The rhythmic echo of marching footsteps reverberated through the woods. Graviel had ordered Rowan to lead the march into the depths of the forest. The journey toward the chasm through the Thornwood Forest was fraught with dangers, especially for such a large group. Fearless magical beasts would sporadically launch attacks, and even though they were dispatched quickly by the bloodthirsty mercenaries, their progress had been so slow.

  Graviel held a magical compass as he walked ahead—a tool that not only warded off hostile creatures but also guided them to their destination. Having previously marked the location of the chasm, even with two hundred people and numerous obstacles, the journey should take no more than a day or two.

  To get there, however, one had to traverse the outskirts of the forest before venturing into a valley, and it was a choke point to get to the chasm. Going around it would take considerably more time, which Graviel was unwilling to waste. The more time they spent on this expedition, the more unforeseen variables might appear to disrupt them.

  Six hours later, under the midday sun, they arrived at the valley—a passage flanked by steep green hills on each side, a hundred meters wide and spanning several kilometers. Even here, the sea of trees extended as far as the eye could see, like an unending verdant ocean. No matter how they approached it, they would be faced with a difficult passage through this place

  Rowan came to a halt, surveying the surroundings with caution. He then returned to Graviel after ascertaining the situation and reported, “Sir, the path ahead’s quite narrow. If there’s an ambush from the hills, we’ll be a sittin’ duck.”

  That was truly the case.

  Although the hills were steep, it was not impossible to scale them. However, the path on the hill was too rough to be traversed with a large group, making it unviable as an alternative route. Scouts also wouldn’t be effective in this terrain because the differing latitude would further slow their progress. Plus, they didn’t even know what dangers they should be watching out for.

  “I know. Just make sure our men are prepared for that. And don’t underestimate me.” Graviel showed him the magic tool. “If there are hostile forces within two hundred meters, I would know thanks to this.” Besides, who would attack a two-hundred-man army like theirs in a place like this?

  “Yes, sir!” Rowan commanded the mercenaries to stay vigilant as they advanced into the valley.

  Half an hour into the valley, the compass magic tool started rotating in an unorderly way, perplexing Graviel. “Hmm?” Are there enemies? Why is it indicating that they are all around? But there’s nothing but trees and plants here…

  “Is something wrong?” Elara asked, clearly worried.

  “What’s the matter, Sir Graviel?” inquired Jared, followed by Dorial and the others.

  “Sir?” Rowan stared at him, awaiting further instructions.

  “Something’s off. This entire place is hostile toward us… Is it a supernatural phenomenon? Wait, don’t tell me…” Graviel’s face twisted in realization, and beads of sweat formed on his forehead. But before he was able to pinpoint the actual cause, frantic shouts erupted among the mercenaries.

  “E-Enemies!! We’ve been surrounded! Aaah!”

  “Fuck! Why are there spiders everywhere?! Eep!”

  “Help! Fire! Everything is burning!”

  “Oi! Snap out of it!”

  “W-Wait! Don’t point your sword at me!”

  Many mercenaries brandished their weapons, swinging them around as if they had gone insane. Those nearby, who were unable to react in time, were injured by their comrades; some already suffering fatal wounds. Only stronger Ki-Warriors showed some resistance to this effect.

  “What the hell’s happenin’?” Rowan shouted.

  “I-I don’t know!” Amidst the chaos, a panicked scout hastily reported, “Everyone is shouting different thi—” Before he could finish, a longsword ruthlessly pierced his heart, splattering blood in all directions. A look of disbelief was frozen on his face as he crumpled to the ground.

  “Shit!” Rowan swiftly brandished his axes and cleaved the assailant in two in a split second. The blood from his fallen comrade only fueled his adrenaline rather than invoking any sense of horror. “Listen up! Step outta line, and you’ll be kissin’ the dirt before you know it!” he bellowed, which was amplified by his ki to cover the entire valley, before jumping into the fray to stop the mercenaries from senselessly attacking each other.

  The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

  In the meantime, Graviel’s expression darkened upon seeing the unfolding chaotic scene. Even before reaching the pocket dimension, dozens of mercenaries had fallen victim to this unknown threat. Thankfully, as a third-stage Initiate Attunement acolyte, he found himself resistant to the ominous influence. The same could be said about the other acolytes with him.

  Despite that, an unusual spectacle suddenly occurred as a blinding light enveloped the surroundings. Quick on the draw, Graviel swiftly channeled his mana into the magic tool and dispelled the illusion. Turning around, he found his comrades also under the influence.

