Chapter 37 – Withered Wood Forest

To reach the edge of the barrier and forcibly break it open, or to study the Book of Contracts and search for a possible method to open the soul passageway—these two paths sound simple and straightforward, but in practice, neither is easy.

Not to mention, just finding the edge of the barrier is a difficult task.

Although the barrier can be clearly seen with spiritual power, no matter which direction you look, it appears the same, making it impossible to determine which direction is closest to the edge. The sparse distribution of magic elements in the air also offers no discernible pattern.

The most serious issue is that the Flight Spell, which mages rely on with the help of elements, cannot be used in this cursed place!

This means that unless they are lucky enough to discover another area rich in magic elements, they will have to walk on the ground. Thinking about the size of the Death Swamp on the map—no bigger than a fingernail—the Siren Island is just a tiny dot that could easily be overlooked. The Death Swamp is indeed not a small area that can be easily traversed.

Lin Wei summoned a Arcane Eagle and quickly formed a simple master-servant contract with it—originally, he had hoped to form a contract with a suitable high-level magical beast, but the current situation left him no room for pickiness. The Arcane Eagle could fly using its physical strength and had excellent long-distance vision. Through the soul communication of the master-servant contract, it could share what it saw with Lin Wei, which was exactly what he needed at the moment.

Within the range of the Arcane Eagle’s vision, beyond this Withered Wood Forest, large open areas began to appear, shrouded in mist. The mist varied in thickness, and beneath the thinner mist, the ground was a deep, dark black.

The ground was uneven, with small hills appearing and disappearing in the mist. The hills were still pitch black, and it was impossible to see what lay on them.

The sky remained dark and low, and the damp air made it feel like this place could start raining at any moment.

Lin Wei summoned two mid-level Unicorns and chose the direction where the withered trees were the most sparse to begin their journey. The Unicorn, a light-attribute magical beast, had snow-white fur and could cast light magic of a corresponding level. Its body was also very strong, making it an excellent mount—this was the reason Lin Wei chose to summon it.

The Unicorn moved quickly while remaining steady. Lin Wei only needed to instruct them through the service contract to keep moving forward, so he didn’t have to worry about controlling them.

This place, with its sparse magic elements and complete lack of life, was indeed very eerie, but they weren’t here to explore… Finding a way out was the priority. That strange plectrum—the second floating island of the Magic Academy would be its destination. Those old mages, so immersed in magical research that their white beards were almost falling off, would surely be filled with enthusiasm to study it.

For now, the two of them didn’t have to worry about food and water. Lin Wei could summon water-attribute magical beasts, which could produce clean water.

So the current problems were the terrible weather, how to spend the night, and…

“It seems like there’s not enough magic elements here to be useful,” Lin Wei asked Duan Yu, “Will using magic be limited?”

“No,” Duan Yu replied, “We can use crystals to replenish it.”

“That’s good,” Lin Wei thought for a moment, then added, “But this place doesn’t seem to have any living creatures… We probably won’t encounter any magical dangers either.”

Duan Yu’s spiritual power also didn’t detect anything with magical properties at the moment. This part of the journey seemed very safe, so the two of them began their second task—Lin Wei’s study of the Common Language of the Continent.

This language system was composed of individual syllables that were not connected. According to Duan Yu, this was the only way to adapt to the vocal limitations of the various races with different physical structures. However, for Lin Wei, who was used to the human language, it was still very difficult—so he approached it with the same attitude he used for learning spells.

He mechanically repeated some simple syllables, feeling as if he had returned to the early mornings at the academy when he and Haitie would recite spells in the courtyard without using spiritual power…

One fortunate thing was that because this language had been widely used among various races, compared to the human language, which had a strict structure and an order that couldn’t be disrupted, it was very inclusive. As long as you remembered the necessary words, you could combine them according to the language habits of each race without affecting the meaning.

“We’ll use the time on the road to memorize words. When we stop, if you don’t mind,” Duan Yu said, “I can help you read the Book of Contracts.”

