Rue and I went to the bazaar, passed through it, and continued on the old road. He occasionally gave me sideways glances, but said nothing. I was sure he knew exactly where we were going.

I kept feeling eyes on me for almost three kilometers past the end of the bazaar, and then the feeling disappeared.

Is our sneaky sneak afraid of the cursed forest?

We walked a little more just to be safe, and then I took out the ATV. When Rue hopped into his seat, his head bumped into the ceiling, and he had to stoop a little.

“Buddy, we need to remove your seat so you can sit comfortably. You’ve grown too big.”

He wagged his tail like crazy. “Yes!”

“Find us a good place to put the house. I need Mahya’s blueprint to ensure I don’t destroy anything.”

Rue sniffed the air and said, “John follow Rue.”

He took us off the road and led us into the bushes. After twenty minutes, we reached a deep depression hidden from the direction we came by rocks and bushes and, on the other three sides, by trees.

After removing the core, I instructed it to create the most miniature house possible, yet with all the spaces inside. I got a cabin that looked like a tiny room from the outside. I patted the house. “Good girl.”

Inside, I went up to the library and brought the ATV blueprint. I scrutinized everything related to the seats and saw for sure that if I removed the seat, it wouldn’t affect the functioning of the ATV. But there was a problem—on the metal frames of the seats, we had engraved runes for shock and kinetic absorption.

“Buddy, if I remove the seat, you’ll feel the bumps of the ride much more. Is that okay with you?” I asked, looking over at Rue.

“John fix,” Rue replied confidently, his eyes on me.

“I’m not sure I can fix it,” I said, shaking my head.

“John smart. John fix,” Rue insisted, nodding eagerly, his tone full of trust.

I tried to think of a solution. I knew the necessary runes—I was the one who engraved them on the frames. However, the floor of the ATV had a rubber coating. From my experience with the gas mask in Vegas, I already knew that you can’t engrave runes on rubber. After twenty minutes of scratching my head—figuratively, I don’t have lice—I got an idea.

I removed a sheet of aluminum, cut a piece to fit the floor, made four holes in the corners, and engraved the runes. Just to be sure, I added four of each rune, not two like on the seat frame.

After finishing the engraving, I checked the blueprint for the copper lines, made sure I wouldn’t hit them and screwed the board to the floor. After attaching the board, I covered it with a duvet for Rue to sit on and closed the house.

“Let’s get back to the road and see if it works,” I told Rue.

When we returned to the road, Rue got on his “seat,” and we started driving. Everything worked amazing. I jumped in my seat more than he did.

Rue was overjoyed, sticking his head out of the windshield and shouting enthusiastically, “John smart! John Mahya smart!”

I grinned. It was the best compliment I could have received, but I decided not to tell Mahya—no need for her to get a big head.

After another hour of driving, we approached the forest. Just to be safe, I stowed the ATV, and when we were about thirty meters from the first trees, I said to Rue, “I want to make sure everything is safe first. You stay here, and I’ll call you.”

“Rue come with John. Rue protect John.”

“Of course, you’ll come with me.” I waved him off. “I’m just going to check the entrance and make sure it’s not something dangerous. Don’t worry. I have Neutralize Curse. If something negative sticks to me, I’ll cast it immediately.”

Rue squinted at me for ten seconds before finally nodding.

I scratched his ears and approached the forest. It was eerily spooky. The darkness inside was so complete I couldn’t see even five inches beyond the first row of trees. No sound came from within—no chirping birds, buzzing insects, or rustling leaves. Nothing. It felt like a dead zone in the middle of the world, a black hole swallowing sound instead of matter. Cold waves radiated from it, carrying a chilling sensation of dread, sadness, and despair, sending shivers down my spine. I felt content. Ending a pleasant walk in the forest and continuing our journey north to Azureas was nice.

“Let’s go, Rue,” I called to my furry friend, feeling refreshed.

Rue sat and looked at me with his head tilted to the side.

“Come on, buddy. Let’s continue to Azureas.”

“John not want look cursed forest?” Rue asked, sounding genuinely puzzled.

I blinked, confused. “What cursed forest? What are you talking about? We took a walk in the forest, and now let’s continue.”

“Strange John,” Rue huffed, tilting his head the other way.

“I’m strange? You’re the one acting strange. We took a hike in nature. Now let’s drive.” I gestured toward the road, trying to shake off his weird comment.

