For Daniel, this was something he had to face. Yet, instinctively, he wanted to avoid it, unsure of the mindset he should adopt.
So, over the past days, he hadn’t used any special means to hurry but had instead driven the carriage slowly toward this place.
Although Black Water Town was quite far from Mistwood, for Daniel, it was merely a matter of will. Now that he had reached Black Water Town, it was time to put an end to this issue—something related to his predecessor’s father.
This matter had always troubled Daniel, leaving him perplexed.
He had not yet decided how to handle it. Previously, Rose had received a reward in the Mistriver Realm: the knowledge of her grandfather’s cause of death.
However, the Mistriver Realm had only revealed part of the truth, stopping at a certain point, leading Daniel to suspect that his predecessor’s father might not actually be dead.
Could that be the reason behind the incomplete answer?
This was part of the reason Daniel had left Crossbridge Academy—to seek answers.
Over the journey, he had wrestled with how to approach the matter and what identity or mindset to adopt.
If his predecessor’s father were indeed alive…
Upon reaching Black Water Town, Daniel seemed to gain some clarity: rather than worrying and hesitating, it would be better to face the situation directly.
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Around sunset, Nina returned to the inn with Sif.
“Get some rest; we’ll continue our journey tomorrow,” Daniel instructed them before heading to his own room.
The night passed quickly, and the three resumed their journey.
This time, however, the carriage moved toward the mountains.
Some mages noticed this unusual scene and called out:
“Hey, you there! Don’t go any further! The mountains are filled with spell beasts; it’s dangerous! Turn back!”
But the carriage driver appeared unfazed, guiding the horse deeper into the forest.
The horse itself seemed immune to the ominous aura emanating from the spell beasts, continuing its path forward.
In the next instant, the carriage vanished. The mage who had warned them rubbed his eyes in disbelief.
The carriage had indeed disappeared. After double-checking, he still couldn’t understand what had just happened.
Had he seen a ghost?
Daniel had, of course, heard the mage’s warning but ignored it, using mana to quicken their pace.
As the horse sped forward, the scenery changed.
They had left the ground, yet the horse galloped as though it were still on solid earth, undeterred by the unfamiliar surroundings.
“Wow! It’s so beautiful!” Nina exclaimed, peering out the carriage window at the mountain peaks and the sea of clouds.
“Sif, come and look!”
The two girls pressed their heads together at the window, marveling at the view.
Sif remembered her aunt Claire’s words: following Daniel, she would see sights ordinary people would never witness in a lifetime. After all, Daniel’s power was unfathomable. Sif silently gazed at the clouds, holding Claire’s words close to her heart.
Soon, the carriage descended from the sky, coming to a stop at the edge of Mistwood, a relatively safe area.
Daniel turned to the two girls in the carriage:
“I have something to take care of; I’ll be back soon.” With that, he headed into the misty forest.
Recalling the information he had gathered, he thought of the mercenaries who had escaped from Mistwood.
They had claimed that his predecessor’s father ventured into Mistwood in search of a leveling-up item known as Dewcrystal. However, during his search, he encountered a water-element snake spell beast and was killed by it.
The mercenaries managed to escape, supposedly thanks to his predecessor’s father.
This story was plausible enough, especially given his predecessor’s fire-based magic, which would be at a disadvantage against a water-element snake in Mistwood’s damp environment.
However… Daniel glanced around. Mistwood was named for its perpetual white mist, which rendered the forest cold and damp.
The temperature here was never high.
A water-element snake spell beast… would it really appear here?
Daniel wasn’t sure.
So, he expanded his mind power to search for the snake spell beast throughout Mistwood.
After a few minutes, Daniel retracted his mind power, having found no trace of any snake spell beast, let alone a water-element one.
Instead, he discovered a patch of Dewcrystal.
Approaching, he noticed the moist soil sinking slightly beneath his feet. He looked back at the footprint he left, lost in thought.
The ground in Mistwood remained wet due to the constant mist, meaning footprints would persist if left undisturbed by spell beasts or others.
With this in mind, Daniel realized he might be able to uncover past events.
Daniel walked toward the Dewcrystal area without encountering any spell beasts, which he found odd.
Typically, treasures like these would be guarded by spell beasts. Dewcrystal wasn’t only useful to humans; it was originally used by spell beasts, and when mages discovered that Dewcrystal-using spell beasts were stronger, they began experimenting with it themselves. This spread Mistwood’s reputation as a dangerous place. Only those confident in their abilities or desperate to take risks ventured here.
His predecessor’s father had come with such desperation, only to meet his end.
Soon, Daniel arrived at the Dewcrystal site.
The ground around it was smooth and firm, unaffected even as he walked over it. This area seemed different from others he had seen before.
Moving closer to the Dewcrystal, Daniel expanded his mind power again but found no clues, leaving him to doubt whether his predecessor’s father had even died here.
Just then, Daniel noticed a faint ripple on the ground in the distance. The source of the ripple was below the surface.
As he looked down, the ground suddenly gave way with a crash!
A giant maw appeared—a circular mouth ringed with sharp, spike-like teeth, as if intending to swallow Daniel whole.
Instantly, Daniel conjured an ice blade in front of him, its massive edge positioned at his feet. Should the spell beast try to bite down, the blade would pierce its mouth.
Sensing the cold, the spell beast abandoned its attack, retreating into the ground.
But Daniel wasn’t about to let it escape.
In the next moment, the soft ground transformed into an earthen wall, blocking the spell beast’s path despite its attempts to gnaw through.
Daniel observed the spell beast from above. It was a soft-bodied creature, similar to a giant worm. Could this be the snake spell beast the mercenaries had described?