The first few hours of travel took AJ through terrain he recognised. Rolling grasslands stretched in front of him, dotted with sparse trees that provided an occasional bit of shade. The land rose and fell in gentle hills near Valentra's borders, the paths worn smooth by patrol teams and trading caravans.
He maintained his human form, covering ground at a pace that would have exhausted most travellers. But his body wasn't truly human, just a shell of compressed slime maintaining a convenient shape. No fatigue accumulated, no muscles burned, no breath grew short.
The grasslands teemed with life. Rabbits darted between patches of tall grass, their movements quick and nervous. Deer grazed in small herds, lifting their heads to watch him pass before returning to their feeding. A massive Grassland Elk stood motionless on a distant hill, its impressive antlers silhouetted against the afternoon sky.
None approached or challenged him. His presence registered as a predator, something to avoid rather than confront.
By evening, the terrain had shifted subtly. The hills flattened, the grass grew shorter, and trees became more frequent. AJ found a sheltered spot beneath a cluster of trees as the sun set, transforming back into his natural form and spreading across the ground.
The sub-body he'd left behind in Valentra stirred to awareness as he focused his attention through it. The connection remained stable despite the distance, the fragment of his core maintaining synchronisation with his main form.
His vision cleared to reveal the admin building's common area. Evening light filtered through the windows, casting warm shadows across the familiar space. Lily sat at the main table, papers spread before her as she worked through some documentation. Maria stood near the far wall, reviewing what looked like a supply manifest. Walter leaned against the doorframe, apparently having just arrived.
"AJ?" Lily's head snapped up the moment the sub-body shifted. "How was the first day?"
"Uneventful," he replied, his voice emerging from the football-sized green sphere. "Made good progress though, the terrain's been easy so far."
Maria looked up from her papers, offering a brief nod of acknowledgement. Walter straightened slightly, his attention shifting to the conversation.
"Any trouble?" Lily asked.
"None. Saw plenty of wildlife, but nothing new or aggressive."
They talked for another few minutes, Lily telling him about Valentra's daily routines, AJ describing the landscape and creatures he'd encountered. Maria occasionally interjected with questions about resource opportunities. Walter listened quietly, his expression showing mild interest but no particular concern.
"See you tomorrow" Lily said as the conversation wound down.
"Every evening," AJ confirmed.
He let his consciousness settle back into his main form, allowing the sub-body to return to its passive state. The night air was cool, carrying the scent of grass and earth. Stars emerged overhead, their patterns somewhat familiar despite the transformed world.
---
Day two brought denser vegetation. The sparse trees of the grasslands gave way to a forest, the canopy overhead filtering sunlight into dappled patterns across the ground. The air grew cooler, heavy with the scent of pine and damp earth.
AJ's pace remained steady as he navigated between trees with practised ease, following animal trails when they aligned with his northward path and pushing through undergrowth when necessary.
Creatures were more abundant here. Squirrels chattered from branches overhead. A family of boars rooted through the forest floor, their tusks turning over soil in search of food. Smaller predators, like foxes and wild cats, watched from hidden vantage points but kept their distance.
He spotted a cluster of Nightshade Caps growing at the base of a rotting log. The mushrooms were familiar, their dark purple colouration and distinctive shape matching the ones he'd seen months ago. AJ remembered making the healing salve with them as he absorbed the cluster.
Further on, Mana Blooms grew in a small clearing where sunlight broke through the canopy. The flowers held traces of energy within their petals, not enough to significantly impact his cultivation but worth collecting. As the saying goes, every little bit counts.
The day passed without incident. By evening, the forest had become slightly sparser, the trees were larger, their trunks thick and canopy wide not leaving much for trees or plants to grow nearby.
---
Day three started quietly. The forest continued, sunlight becoming increasingly scarce as the canopy blocked more of the sky. AJ's pace slowed slightly as navigation required more attention.
Mid-morning brought the first unusual discovery. The air ahead shimmered with a strange quality, colours seeming slightly off. As AJ approached, the distortion grew more pronounced.
