HBWnovel Chapter 170 Nightmare Forest
Chapter 170 Nightmare Forest
The creatures burst from the fog, their bodies resembling twisted wolves with elongated limbs and glowing red eyes. Their fur was black as the abyss, and their jagged teeth dripped with an eerie, luminescent saliva. Their movements were unnatural—jerky, almost like marionettes controlled by an unseen force.
Leon barely had time to dodge as one of the beasts lunged at him, its claws swiping past his face and gouging deep marks into the tree behind him.
"These things aren't normal!" Naval shouted, slicing through the mist with her enchanted blade. The moment her sword connected with one of the creatures, it let out a distorted screech and dissolved into black smoke—only to reform a few feet away, completely unharmed.
"They regenerate?" Roman muttered. "No, that's not regeneration... That's some kind of illusion."
Roselia was already moving. She extended her hand, and a glowing alchemical circle formed beneath her. "Then let's see if they can regenerate from this!"
With a flick of her wrist, the circle expanded, and golden fire erupted from the ground, engulfing several of the creatures. The flames roared hungrily, consuming their twisted forms. But as soon as the fire faded, the beasts simply reappeared—untouched.
Lilian's eyes widened. "They're not real... They're projections!"
Leon clicked his tongue. "Then we need to find the source."
The creatures lunged again, forcing the group to scatter. Milim grinned, summoning a surge of raw energy around her fists. "Fine! Let's see if illusions can withstand brute force!" She punched one of the beasts, and to everyone's surprise, the moment her attack connected, the illusion shattered like broken glass.
Leon smirked. "Oh? So direct, overwhelming force works?"
"Guess so," Milim said, cracking her knuckles. "In that case..."
She launched forward, obliterating another illusion with a single punch. Naval, taking the cue, infused her sword with raw mana and slashed through several creatures in a single sweep. The illusions shattered instantly.@@@@
Leon took a deep breath and activated his mana vision. His eyes gleamed with a faint blue light as he scanned the surroundings. If these creatures were projections, then there had to be a caster...
"There!" He pointed toward a large tree in the distance. "Something's hiding over there!"
Without hesitation, Roselia chanted a quick incantation, sending a wave of fire in the direction Leon indicated. The flames struck something unseen, and a distorted screech filled the air.
A shadowy figure emerged from behind the tree—a gaunt, hooded humanoid with glowing white eyes. Its hands were covered in ritualistic tattoos, and dark energy pulsed around its fingers.
"A nightmare conjurer," Roman muttered. "That explains everything."
The conjurer let out a guttural hiss and raised its hands. The fog thickened, and the illusions multiplied, forming an endless sea of twisted creatures.
Leon cracked his neck. "Alright... Looks like we're doing this the hard way."
Roselia stepped forward and hurled an alchemical vial at the crystal. The moment it shattered, golden flames erupted, consuming the artifact. The illusion broke instantly.
The Nightmare Forest dissolved.
The sky reappeared—blue and clear. The eerie fog was gone, and the twisted creatures vanished as if they had never existed.
The conjurer, now powerless, fell to its knees. Its true form was revealed—a frail, robed figure with sunken eyes and ancient tattoos covering its skin.
Leon raised his sword. "Game over."
With one swift motion, he ended the conjurer's existence.
The silence that followed was deafening.
A system notification echoed in their minds:
[Quest Complete: Nightmare Forest – Solved the Mystery]
[Rewards: 1000 Ascender Points, Rare Material: Phantom Dust]
Milim stretched. "Welp, that was fun."
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Roman exhaled. "Fun? You have a weird definition of fun."
Naval crossed her arms, smirking. "Well, at least we got something useful out of it."
Leon glanced at Roselia. "That Phantom Dust—can we use it for the potion?"
Roselia's eyes gleamed with interest. "Oh, most definitely."
Lilian nodded. "Then let's get back and start experimenting."
"Hold your horses there. We need much more if we're inventing a new potion," Roselia said as Leon nodded. Most of the time, he had given her the alchemy ingredients they had gathered or sold them if they couldn't use them.
"So now, we have to go and hunt for them ourselves," he said with a sigh.