—Eastern Forest, Path to the Mansion—

The forest grew denser with each step, branches filtering the sunlight. I led the way, occasionally checking the map the realtor had given me.

—"How much farther?" Maya asked impatiently.

—"We’re almost there. According to this, the mansion should be just ahead," I replied.

Zara walked silently beside me but suddenly furrowed her brow.

—"I sense something approaching..."

A rustling sound came from the bushes, and we froze.

—"Did you hear that?" I asked.

—"Yes," Zara murmured. —"I doubt it’s an ordinary animal."

Maya drew her sword.

Suddenly, curious creatures emerged from the undergrowth—a group of mushroom-like beings with tiny legs. They weren’t what I’d expected, and honestly, they looked kind of cute. But Zara tensed up.

—"Fungoids!" Zara took a step back. —"Be careful, they’re dangerous!"

—"R-Really? They seem pretty harmless to me."

Maya burst out laughing.

—"You’re seriously scared of these things? How patheti—"

Suddenly, Maya staggered and clutched her forehead.

—"Maya? What’s wrong?" I asked, alarmed.

—"I… I don’t feel well," she muttered weakly.

—"Look!" Zara shouted.

We turned and watched as the Fungoids began multiplying before our eyes. A cloud of golden dust rose from their bodies, spreading through the air.

—"Spores!" Zara conjured small lightning bolts, striking several Fungoids. They collapsed, paralyzed but still alive. —"Cover your nose and mouth! If we breathe this in, we’re in trouble!"

—"Why didn’t you finish them off?!" Maya protested, still dizzy.

—"If I use stronger lightning, I could set the whole forest on fire!" Zara shot her a sharp glare. —"And you shouldn’t use your flaming sword either!"

—"WHAT?!" Maya exclaimed, leaning against a tree for support. —"This is… ridiculous…"

I, too, began feeling lightheaded. This was getting bad.

The three of us prepared for battle. Zara continued firing weak lightning bolts to paralyze the Fungoids, while Maya and I tried cutting them down with our swords. But for every one we defeated, two more took its place.

—"They just keep coming!" I exclaimed.

Maya’s swings grew increasingly sluggish, and she suddenly stopped, panting.

—"Ren… I can’t…"

I rushed to help her, but the spores’ effects hit me hard, and my vision blurred for a second.

Zara glanced at us, then her expression shifted.

—"I have a plan. Hold on a little longer."

Maya and I nodded, fighting off the dizziness as we kept slashing at the Fungoids. But the situation was dire.

—"Zara!" Maya barely managed to shout. —"Whatever you’re planning, do it now!"

Zara closed her eyes in concentration, and an electric aura enveloped her hands.

—"Get back!"

Maya and I retreated just in time. Zara launched a thin spear of lightning into the air—so precise it looked like a needle of light. The first strike was clean: the Fungoid exploded into a shower of charred spores. But what happened next was astonishing.

The lightning ricocheted.

As if it had a will of its own, the energy Zara unleashed bounced from one Fungoid to another, piercing them in rapid succession. Each strike burned them from the inside, reducing them to ashes.

When the last monster fell, the forest fell silent.

Maya and I stood there, dumbfounded.

—"What… what was that?" I asked, stunned.

Zara smirked in satisfaction.

Then, another sound came from the bushes. It seemed this wasn’t over yet…