The forest path ahead was wrapped in morning mist, the kind that swallowed sound and shimmered faintly under the sun's first light. The air smelled of wet soil and blooming moss.
Ren moved carefully, blade in hand, eyes scanning the undergrowth. Beside him, Lyra's steps were quiet — bow loosely gripped, her gaze flitting from shadow to shadow.
"This place feels… different," she whispered.
Ren nodded slowly. "Yeah. The air's thicker here — full of mana."
It was true. Every breath carried that faint hum of energy, as though the forest itself was alive and watching. His instincts pulsed faintly in his chest, drawing him deeper in. This was the same direction the strange signal — the one his Forestry skill couldn't identify — had come from.
As they went further, the trees grew older and denser. Thick roots snaked across the ground like petrified serpents, and the canopy above blotted out most of the light. Yet between those shadows bloomed pockets of color — vivid herbs glowing faintly with blue, gold, and silver hues.
Lyra crouched, touching one of the glowing leaves. "These are high-grade healing herbs… I've only seen merchants talk about them."
Ren crouched beside her, examining the clustered plants. The area was teeming with vegetation — berries, fruits, medicinal stalks — far more than a normal ecosystem could sustain.
Too perfect, he thought. Like it's been growing untouched for years.
He resisted the urge to gather them all. His instincts told him it would throw the place out of balance. Instead, he made a mental note of the location and said quietly, "We'll come back here when we really need to. If we strip this place bare, it might never recover."
Lyra looked at him for a moment before nodding. "You're right. I'll mark the path in my memory."
They continued forward. The terrain sloped slightly downward until the forest began to thin — and then, without warning, the tree line opened into a clearing.
Both of them froze.
Before them stood a mansion — or what was left of one.
Its walls, once white stone, were now wrapped in green ivy and thick vines that crawled across shattered windows. The roof had partially collapsed, letting shafts of sunlight spill through the gaps. Wildflowers sprouted from cracks in the marble stairs leading up to an ornate door that hung half-broken.
"Is this…" Lyra trailed off, staring in awe. "A noble's estate?"
"Looks like it," Ren murmured, stepping closer. The ground was littered with pieces of glass and scattered remnants of furniture half-buried in moss. "But… no one's lived here for a long time."
The forest had swallowed the mansion whole — yet something about it felt preserved, as if time itself had stopped around it.
He ran his hand along the stone wall. The texture was smooth, unnaturally so — and faintly warm.
Lyra followed him to the entrance, hesitant. "You're sure we should go in?"
Ren's eyes drifted back to the overgrown doorway, where faint blue motes of light flickered, then vanished. "I'm sure. Whatever drew us here… it's inside."
She hesitated for only a heartbeat before drawing her bow. "Then I'll watch your back."
They stepped into the mansion.
Inside, the air was still and damp. Shafts of light pierced through the broken ceiling, illuminating floating dust and glimmers of pollen. Furniture lay overturned, and vines wrapped tightly around every surface — even the chandelier above, now hanging by a single chain.
But beneath the decay, something was oddly intact. The walls bore murals — faded but detailed — depicting what looked like a sprawling garden filled with glowing trees.
Lyra brushed her fingers over one of the paintings. "It's like… this place was once alive."
Ren nodded. "It still feels alive."
They made their way through the grand hall, their footsteps muffled by a carpet of moss. To the right, a staircase spiraled upward, swallowed halfway by roots. To the left, a set of double doors stood slightly open. A faint draft carried a floral scent from beyond.
Ren pushed the doors open.
The room beyond was a conservatory — or had been. Massive glass panels framed what must have been a garden room, now overtaken by vines and flowers glowing faintly in the dim light. In the center stood a fountain — its basin filled with crystal-clear water that shimmered faintly with mana.
"It's beautiful," Lyra breathed.
Ren approached slowly, drawn to the faint hum coming from the fountain. Something deep within him stirred — the same instinct that guided him to this place.
He crouched, dipping his hand into the water. The surface rippled, casting strange patterns of light onto his skin.
There, beneath the reflection, he saw something faintly glowing — a crystalline root buried deep in the fountain's heart.
"Lyra," he whispered. "There's something under here."
She knelt beside him, eyes narrowing. "It could be dangerous."
"Maybe," he said. "But it's definitely the reason we were led here."
The air shifted — a faint whisper of wind brushing through the overgrown leaves, carrying a scent both ancient and pure.