“That would be great—the old man didn’t say the book’s contents had to be kept secret.” Lin Wei looked at Duan Yu, “I can write on your palm, and then you can tell me what it means in the human language… By the way, how did you learn to recognize these characters?”

“After my spiritual power took shape, I could see magic elements…” At this point, Duan Yu suddenly paused.

Lin Wei, who had been paying close attention to him, noticed immediately and was about to speak when Duan Yu said, “Lin Wei.”

“Huh?”

“There’s a magic fluctuation nearby, but it was too brief—I couldn’t determine the direction.”

A magic fluctuation—in this place?

Knowing how sensitive Duan Yu’s senses were, Lin Wei immediately activated the master-servant contract and began frequently communicating with the Arcane Eagle through their souls. Due to the Arcane Eagle’s weak soul power, each communication could only last for a short time.

Lin Wei closed his eyes, and his vision was filled with what the Arcane Eagle saw. The Arcane Eagle obeyed his command, circling and lowering its altitude, focusing its gaze on the Withered Wood Forest where they were.

The dark, withered forest, apart from its slightly menacing appearance, was completely calm.

The scene flashed briefly before Lin Wei’s eyes, and the soul communication stopped. After a while, when the Arcane Eagle’s soul power could sustain it again, the scene returned—it was still the same forest, with no signs of life.

No… that’s not right. Lin Wei furrowed his brows, recalling the scene from the previous soul communication.

In the northwest, next to the thickest and tallest withered tree, there should have been another broken tree… Where was the broken tree?

In a moment of distraction, the soul communication stopped again. Lin Wei grasped a faint memory of the scene and tried to compare it.

Then, shortly after the next soul communication began, he suddenly opened his eyes: “—The trees are moving.”

No wonder Duan Yu couldn’t sense the source of the magic fluctuation—the entire Withered Wood Forest was slowly closing in on them!

Lin Wei looked around again. When they had first entered, they had chosen the direction where the withered trees were the most sparse for easier movement. Now, except for the sparse group of withered trees around them, the area in the distance was clearly not the same as when they had arrived.

Lin Wei controlled the Unicorns’ pace, keeping the two Unicorns close together. One of them, sensing the summoner’s unease, began to stomp its front hooves restlessly.

He asked Duan Yu, “Are they trying to surround us? Could they be Ents?”

“I can’t see them,” Duan Yu replied, “Try to see if they have souls.”

—If Duan Yu couldn’t see them, it meant there were no magical traces on the withered trees.

Lin Wei released his soul power, probing the nearest withered tree and beginning to chant the contract spell. However, the spell couldn’t proceed beyond the beginning—there was no response from the tree’s soul.

“No soul,” he said quickly, “It’s just a dead tree—what should we do?”

Duan Yu raised his right hand, and the Gungnir Spear, dark silver and emanating a cold aura, materialized from the void and was grasped in his hand. “Break through.”

Lin Wei switched mounts and climbed onto Duan Yu’s Unicorn, while the other one was recalled.

At this moment, controlling two magical beasts at the same time would slow them down.

The Unicorn let out a long neigh, its body tensing up. After Lin Wei cast a support spell on it, it began to run at its fastest speed forward.

It was noticeable that as the Unicorn started to gallop, the withered trees also moved faster—Lin Wei could now see them moving directly.

Gungnir swiftly slashed through the air, and golden elemental fluctuations rippled out. A crescent-shaped blade swept across the front of the withered trees, cutting them off at the roots and clearing a path through the increasingly dense forest. The Unicorn, carrying the two of them, leaped over the fallen trees as it continued to run.

“How are they moving?”

Lin Wei watched as the withered trees moved faster and faster—they weren’t Ents, just ordinary trees, dead trees at that. They didn’t have legs or any other means of movement, so how could they move across the ground like this—it was almost as if they were swimming like ducks on water!

That’s right, swimming… A thought struck Lin Wei like a thunderbolt—before this, what had he and Duan Yu speculated this place to be?

He suddenly turned his head and saw the Unicorn’s snow-white hooves covered in black mud, leaving deep hoofprints in their wake.

—The Death Swamp, a swamp.