The sun had already passed its highest point in the sky, marking mid-afternoon. I was tired of watching in silence and, to be honest, completely bored. For the past few hours, there had been no signs of prana fluctuation, no suspicious movents, nothing worth my attention. Ti dragged on, and I began to wonder if I was wasting energy staying here, standing guard like a sentinel without enemies.
Still, I kept my focus on the most obvious resource: water. In a forest, it doesn’t matter if you’re an Awakened rank or a Champion if you’re not a water-affinity mage, sooner or later you’ll need to replenish yourself. It was a logical eting point, and if competitors were nearby, sooner or later they would appear. But instead of the rivals I expected to see erging to drink or watch over a river it was sothing else that caught my attention: the sky.
A flock of birds, dozens, maybe hundreds, began rising from deep within the forest. They weren’t flying aimlessly; their wings beat in a desperate rhythm, migrating en masse away from the sa region. Their restlessness seed almost coordinated, as if they were obeying so invisible command.
I frowned. Sothing had happened.
Without thinking twice, I climbed a taller tree, the rough bark scraping my hands as I hauled myself up into the canopy. From there, the world opened before , and the sight made my breath catch.
A chill ran down my spine, my heartbeat quickening. A strange sense of déjà vu took hold of . "Damn it... soone stirred the anthill," I muttered through clenched teeth.
On the ground, the forest boiled with movent. Entire trees toppled, crushed under the strength of dozens of colossal bodies. Branches snapped like brittle bones, and the soil quaked in waves with each charge. I saw a herd of boars covered in bony spikes, each step carving deep grooves into the earth.
Among them, porcupines the size of horses advanced, their natural lances clashing against each other, ringing out like a troop marching to war. Higher up, leaping between trunks before crashing down to the ground, massive apes appeared—creatures with four arms, chitinous exoskeletons on their backs reflecting sunlight as if molded from living obsidian.
The air was thick with dust and shredded leaves, birds screeched in panic as they fled in every direction. That flood of beasts wasn’t just migration—it was a wave of pure hostility, a mass of wild instinct in frenzy. The sound of hooves, roars, and snapping wood was so intense it smothered even my own thoughts. I swallowed hard, trying to follow the direction of that living torrent.
"What the hell happened...?"
I trailed behind the herd, careful with each step. The ground shook so violently that my feet nearly lost balance with every charge, but I kept close to the shadows, making sure not to beco an obvious target amid that tide of claws and fangs.
The strangest part was the synchronization. The beasts weren’t just running—they surged forward like an army marching in unison, but without the discipline of a controlling mind. It was different, almost instinctual. Then I understood: they weren’t being controlled... they were being drawn. Like starving dogs sprinting toward the most coveted al.
I kept following, lungs burning from the effort, until several kiloters later the scene changed abruptly. Ahead, the forest had turned into pure chaos. Barely a hundred ters from a cliff, I saw the sight that froze my chest: six competitors fighting desperately against the torrent of beasts.
This wasn’t just a fight for survival; it was a massacre waiting to happen. The creatures crashed against them as if each body were the most irresistible feast ever offered. From the treetop where I clung, I watched birds fleeing in panic, smoke rising from the ground, mingled with dust and screams.
Craters multiplied, each impact from the larger beasts reducing the terrain to ruins. And still, the group fought in coordination. I recognized the archer with black arrows loosing shots that carved space in the swarm. Beside her, the wind mage raised whirlwinds that diverted the imdiate rush, synchronized with an earth caster who shaped walls and columns to hold back the tide. Two spearn guarded the flanks, their lances flashing in swift, precise movents, while a hulking competitor swung a war hamr larger than himself—each strike thundered, scattering bodies in all directions.
For a mont, I almost admired their resistance. But reality was rciless.
The black-haired spearman in copper armor—clearly the leader—shouted orders in a hoarse voice, keeping the formation intact by sheer willpower. Even so, the pressure was unbearable. The noose tightened further with every second.
I saw spiked boars burst from the treeline like arena bulls, joined by colossal porcupines casting massive shadows over the clearing. The ground shook again under their weight, and the group’s formation, solid as it was, showed clear signs it wouldn’t hold much longer.
I swallowed hard, fingers digging into the bark of the tree that hid .
"Strange... what caused this? It’s not a natural phenonon." My eyes narrowed as I followed the beasts advancing like a living avalanche, each one more frenzied than the last. "It’s more like soone poked at a mother’s egg... and she’s furious."
