The campfire danced in the soft wind, giving off a warm yellow light. The travelers gathered around the fire, savoring this rare moment of rest, and the aroma of food was the best reward for their arduous journey.
Brissmelie, rarely taking the initiative, picked up a ladle, intending to help stir the broth in the stew pot. At first, no one thought much of it, until...
"Hmm? Why does it smell so strange?" Dapoe frowned.
"Hang on a sec! What's that you're putting in?" Butler Ute exclaimed, staring at Brissmelie's ladle in disbelief.
Brissmelie looked innocent. "Seasoning. I saw it said 'aroma enhancer powder' on the bag, so I added a bit more."
"Aroma enhancer powder? Did we bring that?" Vansil asked in confusion.
"No, we didn't." Desanro also looked puzzled.
Everyone exchanged glances, and then they all looked at the bag beside Brissmelie. Dapoe stepped forward, picked it up, and took a closer look. His expression immediately became extremely complicated.
"This isn't aroma powder! It's tear-making spicy powder!"
As soon as the words were out, a strange aroma wafted from the stew pot. Immediately, the people around felt a sharp pain in their eyes, and their noses and eyes watered. The entire camp was instantly thrown into chaos.
"Ugh! My eyes!"
"Who the hell put this thing in!"
"Help! My sneezes... Achoo... I can't stop!"
With hands clutching their stinging eyes and noses, Dapoe and the others stumbled away, as if escaping a chemical disaster. Lin Yuan simply walked over, patted Brissmelie's shoulder, and joked, "Appreciate the effort, miss. But we might be better off without it next time."
Brissmelie nodded slowly. A pretty girl, with snot running down her nose, stared blankly at the chaotic scene in front of her.
So, while coughing, the group "escorted" Brissmelie out of the cooking area. The culprit, looking confused, held her package in her arms, not understanding what she had done wrong.
But even though the "tear-maker" caused chaos, everyone finished eating, packed fast, and kept going.
...
As they walked, the surrounding mist grew thicker and thicker, so thick that it was almost impossible to see the road ahead. Lin Yuan, sitting in the carriage, frowned slightly, feeling that something was off.
"Captain of the guards." He called out to the captain of the guards riding beside him. "Do you feel like... we've been going around in circles?"
The captain of the guards was taken aback. He turned to study the landscape around them, his gaze turning piercing. "Huh, come to think of it, this is really weird."
Lin Yuan gestured ahead. "See that stone statue?"
Everyone followed his finger and saw an ancient stone statue faintly standing in the mist. Its surface was covered with moss, looking as if it had weathered countless years of wind and rain.
"What about it?" Dapoe asked.
Lin Yuan squinted his eyes and said slowly, "I think I've seen it three times already, and I suspect... it's the same stone statue all three times."
As soon as these words were spoken, there was a brief silence all around.
Just then, Desanro stared at the stone statue for a bit and furrowed her brows. "Weird. This statue feels familiar..."
Her hand unconsciously took out a small throwing knife. She aimed at the stone statue and threw it gently. The throwing knife hit the surface of the stone statue precisely, but there was no reaction.
"Hmm?" Desanro raised her eyebrows, stepped forward, and reached out to touch the stone statue.
The moment her fingertips touched the stone statue, an inexplicable chill spread up her arm. Her pupils shrank slightly, and the scene in front of her instantly became blurred. Then, she fell straight to the ground.
"Desanro!"
Lin Yuan reacted quickly. With a quick leap, he reached out and grabbed the falling silver-haired girl, stopping her from crashing to the ground.
"What's wrong?" Vansil stepped forward to check on the situation.
Lin Yuan felt Desanro's pulse and frowned. "She's still alive, but she seems to have entered a strange state."
He looked up at the captain of the guards and the leaders of the Adventurer's Guild. "The situation here is a bit strange. Let's stay here until dawn. If Desanro doesn't wake up, we'll figure out what to do next."
"Agreed." The captain of the guards nodded decisively.
So the group decided to camp right there. They quickly set up defenses against the Dreamland Dwellers, Seven Blaze Monsters, and other night creatures. Lin Yuan stayed beside Desanro, watching her closely.
Desanro felt as if she was floating in a void.
She looked down at her body and found that she was light as a feather, as if she had no physical form.
"Shit... I think I'm dead."
Just as she was cursing herself for possibly being cursed, an old but somewhat playful voice sounded in her ear.
"Hahaha, you're not dead. Your companions are taking care of you outside."
Desanro turned around abruptly and saw an old man with silver hair standing not far away. Dressed in a black robe, a gentle smile played on his lips, but his eyes were abyssal, dark and fathomless.
"Who are you?" Desanro immediately assumed a defensive stance, her hands slightly raised, ready to summon her magic sword at any moment.
The silver-haired old man said unhurriedly, "You can call me Nick, or... call me the 'Sage'."
Desanro squinted her eyes and asked warily, "Sage? Why did you bring me here?"
Nick smiled and said calmly, "Next, there will be a trial of the Half Nightmare Clan. Please get ready."
Desanro froze, a bad feeling creeping up. A trial? What on earth was that?
===================
篝火在微风中摇曳,散发出暖黄的光辉.旅途上的人们围坐在火堆旁,享受难得的休息时间,而食物的香气则是对他们辛勤赶路的最佳犒赏.
