A Psychiatrist's Bizarre Game Journey / Dream of the Mist

He was just pretending to be in pain; he wasn't really unable to fly. But Sargus had genuinely been struck by the evil influence. It was already difficult enough to fly with Lance along, and then Zhou Ke'er was added to the mix... Zhou Ke'er herself was afraid that Sargus wouldn't be able to withstand it and would die along with his unborn child.

Sion continued to tread on the air to keep up with Zhou Ke'er. "I can't stay airborne for long... Let's go down in a bit—and where are we going?"

"I don't know where this is going, but this direction is relatively safe."

Zhou Ke'er shook her head and pointed to her right eye: "My eye can see that kind of evil energy. There should be an invincible monster lurking in the direction we were just facing. We'd better take a detour."

Upon hearing Xi Ang's words, Zhou Ke'er realized that there was no need to stay in the air any longer. After saying this, she continued to move forward and slowly descended to the ground.

Following him, Theon and the others landed one after another. Chris couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. "What was that all about? And... Theon, can you try a different position next time? You were carrying me on your shoulders! I was about to fall apart from all the jostling!"

The black wings behind Zhou Ke'er dissipated, and after panting heavily for a few moments, she continued walking forward while slowly answering, "That's a kind of energy that exists in my world. It has an extremely powerful corrupting force. If ordinary people come into contact with this energy, it's as if countless whispers are constantly murmuring in their ears. If they believe these whispers, or can't bear it and fall into a frenzy, they will be bewitched by these whispers and go mad, completely corrupted by this energy, lose their reason, and become... a very disgusting and terrifying thing—just like the demon before it exploded."

Sagos frowned slightly upon hearing this. "Is there no way to prevent this?"

Zhou Ke'er kept walking, only glancing back at Sagos and shaking her head: "There's no way to prevent it, and... once it's contaminated, the process is irreversible. At most, it can only delay the descent into madness—by the way, I don't know the way ahead, so you guys lead the way. I'll help you avoid places with excessively dense energy."

Upon hearing this, Xi Ang nodded, walked to the front and stood still. He carefully looked around, pondered for a moment, and then pointed to a grove of trees on the right and said, "This is a remote place, and I don't remember it, but if we want to take a detour, we should be able to go through this forest."

After speaking, Xi Ang turned to look at Zhou Ke'er.

Zhou Ke'er understood what he meant and glanced at the forest in the direction he pointed. There was indeed a strong eerie aura, but the forest was divided into different areas like territories, and as long as one was careful, one would not attract the attacks of those monsters.

"It should be fine. However, there are probably powerful magical beasts in this forest that have been corrupted by that energy. We'd better avoid their territory to avoid getting into trouble."

Zhou Ke'er nodded in response.

Just then, Sages suddenly asked out of the blue, "And what about you? Have you been contaminated?"

Chris's eyes widened upon hearing this, and she quickly interrupted, "Hey! What are you asking!"

However, Zhou Ke'er did not show any particular emotion. She simply looked directly at Sages and nodded in acknowledgment, "Of course I was also corrupted—in other words, in the world I once lived in, no one was uncorrupted. But at least I can hold on for a while before I finally go mad."

"What a... creepy world."

Sagos frowned slightly. "How could the Duchy of Dragon be associated with a world like this..."

"Don't worry."

Lance patted the giant shield, making a "thump-thump" sound, and reassured everyone, "The Holy Light will drive away all evil."

Without further words, the group followed Sion into the forest before them.

Under the influence of this evil influence, the trees and plants in this forest have undergone significant changes.

The flowers and grass at my feet were shrouded in a dim, gray mist, exuding a faint smell of decay. The towering ancient trees were still lush, but showed no signs of life, their yellowed leaves appearing as if they were about to wither, yet they still stood upright, their countless leaves rustling on their branches. On the gnarled and twisted branches, the newly sprouted tender leaves also seemed to have been dead for a long time.

Everything seemed to be in a state of overlapping life and death. It looked like it should have withered and died, but it still survived in this place.

The forest was very quiet, with no sounds of magical beasts, only the occasional rustling of dry leaves as the wind blew through them.

In such a quiet environment, the sound of footsteps was especially noticeable.

