Arianna watched with her mana sight, letting the fight unfold in front of her like a carefully choreographed display of energy. She trusted everyone to handle themselves. Her job now wasn't to step in unless there was a serious injury. Camden had already proven that even when hurt, he could still hold his own until healed. Cassis would fight even with grievous injuries until he dropped. That worried her a lot more since he didn't value himself enough, but for now she'd accept it. Though, that didn't mean she was relaxed. Quite the opposite. Her focus was intense, just redirected.

Felicia and Matteo stood close. She'd hesitated at first. Using children as lookouts for injuries wasn't her favorite idea. But they had looked her in the eyes, resolute. Matteo had said, "We can do it. We want to help." Felicia hadn't said a word out loud, but she'd written "I need to watch this," and met Arianna's gaze with the kind of quiet determination that didn't need shouting. That had been enough.

So, she watched. Not the fight, not the flying petals or flailing vines, but the plant mana.

There was plenty of it. More than she'd ever been able to observe in the wild. Natural plant mana was diffused, subtle, and slipped through her awareness like fog through fingers. This was the case with all natural mana from her experience. She could observe it was there, but not it's specific particles. But here where flowers had become monsters it was dense and structured. Concentrated. Almost like the way her own water mana felt compared to the background mana in a river or rainfall. She had suspected as much after the first battle with the mutated dandelion and bleeding heart. Now she could study the real thing, unfolding in motion.

Each plant monster used the same plant mana a blend of earth and water mana. But there were slight differences in hue and motion between them. The dandelions had a darker green mana, their movements sluggish but forceful, their steel-sharp petals glowing faintly with reactive spikes of energy. The bleeding hearts were entirely different. Their mana was a lighter green colour, most concentrated in their heart-shaped pods where the acid was stored and in the small seed projectiles that sprouted ranks when exposed to skin. Especially during their attack when they shot those seeds, could she seed a spark, almost an explosion of plan mana. Arianna's eyes followed one flying across the field, saw how it burst in the air and then hit Liam on his hand, tendrils already sprouting. Fascinating.

Even after the bleeding hearts fell, their seeds retained mana—a lot of it. That told her something. Maybe plant mana didn't dissipate on death as quickly as other forms. That alone was worth experimenting on. She made a mental note to collect some more of those pods and seeds after the fight, maybe analyze the mana flow patterns with the spell she'd been trying to develop. Maybe she would try to break the plant mana down into earth and water mana. If she could do that, perhaps she could reverse engineer the process to get plant mana. Her earlier attempts at creating plant mana had failed. She and Joseph didn't know how to mix it. Sometimes nothing happened and their mana just dissipated, sometimes there were small explosions or they got some very unhealthy looking muddish colour that quickly disintegrated. She hoped she would get new realizations from this more concentrated plant mana.

Her thoughts drifted briefly to the patch in Jaseph's garden, where the soil had practically hummed with life, with plant mana. She still remembered the exact shade of green it was. The plant mana those flower monsters used had different shades again. That meant once she finally managed to mix plant mana, she'd have to get the shade right. She had noticed that with water mana, too. Depending on the environment there were lighter and darker shades of the blue water mana around. That meant it was usually mixed with other mana particles but water was still the dominant one. At least that was her working theory.

She tuned back in to the battle just in time to see Camden slice a bluebell monster in two, its wide petals flaring like flags before disintegrating into glowing green mist. A seed shot toward Helen, but she dodged, even faster and smoother than in the dungeon, vanishing in a blur before reappearing behind another monster.

Felicia's hand tapped hers lightly. Arianna followed her finger and saw a shallow cut across Liam's forearm. Already scabbing. Arianna gave a small nod and whispered, "Good job." She wasn't needed yet. She turned her attention back to the battlefield. More shades, more movement. The petals and tendrils might be pretty, but they were lethal. And they were teaching her. She smiled slightly. Once they made camp, she'd examine those seeds. Maybe, just maybe, this outing would bring her the breakthrough she needed.

After the fight, Arianna and the children made their way over to the field where the others were resting. She quickly healed the shallow cuts and bruises her teammates had picked up, but nothing serious, thankfully. They'd come out of the skirmish mostly unscathed.

Cassis gave her a questioning look. She just shrugged in response. She had gotten a few ideas from watching the plant mana in action, but she'd need to examine the seed projectiles closely before she could draw any real conclusions. The concentrated mana inside them had held steady even after the flowers died. That alone was promising.

She was lucky, too. Liam and Marcus both had earth mana, and she was confident they'd help her experiment with different mana ratios once she had the time to begin testing. That would be fun. She smiled to herself at the thought.

