I took a large gulp of my quickly depleting water reserves. 

“Maybe enough for one or two mouthfuls.” I thought.

Even though all I had encountered was nothing but arid desert-like terrain, my current vantage point allowed me to see a few areas where I could refill. I was also in search of a forest, which was the main reason I climbed this rocky mountain. Sadly, nothing that could consider the existence of one.

 Young Sand Gobi- Class 2 cryptid

Dwells within the shadows of many great forests.

My initial thoughts were that I could find them digging beneath the soil of a lush forest where nothing but a few rays of sunlight reach the surface. The closer I got to the peak, the more I questioned my choice of direction. It was called a sand gobi after all and not a mud gobi.

I used a torn piece of my clothes to wipe the sweat off my brow. Midday had rolled around, clear by my almost non-existent shadow, and the unrelenting heat had reached new heights. Taking a break then wouldn’t be a bad thing, but I at least needed to get to the summit of this mountain.

Once I got there, I got an almost Proper view of my surroundings. On one side of the mountain were endless dry plains and deserts and on the other side, nothing but clouds and tall mountains that got greener the further away I looked.

“Bingo.”

This brought some spring to my step, and I jogged towards the other side of the peak. It was right there in plain view. All my reservations were for naught, and I could continue on.

Too bad that wasn’t the case.

An unexpected force sent me tumbling in the opposite direction. It was so sudden that I barely understood what had happened. The result was so reminiscent of that one time during the trial, as I stared at the sky still trying to comprehend how I got to this point.

Luckily, my sense of direction returned, and I approached the opposite end once more. The mana occupied my surroundings was very easy to miss, and it lacked any elemental attunement.

“Is this a barrier?” I said, as I held my hands out.

The closer I approached, the stronger the repelling force became. It seemed to return the force much greater than the one applied to it.

“A strange type of rebound magic.” I whispered, enamored by the barrier. 

I looked around for a moment before remembering the size of the testing area. There was no way to deactivate this, or at least, the conditions required to do so were way over my head, so I relented. This was no doubt the edge of the testing area.

“Does that mean the scroll wasn’t referring to a forest?”

I didn’t know what else to do, so I fell to the base of a nearby tree and just stared at the cloudy peaks. The clouds moved gingerly over the sharp peaks before slowly vanishing once they reached the other side, a few of which were large enough to produce rain.

They would form off in the distance and then dump what little rain they had over the mountainside, a few droplets sprinkling over the prairie and vanishing once they reached the desert. It was mildly therapeutic to watch and before I knew it I spent several minutes just watching mother nature play its course, childishly rooting for the largest and darkest cloud I could find as it rolled over the mountains and into the prairie.

I remembered something like this during one of my classes, when tall mountains force moisture to rise and quickly form clouds, dumping all its rain on one side. It creates a vibrant forest with streams and rivers alike. While the other side, which is devoid of any rain, becomes a dry wasteland.

“Wait, that’s it.” I said as I shot up from my sitting position.

Dwells within the shadows of many great forests

They were referring to the rain shadow effect. I looked back towards the prairie, where the shrub land gave way to sand dunes that continued onward.

“I’m an idiot. I went in the complete opposite direction.”

The desert was where I needed to go. I scolded myself for making such a mistake and, wasting so much time, quickly made my way down the mountainside. I practically surfed on the loose rock and gravel. My problems weren’t completely solved, though. I knew the general direction, but simply waltzing into the desert wouldn’t allow me to find them right away, but I also had no way to know exactly where they were.

I eyed the river to my right, that emerged from the mountainside and snaked its way through the desert. I would figure out where to find these cryptids once I got to the desert. First, I needed to get some water. We had enough to eat for the two days we remained in this place, so food wasn’t much of an issue.

I look towards the mountainside once again as I reached level ground. The thought of the area behind that barrier came to mind once again. My curiosity took hold as I thought about what it would be like to explore such a place.

…

Once I got to the river, I wasted no time jumping in, throwing my satchel aside and not even bothering to take off my clothes. The feeling of cool water against skin that has been under the sun for hours on end is the best feeling in the world. I soaked in the shallow yet fast flowing water for a moment, allowing the water to wash all the sand and sweat from my hair. A faint familiar feeling surfaced in my core once again, that feeling of serenity I once felt in that place, that dream. The urge to practice that danced creeped up as well, but I knew somehow this was an awful place to do it. I instead focused on the water that flowed over and around my body, how it moved, the feeling it left on my skin and how the water itself acted in unison with the water attuned mana that was infused within it. I sat up and silently watched as the water flowed away from me. A gentle stream, flexible enough to follow the path presented before it, gathers in certain spots as small pools where in others it flows quickly. 

“If the mana behaves similar to water, can I manipulate it the same way the terrain does? “I thought.

I command you waters of this realm, flow and gather within my grasp- Water ball

I chanted the only water spell I knew, keeping in mind what I just observed. 

Water always gathers to the lowest level but needs a gradient to flow towards it. I paid attention to the surrounding air as the water attuned mana gathered, imagining the palm of my hand as the lowest point, making sure there was no blockage in the flow of mana nor any points where it would flow too quickly and spill over. I then opened my eyes and observed the sphere of water. No difference in size, but it seemed more stable? I pumped more mana into it, keeping the same rules. The ball jiggled and vibrated but kept its shape. This part was simple enough. I then held my palm up, aiming for a nearby rock. The next step of the spell was to apply pressure to the water and launch it in the desired direction. The ball then warped and vibrated uncontrollably and then popped like a bubble. This moment, like all other times, is when the spell would fail me.

I sighed and then got up from my seated position. I would love to stay and spend more time on this. Even though there was little progress, I still gained at least a bit of insight. Meditating would really help me understand what I had just observed, but doing it in such an open area would risk me getting eliminated, so I had no choice but to leave it for later. I just hoped another opportunity like this would pop back up. 

Grabbing my satchel and other belongings, I continued my journey towards the heart of the desert. I followed the river until the grassy plains and thorn bushes transformed into a field of sand dunes. I immediately noticed the magical foci of the many cryptids below the surface. They all seemed to move to a specific place just up. I didn’t know what attracted so many, but I followed suit.

It wasn’t long before I spotted it. A massive carcass just randomly placed in the middle of the desert. In any other situation, I would think a large animal died here, but this was a domain, an artificially created pocket world, meaning that the administration intentionally placed it there.

The Sand Gobi horde that happily ate away at it was exactly as depicted in the scroll. A large earthworm like cryptid, about the size of a fully grown adult, with teeth that lined a gaping hole for a mouth. Each one would emerge from the sand, tear off a piece of meat and then retreat under. 

Satisfied that I had everything ready, I quickly said my goodbyes to the now dried-up river and made my way over to the scene.