SSS Awakening: I Can Class Change at will

Chapter 189: The Rotten Pine Forest [2]

Yara had stared at them both with an expression of disbelief and acceptance. She knew the expressions on their faces very well, she had spent enough time with Moon and Selene to understand when they made up their minds about something.

“…Ah, just be careful. Nobody except the Benefactor truly knows what resides in that place. Perhaps dozens of powerful beasts like the Magma Queen take that part of the island as their home.”

Moon nodded his head with no real emotion on his face. On the other hand, Selene hugged Yara, comforting her. “Don’t worry sweetheart, we will return. We are strong, remember?”

Yara nodded her head, a weak smile on her face, “I-I just…don’t want to lose anyone anymore.”

Hiccup!

The sound uncontrollably escaped Yara’s throat. Yara could feel a lump forming in her throat but she held on, stopping herself from crying next her two friends.

♢♢♢♢

Now, standing once again at the forest’s edge in full daylight, Moon and Selene looked at the twisted darkness before them.

The oppressive atmosphere remained unchanged from their first visit. If anything, knowing the tragic history made the place feel even more menacing and unwelcoming.

They held torches in their hand for vision. It was better to hold a torch than to use fire to light up the place, just in case there was any mana-sensitive beast in there. Moon and Selene didn’t want to announce their presence that quickly.

“Ready?” Moon asked quietly, his right hand resting on his staff whilst his other hand held his torch.

“As ready as I’ll ever be for walking into a place that has killed almost everyone who’s ever entered.”

Moon allowed himself a slight smile. “Well, we’re not everyone. Let’s go find out what’s so dangerous the Benefactor himself warned people away.”

They stepped forward together, crossing the invisible boundary between normal wilderness and the Rotten Pine Forest’s domain.

Behind them, the familiar sounds of Lunaris Island continued their natural rhythm unchanged. Beast calls echoed, and leaves rustled with cold wind breezes.

Before them, within the boundaries of the Rotten Pine Forest, there existed only silence.

[You have entered a thousand life death zone.]

Reading through the notification flashing before her, Selene’s eyes widened instantly. She did not have enough lives to survive even a single death in this place, it was akin to a permanent death zone for her.

Instantly, she tugged at Moon’s sleeves with worry.

Moon turned to face Selene, with a confused expression. “I can’t die. I have one life only. But, let’s continue.” She whispered.

Moon’s expression grimaced at her words, but he nodded regardless. “Stay close to me.”

From that point, silence overtook the area once again. Moon and Selene maintained that heavy quiet through mutual agreement, completely abandoning the use of their vocal cords within this area. Their communication became hand signals and meaningful glances, both awakeners instinctively understanding that making noise in this place wasn’t the right play, at least not until they investigated some more.

Surprisingly, as they ventured deeper along a vaguely defined path between twisted trees, the forest proved rather empty of any visible threats.

The more distance they covered, the more confused both explorers grew about where the supposedly deadly beasts actually were hiding.

Based on Yara’s grim historical account, they’d reasonably expected some powerful territorial creature to immediately attack them within minutes of entering the Rotten Pine Forest’s boundaries. The story had strongly implied aggressive predators or guardian beasts that killed intruders on sight.

But that assumption was proving far from accurate reality.

Still, both experienced awakeners refused to let their defensive guard down despite the apparent absence of threats. They maintained constant vigilance, weapons ready, senses straining for any indication of danger they might encounter lurking in shadows or concealed within the twisted vegetation.

The oppressive silence remained absolute except for the occasional crackling sounds from their lit torches, the flames providing precious illumination against the unnatural darkness that resisted even fire’s natural light.

After what felt like approximately an hour of walking with no real predetermined destination or landmarks to guide them, Moon finally stopped his forward progress. He looked around in all directions for several tense seconds, ensuring their immediate area appeared relatively safe from ambush, before turning to face Selene directly.

“Something is wrong here,” Moon spoke quietly, his voice barely above a whisper despite their isolation. “It’s essentially impossible to find absolutely zero beasts in such a supposedly dangerous location. Every other part of this island is densely populated with wildlife and monsters. What do you think?”

Selene nodded agreement, conducting her own careful visual sweep of their surroundings for additional peace of mind before responding. “You’re completely right. Something is deeply unsettling about this entire situation beyond just the creepy silence. The complete absence of any living creatures is more disturbing than encountering predators would be.

Let’s maintain our current heading for another half hour of exploration. If we don’t encounter anything significant or find any clues about what makes this place forbidden, we should retreat and regroup. I’ve been carefully memorizing our path since entering. We can return to the entrance and simply choose a different direction for investigation.”

“Sounds like a solid plan,” Moon confirmed. “I’ve also been tracking our route too.”

The designated half hour observation period passed as Moon ensured accurate time measurement by continuously counting the minutes internally for the entire duration.

“Time’s up. We should head back now,” Moon announced quietly once his internal count had exceeded the planned threshold by some time.

Selene nodded solemnly, a visibly troubled frowning expression dominating her normally composed features.

The pair began retracing their steps along what should have been the exact same path they’d both memorized during their inbound journey, confused and frustrated by the entire expedition that had generated far more unsettling questions than useful answers.

However, their confusion wouldn’t remain simple disappointment for long.

As they walked back following the mental maps both had constructed with attention to detail, they slowly began recognizing several things that simply didn’t make logical sense given their careful navigation.

Sufficient time had already elapsed for them to have definitely returned to their starting point at the forest’s entrance. The math was straightforward based on their walking speed and distance covered.

But that expected outcome simply didn’t manifest into reality. Instead, they appeared to be traversing an entirely different path.

The entrance remained nowhere visible within sight despite having walked well past the point where it should have appeared.

Both explorers began seriously doubting their own memories and awareness despite their experience.

They stopped simultaneously, turning to stare at each other with grim expressions. The exploration had taken a unique twist, something they didn’t expect when they entered.