Chapter 3: The Thing in the Trees
The forest moved.
Not with wind.
Not with animals.
With intent.
Branches bent inward as something vast shifted behind them, leaves trembling as if recoiling from a presence that did not belong. The air grew heavy, thick with mana warped into something feral and unstable.
Leon stood at the rear of the formation, pack still on his shoulders, eyes half-lidded.
Late-stage corruption, he noted calmly. But not Abyssal. Something else.
Garrick's voice cut through the tension. "Defensive positions! Mages, rear support! Alicia, take the left flank!"
Alicia didn't reply verbally. The wind around her sharpened instantly, coiling at her feet like a living thing as she shifted into a low stance, blade angled downward.
Leon watched her movements carefully.
Efficient. Clean. No wasted motion.
She'd survive this—if nothing interfered.
The first creature burst from the undergrowth with a shriek that tore through the clearing.
It was massive—nearly three meters tall at the shoulder—with a warped lupine frame stretched unnaturally thin. Its hide was a sickly gray, veins glowing faintly purple beneath torn flesh. Multiple eyes clustered along its skull, blinking out of sync.
A corrupted forest hound.
But wrong.
"This isn't standard!" the mage shouted, already chanting.
The creature lunged.
Alicia moved first.
Wind exploded beneath her feet as she vanished from her original position, reappearing to the creature's side in a blur. Her blade flashed, cutting deep across its flank. Blood sprayed, dark and viscous, hissing where it struck the ground.
The beast howled—but didn't fall.
Instead, it twisted, muscles contorting as if bones were optional. Its tail lashed out with terrifying speed.
Alicia barely raised her guard in time. The impact sent her skidding backward, boots carving furrows into the dirt.
"Too strong!" she snapped.
Garrick charged, aura flaring as he brought his shield up, slamming into the beast's chest. The impact cracked the ground beneath them, but the creature only staggered briefly before snapping its jaws inches from Garrick's face.
Leon watched the exchange closely.
Its strength fluctuates, he observed. External influence. Something is feeding it mana.
As if answering his thought, a second roar echoed through the forest.
Then a third.
"More incoming!" someone shouted.
Leon exhaled quietly.
This clearing had become a convergence point.
Not by chance.
The second creature burst forth—a twisted boar-like monstrosity with jagged crystalline growths protruding from its spine. It charged straight for the mages.
"Leon, get back!" one of them yelled.
Leon took two steps backward, stumbling deliberately on an exposed root. The pack slid off his shoulder, spilling supplies across the ground.
"Sorry!" he called weakly, dropping to one knee to gather them.
The boar lowered its head, crystals glowing as it prepared to gore through the rear line.
Leon did not look at it.
Instead, his fingers brushed the dirt.
The System responded.
[Probability adjustment initiated.]
[Scope: Local.]
[Magnitude: Minimal.]
Alicia's blade struck the boar's flank at the exact moment its front hoof slipped on loose soil.
The charge veered.
The creature slammed into a tree instead, its crystalline growths shattering on impact.
Alicia blinked. "What—?"
She didn't have time to finish the thought.
The first beast recovered, lunging again, claws raking toward her exposed side.
Leon's eyes flicked upward.
Too early, he thought calmly.
Alicia twisted mid-motion, wind surging instinctively. The claws grazed her shoulder, tearing fabric and drawing blood—but missing vital points by centimeters.
She gritted her teeth, retaliating with a spinning slash that severed one of the creature's limbs.
It screamed, collapsing briefly.
Garrick seized the opening, driving his sword down through its skull with a roar.
The body convulsed once—then went still.
One down.
Two more roars answered.
The mage cursed. "There are at least four!"
Leon stood, hoisting his pack back onto his shoulders, hands shaking just enough to look real.
Four is survivable, he calculated. Five is not.
The forest answered with a fifth roar.
Leon paused.
Unacceptable.
The ground trembled as the remaining beasts emerged—two more hounds and something larger behind them, still partially obscured by trees.
Alicia's breathing quickened. "That one in the back… it's different."
Leon agreed.
It wasn't corrupted.
It was directed.
