Chapter 246: The Largest and Most Dangerous Forest in Promethia: The Active Forest — Part 3.

They pushed deeper into the thick, humid heart of Area 1. The ground beneath their feet became increasingly treacherous, covered in a carpet of thick, pulsating vines that seemed to shift whenever they weren’t looking directly at them.

[New Monsterpedia Entry Added: Creeper]

[Creeper (Base Form) — Habitat: Forests / Ruins / Dense Vegetation]

[B RANK — Magic: 260,000 | Might: 260,000]

[A plant based organism that spreads rapidly across surfaces, blending seamlessly with vines and foliage. Creepers move slowly but can extend tendrils to entangle prey or intruders. Some variants are capable of tightening their vines with crushing force or secreting mild toxins. They are often found covering ruins or forest floors, making them difficult to detect until it is too late.]

The vines suddenly lashed out, snaking around the trunks of the trees like constrictors. Johnn, ever the guardian, danced through the reaching tendrils with effortless grace. He didn’t even draw his tonfas at first, simply stepping over the lunging vines as if playing a game of jump rope.

"Ha! Nice try, you overgrown weeds!" Johnn laughed, looking over his shoulder at Maddy with a smug grin. "Watch this, Partner! I call this the ’Lawnmower Special’!"

Before he brought his tonfas down to smash the core of the vines, he paused, a look of playful skepticism on his face. He pointed a thumb at the slimy, thorn covered greenery.

"Hey, Maddy, just checking... you aren’t actually planning to eat these, right? I mean, it’s literally just sentient moss. There’s no way this is on the menu."

Maddy didn’t even look up from the path.

"They can be cooked," she said flatly. "Blanch them in boiling water to remove the toxins, and they have the texture of al dente pasta. They’re excellent with a bit of garlic."

Johnn’s jaw dropped.

"Pasta?! You’re—"

In that moment of pure, stunned disbelief, his focus wavered. A hidden cluster of Creepers surged from the shadow of a nearby root. Before he could react, the vines wrapped firmly around his ankles, waist, and arms, pinning the SSS rank Hero against a tree trunk.

"Gah! Hey! Let go!"

Johnn struggled, but the more he moved, the tighter the vines constricted, their thorns snagging on his expensive cape.

"Ugh! Wait! I’m tangled! A little help here?"

Maddy didn’t stop. She didn’t even slow down. She continued walking into the dark emerald gloom, her cloak fluttering behind her.

"You’re the SSS rank, Johnn," her voice echoed back to him, cold and indifferent. "Figure it out."

"Partner! Don’t leave me with the pasta!"

Johnn wailed, his muffled shouts fading as the forest’s heavy silence swallowed him whole.

Despite being trapped, a small, doting thought crossed his mind:

"She’s so knowledgeable... she even knows how to prep sentient salad. Truly, the perfect partner."

The atmosphere shifted instantly as they crossed into new section of Area 1. Johnn’s playful demeanor vanished. He didn’t strike a pose; he didn’t make a joke. He stepped in front of Maddy, his tonfas held low and ready, his aura flaring into a sharp, protective gold.

"Something is not... right. Stay close to me."

Then, they heard it. A low, rhythmic moaning that vibrated through the very wood of the trees. It wasn’t the roar of a beast, but the unmistakable sound of human agony.

"Is that..?"

From the oppressive fog emerged a titan of nature.

[New Monsterpedia Entry Added: Elder Ent]

[Elder Ent (Evolved Form) — Habitat: Ancient Forests / Sacred Groves / World Trees]

[B RANK — Magic: 420,000 | Might: 420,000]

[An ancient and immensely powerful variant of the Ent, Elder Ents are living embodiments of nature’s will. Their massive bodies are reinforced with centuries of growth, making their bark harder than stone. They possess deep control over surrounding vegetation, capable of commanding entire forests—raising roots, vines, and trees to defend their domain. Elder Ents rarely move unless provoked, but when they do, entire landscapes shift with them. Their presence is often tied to the life force of the forest itself.]

The creature was gargantuan, its bark as dark as obsidian and cracked like ancient stone. But it wasn’t the tree itself that stopped their hearts—it was what was on it.

Dozens of bodies were fused into its trunk and branches. Some were impaled by jagged limbs, their limbs dangling like broken dolls; others were half submerged in the wood, their mouths hanging open in a silent, eternal scream.

"By the gods..." Johnn whispered, his voice trembling with a rare, cold fury. "Those are adventurers. There’s a group from the capital... and a merchant family..."

He stepped forward, his knuckles white as he gripped his weapons.

"Hey! You overgrown monster! Let them go! Drop them right now and I might leave your roots intact!"

"Johnn, stop," Maddy said, her voice like ice.

"Maddy, we have to save them! They’re still moaning, they’re still—"

"They aren’t human anymore,"

She interrupted. She stared at the figures through her hood, her Monsterpedia flickering with a jagged, dark energy as it captured the distorted images of the victims.

[New Monsterpedia Entry Added: Green Men]

[Green Men (Base Form) — Habitat: Forests / Sacred Groves / Ancient Ruins]

[ B RANK — Magic: 400,000 | Might: 300,000]

[Once human, Green Men are the result of individuals who were consumed by the forest and absorbed into its living ecosystem. Their bodies have been overtaken by vines, roots, and bark, transforming them into humanoid extensions of nature itself. Though fragments of their former selves may linger, their will is now bound to the forest. They act as guardians of their domain, manipulating surrounding vegetation to entangle, restrain, or overwhelm intruders. Their forms constantly shift as plants grow and recede, making them difficult to track or strike. Green Men are both a warning and a consequence—those who venture too deep into ancient forests may one day become one of them.]

As if responding to her words, the "bodies" began to twitch. Vines threaded through their veins like parasites, and bark started to plate over their skin. Their eyes, once human, glowed with the same sickly green bioluminescence as the forest. One by one, they peeled themselves away from the Elder Ent, connected only by thick, umbilical like roots.

"They’ve been consumed," Maddy explained, her hand finally reaching for the hilt of her blade. "The forest didn’t kill them; it recycled them. They are the Green Men now. If you try to ’save’ them, you’re just giving the forest more fertilizer."