It was late at night, and apart from Bartlett and the Half-Elven, everyone else had gone to sleep.
In fact, the night was not as peaceful as Bartlett had imagined. In just a short time after dinner, the Magic Alarm was triggered twice. One time, a fierce rabbit about the size of a Dwarf ran away in terror due to the explosion of the Magic Alarm. The other time, no one could tell what triggered the alert.
Not only the Magic Alarms further away were activated, but also a magic trap quite close to the group was set off – two harmless green beautiful thorn lizards were roasted into charcoal by the trap's fire.
It was a pity that there were some entirely harmless little things in the Foggy Forest. Bartlett looked at the charcoal and thought to himself that setting up magical alarms and traps in this forest full of creatures didn't seem like a good idea.
It is likely that not all creatures triggering the alarm and the traps were trying to attack Bartlett and his companions. Some of them might just be curious, others might simply be passing by. But Magic couldn't distinguish their intentions.
The fire and noise from the triggered traps even woke up the sleeping Ogre.
To Bartlett's surprise, Morris swiftly rolled over, stood up, and pulled out a huge Warhammer and a Tower Shield the size of Bartlett from somewhere.
"Die, monster!" The Ogre, Morris, shouted fiercely. He cautiously looked around, and his ferocious expression turned into a blank one. "Where's the enemy?"
"Over there!" The Half-Elven laughed and pointed at the charcoal, which was unidentifiable after being roasted.
Then Bartlett saw the Ogre rushing over in two steps, and his Warhammer fell heavily, smashing the charcoal into ashes.
"Bad guys, disturbing Morris's sleep!" He muttered, never bothering to look carefully at what was under his hammer. Although, even if he did look, he probably wouldn't be able to tell.
This scene served as a reminder to Bartlett not to disturb the Ogre while it was sleeping...
Although these accidents were just false alarms, they forced the group to change their plan for night watch: they reduced the number of Magic Alarms and traps, and night watch was changed from one person to two.
Bartlett and the Half-Elven, Estelle, took the first half of the night, while the Dwarf and Morris took the second half. Old Will enjoyed the privileges of being a Sorcerer, leader, and 'old man' – he went to bed satisfied after listening to a few stories, seemingly without even using his Meditation Skill.
Of course, since he hadn't cast many spells during the day, there was probably no need to recover his Magic Power through meditation.
Bartlett didn't understand spells, but he had heard that in the Magic Empire, Sorcerers used to cast spells through a certain kind of net, and there was a daily limit on the number of spells they could cast. The Sorcerers of that period were powerful, but far from "invincible."
Later, a legendary figure appeared – that guy with a long list of titles: the Founder of the Magic Empire, Legendary Mage among Legendary Mages, Magicnet Ripper, Magic Re-shaper, GodSlayer, Beacon of Humanity's Progress, Eye of Wisdom of the Multiverse, and the Greatest Mage Talasha. He invented the "Meditation Skill" that was only suitable for Human Sorcerers.
Since then, Human Sorcerers were able to store Magic Power in large amounts, just like Magical Beasts, through the use of Meditation Skill. However, Magical Beasts used their bodily organs for this purpose, while Human Sorcerers used their souls.
The process of storing Magic Power continuously strengthened their Mental Power. Moreover, storing a large amount of Magic Power in their souls made the souls of Sorcerers more resilient and expansive.
This allowed the Sorcerers to cast spells directly without the need for Magicnet's power. When their Mental Power became strong enough, they could leverage the vast Magic Power in the outside world with just a small amount of their own Magic Power, producing earth-shattering effects.
From then on, Human Sorcerers strode further along the path of being "invincible" and "arrogant." The entire Multiverse trembled at their power until the Empire silently fell.
...
"If I were you, I wouldn't touch that." The Barbarian Adventurer said to the Half-Elven Estelle, who was about to pluck a plant that resembled the dandelion, flickering with blue-green light, from a nearby fir tree.
Estelle looked back at Bartlett and saw that the latter's expression was somewhat serious, but not overly anxious. He then turned his head back and blew a strong puff of air towards the plant.
The blue-green light exploded in an instant, as one umbrella-shaped seed after another floated gently in the air. No starlight could be seen in the Foggy Forest, but those seeds suspended in the air were like stars, adorning the misty night.
Bartlett frowned. Handsome Jack was at least right about one thing: curiosity is the most unnecessary thing in the Foggy Forest, but people might not be able to contain it.
"You shouldn't do that," Bartlett's tone was rather serious.
"Is it toxic?" Estelle returned to the campfire, sitting across from Bartlett, and asked.
"Toxic? That depends on how you define it," Bartlett replied. "Do not let its seeds touch you, for they will burrow into your flesh without you noticing, suck your blood, and grow beneath your skin. However, you won't feel any discomfort; neither itch nor pain."
"Then what?"
"Then, it will gradually grow larger, over a few months or perhaps half a year, until one day, you find a small swelling on your body. At that point, you can cut your skin open with a knife to find it. By then, it will have turned from blue-green to brownish-red, signifying its maturity. You can plant it in the ground or throw it into the fire, whichever you prefer. However, I've heard it can only grow in the Foggy Forest."
"That's it?" Estelle was somewhat puzzled. "Won't I be harmed in any way?"
"Harm? You want to be harmed?" Bartlett sat up straight and stared intently at the Half-Elven. "This flickering blue-green plant has a rather unique name. Some neurotic adventurer discovered it and named it 'Love'. Your worst damage will be a scar and some blood loss, probably less than a woman's monthly period."
"It seems like it's not too dangerous," Estelle said with a smile.
"You're right, 'Love' is indeed not dangerous," Bartlett nodded expressionlessly. "That silver-white thing over there is also a plant." He stretched his arm and pointed towards a vague luminous glow in the darkness. "It has the same appearance as 'Love' but is called 'Companionship'. Heaven knows what the namers were thinking, perhaps they were all bards?"
"What about 'Companionship'?"
"'Companionship' is more greedy. It will follow your blood vessels into your heart, taking root and sprouting, absorbing your body's flesh. Trust me, beneath every 'Companionship' lies the corpse of an unknown creature."
"You cannot discern what would cause you fatal harm and what would not," Bartlett looked at the Half-Elven's handsome face. "If you don't want to become part of the equation, it's best to keep your distance from them all." Bartlett concluded.
Estelle nodded earnestly, "I'll take your advice."
Bartlett was unsure whether Estelle had truly absorbed his words.
Through brief interactions over time, Bartlett had come to understand the characters of the other members of the "Vulgar Novel", including the reticent dwarf.
But the Half-Elven, the more Bartlett associated with him, the more elusive the impression in his heart had become.
...