Three days had passed since I woke up.

  Strength flowed through my limbs like a new river—unfamiliar, wild, and powerful—but the lingering ache inside reminded me that my body still remembered dying. Each morning I tested the limits of these awakened skills: shadow manipulation, nature resonance, mana perception sharpened beyond human instinct. And every evening, I walked the base’s small paths, speaking with the survivors, adjusting defenses, or letting the children climb on me like I was a tree they trusted not to fall.

  It felt… peaceful.

  Velra watched me more often now—eyes lingering a little too long, as if searching for cracks in my calm. Today was no different. She stood before me with her spellbook pressed to her chest, silver hair flowing in a mild breeze.

  “You expected this much progress, didn’t you?” she asked softly. “But… are you sure you’re okay?”

  I held her gaze—steady, unreadable.

  “I wouldn’t be standing here if I weren’t.”

  Her expression trembled for a moment, something between relief and worry, before Kargan’s voice cut through the courtyard.

  “Aethyr! We’re ready. Herbs, ore scouting, and we’re bringing the little ones too—extra hands.”

  I followed, carrying the children’s baskets while Kargan led. The forest air was crisp, but halfway through gathering a quiet pressure snapped across my senses. The wind stilled.

  Something wrong.

  I lowered my voice.

  “Kargan. We’re being hunted. Get the kids to safety.”

  “What—?”

  A direfang burst from the thornbrush—fangs like obsidian, eyes burning with crimson corruption. It lunged at the smallest child.

  He reacted—barely—dodging by instinct. I was already there, scooping him under one arm and hurling him toward Kargan like a precious package.

  “Run!”

  Six direfangs emerged.

  I stepped forward alone.

  The first two charged—one low for my legs, the other high for my throat.

  Move.

  I ducked under the first, thrusting my sword upward into its corrupted core. The blade drank in its death. Before the second could clamp down on my neck, I shadow-stepped—sliding through its rushing silhouette—and appeared behind it, blade slicing through the spine.

  Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

  Two corpses dropped..

  The nearest beast leapt for my chest. I answered with a leafstep slash, verdant energy exploding from my heel as I cut straight through its midsection.

  I extended a finger—the ground obeyed.

  Nature’s Whisper.

  A sharp root erupted from beneath the farthest direfang, impaling it cleanly. I lunged toward the last pair—vertical strike, then a horizontal sweep. Flesh split, and all three fell.

  Silence returned.

  Kargan stood frozen.

  “By the stars… it’s like you got stronger by sleeping. I couldn’t even see half of what you did.”

  I exhaled slowly.

  They moved in formation. That wasn’t natural… something is guiding the monsters now.

  The base was quieter than usual. I found Velra asleep at her desk—her spellbook open, full of scribbles and arcane diagrams. She was trying to create a new spell from her binding magic.

  A domination type spell.

  Clever.

  I covered her with a blanket, gently pushing a strand of hair from her face. My eyes fell on the half-formed spell on the table.

  Good idea… but too unstable.

  I picked up a quill and made a correction, drawing from my old world’s mage theory:

  compress the binding lines, spiral the mana outward, create a controllable projectile

  A ranged domination shot.

  When she used it, it would obey her will mid-flight.

  She murmured in her sleep, smiling faintly.

  I prepared to find the injured dryad. The fragment I carried pulsed faintly—guiding me. Before leaving, a wave of corrupted boars rushed the base.

  I dispatched them quickly—minimal mana, precise strikes. Then I set simple traps only our people would recognize.

  My voice was low, directed both at myself and the dryad.

  “Hold on. I’m coming.”

  The forest thickened, shifting unnaturally. Trees twisted, forming towering archways.

  A labyrinth.

  The air tasted of old magic—stale, trapped, humming.

  My steps echoed.

  Would healing magic work on a dryad? Maybe. But divine magic… I can’t use it yet.

  A chiming tone struck my mind.

  [System Notice: Mana concentration detected. Stability: 88%.]

  That’s high. Too high.

  I kept walking.

  Signs of battle stained the ground—burnt bark, corrupted spores, crushed branches. The dryad had fought hard.

  Then—

  Movement.

  Twenty… no… twenty-five corrupted beasts were trying to enter the labyrinth behind me.

  I drew my blade and stepped into the center chamber—an open clearing surrounded by spiraling bark walls.

  The dryad was there.

  Slumped. Fading. Her hair—once emerald—now streaked with sickly black veins. Her chest flickered like a dying ember. Corruption gnawed at her roots.

  “Aethyr…” her voice was a breeze on a dying flame. “You came…”

  Then the walls shook.

  The beasts flooded in.I fought.

  Steel clashed against corrupted hide. Shadows stretched from my feet—forming knives that sliced through flanks and limbs. Every movement had purpose. Every strike was calculated.

  I couldn’t afford mistakes.

  Less magic. More technique. Conserve everything.

  A beast slammed me into a wall—I felt ribs crack, but momentum carried my blade up its throat.

  A vine burst from the ground at my call—crushing two corrupted wolves before they pounced.

  Mana burned low.

  Blood dripped from my side.

  One final beast—a massive corrupted hornstag—charged with enough force to shatter stone.

  I exhaled. Shadow Step. Leafstep. Rising Slash.

  The hornstag’s head rolled before it even realized it had died.

  Silence.

  I collapsed to one knee, panting.

  I moved to the dryad.

  Her body was dissolving into motes of light, corruption eating away her essence from the roots upward.

  “You… fought so hard,” I whispered.

  She shook her head. “No… you did. You saved… this forest’s last hope…”

  She placed something warm against my chest—her core, but fractured.

  Inside it, a tiny glow curled like a sleeping child.

  “There is… a baby dryad… deeper inside. Please… raise her. Let her grow in a place untouched by darkness… Promise me…”

  Her voice cracked.

  I took the core gently. “I promise.”

  Her eyes softened, and a faint smile touched her lips.

  “Thank… you…”

  Her body fractured—turning to drifting petals that brushed against my face before dissolving completely.

  I bowed my head.

  “I’ll protect her. And I’ll cleanse this forest… no matter what.”

  The core pulsed once—trusting me.