"Ralth! Are you alive?" called Charlotte's voice from somewhere nearby.
Wincing, Ralth pulled himself up onto the branch. "Over here! I'm okay!"
He scanned the surrounding trees. Charlotte hung from a branch about twenty feet away, her robes torn but otherwise appearing unharmed. Mina had landed in a dense patch of leaves and was carefully climbing down to a more stable position. Ferris had managed to create a cushion of air and was now perched confidently on a high branch.
Only Pell was nowhere to be seen.
"Has anyone spotted Pell?" Ralth called out.
"I'm down here," came a strained voice from below.
Ralth looked down to see Pell on the forest floor, clutching his leg. Even from this height, Ralth could tell it was bent at an unnatural angle.
"He's hurt," Ralth called to the others. "We need to get down there."
The descent was slow and careful. The trees were ancient giants, with trunks wider than village houses and bark rough enough to provide decent handholds. Strange mosses covered the north sides, glowing with a faint blue phosphorescence even in daylight.
When they finally reached Pell, the full extent of his injury became clear. His leg was definitely broken, the bone thankfully not protruding through the skin but causing an obvious deformity.
"Can anyone heal?" Mina asked, kneeling beside Pell.
Charlotte shook her head. "Healing spells are at least First-Ring level. None of us would know know any."
"I have something that might help," Ferris said, reaching into his bag. He pulled out a small vial of red liquid. "It's a bone-knitting potion."
"Where did you get that?" Ralth asked, surprised.
"Let's just say that Magus Julianne is a freak in the sheets." Ferris said with a smirk.
"You did that with a Magus?!"Charlotte said wide eyed.
Ferris shrugged,"It's not like I could refuse. At least I got a potion and a couple other things, other persons who caught a magus' eyes weren't so lucky."
The group fell quiet for a second.
"Is it going to hurt?", Pell asked as he eyed the vial skeptically.
"Probably," Ferris admitted. "But it's better than a useless leg in a place like this."
"These magus are so cruel." Mina said, "basically anyone who didn't manage to create there Mana Reflux would have died from the fall if they weren't very lucky."
"Speaking of which, how did you guys create your Mana Reflux anyways?" Ralth asked.
It didn't make sense to him that these three had there Mana Reflux. If he remembered correctly, Mina had a mental strength of ten along with Pell while Ferris had one of twelve. Only Ferris alone seemed plausible to open his Mana Circuits.
"Ferris opened his in the first week then he taught how to. We didn't know how he managed to do it but now I think I know how." Pell said through gritted teeth.
"Hey! If someone had the ability to instantly kill you, I know you'd agree to any demands they had even if they weren't explicitly threatening you. I just did the same as anyone else. " Ferris said as he administered the potion.
Ralth took the opportunity to survey their surroundings. The forest floor was carpeted with strange purple moss that seemed to glow anytime pressure was put on it.
Enormous trees soared hundreds of feet into the air, their canopies so dense that only thin shafts of sunlight penetrated to the ground. In the distance, something large moved behind a curtain of hanging vines, disturbing flocks of colorful birds.
"I bet this isn't a natural forest," Charlotte said, joining Ralth in his observation. "I mean, look at the plants, they're obviously unnatural—I've never seen anything like them before."
She was right. Besides the purple moss, there were flowers with transparent petals that chimed softly in the breeze and mushrooms that periodically released puffs of glittering spores that made the air feel thick.
"AAAARGH!" Pell's scream cut through the eerie quiet of the forest.
They turned to see him writhing in pain as Ferris held him down. The red liquid from the vial seemed to have burrowed under Pell's skin, creating crawling red lines along his leg as the bone realigned itself with a series of nauseating cracks.
"Hold him still," Ferris instructed Mina, who looked pale but did as she was told.
After a few more agonizing moments, Pell's screams subsided to whimpers, then to heavy breathing. The red lines faded, and he cautiously moved his leg.
"It... it still hurts, but I think I can walk," he said, looking surprised.
"Good," Ralth said, helping him to his feet. "Because we need to move. Now."
"Why?" Charlotte asked, but her question was immediately answered by a low, rumbling growl from an underbrush.
Something was watching them.
"Form a circle," Ralth said . "Backs together."
The group did as instructed, forming a tight circle with Pell supported between Mina and Ferris. Charlotte stood beside Ralth, body set to instantly cast a spell if anything went wrong.
