Translator: AnubisTL
The following days passed without any further fatal incidents.
However, everyone could clearly sense that the search mission was becoming increasingly difficult.
The area was no longer as smooth and stable as before.
Invisible spatial distortions had begun to appear throughout the region.
Some of these distortions contained extremely chaotic spatial forces, making them absolutely lethal to approach.
One unfortunate swarm of reconnaissance mosquitoes merely brushed against such a distortion, and the moment they made contact, the entire swarm was violently teleported and torn to shreds by the raging spatial power.
Even larger creatures that dared to venture near would likely be ripped apart.
Other distortions resembled crossroads leading to the unknown.
Only by entering could one discover what lay within.
It might be a resource-rich "Shangri-La," or a "dead end" leading to certain death.
According to Levin Mills, this area was where the "space distortion" had only recently formed.
The spatial rules within had yet to fully stabilize, explaining the chaotic conditions.
As a result, Jieming and his team had entered a labyrinth constructed by space itself, filled with deadly traps.
The explorers never knew what they would encounter next.
This not only made the search exponentially more difficult but also significantly increased the time required.
However, none of the wizards present complained.
After all, the more unstable and chaotic the region, the greater the abundance of bizarre creatures and rare resources.
Though the search was exceptionally time-consuming, the rewards were also considerably greater.
Moreover, thanks to the "glowbugs" serving as reconnaissance pioneers to scout ahead and trigger traps, the wizards suffered minimal losses.
As the collected resources piled up, the recruited wizards finally began to use magic potions to heal the damage to their souls caused by the spiritual backlash from the soul contracts.
The only real problem was that the fat wizard, who served as the core of the reconnaissance efforts, seemed to be reaching his limit.
That night, the wizards gathered together for a rare group rest.
Levin Mills, after extensive scouting, had discovered a massive area with relatively stable spatial conditions.
He decided that tomorrow, everyone would focus their search there first.
It was this decision that forced the wizards to regroup and recuperate.
Jieming followed the spiritual navigation provided by the glowbugs to the gathering point.
At first, everything seemed normal, until his gaze fell upon the fat wizard, and he jumped back in shock.
Strictly speaking, there was no longer a "fat wizard" in Jack's team.
In his place stood a wizard who looked as if all his vitality had been drained, withered down to skin and bones.
If Jieming hadn't sensed the faint aura of the soul opposite him and confirmed that this was indeed the same fat wizard from before, he wouldn't have believed his eyes.
Scanning the area, Jieming quickly spotted Jack and casually approached him.
"You're here? I thought you'd be later." Jack greeted him instinctively upon seeing Jieming.
"I got lucky. I ran into a space distortion yesterday and ended up very close to the rendezvous point after exiting."
Jieming nodded toward the withered wizard. "Senior Jack, what happened to him?"
Jack followed his gaze, shrugged carelessly, and wore an expression of practiced indifference. "What do you think? The glowbug consumption has been too high lately, and his flesh couldn't keep up."
Jieming was stunned.
He had witnessed the fat wizard creating glowbugs firsthand, but he had always assumed that the method—stripping flesh from his own body and transforming it into mosquitoes—was merely a special form of "flesh compression" for storage.
Just as Jack's armor could instantly expand into a massive humanoid fortress without violating the law of conservation of mass-energy, it was due to the application of "mechanical compression" technology.
Moreover, although the fat wizard was physically enormous, the amount of glowbugs he had consumed in recent days far exceeded his own body weight, so Jieming had never considered that possibility.
After all, even in the highly advanced wizarding society, spatial equipment capable of storing living beings was exceptionally expensive, far beyond the means of ordinary low-rank wizards.
To his astonishment, the wizard was actually stripping away his own flesh!
Jieming's eyes widened. "I never imagined... that someone would use such a self-mutilating spell. This is truly eye-opening..."
Hearing this, Jack glanced at him, his expression unreadable.
"What's wrong?" Jieming sensed something strange in his gaze.
"Nothing... it's nothing," Jack replied, shaking his head, clearly unwilling to continue the conversation.
Jieming frowned, puzzled, wondering if he had said something wrong.
At that moment, Levin Mills arrived, also witnessing the fat wizard's current wretched state.
His brow furrowed deeply with concern as he stepped forward to ask, "How are you holding up? Can you keep going?"
The former "fat wizard," now the "withered wizard," forced a smile that looked more like a grimace.
His voice was hoarse and weak, his face etched with worry. "If I keep losing energy like this, I can only last another thirteen days at most."
The other wizards couldn't help but shake their heads inwardly.
If that were the case, their mission was doomed to fail.
However, the temporarily recruited wizards remained remarkably calm, even cheerful.
After all, they had already reaped substantial rewards during this time. Even without the mission's compensation, they had profited handsomely and were more than satisfied.
Levin Mills stepped forward, gently patted the withered wizard's shoulder, and murmured a few words of comfort.
Then he turned to address the group, explaining the search plan for tomorrow:
"Everyone, please quiet down."
His voice was soft yet carried clearly to every ear.
"I've conducted a preliminary assessment of the area we'll be searching tomorrow."
"Unlike the regions we've explored before, this area is significantly higher overall."
As Levin Mills continued his explanation, the group began to grasp the general layout of the area they would be exploring tomorrow.
If the previous search area had resembled a relatively flat plane, the region ahead resembled an inverted trapezoid.
Not only was the height greater, but the upper portion of the area was also wider.
Previously, the wizards could simply form a horizontal line and sweep across the area to cover all the search zones.
But with this new configuration...
(End of the Chapter)
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