Althea opened her eyes to see the others staring at her. Even Isa had joined in.

"What?" she asked.

"Oh, nothing, your grace." Isa replied. "Just, uh, admiring your talent."

Althea wondered what that was about. Even Hei had broken through two stages at once, it couldn't be that rare.

"What's next?" she asked.

"The Cliff of Im I suppose. Just at the end of the gorge." Isa answered.

Althea nodded and followed along, noticing a change in the mana that followed her along. There was a change in it. Mana was hovering around her, circling her in preparation for something. Did it sense that she was on the way to finding something out? Was that what tempted it? Why? The revelation was great for a Journeyman, but it shouldn't be anything important for mana.

Looking around, she wondered if someone else was the reason for the phenomenon. Gerard had broken through to Journeyman 2. Isa had reached Journeyman 7. The rest were still at their previous stages of cultivation.

The distance to the cliff was not large, not compared to what they had traveled before. And certainly not with how fast they traveled. Even this speed was simply a leisurely walk to her at this point. There was simply far too great a difference in cultivation.

The gorge deepened before them, widening to give the appearance of a cliff. On the surface, it was the same landform changing. But Althea could sense a difference. A difference in mana.

The island's tendency to rearrange itself randomly was rearing up again. The cliff was a different landform in itself. A landform that focused on Air.

Althea crouched at the location that the gorge changed into the cliff. A rather abrupt change from a collection of Earth to a collection of Air. The two elements collided in the air, unable to accept being so close to the other.

The air rushed through from the gorge to the cliff, kicking up a grand cloud of dust. The Earth mana bristled at the Air mana's entry, irritated at the disturbance. Air mana grew irritated at the Earth mana's irritation. But neither interfered with the other, air was too busy being free, earth too busy being still. The way they ignored each other seemed rather prideful to her.

Althea smiled despite herself. The two types of mana were so different. And yet so similar. Weren't these two supposed to be not related to each other according to magic rules or something? This technically did come under not related, she supposed. Air and Earth did not interact, they were simply too similar, had too much pride in their own nature to interact.

"Are you done, your grace?" Gerard asked.

"Yes." Althea replied, and then realized that others might benefit from getting a glimpse of this phenomenon.

"The gorge and the cliff combine here." she said. "The Air and Earth mana concentration is high enough to observe their interaction with each other."

Hei looked at Gerard, who just shook his head. A no then. Isa shrugged and began walking away. Another no. Did they not realize how rare this was? Or…was it only her that benefited from this?

Althea was starting to feel guilty, she was taking more time than any of the others. But she couldn't help it, she simply had to learn about the elements. This island was practically made for her, there was some special area around every other corner.

The three of them headed towards the edges of the cliff. The trees should be growing on the edge, their trunks protruding outside. The inordinate amounts of Air mana it was exposed to had mutated the trees, turning them, and their fruits, into something far more valuable.

But when they arrived there, there was a slight problem. The tree wasn't there. To be exact, it had been torn off.

"Looks like the air finally managed to tear the tree off." Hei said, a tinge of sadness in his tone.

"No." Althea growled, looking at the tree. The remains of the trunk jutted out from the cliff, the frayed edge implying that the wind had pulled it off. But her senses told her that was not the full story. "The tree was removed manually. There are traces of air spells here."

Gerard turned towards her in alarm. "Why would anyone do that? That-"

"To prevent others from getting the fruit." Althea said, looking down the cliff. "This isn't the only tree around, but each tree is important for the growth of its kind. The wind blows too fast here, the trees slow it down enough for the others to sustain it. That is why they grow smaller as we go on. This was the largest of the trees. Now that it is lost, the other trees will have trouble surviving.

"Then this could be the last season for Air fruits?" Gerard asked. "Perhaps we should collect as many as we-"

"If the Air trees fall, every other magical feature on this forest is in danger." she said. "The island is in a specific balance of mana, and like any balance, it is delicate. Even the spacial protection can fall if we let this grow. The Empires signed a treaty to prevent this very thing. This should not have happened."

Althea could almost sense it, the trembling in the mana around her. The change in the air. The chaos in a previously peaceful place. Of course, it was mostly her imagination. Just one Air tree had fallen. The other Air trees would still last for some time. That time would just be less than five years.

What did trouble her was that this had happened? The Empires’ representatives were observing the Hidden Land, they should have stopped this before it went any further. Why didn’t they? Was there some interference in the connection? If so, they were all in danger. The interference could very well block their ability to escape.

"Is there anyone with the forest or tree element among the candidates?" she asked, suppressing her worries.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

"Not that I know of." Gerard replied. Althea sensed someone coming up behind them, far away, they hadn't even entered the cliff yet. But she had extended her senses towards them anyway. The wind blade girl.

Althea called on the wind, willing it to send a message to her.

"The chief Air tree has been cut down. Do you know anyone that can heal it?" she asked through the wind. The answer was nearly immediate.

"Is it still alive?" the girl asked.

Althea sensed at it. Sensing other elements was difficult, but her Skill made it possible. There was a collection of air and tree mana still within the tree, but that was the limit of what he could sense.

"Perhaps. I cannot say." she replied.

"I have a mild affinity for trees. I shall be there soon." the girl replied.

"I shall lead the way." Althea replied, willing the wind to show the girl to the trees. The wind complied, far more willingly than she would have expected. This close to a cliff, the wind should have been too free to willingly listen, and yet it responded to her very eagerly.