A mana-rich zone.
The area wasn't large, perhaps fifty metres across, but the concentration of ambient energy was noticeably higher than the surrounding forest. Plants within the zone grew larger and more vibrant. The trees bore leaves in shades that shouldn't exist naturally, deep purples and luminescent blues mixed with normal greens.
AJ stepped into the zone cautiously, immediately feeling the increased mana density. His core responded, greedily pulling in more energy on its own. The mana wasn't as high quality as he would've liked, but as long as he had enough mana he could refine it.
He spent an hour within the zone, allowing his body to draw in the enhanced mana while examining the unusual flora. Several plants showed promise, a patch of grass that held concentrated energy, flowers with strange properties, and mushrooms that pulsed with faint bioluminescence.
He absorbed small samples of everything unfamiliar to decipher their potential uses. Most weren't cultivation materials in the traditional sense, but they held enough mana to be worth absorbing before moving on.
The afternoon brought his first serious challenge.
AJ noticed a subtle change in the atmosphere. He stopped, his awareness extending outward as he searched for the source of the vibe shift.
Then, from the shadows a creature lunged at him.
The Shadow Stalker emerged from the darkness beneath a fallen log. The creature brandished its teeth and claws aiming to kill AJ in one swift motion.
AJ dodged the initial strike, his human form diving sideways as claws raked the air where he'd been standing. He rolled, coming up in a crouch as his body began transforming.
The Shadow Stalker circled, its movements fluid and unnaturally quiet. The creature was larger than expected, nearly as tall as AJ's human form at the shoulder, with muscle evident beneath its dark fur.
AJ abandoned his human shape entirely, his substance flowing into his slime form, it was condensed with a hardened exterior, and with appendages formed specifically for striking and grappling. He met the Stalker's next lunge with a counterattack, his limb forming a spike as it pierced towards the creature's chest.
The Stalker twisted mid-strike, AJ's attack glancing off its shoulder rather than striking true. Its counterattack came immediately, claws raking across AJ's surface and tearing away chunks of his substance.
Pain pierced through his form, the Stalker's claws affected him in some way that prevented immediate regeneration, leaving wounds that would take time to heal properly.
They exchanged blows in rapid succession. AJ's strikes connected more often as he learned to anticipate the Stalker's movements, each successful hit slowing the creature's movements. The Stalker's attacks were devastating when they landed, tearing through AJ's defences and forcing him to constantly reform damaged sections.
The fight lasted just a couple minutes but felt much longer. AJ finally gained the advantage when he managed to grapple the Stalker mid-lunge, his substance wrapping around the creature and pinning its limbs. The Stalker thrashed violently, its claws shredding portions of his form, but AJ held on.
His substance flowed over the creature completely, smothering and crushing simultaneously. The Stalker's struggles grew weaker before ceasing entirely.
AJ maintained the hold for several more seconds before releasing. The Stalker's body lay motionless, its dark grey-black flesh now clearly visible.
He absorbed the corpse slowly, his substance breaking down the creature's matter and integrating its energy. The mana within was modest but still enough to be well worth even with the damage sustained. More importantly, he gained a deeper understanding of the Stalker's composition and abilities, adding to his catalogue.
The injuries the Stalker had inflicted throbbed with lingering pain. AJ reformed his human shape carefully, noting the areas where his substance struggled to regenerate properly. The wounds would heal, but they'd take time.
Evening found him exhausted in a way he hadn't experienced since the early days in this world. The combination of the fight, the injuries, and the constant travel had drained more energy than expected.
The admin building came into focus as the sub-body stirred. The common area was dimmer now, the evening having progressed further than usual. Lily sat alone at the table, a cup of tea beside her. She looked up immediately, concern evident in her expression.
"You're late compared to yesterday," she observed.
"Ran into trouble today," AJ admitted. He described the mana-rich zone, the unusual plants he'd collected, and the Shadow Stalker encounter.
Lily's hands tightened slightly around her cup. "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine. Some injuries, but nothing serious. They'll heal in no time."
