"Ryaaaaaaaan..." A voice resounded through the deepest depths of The Groove Canopy, specifically from the eastern side of the ancient forest—the southeastern direction from Koladar City where I had begun my new yet old journey not long ago.
"Ryaaaaaaaann... wheeeeerree aarreee youuuuu..." The voice persisted, clearly unconcerned about the myriad dangers lurking within the primeval woodland. The call echoed between massive tree trunks, disturbing the natural quiet and likely alerting every predator within a kilometer radius.
I sighed, focusing on maintaining my concentration despite the irritating interruption. Currently positioned at the eastern boundary of The Groove Canopy, I was fulfilling the promise I'd made to Yddra—ensuring that the species she favored wouldn't end up in jeopardy. During my exploratory strolls through the area, I'd sensed several interesting and potentially dangerous beings lurking at the forest's edges, entities that warranted careful monitoring.
My method of keeping this promise was essentially what Yddra had been doing all along, but with a significant upgrade: deploying barriers powered by a higher quality of mana. The Groove Canopy was truly massive in terms of the area it covered—an ancient woodland that defied conventional classification.
According to Codex's running narration in my mind, this jungle had spawned during Gaia's earliest geological formation. In those primordial days, when even the planet's surface reached temperatures comparable to its mantle near the outer core, a singular tree-like being had "planted" itself here and propagated an entire ecosystem as its territory.
It was no mystery that this being was the fragmented consciousness of Yggdrasil—Yddra, whose first objective upon arriving in this particular universe was to secure her weakened form. In her current state, she could barely circumvent certain causality and karmic laws to properly utilize her powers, reduced to merely being an extraordinarily potent source of life force and healing abilities that the gods of this universe would kill to possess.
Her capabilities were nothing short of miraculous; as long as an injured being reached her in time and she was willing to help, they could essentially avoid death. Any death. Every single time. In essence, mortality itself was a concept Yddra routinely dismissed, chewing it up and spitting it out daily. How such capabilities functioned when she was this weakened compared to her true form as a Nova Primordial astounded me to the point of dizziness.
This understanding led to my current task: utilizing the mana geyser that Gaia had so conveniently provided to help protect Yddra. I was meticulously placing nodes for a grand barrier formation whose culmination would be a Tier 6 immortal-level barrier, focusing on defense through a mixture of earth and life mana attributes, reinforced with space and time aspects to ensure that Yddra's domain would become even more impenetrable than it already was.
Additionally, I was avoiding the young female who—as I'd recently discovered—wasn't actually as young as I'd initially thought. She'd been following me around persistently, which was growing increasingly annoying. I couldn't comprehend what sort of dependence she'd formed, and when I asked Codex if this was a side effect of healing and upgrading her core with primordial mana, he simply responded:
"My lord, if you operated on every single being who needed aid at a core level without even influencing their soul, they'd practically be in constant conflict with themselves. How can you conquer a person's core and leave their soul? It sounds stupid, if you ask me..." His reply was curt, as if stating an obvious fact that everyone should know.
This explanation did nothing to solve the mystery of why the female Groove Guardian cub—whose parents I'd learned were named Haruk and Scheya Garun of the Garun tribe—had attached herself to me like a second shadow. The couple were termed the "alpha pair" of the Groove Guardians simply because of their strength and their tribe's close affinity to their goddess Yddra. Their exalted status made them the strongest of their kind, both comfortably seated at Class-5 demigod rank—the peak of what the mortal realm offered, beyond which one had to ascend to the immortal realm.
Yet despite their knowledge of ascension—information they uniquely possessed due to their patron goddess living among them—there was literally no Groove Guardian who desired to ascend and endure the struggle and pain of a higher plane. These beings were among the few who understood the exact details of ascension, with Yddra having taught them extensively about their culture and way of life.
Consequently, their daughter—Shion Garun—was essentially the princess of their species, her parents functioning as the emperor and empress over all others. Her bloodline status had only been elevated after I healed her from damages that, by all rights, should have been fatal—a miracle I still couldn't fully comprehend.
For the past three days, as I'd taken time to survey both the edges of the Groove Guardians' domain and the larger jungle beyond to assess the mana geyser's size and output, the little "princess" had clung to me, relentlessly curious about my activities.
