[The Shimmering Fen (Silver rank level 3 to 5 area )]
-Description: This enchanted bog is a treacherous area where the ground is often covered in a layer of shimmering, luminescent fog. The starting part of this area has solid ground, but the further area is unstable land with big bogs. They are inhabited by Moonlight Wisps and Bog Slithers, ethereal and predatory creatures that hide in the fog, ambushing adventurers with stealth and deception.
-Key Features: Murky, fog-covered waters, floating magical lights, and dangerous sinkholes.
-Monsters:
—Moonlight Wisps (ghost-like, elusive, cast illusions)
—Bog Slithers (snake-like, blend with the water, lethal strikes)
—Shimmering Fen Serpent (massive and capable of controlling the fog)
The group arrived at the Shimmering Fen, already midway up the huge mountain.
There were already three camps at the open ground where the Shimmering Fen area began. The fog wasn’t much here, so visibility was not impacted.
The three groups had lit up campfires and built tents, preparing for the night.
“That spot is big and good for us. Let’s go,” Lily identified a relatively good spot according to the camp kit she had and led the group there.
Alfred was resting in Spirit Pocket, but Almond could summon him with a thought, and he planned to keep Alfred out to watch out for the group along with the wolves.
Alfred wasn’t a human despite his appearance, so he didn’t need rest or sleep. A charge of Mana was enough to invigorate him.
People were already cooking meat on their campfire as the smell wafted around. The sun was about to completely set, so it was time to eat and rest.
“By the way, I only have one camp, a big one. The three of us will have to share it,” Lily said as she glanced at Natalia, “Nat, you know what I mean, right?”
Natalia’s expression dramatically changed, “You want me to sleep outside so you two can have fun inside?!”
Almond almost choked on the water he was drinking and coughed violently.
“…” Lily.
Natalia burst out laughing, “Yeah, yeah, I got it. I don’t have any problem if we three share it.”
…
The camp was like a room. It was similar to one of the other camps that a group was sharing a bit over twenty meters away.
The other two had lower-quality tents.
“This is pretty good, eh? There are cupboards and even a big bed inside,” Almond looked around inside the tent. It was 7 meters tall at the center and 6 meters overall while being roughly 144 square feet big.
“Is that a bathtub?” Almond was taken aback to see a small, round, empty bathtub with curtains at the corner.
“Yep, and I am going to clean myself first. You should go out, Almond,” Natalia grinned. “But Lily will join me.”
“Nonsense, of course I am going to join you,” Almond snickered.
“In your dreams!”
The development of magitech was already progressing with more and more access to items and wonders found in the Labyrinth Floors, Dungeons, and exotic skills from the specialized and sub-classes that people had.
“The price of this tent is three hundred fifty thousand gold coins, but the good thing is that the tent’s external corners have Monster Repelling Talismans attached that can repel all monsters up to silver-rank level 10,” Lily smiled. “That’s one problem less.”
“But we still have to be wary of others,” Almond wryly smiled.
“That’s for sure.”
“Alright, you two freshen up. I am going out.”
Almond left the tent before summoning Alfred and the Wolves.
He had attached the Wolf Claw Gauntlets to his waist horizontally as if they were grabbing his waist so they wouldn’t get in the way during the fight, and he could also summon the wolves because the spirit effect required physical contact with the item to be activated.
But he planned to fasten them to Alfred’s waist later since they would get in his way of sleeping.
One more interesting thing he found was the magical connection between him and Alfred. Almond could transfer his Mana to Alfred and vice-versa. He didn’t check the distance until this remained activated, so he began with that experiment.
“Master, that’s the limit. I can’t absorb your Mana anymore,” Alfred said in Magic Whisper while raising his hand and waving it.
Almond was fifty meters away when he heard Alfred’s Magic Whisper and saw his hand as he understood.
He began walking closer, and soon, Alfred gave thumbs up along with another Magic Whisper.
“Master, this distance is the maximum for me to fluidly absorb your Mana.”
Alfred couldn’t learn Physical Enchantment because his physical body did not have Chakra Points. His physiology was different.
However, Magic Whisper didn’t require Chakra Points, but only the mental process and proficiency of Mana, so he learned that pretty fast and fluently.
“So the maximum distance is roughly forty-five meters,” Almond muttered. Looking around, he saw more Tents standing and more people coming in. ‘It’s going to get crowded soon.’
Returning to the campsite, he fastened the Wolf Claw Gauntlets to Alfred’s waist. “Keep the wolves materilized by infusing Mana. You can absorb Mana from me since the consumption won’t even matter to me, given my recovery speed.”
“Understood, Master.”
The Spectral Dire Wolves had a keen sense of smell and the ability to find hidden targets. They were bound to be helpful in keeping a watch.
Lily and Natalia finished bathing roughly twenty minutes later and called him.
The girls went to make the campfire and prepare the dinner while Almond went for his turn to freshen up.
There was body wash liquid, a brand-new towel, and clean water as the old one was replaced with a handy magic item capable of storing 1 ton of water.
It wasn’t even that expensive, but he still didn’t have money to buy it before entering his first adventure.
Looking at the gold coins he had amassed and his current status, Almond couldn’t help but smile.
‘Life’s going to get better.’
He finished bathing ten minutes later and saw that the big area already had twelve Tents at various spots.
“Come, the food is ready.”
The trio sat with the tent at their back and open ground in front of them with multiple Tents in view, looking at people as their indistinct chatter rang.
“It’s crowded already,” Natalia said as she picked up the skewer stick. “I bet there’s going to be some drama, hehe.”