The Emerald Forest remained green throughout the year thanks to some mysterious force, but each season still brought subtle differences to its scenery.
It was the turn of spring into summer, and the earth was shrouded in spring's lingering warmth and the early heat of high summer. After the frequent rains of recent days, sunlight, moisture, and the life-giving Natural Magic Power intertwined, spurring the trees, vegetation, shrubs, and ferns of the Emerald Forest into vigorous growth.
Though someone had cleared a path leading to the Black Forest, wild branches and weeds continued to encroach on it, revealing the forest's untamed nature.
They had left Outpost No. 11 behind. The moment they stepped into the forest, all the noise vanished, and silence reigned.
"Be careful."
Gauss quietly warned his companions.
The closer they got to the Black Forest, the more densely packed the "voices" he could sense became.
Most were the noises of insects that should have been blocked out.
But Gauss was worried he might miss something important, so after formally entering the forest, he had relaxed his filters against such background noise a little. As a result, a flood of useless information poured in as well.
"Reproduce!"
"Love!"
"Want offspring!"
"Heat!!"
"Want to eat!"
"Danger! Run!"
They were all instinctive mutterings.
The group slowed their pace a little. Four Clay Spiders followed at Gauss's side, occasionally pouncing on the strong insects or small animals they passed and quickly ending their lives.
It looked cruel, but in this vast, boundless forest, such a minor change was just a drop in the ocean, swallowed in an instant by the endless cycle of nature.
The Clay Spiders kept sending back feelings of joy: "pleasure," "delicious," "relaxed," and "stronger."
Even the insects in the Emerald Forest—ordinary gold beetles, rhinoceros beetles, and flower