“John strange.” Rue’s eyes narrowed, and his tone was insistent.

I glanced at him, still not understanding what he was getting at.

“John do Neutralize Curse.” Rue pointed his paw at me.

“Why would I cast Neutralize Curse? Did someone curse you?” I got worried.

“No!” Rue stomped his paw. “John cast Neutralize Curse on John.”

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“Why?” I asked, more baffled by the second. This dog made no sense.

He stepped closer and stomped his paw on my foot. “John cast Neutralize Curse on John!”

“Ouch!” I winced, the sharp pain jolting me, and suddenly, my head cleared a bit. I still felt foggy but remembered something about a cursed forest. I turned to Rue, eyes wide. “Is this a cursed forest?”

He nodded solemnly.

“Did I want to visit there?”

He nodded again.

“Didn’t I visit there?”

He shook his head.

Interesting.

Even more interesting was how familiar this feeling was. It reminded me of when Mahya showed the balloon’s capabilities before she attuned it to us with blood. Just in case, I cast Neutralize Curse on myself but didn’t feel a difference. My mind was still foggy, and it felt like two forces were battling over my mind. One says, “All is well. You came from a pleasant walk in a forest and want to continue your journey.” The other remembers something hazy about a cursed forest.

“Let’s try this again,” I told Rue. “If I start acting weird, don’t argue with me. Just bite me, but not too hard.”

Rue sighed, his large shoulders sagging as he nodded. I got the feeling he thought I was crazy. It wasn’t just an impression—I got a definite sense he thought I was out of my mind.

I split my mind into four, and in each quarter, I chanted, “You’re approaching a cursed forest. Don’t let it take over you. You’re approaching a cursed forest, don’t let—”

A sense of calm settled over me, and I felt refreshed after hours among all that green. The beauty of nature, the chirping birds, the dew on the leaves, and the fresh smell that can only be found in the forest all contributed to this calm. I took a deep breath and smiled, feeling completely renewed.

“Ouch!”

Rue bit me!

“What are you doing? You’re crazy—” I protested, but something stirred in my memory. Something about the forest... I was in the forest... it was fun... no, that wasn’t right. Something else... I shook my head, confused. Rue stomped on my foot with his paw.

“Is John back?” Rue asked, his eyes wide with concern.

“Huh?”

“Is John back?” he repeated, tone urgent.

What was he talking–

A forest... something about a forest... something wrong with the forest? I shook my head again, struggling to remember. The forest is confusing... perhaps? Yes, the forest is confusing.

“John cast Neutralize Curse on John!” Rue barked, almost pleading.

I did, but it didn’t help. Something about this felt familiar. How did I know that? What did it remind me of? Mahya? Why Mahya?

Balloon! The memory clicked into place as my head cleared, and I instinctively moved further away from the trees.

With each passing minute, I became increasingly curious about the forest. This was no accident—I was sure someone had created this effect. The question was how to overcome it.

I turned my back to the forest, spreading my mana sense as far as possible towards the trees, and stepped slowly backward. When I reached the first tree line with my mana sense, I could only feel two trees because of the spherical shape of the sense. I attempted to scan the trees, looking for runes, but my mana sense lacked the development to detect small, precise things. All I got was a definite feeling of a tree—nothing more.

Still, with my back to the forest, I moved a few meters to the right, scanning two more trees. I then moved a few meters to the left. Suddenly, something “pinged” in my head. I shifted further to the left. Ha-ha!

I couldn’t recognize the runes—it was too intricate for my current mana sense. But I felt eight small clumps of mana in a row from top to bottom. No matter how hard I tried to decipher the shape, I couldn’t. They were just small clumps of mana.

Turning around apprehensively, I was relieved not to feel the disorienting effect. I was still in control of my faculties. Taking out my crossbow and some bolts, I cut my hand and dipped the ends of the bolts in my blood.

I couldn’t see the runes, but I could feel the mana clumps with my sense. Aiming with that, I fired the first bolt. Nothing happened. I shot the second one—still nothing. On the third shot—my head cleared completely.

The oppressive feeling vanished from the forest. It was no longer dark, cold, scary, or sad. It felt like a typical forest. I could hear birds and the faint growl of some animal in the distance.

“Give me your paw,” I said to Rue.