------------

543. On the Way (Part Two)

Seeing that the forest looked vastly different from before, everyone naturally became even more vigilant. Only after Sargus cast a group stealth spell and Chris cast the elven magic "Blessing of Swiftness" on everyone did they quicken their pace slightly.

Not far in, the group saw several corpses hanging from the twisted and withered tree trunks on both sides. The corpses seemed to have completely lost their moisture, and their bodies were unnaturally twisted. They were tightly bound by the sprawling branches, as if they had grown into the trees and become one with them.

Their empty eye sockets stared straight ahead, instilling fear in people for no reason.

Judging from their clothing, they didn't seem like adventurers who would venture deep into this forest. They looked more like wealthy merchants or nobles. It's a mystery how they ended up in this forest and lost their lives for no reason.

Could it be that the citizens of the Duchy of Dragon, like those magical beasts, are fleeing abroad?

However, after venturing such a long distance, not a single magical beast was seen, and even insects, which should be very common in this kind of forest, were nowhere to be found. Everywhere was filled with deathly silence and eeriness.

Zhou Ke'er already held the Azure Trace Sword in her hand—the concentration of evil in this forest was extremely high, and it seemed to be mixed with some inexplicable energy, forming a kind of blockade. Under the interference of this blockade, Zhou Ke'er could hardly move instantly. Even if she could barely succeed, Zhou Ke'er guessed that... she could only teleport a very short distance, or she would not know where she would teleport to.

In addition, the sky was gradually darkening, and it seemed that the last rays of the sun would soon disappear into the horizon.

The forest was about to turn pitch black, making the path even more difficult. There was nowhere for them to camp, and even if they did, it was best not to light a fire, otherwise they would be too conspicuous and easily attract the attention of certain beings.

"No, it's getting dark soon. We can't move forward in the dark in this forest, it's too dangerous. We need to set up camp as soon as we can still see."

Sagos glanced at the sky and came to the same conclusion as Zhou Ke'er. He then waved his staff and used some kind of telepathic spell to make his voice resonate in everyone's minds.

Sion turned around and nodded to Sages, but then spread his hands in front of him, indicating that there were only dense trees ahead and no suitable place to set up camp.

Then Sagos's voice rang in everyone's minds again: "This place is indeed not suitable for setting up camp. However, we don't need to find a particularly flat and suitable spot—after all, we can't start a campfire right now. So finding a relatively safe place where we can rest will be enough."

Zhou Ke'er squinted and thought for a moment, then secretly released her pet puppy.

Immediately, a dark shadow flashed by, disappearing unnoticed by the others as Zhou Ke'er's pet dog vanished behind layers of trees.

As darkness fell and the scenery became increasingly blurry, everyone quickened their pace.

Zhou Ke'er could barely see the scene in the dark because her right eye didn't need light to see. However, the concentration of evil in the forest was too high, and even with her right eye, she could only barely make out the outline of the road ahead in a vast expanse of darkness.

Zhou Ke'er thought for a moment, then walked forward and whispered in Xi Ang's ear, "How long will it take to cross this forest?"

Xi Ang paused for a moment, then tilted his head slightly. He caught sight of Zhou Ke'er, whose face was almost touching his, and couldn't help but blush slightly. He immediately replied in a low voice, "It will take at least two days to get to the capital. According to the original route, it would take three days to reach the capital, but if we take a detour, it will take another two or three days to reach the capital after we leave this forest."

Zhou Ke'er frowned slightly, not expecting that taking a detour would actually lengthen the journey by almost half.

However, there was no other way; the original route was indeed fraught with an insurmountable evil. Taking a detour was a relatively safer option.

Even after arriving in the capital, Zhou Ke'er must avoid combat as much as possible. She had a feeling that this event quest would definitely be connected to the capital of the Duchy of Dragon, which meant it was something she couldn't handle alone; she would have to wait for the other players to arrive.

Furthermore, even the monsters on the road to the capital have become so powerful that everyone must avoid them, let alone the capital itself, which is most affected by the evil influences.

Moreover, once Sion and Sargus, who are slightly stronger than Zhou Ke'er, enter the capital, it will be very difficult for them to remain rational and clear-headed under the strong interference of evil forces. At that time, they may not be able to exert 80-90% of their strength, which will make things even more difficult.