”Hey, Ethan. What are you doing?”
Sitting on his bed, Ethan was lost in his thoughts. This has been happening quite frequently nowadays.
Especially with the mist covering everything, he felt cozy and relaxed, different from others.
“Hey, Ethan.”
But, his introspection was interrupted by a voice. Looking up, he saw Lucas, a young white-haired boy, waving his hands with a hint of annoyance.
“Hey, Lucas. What’s up?” Ethan asked, realizing he had been in his own world again.
Up? Man, come on. We just came here and you are wasting your time sitting like that.” Lucas remarked. “We need to observe, you know?”
“Ah….”
Just as he said, they were now in the Phantom’s Land for the assignment and they needed to do their job as a student.
Ethan realized that he was wasting his time and clapped his cheeks.
Ethan stood up, shaking off the remnants of his contemplative mood. He clapped his hands together, preparing to join the observation team with Lucas and Caleb, his teammate, who was in the lower ranks. “You’re right. Let’s get to work,” Ethan said, a renewed determination in his eyes.
“Finally.” Lucas smiled, seeing Ethan returning to being normal again. “But, where are you going?”
“Won’t we observe?”
“…..Man…..Are you dumb?”
“What?”
“You haven’t even settled yet…”
-GRUMBLE!
“And we are all hungry.”
Realizing his oversight, Ethan felt a slight blush creeping up his cheeks. “Ah, right. I guess I got a bit hasty there.”
Lucas burst into laughter, finding Ethan’s embarrassment amusing. “You really need to think before you act, Ethan.”
“Hey, I’m not perfect,” Ethan replied with a good-natured smile, appreciating Lucas’s teasing. “So, what’s the plan then?”
“Caleb’s preparing us a meal,” Lucas informed, still chuckling. “He’s quite handy in the kitchen, unlike someone I know.”
With that, Ethan left his room and joined Lucas in the common area, where they found Caleb, a young man with glasses and a skinny body, working in the small kitchenette.
“Hey, Ethan,” Caleb greeted with a friendly smile. “I’m making some instant pasta. It won’t be anything fancy, but it’ll fill our stomachs.”
Ethan nodded in appreciation. “Sounds good….”
Well, beggars couldn’t be choosers, he guessed.
As they gathered around the modest dining table, Caleb served the instant pasta, and the trio shared a meal in the cozy atmosphere of their temporary abode in the Phantom’s Land. Despite the simplicity of the dish, the camaraderie among the teammates made the meal enjoyable.
“So, how do we proceed with the test?” Caleb asked, slurping the long pasta.
“I don’t know much,” Lucas replied. “Even though we will be living here without any types of artifacts, how do they expect us to observe.”
What he said made sense. Most of the time, making measurements and finding results were important while researching something, and they did none of those.
“I think they will grade us according to what we have. I doubt they expect us to write a report like magicians of the tower.”
“Makes sense.”
As they discussed the logistics of their assignment, the conversation was suddenly interrupted by a faint tapping sound against the window. Ethan, who was sitting closest to the window, felt a shiver run down his spine.
“Hold on,” he said, looking outside.
The mist outside seemed to swirl, and Ethan could have sworn he saw fleeting shadows dancing within it. The tapping against the window continued, each tap sending an unsettling shiver through his body.
“Did you guys hear that?” Ethan asked, his voice slightly tense.
Lucas and Caleb exchanged puzzled glances, their expressions indicating that they hadn’t heard anything out of the ordinary.
“I didn’t hear anything,” Lucas said, shaking his head.
“Yeah, me neither,” added Caleb.
But, looking at Ethan’s complexion, they felt like something was definitively not right with him.
“Man, are you going crazy or something? If so, let me know.”
Ethan, although still feeling the strange tingling sensation and hearing those faint voices, decided not to press the matter. He gave a small, dismissive smile. “Must have been my imagination, then. I guess I still haven’t adapted yet.”
Lucas, realizing this was an opportunity, smirked at Ethan and remarked, “If your imagination is getting the best of you, maybe you should spend more time in your own world.”
Ethan, feeling a playful sense of protest, picked up his cup, which had a small amount of water left, and sprayed it lightly towards Lucas. The droplets splattered across Lucas’s face, prompting him to squint his eyes in mock annoyance.
“Hey, what was that for?” Lucas laughed, wiping away the water with the back of his hand.
“Just a reminder that I’m still very much a part of this world,” Ethan said with a smirk.
“Tch. Bastard…..”
lightsnοvεl *********
“So, what do we do now?”
Sylvie asked, looking around. After everyone settled and rested a little bit, we met in the saloon of the bungalow.
I think we should start with some light observation and take notes,” Irina suggested, looking outside. “This place doesn’t seem to have the concept of day and night.”
Just as she suggested, the Phantom’s Land didn’t have any type of day or night. Almost all the time, it had light around.
However, even this place needed its own type of time measurement scale, and for that, a small device was created here.
‘5 P.M, huh?’
It was highly likely that the device’s method of working had something to do with mana levels, but I decided not to ponder on that matter.
