Chapter 177: Everglades
The festival was over.
The next morning, Greenroot felt completely different. The streets that had been filled with music the previous night were now filled with expedition teams. Hunters prepared equipment. Merchants loaded supplies. Beasts carried heavy packs.
The first-years gathered near the city gates.
Professor Roland stood before them with the other professors. He raised his voice.
"Before we leave, remember this."
The students gradually became quiet.
"The Everglades is a Restricted Secret Realm."
That alone changed the atmosphere. Some students straightened. Others swallowed nervously.
Roland gave the basic rules.
Stay with your assigned group.
Don’t wander into unexplored regions.
Report unusual Beast behavior immediately.
Don’t approach unknown ruins without professor approval.
If the professor tells you to retreat, you retreat.
Arthur quietly raised a hand.
Roland looked at him. "Yes, Arthur?"
Arthur pointed toward the fourth rule. "What counts as an interesting ruin?"
Silence.
Sun slowly covered his face. Mithra laughed.
Roland stared at Arthur. "Anything you are specifically told not to approach."
Arthur nodded. "That doesn’t answer my question."
"It answers it perfectly."
Athena quietly wrote something down.
Arthur looked at her. "What are you writing?"
"That Professor Roland has already learned how to deal with you," she said.
Arthur looked genuinely impressed. "He’s improving," he said.
Roland closed his eyes.
The enormous first-year group left Greenroot. The city gates slowly closed behind them. Arthur looked back and watched Greenroot slowly become smaller behind them. Ahead was nothing but wilderness.
The professors spread themselves throughout the expedition.
Twenty first-year professors. Some Silver Rank. Some Gold Rank.
Their presence alone changed the atmosphere. Beasts watching from distant trees immediately retreated.
Arthur noticed. "They’re running," he said.
Vedas looked toward the forest. "They’re afraid."
Eden looked confused. "Of us?"
Athena shook her head. "The professors."
Arthur looked at Roland in the distance. "They’re that scary?"
Sun answered immediately. "You somehow didn’t notice?"
Arthur smiled. "I noticed."
Sun narrowed his eyes. "That smile means you want to see what they’re capable of."
Arthur thought about it. "Maybe."
At first there was stone road but then dirt road and then a narrow trail. Then no road at all as the professors had to guide the students through the wilderness.
The environment gradually changed.
The trees became enormous, their trunks covered in naturally glowing moss. Vines hung from branches like enormous ropes. Some plants slowly turned toward passing people. Others closed when someone got too close.
The ground became softer.
Water began appearing between the roots.
Eventually the students realized they were walking through shallow wetlands.
Someone muttered, "This is already completely different from anything near Pathfinder."
Athena nodded. "The mana density is increasing," she said.
Arthur looked around. "By how much?"
Athena checked her equipment. "Almost three times higher than outside the Realm."
Arthur’s eyes brightened. "Three times?"
Athena looked at him. "Don’t."
"I didn’t say anything."
"You didn’t have to."
They encountered an enormous field of flowers growing across the wetlands. Each flower was closed. A student approached one. It suddenly opened. Inside wasn’t pollen. It was a tiny glowing orb of mana. Then dozens of flowers opened simultaneously. The entire field lit up.
The students stopped. Even professors were impressed.
Eden immediately flew forward. "They’re beautiful!" she said.
Melo looked at them. "They’re watching us," she said.
Arthur paused. "What?"
Melo pointed with her tail. The flowers slowly turned, all of them facing the students.
Sun took a step backward. "I don’t like that," he said.
Kong looked at the flowers. "Flowers," he said.
Sun looked at him. "Thank you, Kong."
Kong nodded. "You’re welcome."
Arthur laughed.
Athena studied them. "They’re responding to mana signatures," she said.
Arthur crouched. One flower slowly leaned toward him. His eyes brightened. "Can I touch it?"
Athena immediately said, "No."
Arthur looked at her. "You answered too quickly."
"Because I know you."
Further into the forest they began seeing Beasts. But something felt wrong. A group of strange amphibious Beasts watched the expedition from the water. They didn’t attack. They didn’t flee immediately either. They simply watched. One Beast slowly raised its head. Then another. Then another.
Arthur noticed. "They’re following us," he said.
Vedas nodded. "They’re keeping their distance."
Athy suddenly flew upward, circled once, then returned to Athena.
"What did you see?" Athena asked.
Athy gestured toward the forest.
Athena’s expression changed. "More Beasts."
Arthur looked around. "How many?"
Athena paused. "A lot."
Arthur smiled. "Interesting."
Sun groaned. "That word again."
Eden kept discovering strange things. "Arthur! Look!" She pointed at a tree with fruit growing upside down. "Why is it doing that?"
Arthur looked at it. "Maybe it likes being different."
Eden thought about it. "I like it."
Vedas smiled. "That explains a lot."
Arthur looked at him. "What does that mean?"
"Nothing."
Kong climbed onto a low branch. Sun looked up. "Don’t wander off," he said.
Kong pointed deeper into the forest. "There."
Sun followed his finger. A huge Beast was staring back. Sun froze.
Kong grinned. "Big."
Sun sighed. "You really only have one observation."
Kong nodded. "Big."
Vedas tightened his grip on his spear.
Melo’s tails slowly curled around his arm.
Vedas glanced down. "You’re nervous too?"
Melo shook her head. "No."
She looked toward the fracture. "I’m curious."
Vedas smiled. "That sounds familiar."
Melo looked toward Arthur. "Unfortunately."
