Once we finished at the general store, Ambrosia finally equipped the armor set she had bought from Zamira.

Her old clothes disappeared beneath layered cream-colored fabric and fitted green leather. The new set was light compared to mine or Kevin’s, with reinforced panels over her shoulders, forearms, and knees instead of heavy plates. Several small pouches hung from the belt around her waist, while narrow loops along one hip held specimen jars and gathering tools.

It looked designed for someone who expected to spend more time kneeling beside plants than standing in front of monsters, which was probably exactly why Zamira picked that design for her.

The most surprising addition was the wooden staff in her hand.

Calling it a staff might have been generous. It was roughly as tall as she was, slightly curved, and polished smooth from one end to the other. At first glance, it looked like a wooden hiking stick someone had picked up beside a trail.

Anja tilted her head. Kevin leaned closer without saying anything.

I pointed at it. “Ambrosia, are you sure that’s a weapon? It looks like a normal stick.”

“Maybe,” she admitted, “but I had someone turn it into a real weapon.”

She shifted her grip and presented the thicker end.

“This end is for bonking.”

Then she rotated it and showed us the opposite end. The wood had been sharpened into a narrow point and fitted with a short metal cap.

“This end is for stabbing”

I looked from one end to the other.

It was still a stick.

Anja walked around Ambrosia, examining the combination of green leather, cream fabric, and polished wood.

“I like it,” she said. “It’s very nature-inspired. It suits you.”

“Thank you.” Ambrosia glanced pointedly at me. “At least someone appreciates it.”

“I appreciate it. I’m just convinced the forest gave it to you for free.”

Kevin held out one hand.

“Let me see it.”

Ambrosia passed it over.

He checked the grain, tested the balance, inspected the metal point, and ran one thumb over the section near the grip.

After a moment, he nodded and returned it.

“The wood is dense, and whoever fitted the tip knew what they were doing. It’ll hold.”

Ambrosia smiled triumphantly.

Kevin looked at me.

“It’s still mostly a stick.”

“Thank you.”

Before leaving the city, I sent party invitations to Ambrosia, Anja, and Kevin. Three confirmations appeared one after another, followed by a compact list at the edge of my vision.

Cloud
Ambrosia
Anja
Kevin

Each name had a health bar beside it. It would make keeping track of everyone much easier once we entered the forest.

“Loot gets divided evenly between the four of us,” I said. “If someone needs a specific material for crafting or research, speak up.”

With the party officially formed, we passed the slime fields and reached the entrance to Viridian Basin.

The dark forest looked familiar when we first entered. The same dense tree line waited beyond the beginner fields, with tangled roots breaking through the soil and overlapping branches cutting the sunlight into uneven patches. The air beneath the canopy was cooler than the open grasslands, carrying the damp smell of bark, moss, and soil that had not dried properly in years.

We followed the route Zamira had shared and started walking.

Bird calls echoed between the trees, though most of them came from somewhere too high in the canopy to see. Some were short and musical, while others sounded more like sharp whistles answering one another from opposite sides of the forest. Every few minutes, something hidden in the branches released a hollow wooden knock that made Anja glance upward.

Small lizards scattered across the roots as we approached. Most were green or brown enough to disappear the moment they stopped moving, but I caught sight of one with a bright blue tail laying across a sunlit branch. It watched us pass, opened its mouth in what looked like a silent warning, then vanished around the trunk.

The forest never became quiet. Leaves rustled without any obvious wind. Insects buzzed in the undergrowth. Something barked in the distance, followed by a chorus of chirps that sounded almost like laughter.

Then I noticed the snails.

Several green-shelled ones crawled across a damp patch beside the trail. Their shells were only about the size of oranges, and their name tags placed them at level 1. The moment we approached, they began scattering in every direction.

Slowly.

Very slowly.

Kevin stopped beside me and watched one attempt its escape under a leaf.

“Think the shells are useful?”

“Only one way to find out.”

We had taken a single step toward them when Ambrosia moved in front of us.

“They’re harmless.”

“They might drop crafting materials,” I said.

Anja crouched beside one of the retreating snails.

“How could you? They’re so adorable.”

The snail continued fleeing from her in slow motion.

A little farther ahead, we found several blue-shelled snails whose bodies were almost the size of footballs. They showed no concern when we approached, but the moment Anja leaned close, each one pulled itself into its shell.

She looked back at us.

“See? Cute.”

Kevin and I exchanged a glance.

Even if we killed them, they would barely give us any experience. Starting an argument over Level 2 snails did not seem worth it.

We kept walking.

A few minutes later, I spotted four bright red shells clustered around a fallen log ahead.

