Back on Planet D-418, Zion made his way toward the marked area.

Yet with every step, that strange feeling of being watched crept back over him, heavier than before.

"Uriel, can you check if there's anything around?" he asked, slowing slightly as his gaze swept the forest.

[Affirmative,] Uriel replied after a brief pause. [I'm only detecting small creatures. Nothing threatening within a thousand yards.]

Zion's expression darkened slightly. He nodded once and attempted to shake the feeling off as he continued walking.

He continued at a steady pace, rapidly approaching the mid-grade herb.

As time passed, the feeling only grew stronger.

Just as he was about to dismiss it again, Uriel's voice echoed through his mind.

[Host,] it said, voice sharp. [I'm detecting a life force high up in a tree ahead.]

Zion slowed immediately, his eyes darting upward. "Can you show me its location on the map?" he asked.

Barely a second later, another red dot nearly two hundred yards away appeared on the hologram.

Zion ran energy through his body while slowly advancing forward. As he closed in on the location, his blade pierced through his knuckles and scales covered his arms.

"In the trees," he murmured, narrowing his eyes.

The branches were far too densely covered in layers upon layers of moss, vines, and leaves, making it nearly impossible to see anything.

[The lifeform is actively concealing itself,] Uriel added. [Its energy signature has decreased significantly, as if it's forcing its body to die.]

Zion exhaled slowly, nodding once as he moved ahead.

But even as he reached the marked tree and waited beneath it, no creature fell from the sky. Not even the leaves above him moved.

'Ah, really,' he thought, closing his eyes for a moment. 'Am I really going to have to climb up to see what creature it is?'

The branch the lifeform was hiding on seemed to be at least two hundred feet up, which was quite the climb with just his hands and a blade.

He let out a sigh, shaking his head. "I'll have to. It's clearly an ambush-type creature, so its information will be worth a lot."

No longer hesitating, Zion kicked off from the ground, jabbing his blade into the tree once he reached it.

He repeatedly swung back and forth, launching himself further and further up the tree.

Finally, as he neared the one-hundred-and-fifty-foot mark, his eyes caught the leaves above him stirring.

"It knows," he mumbled, digging his left hand deeper into the tree for a proper hold.

Barely a second later, the lifeform moved, lunging from the branch straight toward him.

Zion's expression darkened for a moment, his eyes shifting from the ground far below back to the creature.

The green creature rapidly soared through the air, its mouth wide open, displaying two sets of pure white fangs.

"I really don't want to fall here," Zion gritted his teeth, clinging on for dear life as he swung his blade through the air.

His blade collided with the creature's fangs, cracking them in an instant.

Zion pushed further, catapulting the creature to the ground.

He immediately followed, sliding down the tree while using his sword to slow himself.

Before he reached the ground, he finally got a good look at what had attacked him.

It was a long, snake-like creature, covered in leaves to the point where it looked like a bush lying on the forest floor.

"A leaflet snake?" he mumbled, tilting his head slightly. "But why is it so strong?"

It wasn't the first time he'd seen one of them. The last had been a mere E-rank, its only weapon being a strong paralytic poison.

'But this one seems to have far surpassed that,' he thought, landing on the ground. 'Is the environment here really so good that it can grow past its limits?'

He shook his head, pushing aside the distraction as he approached the snake, which lay completely still.

Just as he was about to reach it, the snake's eyes snapped open.

It hissed as it lunged toward Zion, a yellow liquid dripping from its remaining fangs.

Zion remained calm, jabbing his sword straight through the inside of its mouth.

The blade went through cleanly, penetrating deep into its brain.

'Its intelligence doesn't seem to have advanced alongside its strength,' he thought, sliding his blade back out.

Walking around the corpse, Zion took out a special device from his bag and pushed it into the creature's side.

"Scan it, please," he said, taking a step back. "I'm sure it'll earn us at least two hundred, maybe even three hundred thousand credits if it's interesting enough."

[Affirmative,] Uriel responded. [Scanning now…]

Zion moved a short distance away from the corpse before sitting down on a thick root, keeping his eyes on the surrounding forest.

For several minutes, nothing happened.

[Scan complete,] Uriel finally said. [Data successfully recorded. The specimen shows multiple abnormal traits, which will be valuable to the Mercenary Guild.]

Zion nodded, pushing himself back to his feet.

"Time to go, then," he said.

He retrieved the device from the snake's corpse and put it away before turning back toward the final marker.

As he walked, the forest felt… normal again.

Yet after only a few steps, that familiar sensation crept back over him.

Zion frowned immediately. "Is there another snake somewhere?" he complained quietly, sweeping his gaze across the trees.

[No significant lifeforms detected,] Uriel replied after a moment.

Zion clicked his tongue, shaking his head. "Great. So it's just me this time."

'I must be paranoid since it's my first time doing this alone.'

He shook off the strange feeling, his eyes drawn back to the map.

The marker for the herb no longer seemed far away, with only three miles left.

As he walked, Zion glanced around with a frown. The forest seemed to grow denser the closer he got to the mid-grade herb.

It reached a point where he had to cut through bushes just to continue forward.

Finally, after several more minutes, he pushed through the last set of leaves.

Light spilled through.

Zion froze.

"…Wow," he said, eyes widening.

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