Vaan had only read about the Thousand Fog Mountains in the past. But after seeing the fog domain, it was truly an unnatural phenomenon.
In fact, everyone would believe so at a glance.
The thick, white, towering fog covering the entire Thousand Fog Mountains and its surroundings looked like one enormous cloud mountain.
From another perspective, it also looked like an inverted tornado of epic proportions as the fog slowly but surely revolved around the center, preventing the fog domain from expanding or dispersing.
“This isn’t a normal fog formation, alright,” Vaan commented as he inspected the border of the fog domain.
“Many believe it was formed by a grand magic spell or a treasured oddity of unparalleled might that may have fallen from the heavens,” Astoria casually mentioned. “That’s why many Peak-stage Senior Witches are willing to take on the risk to search for opportunities in the Thousand Fog Mountains.”
At the same time, she also inspected the border of the fog formation beside Vaan.
“Well, after we’ve all witnessed the red dragon, I’m sure everyone will be more inclined to believe in the latter,” Vaan stated.
“But a grand magic spell capable of summoning the fog of this magnitude… It would have to be at least Rank 5 or higher.”
“Agreed,” Astoria acknowledged with a nod and said, “There isn’t a single High Witch in the kingdom capable of covering this much land with a grand magic spell. We don’t even come close to this level.”
“This also shows the enormous gap between Rank 4 and Rank 5,” Astoria added.
“Let us proceed,” Vaan urged.
…
Shortly after the group advanced into the thick white fog, Astoria summoned a shining orb of white brilliance with Light Magic to increase the group’s visibility in the fog.
Although the fog didn’t disappear, the light pierced through it. As such, the illuminated fog was semi-transparent enough for the group to peer through it.
Nevertheless, the range was only limited to a hundred-yard radius of the light orb. Even so, a hundred yards were enough for the group to see plenty.
“What do you think is the shortest route to the upper regions, Headmaster Astoria?” Vaan casually asked, but his mind was on alert, frequently scanning the area with his senses for hidden dangers.
Astoria contemplated for a moment before she replied, “I’ve heard of a route frequently used by many Peak-stage Senior Witches who sought to reach the middle and upper regions quickly.”
“Are you talking about the water stream by a wolf den mentioned in the beginner guide book to the Thousand Fog Mountains, Headmaster Astoria?” Vaan sought her confirmation.
“That’s right, Teacher Raphna,” Astoria admitted with a nod.
“The water stream is the most commonly used and publicly-acknowledged quickest route to middle regions from the southern side of the Thousand Fog Mountains. We should be able to reach the middle regions without taking any detours fairly quickly if we can locate the wolf den and follow up the water stream.”
“However, we have to locate a different water stream once we reach the middle regions if we want to reach the upper regions. Well, more specifically, we’ll reach the halfway point on the seventh mountain,” Astoria stated.
“So we’re going to take this path after all, huh?” Vaan muttered.
“Well, that depends on which mountain you want to scale, Teacher Raphna.” Astoria glanced at him and said, “But if we just want to reach the upper regions, following the water streams to the seventh mountain should be the best route to take.”
“It was rumored that the nine inner mountain peaks had a clear sky and were free from the dense fog,” Astoria added.
“However, not many people had made it far beyond the halfway point. Thus, a rumor is just a rumor,” Vaan calmly stated before he nodded. “That said, we do have better luck finding Eniwse if we can reach the top of any of the nine mountain peaks.”
The Thousand Fog Mountains had over thirty mountains, but the nine inner mountains were the tallest.
Considering Eniwse became a Wyvern-type Abomination, a flying creature, there was a higher chance of finding her in the upper regions.
That is why they have decided to head to the upper regions directly to look for her.
“Hold on. Wouldn’t we encounter a lot of monsters and beasts if we followed up the water stream? Just the constant battle will delay our journey,” Hester mentioned.
“Not necessarily.” Astoria shook her head and said, “The water streams have high sulfuric content. Although it’s not enough to make the water toxic, it does give the water streams a terrible rotten egg smell.”
“Thus, beasts generally avoid the water streams unless they really need to hydrate themselves,” Astoria stated.
“Is that so? I guess that makes more sense,” Hester thought.
After all, the water streams wouldn’t be the most commonly used and publicly-acknowledged quickest route to the middle and upper regions if they had many beasts camping them.
Nevertheless, after the group’s direction was decided, they found their heading towards the wolf den mentioned in the Thousand Fog Mountains guidebook.
But along the way, Aeliana suddenly paused.
“Don’t wolves have a strong sense of smell? How can they stand the stench of the sulfuric water stream? And they even have a den next to it?” Aeliana wondered.
“They’re Volcan Wolves; the strong stench of sulfuric water is normal to them,” Astoria explained before adding, “They’re also quite territorial.”
“But according to the guidebook, they are also intelligent and prideful,” Vaan mentioned.
“They will permit us passage without trouble if we pay the tribute of food. Many people have done so over the years. Thus, the Volcan Wolves have become quite accommodating and friendly to humans.”
“Of course, they’ll probably snarl at us if we don’t offer them anything while passing through their territory,” Vaan added.
“That bear looks like it’ll make a fine tribute,” Aeliana suddenly pointed out just as a ten-foot-tall grizzly bear with grey fur entered the range of their vision. “It’ll probably feed the whole pack.”
Right after Aeliana finished speaking, the grizzly bear also noticed them due to the bright orb of white light stinging its eyes.
Roar!
The grizzly growled and charged at them.