He obediently extended his paw, and I cut and healed it before approaching the tree with the bolts. Since all three bolts were stuck in the runes, I didn’t know which one had done the trick, so I smeared blood on all of them just to be sure.

We walked into the forest, and it was just an ordinary forest. Dense green trees, birds chirping, insects buzzing about. The air was thick with the earthy smell of moss and damp wood, cool and fresh in my lungs. Light streamed through the trees, creating playful shadows on the forest floor. Every step felt cushioned, the ground soft beneath my boots from fallen leaves and pine needles. I could hear the rustle of small creatures in the underbrush, hidden but close enough to know we weren’t alone. I saw a big animal with antlers in the distance, but it quickly disappeared among the trees.

We continued walking for another hour, crossed two streams, and reached a tall tower. It loomed above the trees, an old stone structure wrapped in creeping vines and lush green plants. The tower showed clear signs of abandonment, as nature had taken it over as its own. The windows were dark, like hollow eyes watching over the forest. Wooden balconies jutted out from several levels, their railings weathered and half-covered in foliage. The way the sunlight hit it, with shadows clinging to the stone, made it seem inviting and eerie simultaneously.

I immediately snapped a picture of the tower. No way I could pass up a shot like that. We moved closer, but as we approached, something felt off. It didn’t seem as abandoned as it had appeared from a distance. Sure, the vegetation wrapped it up tight, but now I could see a clear path leading straight to the door. The windows were too clean, and the door was untouched by the vines.

Hmm, intriguing.

I was about to walk toward the tower and knock on the door. I took a step toward it, hand raised to knock, when a sudden, invisible force hit me like a sledgehammer. My feet left the ground, and before I could even yell, a sudden, invisible force slammed me against the stone wall. The impact rattled my bones.

Ouch!

A sharp crack echoed in my skull—the pain in my nose told me it wasn’t just a sound. Blood dripped down my face as I crumpled to the ground. Everything spun for a second, but I forced myself to focus. I blinked, clearing my vision just enough to see what was happening.

A man stood with his back to me, his arm stretched toward Rue. Rue snarled and clawed at the ground as if trying to break through something invisible, his growls growing louder and more desperate.

I couldn’t let this stand. I split my mind in two—I healed my nose, not taking my eyes off the man. Before he could react, lightning surged through my fingertips—he yelped and dropped like a stone. I healed myself again and approached him. He was still twitching, but his eyes were open, wide with shock. He looked familiar. I tried to remember where I’d seen him, a flicker of recognition tugging at me, but I came up blank.

“Why did you attack us?” I asked angrily.

“I’m tired of the spies Shosh keeps sending! The next spy will die!” he shouted, his voice ragged and filled with paranoia.

That sentence made it click.

“I’m not a spy, and this is the second time you’ve broken my nose,” I accused, glaring down at him.

“I saw you spying on me at Wizard Spire, and now you’re planning to spy on my tower! I know Shosh sent you! He wants to discover my life’s work and claim it for himself! I won’t stand for it! I’ll kill all his spies! I won’t let him steal my knowledge!” he continued to shout, his words tumbling out in a frantic rush.

“I’m not a spy,” I said, exasperated. “I was looking for the library in Wizard Spire and accidentally opened your door. And here, I heard about the cursed forest and got curious. I’m not a spy, and I have no idea who Shosh is or what exactly you’re doing. So calm down already and stop yelling.”

“I know Shosh sent you! He wants to discover my life’s work and claim it for himself! I’ll kill all his spies! I won’t let him steal my knowledge! I’ll kill you and your mutant wolf! I won’t let Shosh spy on me!” His voice was getting louder, more manic. “You’ll all be sorry for spying on me! I’m the great Maxibier! I’ll kill Shosh and all his spies!”

“Oh, shut up already,” I said and shot him with another weak lightning. He twitched, his eyes rolled backward, and he shut up.

“What do you think, buddy,” I asked Rue. “Should we spy in this tower to punish him for attacking us or head to Azureas?”

Rue walked up to him, lifted a leg, and peed on him. “Now Rue and John go Azureas,” he said.

“Don’t mess with my dog! He takes revenge!” I muttered, half amused, half in disbelief at what had just happened.

The man lay there, sputtering, clearly too stunned to react. At least the pee woke him from unconsciousness.