Jonn, Roulf, Annabelle, Ice, and Windy traveled for several hours in their unique formation. Jonn rode atop Windy, while Annabelle perched on Roulf’s head, and Ice maintained position in the middle as they made their way from the village toward the West Royal Road.
The journey was mostly silent, broken only by the rhythmic sounds of hooves against the ground—the heavy thuds of the horse and bull contrasting with Ice’s lighter, more graceful footsteps.
This kind of travel was familiar and pleasant for Jonn. He savored the peaceful quiet along the way, enjoying the morning breeze on this sunny day.
The weather would have been perfect if not for the area’s dry air. However, being far from any water sources, the low humidity was unavoidable.
The mana in the region told a different story—it was tainted with the toxic remnants of countless warriors who had fought here in the past. Some areas had such dense concentrations that they were uninhabitable for ordinary humans, while others remained passable enough for groups to traverse.
Animals possessed an innate ability to sense mana, even without being able to control it. This natural sensitivity helped groups navigate the region, as their animals instinctively avoided paths with dangerous mana concentrations, choosing routes they could safely travel instead.
The Barren Hills of Deepshadow were crisscrossed with invisible paths, leaving vast areas virtually untouched by any except mages and beasts.
Taking advantage of this, Jonn chose a path that ordinary beings could barely tolerate for minutes, effectively concealing his movements from non-magical observers as he approached the area where he’d spotted tracks of exotic creatures.
The [Exotic Animals] mission had been active for months, yet the situation west of the village remained largely unchanged. Throughout their observation period, the village scouts had only noted the consistent movement of creatures near the border between Lost Treasures and Arcanis, though these beings never ventured too close to the village.
Their distant behavior had allowed Jonn to patiently wait for the right moment to tackle the mission. Still, [Exotic Animals] occupied his thoughts daily, knowing the potential danger these creatures posed even while “peacefully” inhabiting the unused western territories.
As his group neared the creature sighting location, Jonn’s earlier calm dissolved, his mind filling with thoughts of beasts, rare animals, and Arcanis.
The group slowed their pace as they entered an area marked with massive footprints and tracks from various creatures—a zone their people had designated with warning signs.
After slowing their pace for a few minutes, Jonn spotted a pair of village guards—today’s assigned watchers for the area.
“Village Elder,” the two men said in unison, rising from their wooden stools as their horses approached Jonn and Windy.
Jonn acknowledged them with a simple nod, remaining mounted as he spoke. “Return to the village. I’ll take over here. You’re dismissed.”
The guards, already briefed on the village’s plans, showed no surprise at Jonn’s directive.
As they began gathering their belongings, one guard spoke up, “Elder, there’s one thing you should know. About three hours ago, we noticed a large flock of birds circling in that direction, several kilometers from here. We’re not sure what to make of it.”
Jonn gazed northwest, in the direction the guard indicated—a path that would lead him into Lost Treasures territory within hours, and to human-controlled cities and regions within days.
The Barren Hills of Deepshadow, though not an ancient state, occupied a central position in Valorian. The region sprawled across multiple territories: Lost Treasures, Arcanis, Eldoria, the Nation of Thalassia, Lands of Etheria, and Sylvestria. While the region itself was vast, most of it fell within these established states. The unclaimed area where the Eternal Village stood was relatively modest—crossable by ordinary horses in less than two days in any direction.
However, once inside any of Valorian’s states, traversing the lifeless black region could take anywhere from days to weeks, depending on the territory!
Though all regional borders lay close to the village, human settlements were far removed—with Littlewood being the nearest city.
“I’ll keep that in mind,” Jonn said, his gaze fixed northwest.
The guards shared a few more routine updates with Jonn—minor details that held little significance at the moment. After just five minutes, he watched them depart on horseback toward the village while he proceeded on foot.
Jonn materialized the Celestial Magnifying Glass in his hands and approached the first large footprint, where he discovered animal droppings.
Though he had previously studied this area, his advancement to level 3 meant he could now glean new insights from reexamining things.
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His abilities, however, had limitations. Take an ordinary sword, for instance—studying it again after reaching maximum advancement would reveal only slightly more precise information, with minimal new discoveries. This changed dramatically with magical items, like the enchanted objects in his spatial ring, which possessed both magical components and classifications.
When examining items of higher quality than his mana cultivation level, [Analysis] would only reveal surface-level information. As his power grew, more details would become accessible, until he eventually became strong enough to fully comprehend the entire artifact.
His renewed examination of the creatures’ droppings and footprints didn’t reveal much new information about the western situation, but Jonn did discover one crucial detail: a subtle trace of mana in the animals’ waste.
They must either have access to mana-rich food, or there are beasts among them.
He already knew about at least one beast among the Triceratops—the [Exotic Animals] quest had made that clear in its briefing. However, the possibility of these animals consuming mana-rich food raised concerning implications.
