"What do you mean 'hundreds'?" Nulsa asked. "Dungeons cannot escape my sight like that."

No matter how much he didn't want it to be true, Rud couldn't deny what he saw thanks to his newest upgrade. When he had infused the mana into the upgrade, he saw a flurry of colors that made no sense. Only after narrowing his intent down to that of dungeons did he see hundreds of dots of light spread throughout the grove. Nulsa sat perched on the banister, hooting softly as though in concern.

"Doesn't matter how cool you think you are, I see what I see," Rud said. "I've made note of a few of these dungeons, so let's go investigate."

Although reluctant, Nulsa joined Rud after he shifted into his raven form and took to the skies. They took a shortcut through a nearby bush and arrived in a clearing just 500 paces from the observatory. When they landed, the druid was certain this was the spot where he had seen the magical energies. However, as he hopped around on the ground, he saw absolutely nothing.

"I told you," Nulsa said. "My senses are keen. I would have seen if there were a dungeon here."

Rud shook his head, extending his hands and probing the area, groping for the dungeon he knew was there. He saw what he saw, and there was no denying that it was the telltale signature of a dungeon. Those dungeons were typically set in the face of a rocky cliff or otherwise nestled among solid material. His heart skipped a beat when his hand pressed against something solid. He knocked on it, feeling his knuckles smack against solid stone.

Looking back at Nulsa, Rud raised his brows in concern. "What am I knocking on?"

The owl hopped over, reaching out with his talons to scrape against rock that wasn't there. "This is… odd."

"Jasper!" Rud shouted. "I need help!"

It only took the fox a moment to respond to the druid's call. He slipped from a nearby bush and made a surprised sound when he arrived. "You know, I thought I sensed the telltale presence of illusion magic here. I just couldn't sniff it out."

Rud cast a doubtful gaze at the fox, tilting his head to one side. It was hard to believe that a sacred beast as powerful as he could have missed something like this. But just as he was ready to hurl accusations, Nulsa spoke.

"There's more than just illusion magic at work here," the owl said. "We're also dealing with a layer of obfuscating magic that hides the first layer. There might be even more after that. Perhaps we should fetch the elf."

"I can dispel the illusion magic easily enough, but if there are more layers, we'll want an expert in the arcane arts," Jasper said with a shrug. "I can get her if you two like."

"Make sure she takes her horse," Rud said. "Otherwise we're going to wait here forever."

Jasper nodded and rushed off through the nearest bush.

"Your girlfriend should simply join the grove, and she could use the Thicket Travel upgrade," Nulsa said.

"Why does everybody assume we're an item?" Rud asked, crossing his arms. "The moment a talented, handsome, and, most importantly, beefy druid talks to a woman, everyone starts spreading rumors."

"Are you denying any feelings whatsoever for the woman?" Nulsa said, tilting his head to the side in a manner only an owl could achieve.

That wasn't it at all. If Rud had to make a pick for the best girl around the Grove, he'd probably choose Elm. However, there was one factor impeding any romantic intent. "Do you think I have any time to do anything like that with how much stuff I have to do?" the druid asked. "I'm basically working from dawn till dusk without a break, and she's got her own distinct life."

"Still… One can dream."

"How about you?" Rud asked. "I saw you talking to that badger."

"Just a fling," Nulsa said dismissively, hooting a laugh.

Although he wasn't the best, Rud tried his hardest to probe the invisible dungeon with his senses. He could feel something there, but it was amorphous and seemed to move out of the way when he tried to lock onto it. The presence felt sapient, almost as though it dodged each of his attempts with expert precision, bordering on intelligence. He wasn't sure what that meant, as his experience with magical things was limited.

For about a half hour, the druid tried his best to magically pierce the barrier, but it was to no avail. Eventually, he heard the thundering hooves of Daffodil crashing through the forest. Riding atop her was Elm, who wore a fierce look upon her face. In that moment, as she burst through a nearby bush with her hair waving behind her and a look of sheer determination, the druid thought that perhaps, maybe, one day…

But for now he focused on the invisible dungeon before them.

"Howdy," Rud said. "Invisible dungeon. Me scared."

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Daffodil came to a halt, and Elm dismounted, rushing over and leading the way with her staff. Jasper came from the bush next and shifted into his beefy elven form. He struck a pose by the invisible dungeon, flexing annoyingly.

"I really don't like that form," Elm said, only granting sidelong glances to the fox spirit. "By the gods, what kind of magic is this?"

"Good question, magical expert," Rud said. He switched on Clear Communication. "Daffodil, there's a patch of clover over there if you wanna go to town."

"Oh! Don't mind if I do," the deer-horse said, trotting over to a thick patch of green clovers. She got to work on them right away, eating as elegantly as a deer-horse could.

"What we got here," Jasper said, grunting and groaning as he adjusted his flex. "Is a messed up amalgam of magic. I can dispel the illusory layer, but there's some other stuff here."

