[The cold night breeze]
[The soft crackling of the campfire]
[The faint chirping of birds in the distance]
The camp was not normal tonight.
After an entire day of activity, the open grounds had finally fallen quiet.
But it was not the kind of silence that felt safe.
It was the kind of silence in which every tent seemed to hide a plan.
Every campfire seemed to have a secret sitting beside it.
And every face seemed burdened by worries about tomorrow.
Arjun sat quietly in his small corner.
His body was not particularly tired after returning from the supply run, but his mind remained completely awake.
Everything he had seen that day continued to circle through his thoughts—the eastern boundary, the broken hut, the bloodstains on the walls, and the small mutated creature hiding in the ceiling.
All of it seemed to tell him the same thing.
Every path in this world was filled with danger.
He pulled his bag closer.
The Blue Jade Stone was still hidden within him.
A faint warmth.
A faint pulse.
A subtle vibration.
Arjun closed his eyes and slowly controlled his breathing.
[Slow, deep breaths]
After his cultivation the previous day, his body had become stronger than before.
But he understood that having a stronger body alone was not enough.
If he wanted to survive in this camp, he would also have to understand people’s language, their movements, and even their fears.
Just then, a shadow fell across him.
Arjun opened his eyes.
Veerbhadra was standing before him.
The same stern, calm expression remained on his face.
But this time, there was something else in his eyes.
It was as if he were testing Arjun once again.
“Your first task outside the camp went well,” Veerbhadra said.
Arjun nodded.
“It was only a small danger,” he replied calmly.
“But the task was completed.”
Veerbhadra studied him for several moments.
“That is what I expected.”
Then he leaned slightly closer.
“Come with me.”
Arjun followed without asking questions.
A group of senior members was sitting in another section of the camp.
They were gathered a short distance away from the campfire, sitting around several wooden planks.
A small map lay spread across the surface.
They were leaning over it, speaking in low voices.
Their voices were quiet, but the tension in their discussion was obvious.
The moment Arjun approached, they fell silent.
One elderly hunter looked him up and down.
“So this is the new boy?”
Veerbhadra answered,
“Yes.”
The old hunter slightly wrinkled his nose.
“Trial yesterday.
Outside work today.”
He gave a faint scoff.
“He moves fast.”
Arjun showed no reaction.
Veerbhadra pointed toward the map.
“This is a route map of the area surrounding the camp.”
Arjun carefully studied it.
There were numerous markings.
Some showed established paths.
Others indicated danger zones.
Several red lines crossed the map.
And then there was a large black region.
Small question marks had been drawn around its boundary.
“What is this black area?” Arjun asked.
The old hunter took a long breath before answering.
“The Black Forest.”
The old hunter continued,
“The route you traveled during yesterday’s supply run only touched its outer edge.”
He tapped the black region.
“Going inside is an entirely different matter.”
“Everything moves in there—animals, Beasts, herbs, swamps…”
He paused.
“And sometimes things that even senior hunters would rather retreat from.”
Arjun’s eyes remained fixed on the map.
Veerbhadra placed his finger on a small marked location.
“There is an old path here.”
“It has been used for a long time.”
“But recently, fewer and fewer people have been returning from it.”
Aarav quietly asked,
“Then why do people still go there?”
The old hunter smiled bitterly.
“Because those who return from there come back rich.”
He moved his finger to another section of the map.
“The Seven-Petaled Lotus.”
“A rare herb.”
“It is used for purification and healing.”
“That is why people are willing to take the risk.”
Arjun had heard that name before.
But now, he understood its importance much more clearly.
Veerbhadra spoke.
“Tomorrow, the two of you will go with a small team.”
“This is not a major expedition yet.”
“You will only patrol near the boundary.”
“We need to see how the Black Forest is behaving this season.”
Arjun looked at him.
“Why me?”
Veerbhadra met his eyes directly.
“Because you can observe.”
[The gentle wind]
The answer was short.
But Arjun could read both trust and warning within it.
He remained silent.
The other people sitting around the map were now paying closer attention to him.
One of them quietly said,
“He stopped a Beast during yesterday’s trial.”
“And he performed well outside the camp today.”
Another spoke.
“He’s calm.”
“Too calm.”
The old hunter looked at Arjun again.
“Calm people are either extremely dangerous…”
“Or they die very quickly.”
Aarav pressed his lips together after hearing that.
Arjun simply continued looking ahead.
Veerbhadra raised his hand, signaling the end of the meeting.
“We leave tomorrow morning.”
“Don’t be late.”
Arjun turned and walked away.
The night had grown deeper.
Soft conversations could still be heard throughout the camp.
Someone was laughing.
Someone was tightening the straps of a weapon.
Others were talking about an old expedition.
And somewhere nearby, the same names kept being repeated.
The Camp Chief.
The Black Forest.
The Seven-Petaled Lotus.
Arjun and Aarav returned to their section.
Aarav lowered his voice.
“They’re sending you into the Black Forest.”
He gave a small shrug.
“Not bad.”
“But you’ll have to be careful.”
Arjun nodded.
“Have you been there before?” he asked.
“Once.”
He paused.
“And that’s enough for me to say this—silence in the forest is never truly empty.”
Arjun memorized those words.
After a while, Aarav lay down in his corner.
Arjun, however, remained awake.
He took the water flask from his bag and drank a mouthful.
Then he ran a hand over his body, checking his wounds.
There were no new injuries.
But something else had begun inside him.
A new responsibility.
Tomorrow morning, he would have to head toward the Black Forest.
And before that, he needed to establish his place among these people.
Just then, he heard a strange sound coming from outside the camp.
[A faint growl in the distance]
Arjun’s eyes opened instantly.
He stood and walked toward the outer side of the camp.
Only the guards were there.
But far beyond them, near the dark boundary of the forest, a faint shadow seemed to move.
Very small.
Very brief.
One of the guards noticed it as well.
“There’s something over there,” he said to his companion.
The other narrowed his eyes.
“Probably just a small Beast.”
Arjun stared into the distance.
For a brief moment, he felt as though the shadow was looking directly at him.
Or perhaps…
It was only his imagination.
But then the Blue Jade Stone suddenly produced a faint warmth.
Arjun placed a hand against his chest.
Something inside him had awakened.
A warning.
Going into the Black Forest would not be an ordinary task.
And somehow, he felt that this journey would not be limited to searching for herbs.
A voice came from behind him.
“Arjun.”
He turned.
Veerbhadra was still standing there.
“Whatever you see tomorrow…”
“Don’t casually tell anyone about it.”
Arjun studied his face.
“Why?”
Veerbhadra remained silent for a moment.
Then he said,
“Because the forest isn’t only outside.”
“Sometimes…”
“It finds its way inside as well.”
[The deep rush of wind]
Arjun accepted those words without answering.
Veerbhadra turned and walked away.
Arjun continued staring toward the darkness for a long time.
The campfires were gradually dying down.
People were preparing to sleep.
The night was spreading across the land in its full depth.
But Arjun could not sleep.
Before him was the Black Forest.
Behind him was the camp.
And between them lay an unfinished path—
A path that he had yet to travel.
Tomorrow, for the first time, he would leave the familiar boundaries of the camp and head toward a new, greater, and unknown danger.
And somewhere deep inside, he already knew—
This would not be just another supply run.
It would be his next real test.
Chapter CliffhangerWhat dangerous sign will Arjun discover inside the Black Forest?
Why did Veerbhadra specifically warn him not to tell anyone about what he sees?
Why did the Blue Jade Stone react to the mysterious shadow?
And will this next mission help Arjun rise within the camp—or drag him into an even greater trouble?