The forest clearing was quiet again, the tension of the battle replaced by the sharp stillness that follows catastrophe.
The Wood Serpent's massive corpse lay slumped in the lake, steam curling from its mouth and the glowing wound across its chest. Its once-vibrant scales were now dulled, almost brittle. Water—or what looked like it—lapped gently at its sides.
John sat on a mossy boulder, leaning forward with his arms on his knees, the tattered ends of his robe fluttering slightly in the breeze. His breathing had steadied, though the occasional wince gave away the bruises beneath.
The elf girl stood beside him, wiping her curved blades with a small leaf that crumbled to dust after touching the blood. She then slid the weapons back into their sheaths in one fluid motion.
Tony's voice broke the silence.
"Okay. Okay. Nobody touch the body!" He held up both hands, his sleeves rolled up, and his eyes gleaming with manic excitement. "This thing… this magnificent creature… do you have any idea how many unknown secrets are probably inside it?!"
He was already squatting beside the corpse with a compact multi-tool and a reinforced sampling vial. With surgical precision, he carved a bit of the serpent's outer scale, muttering like a mad scientist. "Oooh—this texture… John, I swear, this isn't just wood. It's like… compressed organic crystal."
John didn't reply at first but asked all of a sudden, "Since when did you get interested in biology?"
Tony paused for a while then replied, "Well, I got interested in it when you first created your strengthening potion all those years ago. And because of polledium poison, I have come very deep in it."
"Oh."
John just nodded and turned his attention to the green lake with narrowed eyes.
The elf girl—Hazal, as John had learned—stood quietly beside him, arms crossed.
"You said this is part of your domain?" John asked finally.
Hazal gave a small nod, the faint wind catching her silver hair and making it ripple like moonlight on water. "It used to be. Before… things changed."
John tilted his head slightly. "It doesn't feel like ordinary energy. That lake—it's not even water, is it?"
He took a few steps toward the shimmering green lake and crouched beside it. Dipping his fingers in, he expected cold or wetness—but instead, his hand passed through as if entering a warm, thick mist. The sensation was neither solid nor liquid. It was like touching something soft, warm, and humming with powerful energy.
Hazal joined him, her silver eyes watching him closely. "That's pure wood elemental mana. It condenses like this only in places deeply attuned to the forest. This place has always been special."
John looked back at her. "So this place… was once under elven rule?"
Hazal's gaze grew distant, her voice soft. "Long ago. Before the serpents came."
John stood slowly, brows furrowed. "You lost this land."
"We lost everything," Hazal said without emotion, but the weight in her words was heavy. "And now, the lake is unguarded. Vulnerable."
CLACK!
They both turned sharply to see Tony slipping face-first onto the serpent's side.
"Ack—! I'm good! I'm good!" he waved a hand, already pulling out another tool. "Listen, I just found a hollow behind this scale! Might be a gland or a mana pocket!"
"Tony…" John exhaled.
Hazal blinked slowly. "Is he always like this?"
"Worse, but with different things," John muttered, rubbing his forehead.
Tony grinned without looking up. "You'll thank me later when I synthesize a regenerative potion from this beast's saliva duct!"
John kept looking at him silently.
"Don't look at me like that, I know those plants you have been gathering are for potions, right? But my direction is different. What if we can transform this magical beast into something that can help humans? And I think it would be easier than using those plants."
John, on the other hand, completely ignored Tony's blabbering. He wasn't interested in dissecting beasts.
John turned his gaze back to the lake. "If this lake is made of condensed wood mana… then it must've been connected to the something right."
Hazal gave him a sidelong look. "You're thinking of looking for it?"
"I don't know what I'm thinking," John admitted. But inside his head, John was already planning to look for it. ' It should be something amazing, right,' John thought to himself.
"You're strange," she said quietly.
"So I've been told."
Her lips curved just slightly—almost a smile.
"I didn't know you could laugh," Tony said, who was still busy with his work.
"Nowadays rarely. But your friend is... special."
Tony waved from a distance. "You can say that again."
John ignored him and looked back at Hazal. "So… this lake. What else can it do?"
Hazal followed his gaze, her tone calm but firm. "It's more than just a pool of mana. Bathing in it can increase a person's wood elemental affinity."
John raised an eyebrow. "Increase it? How much are we talking?"
"It depends on the person," she said. "But if someone already has some level of affinity with the wood element, exposure to this condensed mana can push it to the next tier. Sometimes even beyond."
John crouched again, letting the warm mist-like mana swirl around his fingers. "So you're telling me this lake can basically supercharge someone's elemental growth?"
"Exactly," Hazal replied. "In the past, our warriors used to train near it. They'd meditate here, bathe in it, absorb the mana. It helped them reach higher levels of control and power."
John nodded slowly. "That explains the intensity. It doesn't feel like regular mana. It's denser. More refined."
Hazal glanced at him. "It is. It only forms in places deeply attuned to the wood element. Natural, untouched places."
John looked thoughtful. "Sounds like a place worth protecting."
Hazal's voice was quiet but steady. "It always was."
---
Meanwhile…
Tony knelt beside the serpent's remains, a scalpel in one hand and a glowing jar in the other. His voice was low but brimming with glee.
"Oh, you beautiful ugly serpent. You're going to make me busy again."