Entering, was like walking through a bubble. Like an invisible film had been in place, stopping what is inside from leaving. While attempting to keep what is out, away. As if attempting to stomp out contamination.

As for which side was the contaminated one, it was likely the outside world. Walking in, the temperature dropped a few degrees. Making it noticeable different from outside. At the same time, the air felt heavier.

This was all caused by the increase in mana. Those ancient beings, from powerful to weak, all feeding the wilds. It was not just the animals and beasts that benefited from this. There was a sense of life coming from the forest.

It was hard to really put into words, if Jessica had to. She would say that the trees were breathing. Mana was extremely active. While everything in the world had mana, very few things, outside graded being, actively encouraged this.

Only by meditating and entering a state, being close to one with the world. Without that connection, one might breathe the mana from the air inside. Without a connection, the mana would filter through, possibly leaving only a vague residue that slowly benefits that person.

In this place, the trees were absorbing mana. Lower efficiency than even a terribly inpatient child’s first time meditating. However, this was a scary thing, combined with tints of wondrous. Most unknown things were like that.

From what Dayo had said, it was possible for plants to become graded beings. This required them to absorb enough mana to reach Grade F. Along with the fact that far and few in between have anything to defend themselves with. As unless they're given a massive mutation, they are waiting for any other living thing to come and eat it.

As mana is beneficial, it goes without saying that in the same way it brings about amazing abilities and enchantments to people. This stays true to anything that absorbs it. Which is to say that plants that become graded beings have insane effects if used to make medicine or just eaten raw.

For these reasons, this was both a blessing and a curse for the plants in this place. Though, if a plant had something to defend itself, like poisonous plants. These can gain abilities to produce ways to distribute those poisons proactively in self-defense.

While rare, Dayo said those only appear in the second to third layer on. In this place, she was not likely to get lost in the same way she did before. While the east forbidden zone had been mutilated by the dwarves. This caused its shape to change drastically.

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Everything was as it always had been here. Nothing had to be settled, nor was the path to the ocean eliminated. There was a reason only the dwarves had been able to take over land occupied by those ancient beasts and high graded animals.

Without cutting off the ocean. New creatures came and went. Some benefiting, while others never being seen again. It was unknown what relationship the forbidden zone held with the ocean. What was known was that without stopping anything from coming inland. The forbidden zone would never fall.

In that way, the creatures became stronger the closer to the ocean. Meaning there was a stable structure in this place. First layer was home to non-graded beings, and Grade F. This didn’t mean, Grade E or D couldn’t be found here.

Because of the lower mana so far from the ocean, it was just not common. As for a Grade C and above. Those would need a good reason. It required sophisticated techniques to turn mana from initial stage to a higher grade.

Depending on their mana talent. For Jessica, that didn’t have outstanding mana talent. She could not absorb the highest degree of purity mana. This caused her to need to meditate longer for the same efforts.

For someone like Cassie, she would be able to reach a deeper level connection with the world, allowing her to access the purest mana. At the same time, because of the low density, Cassie would take a lot longer to regain her spent mana as a Grade B.

Though at the moment, what was important was for Jessica to use the technique she had recently learned. Being interested in testing it without being able to. Cassie focused a lot on stealth. When she has to expose her identity, she wished to prolong the exposure as long as possible.

In her words, “It is never a good idea to push yourself to absolutes. For example, my identity is only secret for now. As time goes on, it will inevitably be exposed. Until that time, I simply work on prolonging it.”

Using a unique manner, Jessica essentially used dirt to mask her smell. Metaphorically of course, though there was some literal sense to this. Using mana, this technique took air from the surroundings. While restricting her own, it used air around her to make it more difficult if not impossible to sense her.

When Jessica used it, this was the most she could do. If it was Cassie, she was able to use the natural mana in the surroundings to mask her entire existence. Jessica would only appear to be a native.

She would be lying if she wasn’t curious to what level it would work. With this thought, she held herself back from attempting to push her luck. Being in someone else's house, she couldn’t afford to do whatever she pleased.

With only a few days to get accustom, she tried to track anything in her surroundings. As a Grade D, Cassie didn’t bring her to the edge of the first layer. The reason nobody was near them, was that their entrance was near the north, deeper into the first layer.

Using this spot, they were able to enter at the boundary. This also meant that there would be fewer people here. She needed to keep track of her direction, as she could find trouble if she delved deeper. However, each layer had a noticeable change in mana density, making it easy to differentiate.

Utilizing her nameless elven technique, she quietly as possible. Scouted her surroundings. Looking to get the lay of the land, while finding tracks of anything she might be asked to hunt. In this way a few days went by.