  “Tch, weaklings. But they still have some uses,” he mumbled and repeated the process for each of them without hesitation. He then said, “Looks like we fell into a damn Magus trap!” while scanning the now-clear-headed group.

  “Is it a magic spell?” Dorian asked.

  “No,” Elara answered. “Do you see these plants around us? They are not ordinary plants—they are magical plants! They must be releasing hallucinogenic pheromones that are messing with our heads. B-But… for it to affect even acolytes…” She trailed off, visibly shaken by the experience.

  The revelation cast a dark shadow on the faces of the group. They knew just how horrifying hallucinogenic magical plants could be, and they didn’t expect to find them here of all places. After all, they had traversed this area before without encountering such threats, so someone or something was behind this sinister turn of events.

  “Then, let’s clear the air with some Anemo and torch this greenery with Pyro spells!”

  “But…” Elara appeared to be bottling up something.

  “No time for buts! Just do as I say!” Graviel stated.

  The group immediately cast a myriad of spells to combat the issue. Unfortunately, none of them were very proficient with these spells. Ugh, only that ditz Victor was good at both Anemo and Pyro magic. I almost regret having killed him. Graviel himself was proficient in Cryo spells, as he had the highest affinity for them. As for Jared, Dorian, and Elara, the three of them were best at Electro, Geo, and Dendro in that order.

  ***

  Unbeknownst to them, every move they made in the valley was under Victor’s watchful eyes.

  Ever since the academy grade reached level two, the range of the System’s camera expanded significantly. Although it didn’t quite reach the village, it extended up to approximately ten kilometers. It just so happened that the valley was about ten or so kilometers from the academy, which allowed him to catch glimpses of what was happening there. Though he was using the spectral puppets for a closer and clearer view, he preferred seeing it through the holographic screen.

  “Hey, can you share what you’re seeing right now? I can’t make heads or tails of it from here,” Lizbeth squinted, peering at her own screen.

  Despite a brief episode of sulking and ignoring Victor following the hugging session, Lizbeth’s anger dissipated instantly when he tantalized her with the promise of food. Fairies were indeed straightforward creatures.

  “Well, it’s not as simple as screen-sharing on Discord… Oh, wait.” Victor had never tried this before, but maybe it was possible to share what he was seeing through the Shadowlink Mark. He went ahead and tried, and much to his surprise, it turned out to be feasible.

  Now, the holographic screen was clearly displaying the events in the valley. It even shared the audio, something that Victor was wondering about since the spectral puppets didn’t have ears. Well, he was able to see what the players were doing even from distances exceeding ten kilometers. So, this kind of thing was not too much of a stretch.

  So far, everything played out according to his plans. Chaos had taken root within the enemy ranks, with a significant portion of their forces turning against each other. Yet, the affected individuals were only about a third of their total forces, and it was mainly the weaker, mortal members. Stronger Ki-Warriors were able to hold their breath for a prolonged period of time and were more resilient to the hallucinogenic effects. As expected of elite mercenaries. He had hoped that this alone would eliminate them, but it seemed his expectations fell short. If only there was more time…

  Whatever the case, the nightmare Victor had orchestrated was far from its conclusion.

  With a sly grin, he focused his attention on his most hated enemies—Graviel, Jared, Dorial, and Elara—while secretly laughing in glee as they tirelessly burned down the Dreamweaver Ivy. By burning them down, it would make them release all the stored pheromones instead. The case would be akin to burning down a large quantity of marijuana; the people in the surroundings would get high. Still, this cost him a lot of precious academy points.

  “Victor, that scarred man looks powerful.” Lizbeth pointed at a muscular, middle-aged man with a thick beard and holding a pair of large axes.

  “Well, him…” If he remembered correctly, his name was Rowan, and he was a true Ki Master based on how he was blasting crazed mercenaries into blood mist with his roar and cleaving a fully-armed man in two like slicing through cheese. Even though he was a powerful Ki-Warrior, he was slightly under the influence of the hallucination, which increased his bloodthirsty nature by several levels.

  That being the case, Rowan maintained a semblance of control and rallied the unaffected mercenaries toward a safer location. “Shithead! Go over there!”

  “Guys! Follow me! Leader said it’s safer over there!” yelled someone who was escaping ahead of them.

  Eager to save themselves from the madness, the others followed and ran in his direction. However, their relief was short-lived as, like a bolt from the blue, sharp vines emerged from the ground, swiftly decapitating one of the foremost runners with ruthless precision.