"Let's proceed with extra caution," I decided. "Clana, can you prepare a detection spell? Something passive that won't give away our position."
Clana nodded, her fingers already weaving intricate patterns in the air. Her Gift—Spell Synergy—allowed her to cast multiple spells simultaneously and blend them together in ways most mages couldn't achieve. Despite her perpetually sleepy demeanor, she was one of the most skilled spellcasters in our year.
"Passive detection grid, layered with mana echo," she murmured, her eyes half-closed in concentration. Faint blue lines of light briefly appeared around us before fading from visibility. "It'll ping if anything larger than a rabbit comes within fifty meters."
We continued forward, moving more slowly now, more deliberately. The forest grew denser as we approached the area marked on our map, the undergrowth thicker, as if nature itself was trying to hide something.