Arthur glanced back. "Did you say something?"
"Nothing."
Vedas laughed. "You really do have good hearing."
Arthur smiled. "I try."
A professor suddenly stopped. The students nearly walked into each other. Arthur looked ahead. Through the trees was something enormous. Not a ruin. Not a Beast. A stone structure completely swallowed by the forest. Only the top was visible. But its architecture didn’t match anything they had seen. There were enormous circular openings built into it. Roots had grown through the structure.
The professors immediately ordered everyone to keep moving.
Arthur stared. "What is that?"
Roland answered, "Something we don’t have time to investigate."
Arthur looked at it. "So it is interesting."
Roland didn’t even turn around. "Yes."
Arthur smiled. "Good."
Sun sighed. "You two are going to be a problem."
Eventually the environment changed again. The sounds disappeared. No birds. No insects. No distant Beast calls.
The professors noticed first. Roland raised one hand. Everyone stopped.
Arthur looked around. "Where did everything go?"
Vedas’s hand moved toward his spear. Melo’s ears flattened. Athy stopped flying. Kong became completely still.
Even Eden lowered her voice. "Arthur."
Arthur looked toward her. "Hm?"
"I don’t hear anything."
Arthur’s smile disappeared. For several seconds nobody spoke. The silence stretched on, heavier than anything they’d walked through so far, and even the professors seemed to be listening for something that refused to make a sound.
Then Roland said quietly, "We’re close."
The trees finally ended. The students emerged into an enormous clearing. And there it was.
A massive ancient tree stump, so large that the first-years looked tiny beside it. Roots spread across the ground like roads. The center of the stump was hollow. But the hollow didn’t contain wood. It contained a fracture in reality. Reality twisted like shattered glass. The crack stretched vertically through the center.
Beyond it, endless wetlands, gigantic trees, glowing rivers, enormous plants, distant ruins, mist-covered mountains, strange Beasts moving through the vegetation, structures that appeared to have been swallowed by the forest.
The students went completely silent, the entire group holding its breath together for a moment none of them could name.
Someone swallowed. "We’re actually going in there?"
Another student nodded slowly. "That’s what the professors said."
"I thought the Everglades would just be a dangerous forest."
A third student stared through the fracture. "That’s not a forest."
"Then what is it?"
Nobody answered.
Somewhere behind them, a student nervously laughed. "Well... at least we won’t have to worry about getting lost."
His friend stared at the endless wilderness beyond the fracture. "We’re absolutely going to get lost."
"Don’t say that!"
A few students laughed nervously.
Even some of the professors smiled.
Athena looked at the fracture. "The spatial distortion is enormous," she said.
Mithra stared at the enormous fracture.
For a moment, she didn’t look amused anymore as her silver eyes reflected the shattered space. "So this is what we’re doing."
Arthur glanced at her. "Hm?"
Mithra smiled faintly. "A real expedition. With the Academy. With everyone watching." She looked toward the hundreds of students behind them. "It feels different this time."
Arthur looked back at the crowd.
Some students were excited.
Others looked nervous.
A few were already whispering about what they might find.
Arthur smiled. "That is true. I hope something interesting will happen again."
Mithra laughed softly. "Don’t let the others hear you say that."
"Why?"
"Because they’re hoping for a safe trip this time."
"But that’s boring!"
Mithra started laughing, but then another student stared at the fracture. "We’re supposed to go through that?"
Roland answered, "Yes."
Everyone else was nervous.
Arthur was fascinated and he took one step closer with Vedas following.
"Arthur."
Arthur didn’t look back. "Yeah?"
"You’re smiling."
Arthur smiled wider. "I know."
Eden floated beside him, her silver eyes sparkling. "What’s inside?"
Arthur looked through the fracture. He saw something enormous move between the trees. He couldn’t identify it. He didn’t know whether it was a Beast or something else. His curiosity only increased.
"I don’t know," he said. He smiled. "That’s why I want to find out."
Roland explained the transition. "Once you enter, stay with your assigned group. The Everglades is not an ordinary environment. Do not separate. Do not pursue Beasts. Do not investigate ruins."
Arthur raised his hand.
Roland looked at him. "Yes?"
"What if the ruins investigate us?"
Silence.
Sun slowly turned away. Mithra started laughing. Even Athena’s mouth twitched.
Roland stared at Arthur. "Then report it."
Arthur nodded seriously. "Understood."
The professors began sending the first-years through, one group at a time. Students disappeared into the fracture. White light surrounded them.
Arthur stood with Mithra, Sun, Athena, Vedas, Eden, Melo, Kong, and Athy. For a moment the nine of them simply stood there together, watching the light swallow group after group ahead of them, the fracture drawing steadily closer to their turn.
Eden grabbed Arthur’s hand. "Do you think we’ll see something we’ve never seen before?"
Arthur looked at her. "Probably."
"Something scary?"
"Probably."
Eden’s eyes sparkled. "Something pretty?"
Arthur smiled. "Definitely."
Eden grabbed his hand tighter. "Then I’m ready."
Arthur laughed. "Me too."
They stepped forward.
[New Title Acquired]
[Secret Realm Explorer]
[Enter multiple Secret Realms.]
[Passive Effect: Survival Instinct – The user gains a subtle instinct toward areas that should be avoided.]
White light swallowed them.
Arthur felt the ground disappear beneath his feet.
For one brief moment, there was nothing.
No sound.
No weight.
No sense of direction.
Then—
CRASH.