Mika stared in awe at the magnificent Luminara Tree, its trunk glowing with an ethereal light that seemed to have a life of its own. The tree's branches stretched far and wide, like a great guardian's arms, protecting the Ethereal Flatlands' delicate ecosystem. Its leaves shimmered with hues of silver and blue, giving off an aura of magic that filled the air.

The tree's bark was smooth, with intricate patterns etched across its surface. These patterns pulsed with the tree's internal mana, their light intensifying as the sun disappeared beyond the horizon.

As she approached the tree, she noticed that the closer she got, the more the mana in the air seemed to thicken, causing her body to tingle with energy. 

When the entire tree came within view, Mika noticed that around the base was filled with beasts, each lying there comfortably, not causing any trouble. They all turned in her direction as soon as they sensed an unfamiliar presence. 

Seeing a bipedal ape walk toward them, they raised their guard and eyed her wearily. Some even growled at her, telling her not to cause trouble. It was as if they deemed this area as a “safe zone”.

Mika stopped for a moment, trying to process the sight before her. The variety of creatures surrounding the Luminara Tree was astounding, ranging from the small, playful, and adorable to the fierce, intimidating, and monstrous. Yet, despite their natural instincts to hunt, fight, and defend their territories, they seemed to coexist peacefully in the presence of the magical tree.

‘Why are there so many different kinds of beasts here? Orien didn’t warn me of such a thing!’ She would’ve never guessed that such a thing was possible.

Still, thinking about it a bit more, it made sense why the beasts treated this as their sanctuary.

‘The mana is much denser here, and the environment is richer. I would rather stay here as well if I were a beast.’ 

Since they couldn’t take the tree with them, and it was too big for most beasts to defend, she assumed that, at some point, they just came to a truce and decided to share the tree.

It’s not like they lost anything by doing that anyway.

Raising her hands, Mika slowly approached the tree, her movements non-threatening and cautious.

“I mean no harm. I’m just here to look for something.” She tried to say with as much sincerity as possible, as she really didn’t want to disturb them. 

Not only were there plenty of beasts here that were stronger than her, but she had never seen many of these beasts before. If she had trouble fighting the Blackstone Razorback, she didn’t doubt that there was a high possibility she might die if she provoked them all.

As Mika approached, the beasts didn’t do anything except stare at her. They looked away only when they understood she wasn’t a threat, but most still kept one eye open, watching her every move.

Releasing a sigh of relief, Mika walked around the tree, looking for any signs of Moon Owls. However, after a few minutes, she didn’t find anything, causing her to be a bit disheartened. 

‘No,’ Mika shook her head, snapping out of those thoughts, ‘They might just be higher in the tree.’

Tiptoeing over the beasts, Mika finally made her way to the actual tree. Placing her hands on the smooth, glowing bark, she could feel the mana pulsing beneath her fingertips, giving her an exhilarating sensation.

However, Mika knew the smooth bark would be a real problem when she climbed the tree.

‘Maybe I can use one of the tent’s cords?’ She thought but immediately shut it down as the trunk's circumference was too big. 

She didn’t feel comfortable taking out her sword or knife and jabbing it into the tree to give her something to hang onto as clearly, the beasts around her saw it as sacred.

After several moments of searching for ideas, Mika’s eyes lit up!

“That might work!” She shouted, startling some of the nearby beasts, but seeing she had no ill intentions, they turned away.

Taking a few steps away from the trunk, carefully avoiding the other beasts, she took a deep breath and circulated her mana, preparing to cast [Blink].

Getting a bit of a running start, Mika dashed at the tree with her full power before she bent her knees and jumped as high as she could! Hitting the tree at an angle, Mika used the rest of her momentum and some extra force to jump off the tree even higher!

With that jump, she neared the bottom-most branch but couldn’t quite make it…

[Blink]

…until her body disappeared and reappeared a meter higher, where her hands latched onto the branch.

Pulling herself up, Mika chuckled and gave a triumphant smile. 

“I didn’t expect that to go so well. I guess I’m getting more accustomed to using [Blink].” Mika muttered and looked up further into the tree branches. 

She still didn’t see any Moon Owls but wasn’t discouraged. The tree was huge, after all.

‘It doesn’t matter even if I don’t find one. Since the environment here is so good, it would be a sin not to practice my magic!’ Mika thought.

Jumping to the next branch, she ascended the tree. 

As she climbed, the mana in the air grew denser. Mika felt her mana core slowly being replenished by the rich environment, giving her a comforting sensation.

The higher she went, the denser and more sturdy the branches got. Mika was surprised by the vast expanse of the tree's interior; its thick branches provided a natural habitat for all manner of avian creatures that called the Ethereal Flatlands home.

Finally, after what felt like hours, Mika spotted a Moon Owl nestled in a high branch out of the corner of her eye. Its silver and blue feathers seemed to blend seamlessly with the leaves of the Luminara Tree, making it difficult to see at first glance.

The Moon Owl turned its head as soon as it felt her gaze and stared at her curiously. 

The two made eye contact for a few moments, and before long, Mika breathed a sigh of relief, glad that it didn’t plan on attacking her.

Careful not to spook it, Mika glanced around, looking for its nest. It didn’t take long for her eyes to lock onto a medium-sized nest made out of twigs, grass, and leaves.

‘Found it!’ 

Now, all that was left was to try and steal one of its eggs, as the bird sure as hell wouldn’t just let her walk up and take it.

‘I could try and kill it, but….’ Mika felt a bit uncomfortable doing so. She was already stealing its child; if she also killed the parent just because it tried to protect its child…

‘Wouldn’t that make me too much of a piece of shit?’

