to catch a fish—and it jumped onto the boat all by itself.
But they quickly came to their senses.
And these guys weren’t going to be scared off by a kid holding a barbecue skewer.
“Get in there, quietly!”
They took her bag and locked her up in a jail below deck.
“Two rare humans in one day? What a lucky streak.”
Selly wasn’t alone in the cell.
“…Hi.”
“Uh… hi…”
There was a boy about her age already there, with his hands tied.
And… he was seriously handsome.
His blond hair and porcelain skin gave off a noble vibe. If it was just that, she might’ve thought he was a rich kid kidnapped for ransom.
But then she saw his eyes—bright red, like rubies.
Selly remembered reading: humans with dragon blood had red eyes.
So this boy… was a dragon descendant. Super rare bloodline.
“You got caught too?”
Selly asked. The boy gave a small nod. Even that tiny gesture was full of grace and elegance.
“While flying?”
He raised an eyebrow sharply, like her question was ridiculous.
“I was kidnapped on the ground. You know… in a normal way.”
…Is there such a thing as a “normal” kidnapping?