“Sounds good to me.” Sylvie also agreed. “Considering we need to understand the mana structure and atmospheric anomalies here, I doubt it will be easy. Starting early might give us clues about the unusual phenomena.”
“You talk like a professor.”
“Cough….Was it that obvious?”
“Kind of.”
Just as the two were talking, both of them turned to me. “So, what do you think?”
“I am okay with whatever you want.”
For the time being, I was free. Even though I wanted to take a look around by myself, I doubted there would be something life-threatening here.
After all, this place seemed to be visited by others in the past, and if something had happened, there was no way the academy would choose to come here.
After agreeing to start our observation, we each grabbed our enchanted notebooks and pens.
“Oww…..It is too cold.”
As we prepared to leave the bungalow, we adorned our coats to shield ourselves from the intense cold that welcomed us outside.
The chilling wind carried a mystical touch, and the fog seemed to thicken, enhancing the eerie ambiance.
“Let’s start with the town.”
Since we would be here for quite a while, it was important to familiarize ourselves with the surroundings. For some reason, I thought this place was important for our task.
Something about this place seemed a little off to me.
We wandered through the small town within Phantom’s Land, observing the townspeople going about their activities. Not many people could be seen on the streets, and most of them were either researchers or personnel.
The atmosphere was bustling yet surreal, with the fog adding an element of mystery to the scene.
“You know, this is the first time I’ve been in a place like this. It’s… different, but in a fascinating way,” Irina remarked, her eyes scanning the foggy surroundings.
Sylvie nodded in agreement, “Yeah, it has a unique charm. It reminds me a bit of the Western Uxbridge, but there’s an underlying eeriness that sets it apart.”
While saying those words, she threw a quick look at me. I could see her shaking a little.
‘I guess she still hadn’t forgotten.’
Well, that made sense. However, I couldn’t help but agree with Sylvie’s observation. While the Western Uxbridge had its own peculiarities, Phantom’s Land seemed to have an added layer of the supernatural.
The mysterious phenomena, the dense fog, and the unusual atmospheric conditions created an environment that felt both enchanting and slightly foreboding.
As we strolled through the fog-laden streets, I couldn’t help but notice a small bakery that seemed to be preparing for something.
Intrigued, I approached the bakery, watching as the townspeople carried on with their tasks. The man behind the counter noticed me and greeted me with a friendly smile.
“Hello there! What brings you to my humble bakery?” he asked, his voice carrying a warm undertone. But in that tone, I felt something.
‘His body…..’
It lacked soul.
Curious, I inquired about the preparations, and the man’s expression turned slightly solemn. “I’m preparing to close up shop. You see, once the time passes 06:06, nobody should be outside.”
“Why is that?” I questioned, intrigued by the specificity of the time.
The man hesitated for a moment before responding, “There’s an old belief here in Phantom’s Land. As the clock strikes 06:06, the boundary between our world and the spirits’ realm weakens. It’s said that during that time, the spirits are free to roam, and it’s safer for everyone to be indoors.”
“Spirits?”
I wanted to ask more. The term ‘Spirit’ was something common in the games, and [Legacy of Shadows: The Hunter’s Destiny] wasn’t much different.
However, in this game, they were not as underwhelming as they had sounded.
“I have talked too much already.”
However, the man didn’t answer me anything more than what he had already said.
“Do you wish to get any bread?”
“…..No thanks…..”
I left the bakery and met up with Sylvie and Irina, who were waiting nearby. They looked at me expectantly, and Sylvie was the first to speak up. ʀᴀᴅ ʟᴀᴛsᴛ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛʀs ᴀᴛ Novl ꜰir.nt
“What were you doing in there? Find something interesting?” she asked, a curious gleam in her eyes.
I briefly summarized what I learned about the belief in spirits and the caution surrounding the time 06:06. However, I chose not to mention my suspicion about the man at the bakery.
‘For that, let’s wait a little more.’
It felt premature, and I didn’t want to cause unnecessary alarm, especially knowing these two personalities.
Even right now, Irina was shaking a little from the mist’s pressure, and Sylvie seemed to be bothered as well.
As I spoke, the girls glanced around, and Sylvie pointed out something unusual. “Look, everyone seems to be preparing to go indoors. Do you think it’s related to what you heard?”
Irina nodded, her expression thoughtful. “It’s possible.
“But why did the school not inform us about this?”
At Sylvie’s question, Irina put his hand on his face for a second.
“I see…” And then came to the realization.
“What?”
If what I think is correct, then the school wants us to experience and observe these things firsthand. They’re not holding our hands, but rather, they’re letting us figure it out on our own.”
“Hmm….It makes sense.”
As we observed the townspeople following the tradition of heading indoors before 06:06, it became evident that the academy had intentionally left certain aspects undisclosed.
‘Certainly, something the academy would do.’
This experience was not only about studying the magical anomalies but also about adapting to the unexpected, a valuable lesson for future hunters.
However, something about the phrase 06.06 still bothered me.
After all, this place’s time was measured in a different way from others.