The difference in personality that Jasper exhibited between his sacred beast form and his elven form was drastic. Rud was certain the creature could adjust his appearance and had selected the beefy elf to impose upon others his perceived power, or perhaps it was all part of a theme in his illusion magic school. But none of this stopped Elm from getting to work right away. She withdrew magical reagents from her bag and began drawing circles on the ground, which the druid could only partially understand.

This was one of those complex, arcane spells that took a while to cast and quite a lot of mana to fuel. That meant it took Elm some time to get it started, but once she did, she hummed with excitement while drawing a notebook from a bag at her side, where she began scrolling through information. She glanced up for only a moment, narrowing her eyes at Rud. "Why is your bag pink?" she asked.

Rud swung his bag around with a bright smile on his face. "Took you long enough to notice," he said. "I got a new bag from town. Do you like it? Just needs a few keychains and a pouch or two… maybe some safety pins."

Although it took Elm a beat to answer, a warm smile eventually spread across her face. "It suits your bubbly personality," she said, turning back to her notes and studying some unseen spell. "And I've got some very bad news about the magic here."

"More god-tier magic?" Rud asked. "Sounds like a normal day in the Grove."

"Although it's nothing that intense, the magic here is pretty powerful," Elm said. Clicking her tongue, "It's going to be a pain to dispel it. Jasper, you're free to remove the first visual illusory layer. There should be five layers total."

"Five?" Jasper asked, his muscles going slack for the first time since he shifted into his elven form. "I only counted two."

"Perhaps you should spend less time on your muscles and more time studying," Elm said. She held her notebook out for him to see. "This is what the arrays look like. Dispel this one and that one."

"Wow," Jasper said, shifting back into his fox form. "Didn't expect to get reprimanded."

"What, don't want to catch another ear full?" Rud asked with a laugh. "Get to work, Muscle Man."

Although Jasper grumbled, he did as he was told. The flash of fire spread across his coat until orbs of light sloughed off, floating into the air and then towards the invisible dungeon. It impacted some barrier, a spell he couldn't see, before that very same fire washed over it, bathing it in a glowing blue-white light. Eventually, it ate away at whatever magical layer was there, revealing a rocky outcrop and a swirling dungeon portal. The druid's intuition was to stay away from it, as there were still many magical barriers.

"There we go," Elm said with a sunny smile. She went back to her magical arrays, poking them and infusing each with mana. "Thanks, Jasper. You disabled the visual and magical layer of the illusion. The layers beneath are now very clear. We have a physical barrier, a magical one, and another that prevents people from entering the dungeon."

"That sounds like some seriously advanced magic," Rud said.

"We have one advantage," Elm said. "At first, I thought this was archmage-level magic performed by a true master. But it isn't. This is someone or something faking it."

"Jasper, did you do this?" Rud asked.

"I don't even know what this is," Jasper said with a huff. "I agree with Elm, though… Oh, hold on."

Jasper shifted into his elven form again, but instead of appearing as a burly man with rippling muscles, he was now slight and tall, with a pair of glasses on his face and a robe draped over his shoulders. He looked much more scholarly and seemed to have a lot to say to the elf.

"Does this form suit you better?" Jasper asked, seeming both embarrassed and frustrated. "I agree with your assessment, though. This appears to be the same type of magic I would cast. In truth, I'm faking illusion magic by using my power as a sacred beast."

"Exactly," Elm said. "You're pumping an obscene amount of mana into your willpower to create a desired effect based on your affinity for illusory concepts. You're casting these 'spells' by willing them into existence. Which is impressive on its own. Well, the same thing is happening here."

Jasper preened a bit, and he deserved it. Rud didn't understand exactly how the fox cast his magical spells, but if it was the way Elm described it was insanely impressive.

"Which leads to a question I have," Rud said. "What kind of thing could make this magic?"

"Whatever made the tower and labyrinth," Elm said. "I thought it was the city below the Grove at first, but I was wrong. There was a link between it and something else, but it was shattered when the Sacred Tree infused it with her energy."

"The plot thickens," Rud said, rubbing his chin. "Seriously, though. What does this mean?"

"It might take me a while, but I can dismantle this spell," Elm said. She let out a heavy sigh. "Which might be tied straight back to the city."

Whatever it took, Rud absolutely had to get these dungeons taken care of. He would need more adventurers. Yet that presented another problem. Those adventurers had been scared off by the outworlder adventurers. Although a plan was hatching in his mind, he wasn't sure if it would work.

"I have my work cut out for me," Rud said. "If you guys need anything to help with your magical magic, you know where to find me."

"I really don't," Elm said, placing a hand on his shoulder. "Every time I try and find you, I have to walk into the forest and ask the creatures. Often they simply chitter at me for a while until Mint comes to rescue me…"

"All the more reason to join the Grove," Rud said, chuckling.

"Yeah, maybe one day… Now leave me to my work," Elm said, waving him away.

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