In the quiet of the camp, Damian jolted awake from his dream.
He took several deep, ragged breaths, trying to shake off the crushing sensation of suffocation. It felt exactly like he had been drowning in freezing water.
Just before he had been yanked out of the Grey Mist—when his perspective had violently shot up into the sky—he had experienced that same intense, suffocating pressure.
The Court Wizard who had been standing guard for the first half of the night noticed Damian stir. He walked over and gave a quiet signal, indicating it was finally Damian's turn for the night watch.
With the rest of the camp still fast asleep, Damian didn't make a sound. He simply nodded to the guard and slipped out of his warm sleeping bag.
He took a seat by the enchanted bonfire in the center of the camp, picking up a stray twig to poke at the burning embers. His mind raced as he reviewed everything that had just happened in the Mist World.
Right as I left the mist, my vision was forced upward, and I saw that massive dark shadow lurking below, he thought, his brow furrowing. And the Antlered Girl... she was pointing directly at it.
Did she want him to seek out that colossal shadow?
His first escape from the Mist World had been too frantic, and he hadn't had the time to properly observe his surroundings. He couldn't be entirely sure if she had been pointing in the same direction both times.
Next time I enter the mist, if I encounter her again, I need to confirm her coordinates, he resolved.
Judging by his two terrifying encounters with the Antlered Girl, she seemed intent only on guiding him somewhere; neither time had she shown any hostile intent, despite her overwhelming, god-like aura.
A short while later, the night-watch wizard from Madam Jill's merchant guild swapped in to join him. This wizard, a young man named Victor, was noticeably talkative. After sitting in silence for only a few minutes, he couldn't help but pull Damian into idle chatter.
"Are you a wizard from White Stone Town?" Victor asked quietly.
"No," Damian replied smoothly. "I was in secluded cultivation elsewhere. I haven't been in White Stone Town for very long."
Victor didn't seem to care much about Damian's origins and carried right on with his own train of thought.
"I came all the way from the Royal Capital," Victor sighed. "You know how it is in the capital. There are simply too many wizard apprentices flooding the market, making it not easy to get your hands on resources."
"Madam Jill is truly generous, though," he continued, a greedy glint in his eye. "I'm very satisfied with the reward she's giving for this trip. Once I finish this mission and return to the Royal Capital, I'll finally have enough resources to attempt my breakthrough and become a Formal Wizard."
Damian couldn't help but give Victor a sideways glance. The guy was acting exactly like an old general in a play, foolishly boasting right before a deadly battle.
"It's usually best not to say things like that while we're still out on a mission," Damian warned dryly.
Victor blinked in surprise. "Is there something wrong with what I just said?"
Damian smiled faintly. "I've heard others say before that speaking of future omens while on a mission can bring bad results upon yourself."
Victor let out a low, dismissive laugh. "I've never heard of such a saying. We are wizards; how can we believe in such things? We haven't been cursed, so how could spoken words bring misfortune?"
Damian continued to poke the embers with his wooden stick. "I was just joking. Don't mind me."
Victor shrugged it off entirely. "Anyway, we really aren't having much luck. The two colorful cloud grass growth areas marked during the last survey are completely unsuitable for establishing collection zones. Starting tomorrow, we'll have to find new colorful cloud grass growth areas. The Winter Forest is so large, who knows how long we'll have to search."
Damian just nodded; on the contrary, he didn't really want to leave the Winter Forest too soon now.
Here in the deep woods, he didn't need to prepare the cumbersome Dream Entry Ritual; as long as he fell asleep in the forest, his soul was naturally pulled into the Mist World.
By staying here, he could continue exploring the Mist World; he still hadn't found the 'treasure land' from Jack's memories. He hadn't forgotten that the divine brew Jack used to create variants was obtained from that specific misty zone.
Fortunately, Madam Jill had an ulterior motive for funding this expedition. Her twin granddaughters needed to enter the Deep Area of the Winter Forest to find the Shadow White Deer.
"Have you ever actually seen a Shadow White Deer?" Damian asked, changing the subject.
Victor shook his head. "I haven't. I'm not even sure if the Shadow White Deer in the Winter Forest have gone extinct."
"I consulted relevant materials when I took the mission," Victor explained. "People once discovered their habitat in the Deep Area of the Winter Forest. But there hasn't been a recorded encounter in the archives for already several hundred years."
"In legends, the Shadow White Deer are transformed from kind souls and will escort people who accidentally get lost in the forest out of the Winter Forest." Victor scoffed. "But in reality, they are just a type of Magical Creature that breeds in the Winter Forest. There are too many Magical Creature populations here; it's quite normal for a species with such small numbers to be driven to extinction by other species."
Damian frowned. "Doesn't that mean there's a high probability we won't find the Shadow White Deer? We still have to help Vivian and Lilith look for them after finishing the exploration mission."
Victor waved a hand dismissively. "Don't worry, Madam Jill isn't a harsh or stingy person. Even if we don't find it, she will still pay a considerable fee."
Damian nodded slowly. Finding a species that hadn't been seen for hundreds of years was entirely up to nature.
Leaning in closer, Victor glanced over his shoulder at the merchant guild members and lowered his voice to a whisper. "I heard a rumor about why they're looking for it. Apparently, the twins took a mission from the Witch's Spoon."
"Witch's Spoon?" Damian asked vaguely; he actually didn't know what the Witch's Spoon was.
"Vivian and Lilith are junior members of the Witch's Spoon," Victor explained, his voice laced with envy. "It's said their mentor found a thousand-year-old potion recipe, and the ingredients require the antlers of a Shadow White Deer."
"It's said that potion has a massive effect on the growth of the sea of spirit," Victor whispered. "If they can find the Shadow White Deer this time, Vivian and Lilith might soon break through to become Formal Wizards."
"Formal Wizards under the age of twenty!" Victor shook his head in awe. "There aren't many in the entire Royal Capital!"
Damian remained silent; it seemed he could achieve such a thing without any thousand-year-old recipe.
He was already a Third-Level Wizard Apprentice now. Normally, a Third-Level Wizard Apprentice needs to go through a relatively long period of accumulation for their sea of spirit to reach the breakthrough standard. An ordinary talent would spend at least several years to a decade accumulating at this stage.
But Damian's wizard talent in this life was exceptional. Coupled with the assistance of potions he had access to, his sea of spirit grew very rapidly, greatly shortening the accumulation period. He estimated that within a single year, his core would naturally reach the breakthrough threshold.
I just need to wait for Madam Jill's reward, Damian thought pragmatically. After finishing this mission, I'll be able to buy the auxiliary potions needed to break through to a Formal Wizard.
Victor quickly adjusted his own posture, puffing out his chest. "It won't be long before I make my breakthrough, either."
"Good luck to you," Damian offered gently.
They didn't discuss the fact that the probability of breaking through to a Formal Wizard was not high.
After chatting for a while longer, a faint morning light appeared on the horizon.
One by one, the other members of the Exploration Team began to stir from their bedrolls, ready to set out and continue searching for colorful cloud grass growth areas.
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