These snails were much larger than the others. Each shell was nearly the size of a truck tire, and their name tags placed them at Level 10. They appeared to be feeding on the decaying wood until their thick eye stalks turned toward us.

Instead of hiding, the nearest one opened its mouth.

A stream of yellow liquid shot across the trail.

“Move!”

We scattered as it struck the ground between us. The grass hissed and collapsed, leaving a smoking line through the soil.

Anja stared at the damage. “Those ones are less cute.”

Kevin reached for the war hammer across his back.

“Wait,” I said. “Don’t break the shells. We might be able to use them.”

With visible disappointment, he stored it and drew a sword and shield from his inventory instead.

“You brought backups?”

“I came prepared,” he gloated.

Kevin and I formed the front line while Anja and Ambrosia moved behind us. The snails were slow, but their acid made approaching them difficult. Every time one raised its head, I shifted my shield toward it and watched the mouth.

The first stream struck the front of my shield. Acid spread across the iron in a steaming sheet, eating into the surface before dripping onto the ground.

An arrow passed beside me and buried itself in the snail’s extended neck.

The creature recoiled.

Kevin rushed forward, caught the edge of its shell with his shield, and forced it sideways. I drove my dagger into the softer flesh beneath the rim before it could pull itself inside.

Ambrosia stayed behind us, calling whenever another snail lifted its head.

“Left!”

Kevin raised his shield as acid splashed across it.

“Behind Cloud!”

I turned in time to block another stream.

The fight ended quickly once we established the pattern. Anja pinned their heads or eye stalks whenever they extended, while Kevin and I attacked the exposed bodies. Ambrosia used the pointed end of her staff to keep one from retreating fully into its shell.

We killed all four without cracking any of the shells. After collecting the snail loot, we returned to the trail. Not far beyond the clearing, Ambrosia found the first patch of puffball mushrooms.

They grew beneath an exposed root in a cluster of pale spheres ranging from the size of marbles to nearly as large as my fist. Ambrosia immediately crouched beside them and pulled on her gathering gloves.

“These are the same kind Éliette was selling?”

“They look like them, but don’t touch anything until I confirm it.”

“I wasn’t going to.”

Anja helped hold open the specimen bags while Ambrosia collected the mature puffballs. Kevin stood nearby, watching the trees, and I checked the surrounding undergrowth for movement.

I heard the boars before I saw them.

Branches snapped somewhere to our right. Heavy hooves struck the ground in rapid succession, growing louder before any of us had time to identify the source.

“Move!”

Three boars burst through the ferns.

They resembled ordinary wild boars except for the short antlers growing from the tops of their heads. The antlers curved forward over their brows, adding another set of points to a charge that was already dangerous.

The first boar slammed into Ambrosia before she could rise.

She was thrown backward and hit the ground, her staff spinning out of her hand.

Kevin stepped between her and the second boar. He brought his war hammer down from his shoulder and braced the reinforced haft across his body.

The boar struck it hard enough to push his boots through the soil, but he held. Kevin twisted with the impact and forced its antlers away from Ambrosia.

The third came directly at me.

I planted one foot behind the other and caught the charge with my shield.

The impact drove me back several steps. Its antlers scraped across the iron while its tusks snapped beneath the lower edge. Before it could pull away, an arrow struck it behind the shoulder.

The boar squealed and stumbled.

Anja already had a second arrow drawn.

Kevin shoved his attacker aside and swung his hammer in the same motion. The head struck the boar’s ribs with a heavy crack and rolled it across the ground.

For someone using a two-handed weapon, Kevin was surprisingly good at defending himself with it. He used the haft to intercept antlers, redirected charges with the hammerhead, and only committed to a full swing when he had space.

Ambrosia recovered her staff and pushed herself upright. When one of the boars charged her again, she gripped the staff in both hands and leveled its pointed end directly at its face.

The boar saw the metal tip and twisted into an emergency turn. It narrowly missed Ambrosia, lost its footing, and slammed headfirst into a nearby tree.

The trunk shook from the impact as the stunned boar staggered away.

Anja’s next arrow finished the wounded boar. As soon as it collapsed, the remaining ones turned and fled.

While we breathing hard and watching the ferns sway behind them, I checked the loot window.

Along with the usual hide, tusks, antlers, and meat, the system gave me the option to collect the entire carcass.

The dead boar vanished into my inventory without any issue.

“Huh.”

Anja lowered her bow.

“How?”

“The system lets me store the entire carcass. Maybe smaller common mobs can be collected whole without much trouble.”

I opened my inventory and looked at the boar carcass occupying one slot.

For a brief moment, I pictured it slowly roasting over a fire until the skin turned crisp.