When she first showed such interest, I flatly returned her to her parents, who reacted with contrasting expressions. Haruk displayed a wry, fearful smile, as if he'd lost something precious, while her mother absolutely beamed with joy. Their reactions baffled me completely.
"Listen here, she's a kid. I'm an adult. I most definitely do not want to be part of whatever she's thinking..." I had commented once I'd first gotten fed up with her uncannily accurate tracking of my movements.
"But she's not, my lord," Scheya had responded, maintaining that unsettling smile. "Our species ages and forms at completely different rates in both mind and body. If anything, to make a comparison, she's actually around the same age as what you appear to be right now... It's just that she's too shy to take her human form, aren't you, my dear?" The mother had turned to the "young" cub who I'd discovered wasn't so young after all.
Shion had completely ignored her mother's comment, turning her head to observe her surroundings and—was she whistling? The casual dismissal only reinforced my suspicion that she was indeed far more mature than her beast form suggested.
Since that day, I'd simply given up trying to reason with any of them. Which led to the present moment, with Shion frantically calling for me in this dark and dangerous forest where beasts stronger than her lurked, seemingly without a care in the world. What could possibly be going through her head?
"Ryaaaaaa...mmmffff..." Shion had started again, but having reached my limit of patience, I teleported directly beside her and clamped my hand over her muzzle.
"Are you trying to die? You do know I'm not responsible for your safety..." I admonished, looking up at her impressive thirteen-foot height in her beast form—a stark contrast to the smaller form I'd first encountered when she was injured. Apparently, she possessed a size regulation ability that she used to sneak out of their home, which had led to her getting hurt when we first met.
In her full-sized beast form, Shion was a magnificent sight despite my annoyance. Her fur had a distinctive golden-brown hue, more vibrant than others of her species, with intricate patterns flowing across her coat in shades of amber and copper that formed natural, runic-like designs. These patterns pulsed softly with inner light that seemed to flow like liquid sunshine beneath her fur, especially prominent when she was emotional—as she certainly was now.
Her antler crown, though not fully developed like her father's, already showed impressive complexity, with branches that curved upward in elegant spirals, each tipped with tiny buds that glowed with soft, emerald light. Unlike the more standard formations of other young Guardians, her antlers had unusual crystal-like formations growing at certain junctions, refracting the ambient light into rainbow patterns that danced across her fur.
Her eyes—large and expressive with the six-pointed star pupils characteristic of her species—were a unique shade of gold with flecks of violet near the centers, a combination I hadn't observed in other Guardians. Those eyes now glared at me with indignation as I muffled her calls.
Her tail, proportionally longer than was typical, ended in a flowering tuft that displayed a kaleidoscope of colors ranging from deep amber to bright gold, with occasional flashes of emerald that synchronized with her emotional state. The blooms seemed more numerous and complex than others of her kind, pulsing with subtle bioluminescence even in daylight.
Most notably, since her healing, the patterns across her coat occasionally displayed geometric shapes that weren't natural to her species—subtle echoes of the formations I'd used to reconstruct her core. These manifested as fleeting geometric patterns that appeared and disappeared like ripples across her fur, visible evidence of how deeply my intervention had affected her.
"Mmffmffff. Mfmf..." she tried to speak despite my restraining hold on her snout.
"Haaaah..." I sighed, releasing her mouth. "I really need to finish quickly."
"You liar! You are supposed to protect us. Mom said that Lady Yddra said so!" she retorted immediately, her voice carrying both indignation and triumph at having tracked me down.
"Also, that is no way to handle a lady!" she exclaimed, clearly aggrieved by my casual manhandling.
"As if I care. Just go back home and let me work in peace..." I dismissed her complaints, returning my attention to tracking the flow of mana from the geyser to locate the last node point for my formation. After completing this task, I planned to hunt the interesting beings I'd been sensing, carefully avoiding alerting them to my presence as I moved about.
"Not happening. I need to keep an eye on you in case you cause a scene like what you did with me," she insisted, following closely behind. "That plus you've got to take responsibility for my current state..." She raised her head with what I assumed was a smirk, her white, beastly teeth gleaming in the dappled forest light.
"Not happening," I stated flatly.
