Scene: Day Two – The Realization
After trekking through the dense underbrush, with raindrops teasing the canopy above and the wind picking up its chant, Oliver's boots met stone again. A familiar kind of stone.
He looked up—and froze.
The red-colored bridge.
The rushing ravine.
The carved marker: "First Canopy: Stonebark Expanse."
"…No," Oliver muttered, blinking as if trying to reset the landscape.
He had gone in a perfect circle.
The eerie feeling hit like a punch—he hadn't just been walking. He'd been guided.
Or worse… something in the forest had looped his path.
> 🌀 Systematic Notice:
"Pattern anomaly detected. Traveler has returned to a previous coordinate point. Possible environmental misdirection or mild spatial displacement active."
Spatial displacement. Oliver's stomach turned. This wasn't just walking in circles. Something wanted him close to this place.
The Stonebark Expanse wasn't normal.
Maybe the trees weren't regrowing by nature alone.
Maybe the forest itself… was alive.
He took a breath and pulled out a Map Sheet from the Systematic menu — only to find it glitching slightly, the same red bridge icon blinking rapidly.
Then, an idea struck him—leave a mark.
But not a simple scratch or a stone.
He gathered his Vita, infused it with wind and carved a floating glyph in the air over the bridge—his signature, a metaphysical tag that only he could trace. Then he conjured a bright watermark rune into a tree trunk nearby, faintly glowing blue.
> "If I see this again... I'll know for sure."
With his grip tighter on the stone sword, Oliver whispered to himself:
"Time to trick the forest before it tricks me."
This wasn't just about direction anymore.
Now it was a game of wits — between Oliver... and the Stonebark mind.
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Scene: A Glimpse of the Unknown
Oliver stepped over a tangle of roots, pushing past ferns damp with morning dew when something—just for a second—flashed in the corner of his eye.
A flicker of green light. Soft. Glowing. Floating.
He froze.
There, hovering briefly between two trees wrapped in ivy, was a figure no larger than a hand. A faint shimmer of wings, translucent and fluttering like dragonfly silk. A faint trail of bioluminescence lingered as it darted upward—and vanished.
Gone.
Oliver's breath caught, and before he could speak, his hand instinctively activated:
> [Investigation] Activated…
The words blinked across the Systematic Guide.
> Unclassified Entity Detected.
Spiritual Lifeform – (Insufficient data)
Possible Affinity: Light/Nature
Threat Level: —
Classification: Incomplete
Recommended Action: Observe. Do not engage.
> "...So I didn't imagine it," Oliver muttered, eyes scanning the space where it had been. "Spiritual lifeform. What are you?"
But the forest had already closed back in. Only the sound of rustling leaves remained, and the faint echo of birdsong. No green glow. No wings. No presence.
Still, something lingered—not danger, but curiosity.
Was it watching him? Guiding him? Testing him?
Oliver pressed forward with a slower, quieter pace now—eyes scanning upward through the canopy, his senses just slightly more sharpened. Because in these woods, the unknown was real. And now, it had noticed him.
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As the morning pressed into 10:00 AM, a deceptive stillness lingered in the woods.
The air smelled of moss and moisture, the aftermath of the night's dew still clinging to leaves. Birds chirped overhead. A breeze rustled the canopy softly. Everything seemed… peaceful.
Oliver had lowered his guard just slightly. His stone sword rested loosely in one hand, the other tucked to his side as he stepped over a fallen log.
Then—
> CRACK.
A sharp snap of a twig behind.
Before he could turn—a blur of movement, bark-skinned limbs, and glowing yellow eyes lunged at his side.
> "Tch—!"
Oliver reflexively pivoted, instincts sharpened from the night before. In one swift motion, his stone sword slashed sideways with enough force to knock the wooden imp clear off its lunge. The creature screeched, stumbled back—but Oliver didn't hesitate.
One clean downward strike.
> [Wooden Imp Defeated]
+1 point
Tree Sapling Collected
Silence returned, but Oliver stood frozen for a moment, his breath steadying.
> "Even now… they don't give up."
He glanced at the felled imp, then back into the dense underbrush.
Nothing else stirred.
The peace had returned—but it was a fragile, false peace. A reminder that in this forest, danger could be hidden under the leaves, behind the trunks, or waiting for you to blink.
Oliver gripped his sword a little tighter now, gaze sweeping left to right as he continued down the path—no longer relaxing, not for a second.
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