But there was still more to do. The consensus was clear, they needed to go deeper into the forest. The monsters so far had been manageable, and everyone could use a bit more of a challenge. Several of the team members under level ten were close to levelling up. Stronger monsters would speed that up.

So, Helen took the lead again and guided them farther in. It didn't take long for the frequency of monster encounters to rise. The deeper they went, the heavier the atmosphere felt. This mana density reminded her of the environment in the gate. There was just so much more than in the city or in the suburbs.

At one point, a pair of mutated bushes caught them completely off guard. They didn't move, but their stealth was so advanced that even she and Cassis hadn't sensed them ahead of time. They sprang their trap suddenly, tangling up both Helen and Liam in thick, clinging vines that coiled like snakes. The two of them were scratched up and with a few bruises but otherwise unharmed. The bushes didn't seem to deal real damage, they only restrained movement. Still, the vines were incredibly difficult to remove.

After a few failed attempts to cut them off, Cassis and Helen ended up burning the plants away with controlled flame. The burns Helen gave herself and Liam incurred from Cassis attack in the process were worse than anything the bushes had managed. Arianna sighed as she healed them. She hoped they wouldn't run into those again. Helen, though, was practically thrilled. She wanted to find more of them. Said the bushes' stealth technique could help her refine her own spell. She'd already started muttering to herself about mana manipulation and presence suppression.

Their next fight was against something she'd never expected to see in real life. Ents. Actual gnarled trees with faces carved into bark and thick limbs that lashed out with surprising speed. Unlike in the movies they didn't walk, though they might be able to do that after some more evolutions. Their branches whipped at them in great arcs, and when they shook their leaves, gusts of wind sent those leaves slicing through the air like knives.

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More than one person got injured during that fight. The leaves were sharp enough to tear through fabric and skin alike. Worse, as they fought the ents, a flock of birds nesting in the trees' canopies began to attack as well. Their size was thankfully normal, but their talons and beaks were anything but. Reinforced by mana, they tore through their basic defensive sets easily.

And they were fast. The birds used wind mana to twist and pivot in mid-air, flying in impossible arcs that made predicting their movements a nightmare. You could only hit them if you got lucky or baited them in close. They died fast enough when struck but hitting them was the problem.

The ents themselves were tanks. Their bark armor resisted nearly everything the group threw at them. Only Cassis and Danielle's fire blade, Marcus' magic missile and Helen's fire arrow were able to really hurt them. The others had to play support, drawing aggro and keeping the ents distracted long enough for the ones with fire mana and the single mage to do real damage.

In the end, they won. But it had been a surprisingly tough battle, and Arianna found herself more exhausted than expected. She quickly healed everyone as they had incurred quite a few serious injuries. The birds' screeching still rang in her ears.

That sound, that endless screeching, was what brought even more monsters to them.

First came the badger, though calling it that was generous. It was the size of a bear, its fur spiked and coarse, eyes glowing faintly with mana. Then arrived the moose, its antlers crystalline, branching out like frosted glass, and it moved with a slow, measured grace that didn't match its terrifying power. Then, finally, the wolves. Each the size of a pony, lean and muscular, with eyes sharp as blades. Their leader had two heads, both snarling, both aware.

That pack gave them trouble. The wolves were smart. They flanked. They tested weaknesses. They didn't attack blindly like most monsters and used their wind mana to boost their speed and to attack. For now those gusts just pushed them back but with further evolutions they could probably summon sharp wind blades that would cut their enemies to pieces. Their tactics forced the group to adjust, to work together more tightly than ever before.

The fight was good for their teamwork with Cassis taking the lead and giving directions to the others, while Arianna flitted through the battlefield as she was needed. Fighting like that, sometimes tank, sometimes damage dealer, sometimes healer, suited her best. Sure, her defensive set was tattered from the injuries she sustained, but her force absorption meant that she had enough mana to heal instantly. Fighting freely like this, following the flow of the battle, made her smile. This was how she was meant to fight. It made her even more happy that Cassis trusted her to move around as she saw fit. Never did he shout any directives her way. They were becoming equal partners.

After they finally killed the last of the five wolves, Arianna felt the pull of mana exhaustion tugging at her. She was down to half her maximum mana. This had been the most she'd spent since she learned to use nearly her full advanced pattern. Still, she didn't hesitate. One by one, she went around and healed everyone, patching up torn skin, bruises, and burns. The battles had been brutal, but they'd come through.

The group agreed on a short rest to eat and drink. They needed it. And they wanted to go over their choices for advanced classes since Danielle and Marcus had finally reached level 10. Liam was still level 7, but his nurturer profession had levelled up to 3. Camden hadn't gotten that profession yet, though he had been given the same title as Liam had for helping a child reach level 5: Guardian of the Future.

