Kael moved through the underbrush with purpose, the rhythm of his steps sharp and quick. He made sure that every step he took didn''t make too much sound and disturb the silence of the forest, as the second day of his search unfolded. Two days had passed since the announcement, and the following notification that had informed him he was in a soon-to-be fully claimed territory. Yet, despite all his efforts, he hadn’t found the creature responsible.


    What he had found instead were two other discoveries. Maybe three, depending on how you looked at it. The first had come not long after receiving the notification. Kael had discovered, that the notification prompting him to contest the claim only disappeared when he left the forest entirely. It was a small clue, but a significant one.


    He’d first noticed it when heading back to his cave the same day the notification appeared. Kael had made the track in the direction of the cave, and after not noticing any changes in his notifications when he arrived, continued walking. It wasn''t before he’d pushed into the grasslands, and returned to the remains of the Gloomkin village outside the forest, that the notification asking him to contest the claim had finally vanished.


    Standing in the grass, Kael had come to the acceptance that his home and everything around it were within the claimed territory. He even started to suspect that the entire forest might actually be within the territory not just this part of it. The second discovery had just built on this theory and had come from his exploration of the South.


    Driven by curiosity and growing frustration with the lack of clues, Kael had followed the river from the clearing he had first discovered it in. The same clearing that he had almost lost his life in the first night. He had traced its path south, staying along its eastern edge, wondering if perhaps it would lead him somewhere new. But as he continued, the trees grew thinner, the familiar underbrush fading. In the end, the river didn’t lead anywhere dramatic or new. There was no monster den to finally reveal to him where it was, no new clues, no ancient ruins, nothing. It just spilled into the open grasslands continuing on its path further away.


    The same grasslands that bordered the forest on the east. By the time Kael turned back, having again received the notification he had entered a claimed territory. He had a theory, more than that, a growing certainty. The rivers flowing from the central pond were natural borders. Dividers. They split the forest into separate segments, and the entire thing was surrounded by an expanse of rolling grassland. Kael still wanted to look more to be even more sure, but he would not be surprised if he ended up being right.


    To that end, Kael was now headed north. Not just north to where he had already searched, or just the pond, but further north than he had ever gone before. He moved with purpose, brushing branches out of the way, moving under and climbing over roots. If the creature that had issued the claim wasn’t anywhere in the southeast part of the forest, then maybe it was somewhere else. If the territory was as he assumed the entire forest, then the creature could be in any of the other presumed segments entirely.


    Which could explain why he never saw or found any clue leading to it. Given that, he had only looked, and searched the lower half of the segment he was currently in. Kael having never explored or searched to the north of the pond.


    Even as his mind raced with thoughts, going through theories and guesses. Kael still made sure his pace was steady and cautious, along with his focus on his surroundings. He knew he was headed for an unexplored territory, as such Kael made sure he was constantly alert.


    This was why he quickly noticed the plant monster before it noticed him, the small and minute movements of a vine, when all the other parts of it didn''t, giving it away. Forming an Essence knife, Kael attacked the plant monster, killing it with one arch of his knife before it could make an attempt to fight back.


    [ Experience Gained! ]


    The plant monsters here were high-level but weak in terms of durability. With Kaels growing strength, they were easy experience points. But for his purposes today they were not worth lingering over. Kael left the body of the plant monster and continued on his way.


    He reached the familiar clearing shortly after. The massive crystal in the center of the pond still standing tall, its aquatic hue casting a faint glow over the area. The thing shimmered like a beacon, drawing the eye even when you tried not to look at it.


    Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.


    Without wasting time, Kael sprinted toward the right side of the pond, following the curved edge. Familiar roots stirred from the edges of the clearing, and more plant creatures shifted as he passed. Their vines crept out from the tree line, reaching toward him with slow, deliberate movements. Kael didn’t stop.


    To avoid getting lost when he entered an unknown area, he wanted to stick to his tried and proven method: following the river. It had proven reliable landmarks, and now, he would use the one flowing north from the magical pond as his guide.


