The three friends decided to plant their tent a few hundred meters away from the forest on a small grassland.

Having heard noises from it, they didn't want to risk being attacked during the night, so apart from putting distance between them and the forest, they decided to take turns keeping watch if something got near.

Being three, they decided that each turn would last for three hours, so each could get six hours of sleep.

As it was still early, after those nine hours, it would be early in the morning, the perfect time to start their investigation.

After setting up their tent, they prepared the food to have dinner before Nathan and Marianne went to sleep, leaving Travis on watch.

His watch went uneventful and was soon followed by Nathan's and Marianne's, which continued to be as peaceful as the first.

With the first daylight rays, the three cultivators had packed their tiny camp and were ready to start the forest exploration.

As they entered it, they soon found battle traces in the form of broken trees, disturbed earth, and large amounts of corruption in the air.

Not only that, but they also found some magical beasts' remains around. With a quick inspection, they realized they were half eaten, so whoever killed it decided to leave it at some point or felt forced to do it.

The further they went into the forest, the more changes they saw.

The last time they came, Travis had to go in front of the group to open the path, but this time, there were plenty of ways to advance as most of the vegetation was crushed or cut, creating various paths they could use.

Thanks to this, their exploration was much faster than last time, allowing them to explore large areas in no time by using Nathan's techniques and spells to scout around him.

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"Why is this so fucking quiet? It is giving me chills." Travis complained as he looked around.

"It seems like most animals are either hiding, have left the area, or are dead because I'm not seeing anything, not even birds of any kind," Nathan said as he scouted around with his spells.

"This probably has something to do with the appearance of the magical beast's symbol." Marianne pointed." After all, the turtle we fought used corruption rays as its weapon. Looking around the forest, it is clear that the corruption has expanded at a faster pace than it usually does, so it makes sense that those creatures that couldn't adapt to the new environment are no longer here."

"This reminds me of the creation of an elemental region. Maybe if we left it alone for a few more weeks or months, the forest would naturally become an elemental-region." Travis said.

"That's if the environment manages to become stable, because, in its current situation, I think it would become a barren and corrupted plain before anything else," Marianne said while laughing.

"Looking at how damaged everything is around here, I wouldn't be surprised if that happened," Nathan said while laughing.

After that small talk, they continued with their exploration.

The further they went into the forest, the more the corruption concentrated. From one point onward, the little vegetation that remained alive began to change.

The grass and bushes had become dry on the outskirts of the forest, clearly showing symptoms that they were dying. Now vitality had returned to the vegetation, but it came with a few changes. The vegetation's leaves had turned black while the branches were now silver.

The vegetation's density also returned, forcing Travis to return to the front of the group to clear the path for them again. As if they were reliving a past event, Nathan suddenly talked.

"Hey, guys. I think I have found something," he said.

"Destruction?" Travis asked jokingly.

"No, this time is different. I see a tree. A weird-looking one." Nathan said before pointing with his finger." That way."

Following Nathan's directions, they began to advance in that direction, and soon after, they found a clearing.

In the middle of it, there was only a large boulder and a four-meter-high tree, surrounded by magical beasts' corpses.

The tree had the same characteristics as the other vegetation, with its silver bark and its black leaves, but there was something else. Its branches were covered by complex-looking purple symbols that extended toward their ends, from where shining purple fruits were growing.

"What is that? And what happened here?" Travis asked as he walked a few steps forward.

But before anyone could reply, the boulder began to move, revealing that it was a giant turtle. This one was at least double the size of the previous one, and as soon as it stood still, it released a cry that resounded through the whole forest.