Full-Time Magister: I Had No Intention of Reaching the Dimensional Throne

"It looks like a forest. Strange, how can there be a forest in the desert!?"

At this moment, Leng Qing also noticed the vast dark land on the distant horizon. Through the sandstorm that was constantly flying in the air, he could only make out that it was a forest composed of black trees.

"It seems to be a forest of dead trees. Let's go closer and take a look."

Wu Xuan, who was nearby, frowned, sighed, and immediately gave the order.

According to intelligence, their first challenge should have been the endless gravity corridor, but what appeared before them was a forest that resembled a deadwood forest.

This can only mean that their intelligence was wrong. This desert had moved again not long ago, causing changes to the demons and some special areas.

However, they were mentally prepared for this change in advance. The desert was an example of this; they even prepared for the fact that all the intelligence they had collected in advance would be useless.

After descending the sand dune, the group drew ever closer to that dark territory.

"Brother Bai, Sister Ding, any news?"

Fireman Ace, who was leading the charge, looked up at Bai Mo, who was still sitting upright on the back of Goddust Tiger.

The hunters weren't annoyed by his leisurely, sightseeing-like demeanor; in fact, many of them felt a mix of envy and wistfulness.

Some people still remember when they first met Bai Mo two years ago. He was just a mid-level mage with some strength and talent. Now, only two years later, his cultivation level is higher than that of most people in the team.

Moreover, regardless of their own strength, a single Divine Dust Tiger at the level of a minor commander is equivalent to most of their hunter group in this place.

Strength brings respect. Even if Bai Mo was just sitting on the back of a contracted beast with three pretty girls, or even if they were lying down, the hunters wouldn't say anything.

They would only think that a real man should act like this.

Before the team set off, everyone had already discussed their respective magic systems, so they knew that Bai Mo and Ding Yumin had long-range reconnaissance abilities, which is why Ace asked about it.

Even without Ace saying it, Bai Mo had already used the Sound String Detection technique while he was on the mountain, and the information was already in his mind.

"There were no animals inside, and the trees had no leaves."

"There are emotional fluctuations, and the resentment runs deep," Ding Yumin also stated her perception.

"It seems to be the Dead Forest. Legend has it that the Dead Forest was originally a forest in an ancient tribal city-state. Later, the tribal city-state was buried by sandstorms overnight. As the desert shifted, only the dead trees, which were entangled with the resentment of the city's inhabitants, remained in place."

Upon hearing their replies, Ace nodded slightly, his tone grave:

"Legend has it that the Dead Forest was originally called the Weeping Forest, where ghostly moans disturb the soul, and some trees even transform into something like the dead that attacks people. Few who go in ever come out."

"Captain, let's find someone else to lead the charge. I'm being held back."

"Restraint? Aren't you minoring in light magic? Why are you afraid of the undead?" Wen said irritably.

Wu Xuan, who was standing next to him, turned to face Bai Mo and offered a suggestion.

"This forest of dead trees is vast, and we haven't even entered it yet, so we don't know how strong its power to disturb the soul is. We'll need your help, Brother Bai. Leave those undead dead trees to us."

"good!"

After agreeing, the group arrived at the edge of the dark forest.

The setting sun was already close to the horizon, and its remaining light was blocked by the dark forest in front of us.

The crimson glow of the sunset outlined the vast silhouette of this dark forest, resembling a colossal beast crouching on the ground.

But when everyone saw the true nature of this withered tree, its trunk, with its steely sheen and armor-like appearance, its distinct branches hanging eerily to either side or rising in all directions, its dark, eye-like veins at the top, and the dark aura emanating from its leaves, all revealed its true nature.

All of this suddenly made people feel that this was not a tree, but a person, a person who was left with only a spine and arms, screaming wildly, and whose death was in various ways!

These trees have grown to resemble the various frenzied struggles of the people of that tribal city-state when they died a thousand years ago!

"Hiss~~~~~~~!!"

The gasps were unusually loud. Everyone stared at the row of dead trees in front of them, as if they were looking at the souls who were buried alive in the sand a thousand years ago. A chill instantly ran from their tailbone to the top of their head, and goosebumps rose all over their bodies.

"Why! Why!"

"I don't want to die!"

"Help! Why?!"

"I died a terrible death!"

"Come stay with us, come stay with us, come stay with us."

Before they even got close, they felt enveloped by endless malice. Countless voices roared and screamed in their mental world, and in a daze, it seemed as if countless demonic hands reached out from the realm of the dead, trying to drag them in.

