The young man shoved his way through yet another heavy mass of tangled vines, letting out an exhausted sigh.
This might just be the strangest forest he’s ever encountered thus far!
Lacking its usual symphony of earthly fragrances, this forest only possessed a nauseating miasma, an unpleasant cocktail of rotten eggs and sulfur. Every second spent in this noxious place was a hard-fought battle, a constant struggle to keep himself from retching out all his intestines.
All around him, gigantic and majestic trees surrounded him, their trunks the sizes of fortress towers. Their branches above stretched out greedily in all directions, each vying for their share of precious sunlight. They acted like giant veils, plunging the undergrowth below into a gloomy and shadowy realm. In the dim environment, it was difficult to see anything at all.
But that wasn’t the worst part! No, not at all!
The most irritating aspect of the forest was definitely these damned vines in his way! Strewn all about the trunks of the towering trees, they stretched high and low across the forest expanse, creating uncountable layers of resilient barriers.
These were no ordinary vines either; each of them were akin to a strong fiber rope, but even thicker in diameter. As a result, he had spent the past few hours trying to shove his way through the heavy and sturdy structures. This was not an easy task. Breaking through each net of the tightly woven vines felt akin to wrestling a grizzly bear.
As he smashed through another barrier of vines, he could only cast a downcast gaze at the severed vines behind him, watching as the fibers of the previously broken vines suddenly come to life. They twitched and wriggled like worms, before crawling towards each other in an attempt to rejoin with itself.
Within mere moments, the severed vines had already fully reconnected, weaving themselves back into their original, pristine form. His path of exit had been completely resealed without a trace once again!
Dammit! I only entered this forest to cut through for a shortcut. If it weren’t for these stupid vines, I would’ve already been out of here a long time ago! He cursed inwardly, waving a hateful fist at the squirming vines.
With an exhausted sigh, he ran his fingers through his sky-blue locks, shaking his head with a subtle grace to rid it of any stray bits of foliage.
The unique color of his hair was his most distinctive feature, as many have told him. His pastel-colored hair was a gentle and calming shade of light blue, cascading down the sides of his head and framing his face neatly.
He wore a gray leather armor over a simple tunic, paired with black trousers and a midnight-colored scarf wrapped snugly around his neck. Around his waist, an elegant sword sheath was attached to his belt. The outfit suited him well, allowing him to exude an aura of a confident and dashing wanderer!
As he leaned back to stretch out the strain on his sore back, his eyes caught sight of the numerous rounded cocoons dangling from the branches above him.
In the pervasive darkness, he could only discern a dark liquid occasionally dripping from their figures. These peculiar objects were abundant, prevailing all throughout the forest. They loomed over his head like chandeliers as he traversed the terrain.
Eh. Judging from the liquids dripping out of them, they must just be water tanks, nothing special. Kinda like plants storing their excess nutrients in fruits. He waved that thought aside, lacking a particular interest in deciphering their nature at the moment.
Right now, there was something else that required his attention more. Ever since he entered the forest, a vague sense of uneasiness had clung to him, an elusive discomfort that danced at the edges of his awareness. However, the reason for this feeling was eluding him, evading his very grasp.
He furrowed his brows in deep thought. Besides the giant trees, the smelly air, the dark surroundings, and the stupid vines… It still feels like this forest is missing something…
What is it…? What is it…? Come on, brain!
After thinking deeply for several minutes, it finally clicked in his head.
As he strained his ears, he confirmed his suspicions.
It was quiet.
Way too quiet.
It was so quiet that he was able to hear his heart subtly beating in his ears, and his blood pulsing softly through his veins. It was the kind of silence that was deafening. The kind of silence that was, ironically, loud.
How could he not have noticed this sooner? The usual symphony of crickets' chirps and squeaks were conspicuously absent, the calls of the birds gone.
And alongside this realization, another dawned on him.
It was a simple concept : If there was a lack of noise, it meant that there was a lack of life!
As he scanned his surroundings, his deduction proved right once again.