Mika thought for a moment, trying to come up with a plan that would allow her to take the egg without causing unnecessary harm to the Moon Owl. She knew she couldn't just ask the owl for the egg, as it would most likely attack her to protect its nest. She needed to think outside the box.

As she observed the Moon Owl from a distance, Mika noticed it seemed quite curious, turning its head to look at her occasionally. She decided to use that curiosity to her advantage.

Taking a deep breath, Mika carefully took out one of the Blackstone Razorback’s quills from her backpack.

Holding it in her hand, Mika began to wave it back and forth, trying to catch the Moon Owl's attention. The owl's large, blue eyes snapped to Mika’s hand and seemed to be drawn to the quill, its curiosity piqued.

Slowly, Mika moved away from the owl's nest, hoping to lure the Moon Owl further away. To her surprise, the owl cautiously took flight, following her.

Once Mika felt they had reached a sufficiently far distance, she put the quill down. Backing away from it, Mika allowed the Moon Owl to approach it. It bent down and began pecking it with its beak, inspecting it.

With the owl now distracted, Mika knew she had to act quickly. She dashed toward the nest, using [Blink] in rapid succession! In mere seconds, she reached the nest.

Carefully, she reached out, her heart pounding as her fingers closed around one of the Moon Owl's six eggs.

The egg was slightly larger than a chicken's egg, with a smooth, iridescent shell that seemed to shimmer with the same hues of silver and blue as the Moon Owl's feathers. Mika carefully placed the egg in her bag, ensuring it was well-protected and cushioned.

“SCREEEEECH!”

Suddenly, Mika a screech from behind and knew that it was the Moon Owl she had just distracted.

“Shit!” Mika cursed under her breath and dropped to the nearest branch below her. “I thought I’d have enough time to take it and run without the owl noticing, but it seems like it was still skeptical of me.”

She could only use [Blink] a few more times but wasn’t worried about that. It was quicker and more efficient to fall, anyways.

However, she greatly underestimated the speed, agility, and stealth of the Moon Owl. It weaved through the branches like they weren’t even there and appeared behind Mika before she knew what was happening. 

With bloodshot eyes, the Moon Owl slammed into Mika, jamming its beak into her shoulder and pushing her off the branch.

“UGH!” Mika grunted in pain and glanced behind her with wide eyes. “What the hell?! I didn’t even hear you!”

She had never fought against an owl before, so how would she know they hardly made any noise when they flew?

Realizing that she was falling, Mika Blinked to the nearest branch, but because she couldn’t deal with the owl, it pierced its talons into her back and repeatedly stabbed her shoulder with its steel-like beak. 

“ARGH! You fucker! Is there a need to be so angry?! You have five other eggs!” 

She tried to grab it, but her words seemed to upset it further, and it pecked her hand, fracturing a few bones.

However, it didn’t expect Mika to not care about the damage and still try to grab it. Not wanting to get caught, the Moon Owl hopped off her back, removing small chunks of flesh.

Mika grunted again. Now that she was free, she jumped to the closest branch and quickly wound her way around the tree, keeping one side of her body close to the trunk to prevent the Moon Owl from flanking her again.

She kept a hand on the hilt of her katana, but she was still hesitant to take it out. Not because she felt any more sympathy for the Owl–that had disappeared when it ripped out chunks of her flesh, but because it was already hard enough to use [Blink] while navigating the tree without it. If she had to do it with her katana unsheathed, she might accidentally hit one of the branches, ruining her momentum.

As Mika continued her descent, the Moon Owl pursued her relentlessly, its rage evident in its fierce screeches and relentless attacks.

Mika knew she couldn't keep this up forever – the pain in her shoulder and back was becoming unbearable, and her movements were growing slower as she lost more and more blood.

'I need to find a way to lose this thing!' Mika thought, her eyes darting around the tree for a solution.

She noticed a thick branch above her and had an idea. Mika took a deep breath, gathered half of her remaining mana, and leaped towards the branch with all her strength. The Moon Owl followed closely behind, determined not to let her escape.

However, just as Mika reached the branch, she cast [Blink] and appeared on the other side of the tree trunk. The Moon Owl, caught off guard by the sudden disappearance of its target, crashed into the branch, momentarily stunned.

Taking advantage of the owl's disorientation, Mika hurriedly descended the tree. With each leap and drop, she moved farther away from the furious Moon Owl.

Finally, she reached the base of the Luminara Tree, her legs wobbling from exhaustion and pain, but she could still hear the angry screeches of the Moon Owl above her. 

Mika glanced around, ensuring none of the other beasts had decided to join the fray, and breathed a sigh of relief.

Forcing herself to move some more, she put all her remaining power into her legs and took off into the distance. Now that she was on flatland, she could reach her full speed, which she guessed shouldn’t be much slower than the Moon Owl. 

She kept checking over her shoulder, ensuring it wasn’t close behind her. As she moved farther away from the tree, Mika felt the mana in the air thinning, and the effects of her injuries became more pronounced.

After a considerable distance, Mika stopped and turned, sighing in relief when she didn’t see the Moon Owl. It circled around the Luminara Tree, seemingly unwilling to leave it.

Sighing once again, Mika turned around and began walking further away, continuing until the tree was no longer in sight.

Finding a nice, large rock to lean on, she took out her medical supplies and began treating her wounds. The gashes on her back and shoulder were deep, and she winced as she cleaned and bandaged them. 

After drinking a healing serum, a nutritional serum, and some rations, her wounds slowly healed.

It wasn’t as quick as she was used to, but it healed her enough to push through the pain, set up her tent, and collapse inside. 

With a mix of pride and exhaustion, Mika had a slight smile on her face as she lay down on the makeshift bed.

‘No more missions…’

That was her last thought before her eyes shut, and her breathing steadied as she drifted off to sleep.