Chapter 200: Mystic Forest
Chapter 200: Mystic Forest (Please Subscribe, Favorite, and Recommend)
Although the blood loss from their injuries had left both of them a bit pale, they were otherwise fine. After sitting on the spot for a while to recover some of their magic power, they stood up and prepared to explore their surroundings.
After walking for a bit, Hermione suddenly asked curiously, "Where are we exactly? The environment around us doesn't resemble the Amazon Rainforest at all; it looks more like the European Continent."
"Hermione, I have some bad news to tell you", Liam paused before continuing, "We're no longer in the Amazon Rainforest."
"I could tell from the surroundings, but at least you managed to bring us here, so I trust you can get us back."
"Thank you for your trust, but I think we might not be in our original world anymore."
"What? Did we fail to escape and die?" Hermione's face first showed shock, then acceptance. "I'm sorry for getting you involved in this because I tried to save that second-year Ravenclaw girl. Thank you for your kind lie; it made my final moments less terrifying and painful. The only regret is that I owe you a life I can't repay."
"But it seems the afterlife isn't so bad, isn't it? No wonder those ghosts always say they stayed in the mortal world because they weren't brave enough or had too many ties to move on. They say true death is just another great adventure, with a hint of envy."
Liam cleared his throat awkwardly, realizing Hermione had misunderstood. After all, in this era, Britain hadn't been flooded with web novels popularizing the concept of traversal, so the first thought upon hearing they were in a different world was that they had died.
"You don't need to apologize for your good deed, and things aren't as bad as you think. I mean, we might be on another Earth." In this situation, Liam felt it was important to explain things a bit more.
"I possess a power that allows me to travel to a parallel world, but each time I use it, it's a matter of life and death. This time, I had no choice but to activate that ability. After using it, I need to rest for a while before I can return to our original place, so I think we'll have to stay here for a bit."
"Ah, I see." With the Back to the Future series having been popular in the United States over the past couple of years, Hermione quickly grasped the concept of a parallel world. She fell silent for a moment, then turned to Liam with a slight smile. "I think we can get through this time together, right?"
"Absolutely!" Liam nodded firmly. He could tell Hermione was a bit uneasy about being in a strange place, so he gave a resolute answer to reassure her.
To ease the tension that had built up during their journey, the two of them began chatting back and forth. As they continued talking, their moods gradually returned to normal.
Fortune seemed to smile upon them. After descending from a small hill covered with tall trees, they discovered a path covered in fallen leaves at the bottom.
Pushing aside the leaves, they could see that the path was quite sturdy, indicating that it had been well-traveled in the past. However, the thickness of the leaves on the path suggested it hadn't been used for at least a year or two. Yet, a pile of fresh horse droppings and a few new hoof prints on the path indicated that it might have been used just a few days ago.
It seems this road has been abandoned, but at least someone is still using it. It looks like there's a chance they won't have to sleep outdoors tonight. Since the currency in the Wizard World is at least non-magical and appears to be gold and silver coins, these hard currencies are generally accepted in most human-inhabited areas.
However, the problem now is which end of the road is closer to a human settlement?
They know nothing about this world, and the navigation spell can only point north, not to human settlements. Without any other reference points, they decided to use a simple wand toss to decide their direction.
After determining their direction, the two of them started walking down the road. Since they hadn't encountered any threatening magical creatures during their long journey, and the environment and the stars in the sky were similar to their original world, they felt that this world might not be too dangerous. Even if there were some dangers, they should be within their ability to handle.
In this situation, spending a night outdoors for two young wizards wasn't too risky. That's why they decided to use this random method to determine their next move.
After walking for a while, the sky grew darker, and the temperature dropped. Liam thought it might be because it was colder in the forest at night, so he cast a warming charm on himself and Hermione before continuing.
However, the more they walked, the more they felt something was off. The plants they had passed earlier were evergreen, and the temperature was between summer and spring. Now, it was getting colder, almost like winter, which was very unnatural.
As they rounded a small hill, they were surprised to see a vast, snow-covered forest ahead.
Well, let's take back those words. This world not only has magic, but it's also quite powerful. A world where a region can change from summer to winter can't be an ordinary non-magical world.
The fact that this kind of unnatural phenomenon exists suggests that the magic level in this world is not much worse than in their original world. It's just a matter of whether this phenomenon is natural or man-made.
With this thought, the two of them exchanged a glance, drew their wands, and continued forward with caution. They noticed that the road here was better than in the forest they had just left, indicating they were getting closer to a human settlement.
Now, Liam and his companions couldn't determine the specifics of this world, so they could only try to head towards areas that might have human inhabitants. Using his Nature Magic, Liam felt no evil aura in this forest. Perhaps the people in this world just prefer to live in snowy areas.
After a brief discussion, Liam and Hermione decided to continue down the road. After walking for nearly another half hour, they saw a grand castle at the end of the road. It seemed they were about to reach their destination. At that moment, the silence of the forest was broken by the sound of hooves.
The appearance of a supernatural winter in a warm region, the sound of hooves in the snow, these connections immediately made Liam think of Prince Arthas. If it really was him, they would be in grave danger. With this thought, Liam pulled Hermione behind a tree, wand at the ready, and peered in the direction of the hoofbeats.
(End of Chapter)
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