Deep within the Winter Forest of the alternate Wizarding World.
The Exploration Team had finally discovered a sea of Colorful Cloud Grass. To everyone's immense excitement, the area was completely unoccupied by any powerful magical creature clans.
The Team Leader's face was flushed with joy. They had been trekking through the harsh Winter Forest for over ten days. Finally, they had found a suitable location to establish a safe resource collection area.
He pulled out a worn map, marked their coordinates, and turned to the rest of the team. "Listen up! We need to drive out any lingering beasts in the immediate vicinity and set up the protective magic array."
"Form groups of three. We need eight groups in total," the leader instructed. "Five groups will handle the expulsion task, two will set up the array, and the last group will stay behind to establish the camp and prepare dinner."
The wizards quickly divided themselves based on their elemental affinities. Task assignments were decided fairly by drawing lots.
Damian naturally grouped up with Link and Anna. Their drawn lot assigned them the critical task of setting up the protective magic array.
The Team Leader hauled a heavy set of runic components from the saddlebags of a Two-legged Pack Beast. He gathered the two array groups together.
"Setting this up is simple," the leader explained. "Bury the eight Shield Radiating Devices at the cardinal and ordinal points of the perimeter. Then, place the Core Hub directly in the center."
"However, do not activate the Core Hub until we are ready to leave," he warned sternly. "I only brought two Identity Tags with me."
This specific type of magic array relied on a strict whitelist system. Only those holding a matching Identity Tag could pass through the barrier freely.
The second group assigned to the array task consisted entirely of Court Wizards, led by a remarkably tall witch. Link was quite familiar with her, so they quickly agreed to split the perimeter in half to save time.
Damian, Link, and Anna made their way to the outer edge of the Colorful Cloud Grass field.
The Shield Radiating Devices came in disassembled pieces. The process was straightforward, and within ten minutes, they had successfully put their first device together.
Once fully assembled, the device resembled a heavy metal stake over two meters long and as thick as a man's thigh. They drove the stake deep into the soil, leaving only the top half exposed.
"What level of attack can this array actually withstand?" Damian asked curiously.
Link cast a quick spell to reinforce the dirt around the heavy stake. "In extreme cases, it can block attacks from a Formal Wizard," he explained.
"But that depends entirely on how many Magic Stones are loaded into the Core Hub," Link added. "If it's actively defending against heavy strikes, the energy consumption is astronomical."
"Fortunately, this array also projects a powerful concealment field," Link continued. "We're mainly using it to hide this harvest zone from any wandering magical creature clans. Beasts rely on primal senses, not wizard-level detection magic, so this should be more than enough to deceive them."
"How much does something like this cost?" Damian asked, genuinely interested in the mechanics of the barrier.
Link stroked his chin, looking a bit uncertain. "Probably tens of thousands of Kingdom gold coins?"
"Medium-sized arrays like this rarely circulate on the open market. If you want something this large, you usually have to commission it custom-made."
"Smaller arrays are usually enough for private residences and laboratories," Link reasoned. "A small barrier capable of temporarily holding off a Formal Wizard will run you about ten thousand gold coins."
With the first node secured, Damian and his teammates moved on. They installed their remaining three devices in the exact same manner, completing their half of the perimeter in under an hour.
The Core Hub also required assembly. The two groups reconvened in the center of the field and worked together to piece the complex artifact together.
Soon, a sturdy metallic platform holding a massive, glowing blue crystal ball sat firmly in the middle of the grass.
Their task complete, Damian and the others returned to the main camp. Shortly after, the combat wizards assigned to the expulsion task began trickling back in.
Having successfully secured the Colorful Cloud Grass collection area, the entire team was in high spirits. Al, their logistics wizard, prepared a massive, celebratory feast over the fire.
Tomorrow, they would push even deeper into the Winter Forest. They needed to reach the inner regions to help Lilith and Vivian track down the elusive Shadow White Deer.
Later that night, Damian closed his eyes in his tent and drifted off to sleep. When he awoke, he was once again standing in the eerie Gray Mist World.
In the center of the phantom camp, a spectral bonfire burned, casting a pale, gray-white light. Everything beyond its meager glow was swallowed by the endless, shifting gray mist.
Damian's heart stirred with sudden realization. The real-world camp had been pitched right next to one of the Shield Radiating Devices they had installed earlier.
He quickly walked to the edge of the phantom camp. Sure enough, protruding from the misty ground was a perfect, spectral replica of the heavy metal stake.
"Could I take it with me?" he murmured.
He reached out and gripped the device, trying to pull it from the ground. However, the moment he applied force, the metal stake instantly crumbled into a pile of fine, useless sand.
Damian stared at the sand slipping through his fingers, a deep frown creasing his face. "This world is truly bizarre."
He walked back to the center of the camp. In reality, the iron basin holding the bonfire was a highly valuable magical artifact.
Hoping to salvage it, Damian tried to lift the basin. Just like the stake, it immediately disintegrated into ash and sand at his touch.
With the basin destroyed, the gray-white flames instantly snuffed out. Without the light to hold it back, the oppressive gray mist surged forward, swallowing the entire campsite in seconds.
Since looting the phantom camp had proved impossible, Damian had no choice but to venture outward and explore the Gray Mist World.
He walked through the thick fog for a long time. The desolate landscape was utterly silent; he didn't encounter a single moving thing.
The dense mist severely suppressed his magical perception. Damian was forced to rely almost entirely on his naked eyes to navigate.
It was a strange contradiction. There was no sun, no moon, and no distinct light source, yet the environment wasn't pitch black.
Damian could see his immediate surroundings perfectly. It was as if the glowing mist itself was the source of light.
The Gray Mist World was intensely eerie. Standard logic and common sense simply didn't apply here.
He soon found himself wandering through what looked like a sprawling desert. The ground was covered in pale, golden sand, and his boots left deep tracks in their wake.
After walking a bit further, Damian noticed the terrain shifting. The sand beneath his boots felt strangely soft and loose.
Suddenly, a subtle vibration trembled beneath his soles. Something was moving under the sand.
Relying on pure instinct, Damian immediately cast his Invisible Hand spell, launching himself high into the air.
He moved just in time. The moment his feet left the ground, a deathly pale, human-like arm violently burst from the sand, clawing wildly at the space where his ankle had just been.
Damian quickly summoned his runic Mage Armor, a shimmering shield of semi-transparent polygons appearing beneath him to block the strike.
Looking down, Damian finally got a clear view of his attacker. It wasn't a human buried in the sand—it was a monstrous, fleshy worm that perfectly mimicked the shape of a human arm.
It was an unsettling, sickly white color. Right where the palm should have been, a grotesque mouth split open, lined with rows of hideous, razor-sharp fangs.
The White Arm Worm thrashed upwards, viciously gnawing and scraping its fanged palm against Damian's magical shield.
As Damian's Invisible Hand carried him higher into the air, the creature lost its reach and tumbled back onto the dunes.
The monstrosity clearly didn't possess the ability to fly. It writhed uselessly on the golden sand below, squirming after Damian's shadow. From above, it looked sickeningly like a severed, pale arm waving up at him.
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