    Even though his main priority was to search for the threshold monster. He also in a minor degree, wanted to confirm that the river flowing north indeed ended the same way as the one heading south. That it too, exited the forest and spilled into the grasslands. If it did, that would be a huge verification that the pond and crystal marked the center of the forest, its beating heart. And that the territory at least encompassed the entire east side for sure.


    He jumped over low grasping roots, dodged the occasional swipe, and released poison stream. Kael maneuvered around some of the monsters that were in his way, cutting what attack he could not evade. Once he reached the northern exit point where the pond''s water spilled into a steady stream, he followed it, still running.


    The ethereal vegetation of the forest immediately thickened around him again the exact moment he left the clearing. Kael made his way through thick foliage, staying away from whatever he saw that he suspected were deceptive plant monsters.


    After a while of pursuing him from behind, the plant monsters slowly returned to their places, no longer following. Ahead, the trees started to make more space between them, letting more light escape while still staying towering and imposing. The river flowed over smooth stones and roots, winding its way into the unexplored north.


    Once he left behind the enchanted part of the forest around the pond, Kael slowed down. He made sure to take notice of how the ground seemed to lower in elevation by the tiniest amount as he did so. His eyes scanned everything around him, every bush, branch, and rustling shadow. Something could be watching. Something could be hiding. It wouldn''t be a stretch that the monster he was looking for was in this section of the forest after all. Which was something he was hoping for. Because of that, Kael wanted to be ready for it and any other thing that attacked him out of nowhere.


    He pressed forward, a new Essence knife in hand. As far as he knew, and could tell from looking, nothing in the north looked to have changed from the way it appeared in the south. No signs of new monsters or too different terrain. No shrieking cries or tremors in the earth. But that didn’t mean nothing was there. After all the silence in this forest meant nothing, and was just the ally of the predators that called it home. In his search, he occasionally saw signs of animals and beasts. A broken branch here, scratch marks on a bark there. All things he normally saw back south. Nothing that really gave off, or screamed that it was left by something that had passed some kind of threshold.


    At one point, he spotted a weak low-level boar off in the distance, rooting around near the river. It raised its head at the sound of his movement, snorted once then returned to grazing. Kael left it alone. He wasn’t here for a fight, not unless it found him first.


    He continued north, each step taking him further than he had ever been. The river curved gently, then straightened. The deeper he went, the more the forest began to change again, not into something mystical and dense like the heart, but something more… sparse. Less overgrown. The trees started to thin. The evening light became stronger, even less filtered. And then he saw it, between the trunks ahead, slivers of open-hued sky and evening light unfiltered. Kael pushed through the last barrier of nature and stepped out into the open land.


    The grasslands stretched out before him, tall stalks swaying in the wind. The horizon was wide and endless. To the far north, he could just make out the shadows of distant mountains. The river ran ahead, carving a soft line through the terrain before vanishing into the distance.


    Kael also noticed that the notification vanished, no longer being able to be summoned the moment he exited the forest. He stood in silence, hands on his hips, breathing steady. It was a strange feeling, to make a rough map out of a previously never explored place and be right. The river ended in the grasslands, just like the other one, looking to his left and seeing the tree line continuing straight with grassland on one side and forest on the other. He had even less doubt that so did the other two.


    Which meant…


    “The whole forest,” Kael muttered, narrowing his eyes. “It could all really be claimed. Every damn part of it.” His cave. The waterfall. The heart of the forest. The unexplored parts. All of it. He stared out at the horizon for a moment longer, letting it all sink in.


    Then he turned around, squinting into the forest shadows. The natural light was beginning to weaken, evening having fully set in. Kael let out a low sigh. “No time to waste.” Even if his grown stats made him able to traverse larger areas quicker and in less time, he still had no time to waste. He had an extensive area to search, and little time to do so before nightfall.


    He stepped forward, reentering the forest again. The moment his crude sandal boots hit the mossy earth under the trees, the notification reappeared.


    [ You are within a newly claimed territory. Contest the claim? Y/N]


    Kael dismissed it without a thought. He had too much to do to be distracted by something he was getting used to seeing and would see more of.