"Make sure you rest properly, don't let the injuries accumulate."
"Yea, I'm being careful, don't worry."
She didn't sound entirely convinced, but she let it go. They talked for a while longer, her worry gradually easing as he provided more details about the fight and his current condition.
AJ let his consciousness settle back into his main form.
The forest around him was dark and quiet. He remained in his natural state, his substance spread across the ground as he focused on healing and absorbing ambient mana.
---
Days four and five brought easier travel. The forest began thinning gradually, the dense canopy opening to allow more sunlight through. The terrain remained relatively flat, with only occasional obstacles to navigate.
Creatures were sparse now. The usual forest animals had disappeared, replaced by an unsettling emptiness. AJ noticed it consciously on the morning of day five, the absence of birdsong, the lack of small game, the feeling of vacancy where life should be.
Something was disrupting the area.
He found the first tracks around midday. The forest floor showed clear signs of passage, dozens of footprints in mud and soft earth, all heading in roughly the same direction.
The prints varied wildly in size and shape. There were large paw prints from something bear-sized, smaller canine tracks, and claw marks that suggested reptilian creatures.
AJ crouched beside the trail, studying the prints carefully. They were recent, perhaps a day old at most. And if this was the group he came looking for there were far more than the 15-20 wolves and 3-4 bears Aldric had mentioned.
The tracks led deeper into the thinning forest, heading northeast. AJ straightened and began following the tracks, his movements more cautious now. His human form moved silently between trees as he closed the distance with whatever lay ahead.
The sounds reached him first, low growls, the crack of branches, the shuffle of many bodies moving through the forest. AJ slowed immediately, his senses extending outwards.
The creature gathering came into view as afternoon light filtered through the sparse canopy.
The clearing ahead held roughly 50 creatures, maybe more. Stone Wolves formed the largest group, grey-furred predators the size of large dogs, their bodies compact and muscular. 6 Razor Bears lumbered among them, their distinctive fur catching the afternoon light. Three Shadow Stalkers prowled the perimeter, their dark forms blending with the undergrowth.
But there were others too. A small pack of Ravagers, several raptors with scaled hides and intelligent eyes, and a handful of creatures AJ didn't recognize, one resembled a massive badger with armoured plating, another looked like an oversized lynx with knives for fangs.
They should have been fighting. Wolves and bears competed for territory. Ravagers were aggressive towards anything not of their pack. Shadow Stalkers were solitary hunters. Yet the gathering moved together with surprising coordination, predators that should be enemies coexisting peacefully.
AJ watched as a Razor Bear and a Stone Wolf shared a kill, neither showing aggression towards the other. A Shadow Stalker passed within metres of a raptor without either reacting. The entire group maintained a calm that defied natural behaviour.
He transformed quickly, abandoning his human shape for his natural slime form. His substance compressed, shrinking to roughly the size of a large backpack. In this state, he could move through the trees more easily while remaining hidden.
AJ flowed up the nearest trunk, positioning himself in the canopy where leaves and branches provided cover. From this vantage point, he could observe the pack while remaining undetected.
The group was moving, not wandering randomly, but travelling with a purpose. They'd pause occasionally to rest or feed, but always resumed movement in the same general direction, eastward.
He watched as they detoured around a particularly dense section of undergrowth, the entire group adjusting their path as if guided by a shared understanding. Once they passed the obstacle, they resumed their original heading.
Hours passed as AJ followed from the treetops, moving carefully from branch to branch. The creatures below showed no awareness of his presence, focused entirely on their journey.
The sun began its descent towards the horizon, painting the forest in shades of orange and gold. The gathering showed no signs of stopping, their pace steady despite the fading light.
Then the creatures paused.
The movement was subtle at first, the wolves at the front slowing, their ears perking up. The bears stopped mid-step. Even the Shadow Stalkers ceased their restless prowling.
AJ froze in place, his substance pressed flat against the branch he occupied. He followed the creatures' collective gaze towards a section of forest to their right.
A figure stood among the trees.