I never found out what sort of creature was prowling the area. Its journey through the undergrowth never took it close to my little spot on the edge of the river. Though I thought I may have heard some moaning in the distance, nothing else disturbed me as I settled in for the night.

Over the course of the night, I repeatedly relived my panicked flight from the heat eating beetles. Once again, the visions focused on the magic that the monsters were using.

I couldn’t make out the mana forms from the bugs' magic as easily as I could with the large spiky monster. I didn’t have my mana sight active while I was fleeing from the beetles, so I was forced to rely on my natural perceptions of mana.

I was quite fortunate that my sense of pain was muted during my visions. Experiencing the bug exploding in my hand repeatedly would have been quite unpleasant otherwise.

As the sun rose, I was released from my bug filled visions. I suppressed a groan, feeling like I had hardly slept. The dream study was anything but restorative. As much as I liked the insights granted by the ability, my nightmare filled sleep was somehow more restful.

With some trepidation, I mentally turned off the subfeature. I was probably going to have to face my nightmares at least every other night if I didn’t want to collapse while walking. Perhaps my occasional reprieve would make the dreams less unpleasant?

I wasn’t holding my breath.

Not expecting to get any more sleep I slowly opened my eyes. I froze as I realized that I wasn’t alone on the riverbank. Something was standing just a few paces away at the river's edge.

The creature was covered in long golden fur that shone in the morning light. Its long, slender body was bent forwards so that the being could drink from the river. Each of the creature’s eight legs ended in silver hooves. The elegant beast’s magnificent tail slowly swished back and forth as it drank.

I couldn’t quite see the creature’s head from where I was lying, but I found the beast strangely beautiful never the less. Being so close to such an obviously magical creature should have normally filled me with dread, but something about this entity put me at ease. I felt my fears and worries drifting away as I watched the magnificent creature.

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Some voice in the back of my head was trying to catch my attention, but I dismissed it as unimportant. I was preoccupied with the wondrous sight before me.

The ignored voice grew more and more insistent, seeming to demand I cast mana sight. I didn’t understand why such a thing would be important, but I did want to see what beautiful magic such a wondrous creature must surely hold.

Upon silently casting my mana sight, the river bank was tinted with a silvery hue. Arcane mana forms danced before my eyes in a hypnotic display. Even as I watched, some of these mana forms were flowing into me.

Into my head, specifically.

Even with all of my experience with the system, I did not like having things mess with my head. I pushed away the intruding mana forms on a dismayed impulse. Immediately, my feelings of peace and contentment started to fade away.

Without my thoughts being clouded by the creature’s mind altering magic, I looked at the surrounding mana with a sense of dread. If this was just a passive ability of this thing, what could it do if it focused? Judging by the dense mana flowing swiftly through the creature’s body, I really didn’t want to find out.

Having drunk its fill, the magical creature raised its head from the river. Gracefully curving horns elegantly framed the beast’s gentle face and its eyes were light sunlit pools. I found the creature beautiful, despite my horror towards its magical abilities.

Without so much as a glance in my direction, the beast started slowly walking down the riverbank away from me. The cloud of silver mana followed the beast, fading with its passing.

Enjoyable though the brief moment of tranquility was, I shuddered to think what a more violent creature could do with such a potent aura. It was entirely possible I wouldn’t have even considered fighting back until it was far too late.

It was pleasant while it lasted though.

I shook my head, telling myself that that last thought was just the lingering effects of the mind magic messing with my head. I gave the creature plenty of time to head down the river before I left my shelter.

It wasn’t a long walk to the base of the cliff. The huge waterfall was even more impressive up close. Incredible amounts of water pounded into river below, kicking up a thick spray. The cliff itself curved inwards, as though the water had chewed away at much of the surrounding rock.

Though the cliffs near the waterfall had been worn too smooth and steep to try climbing, the rock face further to the sides was not so unassailable. I could readily see a few paths I could take upwards.

With my bag securely fastened to my back, I began the laborious climb up the side of the cliff.