“Look! What was that?!”

Ivan and Janet were sitting on the edge of the waterfall, just like Ivan had done alone, a few days prior. She had spotted what looked like a black blur as it darted between the trees, but they were so high up, she had to use Ivan’s magnifying vision magic. A large plate sized disc hovered in front of her that acted like a telescope.

With it, she caught sight of many wonderful creatures, but not the one she was hoping for. However, she had now seen one!

“I didn’t see. Where is it?”

Ivan wasn’t in a hurry, as he smiled to himself. He had actually seen it and many others when they had started, but Janet was limited in her senses and awareness.

“It looked like a monster out of this book I found!”

“I thought you were wanting a plant…was I wrong?”

He arched his eyebrows in a weird manner, but he was implying that he already knew that she wasn’t here for the plant with his tone. He chuckled before standing up, grabbing Janet by the waist. Janet blushed and a small smile crept onto her face, but then her smile distorted into a scream as Ivan jumped.

“Here we gooooo!”

With the last word as a sort of signal, Ivan leaped, hurtling towards the forest below. They landed directly in a small opening in the canopy and found themselves within the Gilded Glade.

“Alright, follow me. I believe it was over here.”

But before Janet could adjust herself, Ivan was already gone! She looked all over, but she couldn’t find him anywhere!”

“Ivan! Ivan?! IVAN!”

Suddenly, tears started streaming down her face as her breaths turned into sobs. Before long, the hallucinations started to kick in. She saw several faces before her, driving herself to run away while crying out of guilt. She ended up tripping on what she thought was the body of Ivan, but was actually the roots of a tree.

A very large tree.

However, Janet was still in the illusion.

Just before she ran directly into the gaping maw of the tree monster, a flying kick knocked its mouth shut. Ivan kept it under constant defense as Janet slowly exited the illusion.

“Ivan! Ivan! I was so scared!”

Her face was dirty with mud, snot, and tears, but she wouldn’t let go of Ivan’s arms.

“Sorry, this big guy wouldn’t let me close unless he was distracted. However, I wouldn’t let anything hurt you…well, physically, anyway.”

He noticed her tremors and shaking, causing his face to slacken in concern, but just responded with a strand of magical energy. She quieted down and began her breathing, just like he had taught her. Every now and then, she would catch sight of strange visions and nightmares, but with her breathing and being near Ivan, she could see them for what they were.

Only after the large tree was forced to run away deep underground, disappearing like a mole digging through the ground, were they able to breathe easy. But it was at this time when several dark creatures were seen in the ground.

“Ah! The monsters I saw in the book!”

She wiped her face off using Ivan’s arms as punishment before rushing over to the nearest creature. He grimaced at the stain on his shirt but remained silent as he approached the strange monsters. He had never seen anything like them, but he wasn’t that interested. There were many monsters with strange appearances in this world, why focus on only one?

Most had their blood drained, but one female was kept alive as she was pregnant. An elated Janet helped the mother give birth, but she ended up passing on. In fact, only one child was born alive. It was also the runt of the litter. However, Janet looked at it with sparkling eyes, just like when she was looking at the noodles.

She turned around to show Ivan, but he had disappeared. Nearly worried that the tree had returned, she clutched the 'pup' closer and trembled. Thankfully, he wasn't gone long. When he came back, he was carrying all sorts of items. They looked like blankets, toys…a bottle? Janet looked at Ivan with her eyebrows arched, but he just shrugged and responded.

“What? You will need these to take care of a pet, right?”

Janet was confused until she reran the words through her head a few times. She broke into a wide grin and rushed forward, giving Ivan a sideways hug, so she didn’t squish the monster. However, Ivan was visibly surprised by the contact. He awkwardly patted her head, but his other hand was just hanging in midair before he ran it through his hair.

“Alright, it is time to go home.”

After making sure the two were securely fastened, he returned to the mansion.