Chapter 137 - The Mission Starts
“What joke is that…” Mason grumbled. He was here to participate in trial missions, not to sell his life. How was Shadowglen a place for humans? Mason would not want to enter Shadowglen as a human yet come out as a dried corpse.
“I don’t have the mood for jokes!” Macklin exclaimed impatiently. Due to the nature of today’s mission, Macklin had already bottled a stomach of anger. Yet that was the decision the Supreme Council. Even if he was unwilling, the only thing for him to do was to comply. Just when he had no place to vent his anger on, Mason came to him. Obviously, poor Mason became his punching bag, and got scolded harshly.
“Do you think I want to bring you fellas to Shadowglen? God dammit… that was decided by the Supreme Council!” Macklin shouted as the goat whiskers of his trembled uncontrollably. The finger he was pointing Mason with almost poked his nose. “If you are unhappy, go and look for the Supreme Council! No point ranting to me!”
“How would I dare to go…” Mason muttered under his breath before scurrying away. He would not want to provoke Macklin further.
Macklin was in extremely bad spirits. Ever since he stepped out of the Supreme Council, he had been frustrated. To him, that mission had no point at all. How could the Supreme Council set the mission in Shadowglen?
What if anything were to happen to these kids—especially Felic? He would get himself into hot soup…
Not to mention the bet he made with the others… Andoine’s existence alone was enough to cause a headache for Macklin and Aldwin. What was the relationship between Andoine and Felic? From their closeness, it did not seem like a mentor-student relationship to Macklin.
“Okay…”
“Oh, yes, let me add on… I was not joking just now. If you know of any one here, grab this time to go and meet them. You might need them after you enter Shadowglen.”
Apart from his two teammates, how would Lin Li have any other friends in Alanna? Although Macklin’s advice was reasonable, it was not applicable to him at all. It was the same for Orrin. With his cold and reserved nature, it was hard for him to have many friends.
Mason, on the other hand, was a social butterfly. Right after Macklin advised them, a sly grin appeared on his face. “He’s right… Why didn’t I think of that?”
“Alright, I’ve said whatever I need to. The rest is up to you…” After telling them all the tips and the rules of the task, Macklin walked off, feeling more at ease.
“Mason!” someone called out from a distance. Lin Li could not help but feel relieved that Mason was in his team. He really was a social butterfly…
The person who greeted Mason was a tanned and skinny young mage that looked about the same age as him. Behind him were two of his teammates—one short, another tall. When they walked together, it was full of comedic effect.
“Haha! Kayla, it was you?” Mason seemed very happy that he met someone familiar. He waved to him excitedly while gesturing to his two teammates. “Come here, let me introduce him to you! This fella is Kayla from Sunrise City Guild of Magic, and he’s my childhood playmate.
“Kayla, these are my two teammates. He’s Orrin, and that’s Felic.”
“I’m happy to meet both of you.”
Kayla was obviously more mature than Mason. His speech and gestures were filled with propriety and politeness. After greeting the two men, he also introduced his teammates to them. The taller one was Lauren from Snow City Guild of Magic, while the shorter one was Fedrick from Dawn City Guild of Magic.
It had been long since he last met this childhood friend. Mason was so elated that he pulled Kayla over to chat for at least half an hour. Only when the mission was about to begin did he wave goodbye to him. When Kayla was about to leave, they promised to definitely render their help to each other if they were to meet any danger in Shadowglen, and to survive the seven days together.
“Don’t worry. As long as I’m there, you will be fine!” Mason patted his chest, assuring Kayla.
“Then I’ll depend on you in this mission, alright?”
“Be assured, everything’s on me!”
After making a pact, they continued to chat for a while before Kayla brought his teammates away.
While they chatted, Lin Li remained silent and sized up the tanned and skinny mage curiously.
Even to Lin Li, Kayla was a good mage of at least level-11, just a little weaker than Orrin. His two other teammates were not weak too; both were at level-10, and much stronger than Mason…
If they were to form an alliance with this team, it would definitely be of help for Lin Li’s team to complete this mission.
Unfortunately, even if he cherished the bond between the two teams, they might not have that same attitude…
Underlying Lin Li’s smile was a hint of sarcasm.
This Kayla is an interesting man… …
When Kayla went back to his tent, the shorter mage, Lauren, asked him curiously, “Boss, you are very close to that Mason?”
“Just an acquaintance.”
