Surviving The Beast World With My 'Sassy' System-Chapter 70: Guardian Of The Mist Forest

Lavayla and Mirek made their way out of the basin. However, the moment they crossed its boundary, they realized something was wrong. Instead of emerging at the forest’s edge as expected, they found themselves standing in a completely unfamiliar place wrapped in pale, drifting mist.

Lavayla and Mirek glanced at each other.

A heavy frown formed on her face as she adjusted Vai in her arms. The child had grown restless and was now absentmindedly playing with strands of her hair, unaware of the tension around him. Lavayla scanned the surroundings, her gaze moving through the hazy distance, then she stepped forward cautiously.

Mirek reacted at once. His hand closed around her wrist, stopping her before she could take another step.

She turned back to him and said quietly, "We cannot leave, can we? The mist has already covered the area behind us."

Mirek’s brows drew together. He did not answer immediately, but his silence was enough.

He had felt it the moment they crossed the basin’s edge.

Mist drifted low across the ground, pale and endless, swallowing sound and distance alike. The trees were gone. So was the stream. Even the slope that should have led them back out of the basin had vanished.

Mirek tightened his grip on her wrist, his brows drawn together. He turned his head, scanning behind them.

Where the basin entrance should have been, there was only mist.

Dense and unbroken.

It stretched endlessly, featureless and still, like a wall that refused to be seen as one.

"It is." he finally replied to her earlier words quietly.

Lavayla nodded, her expression tense.

Vai tugged gently at a strand of her hair, oblivious to what was happening. She adjusted her hold on him, pressing him closer to her chest, then took another look around.

The ground beneath their feet was firm but unfamiliar, dark stone veined faintly with silver lines that pulsed once, then faded. There were no tracks. No signs of beasts. No wind.

Even the forest sounds had disappeared.

Mirek released her hand and stepped forward cautiously, then stopped. His senses stretched outward, probing and searching for any life.

"I can’t feel the forest," he said. "No beasts. No ambient flow. It’s like everything beyond this mist is sealed off."

Lavayla’s stomach sank.

A sealed space.

Her thoughts raced back to everything that had happened. The unnatural abundance of Earth’s crops. The chaotic energy in the serpent. The way the crops had appeared one after the other as if purposely planted, the way the basin had felt less like a natural environment.

She looked down at the ground, then back at the mist.

"This isn’t outside the forest," she said slowly. "We are in a different place."

Mirek turned toward her. "A different place?"

"Yes," she replied. "The surroundings contrast with the forest’s and there has to be a reason why we are here."

As if responding to her words, the mist stirred.

Not blown by wind, but drawn inward, swirling slowly in a wide arc ahead of them. Shapes began to emerge. Tall, indistinct silhouettes that flickered in and out of clarity, as though the place itself could not decide what form it wanted to take.

Lavayla felt a prickle crawl up her spine.

"Mirek," she said softly, "do you think this is connected to the Serpent infected with the chaotic energy?"

He stepped closer, positioning himself slightly in front of her again, his body tense but controlled. "I’m not sure but stay behind me."

She did not argue.

The mist continued to shift, thinning just enough to reveal a narrow path ahead. It did not appear to be carved or cleared. It simply existed, darker stone stretching forward into the unknown.

Lavayla stared at it, then glanced back once more at the mist behind them.

There was no path there anymore.

She took a steady breath.

"Looks like it wants us to move forward," she said.

Mirek’s jaw tightened. "Then let’s move carefully."

With Vai held securely against her and Mirek at her side, Lavayla stepped onto the path.

The mist closed silently behind them.

They both walked farther along the path, and after some time, they stopped at the very edge, at the end of it. Before them stretched a vast, open space filled with the scent of fresh flowers. Surprisingly, although the fragrance of blossoms drifted through the air, there were only plants with mist gathered at their roots. The plants were not flowering varieties, and they were arranged within a structured, garden-like formation.

