"You want me to follow you outside?" Axis asked, a bit wary.

Lyra bobbed her head, hopping a little closer to the window that overlooked the forest.

Axis smiled, a chilling cold look in his eyes. "Alright then, let's see where this goes."

They made their way down the hallways and out through the back door, with Lyra leading the way. The sun had begun to set, casting long shadows through the trees as they stepped into the cool, night air.

The forest felt alive. Every rustling leaf and shifting branch seemed to welcome them as they moved deeper along the winding trail.

{Ding!}

{New status condition: Friend of the Forest (temporary)}

Axis noticed a faint, gentle aura around him, an odd sense of connection with the plants and creatures that moved around. Even the insects buzzed past him without fear.

Lyra kept her steady pace, glancing back occasionally to make sure he was keeping up. The path grew denser, and the trees formed an intricate canopy that blocked most of the sunlight, yet a soft, guiding glow seemed to light their way.

Axis paused for a moment, looking around with curiosity. "So, the forest chose you as my guide… Does that mean you've done this before?"

Lyra glanced at him with a look that almost seemed amused, then fluttered her wings and gave another gentle chirp, almost as if she was laughing at his question.

" Right, right, it was a silly question "

'Insight'

{ Warning!}

{ Because of huge power gap between host and target only a portion of information will be revealed }

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Axis narrowed his eyes, intrigued by the warning. He hadn't expected that even Insight would struggle with Lyra. "Only a portion of the information, huh?" he muttered under his breath. "Let's see what's hidden behind those feathers."

The Insight skill activated, and a translucent screen appeared before him, displaying the limited information he could glean from Lyra:

{ status }

Name: Lyra (Uncontracted)

Species: Zephyris Bird

Rank: S+ [ potential: ??? ]

Bloodline: ????

Status: Guide of the Forest Trial, …

Affinity: Wind, Spirit, ….

Abilities: Gale Manipulation (Rank A), Spirit Bond { Rank unique }, Ancient Memory Fragment { Rank Ancient } , ?????, ???...

Note: Zephyris Birds are known for their swiftness, wisdom and are often guardians or guides in ancient forests.

{ Detailed analysis of stats is not available }

"I know you are intelligent enough to understand speech."

"Kerr?... "

"Why haven't you formed a contract yet?"

" Ke ee re rek kreee krr kree… "

"You mean you wanted to repay your favor?"

"Kreee…!" Lyra nodded as if affirming it.

'Strange how come I can understand what she is saying…'

"You mean that you have already repaid the favor?"

"kree… [ yes ]"

"Then why are you still hanging around? I could see that a lot of workers don't actually like you."

"Krr kre re ke kree [ yes, they don't trust me as I am not contracted. ] "

"I see."

"keree.. [ We are here ]"

Lyra went ahead circling an altar underneath an old tree, made of stone with a lot of scratch marks. The stone slate had some words carved into it.

{ Ding! }

{ The location of first task has been reached. }

{ Complete the first task. }

" Can you tell me what I need to do? "

"Kre.. [no] "

"Have to figure it out myself huh…"

{ Caution: For the purpose of the trial one of the hosts senses have been sealed temporarily. }

{ The sense to be sealed will be chosen at random. }

{ Sense of smell has been sealed. }

"Don't think it will affect me much, and it's temporary too, let's see." examining the stone slate the words carved on to it were unfamiliar, some lost even by the scratches on it.

"Must be pretty old."

'Now how should I go about reading it, I remember i had something that might help in this situation'

' System, Insight. '

{ Analyzing… }

{ Failed… }

{ Failed… }

{ Celestial insight is responding }

{ Analyzing… }

{ Failed… }

{ Failed… }

{ Blessing, the eyes that can see, is responding… }

{ Analyzing…}

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