Ambrosia waved one hand in front of my face.

“Cloud?”

“I was thinking.”

“About research?”

“Roast pork.”

Anja laughed.

“Can anyone here cook?” Kevin asked.

Nobody answered.

None of us had invested in a Cooking skill.

I closed the inventory.

The roast pig would have to wait.

While Ambrosia collected resin from several nearby trees, Kevin noticed something glittering in a shallow stream. He knelt beside the water, reached between the stones, and pulled out several tiny pieces of quartz.

Most were too small to be valuable, but Ambrosia immediately produced another sample bag.

Kevin searched the streambed for larger pieces while Ambrosia collected every usable fragment he found. Once they became absorbed in gathering the quartz, Anja and I moved over to a broad moss-covered boulder beside the stream.

I lowered myself onto one side while Anja sat on the other.

The stone shook beneath us.

At first, I thought the weight was not balanced.

Then the two smaller rocks beneath the boulder shifted, revealing themselves as pincers half buried in the mud.

The two black ‘mushrooms’ near the front lifted on thin stalks. What I had mistaken for small mushrooms opened into glossy eyes.

The entire boulder lurched upright.

Anja and I were thrown from its back and landed on opposite sides of the stream.

Kevin and Ambrosia turned around just in time to see us hit the ground.

They both laughed.

“Glad you’re enjoying this,” I said.

The moss-covered creature scuttled sideways, moving much faster than a walking rock should have been able to move. A name tag appeared above it.

[Lv10. Forest Hermit]

Three other moss-covered rocks stirred along the stream bank.

Stone pincers pushed free of the soil. Black mushroom-like eyes rose from beneath their shells.

“It’s a party,” Ambrosia said.

The nearest Forest Hermit charged sideways.

Kevin stepped forward and swung his hammer directly into its shell.

The impact rang through the clearing.

The creature skidded several feet, but its stone shell showed little more than a shallow fracture.

Kevin stared at it.

“That was tough”

The Forest Hermit rushed him again.

Its pincer clamped around Kevin’s lower leg. He wrenched his boot free before it could crush the armor, then knocked the second pincer aside with his hammer.

I intercepted another creature before it could reach Anja. My dagger scraped uselessly across its shell, so I switched to keeping it occupied with my shield. Every time it tried to move around me, I stepped across its path and forced it back toward Kevin.

Anja’s arrows struck the shells and bounced away.

“Those aren’t doing anything!”

“Try the eyes!”

The Forest Hermits tucked their eye stalks beneath the fronts of their shells whenever she aimed at them.

Ambrosia jabbed the pointed end of her staff into the narrow gap where one of its legs joined the body beneath the stone shell. The metal tip struck something softer, and the creature recoiled, but the opening was too tight for her to drive it in deeply.

The fight quickly became a battle of endurance.

Kevin’s hammer was the only weapon capable of breaking through the shells, but each Forest Hermit required repeated hits. The creatures attacked from different angles, moving sideways through the stream and around the rocks with surprising speed.

Whenever Anja or Ambrosia drew too much attention, Kevin and I had to abandon our own targets and block for them.

One of the Forest Hermits snapped both pincers together and began shaking beneath its shell.

“Something’s happening!” Ambrosia warned.

The creature launched itself forward.

It tucked its legs beneath its shell and threw its entire body like a boulder. I barely raised my shield before it struck.

The impact lifted me from the ground and sent me sliding through the mud.

Another Forest Hermit attempted the same attack against Anja. Kevin stepped into its path and caught the stone shell against the head of his hammer.

His HP plunged into red, but he remained standing and brought the hammer down on the fracture he had already created.

The shell split in half.

Once the first Forest Hermit fell, the fight became manageable. Kevin focused on breaking the armor while the rest of us kept the remaining creatures separated. Anja keep shooting at their eyes. Ambrosia drove the metal point of her staff into gaps beneath their shells, and I used my shield to redirect them to Kevin.

By the time the fourth creature stopped moving, none of us had much HP left.

My HP had dropped into yellow. Anja’s and Ambrosia’s were in the same range, while Kevin’s remained dangerously red.

We sat on the dead Forest Hermits and rested. I thought about the name tag. The first Forest Hermit had shown nothing while pretending to be a boulder. Its information only appeared after it moved.

Either creatures using stealth could hide their name tags, or my Assessment skill was not high enough to see through the camouflage.

We stayed beside the stream until everyone’s HP was full. Now then, we moved more carefully than before. Every suspicious boulder received a poke from Ambrosia’s staff before anyone approached it.

Eventually, we found another patch of Sulfurblast mushrooms.