"Fellow villager, there's no need to be so enthusiastic!"

Bai Mo spoke softly, but his words were like rolling thunder, echoing into a forest shrouded in black mist. His powerful voice instantly drowned out the barely perceptible sounds emanating from the large expanse of slightly trembling, withered trees.

As a sonic mage, he could hear the sounds these things made, even though most people couldn't.

As he finished speaking, everyone's expressions improved somewhat, but some members still looked terrified, their legs trembling.

Seeing this, Bai Mo frowned. "Not completely cleaned?"

"No, sound is just a means; the real power they have to influence comes from the mind."

Ding Yumin shook her head. "I'll do it."

"Why."

"Snapped!"

Ding Yumin glared at the person, then flicked her finger, sending a ripple outwards.

"appease!"

With the release of mind magic, the hunters felt much better and, after a few breaths, returned to normal.

"I didn't expect the mental attacks from this forest to be so powerful. We have to thank you all."

Wen Du said in a deep, muffled voice, explaining that as a Super-Rank Hunter, he possessed the highest mental strength among all the Hunters. Even so, he was still somewhat affected.

"You're welcome, let's help each other out." Shaking his head, Bai Mo looked at the silent, withered forest.

"How are you? Do you want to rest for a while?"

"Haha, no need, we're not delicate people."

With a wave of his hand, Wu Xuan glanced at the crowd and immediately made a decision: "Light Mage, clear the way with Radiant Light! Be prepared for defense at all times!"

"Okay!"

Almost the instant he finished speaking, the six Radiant Ones flew into the dark forest.

Suddenly, a golden light shone brightly, and the previously dark and invisible area ahead immediately became clear, as if the dark fog had cleared away after a rain.

As the path ahead became clear, Ace, acting as the vanguard, immediately stepped forward, followed by Wu Xuan, Bai Mo, and the others.

"Whew! Whiff! Whiff! Whiff!!"

As soon as Ace entered the area of ​​the Deadwood Forest, he saw the surrounding trees shake again, and the invisible sound waves that were generated fell with a disturbing power.

In an instant, Ace's expression twisted, his eyes becoming terrifyingly horrifying, like a wronged soul crawling up from hell.

"Buzz~~~~~~~!"

Ripples like water surrounded Ace, forming a protective shield, upon which a faint psychic glow shone.

In the blink of an eye, the power of a troubled mind is blocked and dissolved.

"All the dead trees in this forest are moving. It seems their greatest spiritual attacks can't affect us. Let's continue."

Seeing that the expected attack had been neutralized, Bai Mo turned his head and signaled to Wu Xuan and the others to rest assured.

Then the light shone again, illuminating section after section of the road ahead, and the group officially stepped into the withered forest that had appeared beforehand.

Under the radiant light, the withered trees that had turned into undead were purified before they could launch an attack, posing no threat to anyone.

The mentally disturbing power emanating from the entire forest was blocked by Ding Yumin, and the group advanced in an orderly manner.

"Have we gone the wrong way? Why haven't we gotten out yet?"

Another burst of light illuminated the forest a mile ahead. While everyone was remarking on how good it would be to have a mind-based or sound-based mage accompanying them, Wu Xuan frowned sensitively.

"Probably not, we've only been gone a short while."

Ace said that he was in the lead and didn't realize he had gone the wrong way.

"Perhaps we're overthinking it. Let's keep moving forward."

On the back of the Divine Dust Tiger, Bai Mo and the others naturally heard the conversation between the two. Leng Qing turned his head to look at the pitch-black sky, then looked at Bai Mo.

What do you think?

Upon hearing this, Bai Mo released a series of probing sound waves. When the sound returned, he immediately frowned.

Something's not right!

"Something's not right?" Before Leng Qing could ask, Wu Xuan immediately spoke up. His question to Ace earlier was also a way of indirectly questioning Bai Mo.

Bai Mo didn't use sound to probe all the time along the way, since there were scouts in the team, and he usually probed once every fifteen minutes.

"Something's not right about this grove of trees," Bai Mo said, gazing around intently.

"Something's not right. This grove of trees was already weird to begin with, so what's the problem?"

Wen Du, who was ahead, scratched his head, feeling that something was amiss.

"Ace is on the right track; we've been heading in one direction. I just expanded my detection range considerably and discovered that the sand dunes we entered before the Deadwood Forest are gone."

