I dismissed the runes and looked around properly for the first time.
The forest stretched out in every direction—tall trees with thick trunks, their branches intertwining overhead to form a natural canopy. Sunlight filtered through in scattered beams, illuminating patches of moss and wildflowers. Birds chirped somewhere in the distance. A gentle breeze rustled the leaves.
It was… peaceful, actually. Kind of nice.
A small smile tugged at my lips as I took a few steps forward, testing my footing on the uneven ground. My enhanced senses from [The Beast] were working overtime—I could hear everything. The rustle of small creatures in the underbrush, the distant trickle of water, even the faint whisper of wind through the canopy high above. It was almost overwhelming, like someone had turned up the volume on the entire world.
My vision was sharper too. I could make out individual leaves on branches dozens of meters away, see the texture of bark in detail I'd never noticed before, notice the subtle movements of insects crawling along tree trunks. Even my sense of smell was heightened—I could distinguish between different types of flowers, the earthy scent of wet soil, the musky odor of some animal that had passed through recently.
It was a lot to process. But also kind of cool.
I started walking, picking a random direction and keeping that small smile on my face. There wasn't much else to do. The Spell hadn't given me any specific instructions beyond "prepare for your First Trial," so I figured I'd explore for a bit. Get a lay of the land. Maybe find some food and water. Figure out where the hell I actually was.
You know, basic survival stuff.
The forest was surprisingly easy to navigate. The undergrowth wasn't too thick, and there were natural paths between the trees—probably made by animals over time. I kept my eyes open for any signs of danger, though my expression stayed relaxed, almost pleasant. No point in being tense when nothing was happening yet.
But hours passed, and I didn't encounter anything.
Just trees. Birds. The occasional squirrel darting up a trunk.
It was… weird. I'd expected the Nightmare to throw something at me immediately. Some monster to fight, a puzzle to solve, something. But instead, I was just walking through a nice forest like I was on some kind of nature hike.
Not that I was complaining.
By the time the sun started dipping toward the horizon, painting the sky in shades of orange and pink, I'd found a small stream.
Clear water, flowing steadily over smooth stones, catching the fading light. I knelt down, cupping my hands and taking a drink.
Cold. Refreshing. And probably the best water I'd ever tasted.
I sat back on my heels, looking around with that same easy smile. The stream was surrounded by flat rocks—perfect for setting up camp. The area was open enough that I'd be able to see anything approaching, but close enough to the tree line that I could run if I needed to.
I spent the rest of the evening setting up a makeshift camp. Found some dry wood, built a small fire using friction—which took a while, even with my enhanced strength making the process a bit easier. My hands were sore by the time I got a spark, but eventually, I had a small fire going. I settled in for the night.
The stars came out as darkness fell.
Thousands of them, scattered across the sky like diamonds on black velvet. More stars than I'd ever seen in my life. The real world's sky was always too polluted, too bright with artificial light to see more than a handful. But here? It was breathtaking.
I lay on my back, hands behind my head, a content smile on my face as I looked up.
It was kind of surreal. A few days ago, I'd been in the real world, living my normal life. Going through the motions, training with my sisters, studying, pretending everything was fine. And now I was here, in a Nightmare, staring at an alien sky, waiting for something to try and kill me.
But nothing did.
The night passed quietly. I dozed off a few times, but my enhanced senses kept me partially aware of my surroundings. Every snap of a twig, every rustle of leaves had me alert and ready—though I kept my expression relaxed even when checking for threats. But it was always just animals. Small ones. Nothing dangerous.
When morning came, I felt surprisingly rested.
The next few days followed a similar pattern.
I explored during the day, mapping out the area in my head. The forest was massive—I walked for hours in different directions and never reached an edge. There were streams, clearings, clusters of berry bushes that I tested cautiously before eating, though I did it with a smile, treating it like an adventure rather than a survival situation.
I wasn't about to poison myself on day two of my Nightmare because I was too hungry to be careful.
Thankfully, the berries were fine. Sweet, actually. Almost too sweet.
I found fruit trees too. Apples, or something that looked like apples. And there were edible roots if I dug around near certain plants. Between that and the fresh water, I wasn't going to starve anytime soon.
I started to relax a bit. Not completely—I wasn't stupid enough to let my guard down entirely—but enough to actually enjoy myself.
