A Zoologist’s Guide to Surviving Magical Creatures

Vigor waved his hand, and a cube materialized out of thin air. He placed the core fragment into the cube, and the cube began to glow, flashing in a brilliant sequence of colors before finally settling on a golden hue.

The light slowly dimmed.

When it was finished, Vigor took the core fragment back and handed it to me.

"Inside are all the information you need to know," Vigor said simply. "The token will give you access to the Book Malls on the ground floor only. If you want to proceed to other floors, refer to the information in the token."

I held the token for a moment, still trying to process everything. Then I looked back at Vigor.

"You said this is a token. What kind of token is this?"

Vigor tilted his head, slightly puzzled. "Didn't you know?"

I shook my head, confusion still swirling in my mind.

"Hmmm... that's weird," he remarked, rubbing his chin. "The holders of the token all know what it is, and what it's for."

"Holders?" I repeated, a shock of realization hitting me. "You're telling me there's more than one of these tokens in Mythica?"

Vigor raised an eyebrow.

"Mythica?"

He paused, studying me with an intense look, as if analyzing me. "I see. You've lost part of your memories. No worries. In time, the truth will reveal itself, and your memories will return."

"What do you mean?" I asked, my curiosity piqued.

"My memories will return? The truth will reveal itself?"

The words repeated in my mind, their cryptic weight pressing down like an unanswered riddle.

What does it even mean? Another enigma to untangle, another layer of confusion in an already chaotic existence.

"It's not my place to provide you with explanations at your current state," Vigor said dismissively. "If there are no more questions, I will excuse myself."

Frustration surges like a dam breaking. This... this constant guessing game, the endless trail of breadcrumbs leading nowhere—it's maddening.

I take a deep breath, trying to steady myself. Whatever the truth is, I must find a way to uncover it.

Just as he was about to disappear, I hurriedly stopped him.

"W-wait. I have more questions."

Vigor nodded. "Please, speak. You may ask one question."

"Do you know why some creatures and beings disappear here? And do you know why the essences of creatures entering the forest are being devoured?"

Vigor's eyes narrowed. "That's two questions," he pointed out. "Please, only ask one."

"Wow, what an inflexible and strict forest druid," I mused silently, the thought laced with equal parts exasperation and resignation.

"Then can you answer the second question?"

"Because they're unworthy to be in this place." Vigor's words were cold and final.

With that, he vanished.

"That asshole!" Jiuge cursed, her voice laced with frustration.

"That's foul, Jiuge, but I couldn't agree more," Amaterasu added, who had been quiet up until then.

Agnos, on the other hand, remained silent. His expression was grim, more serious than usual.

I was this close to throttling that obstinate forest druid. Honestly, I should've asked him how to actually use the token. Lesson learned. With a deep sigh, I tried to refocus.

"Forget it," I muttered, shaking off the frustration. "Let's head into the book malls on this floor. Maybe we'll find some clues or information about the forest and the weird stuff happening here."

Looking around, I spotted six distinct book malls scattered across the area, each unique in size and design. We headed toward the closest one, its sealed door glowing with a kaleidoscope of colors. Above it, cuneiform symbols were etched into a sign.

I squinted at the markings, trying to make sense of them. My instinct was to ask Amaterasu for help, but after her earlier mistranslation, I decided to skip the embarrassment—for both of us.

"I wish there were some way for me to read what this says," I muttered.

As if the token heard me, the core fragment lit up, pulsating with energy. Before I could react, a beam of light shot out and struck me squarely in the temple.

"What the—?!"

It felt like someone had plugged a USB drive directly into my brain. A torrent of information flooded in, sharp and precise, as though the token was updating my mental software. The rush subsided quickly, leaving me gasping for air.

Then I saw it—the symbols on the sign weren't gibberish anymore.

"Prophecies," I blurted out. My gaze darted to the next book mall with an ethereal-looking door. The words there glimmered with clarity: "Early Knowledge."

I moved along, scanning the others. "Ancient Entities," I read aloud, then pointed to another with an almost metallic sheen. "Universal Truths and Laws..."

Behind me, Agnos, Jiuge, and Amaterasu stood frozen, staring at me like I'd just grown a second head.

"Y-you can read it?" Amaterasu stammered, her disbelief plain on her face.

I turned to her, grinning like a kid who'd just aced a surprise test. "Oh, yeah! The core fragment—or token, I guess—gave me the ability to read them. And," I added with a teasing tone, "it's accurate this time."

Amaterasu's cheeks flushed a deep red, her earlier mishap clearly still fresh in her mind. "I only know basic cuneiform," she muttered defensively, though it was more to herself than to me.

Smiling, I let it slide and turned back to the signs, reading them off one by one. With each revelation, I felt a growing sense of purpose—or maybe just curiosity.

"This level seems to be all about foundational knowledge," I concluded, glancing back at the group. "I don't know if we'll find anything directly tied to the disappearing creatures or the essence devouring here, but it's a start."

It wasn't much, but it was something. And right now, something was better than being left in the dark.

"The rest of the malls are Origins of Time and Space and... C.C.C.," I said, tilting my head at the last one. "Hmmm… what does that acronym even mean?"

Agnos chuckled, his voice dripping with amusement. "Looks like your token isn't all-powerful after all." He was leaning lazily against one of the ornate columns, arms crossed, looking as smug as ever.

"Ha-ha," I deadpanned, rolling my eyes at his quip. "If you're so brilliant, why don't you enlighten us, oh great god of sarcasm?"

He smirked. "I'm not the one waving around a magic decoder token."