“Then why did you treat him…”
“Why was I so friendly to him, right?” Kayla said as he smiled, and gazed at the entrance of Shadowglen. “Friendliness is free. If I treat him nicely now, he might be of help in the future. Furthermore, this mission will not be easy. Even if it was Gryffindor, there is no certainty for him to survive the seven days himself, what more us. When danger arrives, it would be good for us to receive help from people instead of being backstabbed by them.”
“But I’m afraid that the ability of that fella is…” the short mage paused, and thought for a while before continuing, “He is no more than a level-nine, and his teammate, Felic, is just a level-seven dude. How could they be of any help to us in Shadowglen?”
“What do you know…” Kayla glared at him impatiently. “In Shadowglen, luck is more important than ability. Don’t be too full of yourself with that level-10 ability. I’ll tell you that in Shadowglen, even if you are a level-11 or level-12, you might not be able to survive in this period of time. After all, friendliness is free. And, it’s good to have some scapegoats with us…”
“But…” After reprimanding the short mage, Kayla continued while in deep thought, “But that fella Felic… How could he dare to even participate in the trial with just a level-seven skillset? I’m sure he would be sent back from Shadowglen not long after the mission starts. We don’t need to have much hopes of depending on that team.”
While the trio was conversing in the tent, an old and husky voice resounded outside. “Let me announce that the mission officially starts now. This time, I hope everyone can succeed and complete the task.”
Although the voice was not loud, it was strangely clear and easy for everyone to hear it.
“Come, let’s go!”
When Kayla and his team came out of their tent, Lin Li’s team was already at the entrance of Shadowglen.
The moment when Lin Li got close to the entrance, he sensed a pungent smell of rot. The putrid smell that filled the stale air resembled that of decaying corpses. Black haze filled their vision, and nothing could be clearly seen from any distance. The soil below their feet was moist and slippery. As they walked, it was as though they could hear the squelching sound of their steps.
“This place is so disgusting…” Mason cried out in disdain as he fixed his eyes at his feet, afraid of stepping on anything he should not be stepping on.
“There’s no choice, because the undead are unaware of the environment in their habitat.”
“Oh, yes. Felic, aren’t you a pharmacist? Are there any potions for us to go unnoticed by the undead creatures?” Mason always liked to daydream. To say the truth, when he was asking this question, he was not expecting there to be any.
Who knew Lin Li would nod his head. He said in a definite tone, “Of course there are…”
“HUH?” Mason was shocked. Even Orrin stopped in his tracks.
“There is a type of potion made especially to deal with the undead creatures. If you consume a bottle of it, not only could you go unnoticed by them, but also gain Divine Power that would enable you to attack them with ease.”
“So there’s such a good thing in the world! Why don’t you create some quickly… Our success depends on you now!”
“No problem…” Lin Li nodded, and extended his arm to Mason. “Give me a stalk of the Divine Flower, and I will help you create a few bottles of it instantly.”
“F*ck!”
Lin Li’s joke eased the tension in everybody’s hearts. They walked along the curved narrow path, and before they realized it, they had reached the middle region of Shadowglen.
That was the territory of the undead creatures. The black fog around them became thicker and thicker. Lin Li could hear vague rustling from the surroundings. It was the sound produced when a spring silkworm was devouring a mulberry leaf continuously. Amidst the cold chilly wind, the sound created goosebumps all over them.
“Be careful…” Lin Li reminded his teammates in a low voice as he grabbed onto his Winter Staff vigilantly.
“Alrighty.” Mason nodded. But, he shrieked right after, “AH!”
Lin Li glanced back immediately, only to see a few skeletal hands grabbing onto Mason’s thighs. Mason’s black robe was torn into pieces with a great force, and blood streaks appeared on his thighs.
“Sniff!” Lin Li reacted immediately and raised his Winter Staff, and sent out wind blades. At that moment, there was a crisp sound of bones breaking, and an arm broke off from Mason. Under Lin Li’s Mind Control, that wind blade took a turn, and proceeded to cut away another arm.
Orrin’s staff was raised as well, but his mental strength was not as freakish as Lin Li. Although his reaction was fast, the speed of his spells was slower. When he shot out an Icicle, Lin Li had already shot his second Wind blade. In a split second, a series of crisp breaking sounds echoed, and the four or five skeletal hands that’d grabbed onto Mason became a pile of bone fragments.
“God dammit, that was scary…” Mason shook off those arms, and hid in a corner apprehensively.
“Don’t just take a break, let’s get rid of them first.”
“Them?” Mason froze before realizing who ‘they’ were.
Under Lin Li’s rapid recitation, the ground below the trio vibrated gently; black soil rose up into the air as though something was about to emerge from the earth.
…