One hundred kilometers outside the great walls surrounding the Royal Capital of the Zivilia Kingdom lay a vast forest. It spanned mountains, hills, rivers, lakes, ravines, and valleys.
This forest was given a name...
The Nightmare Forest.
Thousands of monsters were imprisoned within, from the weakest to the strongest. They roamed freely, hunting anything that crossed their path.
Furthermore, hundreds of Dungeons, hiding places for valuable treasures, were scattered throughout. Because of this, many monster hunter groups came to the forest to seek their fortune.
How this forest came to be, or the origin of its monsters, Dungeons, and treasures, remained unknown. One thing was certain, ordinary, weak humans were strictly forbidden from entering.
Fortunately, the forest was enveloped by a powerful barrier, protecting the Capital and nearby settlements from monster attacks. And most importantly, the forest had a guardian.
The Guardian of the Nightmare Forest's Entrance, better known as the Singing Witch.
She was an enigmatic Witch, whose origins were as unknown as the forest itself. It was unclear how she became the Guardian, or how long she had protected it.
However, it was common knowledge that she was regarded as a deity within the forest, as if she knew its every nook and cranny like the back of her own hand, and that she alone was capable of keeping the monsters from leaving.
The phrase people heard from her most often was: "Do you wish to meet my monsters?"
She was Tsana Norton, the Singing Witch, Guardian of the Nightmare Forest.
★★★
A green covered book was closed with a soft 'Plup' and placed alongside the others on a large wooden shelf that stood in the corner of the simple wooden cottage.
"They exaggerate too much," Tsana said with a sigh.
She gazed out the window. The weather was clear this morning, dew dripped from the leaves, and a thin mist was still visible. The chirping of birds echoed back and forth.
A peaceful morning, as usual.
She straightened the chair she had been using and hummed softly.
As she hummed, a rustling sound was heard from outside, tickling like a child's laughter. A gentle wind blew, carrying three dried leaves in a nimble dance, twirling them as if playing, before slipping into the cottage.
"Don't bring trash into the house," Tsana said.
As if understanding her reprimand, the leaves stopped in mid air and drooped listlessly, before returning outside and falling to the ground.
While tidying the papers on her desk, Tsana said, "Stop playing around. I need to go to the Capital to review the Roswell Academy students who will be entering the forest in three days."
The wind seeped back into the house. The papers that were scattered on the floor slowly floated into the air and, one by one, were stacked neatly.
Once the floor was clear, hundreds of pale yellow light particles glowed from all directions and coalesced, forming the silhouette of a small boy with golden hair and sage-green eyes, hugging the stack of papers. His cheeks were puffed out slightly, his eyes looking at Tsana with annoyance.
His childish voice grumbled, "Reviewing the students who are taking the entrance exam in three days is just your excuse, isn't it? You've never wanted to go before, even when the headmaster of Roswell Academy begged you on his knees. You always made me handle everything."
Tsana put on her black robe and pulled on her boots.
The boy, who looked to be only ten years old, placed the stack of papers on the table and spoke again. "You just want to investigate the rumors about the Light Dragon's appearance at the Northern Border last week, don't you?"
Tsana's hand, which was adjusting the collar of her robe, paused for a moment. Her right hand then unconsciously touched her stomach.
The boy glanced at her briefly before returning to tidying the still-messy pile of papers.
The sudden silence felt awkward, but Tsana resumed adjusting her robe and turned to the boy. "You know me best, Zephyr."
Zephyr didn't look back, his cheeks still puffed as he snorted in annoyance. "You're so cruel and cold-hearted! The last time I went to the capital was two days ago for groceries. I wanted to buy candied fruit, but I didn't have enough money, and now you won't even take me with you."
Tsana sighed in resignation. "You were just in the capital two days ago, and now you're grumbling? Come on, with your flight magic, we'll get there much faster."
Zephyr's eyes lit up. "You're cunning, using my mana for flight magic when you can fly perfectly well yourself. But fine, I'll forgive you this time because you're going to buy me candied fruit. Alright, let's go!"
Tsana furrowed her brow. "Who said I was buying you candied fruit?"
Tsana and Zephyr's bodies were enveloped in greenish-yellow mana and slowly began to float into the air.
Zephyr beamed. "I did, of course! Even though I'm your spirit, I still demand a bonus."
Tsana just snorted in amusement. "You greedy little kid."
"Hehehe."
The two then began to fly towards the Capital.
★★★
Upon arriving in the Capital, Tsana parted ways with Zephyr.
She entered a bar tucked away in an alley.
Tsana sat on a small stool right at the bar, in front of the Barkeep. She ordered a glass of cider, and the Barkeep happily obliged.
Of all the places to gather information, a bar was the best choice.
Here, adventurers, monster hunters, treasure hunters, common folk, and even nobles gathered to unwind, chat, and order their favorite drinks.
Because the people here came from such different backgrounds, the chance of finding the desired information was far greater than anywhere else.
Tsana sharpened her hearing by focusing mana into her ears and began to search for conversations that matched the information she wanted.
Finally, she found an interesting conversation from the corner table by the entrance. The table was surrounded by three large, rough looking men who looked like criminals.
One man, with a mohawk, said enthusiastically, "If we manage to catch that Light Dragon and take its scales, fangs, and claws, we'll never have to be monster hunters again!"
The bald man with an axe on his back responded, "Zehahaha, right! We'll sell them for a ridiculously high price. We'll be so rich our wealth won't run out for seven generations!"
"Exactly. We better prepare everything we need for this trip. This chance won't come twice. Even if the border guards said the Dragon disappeared, the creature can't have gone far. We'll go there and search. The Northern Border is famous for its extreme cold, we can't let our guard down," replied the shortest of the three, who had a thick beard.
After that, the three only discussed the preparations they would bring. Tsana didn't hear a single clue about the Dragon's exact whereabouts from their conversation.
Others in the bar were discussing things not much different from those three.
A week ago, rumors said the Dragon was first sighted at the Northern Border, but the border guards reported that it suddenly vanished. There wasn't a single trace indicating where it went.
However, many monster hunters believed the Dragon was still there, hiding.
That was why so many hunters were more interested in taking the risk to go north to find the Dragon than coming to the Nightmare Forest to hunt monsters. As a result, the Nightmare Forest had become quieter than usual lately.
Whether it was a hallucination or not, Tsana felt like she heard the faint jingle of tiny bells.
"How foolish. The Light Dragon isn't stupid. It's far more intelligent than humans. A creature like that wouldn't stay long in such an unpleasant place."
A voice from her side pulled Tsana back to reality. She turned to see a man who had sat down next to her at some point.
The man wore a long cloak that covered his entire body, but Tsana was certain that beneath it was an athletic build, visible from his broad shoulders. He was quite tall, and his long, silver hair was plaited, giving him an elegant and refined air.
Tsana was stunned for a moment. 'Since when did he get here? His presence is so faint, I can't even sense his mana.'
Every living being in this world possessed mana, and Tsana had always been able to detect it. But this was the first time she had ever failed to sense someone's mana.
Perhaps sensing Tsana's gaze on him, the man turned his head. His pair of amethyst eyes met her sage green ones.
For a moment, they just stared at each other, saying nothing.
Tsana's mind suddenly went blank, as if she had been pulled from the real world.
Until suddenly, a faint blush colored the man's face, and he spoke shyly. "Ah, please forgive me for suddenly saying something so strange. Is it possible, did I disturb you, young lady?"