This is troubling, Jonn thought. As I understand it, animals transformed into beasts by developing mana cores. While Aether Tears could trigger this transformation, the books also mentioned that consuming mana-rich food could lead to the same result.
Until recently, the Eternal Village only had mana-infused eggs and milk. It wasn’t until their animals became beasts—and mana began appearing in their waste, enriching the village’s plants—that the vegetation started producing mana-infused products.
Such mana-rich foods were far from ordinary, unlike the basic sustenance that had supported the village since Hewet’s death. They were rare and held immense potential.
Could these be Arcanis creatures expanding eastward?
This critical question surfaced in Jonn’s mind as Annabelle conducted her own analysis of the droppings before her master.
Jonn was well aware of Arcanis’s ongoing beast crisis. Their territory was virtually surrounded by beasts and animals, locked in a struggle against both magical and non-magical human forces for territorial control.
While the last war had nearly wiped out the continent’s mages, beasts had fared better. Many had taken part in the conflict—evident from the many animal skeletons scattered throughout the Barren Hills of Deepshadow.
But even decades after the war’s end, beast tribes maintained strong positions. From what Jonn knew, these creatures were steadily claiming territories once controlled by mages, demonstrating their post-war resilience.
However, the calamity ravaging the continent affected everyone. Though beasts were better off than mages, they weren’t immune to Valorian’s widespread problems.
Like all living beings, they faced the most basic challenge: the need for sustenance.
This natural limitation prevented any explosive growth in beast populations across Valorian. Even with their impressive post-war numbers, unrestricted expansion simply wasn’t feasible.
Yet in regions like Arcanis—ancestral home to some of the continent’s most renowned beast races—areas rich in resources and historically significant to beasts could create the illusion of impending beast dominance over the continent.
Jonn considered it possible that beasts might soon establish their own states and govern their territories—something unprecedented during the mage-dominated era. What puzzled him was their eastward expansion.
The Barren Hills of Deepshadow held little charm for beasts. Its toxic mana offered no nourishment, and the area is devoid of food. So why venture here? Could this be part of a larger strategy targeting Eldoria and Lost Treasures?
Arcanis was hemmed in by nearly impassable mountain ranges. Besides crossing the sea, the Barren Hills of Deepshadow offered the best route out of the state.
While Jonn pondered these possibilities, Annabelle spoke up, “Master, are we planning to add new animals to the Great Eternal Village? These creatures we’re looking for are a bit too big. They’re not like Roulf.”
Until now, Jonn hadn’t explained their mission’s true purpose to Annabelle.
“No, we’re trying to understand why they’re approaching our territory,” he corrected her, prompting the hen to tilt her head inquisitively.
“Could they be trying to find us? They are changing into something more, master. When they eat other beasts, or animals that are changing too, they change much faster!” she said, causing Jonn to turn his attention to his companions with renewed concern.
This possibility hadn’t occurred to him.
Beasts guard their mana even more effectively than mages… But do they possess some special instinct or ability to track other beasts? Something beyond my capabilities?
“Annabelle, can you detect beasts even when they’re concealing their mana?”
“Annabelle can smell dangerous creatures. Beasts are dangerous,” she replied in her characteristic childlike manner.
“Do the others share this ability?” he asked, gesturing toward Ice, Roulf, and Windy.
“Yes.”
I see… Could these creatures be targeting our village’s animals? No, that doesn’t make sense. If they’d discovered what we have in the village, they wouldn’t have waited months to act.
Still, this is good information. I’ll need to find ways to conceal the invisible trail our beasts leave behind. We can’t risk attracting carnivorous groups hunting our animals…
Triceratops are herbivores, so they likely aren’t a direct threat to our village’s animals. But other groups in this unusual situation might include carnivores.
“Annabelle, can you pick up the scent of beasts in this area? Can you tell how many there are?” he asked, crouching beside the hen near the dried droppings by the massive footprints.
She nodded affirmatively. “Annabelle knows! Not many came to play here, but lots of animals who will grow up to be big and strong have visited this place!”
Though intelligent, Annabelle naturally couldn’t provide exact numbers, but her general assessment was sufficient for Jonn’s needs.
He rose to his feet, gazing toward the dark horizon where, though empty now, he had previously observed Triceratops’ movements.
“Let’s proceed. Today we’ll get closer to these creatures,” he announced, mounting Windy and heading toward the danger zone his village had marked.
“We’ll scout the terrain ahead first. Then you’ll point me toward where you sense these beasts you mentioned,” he instructed Annabelle. All the animals understood his directions, particularly Ice, who eagerly rushed ahead of the group, keen to show his tracking abilities to his master.
Annabelle responded with a confident cluck, ready for any challenge, while Roulf and Windy followed with alert expressions, prepared to defend their master against any threats.
The distance between their observation point and the area where the village had spotted the Triceratops was short. Soon they reached the location, now vacant but bearing clear evidence of the herd’s passage from weeks ago.