Let's Train Heroine - Chapter 345

Chapter 345: Heroine’s Companion Virnda I
Vrinda stood at the edge of yet another fork in the Verdant Labyrinth, hands on her hips, staring at the two equally confusing paths before her. One was lined with ominous, thorny vines that seemed to move when she wasn’t looking. The other had cheerful, glowing flowers that pulsed in time with an unsettling melody.

“Okay, Vrinda,” she muttered to herself. “You’ve got this. You’re a genius, a prodigy, a… person who has no idea where she’s going!” She threw her hands up and sighed. “Seriously, why couldn’t this world be like game. In the game she got map, and gps thing but what I get? Nothing.”

With her goal firmly in mind—the mystical Heart of the Labyrinth—Vrinda chose the flower path. After all, cheerful glowing flowers had to be better than man-eating vines, right?

As she walked, Vrinda kept her eyes peeled for anything resembling a magical heart. Instead, she stumbled upon a tiny, furry creature balancing on a rock, waving at her.

“Aw, aren’t you adorable!” Vrinda crouched down. The creature, a mix between a squirrel and a bird with glittering wings, chirped happily and pointed down the path.

“You know where the heart is?” Vrinda asked. The creature nodded, its wings fluttering with excitement.

“Perfect! Lead the way, buddy!”

She followed her new guide, confident that her quest was finally on track of course she knew it’s fake but being hopeful is better than hopeless and lost.

Unfortunately, the creature’s idea of “leading” involved darting back and forth, flying in loops, and occasionally stopping to nibble on glowing mushrooms.

“Are you trying to confuse me, or is this just your normal speed?” Vrinda asked after the fourth unnecessary loop around a tree.

The creature chirped indignantly and pointed at a massive stone door covered in glowing runes.

“Well, why didn’t you say so?” Vrinda approached the door, only to realize it had no handle, no keyhole, and no apparent way to open.

The creature squawked, clearly unhelpful now.

On the stone door, glowing text appeared:

“To open this door, solve the riddle:

I’m not alive, but I can grow.

I don’t have lungs, but I need air.

What am I?”

Vrinda groaned. “Ugh, riddles? Really? What is this, a children’s book?!”

She paced back and forth, muttering. “Okay, not alive but can grow… no lungs but needs air…”

The creature chirped again, as if trying to offer encouragement.

“Is it a plant?” she guessed. Nothing happened.

“Fire?” she tried again. The door shuddered and began to creak open. “Ha! Nailed it!”

The creature chirped enthusiastically and flew through the now-open passageway.

As Vrinda stepped through the doorway, the ground beneath her shifted. Suddenly, she found herself sliding down a steep, slippery slope.

“Oh, come on!” she shouted, flailing as she hurtled down. “I just got through the door! Can’t I have one peaceful moment?”

The slide ended abruptly, and Vrinda landed in a pile of soft, glowing moss. She sat up, brushing herself off, only to find herself in a new, massive chamber filled with towering crystal trees.

In the center of the room was a pedestal with a glowing orb—clearly magical and important-looking.

“Could this be the Heart of the Labyrinth?” she wondered aloud.

As she approached, the orb pulsed with light, and a deep voice echoed through the chamber.

“Only the worthy may claim the Heart.”

“Worthy? That’s me!” Vrinda said confidently, reaching for the orb.

The moment her fingers brushed it, the ground began to quake, and a giant, three-headed, crystal-covered serpent rose from the shadows.

“Oh. Of course. It’s never that easy,” Vrinda muttered.

The serpent lunged at her, its first head snapping inches from her face. Vrinda jumped back, narrowly avoiding becoming its snack.

“Okay, Vrinda,” she muttered, “time to put those magical smarts to use!”

She conjured a barrier of light magic, blocking the second head as it lunged at her. The third head, however, was sneakier, slithering around the barrier and nearly biting her foot.

“Seriously?! Three heads? Who designed this thing?”

Thinking quickly, Vrinda summoned a barrage of light arrows, aiming for the serpent’s glowing eyes. The creature recoiled, giving her a moment to scramble onto one of the crystal trees.

“Okay, new plan: climb and hope it can’t reach me,” she said, clinging to the sparkling branches.

The serpent, unfortunately, had no problem knocking the tree over with a swing of its massive tail.

“Bad plan! Very bad plan!” Vrinda yelped, jumping off just in time.

As the serpent cornered her, Vrinda’s brain finally kicked into overdrive.

“Wait a minute… it’s covered in crystals, and crystals conduct magic!” she realized.

Summoning all her energy, Vrinda created a massive sphere of light magic and hurled it at the serpent. The spell hit its mark, and the creature froze, glowing brightly as the magic coursed through its body.

“Take that, you overgrown chandelier!” Vrinda shouted triumphantly.

The serpent let out a final, ear-splitting roar before crumbling into a pile of glittering shards.

Breathing heavily, Vrinda approached the pedestal once more. This time, there were no interruptions as she grabbed the glowing orb.

But instead of feeling triumphant, she was met with a new problem.

The orb was just a key.

A glowing path appeared, leading to yet another chamber.

Vrinda groaned. “You’ve got to be kidding me. How many rooms does this labyrinth have?!”

Her furry companion chirped, clearly amused by her frustration.

“Oh, laugh it up, furball,” Vrinda muttered, trudging down the glowing path. “This heart better be worth it!”

She knew that this heart is not real Heart of Vardant Labyrinth. Moreover, she also realise that she was being watched and this door and furball was arranged by someone.

—

The Observers

High above, Aurelia and the Elder watched the events unfold through their magical portal.

“She is knowledgeable, she knew about heart,” Elder said.

“Yes. To be honest, I don’t know about her. I checked it but found nothing about her,” Aurelia said.

“You don’t know anything but still let her stay in region?”

“I don’t have choice.”