布里士嫆莉难得主动拿起勺子,打算帮忙搅拌炖锅里的肉汤.众人一开始并未多想,直到...
"嗯?怎么有股奇怪的味道?" 达破恩皱起眉头.
"等等,你加了什么进去?" 乌特管家惊讶地看着布里士嫆莉手中的木勺.
布里士嫆莉满脸无辜:"调味料啊,我看袋子上写着 '增香粉',就多加了一点."
"增香粉?我们带了这个吗?" 万玟丝疑惑道.
"没带啊." 德珊萝也一脸懵然.
众人对视了一眼,然后齐刷刷地看向布里士嫆莉身旁的那个袋子,达破恩上前一把拿起,凑近一看,脸色顿时变得无比复杂.
"这不是增香粉!这是... '催泪辣粉' !"
话音刚落,炖锅里顿时冒出了一阵奇异的香气,紧接着,周围的人眼睛一阵刺痛,鼻涕眼泪齐流,整个营地瞬间陷入一片混乱.
"呃啊!我的眼睛!"
"谁特么放的这玩意!"
"救命啊,我的喷嚏... 阿嚏... 停不下来了!"
达破恩等人捂着鼻子和眼睛,踉踉跄跄地往外跑,仿佛现场发生了某种可怕的毒气攻击.林远站在一旁,拍拍布里士嫆莉的肩膀:"姑娘,多谢你的帮忙,建议下次别帮了."
布里士嫆莉缓慢地点点头,一位漂亮的女生,留着鼻水,呆呆地看着眼前混乱的景象.
于是,一群人一边咳嗽一边把布里士嫆莉 "请" 离了炊事区,而罪魁祸首则一脸懵懂地抱着她的包裹,不明白自己到底做错了什么.
不过,尽管经历了一场 "催泪风暴",大家还是勉强吃完了饭,并迅速收拾好行装,继续上路.
...
走着走着,周围的迷雾越来越浓,浓得仿佛连前方的道路都快看不清了.林远坐在马车上,微微皱眉,总觉得哪里不对劲.
"护卫长." 他朝旁边骑马的护卫长喊道,"你有没有觉得...我们好像一直在原地打转?"
护卫长一怔,回头望了望周围的景象,眼神变得犀利起来:"你这么一说,确实有点不对劲."
林远指了指前方:"你看到那个石像没?"
众人顺着他的手指望去,只见雾气中隐隐约约矗立着一座古旧的石像,表面布满青苔,看起来像是经历了不知多少年的风雨.
"怎么了?" 达破恩问道.
林远眯起眼睛,缓缓说道:"我好像已经看见它三次了,而且我怀疑... 三次都是同一个石像."
此话一出,周围顿时陷入了短暂的沉默.
这时,德珊萝盯着那座石像看了一会儿,皱起眉头:"奇怪,我总觉得这石像给我的感觉,有点熟悉..."
她的手不自觉地掏出一柄小巧的飞刀,瞄准石像轻轻一掷.飞刀精准地命中了石像的表面,但并没有任何反应.
"嗯?" 德珊萝挑了挑眉,迈步上前,伸手触碰了一下石像.
就在她指尖接触石像的瞬间,一股莫名的寒意顺着她的手臂蔓延而上,她的瞳孔微微一缩,眼前的景象瞬间变得模糊,紧接着,整个人直接倒了下去.
"德珊萝!"
林远反应极快,一个箭步冲上前,伸手一把抱住了倒下的银发少女,避免她直接摔在地上.
"怎么了?" 万玟丝上前查看情况.
林远摸了摸德珊萝的脉搏,皱着眉头说道:"还活着,不过似乎进入了一种奇怪的状态."
他抬头看向护卫长和冒险者协会的队长们:"这里的情况有点古怪,我们还是在这里等到天亮吧,万一德珊萝没醒,再做打算."
"同意." 护卫长果断点头.
于是,队伍当即决定就地驻扎,迅速布置防御,防止梦乡人,七燃怪物或其他夜间怪物的偷袭.而林远则留在德珊萝身旁,时刻观察她的状况.
德珊萝感觉自己仿佛漂浮在一片虚无的空间中.
她低头看了看自己的身体,发现自己轻飘飘的,仿佛没有实体.
"狗屎... 我好像死了."
正当她暗骂自己是不是被诅咒了时,一道苍老却带着些许戏谑的声音在她耳边响起.
"哈哈哈,你还没死,你的同伴正在外面照顾你呢."
德珊萝猛地转身,看到一名银发老人站在不远处.他一身黑袍,脸上带着一抹淡淡的微笑,眼神却深邃如无底深渊.
"你是谁?" 德珊萝立即摆出防御姿态,双手微微抬起,随时准备召唤魔剑.
银发老者不急不缓地说道:"你可以叫我尼克,或者...叫我 '贤者'."
德珊萝眯起眼睛,警惕地问道:"贤者?你把我带到这里干什么?"
尼克笑了笑,平静地说道:"接下来,会有一场半梦魇族的试炼,请你做好准备."
德珊萝微微一怔,心头浮现出不祥的预感.
试炼?这到底是什么?