Cornflower Witch

Chapter 168 Arrival at the Gate of the Distant Mountains
What is a wizard?

Long ago, the person who guided him onto the path of the extraordinary asked him this question. Of course, Karl, who was only 12 years old at the time, did not know the specific answer and could only give a vague reply.

"He's probably a very powerful and rather mysterious person."

"Yes."

He was surprised by the other party's affirmation; he had expected them to correct him and then tell him the real answer.

"The earliest term for wizards refers to those who possess mysterious magical abilities that are difficult for ordinary people to understand. This is the origin of wizards."

"Therefore, wizards always exist on the edge of the ordinary world. They know about the darker and more bizarre things outside and also master these strange and mysterious arts."

"Regarding our understanding of the world, wizards believe that not everything can be explained or understood with words and writing. This is our biggest disagreement with scholars and sorcerers."

"The mage believes that there are hidden truths in the world. As long as we explore and understand them, everything can be explained by them and used to plan and control all things."

"A relentless pursuit of knowledge is not a good thing; in fact, it is a kind of arrogance, believing that as long as we explore and understand, we can control and manipulate it. We must acknowledge that the vastness and unknown of the world will always exist, and we should treat it with awe."

“Wizards can ignore the conflict of concepts and explore directly from phenomena, and then grasp them according to their laws. We don’t need to deliberately understand the principles behind them, nor can we know the completely real world.”

The completely objective real world is unknowable; we can only ever see the world of experience processed by our senses and intellect.
……

These were the words that Karl's teacher taught him in his early years, and he still remembers them to this day. In fact, in his later studies and life, he has come to realize more and more that the so-called human heart is something that is difficult to truly understand.

Therefore, he chose to follow his teacher's guidance and stop trying to explore the real, specific thoughts in everyone's heart, because such things could sometimes be too real and make people feel unapproachable.

Since then, he has gradually maintained certain boundaries with others, neither prying too much into their thoughts nor revealing his own emotions and ideas too much. This has led his teammates to say that he is cold and unsociable.

Fortunately, he met his current captain and Yann. The other party always likes to make little jokes to lighten the mood and will not complain or think that he is doing it on purpose because he speaks coldly.

"Everyone has their own temperament, isn't that normal?" That's how Bad Apple explained it with a laugh at the time.

"Do I have to specifically look up where the tree grows before I can eat an apple? If I knew the farmer used certain things to water the tree, would I spit out the apple?"

Although disagreements occasionally arise within the team, no one forces others to listen or uses various excuses to ask why or try to persuade them. This attitude of mutual respect, understanding, and help is probably what makes him feel pressure-free and comfortable in the environment.

So, unusually, he stayed in this squad for a long time.

Although Bad Apple said he didn't care, Carl knew that if Bad Apple wanted to advance, the 'Water of Stone Mist' was almost indispensable. It was also an irreplaceable resource in his planned career path, and he had been planning for this for several years.

Not only him, but also Yann and Bona knew about it. So when Bad Apple suggested coming to Bain Town, almost everyone agreed. He even came up with a reason to agree, saying that his Ghost Cat also needed the Ash Fruit to complete its advancement.

……

"Karl, what are you thinking about?" Bad Apple came over after the group finished discussing tomorrow's plans.

"It's nothing, just reminiscing about some things from the past." Karl raised his hand, and a black cat emerged from under his sleeve, stretched, and then curiously lay down on his lap, looking around.

"I've always wanted to ask, was this black cat yours before?" Bad Apple asked curiously.

“No.” Karl offered a rare explanation, bending down to stroke the ghostly cat.

"I don't actually like keeping animals very much."

"Its previous owner was not me, but just an acquaintance of mine."

"Later, when it was about to die, I happened to be short of experimental materials, so they gave it to me."

"It sounds like there's a deep story behind it, but never mind, I won't ask." Bad Apple shrugged.

"If you tell me, I won't be able to sleep tonight."

"Heh." Karl chuckled, his eyes reflecting the firelight, his expression complex and profound.

"I'll tell you later, after this adventure is over."

"Okay, that's settled then. Don't go back on your word later." Bad Apple pressed his advantage. "I will," Carl replied, his voice tinged with lingering emotion.

The night passed quietly once again.

……

At dawn, the team set off on the final stretch of the road leading to the gates of the distant mountains.

As they approached the upper part of the mountain, the slope of the road became increasingly steep, forcing the group to lead their horses step by step through the forest.

Fortunately, as the altitude increases, the vegetation here becomes relatively sparse, so there's no need to worry about stepping on stones or potholes in the grass.

However, as the altitude increased, the fog became thicker and thicker, and all of them experienced varying degrees of discomfort.

"I feel a little dizzy." Yann stopped in his tracks, his face pale.

“I am a little bit too,” Karl said, catching his breath.

"I'm a little better, but I still feel like something's not right here." Bad Apple looked around.

"Where is Tiya?"

The girl at the back of the group was also resting under a tree.

"I'm okay, but I feel very humid and stuffy." Xilutiya felt sticky all over, as if it were the rainy season in her previous life.

"Now that we're here, it's time to use that thing." Bad Apple thought for a moment, then took out a special torch from the bundle carried by the horse.

When Hirutiya saw him light the torch, a gust of hot wind blew out, gradually dispelling the fog in the forest and making everything much clearer for her, as if it had suddenly gone into high definition.

"Is this the effect of the Ascension Torch?" It was the first time she had seen her teammate use it.

"Yes, it was specially purchased from an alchemist. This one costs 3 gold coins and can only burn for an hour."

With the torches held high, the mist and hot air met and immediately dissipated, making everything in the forest clearer.

"Let's go, let's continue." After saying that, the group set off again.

Although the last stretch was only 25 miles in a straight line, it took them nearly six hours to gradually reach their destination because most of it was uphill and they had to take detours.

"This should be it. The map ends here." Bad Apple put down the map.

"here?"

Like the others, Hiltiya looked around. They were still in the endless mountain forest, and there was no sign of the so-called 'stone arch'.

The mountains shrouded in mist were exceptionally quiet; there were no birdsong, not even insects to be seen, only endless trees.

Seeing that everyone looked a little confused, Bad Apple turned around and spoke with great interest.

"Have you forgotten that 'Mist Shadow' is most adept at concealment and illusion?"

He lit another torch, its orange flame flickering and hot air billowing out, before tossing it high into the air and leaping into the sky.

A slender blade of light flashed through the air, tearing the torch into pieces. Countless sparks and fragments fell and scattered throughout the forest, burning simultaneously in various places, filling the air with scorching heat.

Like an invisible canvas being slowly burned through, everything in sight gradually sheds its curtain, revealing the truth behind it.

They were still standing on the hillside, which was covered with stones, surrounded by two towering mountains. Between them, a stone staircase wound its way up to the end of a distant ravine.

There, a simple stone archway stands.

(End of this chapter)