"Did it flow away again?"

Lingling reacted the fastest, immediately stating her guess: "You mean, this forest of dead trees is also moving, and they're moving in the same direction as us! Maybe they're moving very slowly, or using some other dark trick, but in any case, we didn't notice!"

"Gurgle!"

As soon as Lingling finished her guess, Ace and the others in front couldn't help but swallow hard, their voices trembling slightly as they confirmed:

"Lingling, really? You can't joke around like that these days."

A ghost forest enveloped them, and it kept following them, and following them all the way!

Just thinking about it horrifies them!

Lingling didn't speak, but looked at Bai Mo, who nodded.

"Lingling guessed right, that's the truth. I didn't notice how the forest moved either, but the fact is, it moved."

He paused, and seeing the somewhat frightened expressions on everyone's faces, he continued:

"However, what we do know is that their horses are not as fast as ours."

Upon hearing this, everyone's lips twitched. What kind of time is this to be joking?

"We can't stay in the forest forever; we can't afford to."

Upon hearing this, Wu Xuan breathed a sigh of relief and immediately said, "Full speed ahead! Don't be stingy with your magic!"

The group immediately stopped walking, and with continuous wind and ground ripples, they sped forward like a top-of-the-line sports car at full throttle.

They sped along at breakneck speed, and as the speed increased, the once-stable forest began to sway. Each tree seemed to be attached to a pulley, moving in the same direction at a visible speed.

Upon witnessing this scene, everyone's eyes widened, and their hair stood on end. The cold desert night paled in comparison to the chilling sight they were seeing.

"Damn it, no wonder so many hunters here say that you can't go into the dead forest, you'll never come out. How the hell can you get out of this living forest! Even if you run out of mana, you still won't be able to get out!"

As he ran, Wen couldn't help but curse when he saw this scene.

"It is indeed strange. If we hadn't discovered it beforehand, we would probably have been trapped in the forest forever, knowing we had no way to resist." Wu Xuan nodded, unusually not objecting to his words.

Although the trees were moving at a decent pace, they were still far behind the group who were moving at full speed.

Therefore, with everyone disregarding the magic energy and fleeing, it didn't take long for them to escape from this withered forest.

After running out of the forest, the hunters did not stop, but continued to advance for a while before finally stopping.

Meanwhile, a ray of dawn shone from the horizon, finally breaking the eerie darkness of the night.

Sitting on the back of the Divine Dust Tiger, Bai Mo couldn't help but feel the eeriness of the withered forest. Turning his head to look back, he saw a vast dark sea standing eerily in the distance.

Perhaps realizing it couldn't catch up, the forest settled down there, ceasing its movement and pursuit.

"That's the Borg Mountains, quickly bury the demon detector."

As soon as it got light, Wu Xuan immediately saw a towering area near the northern horizon and made arrangements.

While the group was scouting the distribution of demons, they took the opportunity to rest and relieve the fatigue from the night's tension.

The fluctuations from the demon detection device will attract demons, but Ding Yumin is not the only mental mage in the team; Leng Qing is one as well.

After restoring Ding Yumin's magical power, Leng Qing took on the task of calming down and driving away the demons.

After resting and tidying up, Lingling organized the data from the demon detector and then showed it to everyone.

"There are about seven demon clans within a ten-kilometer radius. If we want to get to the Flaming Mountain, we need to go in a slightly northerly direction. There are two of them there, and we can bypass one of them."

Lingling's analysis was very professional and detailed.

"The other demon group remained largely still during the time the detector was operating, suggesting it might be plant demons. Furthermore, no large-scale demon vacuum zone was detected, therefore there is no endless gravity corridor in the first five kilometers."

"Another plant demon!"

Ace exclaimed, expressing the sentiments of most of the Hunters. They had witnessed Lingling's abilities two years ago and had no doubts about them.

Having been tormented by a group of dead trees all night, I can't help but feel a little scared when I hear about plant demons again.

"There aren't many plant-based monsters on the outskirts of the desert; the dead forest we encountered last night was just an exception."

Lingling typed a few words on the computer and brought up information on several demons.

"Based on the collected information on the distribution of demons, the most likely demon to appear in this area is the False Fear Demon, followed by the Branchless Tree."

"Let's go then. We've already passed the dead forest, what else is there to be afraid of?"

Ace adjusted quickly, and as the vanguard, he took the lead and went forward. (End of Chapter)