Arianna sat down beside Cassis and Matteo, stretching her legs with a sigh. She glanced around, scanning the group out of habit and then frowned. Where's Felicia? She'd expected the girl to be with her brother, especially after such a dangerous series of fights.

She looked over at Cassis' parents, then swept her gaze around the whole clearing. No sign of her.

"Felicia!" Arianna called, rising to her feet.

Her voice immediately got the others' attention. Everyone looked up, alarm flashing in their eyes. A little girl, alone in a monster-infested forest, was terrifying on multiple levels. Even if monsters couldn't hurt her due to the system's protection, she still had no food, no water, and could get injured from something as simple as a fall. Worst of all, Felicia didn't speak, not with her voice. If she was in danger, would she even call for help?

Everyone began talking over each other, trying to remember when they'd last seen her. Panic tightened Matteo's expression, but he clenched his fists and stayed focused. He was determined to find his little sister.

Helen and Cassis stood off to one side, waving everyone over. Helen knelt, examining the ground, then pointed to some faint disturbances in the dirt and underbrush.

"She went through here," Helen said. "I can track her."

Cassis nodded beside her, confirming the trail with a small gesture.

They quickly packed up, no time for rest anymore, and followed Felicia's trail deeper into the woods. It wasn't long before Arianna and Cassis both came to a hard stop. Two powerful presences pulsed ahead.

"E-rank," Cassis murmured under his breath, grim. "Very strong."

Helen gestured forward again. Felicia's tracks led straight into the clearing with the monsters. Arianna's gut twisted. Why had she gone that way?

Cassis immediately told the others about the monsters up ahead. The moment Matteo heard it, he took off running after Felicia without hesitation. Arianna understood, he wouldn't be harmed either, but that didn't mean they could let him face E-rank monsters alone. There was no time to argue. They all ran after him.

As they neared the source of the aura, the others began to feel the oppressive strength as well. They slowed down instinctively, moving carefully between trees, using every ounce of stealth they had.

Then, behind the thick trunks of a fallen pine, they saw them. A giant bear, towering on its hind legs, loomed like a tree itself, twice the height of a grown man, fur matted and limbs bulging with muscle. And in front of it, bloodied and desperate, was a fox the size of a large dog. It had two tails and ears so fluffy they looked almost ridiculous until you saw the deep gashes across its side and the fire burning faintly around its claws.

Arianna's heart stopped. Behind the fox stood Felicia and Matteo. He was trying to drag his sister away from the fight, but Felicia was resisting, hitting and kicking at him, crying, pointing toward the fight and then behind her, where they couldn't yet see.

Arianna craned her neck, trying to see what Felicia was so desperate to protect. Then the bear's massive head turned, and its eyes locked on Arianna's hiding spot. She ducked down fast, heart pounding. Noticing the bear's shift in focus, the fox moved. It launched itself with a burst of speed, striking the bear's face and digging flaming claws into its eye. The fire caught, and the bear roared, staggering back, swiping wildly.

But it connected. The bear's paw slammed the fox from midair down to the forest floor with brutal force. The fox was hit hard, blood pouring from its side. Then, from behind Felicia, came a tiny squeak. A baby fox, no bigger than a kitten, tumbled out from the brush. It squeaked again, high-pitched and afraid. The bear, blinded and enraged, turned toward the cub. The mother fox tried to rise, but her limbs buckled beneath her. She collapsed, unable to move.

Felicia screamed. "Mum!" Her voice, clear and anguished, echoed across the clearing. Then she stood in front of the baby fox, arms outstretched. Matteo stood beside her, stunned. His expression twisted in realization. Arianna's heart squeezed at the same moment. This was just like what had happened to them. A parent protecting their child from a monster.

And then Matteo stepped forward, shielding the baby fox with his own body. Arianna's throat tightened. They knew their protection wouldn't change anything. They wouldn't even be a barrier against the bear's attacks, just like they hadn't been able to protect their mother. The system protection was absolute. The monster would just walk through them, never touching them.

It was happening again. Another mother dying. Another child about to be orphaned. She turned to Cassis, eyes pleading. "We have to help them." Cassis looked at the fox and the bear, face cold, jaw locked. Arianna knew that to him, monsters were monsters. Cute or not, he had nearly died too many times to feel pity for them anymore.

So Arianna whispered again through their private party chat. "It's for Felicia and Matteo."

He paused. Then he looked at the children: Felicia standing with tears running down her cheeks, arms open in defiance; Matteo shielding her even as his whole body trembled. Cassis exhaled sharply through his nose, his lips tightening, but his eyes warming. Then he gave a sharp nod. They would fight to protect the foxes. For the children.

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