* Notes *

I didn't proofread this much so if you notice any grammatical errors please say so below.

I don't know if I like the colors and whatnot I did in earlier chapters so I switched it up. Let me know if you like this better.

If you feel it's too short let me know I can hold off on posting often to make longer ones.

so instead of 2 short chapters like this maybe one long 1 a week?

* Info dump *

I put highland desert or high desert before as the type of climate that the rich forests devolved into, but to be more specific it generally means a Mojave or a Sonoran type of desert. Mojave when the altitude is higher and colder while Sonoran for lower hotter altitudes.

For those of you who don't know what that kind of desert looks like. It is a dry hot climate with an assortment of desert plants from grasses and shrubs to cacti and trees. Also, native wildlife is more diverse than you'd think, as animals such as mountain lions, bobcats, javelina, snakes, tarantulas, coyotes etc... Google Mojave or Sonoran desert images if you're interested.

In the story, the topography isn't completely flat and areas differ. Right now the city is in a hotter climate so more of a Sonoran desert. Also, while a majority of the continent is like that, it doesn't mean everywhere on the continent is like that, as there might be areas with other kinds of biomes (the actual words meaning) throughout.

chapter 4

|Entity Pov|

I've found that what attracts beasts to my world is the mana concentrated around the entrance. I've tried a few experiments to attract the beasts within my senses range in the same manner with varying effects. With my worlds current size I can now influence beasts up to 20 km away if I actively try to.

The only troubling part is keeping them alive until they have enough time to acclimate. I have to separate them from the main ecosystem in order to develop them to a suitable level. I create walls to separate and direct them toward rooms I've constructed to give them enough time to grow.

There are a few that are naturally strong enough even before my tampering, but they are scarce and hard to breed. I'll have to attract more to get their numbers up, but that in itself is difficult.

The new life form I've dubbed Avian is one of the few strong flying animals I've acquired. They are pitch black with purple crowns on their heads. A fully grown one can span up to 4 meters in wingspan and have powerful claws and beaks whilst having very keen eyesight. I never even had to tamper with them for them to survive. Maybe I'll attempt to later, to see what happens.

Creating nesting areas for the Avians proved more taxing than I would have thought, though. The amount of mana it takes to create a mountain is draining, but the mana I've been storing in my world managed to be enough for two small ones.

Plants are far easier than beasts to handle. I found after some more experiments that I can mutate them freely to adapt and change however I want. I now have a plethora of random species that have mutated into things like giant trees that can loom over all the beasts or small shrubs and grasses to cover the ground with.

While the plants in my world don't need water as mana is enough to sustain them. I needed more to develop and grow them, so I made a large water source on each mountain and let it distribute down in streams to provide water for the plants and beasts. The animals didn't have to concentrate around my previous water hole anymore which lead to fewer conflicts and more stabilization.

One of the most drastic changes to the lifeforms I've taken in would be the small ones. The insects as I've come to call them collectively, don't act like regular animals but even more purely off instinct. When they entered my world they were the smallest and weakest. After I infused them with mana though, they took to it and grew explosively to the point of even threatening some of my other creatures. Individually they aren't strong, but when they form colonies that have astonishing numbers, they are one of the most deadly things in my ecosystem.

I ended up having to stop infusing mana in them or they might even dominate to a point of killing everything else off. I don't want to ruin my delicate balance that I've worked so hard on. Luckily, I stopped at a point where the other beasts can deal with them in their own ways and even provided a new food source for them if they don't get caught off guard.

The labbits, however, have finally dwindled in their numbers. Even with their absurd reproduction they have to watch out for the insects now, which are much stronger, and even outnumber them. For every 500 labbits born, perhaps only 25 make it to adulthood. Even with that though the labbits still survive, albeit in more controlled numbers.

The next animal I wish to test would be one that I have only seen at the edge of my vision. A large predator that lives and hunts alone. It has golden fur with sharp retractable claws and a long thin tail. So far my attempts to attract it have fallen flat and I will most likely need to grow more before I can pull it into my influence.

As I grow, my space expands in all directions. I've been wondering how to better utilize this space but haven't quite thought exactly how yet, though. For now, I have plenty of things to keep my attention so I'll leave that for another time.

|Ema's Pov|

As I dream, I'm constantly running down a dark tunnel. I can only run with 6 eyes reflecting behind me in the dark. I'm not safe. Running and running, I see a light at the end of the tunnel. The light slowly grows and I find myself in a room. The room is dark but filled with strange glowing plants.

A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

I've never seen such beautiful plants like these. It's like I'm in an alien world, away from the desert, away from all I know, away from it... I find a spot to rest against the wall and all I can do is marvel at the beauty.

