'Thump'
I feel the heartbeat of the creatures overhead.
'Thump'
I feel the pulse of the ground beneath my feet.
'Thump'
Even the sounds of the trees growing cannot escape my perception.
'Thump... Thump... Thump...'
I open my eyes and grasp ahold of the sights around me. The forest that has become my home folds down around me. The buzzing of fairy wings fills my ears, and I take stock of their situation. I sent out two hunting teams this morning and three more to scout. Each team consists of four fairies meaning there should be eighty-six pairs of wings still in the village.
"Oog." My trusted right hand appears by my side in an instant. "Is everything ready?"
"Yes, leader."
"Very well, lead the way." We fly to the other side of the village, where a Horned Rabbit is tied up next to a bowl filled with various ingredients. I check to make sure nothing is missing. After confirming everything, the ceremony to create a fairy can begin. I'm well aware that fairies are not natural inhabitants of this world, but as the progenitor, it's my job to spawn the youth. The old man created us for a reason, and I'll be damned if I'm the one who lets his work go to waste.
I give the signal, and my fairies let the blue blood of the Horned Rabbit flow into the basin. The process of creating a fairy is actually very simple. All that is needed is a pure mana stone to house the soul and monster blood to form the body. We've refined the process over the years, and there are now a few more ingredients, but otherwise, it's remained unchanged. The most significant addition to the ceremony is the Fairy Tear flower which reinforces the mana circuit of our progeny. I move to the basin and place a hand on my chest.
'To give life is to sacrifice your own.'
I rouse my soul, and the swirling infinity inside me responds. The basis of all fairies is the black mana stone which can be created by adding a soul to a pure mana stone. I grab a part of my soul that stands out and tear. Though I've repeated this process countless times, it never gets easier. An intense searing pain rips through my entire body. I hold my eyes open to prevent myself from losing consciousness; a soul can't exist for long outside of a vessel. I quickly insert the piece of my own soul into the pure mana stone. Despite originally holding a misty white color, the mana stone is now dyed black. As soon as the swirling black soul completely fills the stone, the next step in the ceremony begins. A ripple forms in the blood at the bottom of the basin and then begins swirling about the stone. The other ingredients are dissolved as the blood rises into the shape of a body. After the ceremony is completed, only a blue blob in the rough shape of a fairy remains. Oog picks up the chrysalis and places it inside a nook in a nearby tree. It will take about a week for the fairy to finish forming. In the meantime, the chrysalis needs to remain unperturbed. I wipe away the blood dripping from all the orifices on my face once we're finished. It's not often that we can find pure mana stones of the appropriate size, so the total population of the tribe tends to remain stagnant. My breathing is ragged. I take a moment to regain my composure.
"Leader!" A shrill voice cuts apart the calm air. Fairies almost never panic unless there is an immediate threat, so I take any sign of fear very seriously.
"Speak." I see the voice is coming from Hai, which is even more concerning. Hai is one of the strongest fairies in the tribe and doesn't get worked up very easily.
"The humans are fighting a lizard that the Guardian was hunting!" I remember hearing a report that Nick entered the forest with some weak humans earlier. They must have encountered something unexpected.
"Take me there." Hai dives into the woods, and I follow closely behind. The whole forest is eerily calm. In less than half an hour, we arrive at the sight of the battle.
[It's quiet.]
There's no way they should be able to handle a large monster at their level, so the fact that the battle ended can only mean that they lost. I'm just hoping some of them are still alive. Completely contrary to my thoughts, the giant dirt lizard is lying dead in the center of a crater. I see Nick arguing with a group of humans I've never seen before, and the other two in his party are cutting open the beast. I sigh in relief. I don't know how they survived, but I can always ask them about it later. We remain hidden as the humans quickly group together and prepare to leave. It seems one of the weaker humans has been injured, but that's a small price to pay. I take a closer look at Nick and notice something unusual. His soul is significantly denser than it was when we last spoke. The size of a human's soul is dependent on their level, but the density is determined by their stats. This can only mean his stats increased significantly in a very short period.
[What the hell is he hiding?]
Once the humans have stepped well into the distance, I float down and examine the corpse. The wounds are severe, and both of its eyes have been gouged out.
[He sure can fight dirty.]
As I'm looking over the body, I'm suddenly struck still. The air freezes around me, and my pulse quickens. A deep dread wraps around my throat.
"Are you trying to hide from me?" The voice of the Guardian oozes into my mind.
"The body is still warm. We just found this ourselves."
"Good, I wouldn't want you to make a bad decision." The Forest Guardian slithers up to the massive monster and tastes the air with its tongues. The far-right head turns around to speak to me while the other two inspect the carcass.
"Bring it to our lair. We're hungry."
"But–" I cut myself off before I dig an even deeper hole.
"But what? Do you want it for yourself?"
"..."
"No, you have no use for such a thing."
"..."
"I've noticed some humans parading around my territory, are they friends of yours?"
"...Yes."
"They're looking tasty. I could always have a quick snack."
"We'll bring the monster to your lair immediately." I try to change the subject before the Guardian makes up their mind.
"Oh? Have I hit a sore spot? I'll remember that for later." The giant multi-headed snake slithers back into the forest. All the disturbed earth and bent plants are restored as if it was never there. Even the trail dug by its enormous tail has disappeared. "You'd better not leave even a single drop of blood, do you understand me?"
The guardian leaves without waiting for a response. I unclench my teeth and take a deep breath.
[I don't suppose he'll forgive me for this, will he?]