Perhaps it was more closely related to the Air trees than she thought. Or mana had sensed the danger their falling posed. At least the cliff hadn’t disappeared. As long as there was some kind of coping mechanism on the island that the Empires’ activated, the entire island should not fail. But there could still be significant damage to the breakthrough flora. There was a relationship between them.

The trees reduced the flow of the wind, and absorbed huge amounts of air mana. Now that air mana was flowing more, it would eat up the gorge, and quite possibly other parts of the island too. The rivers’ flow would be altered, and the herbs could die. The smoke from the volcano would fly further than before, affecting ecosystems across the island. Even she could not tell what would be the end result.

The wind blade girl appeared, riding some kind of contraption up the cliff face. The fallen trunk and branches of the tree were beside her.

"I was able to call it up." she said in explanation. "But there isn't much life left in them. I don't think there is much use connecting it."

"I am not sure how much life is left in the roots, either." Althea said.

The wind blade girl looked at it. "The roots are keeping the tree alive, but just barely. A powerful healer will be needed to save it."

"Is there someone like that among the candidates?" Althea asked. The healing affinity was rare, and its manuals were even rarer, but this was an important event. A person with that affinity could be around.

"There was supposed to be one that could have helped, but he was...unable to participate." the wind blade girl, said. So the war had claimed his life.

The girl put her hand on the tree and gave it a jolt of mana. Althea felt the air and forest mana pulse a bit brighter, not too much, but it was something.

"That is the most I can do." she said, stepping towards the tree branches. "I fear that the trees may be done for."

Althea sighed as she sent a pulse of pure mana towards it. The others followed suit, the tree seeming much more vibrant after they were done. Althea doubted it would be enough to save the tree, but perhaps it would give it a chance. The pulse would die off, and the tree would not survive, not as it was.

"I will spread the word." the girl said. "Perhaps if enough people give it a boost, the tree might survive."

Althea nodded. "I shall do the same. The gorge and the cliff meet somewhere down the line. I found the interaction between Earth and Air mana worth observing."

The wind blade girl nodded and took off. Althea turned to Isa.

"Where next?" she asked.

Isa raised an eyebrow. "Aren’t you going to hunt for the one who did this?"

"Oh, I intend to bring them to justice. But doing it myself will be tedious. I shall leave handling them to the Empires. I doubt many will be impressed by what happened here." she said.

In fact, she was sure there would be demands for the person to be made an example of. Althea doubted they knew what they had done. The tree might have been broken by air mana, but that did not mean that the person that did it had knowledge of what they had done. The only question remained, did the Empires know what had happened?

"The volcano is that way, but it isn't any close to erupting. The Lake of Alto is easier to access." Isa said.

"Lead the way." she said.

Isa nodded and they began their journey anew. The group was quiet, unnaturally so, as they walked. Perhaps they were simply worried they would encounter that forest. Althea doubted it was just that, but that was the one thing she could hope would change.

The scenery was quite different from the last time they had tried to reach the Lake of Alto. That gave her hope that they wouldn't encounter the strange forest again.

A desert like barren land stretched before them as they journeyed forward. A lake would be spotted from miles away in this kind of place. But she couldn't see it.

"How far is it?" she asked.

"The lake should be visible by now." Isa frowned. Althea suddenly wondered if something had happened to it too.

The five of them walked forward, their brows crinkling as they prepared for the worst. Hei looked the most worried for some reason. Glancing here and there as if he was afraid someone would attack them.

"Do you know something?" she asked him.

"No, your grace." Hei answered too fast.

"Are you sure?"

"Are you accusing us of something, your grace?" Gerard interrupted.

"No." Althea replied. "I just think you know something. Or have a suspicion."

Althea pointedly stared at Hei. The boy had proven to be intelligent, whatever had him acting skittish was dangerous.

"I am not sure about it, your grace. I would prefer not to mention it at all, " Hei cautioned. "Even I would not trust it."

Althea shrugged. "I do not have any ideas at the moment. If you even have an inkling of one, it is better than what I have."

"A protector was killed." Hei said.

"Yes, that is why we went into the jungle in the first place."

"After that, we encountered a forest that we could not pass through. The forest was abnormal, and so is this desert."

Althea now had a sense of what he was getting to. And it was improbable. There had been no reports of any creature good enough to cast illusions like this on the island. So it was either a contender, or something that hadn't shown itself before.

"The Air tree was cut." she remarked. That could prompt some unknown creature to surface. A protector of the island, perhaps?

"The amount of mana that remained suggests that it was cut not long before we got there." Hei said.

So he had sensed it. Well, he had to have, after sending a pulse into the tree. But she had a feeling he'd sensed it even before that. Was he hiding how good his senses were? Why?

"Yes, but what if that person tried to do the same in the Lake of Alto?" she asked, observing him.

Hei paused, silent as he considered the ramifications. "The Lake of Alto is where mana accumulates on this island. If there was a powerful beast hidden, it would be there. The lake’s prodigious depth and ample mana would allow it to remain hidden for extended periods of time."

"So we're sitting in a powerful beast's lair?' Isa asked, unsheathing her sword as she looked around.

Althea suddenly remembered that they were where the Lake of Alto was supposed to be. The so-called beast’s lair.

The discovery was a little too late.

Mana was already building up around them, it had been since they got there. Althea simply hadn't noticed it before. An oddity in itself. Now, she couldn't not notice it.

"Run." she whispered as she called on as much mana as she could.

For some reason, she didn't think it would be enough.