Whatever secret this mansion held, it wasn't just remnants of a forgotten noble's life.It was something older — something alive.
And Ren's instincts told him that finding it would change everything.
The air inside the mansion was damp and cool, the scent of moss and rot clinging to every breath. Sunlight speared through shattered windows, casting shifting beams across walls swallowed by ivy. Vines crawled along the ceiling like veins, gripping paintings and rusted chandeliers, nature slowly reclaiming what once belonged to man.
Ren stepped cautiously across the cracked marble floor, his boots squelching softly against the moss-covered surface. Lyra trailed behind him, bow at the ready, her eyes scanning every shadow and doorway.
"Hard to believe this was once someone's home…" she murmured.
Ren nodded, his attention drawn to faint glimmers beneath the overgrowth. "It's more like nature took it back. But something here… feels alive."
The Forestry skill pulsed faintly at the back of his mind — not enough to identify the target, but enough to make his instincts itch. Whatever had lured him here wasn't in plain sight yet.
They moved room to room — faded portraits on the walls, tattered curtains swaying from unseen drafts. The faint hum of mana in the air gave the place an eerie serenity.
Inside what used to be a study, Ren brushed away the vines on a collapsed desk. Beneath a thick layer of dust and damp parchment lay a small wooden case, its carvings etched with faint mana runes. When he opened it, a delicate emerald-green leaf shimmered faintly in the air before dissolving into faint motes of light that sank into his skin.
[You have obtained: Verdant Memory Leaf (Uncommon) — A preserved fragment of a long-lost druidic tree. Grants significant Forestry EXP when absorbed.]
A faint warmth spread through his hands as the knowledge of flora identification deepened — the shape of leaves, the color of mana traces in soil — all more vivid in his mind.
Forestry has increased to Level 8.
"Something happen?" Lyra asked, glancing at him as she brushed off an old shelf.
Ren smiled faintly. "Just… a familiar feeling. Like I learned something I'd forgotten."
They continued exploring, pushing deeper into the mansion until they reached a collapsed hall. There, half-buried under a tangle of roots, lay a chest of blackened wood, its metal bands rusted but intact. It took effort to pry open, but when Ren finally did, his eyes widened.
Inside, wrapped in faded silk, was a bow of pale silverwood, still gleaming despite the years. The surface shimmered faintly with a faint mana flow — steady, strong, and alive.
[You have obtained: Silverthorn Bow (Rare) — A relic forged from the Silverthorn Tree. Increases accuracy and piercing power. Slightly enhances mana channeling for arrows.]
Lyra's breath caught. "Ren… this—this is a relic-grade weapon!"
He smiled and lifted the bow, handing it to her without hesitation. "Then it belongs to you."
Lyra blinked. "What? But—this is rare. You could sell it for—"
"Gold doesn't pull arrows. You do." His tone was calm, certain. "You'll make better use of it."
Her fingers trembled slightly as she accepted it, feeling the mana hum in sync with her own. A faint glow pulsed between her hands and the bow before fading — a subtle resonance forming.
[Lyra's Archery proficiency increased.]
Her eyes met his, soft and conflicted. "Thank you, Ren. I… won't waste it."
They pressed onward. The final discovery came in a once-grand dining room, its table half-broken and covered in roots. Something glinted beneath a cluster of pale mushrooms. Ren knelt and brushed them aside, revealing a crystal orb embedded with a faint green swirl.
[You have obtained: Heartseed Orb (Rare) — Contains concentrated essence of natural mana. Grants Forestry EXP upon contact.]
The moment he picked it up, energy surged through him like a flood of forest wind. The pulse of mana sharpened his senses, deepening his understanding of nature's flow.
Forestry has increased to Level 9.
Lyra watched the light fade from the orb, then glanced around the hall. "You said you felt something calling you here, right?"
Ren nodded slowly. "Yeah. But it's not these. These are… pieces along the way."
"So, whatever you're looking for is still here."
"Exactly." His gaze drifted deeper into the overgrown mansion — toward a sealed, vine-covered staircase leading downward. The Forestry sense pulsed faintly again — stronger now, like a heartbeat.
Ren exhaled softly. "We'll stop here for today. The rest… we'll uncover tomorrow."
Lyra nodded, clutching her new bow close, a faint smile crossing her lips. "Then tomorrow, we find what's waiting for us."
As they stepped outside, the last rays of sunlight glinted off the mansion's ivy-covered roof — a hauntingly beautiful reminder that the forest never forgets.