The growl came again, closer this time. The hanging vines parted, revealing a creature unlike anything Ralth had ever seen. It had the general shape of a wolf, but its body was covered in what looked like tree bark instead of fur. Glowing green eyes surveyed them hungrily, and when it opened its mouth, small flowers bloomed along its gums, surrounding jagged stone-like teeth.
"What is that thing?" Mina whispered, her voice shaking.
"A Mana Beast," Ferris replied grimly. "I bet this forest is full of them. They feed on Mana—and the creatures that possess it."
The wolf-thing wasn't alone. Two more emerged from the undergrowth, flanking the group. Their wooden claws left strange, glowing marks in the purple moss where they stepped.
"On my count," Ralth said quietly, "Charlotte and I will hit the one in front with Magic Missile. Ferris, you take the one on the right. Mina,can you use any offensive magic?"
"I know Flame Dart," she replied.
"Where did you learn that? It wasn't in the beginners manual." Ralth asked.
"Ferris taught me." She said sheepishly.
"Of course he did." Ralth said rolling his eyes. "Pell, stay in the middle. Ready... now!"
Ralth and Charlotte's combined Magic Missiles struck the lead creature in the chest, blasting chunks of bark from its body.
Ferris's spell hit his target in the leg, causing it to stumble. Mina's Flame Dart set the third beast's wooden shoulder ablaze.
The creatures howled and charged.
"Again!" Ralth shouted, preparing another spell.
But before he could cast, the burning beast leaped straight for him, clearing the entire distance in a single bound. Ralth barely had time to raise his arm in defense before its weight crashed into him, knocking him to the ground.
Hot breath reeking of rotting vegetation washed over his face as the creature pinned him. Its burning shoulder didn't seem to cause it pain—if anything, the flames were spreading across its body, making it more dangerous.
Ralth struggled, but the beast was incredibly strong. Its jaws snapped inches from his throat as he barely held it back.
Something strange happened then. As the creature's burning body pressed against him, Ralth felt the Felsan Cube within his soul move. Heat flowed through his veins filling him with adrenaline.
A notification appeared in his mind:
---
[FELSAN CUBE]
- Energy Reserve: 10% (Threshold reached)
- New Function Unlocked: Copy Spell – Absorb and replicate spell effects you encounter, storing them for later use. Some spells are not permanent.
- Learned: Wood Skin(Passive Defense Spell, Tier 0) [Uses Five(5)]
---
Without thinking, Ralth activated the newly acquired ability. Immediately, his skin hardened and took on a bark-like texture, similar to the creature's hide. The beast's claws scraped against the wooden armor but couldn't penetrate.
Ralth heaved the creature off him and scrambled to his feet. The protective bark covered his entire body now, though it left his joints flexible.
"Ralth!" Charlotte gasped. "What happened to you?"
"No time to explain," he said, turning to face the beast again. "Keep fighting!"
The Mana Beasts charged with fury towards the group with the burning beast lunging first. Charlotte unleashed a rapid succession of Magic Missiles in reply. They struck the nearest beast, splintering its bark-like hide and sending chunks of wood flying.
The creature howled a howl that sounded more like the breaking of branches than an animal's cry.
Ferris dove to the side. A razor-sharp wind blade materialized from his hand, slicing through the leg of the second beast. It stumbled, green sap erupting from the wound.
Mina's Flame Dart exploded against another creature's shoulder. The beast seemed to absorb the fire as it continued to lunge.
"They're not dying!" Pell shouted from the center of their defensive circle, his broken leg now mended but still weak.
Ralth's grabbed a fallen branch and channeled his Mana to it, transforming the wood into a makeshift spear. With a yell, he thrust the weapon into the burning beast's chest.
The creature froze, then the beast exploded as Ralth used the stick as a conduit to cast Magic Missile on the beast's interior.
Charlotte's next Magic Missile caught the second beast mid-leap, blasting it backwards into a massive tree trunk. Ferris followed up with a Wind Blade that brutally murdered the beast .
Mina's continuous Flame Darts created a wall of fire, herding the remaining beasts away from the group. The last beast let out a desperate howl. Its wooden body began to dissolve, merging with the purple moss and surrounding vegetation. In moments, it was gone as if it had never existed.
"Is everyone okay?" Ralth asked, the bark-like covering on his skin slowly crumbling away.
"What the hell was that?" Ferris asked, eyeing the remaining patches of wood on Ralth's skin.
"Nothing much," Ralth replied simply, not wanting to explain about the cube. "Don't worry about it."
Before anyone could question him further, distant screams echoed through the forest.
"It sounds like the other apprentices encountered beasts as well," Mina said, looking in the direction of the sound.