No more small humanoids crept from the brush as Matthew continued following the faint sliver of mana.
Slowly but surly, the sliver grew, becoming more and more dense.
Eventually, he reached another opening in the trees.
The slivers of magic pooled on the center of clearing. Several other strings of mana flowed inward from other sides of the opening.
In the center of the clearing was a mote of green swirling mana hovering a few inches above the grass.
Matthew stepped forward, towards the swirling mass of mana. While the mana didn't have any sort of force pulling things towards it, nor any temperature, physical mass, or much form to begin with, Matthew still felt an immense pressure pushing him back. He didn't feel any resistance as he stepped forward, but something in the back of his mind kept telling him to step away.
But his curiosity got the better of him.
Then he walked into something.
He held his forehead for a moment, before the air in front of him began to shimmer.
Instinctively, Matthew leaped a few steps backwards, something crunching under his feet as landed.
The air around him shimmered in waves, revealing a form around the more of mana.
Throughout the entirety of the clearing was a hut, complete with a small garden of roses- a bush of which had been unintentionally crushed under Matthew's feet.
He had slammed into the front door- or what he assumed was the front door- if the hut.
It was made nearly entirely of wood. Not carved planks of wood neatly fitted together, but large branches and trunks crudely carved and magically stuck together.
The door had a small circular hole in its center for a window that hardly had any use as, even with Matthew's heightened perception, he couldn't see anything through it.
Matthew carefully stepped out of the small garden he had leaped into, harming no more bushes in the process.
He walked up to the door and put a hand on the handle; a curved bone from an unknown creature stuck to the wood.
Checking no one else was around, Matthew pushed the door open slightly to peer inside.
Somehow, the interior was exactly as he expected.
The interior of the hut was made from the same wood as the walls. It all seemed like one massive cluster of branches and trunks melded together into a hut.
Directly after the door inside was a small rug made from the pelt of a wolf with green and brown fur.
Deeper inside was a small stair case, only 2 steps, that led up to a common room, complete with a cobblestone hearth glowing with shimmering blue fire. A cauldron hung above the fire, bubbling with some form of stew. It smelled good, making Matthew's mouth drool slightly as he suddenly noticed he hadn't had lunch.
Matthew cautiously opened the door- it letting out a creak as he did so- and stepped inside the hut.
A wave of scents washed over him as he crossed the threshold of the doorway.
Matthew couldn't place any of the smells, but they were all earthy; the scents of different plants and flowers.
For once, Matthew regretted having heightened senses. The best he could do with the overwhelming smells was to attempt to tune them out.
Bits of carved wood stuck out from the wall, acting as shelves for several containers, and jars filled with a modicum of different things Matthew couldn't identify.
YOU ARE READING
Monarchs of Above and Below (On Hiatus)
ActionNOW AVAILABLE ON ROYAL ROAD @Shogeki15 It's been nearly a decade since gates started opening around the world. First it had started in Korea, but quickly spread throughout the globe. Matthew, an E-Rank hunter in the U.S, has been struggling constant...
