Wang Tang crouched low in the garden, hands dusty and knees stained green with crushed grass. In front of him bloomed a strange flower—its petals looked like translucent glass, and its long stalk was braided with pulsing veins that glowed faintly blue. It swayed toward him, not with the wind, but as if it sensed him.
"Don't touch it without gloves," came Master Hui's voice from behind. "That one releases spores when excited. It'll have you hallucinating about skyfish for three days."
Wang Tang drew his hand back instantly, eyes wide.
"It reacts to sound?"
"No, it reacts to intent," Hui said, slowly settling down beside him with a groan. "You wanted to touch it, so it reached out first."
"That's amazing…" Wang Tang whispered. "Plants on Earth weren't even close to this sensitive."
"That's because this ain't Earth, boy."
Master Hui reached into his satchel and pulled out a roll of parchment, unrolling it carefully across the wooden bench beside them. It was covered in sketches—half-drawn beasts, flowering vines, diagrams of root systems, color-coded arrows and circles pointing to glands, fangs, and spores.
"This is the world you're growing up in," he said, tapping the parchment. "And let me tell you—what you've seen so far? That's not even a drop in the ocean."
Wang Tang's eyes lit up like embers.
---
It had been six months since Wang Tang first began shadowing Hui almost every morning. While his formal tutors lectured about politics, noble etiquette, and military strategy, he always looked forward to these quiet moments in the garden—where real learning took place.
Wang Tang had already memorized over two hundred local plant species, and he could identify another fifty types of small mutated animals in the surrounding areas. But even then, something always bothered him.
"Master Hui," he asked as he followed the old man to the back of the greenhouse, "why are there so many weird changes in animals here compared to Earth?"
Hui grunted. "Changes? You mean why the squirrels breathe fire and the frogs have camouflage skin that reflects your worst fears?"
"Exactly."
The old gardener scratched his chin. "It's the environment. Mana, mostly. This world's soaked in it—like mist that never goes away. And mana... it doesn't just fuel spells or enchant weapons. It seeps into everything. Soil, water, blood, air. Even the unborn."
"So they mutate because of magic?"
"Mutate. Evolve. Level up. Break down. It's all part of the same cycle."
Hui picked up a wriggling root from a pot and crushed it between his fingers. The juice hissed and burned the wooden table like acid. "This thing here was just a normal vine about a hundred years ago. But too much exposure to lightning essence from the mountains nearby and—bam—it turned carnivorous and acidic. Eats birds now."
Wang Tang leaned closer, eyes narrowed with fascination.
"So it's like accelerated evolution—but guided by mana instead of time?"
Hui gave him a slow look, then chuckled.
"Boy, you're too damn smart for your age. Yes. Something like that. But it ain't just 'evolution.' Some creatures here grow stronger the more they survive. They gain traits. Some even gain abilities. A snake that survived five lightning strikes becomes a Thundercoil Serpent. A bear that drank from a cursed spring becomes a Shadowhide Grizzly. This world doesn't just change you—it challenges you."
Wang Tang sat in silence for a moment, processing every word.
He thought about the twin-headed lizard he'd once fed near the stream. About the three-eyed fox that only came out when the moons aligned. About the roots that twitched like living things when the wind blew wrong.
All of it was a living ecosystem, but one magnified. More dangerous. More mystical. More alive.
"Then how many species are there in this world?" Wang Tang finally asked, his voice small.
Hui snorted. "More than anyone's ever counted. And most of the ones out there would eat a ten-year-old like you before you could open your notebook."
Wang Tang grinned.
"But I'll still try to find them."
Hui looked at him for a long time, the corner of his lip twitching upward.
"You've got the heart for it, I'll give you that. Most kids your age can barely ride a tamed raptor, and here you are trying to classify soul-linked fungal colonies."
Wang Tang tilted his head. "Soul-linked…?"
Hui held up a hand. "Now that's a lesson for another day."
He sat down on a low stone bench and gestured for Wang Tang to come over. The boy obeyed, and the old gardener unrolled another scroll. This one was different—much older, ink faded and corners brittle. On it were illustrations of creatures Wang Tang had never seen. Beasts the size of mountains. Insects the size of carriages. Trees that floated in the sky and pulsed with magical rings.
"These," Hui said quietly, "are the things the nobles don't talk about. The real beasts. The hidden ones."
Wang Tang's mouth opened slowly.
"Where are they?"
"Far away. Too far for now. You'd need a whole lifetime to reach the wilds where these roam. Maybe even more than that."
He paused, then pointed at the top of the scroll.
"But they exist. And if you really want to find them… then understand this."
He looked at Wang Tang, eyes suddenly sharp.
"What you've seen so far—every squirrel, every vine, every glowing beetle—that's not even a drop. This world is endless, boy. Full of magic, poison, venom, wonder, and death. The deeper you go, the weirder it gets. Deadlier too."
Wang Tang felt his pulse quicken. His thoughts were racing, imagination on fire.
He could see it now—his future realm teeming with every strange lifeform, a sanctuary for species no one dared to approach. A floating rainforest. A venomous cave garden. Herds of crystalline stags. A tree that sang when night fell.
This world didn't intimidate him.
It called to him.
"I want to see it all," Wang Tang whispered.
And then—
Footsteps. Loud. Urgent.
Three estate guards appeared at the garden gate, breathless and pale.
"Young Master Wang Tang," the lead one said with a bow, "you must come at once. There's been an incident—your presence is required immediately!"
Wang Tang blinked, still halfway between dreams of giant beasts and ancient forests.
"What happened?" he asked, standing up.
The guard hesitated.
"It's… better if you see for yourself."