"But... but you have to!" she whined, her massive form somehow managing to look pitiful despite its inherent majesty. "I can barely even cast any of my skills properly! They all end up blowing up in my face! Take responsibility!"
Shion had been harping on this point from literally the first day. Despite having two demigod parents who could help her control her newly enhanced powers—powers now supercharged with the refined and compact mana I'd blessed her with during healing—she insisted that only I could provide the guidance she needed. What more she wanted from me remained a mystery that frankly irritated me to no end.
"Also, I have to do this now before you leave, since I know that dad and mom won't let me out of their sight at all..." she grumbled, clearly not accepting my refusal in any way.
"Then how are you here right now? You're pretty far from home for a kid..." I remarked with a smirk, knowing the comment would rile her.
"Heeeey! I…AM…NOT…A…KID!!! How many times do I have to say this?" she shouted, even louder than when she'd been searching for me, obviously piqued by my deliberate barb.
"Meh, don't know... don't care," I replied indifferently as I finally pinpointed the last node and approached its location.
"Aaarrrgh! What's wrong with you? Get it through your thick skull, for crying out loud!" she exclaimed, flowing behind me like an oversized, furry shadow.
And so our usual banter continued as we approached the final node point I'd selected, just a few meters ahead. Upon reaching it, I began the delicate process of laying out the formation and synchronizing it with the other points I'd previously established, all waiting for this last connection to complete the protective barrier.
The formation work required intense concentration. Each node represented a focal point where mana would be gathered, refined, and channeled into the barrier structure. The interconnections between nodes needed to be precisely calibrated—too weak, and the barrier would fail under pressure; too strong, and the imbalance could cause catastrophic energy discharge.
As I knelt to inscribe the necessary sigils into the earth, Shion fell unusually quiet, watching with unexpected intensity. The emerald glow from her antler buds brightened slightly, and I noticed the patterns across her fur shifting to mirror aspects of the formation I was creating—an unconscious resonance with the energies I was manipulating.
"Can you... can you explain what you're doing?" she asked after several minutes of silence, her voice softer and genuinely curious rather than demanding.
I glanced up, momentarily surprised by the change in her demeanor. For a brief instant, I saw not the annoying "princess" who'd been hounding me, but a serious student of magic, her eyes tracking the flow of energies with evident comprehension.
"I'm creating a barrier formation," I explained tersely, returning to my work. "When complete, it will enhance the natural protections of The Groove Canopy."
"I can see that," she replied with unexpected sharpness. "I meant the specific technique you're using. The mana conversion ratio is unlike anything I've seen before."
This observation gave me pause. She wasn't wrong—the method I was employing wasn't native to this realm, drawn instead from knowledge my variants had acquired across multiple dimensions.
"It's not a technique from this world," I admitted, continuing my work without looking up.
"Obviously," she snorted. "But the principle seems adaptable. If I could understand the fundamental approach, maybe I could modify my own skills to accommodate the increased energy flow I've been struggling with."
Her reasoning was sound, and for the first time, I recognized that her pursuit might not be mere childish attachment but a genuine need for guidance with her transformed abilities. Still, old habits die hard.
"Figure it out yourself, princess. I'm busy," I deflected, focusing on completing the node.
Rather than the outburst I expected, Shion simply sat back on her haunches, observing with that same intense focus. "Fine. I'll watch and learn."
And watch she did, her gaze never wavering as I finished embedding the final node and began the activation sequence that would link all points into a cohesive whole. As the formation powered up, mana flowing visibly through newly established channels between nodes, the ambient energy in the area intensified dramatically.
The forest around us responded to this surge—leaves turning toward the energy flow like flowers tracking the sun, small creatures emerging from hiding to bask in the enriched mana environment, even the soil itself seeming to grow more vibrant where the energy lines passed.
When the final connections established themselves, the entire network pulsed once with brilliant light before settling into a subtle, continuous glow visible only to mystical senses. The barrier was established—invisible to normal perception but a formidable shield against any who might threaten The Groove Canopy.
"It's beautiful," Shion murmured, her voice soft with genuine appreciation. In that moment, the sunset light filtering through the canopy caught her fur at just the right angle, illuminating the complex patterns across her coat and the crystal formations in her antlers. The effect transformed her from merely impressive to truly otherworldly, a living embodiment of the forest's magic.
