Chapter 135 - Cold Fog

The first sensation that assaulted Jien's senses was vertigo so intense that he lost understanding of what up and down was let alone left or right. Not a moment after this feeling struck him like a raging bull the second sensation struck, the feeling of the weight pressed on him as if he was carrying a mountain on his back. This along with the vertigo left him reeling, feeling like he may not even survive to see the start of this bootcamp let alone the academy.What felt like an eternity and a millisecond passed before a new sensation graced him. The weight had vanished as if it had never existed, though the vertigo remained. The new sensation was twofold, the feeling on something solid beneath his feet and cold, damp air against his skin far more intense than when they were outside the barrier.Jien, like everyone else, had instinctively closed his eyes when he stepped forward. Every fiber of his being had screamed not to open them, and he had nod fought against those warnings. Now that his feet were on something solid, he at least had regained some semblance of orientation despite his senses still distorting. His legs grew weak, and he slumped down to the ground, promptly hearing a number of thumps on what he could interpret as soft ground, as if following his lead.Once he had secured himself a firm connection to what he assumed was the forest floor he finally found the strength to open his eyes despite his continuing dizziness. This was a course of action that he promptly regretted. As his eyes opened enough to take in his surroundings his vertigo reached a fever pitch, his stomach lurching in an attempt to empty that he firmly resisted with all his might. Fortunately, his willpower afforded him the dignity to not empty his guts in front of everyone, a fortune that not everyone shared as several sounds of retching soon reached his ears.It was only several long minutes later that the sound of retching died down along with the feeling of vertigo. Jien could finally focus on his surroundings, looking up to find four of the mentors, including mark standing in a simple formation around their charges. They were facing outwards, keeping an eye on the surroundings with their hands on their varied weapons. Each seemed alert and sharp, as if the sensation of vertigo had not affected them at all. The last two of the mentors, being Lila, Bernard's mentor and the prim and proper woman who had not introduced herself as of yet were busy attending to the horses quickly and efficiently.It appeared that they were using some sort of spell to quickly stabilize the steeds but Jien neither knew it nor had the mind to pay it much heed as he peered around to get a feeling for the surroundings. What he saw both surprised him and didn't. What didn't surprise him was the fact that around them all was a white fog that was so thick that one could hardly see more than ten feet in front of them. There were twisted, dark evergreen trees towering above them with trunks as large as Johnathan or more and a sky that was both partially obscured by the billowing fog but also seemingly several levels darker than the bright blue that they had just been under, this ignoring the shade from the trees or fog entirely.What was surprising was that the fog didn't seem to be rolling naturally. Nor was it attempting to cling to the ground despite being cold and heavy. The fog seemed to billow from the forest floor itself and climb to the sky as if wishing to ascend into the cosmos themselves. Most fog, being made of cooled water vapor would cling low to the ground, but this fog despite being just as cold and heavy did not appear to abide by the same rules, as if the forest itself obeyed its own set of innate laws.It wasn't long after Jien had started to take in his surroundings that the other noble children were able to do the same, some cleaning their mouths or taking small sips from their waterskins to clear any evidence of what had happened upon their arrival. What they saw immediately left them feeling concerned. They were in a small clearing, almost too small to actually fit them and the horses. All they could see were shadows of the towering trees within ten feet and nothing but white beyond. Even looking down at their own feet they found them to be lightly hidden behind the cold vapor.The fog itself was quickly seeping into their armor and clothing, their skin starting to pale, leading to a fit of shivering. They immediately knew that they had underestimated the level of challenge they would face here. If just entering the forest left them feeling as if they had been thrown into a cold downpour then what else would be here. Not to mention this spelled trouble for anything from gathering food and supplies to starting a fire.It was at this moment, as doubts were starting to form in their minds that Mark half turned his head, keeping his gaze outward to look for hints of danger. He spoke with a calm confidence that helped alleviate some of the children's growing concern. "Welcome of the Warping Forest, your lessons start now. Your first lesson is to understand how to format your group for possible enemy encounters. I know you are starting to grow cold, but we can't move from this location until you come up with a basic formation to start with."