3rd person POV:

Sitting alone in her apartment was Ran.

On her couch, she woke up at noon to find several empty bottles that she emptied the night before.

Ran:(looks around)

Ran:(sigh)

Getting up, she decided to tidy up her home, since she realized she had nothing better to do.

By the time she is done, the sun had set and she was hungry and yet again with nothing to do.

Checking her fridge, she found it to be empty.

Ran: Tch... Crap...

Ran:(mind) Don't have the mood to the money to go to the store... And I get paid tomorrow...

Ran: Hmm...Yn mentioned something about cooking, maybe he has something I can borrow.

Ran: He does owe me...

Leaving her apartment, she walked across the corridor to Yn's apartment. Opening it with her spare key, she entered his messy apartment and went up to the fridge where she was able to find some leftovers of Yn's.

Ran: Hmm... Not bad...

She told herself as she part took in Yn's cooking while looking around in his apartment.

Ran:... Tch, little shit... Guess I have to clean this up or it never will get done.

Finishing off the leftovers, she was invigorated enough to clean Yn's apartment.

(Opening theme)

(Forest of spirits)

Era guided the class of the chicken through the forest of spirits in the early morning.

Kora: Tch... This forest is so dense, how do you know where we're going?

Era: A benefit of completing the trial.

Yn: It is? Are there any other benefits?

Era: Of course. I'll explain it all once we arrive.

Yn: You could also explain it now...

Hana: Be patient. She'll tell us when she wants.

Hiking past a few more trees, Era and the class exit the forest, into a small opening where a pond with two rocks poking out of the surface of the water.

Yn:?

Yn recognized this place as the area where the spirits had their meeting which he crashed. The only difference was that the large hedge wall surrounding the place was gone.

Yn:(mind) Maybe there are several of these places around the forest...?

Era: Now that we're here, I can explain what the trial is and how it works. But to fully understand it, you six must first learn what spirits are and what the forest is.

Era: Does everyone know what a spirit is?

Yn: Let's just...you know... Start from the top so we're all equally on the same page.

Yn: I'm sure not everyone knows everything about the spirits.

Gerald: I do.

Yn: Shut up.

Era: To begin with the basics...

Era: When a person dies, their chi doesn't die along with them.

Era: One of two things happen to the chi when someone dies.

Era: Either the Chi is absorbed into nature to empower it or the Chi reforms into an energy construct we call a spirit.

Era: The stronger a person's chi the higher chance of a spirit forming, however, the spirits have no memory of the person whose chi they are made from.

Era: Is that clear?

Yn: I'm going to say...yes?

Hana: It is. Please carry on.

Era: This forest that surrounds us is special. It was grown from Chi and has a high concentration of it, which is why many spirits are here.

Era: The reason being, that a great battle took place here before the forest grew.

Era: Many perished in said battle, but/in the end the Chi from the fallen created this forest.

Yn: What does that have to do with the trial.

Era: The trial of the forest is about trying to connect to the forest Chi.

Era: Doing so will help enlighten you all by being able to experience what's it like being in a forest.

Yn: You want us to become trees!?

Era: You may put it that way.

Gerald: So all we gain from this trail is some form of "enlightenment"?

Era: Succeeding in this trial will most likely end with you gaining a much larger control and efficiency over your chi. You might even be able to move your Chi out of your own body and move it remotely.

Kora: How do we perform this trial?

Era: By meditating. Block out all distractions.

Era: Before night falls, I shall come to retrieve you all. If you succeed in the trial, you may go back to the village on your own.

Without saying anything else, the chief of Yurei village left the students to deal with the trial alone.

Everyone:...

Hana: We can't just stand around here, get to meditating.

Using her glaive, Hana vaulted over to one of the rocks in the pond. Paya followed her lead and leaped to the other rock.

Gerald and Kora both then found a spot to sit and meditate while Vina fell flat on her back to probably begin meditating as well or sleep. One of the other.

That left Yn who didn't really know what to do.

Yn: Well... Better get my meditation on.

Sitting down and crossing his legs into a generic meditational pose, Yn attempted for the first time, spiritual pondering.

Yn:(eyes closed) Hummm...... Hummmm...

Yn:(eyes closed) Hummm....humm-

Kora: Shut up! We're trying to meditate!

Paya: Y-yes, could you not make noises, it's distracting.

Yn: Oh, my bad. I didn't know we were doing the silent version.

Gerald: The silent version is the only version.

Yn: Sure it is.

Closing his eyes and keeping quiet, Yn tried once again to meditate.

Yn:(mind) And... This is boring. What the hell even is meditating? Sitting with your eyes closed?

Yn:(mind) Maybe I'm going about this wrong.

Yn:(mind) Forest! Speak to me!

...

...

...

Yn:!?

Felling something on his lower back, Yn began to believe it was the forest.