It was strange. I'd spent so long worrying about the Nightmare, dreading the infection, preparing myself mentally for the worst. And now that I was here, it was just… peaceful. Beautiful, even.
The forest had a rhythm to it. The way the light changed throughout the day, the sounds of birds and insects, the smell of earth and growing things. It was almost meditative. I found myself paying attention to small details
I'd normally ignore. The pattern of moss on tree bark. The way water moved around rocks in the stream. The different calls of various birds.
On the third day, I started talking to myself. Just little comments here and there, always with that slight smile. "Oh, that's a nice tree." "Those berries look good." "I wonder what kind of bird that is."
It helped. Made the silence less oppressive. And honestly, it was just my nature—I'd always been the type to keep smiling, even when things got serious.
On the fourth day, I found a waterfall.
I'd been following a stream—not the one I'd camped by, a different one—and heard the sound of rushing water ahead. Curious, I followed it and emerged into a clearing dominated by a waterfall cascading down a rocky cliff face, maybe fifteen meters high. The water crashed into a pool below, sending up a fine mist that caught the sunlight and created a small rainbow.
It was stunning.
I stood there for a moment, a genuine grin spreading across my face. Then I stripped off my shirt and dove into the pool.
The water was freezing. Shockingly cold. But after days of walking and sweating, it felt amazing. I swam around for a bit, scrubbed myself clean as best I could, and then just floated on my back, staring up at the sky with that same content smile.
This was nice. Really nice.
For a brief moment, I let myself forget that this was a Nightmare. That somewhere out there, something was waiting to kill me. That I had a trial to complete.
For just a moment, I let myself enjoy this.
On the fifth day, I climbed one of the taller trees just to see what I could see from up high.
The climb took some effort—my enhanced strength helped, making it about twice as easy as it would've been normally, but I still had to be careful. Test each branch, make sure my footing was solid. By the time I reached one of the higher branches, I was breathing a bit hard and my arms were tired, but nothing too bad.
And the view was worth it.
The forest stretched out endlessly in every direction, a sea of green broken only by the occasional rocky outcrop or glittering stream. In the far distance, I could make out what looked like mountains, their peaks shrouded in mist and clouds. The sky above was a brilliant blue, dotted with a few wispy clouds.
And then, just barely visible through the trees to the west, I saw something else.
Smoke.
Thin trails of it, rising into the sky.
I squinted, focusing. My enhanced vision picked out more details—structures, maybe. Small buildings clustered together. Definitely man-made.
A village.
My smile widened slightly.
I hadn't seen any sign of civilization until now. Just endless forest. But there it was—proof that people lived here. Or at least, something that looked like people.
I climbed back down carefully, grabbed my makeshift pack—just a bundle of supplies I'd tied together with vines—and started heading west.
Not because I thought it was part of the trial. Honestly, I had no idea what my trial even was yet. The Spell had been frustratingly vague about that. But a village meant shelter. Real shelter, not just sleeping on the ground. It meant people, information, maybe even food that wasn't foraged berries and roots.
It was a better option than wandering aimlessly through the forest.
It took most of the day to reach it. The forest gradually thinned out, the trees becoming more spaced, the undergrowth less dense. I started seeing signs of human activity—a worn path, stumps where trees had been cut down, scattered wood chips.
By the time the sun was setting, I'd reached the edge of the village.
It was small. Maybe two dozen buildings, all made of wood and stone, clustered around a central square. Smoke rose from chimneys. I could hear voices, faint and distant, carried on the wind. The sound of laughter. Someone hammering metal in the distance.
People.
I hesitated at the tree line, watching with a pleasant smile on my face even as my eyes scanned for potential threats.
The village looked… normal. Peaceful, even. People moved between buildings, carrying baskets or tools. A few children ran through the square, laughing and chasing each other. An older man sat on a porch, carving something from wood. A woman hung laundry on a line.
It didn't look dangerous. But this was a Nightmare. Nothing was ever as simple as it seemed.
Still, standing out here wasn't going to accomplish anything. I needed information. And food. And a place to sleep that wasn't the ground.
I took a breath, adjusted my pack, made sure my expression was friendly and open, and stepped out of the forest.
Here goes nothing.