The forest never stopped.
No place in Arcadia ever truly stopped.
The days moved forward far too quickly — even for Ariana.
Meanwhile, the humans continued changing alongside the world.
Noah had been chosen as the group's leader after countless discussions over the past few days. Naturally, everyone gradually began following his decisions. He organized tasks, distributed work, and always made sure the cave remained safe.
And the shelter already looked very different from before.
The old disorganized piles of fruit had disappeared. Now, the food was separated inside the bags created by Rosy and Steh. The seeds also began being carefully stored inside small improvised leather containers.
The spears remained lined up near the walls.
The stone tools had improved.
The beds made from animal leather made the ground far less uncomfortable.
Even the cave entrance had changed.
Using cut logs tied together with ropes made from plant fibers, they created something similar to an improvised door. During the night, the structure was placed at the cave entrance, leaving only a small opening at the top for the campfire smoke to escape.
Now… that place truly felt like a home.
When night arrived, the group went to sleep early.
Outside, the constant sound of rain began echoing through the mountain. It was not a violent storm, only a calm and continuous rain that made the air even colder.
Even so, nobody suffered as they once had.
The leather blankets kept their bodies warm.
When morning finally arrived, Rosy was one of the first to wake up.
Steh came out shortly afterward.
The air was still damp from the rain the previous night, and small droplets slowly slid down the rocks near the cave entrance.
Almost instinctively, Steh walked toward the place where they had buried the seeds Ariana had given them.
She knelt before the wet soil.
Her gaze remained fixed on the ground for a few seconds.
Then she slowly passed her hand over the damp surface.
And at that moment… something happened.
An extremely gentle bluish energy began escaping from her fingers.
Mana silently flowed into the soil.
But Steh did not notice.
At that same moment, the sound of footsteps caught her attention.
Rosy was approaching.
"Still thinking about the seeds?" she asked with a small laugh.
Steh opened her mouth to answer.
Then Rosy suddenly stopped.
Her eyes locked onto the ground.
"It sprouted…"
Steh blinked in confusion.
"What?"
Rosy slowly pointed toward the soil directly beneath Steh's hand.
A small green sprout had emerged.
Steh's eyes widened immediately.
A few seconds ago… there had been absolutely nothing there.
Steh continued staring silently at the small sprout.
Her heart was beating fast.
Rosy immediately knelt beside her, bringing her face close to the tiny plant as if afraid it might disappear at any moment.
"It really grew…"
The rest of the group soon came out of the cave as well, drawn by the commotion.
Noah frowned when he saw the small sprout emerging from the soil.
"So Ariana was telling the truth…"
Akile crouched beside the plant and carefully touched one of the tiny green leaves.
"So this becomes food?"
"Not yet," Rosy replied. "But it will."
For a few moments, everyone remained staring at the small plant.
It was something simple.
Small.
Fragile.
Even so… it felt important.
Perhaps because it was the first time they had seen food appear without needing to hunt or search the forest.
After some time, Noah stood up.
"We can't spend the whole day staring at this."
He grabbed one of the spears near the cave entrance.
"Let's make use of the early hours. I want to explore the region beyond the river."
The others slowly agreed.
Not long afterward, the group left the cave once again.
Meanwhile…
Far away from there, deep within the forests of Arcadia, small green figures moved between the trees.
The goblins continued spreading.
A small group of goblins ran desperately through the forest.
Agitated grunts escaped their mouths as they rushed through bushes and trees in panic.
Behind them, two large wolves advanced through the woods.
The goblins had no weapons.
No organization.
The only thing they could do was run.
The chase continued for a long time.
The goblins crossed a narrow river, nearly stumbling over the wet stones, already completely out of breath. On the other side, the wolves finally slowed down.
The pack did not want to hunt them.
Only drive them away from their territory.
After watching the small green creatures disappear among the trees, the wolves simply returned to the forest.
The goblins remained near the river for several minutes, drinking water while trying to recover their breath.
Then one of them suddenly stopped.
Its nose slowly lifted.
It sniffed the air.
Its small eyes widened.
"Food…"
A crooked smile appeared on its face.
"Food there!"
Immediately, the small group began running in that direction.
Not long afterward, they arrived at a cave.
The goblins stopped for a moment while observing the wooden-covered entrance.
Curious.
Suspicious.
One of them slowly approached and pushed the improvised structure blocking part of the entrance.
Creeeak…
The wood moved.
The goblins' eyes immediately lit up.
Food.
The smell of meat.
Fruit.
Leather.
They quickly invaded the cave.
They grabbed everything they could carry.
Knocked over bags.
Scattered fruit across the ground.
They examined the spears curiously before stealing some of them.
One of the goblins began pulling apart one of the leather blankets until it tore completely, strange laughter escaping alongside the others.
"Kekeke…"
A few minutes later, they disappeared back into the forest carrying the stolen resources.
Meanwhile, the human group was already returning from their exploration.
As soon as they approached the cave, Noah immediately noticed something strange.
The entrance was partially open.
He stopped.
The others stopped as well.
Then they entered.
The interior of the cave was completely trashed.
Fruit scattered everywhere.
Torn leather.
Tools thrown across the floor.
"Wow…" Steh murmured in shock.
"What happened here?" Akile asked while looking around.
Noah remained silent for a few seconds.
His gaze slowly lowered toward the ground.
Footprints.
Small.
Human… but not exactly.
"Someone was here," he said seriously. "And they took some of our things."
Tension immediately filled the cave.
They were not alone.
Far away from there, hidden among the trees, the goblins watched the group from a distance.
Some held stolen fruit.
Others carried spears nearly larger than their own bodies.
"Kekekeke…"
The creatures laughed as they disappeared into the forest once more, carrying the humans' belongings like trophies.