Yn:(mind) It's working! Forest! Teach me your ways!

He began feeling a tapping sensation on his lower back.

Yn:(mind) Yeah... Is that supposed to be morse code? Sorry, I don't know it-

Feeling claws dig into his back, Yn begins to suspect that it wasn't a forest trying to speak to him.

Opening his eyes and turning around, Yn saw a baby panda.

After finally getting his attention, the baby panda began crawling away.

Yn:(looks around)

Taking this as a sign, Yn got up and followed the baby panda while everyone else focused on the trial.

Walking into the densely packed forest, Yn tried hard to follow the panda. Losing eye contact on it several times, Yn walked around a tree to where he expected to see a panda but instead saw nothing.

Yn: Now where did you go?

Looking around, he finally caught a glimpse of the baby panda climbing a tree.

Yn: There you are.

Climbing after the little panda, Yn ended up on a tree branch where it waited for him and pointed to the ground.

Yn:?

Looking to where the panda was pointing, Yn saw Era.

She held a satellite phone, which she spoke into quietly but loud enough for the person on the other side of the call she was on to hear her.

Era: Everything is on schedule.

...

Era: What do you mean you need it sooner?

...

Era: I've already sped up my plans, you want me to do it again?

...

Era: But I could risk everything. Just give me more time and you'll get it.

...

Era:... That's not enough-

(Beeeeep)

Era: Time... Tch!

Upset at how the conversation ended, Era began walking away.

Yn: What was that about?

Aneku: Some fishy things, my dude.

Yn:!

Looking up, Yn saw the panda covered girl, Aneku, sitting on a branch.

Yn: How long have you been up there?

Aneku: Since she left. Hey, pass me, Theodore.

Looking back at the baby panda in front of him, he picks him up and lifts him to Aneku.

Aneku: Come to mama~

Once in her grasp, Aneku nuzzles Theodore.

Aneku: Good job~ good job~ you made mama so proud ~

Yn: What's going on?

Aneku: I'm praising my baby.

Yn: No, with Era.

Aneku: That hoe? She's been acting weird since she got that box.

Aneku: So I've been keeping an eye on her, but since she could sense me easily, I hadn't had much luck.

Aneku: That's why I got Theodore to bring you here, so you could listen to her without getting noticed.

Aneku: Anyway, what the hoe say?

Yn: Something about needing more time. But with how it ended, doesn't seem she got it.

Aneku: That's lame... Also troubling... Looks like I have to work... Ugh...

Theodore: Rawr...

Aneku: Huh?

Aneku: Hey, quick question...Were you in the king's opening by any chance with other people?

Aneku: You know the place with two rocks in the pond?

Yn: Yeah, why?

Aneku: Oh boy... You're going to want to get back and get everyone out of there.

Yn: O-okay?

Aneku: I'll try to talk to you tonight at sundown. If you don't see me, then consider me captured.

Yn: You're giving me a lot of information without context-

She swings away on a vine.

Yn: Oh, and she's gone... Might as well listen to crazy panda girl, it's not like I'm going to meditate.

With a little trouble, he found his way back to the so-called king's opening after a few minutes.

Yn: I'm back!

Hana: You left?

Yn: Nobody noticed...? That doesn't matter, we need to leave.

Gerald: Why?

Yn: Because a thick girl covered in baby pandas told me so.

Everyone:...

Yn: Okay, I might have not made a good case for myself, but still, trust me, we need to leave.

Bardoc: What in blazes!?

The students of the chicken all turn around to see a spirit that only Yn recognized.

Kora: A spirit?

Bardoc: What are humans doing here?

Looking behind him, the students saw more spirits behind him.

From that crowd of spirits, a woman-like creature walked past the others and stood beside Bardoc.

Erika: I told you Bardoc! The forest had invaders! They must have kidnapped our king!

Yn: Eh!?

Paya: What is happening?

Bardoc:...

Bardoc: Get the intruders!

Several spirits rush towards the students.

Yn: Run!!

Outnumbered, with no advantage, the others finally listened to Yn and began running away as a large number of spirits began chasing them.

Erika: You should have listened to me Bardoc.

Bardoc: I know...

Erika: Now will you listen to me?

Bardoc:... Very Well. We'll begin the growth of the fruit of the ruler.

TO BE CONTINUED...

(Unknown time and place)

After a successful infiltration and assassination in Yurei village, a young killer escaped into the forest of spirits.

Once deep enough, he jumped onto a branch, where he began meditating.

Word has it, anyway who could link with the forest will be able to learn its secrets.

For the average assassin, this would be a tremendously difficult task, but for this one killer, it was simple.

It took him time of course, but he knew what to do. In reality, to succeed in this task, one must understand the principle of connecting one's self to another.

Thanks to his vicious training given to him by his father, this killer could ask the forest...

"What can you teach me."