Kael ducked under a curtain of low-hanging vines, his sandal boots pressing into the mossy earth as he pushed deeper into the forest, the vegetation growing denser with every step. He kept close to the path the water carved through the wilderness, following the winding stream northward, having done so since the waterfall.


    Kael used it as his tether, a way to ensure he didn''t risk getting lost. He had no map, compass, or recognizable places in this part of the forest to tell him where he was, and was going. Beyond instinct and him just guessing, the stream gave him direction, a sort of known path to follow.


    The river, along with the ground beneath him, gradually sloped upward, barely noticeable at first, but after a while of steady hiking, the incline became undeniable. The elevation hinting at their perhaps being a central high point in the forest, a hidden peak tucked away by nature’s structure. Kael paused briefly, taking stock of his surroundings.


    The forest had shifted. At first, the scenery had started as usual, thick trees with equally thick roots, overgrown bushes, and moss growing here and there. The usual.


    Now, it felt... otherworldly.


    The even more closely placed trees made it, so the canopy above was thicker, and more resistant to letting any direct sunlight reach the forest floor. What little light barely managed to filter through was scattered, giving everything a dim, dreamlike ambiance. Not only that, more trees now had those glowing veins and leaves.


    Beneath his sandal boots, the dirt had softened into rich, dark soil with spots blanketed in patches of normal moss, as well as glowing ones. Strange flowers bloomed about. Some of them gave off a gentle shimmer, pulsing faintly in rhythm. A sweet, complex aroma filled the air. It was intoxicating, in a way. Kael found himself breathing deeply, his senses sharpened, yet lulled into something close to awe.


    It all appeared like he had walked into a fairytale.


    Kael wanted to say something but felt like he would be breaking what seemed like a sacred silence. Then came the sound. A crunch beneath his boot. Kael froze. The overgrowth had grown so thick he could barely see the forest floor anymore. Pulling his foot back slightly, he glanced down, sweeping aside the vines and moss with the tip of his foot. Bone.


    A pale, weathered femur, partially buried beneath layers of soil and moss. Kael crouched, brushing away more debris, revealing bits of rib and more skeleton parts. All half-swallowed by the undergrowth, moss creeping through some of the cracks.


    Whatever this had been… it looked like it had died some time ago. Kael narrowed his eyes. As he rose to his feet, movement caught his attention. One of the newer plants, growing to the side of a nearby root, was now shifting. It unfurled slowly, its petals peeling back to reveal rows of thin, sharp spikes where a normal plant would have stamens. The interior glistened wetly in the ethereal light, and at the same time, a notification appeared before Kael.


    [ Foliagor (Common) – Level 13 ]


    It resembled a monstrous man-eater flower, but far larger, the thing being easily the size of a full-grown wolf. Kael didn’t wait for it to act.


    His right hand moved quickly up as he summoned Essence into his palm. In just a few seconds, he compressed and shaped the sphere into a simple knife, it was not yet perfect, but it was a bit more durable and sharp enough for a few strikes. The glowing blade shimmered faintly as he dashed forward, the underbrush resisting his legs.


    He moved to the side, avoiding the lashing vine that erupted from the monster’s base, and swung the blade into the main stalk near its root. The knife sliced through the outer layer but didn’t go too deep. Kael didn''t waste time and slashed again, aiming for the same spot. The second cut landed successfully where the first had, biting deeper into the fibrous tissue, almost severing it. The monstrous flower gave a twitch, its open maw convulsing, before toppling to the side, collapsing into the ferns. A notification flashed.


    Stolen story; please report.


    [Experience Gained!]


    Kael stepped back, scanning the surrounding plants warily. “That explains the bones,” he muttered, eyeing the others suspiciously. None of the other plants moved. At least, not yet.


    Kael seriously contemplated turning around, calling it good, and leaving behind this place, not wanting to have a repeat of what happened in the cave, due to his curiosity. But he had already made it this far. If he was poisoned by the strange flora, it was too late to do anything about it now. He’d walked through patches of glowing flora and sliced into a magical flowers. He’d breathed the air and touched the soil.


