Chapter 77: Third Party
The dark green haired girl sat atop a large tree branch, her back resting against the trunk.
The bark was rough and damp from the recent rain, but she did not seem to mind.
A small bird perched on her shoulder; its feathers ruffled against the cool air.
Beside her, a squirrel sat on its hind legs, nose twitching as it scanned the forest below.
She did not mind their presence. She was long used to it.
Animals had always gathered around her, drawn by something she could not explain and did not question.
She had come to this forest to look for someone.
To be accurate, she was looking for a group.
She had heard rumors, whispers of something hidden in the Rainfall Forest, and she wanted to find them.
Her sources were not always reliable, but her instincts rarely failed her.
But when she entered, she felt something was wrong.
The forest was too quiet. There were only a few creatures scattered across the entire area.
The Rainfall Forest should have been teeming with life, but it was nearly empty.
The silence was unnatural, pressing against her ears like a physical weight.
She also sensed a presence following her.
If not for her keen senses, she may not have noticed it at all.
The follower was skilled, concealing their mana, their scent, their very existence.
Most people would have walked right past without ever knowing they were being watched.
But she had grown up in the wild. She knew when something was watching.
So, she hid herself. She concealed her presence, removed her scent, and controlled her breath to match the rhythm of the forest.
As if she became part of the wild, as if she had been born in it.
Then she decided to follow the person who had been following her.
But to her disappointment, that person vanished.
Or perhaps he had hidden himself so well that even she could not find him.
She searched for hours, circling the area where she had last sensed him, but there was nothing.
Just a day ago, she sensed a fight. Rankers clashing.
The discharge of mana was violent and uncontrolled. She watched from a distance, hidden among the leaves.
One was the boy who had asked her how she became a resonant.
She remembered him clearly.
He had approached her after the battle in District Neva, asking questions about resonance, about her class, about things she did not share with strangers.
The other person had no presence at all.
He moved like a shadow, left no trace, and fought like a ghost.
She could not sense his mana. She could not sense his intent. If she had not seen him with her own eyes, she would not have believed he was there.
This person was part of the group she was looking for. She was certain of it.
Her eyes paused on the boy.
Who had followed her? Was it the boy, tracking her all the way from District Neva?
Or was it the group with exceptional hiding capabilities, the ones she had been searching for since she arrived?
It did not matter.
No matter what their goals were, it mattered not.
She would do what she had to do.
She had come here for a reason, and she would not leave until that reason was fulfilled.
The bird on her shoulder chirped softly. The squirrel chattered. She reached up and touched the bird’s feathers, calming it with a single gesture.
Then she waited.
...
Deep inside the forest, a snake moved slowly through the growth.
Its scales were dark, almost black, blending perfectly with the wet soil and rotting leaves.
It hid its presence, slithering between roots and fallen branches without making a sound.
It moved with a single purpose, driven by a will that was not its own. Its mind did not question commands.
Soon, it reached a large tree trunk and entered a small hole near its base.
The hole was narrow, barely wide enough for the snake’s body, but it squeezed through without hesitation.
The bark scraped against its scales, but it did not slow down.
The hole led to a narrow passage, which opened into a concealed cave hidden beneath the tree.
The cave was vast, carved out over many years by hands that did not want to be seen.
The snake continued moving forward. It did not stop. It did not rest. It already had a destination in mind.
Along the way, it passed people.
Some were carrying wooden crates filled with supplies.
Some were arranging equipment, checking weapons, and sharpening blades.
Some were practicing their forms, their movements sharp and disciplined, honed by years of training.
The snake ignored them all.
It moved with purpose, and the people did not try to kill it.
Some even parted ways to allow it to pass freely.
They knew the snake. They knew what it meant. They did not interfere.
Soon, the snake entered a room.
The room was small, lit by a single beautiful lantern hanging from the ceiling.
The walls were bare stone, rough and uneven. A desk sat in the center, cluttered with papers and books.
Inside, an old man sat in a chair, reading a book.
His hair was gray and thinning, his face lined with age, but his eyes were sharp.
He wore simple robes, dark and unadorned, and his hands were thin but steady.
He turned his head when the snake entered and raised an eyebrow.
"Hm. You came faster than expected."
The old man stretched out his hand.
The snake moved forward and nudged its head against his fingers.
The gesture was almost affectionate, though the old man’s expression did not change.
He closed his eyes and received the memories, or to be accurate, ’thoughts’ of the snake.
The words came to him in fragments.
The words were unclear and messy, fragmented by the methods he had used to bind the creature to his will.
But he learned enough.
The person who had accompanied the snake was killed.
He had tried to kill a deer, a deer with green diamond antlers, and someone had stopped him.
The killer must have killed the person to save the deer’s life.
Only one person came to the old man’s mind. A nuisance. A thorn in his side that he had not been able to remove.
His face turned dark.
"So, you are finally here. What did you call yourself again? Ah, yes. Forest Avenger, is it not?"
He muttered to himself, his voice low and cold. The words dripped with contempt.
"I do not know who you are. I do not know why you are messing with my business when I have never crossed you."
"But this time, I will kill you and make you regret your foolish actions."
Then the old man called out, his voice sharp and commanding.
A black skinned man with golden hair entered the room. His movements were precise, his posture straight. He did not speak. He simply waited.
"That bastard took the bait and entered the forest. Hasten the preparations. Tomorrow, we will activate the formation."
The golden-haired man nodded once and left without a word.
The door closed behind him with a soft click.
The old man picked up his book and started reading again.
The pages were old, yellowed with age, filled with writing that few could understand.
The snake coiled loosely around his neck, its head resting near his collar.
Its eyes turned toward the mirror on the wall, staring at its own reflection.
The glass was dark, the image within distorted, but the snake did not look away.
The old man did not notice the snake’s actions, nor did he care.
His mind was still on the person who had made him lose a billions of UTM during a transaction.
The loss still stung. The memory still burned.
"Soon," he whispered.
Little did the old man know that he had mistaken his enemy with a third party.
A party that was not aligned with him. A party that was not aligned with the Forest Avenger.
The third party just so happened to be looking for the old man’s enemy.
Naturally, that third party was Cael.
...
Cael was in a good mood. After discovering his innate abilities last night, he woke up feeling lighter.
He decided to test his theory and look for more mana creatures to eat.
Now that he could use fire, he did not have to struggle to create a flame.
He was in high spirits.
Then suddenly, from all directions, mana erupted. The pulses spread across the forest, covering a radius of five to ten miles.
Cael frowned as a formation activated around him, its edges glowing faintly through the trees.
He wondered if this had something to do with the person he killed yesterday.
Before he could decide what to do, his expression changed. The formation contained spatial restriction.
Cael was annoyed when a thought crossed his mind.
"Can I copy the spatial restriction?"