A Zoologist’s Guide to Surviving Magical Creatures

But as we all stared at the water, that gnawing feeling in the pit of my stomach grew stronger.

Something about this place felt... off.

The hairs on the back of my neck stood on end, like the forest was watching us.

"I don't like this," Jiuge muttered, her eyes darting around the clearing. "It's too quiet, too... empty."

I sighed, pulling the buggy into park. "Well, this looks as good a place as any to test our theory," I said, trying to sound more confident than I felt. "Everyone, stay close and keep your guard up."

Jiuge crossed her arms, clearly unimpressed. "Right, because standing next to a mysterious lake in a creepy, soundless forest has never gone wrong in any story ever."

"Wow, fantastic spot to meet our doom, Carl," Agnos quipped, hopping out of the buggy with an infuriating amount of nonchalance.

He stretched his arms overhead as if we were on a leisurely picnic rather than parked on the doorstep of what could easily be a death trap.

Amaterasu shrugged as she stepped out of the buggy, her radiant aura casting soft, flickering light onto the eerie surroundings.

"Actually, I think this place has a great view," she said, her tone light and casual, as if we were on a picnic instead of potentially courting doom.

She gestured toward the lake, its surface unnervingly still, reflecting the overcast sky like a polished mirror.

"The lake is pristine, the trees have this dramatic, ominous curve, and the silence? It's kind of peaceful. In a 'you're probably going to get cursed' kind of way."

Jiuge groaned, leaning against the buggy. "Of course you'd find something 'picturesque' about a place where people probably disappear."

Agnos smirked, inspecting the edge of the clearing. "Don't encourage her. The last thing we need is her talking about how this would make a great backdrop for some celestial tea party."

Amaterasu shot him a pointed look. "If you brought the tea, I'd actually consider it."

Agnos smirked, pulling out his sleek, gilded thermos like it was some kind of holy relic. "As a matter of fact, I do. I can brew you some right now in my magical thermos."

Amaterasu raised an eyebrow, intrigued. "A magical thermos? Let me guess, it heats, brews, and probably makes pastries on the side?"

"Close," Agnos replied smugly. "It keeps the water at the perfect brewing temperature, and it infuses the tea with just a hint of starlight. Because, you know, I'm classy like that."

I pinched the bridge of my nose, muttering to myself. "This is my team. This is who I'm working with. Perfect."

I took a deep breath, steeling myself as I climbed out. The stillness of the lake seemed to press against my ears, and with every step, the sense of foreboding grew.

Something was definitely not right about this place.

Jiuge raised her hand, summoning faint crackles of electricity that danced along her fingers. "Alright, Carl. Which tree gets the honor of becoming a charred beacon for forest justice?"

I pointed to a towering tree with thick, ancient branches. "That one looks... sufficiently dramatic."

As Jiuge prepared to strike, I held my breath. Either this would work, or we were about to make some very powerful enemies.

Sure enough, the moment Jiuge blasted the tree with a crackling bolt of lightning, everything shifted. The air buzzed, the ground trembled, and the forest around us flickered—changing in an instant.

Amaterasu had warned us that the Forest Druids had different tests.

This time, the place didn't just change—it collapsed. The lush greenery turned to ash, the trees vanished, leaving only jagged stumps. The sky darkened, casting a cold, oppressive gray.

Silence swallowed the land.

"This isn't right," Jiuge muttered, her voice tight with unease.

Agnos rolled his eyes. "No kidding. What do you expect, a wondrous place?"

"I didn't expect this," Jiuge shot back, her hand twitching toward her weapon. "What the hell is this place?"

Amaterasu stood unfazed, her gaze scanning the desolate landscape. "Ooh, this one is new. I've never encountered this. The druids always change the environment to measure how intruders react."

I swallowed, scanning the barren land. "So what now?"

Amaterasu's voice was steady. "We should just keep moving. Clues and hints are scattered around here somewhere.

I didn't need to be told twice. We started walking, the weight of the silence pressing down on us. Every step felt like we were being watched, the emptiness closing in.

We had been walking for half an hour, and honestly, it felt like the silence had stretched on forever.

There was no sign of life, no movement, no clues, not even a broken twig out of place. Just endless barren land. Every step felt heavier than the last.

"I'm starting to think the druids just want to watch us suffer," Jiuge grumbled, kicking at a clump of dry grass.

Agnos, who had been trailing behind with his usual lazy pace, flicked his fingers through the air in a dismissive gesture.

"They're probably just testing our patience. The druids love to make people squirm. They probably know we'll crack before anything even happens."

I glanced around again, feeling like we were stuck in some sort of twisted waiting game. "I just wish they'd give us a hint. This is... unnerving."

"And why did they have to take the buggy out of the equation?" I sighed, suddenly regretting getting out of the buggy.

At least give a sign or something... anything!" I blurted, half-exasperated, half-hoping the universe would finally throw us a bone.

And then, just like that, the core fragment in my pocket began to glow. Soft at first, like the faint pulse of a heartbeat, then brighter and more insistent. It felt like it was pulling me in, guiding me—much like when it dragged me to the Crystal of Light chamber.

I froze, staring at the glowing fragment. "It's doing it again," I muttered. "It's pointing me somewhere."

Jiuge's eyes snapped to the fragment, her face lighting up with sudden hope. "You mean it's actually leading us? Well, about time. I was starting to think we were going to wander this wasteland forever."

Agnos raised an eyebrow but seemed unusually alert now. "If it's anything like last time, we'd better follow it. This might be our lead."

I didn't need any further encouragement. My instincts kicked in, and I started walking in the direction the fragment was pointing, though the landscape still seemed as desolate as ever.

But now, there was a clear purpose.

A direction. And I wasn't about to waste it.

"It points in that direction," I called back to the others. "Let's see where this leads us."