I stood, brushing dirt from my hands. "It's functional," I corrected pragmatically. "Beauty is irrelevant to its purpose."
"Only someone who doesn't understand true power would say that," she countered, rising gracefully to her full height. "The most potent magics always carry aesthetic harmony—it's a reflection of their internal balance."
The observation was surprisingly insightful, echoing principles I'd encountered in my studies but hadn't expected from her. I found myself reassessing my estimation of her intelligence, if not her maturity.
"Perhaps," I conceded minimally. "Now that this is complete, I have other matters to attend to."
"Those…. creatures….," she stated rather than asked. At my sharp look, she continued: "I've been watching you track signs for days. Whatever you're pursuing has left impressions even I can detect, though I don't recognize the energy signature."
"All the more reason for you to return home," I advised. "What I'm hunting isn't something you should encounter."
For once, Shion didn't immediately argue. She studied me thoughtfully, head tilted slightly to one side. "You're going after the dark-walkers, aren't you? The ones that have been skirting our borders since the last full moon cycle."
"You know of them?" This was unexpected. I'd assumed the entities I'd detected were unknown to the Guardians.
She nodded, the movement sending ripples of light through her antler crystals. "We've always known of them, but they never breached Lady Yddra's barriers before. Recently though, they've grown bolder, testing the boundaries as if sensing weakness."
This aligned with my observations. Since Yddra had entered her healing sleep, the protective energies she'd maintained had weakened slightly—not enough for a direct intrusion but sufficient to embolden those who might have previously kept their distance.
"All the more reason for my barrier," I noted. "And all the more reason for you to return to safety."
"Or all the more reason for me to accompany you," she countered smoothly. "I know this forest better than you ever could. I know where they're most likely to gather, where they've been most frequently detected."
I frowned, considering. Her knowledge could be valuable, but the risk... "Your parents would never allow it."
A sound escaped her that could only be described as a laugh—a rumbling, musical noise utterly unlike human laughter yet unmistakable in its mirth. "My parents know better than to try to contain me when my mind is set. Besides, they trust you after what you did for me. Mother practically pushed me out the door this morning."
That explained Scheya's beaming smile and Haruk's resigned expression. They hadn't just tolerated Shion's attachment to me; they'd encouraged it.
"This isn't a game," I warned her. "What I'm hunting could be genuinely dangerous, even to you."
"Which is exactly why you shouldn't go alone," she insisted. "Two sets of senses are better than one, especially when one of us knows the terrain intimately."
I sighed deeply, recognizing the logic in her argument even as I resented the complication since mine were far much better than what she could come up with. "Fine. But you follow my instructions without question. The moment I tell you to stay, you stay—no arguments, no heroics."
Her entire demeanor brightened, the patterns across her fur glowing more intensely with evident excitement. "Agreed! I'll be the perfect hunting partner, you'll see!"
"Partner is stretching it," I muttered, already regretting my decision. "Guide and observer, nothing more."
"Of course, of course," she agreed too readily, practically bouncing on her massive paws. "So, where do we start?"
I extended my mystical senses, sweeping the area for traces of the entities I'd been tracking. "We start by moving silently," I emphasized pointedly. "And heading northwest. I've detected unusual energy fluctuations in that direction."
Shion nodded, her excitement visibly contained as she adopted a more serious demeanor. "The Old Hollows lie that way—a section of the forest where the trees grew over an ancient cave system. The dark-walkers have been seen there more frequently than elsewhere."
"Then that's where we'll go," I decided, setting off in the indicated direction.
As we moved through the increasingly dense forest, I couldn't help reflecting on how quickly my solitary mission had acquired an unexpected companion. Seriously, handling this girl and her princess-like antics was going to be exhausting for the days ahead. I already pitied the prey I had in mind—my growing annoyance would likely make their encounter with me far more unpleasant than it might otherwise have been.
Yet as I watched Shion move with surprising stealth for her size, skillfully guiding us along paths I wouldn't have detected, I reluctantly acknowledged that her assistance might prove valuable after all. Whether that value would outweigh the irritation of her company remained to be seen.