Ascension To Divine Throne

Chapter 61 -61: The Mysterious Forest

Chapter 61: The Mysterious Forest

Early the next morning, William rose from his bed and, with the assistance of his maid Rosie, donned his practical adventure attire. He then set out towards the Mercenary Guild with his companion, Jason.

Wearing a mage’s robe for outdoor adventures seemed too showy for William’s taste. Although he possessed great power, he preferred not to flaunt it unnecessarily.

At the entrance of the Mercenary Guild, William bid farewell to Welf and entered the bustling establishment.

“Over here!”

Nichole called out as William approached, waving to catch his attention.

“We’ve been waiting for you.”

William joined the group, and Jason informed him, “Present your mercenary ID card for registration, and we can depart. The carriage is ready.”

William handed his Moriarty ID card to the guild staff for registration.

Unfortunately, today’s duty officer wasn’t the accommodating Miss Lya.

William retrieved his mercenary ID card, freshly updated after completing a magical beast subjugation mission with Nichole’s adventure group, officially promoting him to Bronze-level mercenary. 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝘦𝓌𝑒𝑏𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝘭.𝒸𝘰𝑚

“Let’s get going.”

Observing that William had completed the mission registration, Jason rallied the group to depart. The rented carriage awaited them at the guild entrance.

Since this journey required overnight stays outdoors and was of considerable length, Jason had secured a more spacious and comfortable carriage.

Their destination lay south of Canlight City. Once aboard the carriage, William retrieved his thick spellbook and resumed studying, occasionally casting spells for practice.

William made the most of every moment to absorb and reinforce his magical knowledge.

Nichole and the others remained quiet in the carriage, conserving their energy for the impending exploration of the secret realm.

This mission might prove more challenging than their previous beast subjugation.

Fortunately, they encountered no formidable magical creatures obstructing their path this time, indicating that the southern regions of the kingdom had effective measures against such threats.

The two-day journey passed swiftly for William, engrossed in his studies. He only relaxed during breaks and meals.

For William, as long as he had a clear objective, hard work was second nature.

His teammates tactfully refrained from disturbing him, recognizing William’s rapid growth in strength.

On the third day of travel, around noon, the carriage arrived near Kora Village, their destination.

Due to the urgency and clarity of their mission, William and his companions bypassed visits to local nobility and proceeded directly to the area of anomaly.

According to the Mercenary Guild’s map, Kora Village should lie at the end of their route.

Strangely, a vast forest suddenly appeared along the dirt road as the carriage advanced. The trees were dense with foliage, entwined with thick vines, obscuring visibility beyond the forest’s edge.

What struck them as eerie was the abrupt end of the road at a row of tall trees, as though a forest from another realm had been transplanted there, halting their progress.

Jason signaled for everyone to disembark.

William and the others were taken aback by the dense, mysterious forest before them.

“What’s with this forest? It’s not on the map, is it?” Elena, the elven ranger, asked. Despite her affinity for nature, she felt no connection to this unfamiliar forest.

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“It’s odd. According to the map, if we continue along this road for three or four kilometers, we should reach Kora Village,” Jason replied, his brow furrowed.

“Could it be that the rapid vegetation growth mentioned in the reports… resulted in this forest appearing within just a few days?” William speculated, eyeing the verdant foliage and towering trunks with concern.

William found his guess to be possibly correct, though it seemed utterly absurd!

A forest expanding to such an extent in merely a few days? It was akin to a magical rendition of an invasive forest realm!

“Something doesn’t feel right!” Jason pulled Nichole back, who was already eager to hack at the trees on the forest’s edge with his sword.

The forest emanated an unsettling aura, and the guild-assigned task didn’t appear as straightforward anymore.

While Jason contemplated how to gather intelligence, he noticed William slowly levitating off the ground, ascending several tens of meters into the air.

“How could I forget we have a mage on the team who can fly!” Jason suddenly realized.

After a brief observation, William descended.

“Did you discover anything?” Jason inquired directly, with all eyes turning to William.

William shook his head and replied:

“About ten kilometers ahead from here, it’s all the same forest, nothing noteworthy.”

“The only peculiar aspect is that the forest’s coverage seems to form a perfect circle.”

William gestured, indicating the uncommon shape of the forest.

“Is that so?” Jason was somewhat troubled; it seemed they couldn’t gather useful information from the forest’s exterior without entering.

“Hey, you lot!”

Suddenly, several figures sprinted toward them from the right side of the dirt road, shouting loudly and beckoning William and the others.

William observed them; they wore standard armor and appeared to be the guard team of the local nobility.

“You all, this forest is exceedingly perilous, do not venture any further.”

The people, panting heavily, approached William and the others, with their leader speaking breathlessly.

“Hello, we are the team designated by the Mercenary Guild to handle this incident, here is the commission.”

Jason retrieved the commission letter they received from the guild before departing, handing it to the leader, and inquired:

“Are you responsible for patrolling this area?”

The leader accepted the commission letter from Jason, checked it, and respectfully returned it.

He offered a knightly salute and introduced himself:

“Hello, thank you for your assistance, I am Ford, a knight in service to Viscount Ross.”

“Hello, could you enlighten us about what transpired in this area over the past few days?”

“Of course.”

Ford quickly replied, recognizing the elite mercenary group appointed by the Mercenary Guild, far more potent than a Bronze-level warrior like himself.

“Here’s the situation: five days ago, following an investigation by Lord Viscount Ross’s guard team, we concluded that it exceeded our capabilities to handle alone. We promptly dispatched someone to seek aid from the kingdom.”

“The anomaly occurred on the second day after the envoy departed for the royal capital!”