The forest was wrong.
Aerin felt it the moment he crossed the boundary into Lurden Forest. The air grew heavier, thicker, as if the trees themselves were holding their breath.
He adjusted his grip on his short sword and moved carefully.
"This place…" he muttered. "It's too quiet."
No birds.
No insects.
Not even the wind dared to linger.
The strange noises mentioned in the quest hadn't appeared yet—but the silence felt far worse.
A branch snapped.
Aerin spun around.
Yellow eyes stared back at him from the shadows.
The creature stepped forward slowly, its form emerging between twisted roots. A wolf-like monster, larger than normal, its body scarred and its fangs stained dark.
A **Shadowfang**.
Aerin swallowed.
This was not Copper-rank prey.
He raised his sword, bracing himself.
The monster stopped.
It didn't growl.
It didn't attack.
It stared.
Aerin frowned. "What…?"
The Shadowfang tilted its head, nostrils flaring as if sensing something unseen. Its muscles tensed—then relaxed.
Slowly, cautiously, it took a step back.
Aerin's heartbeat thundered in his ears.
"That's not how this works," he whispered.
Monsters didn't hesitate.
They didn't think.
Another presence stirred nearby.
More eyes appeared between the trees.
Aerin's breath caught as he realized he was surrounded.
Three Shadowfangs emerged, circling him—but none moved closer.
They watched him.
Judged him.
Aerin took a careful step back.
The monsters mirrored his movement, maintaining distance, ears flattened, bodies tense.
Fear crept up his spine.
*They're not hunting me,* he realized.
*They're unsure.*
A sudden pressure settled over the clearing.
Not hostile.
Not gentle.
Aware.
The Shadowfangs froze.
Then, without warning, one of them lowered its head—not in submission, but caution—and retreated into the forest.
The others followed.
Within seconds, the clearing was empty again.
Aerin stood alone, chest heaving, sword shaking in his grip.
"…Why did you run?" he asked the trees.
No answer came.
Only silence.
Aerin slowly lowered his weapon.
His hands were trembling—not from relief, but from something colder.
Confusion.
He had faced monsters before.
This had never happened.
He didn't notice the faint shimmer of mana lingering around him, warping the air for just a heartbeat before fading away.
Far deeper within the forest, something ancient shifted.
Not alarmed.
Intrigued.
*So the anomaly has arrived.*
And for the first time in centuries, monsters began to hesitate not out of fear—
—but uncertainty.