Capítulo 912: Chapter 910: Ancient Aura
Of course, while the external appearance is the same, the internal mechanism might not be identical. His left hand may indeed be cursed… Richard continued to ponder.
However, no matter how you see it, having a hand that cannot be fully controlled during a battle will introduce significant variables, which is a disadvantage for a wizard’s combat effectiveness.
The Silent Forest mission has already failed three times, and the Hall Orcs Branch should be well aware of how dangerous the Silent Forest truly is. Under this premise, having someone with significant drawbacks like Heluo come forth likely means Heluo is not just a simple third-level wizard as she introduced herself previously.
She might have quite a substantial ace up her sleeve.
Richard pursed his lips, mindful in his heart.
At this moment, the witch Heluo spoke again, “My left hand is indeed uncontrollable, so it does things that I don’t want in my heart. If it does something bad, I can only apologize and hope the two of you will understand.”
“Of course,” Richard responded.
“Perhaps,” Bobbobovic was noncommittal, obviously having some grudge against Heluo from past experiences. As he spoke, he took a big step to the side, trying to distance himself from Heluo as much as possible.
Heluo observed this and realized that further explanations wouldn’t change Bobbobovic’s mind, so she stopped her babbling. After offering an apologetic smile, she shifted the topic to the main business.
“Let’s talk about the task we’re going to cooperate on. You both should have some basic understanding of the Silent Forest, so I won’t go into that here,” Heluo said, “However, I’d like to share some of the latest news with the two of you.
Firstly, there are many rivers in the Silent Forest, and one river runs out of the forest. Our team discovered some strange crystals downstream from it. Most of these crystals are deep blue and exhibit high-energy reactions, but they are quite unstable. Any way you touch them causes the crystals to evaporate in a few hours, so we haven’t obtained any samples yet.”
“High-energy reaction crystals?” Richard raised an eyebrow, showing some interest but not too eager as he patiently listened to Heluo continue.
“Secondly, a few of our members dug out a peculiar magic vine from the Silent Forest months ago. Initially, our branch didn’t take it seriously and considered it merely a mutated individual. But recently, we extracted a very special liquid compound from the magic vine.
This liquid compound can greatly increase a creature’s combat power in a short period, but afterward, it’s highly likely that the creature will die. You could say this is a desperate component, and if the part causing death can be purified, it could be used as a lethal poison.”
“Have you ever thought of reducing or neutralizing the side effects of this component to create enhancing potions?” Bobbobovic, driven by his potion wizard instincts, moved closer to Heluo and couldn’t help but speak up, “That should be more valuable, right?”
Heluo listened to Bobbobovic’s words and smiled faintly, “Wizard Vici, we’ve actually attempted that, but according to the specialized wizards at our branch, achieving this objective is quite challenging.”
“What do you mean challenging? I can think of at least three ways to neutralize the side effects right now,” Bobbobovic said confidently.
“Really?” Heluo confirmed.
“Of course!”
“How about this?” Heluo proposed constructively, “After the mission is completed, Wizard Vici, why not stay at our branch and work with us on related research? If we succeed, we will report to the Long Mei’er Butler, and you’ll receive a significant points reward.”
“Sounds good.” Bobbobovic couldn’t help but smile upon hearing about the points he’s going to earn.
“It’s settled then.”
“Settled.” Bobbobovic’s smile grew brighter, but as he smiled, his expression stiffened, and he frowned, “Something’s wrong.”
“What’s wrong?” Heluo asked, puzzled.
“I don’t know what’s wrong,” Bobbobovic said, looking at Heluo, who was just inches away, his brows deeply furrowed, “I enjoy talking to you, but I always feel like I’m forgetting something. Forgetting something dangerous, the more I think about it, the more conflicted I feel, making me…”
“Slap!”
Suddenly, there was a crisp sound as Heluo’s left hand swung out like lightning, giving Bobbobovic’s face a hard slap, interrupting his words.
Bobbobovic was initially stunned, then he seemed relieved, exhaled, and lightly nodded, “Ah—I know what it is now, it’s right.”
Heluo tried to retract her left hand, looking at Bobbobovic somewhat apologetically, “Wizard Vici, believe me, I really didn’t do it on purpose, do you?”
“Of course I do,” Bobbobovic said aloud, but his expression clearly indicated: Believe you, like hell I will.
By now, he had completely regarded Heluo as a beautiful snake, very alluring—easily gaining favor from all sides, but equally deadly—because she might slap your face at any moment.
Indeed, he was slapped.
Bobbobovic backed away step by step, thinking stiffly.
Heluo looked on, gave a helpless bitter smile, and said, “I’ll continue speaking about the Silent Forest’s information…”
…
The next day.
After a night of rest and having fully communicated information, Richard, Bobbobovic, and Heluo appeared at the edge of the Silent Forest.
At this moment, Richard looked calm, while Bobbobovic was full of vigilance, with more than half of that vigilance focused on Heluo, constantly observing Heluo’s movements to avoid unknowingly drawing close and getting slapped—thinking back, getting slapped was actually good; if it were a lower body attack, the threat would be greater, just imagining was terrifying.
Ultimately, Bobbobovic gave Heluo a deep look.
Heluo responded to Bobbobovic’s glance with an apologetic look, aside from smiling bitterly, she said nothing more, leading the way into the Silent Forest.
Upon entering, they saw the ground inside the forest covered with thick fallen leaves, some dry, others already rotting and blending with the soil. Due to the abundance of humus, the soil in the forest was nutrient-rich and black-brown, and the trees grew exceptionally tall, each reaching toward the sky like spears.
Richard stepped among them, lightly sniffing the air, detecting a mild acidic smell, like fermenting vinegar, accompanied by a discomforting sense of age and decay.
“This forest must have existed for a long time, right?” Richard casually asked.
“According to records, at least three hundred years,” Heluo answered.
Afterward, Heluo didn’t speak further, and Richard didn’t inquire further either, their voices dissipating among the trees making the forest eerily silent.
Richard and Heluo exchanged glances, both aware of the situation.
Bobbobovic noticed it too, speaking first with a serious tone, “Isn’t this forest too quiet? Although it has the name ‘Silent,’ it isn’t lifeless. But now, there’s no animal sound here, no birds chirping, no insects buzzing, no beasts roaring, nothing.”
“I’ve got a feeling,” Heluo said.
“What feeling?” Bobbobovic asked, simultaneously taking a big step to distance himself from Heluo.
Heluo paid no mind to Bobbobovic’s action and replied, “I feel like all the animals in this forest have fled.”
“How do you prove it?” Bobbobovic asked, taking another big step away from Heluo.
“Look,” Heluo said, bending down and placing one hand on the ground. Her lips moved slightly as she silently recited spells and cast a spell.
“Whoosh!”
A burst of flashing purple light erupted from under Heluo’s hand, spreading rapidly along the surface like ripples in the water. However, this “ripple” quickly slowed down after spreading less than half a meter and fully stopped around one meter, plunging forcefully into the ground.