There wasn’t a single living creature in sight.
Wasn't the continent of Liera supposed to be the land of insects? When I first heard of that name, I was expecting to be covered all over by those little pests when I entered this region... Yet, not only are there not more insects around, there are actually zero insects around! What on Altarth is happening?
The situation was growing increasingly unnatural, and he was starting to feel a little freaked out. Something was undeniably wrong with this forest. The sooner he got out of this accursed place, the better.
He continued pressing forward, forcefully pushing through a couple more imposing walls of vines. But as he headed deeper, the pattern of the vine formations around him were beginning to look different.
The surrounding vines formed multiple delicate and intricate radial patterns, each with spokes radiating from a central hub. These spokes were connected by spiraling vines, creating a circular structure.
The pattern was unmistakable. It was the pattern of a spider’s web!
Bewildered by this bizarre development, the young wanderer couldn't believe his eyes. Spiders’ webs made out of vines?! What even is this?! And why are all of them so cartoonishly large?! They’re big enough to blanket a house!
This forest seemed to have no end to its tricks. Things were only getting weirder by the second.
And speaking of seconds, time is running out! If I don’t get out of this place soon, I’ll be trapped here in pitch black darkness when the sun descends! That would be a complete nightmare! No, no, no! With that unsettling thought, he could feel the panic beginning to set in.
Please, please let the exit be near! He pleaded silently in his heart.
Feeling the added urgency, he prepared himself to ram through the next wall of vines with utmost haste, but oddly, a new obstacle stood in his way. It was one of the “water tanks” that hung abundantly above him. Only now, it was lying upright on the ground floor, blocking his way.
What’s this doing all the way down here? He raised an eyebrow.
With a cautious finger, he poked the water tank softly. It was heavy and solid, returning a solid resistance behind his finger. He could tell that breaking through this structure was going to be much more challenging.
Looks like the only option is to charge right through. And for that, it seems that I’ll be needing a much stronger force this time. Reaching this conclusion, he took a few steps back, giving himself an ample runway.
Here goes! The youth began sprinting at top speed, leading with his left shoulder as the tip of his imaginary battering ram. Bracing his core, he slammed into the water tank powerfully.
Surprisingly, the water tank yielded more easily than expected. He struggled to maintain his balance as he tore into the deceptively fragile structure.
In response, the water tank burst open like a leather bottle, its liquid spraying all about as droplets of rain. The mysterious fluid completely drenched his body, some of it entering his eyes as it momentarily blinded him.
Inside the large water tank, he collided with something tall and solid on the way out before stumbling out the other end like a drunken fool. With his eyes still tightly shut, he fell onto the floor clumsily with a heavy thud.
Ouch! That hurt! He rubbed his tender bum, trying to soothe his poor tailbone.
Plop! Another soft and wet sound landed right beside him, resembling the noise of a wet cloth being tossed nearby. But without his sight, he was unable to investigate it. He chose to leave that task for later.
He was now drenched head to toe in the mystery fluid. It began to pool around him as it dripped onto the ground. Trying to feel out the texture of the mystery liquid, he rubbed his fingers against one another.
The liquid was both slimy and gooey.
Ugh, what the heck is this… I can’t open my eyes. I accidentally swallowed some too…
Ptuuu! He tried to spit out some of the liquid that managed to infiltrate his mouth, making a sour face.
As he raised his forearm to wipe the liquid out of his stinging eyes, he felt something sitting in his arms. He was curious, and thus, tried to make out the shape of the object he was cradling. He ran his fingers slowly along the object, attempting to decipher its nature.
Long… Hard… and heavy? What’s this? I think this was shoved into my hands as I went through the water tank…
Beneath the touch of his fingers, the mysterious object revealed a slimy… yet… flaky texture. And as he continued to trace the object with his fingers, he could discern the occasional bumps and dents on its surface.
Strange… I still can’t tell what it is…
Deepening his focus, he continued to explore the mysterious object’s figure… until his fingers touched…
Fingers?!?!