A cold shiver spread across my skin, the hairs on my arms standing as if I’d plunged into an icy lake. My instinct scread danger.
Without hesitation, my body surged with electricity; muscles tense, nerves sharpened. I shot left at maximum speed, bracing for an attack that seed imminent. But in the end, nothing ca. No beast, no arrow, no hidden presence. The void of silence pressed around , and that only made more suspicious.
I frowned, teeth clenched. My senses scread again, sharper this ti, as if soone whispered directly into my ear: danger.
I trusted them, moving in a quick leap, dodging before I could even think. Again... nothing. My heart pounded in my chest, as if trying to break free from my ribs. "What the hell is this!!" I snarled, frustration and adrenaline boiling.
Before I could curse again, the shiver returned, deep and suffocating. Then I realized. The environnt... had changed. The leaves that had been drifting lazily in the wind suddenly transford. A gentle breeze passed, but its touch wasn’t natural—it felt as though it drained life from the air itself. The leaves lost their golden luster, turning dull, lifeless, gray, as if each had been dipped in ash.
A tallic taste spread in my mouth, and the forest’s damp scent gave way to sothing dry, arid.
"What the hell is this...?" I whispered, throat parched as my eyes swept the landscape. Sothing invisible was there, manipulating not just my reactions, but the very essence of the environnt around .
Finally, I felt a fluctuation of prana to my right. Narrowing my vision, I thought I saw soone camouflaged near the vegetation.
"A mage?"
Electricity burst out, and I charged at full speed toward the figure. Orbs appeared above my head, lightning crackling as it incinerated the vegetation in my path. Five bolts exploded in that spot.
When my orbs scorched the area, I found nothing but smoke and ashes. A wave of frustration rose in my throat, but it was quickly smothered by a shiver along my spine. That bastard was provoking , testing my perception like a predator toying with its prey.
The truth beca clear in an instant: I wasn’t dealing with just an ordinary competitor hiding behind the foliage. No, this was the work of soone skilled, soone refined, a master of advanced camouflage the kind of technique that blends with the very scenery and becos indistinguishable from stones, branches, and moss.
My gaze swept through the forest, every charred tree trunk, every branch broken by the passage of wild beasts.
"So, more than one hunter ca out to take advantage of the confusion!"
Suddenly my perception grew dull, nature itself began to shimr with strange colors—trees, flowers, vegetation, soil, and roots. So green and dried leaves floating slowly in the air carried a strange sensation, their tones muted, as if they had been washed in acid.
’Does this bastard control nature?’ my suspicions sharpened.
If that premise were true, if a competitor was able to shape the subtlest nuances of nature itself... he would not be easy to hunt. Not inside a forest.
I clenched my fists, electricity dancing around my arms, each spark a reflection of the impatience growing inside .
"You want to play shadow, huh? Then let’s see how long you can keep hiding."
I drew in a deep breath, expanding my senses to the limit, feeling every pulse of energy, every subtle vibration in the air.
The ground shook beneath my feet, and it took a mont to realize it wasn’t just an isolated attack—the entire forest was turning against . Roots writhed like serpents, trying to ensnare , while the treetops swayed in unnatural rhythm, as if laughing at my struggle.
Thick, damp whips of bark cracked through the air, slicing smaller trunks around as though they were brittle twigs.
The sensation was suffocating, as if I had been swallowed alive by so colossal organism and was now being digested inside the bowels of the world itself.
I roared, my body bursting forward at maximum speed. The electric currents surrounding ravaged the space around, scorching dead leaves and shattering splinters of wood.
With every movent, lightning erupted from my arms and from the orbs on my back, forming a chaotic defense still far too ager against the vastness of the enemy.
The damned mage remained invisible, hidden sowhere beyond my senses, and with this living puppet of roots, thorns, and leaves, I couldn’t think of a single way to track the bastard down.
My frustration swelled, my eyes scanning every shadow, every fluctuation of prana, searching for the faintest flaw in the manipulation.
I leapt from branch to branch, dodging shuriken-like leaves that embedded themselves into trees like steel blades, carving through bark and wood with lethal precision.
Lightning burst from my feet as I landed on a trunk, propelling my body like a projectile to the left, breaking the rhythm of the whips that tried to anticipate my movents.
The problem was simple and cruel: "A mage who controls nature, inside a forest. What a fucking combination!!"
Every stone, every grain of dirt, every leaf could be turned against . And so far, I hadn’t even seen the shadow of this bastard.
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