    If the environment was dangerous, the damage was likely already done. Still… he hadn’t felt anything strange. No lightheadedness, no burning in his chest, no symptoms of exposure. There was also the possibility that his higher Endurance and natural regeneration were helping fight off whatever subtle toxins lingered in the air, or in him.


    Not to mention that he hadn’t seen anything like this area, anywhere else. Not near the waterfall, where he first showed up, or any place he had wandered so far in the forest. This was new. Rare. Possibly unique.


    And something told him, he had to know more. So he pressed forward, but even more carefully now, eyes vigilant for any plant that looked too large, too vibrant, or just too… off, which was a tall ask in this place.


    Whenever something seemed suspicious, he tested it. A quick slash with his Essence knife, or a thrown rock from his ring. Many turned out to be normal. Some didn’t. Three more times, Kael found camouflaged predators masquerading as oversized flowers or twisting root bundles. None were too difficult to kill, all of them between the levels of twelve and thirteen, but it still set him on edge.


    The problem wasn’t the challenge, Kael found them surprisingly easy to kill, compared to other monsters in their level. The problem was how easily he could walk into one of them blindly. And the fact that none of them showed a system prompt until he was aware of them, and they moved, revealing hostile intent. This showed he couldn’t rely on the system for early warnings. It wasn’t going to show him any information if he didn''t know something was there.


    While he was thinking he moved through a narrow thicket, using his Essence knife to slice through the undergrowth. Looking at his construct, Kael reflected on the improvements he had made to his shaping this past week, since the Gloomkin. His constructs now came together much faster, the short knives he made were sharper and more balanced. And while they still broke after several strikes, they lasted far more than before and were also no longer blunt, useless objects.


    They cost him a fair chunk of Essence, though. He couldn’t create more than two or three in a row without draining himself while he used Body reinforcement. Another thing was that trying to use Body Reinforcement while shaping was still a no. The focus required was too intense. Still, he’d practiced enough that switching between the two was seamless now.


    Deactivate enhancement. Shape the construct. Reactivate. In motion, it took only a few seconds. Kael cut his way beneath a thick root arching above the ground, crouching low as he pushed through a gap. He stepped into a clearing and froze. Before him lay a large, wide, tranquil pond. Crystal-clear water shimmered beneath the canopy, which had by now thickened completely to the point no light came down, other than the one from the countless leaves. But it was the thing in the center of the pond that caught his breath.


    A massive, aqua-colored crystal jutted from the middle of the water like a submerged iceberg, at least three meters tall above the surface, and likely much more hidden below. It gleamed with ethereal light, its surface smooth, almost glasslike. The surrounding water shimmered faintly, as though charged with magic.


    Kael took a step closer, his breath catching. It was beautiful.


    The glowing roots along the trees nearby pulsed much brighter here, threading into the earth like living veins. The crystal reflected in the surface of the pond, distorted by the rippling water. Around him, the magical flowers bloomed with more intensity, and the scents they gave off were even more intoxicating.


    He knelt at the edge of the pond, eyes wide as he scanned the water. Beneath the surface, a network of roots covered the entire bottom, interwoven like a vast lattice. And they all led to the crystal.


    Every single root converged at the base of the gem, wrapping around it, anchoring it, feeding it, or being fed by it. “What is this place?” he whispered. But before he could examine further, something tugged at his foot.


    He looked down. A green root had curled around his ankle. Kael’s eyes narrowed. He followed the root with his gaze, up to a vibrant yellow flower clinging to the trunk of a tree. From this distance, it looked normal, but then the flower lowered itself, leaving a hole where it had once been. The moment it was low enough, the flower creature dropped the rest of the way, once on the ground, the roots beneath it writhed like tentacles, dragging it across the ground forward.


    [ Yellow virulent bloom (Uncommon) –– Level 15 ]