The larger creature stepped into the clearing—a towering stag-like monstrosity with antlers branching unnaturally, each tine inscribed with faint glowing symbols. Its eyes were clear, intelligent.
A commander.
Garrick swallowed. "That's… that's not a beast."
"No," Alicia said softly. "It's leading them."
Leon felt it then—a subtle thread extending outward from the creature, tugging at something far away.
A signal.
So that's the source, he thought.
If allowed to complete the transmission, the forest would flood with corrupted life.
Leon adjusted the strap of his pack.
Time to trim the probabilities.
The stag lifted its head, antlers glowing brighter.
The remaining beasts surged forward simultaneously.
The clearing exploded into chaos.
One hound leapt at Garrick, jaws snapping. He met it head-on, shield braced, aura flaring as he absorbed the impact. Another charged the mages again, while the boar recovered, crystals reforming along its spine.
Alicia moved like a storm.
She dashed between enemies, blade flashing, wind screaming around her as she redirected attacks, cut tendons, shattered claws. Her movements were precise, but strain was beginning to show. Blood dripped from her shoulder, staining her sleeve.
Leon tracked every movement.
He adjusted.
The boar's next charge faltered as a fallen branch rolled beneath its hoof.
The mage's miscast spell detonated outward instead of inward, blasting a hound off course.
Garrick's sword struck true where it should have glanced.
To everyone else, it looked like desperate luck.
To Leon, it was controlled entropy.
Still, the stag remained untouched.
Its antlers pulsed.
Leon frowned slightly.
It's adapting.
The creature lowered its head, eyes locking onto Alicia.
Leon's gaze sharpened.
No.
The stag released a sound—not a roar, but a resonant hum that vibrated through the clearing. The remaining beasts froze for a split second, then moved with renewed coordination.
Alicia barely avoided a pincer attack, leaping backward as claws tore through the space she'd occupied.
She stumbled.
Leon felt the probability spike sharply.
Fatal trajectory.
He stepped forward.
Just one step.
His foot came down hard on a loose stone.
It rolled.
Alicia's heel struck it mid-step, altering her balance just enough that she fell sideways instead of backward.
The hound's jaws snapped shut inches from her throat.
Her blade flashed upward reflexively, impaling the creature through the mouth.
It collapsed on top of her, dead.
Leon exhaled slowly.
The stag reacted.
Its gaze snapped toward Leon.
For the first time, true awareness flickered in its eyes.
Leon met its stare.
Not with power.
With indifference.
The stag hesitated.
Just a fraction.
But fractions mattered.
Garrick saw the opening and roared, charging with everything he had left. His blade, reinforced by aura and desperation, struck one of the glowing antlers.
The symbol etched into it shattered.
The stag screamed.
The sound tore through the forest, echoing far beyond the clearing.
Leon felt the signal thread snap.
Good.
The remaining beasts faltered instantly, coordination collapsing. Alicia surged forward, finishing one with a brutal downward slash. The mages regrouped, focusing their fire.
Within moments, the clearing fell silent.
Bodies littered the ground.
Alicia stood amidst them, chest heaving, blade dripping.
Garrick leaned heavily on his sword, blood seeping from a gash in his side.
Everyone was alive.
Barely.
Alicia turned slowly.
Her eyes found Leon.
He stood near the edge of the clearing, pack still on his shoulders, face pale, hands trembling slightly.
"…You didn't run," she said.
Leon blinked. "I tried not to get in the way."
She studied him, eyes narrowing.
The stag's corpse lay between them, antlers dim and cracked.
"That thing," she said quietly. "It looked at you."
Leon hesitated—just long enough.
"…Maybe it was confused," he replied.
Alicia didn't answer.
Garrick approached, glancing between them. "We report this immediately. This wasn't a random outbreak."
Leon nodded.
As they prepared to leave, he cast one final glance toward the forest.
Far away, something withdrew its attention.
For now.
The System chimed softly.
[Notice: Anomaly resolved.]
[Status: Stable.]
[Recommendation: Maintain current suppression.]
Leon followed the team back toward the academy, shoulders slouched, expression tired.
No one noticed the way the forest fell silent behind him.
Or how reality exhaled in relie