Beyond the terraces of mist-plants, the ground sloped gently downward into a basin. A stream wound through its center, its surface gleaming like liquid silver and reflecting shapes that shifted and dissolved when looked at directly. The sound of the water was low and resonant.

The terraces curved in spirals, forming natural steps that descended toward the stream. Their edges were smooth stone, and the mist clung to them in drifting veils. Above, the canopy opened in places, revealing skies of shifting colors, blue fading into violet, with streaks of gold pulsing faintly like veins of light.

Every so often, the mist thickened and took form: a deer stepping lightly across the stream, a bird unfolding its wings, a hand reaching outward. Each apparition lasted only a moment before dissolving back into vapor, leaving behind the impression that the basin itself was alive and constantly reshaping.

"Oh, dear! It appears that the humble visitors from the basin have ventured into my humble dwelling." A melodious voice, tinged with a playful lilt, drifted through the air, wrapping around them like a warm embrace.

Suddenly, half of the surrounding mist converged at the center of the path before them, as if blocking their view. Within it, a figure began to take shape.

A few seconds later, the mist dispersed, revealing a tall, beautiful, olive-skinned woman with waist-length, wavy dark green hair. Her hair shimmered faintly, as though each strand carried the sheen of wet leaves after rainfall. Her eyes were a piercing amber, and when they met Lavayla’s gaze, they held both warmth and an untamed edge.

Her attire also drew attention, layers of translucent fabric that shifted like haze, clinging and flowing as though alive. Around her arms and shoulders, faint patterns of vines and leaves glowed against her skin, fading in and out. She radiated strength, but not in an intimidating way.

Lavayla felt her breath catch. This person was no ordinary being. The air around her pulsed with energy, and the fragrance of unseen flowers grew stronger, surrounding Lavayla in a sensation that was both soothing and overwhelming. 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ𝑤𝑒𝑏𝑛𝘰𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝒸𝑜𝘮

The woman’s smile was wide and unrestrained as she stepped, or rather floated, forward. "Haha," she laughed, covering her lips with her fingers. "It seems I have startled the pair of you." Then she looked down and noticed Vai, who had been murmuring in excitement ever since they reached the end of the path.

"Oh, oh my! You brought the little boy too! How cute."

She lifted her gaze and studied their expressions, the tension written clearly across both of their faces. For a brief moment, she seemed to pause, as though realizing how sudden her appearance must have felt to them. Then she waved lightly and laughed again, the sound bright and unrestrained.

"Oh my, forgive me. Such poor manners. I completely forgot to introduce myself," she said with a soft chuckle. "I am Shalika, the guardian of the Mist Forest. Well, it is not truly a mist forest, but... yes, the guardian of this forest. I have known of your arrival since you entered. Not that I have been watching every moment, of course, but I could not bring myself to send you away. You both looked rather pitiful at the time, and for some reason, I felt a strange connection. After observing your actions these past few days, I have been very pleased that I allowed you to come here."

Her gaze shifted suddenly, brightening as it settled on Lavayla.

"Oh, and the human," she exclaimed, her tone filled with excitement. "I hope you noticed the crops I placed along the path leading here. Did you see them? Did you like them?"

Lavayla parted her lips but no words came out. Her thoughts were still trying to catch up, her mind spinning from everything that had just been revealed. She glanced around instinctively, still half-dazed.

Shalika tilted her head slightly, her expression softening. "Oh, you cannot speak? That is quite all right. If they were not to your liking, you may simply tell me."

Lavayla shook her head quickly. "No, no. It is not that I did not like them. It is just... you were the one behind those plants?"

Shalika laughed again, light and carefree. "Yes, yes, of course. You must have suspected something. One does not simply stumble upon such things here without reason. They have existed in this place for a very long time. Decades, perhaps centuries. Since it was clear you needed them, I thought it best to give them to someone who could truly make use of them. They are not particularly useful to beastmen, but you are human, so I believed you would appreciate them. That is why I prepared them for you."