Before anyone entered the clearing, I caught a faint distortion on the tree beside them. The shape looked like part of a branch until I focused on it with the Assessment skill.

[Lv6. Twigstalker Mantis]

A second mantis clung to the opposite side.

“Stop,” I whispered.

Everyone froze.

I pointed out the first mantis, then quietly explained the plan. We crept within a few meters while the creatures remained motionless beside the Sulfurblasts.

I pointed toward the first mantis’s head.

“Anja, open with an arrow. Kevin follows. I’ll keep the second one off you.”

Anja raised her bow.

The arrow struck the first mantis directly in the head.

It jerked upright in surprise.

Kevin was already moving.

His hammer crashed into its head before it could unfold its bladed forelegs. The mantis collapsed, and I drove my dagger through a damaged seam while it was still disoriented.

The second mantis lunged from the foliage.

I caught one foreleg with my shield and forced it aside. Kevin moved around me to attack its thorax while Anja fired into its body.

Ambrosia remained behind us and waited for an opening. When the mantis raised one leg to strike, she drove the pointed end of her staff into its body.

The creature recoiled.

Compared to the Forest Hermits, the fight was simple. Kevin and I held their attention while Anja and Ambrosia attacked from safety. Once the first mantis died, the second could not withstand all four of us.

When it finally fell, Kevin rested the head of his hammer against the ground.

“We should have fought these first.”

Anja lowered her bow.

“I liked the harmless snails better.”

“We didn’t fight those,” I said.

“Exactly.”

We drank potions, applied some first-aids, and collected the mantis loot. Once everyone had recovered, Ambrosia approached the Sulfurblast patch.

She knelt, loosened the soil around one mushroom, and carefully scooped it into a container without disturbing the cap.

“Finally,” she said.

Kevin looked at the small yellow-orange mushroom.

“We came here just for these?”

“For several of these,” Ambrosia corrected.

Anja leaned closer to the container.

“What does it do?”

“Explodes,” I said.

Anja immediately leaned away.

Kevin stared at Ambrosia. “You’re carrying that?”

“It’s perfectly safe when handled correctly.”

I watched how Ambrosia handled and stored the mushroom, then carefully collected several for myself.

We continued deeper into the forest.

The trees became larger as we followed Zamira’s route. Their roots rose from the soil in walls and arches, while thick branches stretched overhead like elevated pathways. Ferns crowded the spaces between them, and the air grew warmer and wetter with every minute.

Ambrosia stopped so abruptly that I nearly walked into her.

“Wait.”

She pointed toward a shallow hollow between two enormous roots.

A ring of Sulfurblast mushrooms grew from the damp soil, their yellow-orange caps packed closely enough to form a nearly perfect circle. In the middle sat a strange mushroom, much larger than the ones around it.

Its cap was larger and rounder than the Sulfurblasts surrounding it, glossy orange with irregular yellow spots scattered across the surface. Beneath it sat a plump cream-colored body marked by several dark creases that could have been wrinkles in its surface. Two short, rounded stubs protruded from either side, though I could not tell whether they were part of the stem or some kind of unusual growth.

It sat too perfectly in the center to look accidental, as though the ring of Sulfurblasts had grown around it.

Ambrosia crouched at the edge of the circle, careful not to disturb any of them.

“I’ve never seen this one before.”

“Not even in one of your books?”

She leaned closer.

“It’s unusually chunky for a mushroom.” She studied the rounded growths along its sides. “And those almost look like arms.”

The strange mushroom shivered.

Its entire body trembled beneath the oversized cap, disturbing a thin layer of soil around its base.

I stared at it.

“Did that thing just move?”

Ambrosia remained frozen in place.

“I think it did.”

I crouched beside her and carefully reached between two Sulfurblast caps.

Just before my fingers touched it, two dark creases snapped open into beady black eyes.

Another crease split into a tiny mouth.

The mushroom looked at my hand.

Then it looked at me.

It screamed a string of sharp, frantic words none of us understood.

Soil burst away from its body as two stubby legs ripped free from the ground. The mushroom scrambled upright, threw its tiny arms into the air, and bolted straight through the Sulfurblast circle.

One stubby foot came down squarely on a yellow-orange cap.

“Crap! Everybody get down!”

I threw myself backward and covered my head. The others dropped with me.

I waited for an explosion, a spray of acid, or at least a burst of spores.

Nothing happened.

I looked up.

The strange mushroom was already racing away, its orange cap bobbing above the ferns.

“I’m catching it!”

I scrambled to my feet and ran after it. The others followed close behind, crashing through the undergrowth as the mushroom darted between the massive roots.

For something with such short, stubby legs, it was surprisingly fast.