I see a small white creature hop out of the shrubs, it's cute and it looks similar to a rabbit but it's so big compared to the normal ones... It's odd. Oh! There's another one, why does it look so abnormal... rabbits can be fully black but I've never seen one with green streaks and a horn on its head.

The rabbits look up to me but suddenly feel startled and bolt into the shrubs. I get up and try to follow them but as I move forward I feel something around my neck, choking me. It's spider thread forming a noose around my neck! I try to break it to no avail.

Then, I see the spider climbing down from above on the thread. Staring at me with those beady eyes like I'm not even a challenge for it, just dinner. The spider finally closes in on me as I try to desperately break free, slowly it inches forward aiming to bite and consume me just like Mack and Rob...

*Knock, Knock, Knock*

I suddenly wake up in a cold sweat and my heart beating out of my chest. I look around at the room and remember being in the guild branch office, I calm myself saying it was just a dream.

Looking toward the door I remember why I'm here and start to get out of bed.

"Miss are you there? I'm here to tell you that someone is ready to debrief you on your mission. I can show you the way once you're ready."

"Uh yes, right, hold on let me get cleaned up and dressed. I only need a little bit and I'll be right out."

I wet a rag in the bathroom and wipe myself down. I smelled horrible, to the point of almost wanting to gag. I'm surprised I never noticed until now. Fortunately someone, perhaps that cleaning lady, left me a change of clothes. Even though they are slightly too big for me, the shirt and pants are much better than the disgusting gear I was wearing.

As I walk out of the room I find a tall woman with red hair, wearing plain black shirt and pants. Maybe what I'm wearing is hers, or is this a uniform for the servants here?

"Ah, sorry to keeping you waiting for me miss...?"

"My name is Tabitha, I am the head custodian here. It's nice to meet you, Ms. Ema."

"The pleasures mine, also did you give me the clothes? I can't thank you enough for that."

"I thought you might need them, I can wash your old clothes for you as well and have them back to you later."

"Thank you."

The maid walked me through the confusing layout of the building to a door. The door had a golden nameplate with Richard spelled out in big black letters, underneath was Guild Master's Assistant as his title.

As I enter the room, I'm greeted by a large wooden desk with fine engravings and a small lamp accompanied with 2 chairs for seating. The room is spacious and free of clutter except for a painting of an immense forest hanging behind the desk.

The man seated behind the desk looks older and more mature with graying hair and a scar on the right side of his neck.

"Take a seat Ms. Ema. Start by telling me where your party was surveying and what happened during your inspection of the cave." -Richard

I take my seat and start by recalling the ravine we were tasked to map out. The ravine was quite deep and long. We started getting towards the end of the ravine which leads to an open expanse of grassland with a river. A mountain was in the distance and it dwarfed the ravine in its massive size. The river seemed to be coming from the mountain. Our party was ecstatic at finding something so unusual so we decided to come back early from our assignment to report.

The cave where it all happened was right before the ravine opened up to the grassland. We were going to document it quickly and head back. The cave seemed harmless, maybe a little strange at first because we didn't see any signs of life until we found a corpse in armor.

We didn't know it at first but we were within the merus's territory. When Mack went to inspect the corpse he fell into a deep pit and then it all happened so fast. The merus just appeared out of nowhere and bit Rob on the leg and then got Mack on the arm. I couldn't carry them... I left them to be eaten while I ran... *Sobs... I ran away. It's my fault if I had stayed maybe I would have been able to fight it. It was just one overgrown spider... How could it dismantle our party so easily *Sobs...

Richard takes a deep sigh.

"Ok, I get what happened. It was the right decision to leave at the time. Given your strength, you most likely would have died if you stayed. A merus is dangerous, while it may not be very powerful in a head-on fight it excels in traps, ambushes, and toxins.

Even C ranked groups would have trouble fighting them in their territory. They are so rare that groups are almost always caught unprepared when they do end up crossing them. 20 years ago a D rank party was completely wiped out by a pair of them. You're lucky to be alive" -Richard

Afterward, Richard asked me more details about the grasslands as I guess the previous scouts didn't even make it to the end of the ravine before determining it was safe enough and headed back. Why can't everyone be as serious as Rob when they do their jobs. We might not have even been sent there if the threat level was increased.

After my testimony, the threat level of the area was increased to C rank and Richard even talked about making a commission for a new survey of the grasslands. He didn't say anything about subjugating the merus though. Maybe he figures it isn't worth it to send people after it when the merus shouldn't leave its cave anyway. One day I will kill it, I don't care if I have to save money to hire people to take me there. It will die.