The moment we crossed the boundary stone, the world changed.
Not gradually.
Not subtly.
One second, sunlight filtered through normal branches…
The next, the forest swallowed the sky whole.
A thick green fog curled around our ankles, cold enough to feel against skin. The trees towered impossibly high, their bark a dark, iron-like color. The air felt heavier, wetter—like the forest itself was breathing.
I felt it immediately.
Mana.
Dense. Wild. Untamed.
It pulsed faintly beneath my feet, like a heartbeat in the earth.
Aelira stepped beside me, pale blue aura dimly flickering around her fingertips. "This forest… it's colder than it looks."
Kazen silently nocked an arrow, teal mist drifting from his bowstring like smoke. "Mist is thick. Sightline's short. This place wasn't like this last time I passed through."
"Of course it isn't," Theon muttered, resting the flat of his greatsword on his shoulder. "The request said the entire forest suddenly changed."
Seraphyne walked ahead, her usual sharp focus settling in, pink ponytail swaying behind her. She had one dagger in hand, the other strapped to her thigh—not playing around today.
Varein stood to my right, spear pointed downward but ready, his green aura faintly rippling despite his calm expression.
"What do you think, Rain?" he asked quietly.
I took a slow breath.
The forest felt wrong.
Not dangerous—wrong.
"...Something's twisted the mana here," I said. "It feels like the forest's core is… unstable."
"Core?" Arion blinked, hugging his axe a little tighter. "Forests have cores?"
"Living Forests do," Liam answered flatly, brushing dirt off his uniform. "Ancient sites, high mana density. They grow around a central leyline node."
"Meaning," Liraeth added, her purple aura crackling faintly around her palm, "if the node gets corrupted, so does the forest."
Great.
Just what we needed.
A corrupted leyline.
Instructor Aldred stepped forward and faced us, silver cloak brushing against the damp ground.
"You all know your mission," he said, voice steady. "Locate the missing second-years—or whatever remains—and assess the cause of the disturbance. Do not split far from each other. Class 1-S will move as a single unit."
He paused.
"Rain."
I straightened.
"You lead."
My heart tensed. Not out of fear—but responsibility.
Everyone looked at me, trusting me to not get them killed.
I gripped my sword.
"…Alright," I said. "We move."
And with that, we stepped deeper into the Dratonian Forest.
The deeper we went, the quieter everything became.
No birds.
No insects.
No wind.
Even Varein looked unsettled. "Wind is… muted. Like something's suppressing it."
A branch cracked in the distance.
Everyone immediately shifted into formation.
Kazen aimed high.
Theon stepped forward, greatsword raised.
Seraphyne flicked her dagger into a reverse grip.
Liraeth's eyes narrowed, electricity tracing along her fingertips.
I watched the shadows.
Nothing moved.
Nothing breathed.
Nothing—
Something massive blurred between the trees.
A black silhouette.
Wrong shape. Wrong movement. Crawling too fast. Too quiet.
Kazen whispered, "Did you all see—?"
"Yes," I said.
Aelira shivered. "That… wasn't an animal."
Before we could track it, something dropped from the canopy.
Not a person. Not a beast.
A corpse.
One of the second-years.
A body fell at our feet with a sickening thud, armor mangled, eyes empty and wide.
Arion stumbled back. "W-What—"
Seraphyne kneeled, inspected quietly. "Killed instantly. No hesitation. No sign of a struggle."
Liam exhaled sharply. "Whatever did this… is fast."
Aldred crouched beside the body, jaw tightening. "Form up. We're not alone."
I tightened my grip.
Varein suddenly raised a hand. "Wait."
He knelt, brushing the ground lightly.
"The flow of mana—something dragged him here. Something big. He wasn't killed where we found him."
"How far?" I asked.
Varein stood and pointed deeper into the trees.
"That way."
The direction the silhouette ran.
Great.
"Move slow," I ordered. "Watch the trees. And don't look away from the shadows."
As we followed the trail, the green fog thickened.
Then we heard it.
Soft.
Low.
A whispering sound—like voices speaking underwater.
Liraeth stiffened. "Did you all just hear—?"
"Yes."
"Yes."
"Yes."
Everyone answered at once.
Even Aldred's hand tightened on his blade.
Kazen muttered, "Mist illusions. Dangerous ones."
"They're not illusions," Seraphyne said quietly. "They're warnings."
Varein nodded. "The forest is… trying to communicate. But it's panicking."
That didn't make me feel better.
The fog pulsed suddenly—once.
Then—
snap
Another branch cracked behind us.
The silhouette again.
Circling.
Hunting.
Testing us.
I stepped forward, aura flickering pale blue around my arm.
"Come out."
Silence answered.
Then—
A roar tore through the forest.
Deep. Inhuman. Echoing across the entire Dratonian expanse.
Every bird in the sky would've scattered—if there were any left.
Arion trembled. "That… thing killed the second-years?"
"Not just killed," Theon said quietly. "Annihilated."
Aldred's expression hardened. "Eyes sharp. It's close."
I exhaled, steadying my pulse.
"Let it come."
We moved again, weapons drawn.
Eventually, the fog parted enough for us to see something ahead.
A massive tree.
Ancient. Towering. Thick roots spiraling like veins across the earth.
The core.
It glowed faintly—but the glow flickered chaotically, as if the light itself was struggling.
Aelira whispered, "It's corrupted…"
And then—
THUD.
The ground shook.
Something stepped out from behind the tree.
A corrupted forest guardian. A sub-species of earth dragons.
Its gaze locked onto us, and it let out a distorted, bone-rattling snarl.
Arion swallowed. "O-Oh… that is definitely not natural…"
I lifted my sword.
Everyone readied their weapons.
Aldred whispered, "Be careful. Guardians are protectors—not killers. Something forced it to attack."
I took a slow step forward.
"We subdue it then."
The guardian roared—