"Oh, no, I'm fine, Mom. And yes, I've eaten already."
To be honest, I found her calls annoying at first. Every time a new job came up, it was the same thing, but as time went on and the deaths of my colleagues became more and more frequent, I began to appreciate those moments more.
"Did Dad wake up? One more reason to come back in one piece, don't you think?"
My heart warmed a little at the news.
Working at a time like this didn't exactly make me the best son, but what can you do? Work is work.
"I'm going to hang up now, Mom. I need to set up my gear before entering the new zone, and don't worry. I'm good at this, so bye."
I stared at the floor for a few moments after hanging up.
My facade crumbled with a sigh as I gathered my courage.
Today my hands didn't tremble anymore as I began setting up the equipment…
"Enough. Work is work."
As always, I repeated those comforting words before taking off my clothes and putting on the protective suit, which covered me from head to toe. Neither my mouth nor my nose were exceptions, being covered by a mask.
Hot and stuffy as always. My only protection was the oxygen tank attached to the protective mask.
Soon I put on the rest of the gear. A motion and temperature sensor as well, along with a special camera that would transmit everything via satellite, small vials for collecting samples, and the tools for that. Also some small beacons connected to the motion sensor to mark the path, but...
No weapons at all.
The people in the department were real assholes.
"Anyway, shall we begin?"
With those words, I took a step forward...
.
.
.
The atmosphere was suffocating. Not that it was anything new or unexpected for a new zone, but this one was especially suffocating for some reason.
The mana was particularly dense as well, causing the vegetation to grow to an absurd degree. My eyes were met with plants of various colors everywhere.
Blue and purple were the most predominant colors. That wasn't a good sign. Most of them had likely acquired poisonous properties, given the local flora and fauna before it became a new zone, but…
"Maybe I'm in luck?"
I thought for a moment, closing my eyes to calmly assess the situation. No one in the department expected this to turn into a poisonous zone, not with how little time had passed since it formed, but maybe that's for the best—the chance that the previously predominant poisonous fauna has evolved is now minimal. The environment has developed too much for that to be the case.
Dealing with poison would be dangerous, but dealing with poisonous animals might as well be my death sentence. 1-0 in my favor.
... I soon began carefully collecting samples before venturing deeper into the forest with caution. The sensor was always on, ready to detect any abnormal movement, even in the absence of heat.
Some time has passed since then. Everything was proceeding normally, with me finding a few decomposing animal carcasses along the way and among the vegetation, proving more and more that the fauna hadn't evolved and that this might be my safest expedition to date.
Of course, that made me a little paranoid too. Everything pointed to "safe," but my pessimism wouldn't let me let my guard down.
It even made me doubt the wind...
Wind?
Shit...
Without thinking twice, I threw myself into a nearby giant bush, hiding. My heart was racing!
How did I not notice this before? It was way too windy outside the zone, but in here it was dead calm. So calm that, combined with my fear, I let it slip my mind when I entered the zone.
Please! Please! Don't let it be a bird!
If any bird has evolved, I'm dead!
Definitely dead...
That's the worst-case scenario. Given the previous wildlife, this was clearly a hunting ground for various flying predators, but given the environmental conditions, the chance of there being a nest of any flying predator was almost zero, despite it being a hunting ground...
That's what I was told, so it must be some isolated bird or one that was hunting at the time the zone formed. Or even one that entered later.
Damn, I should have realized it sooner and immediately requested to abort the mission.
What was I thinking? It was right in front of me! That incongruity between the environment and the air.
Sigh...
Well, there's no use lamenting it now, is there?
The notion that the environment had evolved so much ended up clouding my judgment with a false sense of security.
Beep...
Beep...
BEEP! BEEP!
I didn't even need to look at the sensor to throw myself desperately to the side! My heart froze as the wind hit my back, while I managed to narrowly dodge the low-flying attack...
One more thought, and those beautiful black claws would have torn me into three pieces!!
My heart raced to the limit as I began running through the trees and the increasingly dense foliage, ignoring the path I had marked out earlier. My breath came in gasps with every leap and dodge as the creature closed in!
With every stumble and scratch, I felt my heart pounding beyond its limits. I didn't want to die here! Not like this...
Despite that, my movements became increasingly futile as deep scratches pierced my skin.
My death was approaching...
I'd lost too much blood.
Not to mention that the sensor was damaged and barely beeped anymore.
... My endurance didn't last much longer after the oxygen tank ruptured. Soon I threw myself into a bush at that point, trying to hide and staunch the deepest wound in my ribs.
The pain was the least of my worries now...
Not even the poison in the air corroding my flesh was...
Simply and solely the creature's majestic landing was on my mind. Everything else was noise.
Its terrifyingly white plumage contrasts with its black talons. Its imposing height—conveying a majestic aura alongside the crown of feathers on its head.
A predatory gaze, yet distracted by its surroundings...
Its features resembling a harpy eagle...
A baby harpy eagle...