An hour passed before Rhea woke up. Fortunately, she was not the only priest in the party and her wound was not mortal. A potion was dumped into the wound and multiple heals were cast. Despite that, the fatigue of using her abilities so haphazardly drained her mentally. She was out of commission till at least nightfall.

Regardless, the news was not all bad. No one had died despite the severity of that last encounter and the area was mostly cleared now as well: there were only two mushrooms left.

There was a benefit to this being the location of the Floral Monstrosity, which was that it seemed as though beasts were avoiding this place like the plague. I couldn’t feel the presence of any monsters in the area. Those that had come here had probably ended up as food.

Some brainstorming came up with a possible solution to deal with the two remaining mushrooms. Barrier was our snap decision option, but we also had mages at our disposal. Earth magic would do the trick as well.

“Wall of Earth!” A barrier was erected in front of us, and then another. Very quickly there was several feet of thick earth blocking our vision. Fortunately, Vichi didn’t need to see with her own eyes.

She could partially see through her treants and golems. Two wood golems surrounded a mushroom and hoisted it by the stem before a treant cut the stem clean off. A poisonous gas began pouring from the spore holes, and the wooden bodies of the golems began to decay rapidly. All the same, they managed to run with the mushroom for about a minute before being unable to continue. The sprite Vichi commanded wanted to fly in their direction to help them but was stopped. “It’s not worth it, I’ll summon them again.” Vichi commanded. The sprite seemed crestfallen but eventually hovered above her shoulder obediently.

The expenditure to her mana was severe, but letting her sprite go that far, and into that poisonous fog, was not a wise idea. With only one mushroom left she could afford to sacrifice the mana to summon two more golems.

Two mages kept the earth wall up and fortified it, while another spammed wind magic and sent all fumes away from us. Those trees immediately downwind from their magic began to wilt and wither as their bark sizzled.

We patiently waited for twenty minutes after the second mushroom was hauled away before making a move. No one wanted to inhale any poisonous fumes and kick the bucket. “Think it’s probably okay now…” Corbin said, with a not-so-sure look on his face.

Moving slowly closer to where the mushrooms had been growing, Corbin remained tentative for some time, until his confidence grew and he was treading around the soil like a horse. “We did it!” he cackled. “Send someone back immediately to get the others!”

The journey back would be a short one, as we’d spent a lot of time clearing to this patch of land. The melee members were in the best shape physically, as they hadn’t joined in on the fight with the Floral Monstrosity. Two of them were selected and sent rushing back.

I had lost my bearings somewhere along the way, but no doubt the city ruins were in this general area. I had found the signboard for Fresey within a mile from here. Not only that, we could see ruins scattered in the soil.

“We can get started while they go for help,” Rhea said while reaching out her hand. Vichi extended hers and helped raise Rhea up.

Once on her feet, Rhea took charge again, “the mages can start making a barrier. We’ll need this entire place fortified so we can be safe during the night. Those with enough mana get to work immediately. Corbin, you be with the mages if anything untoward happens.

“Joseph as well,” Vichi added.

“Me? Huh?” I asked, surprised.

“Don’t play dumb. I know from watching that you have some sort of way to detect monster plants and animals. Regardless of your secret, be useful and assist the mages. Don’t let anything sneak up on them,” Vichi commanded.

I was like a deer caught in headlights. My mouth opened but the words I wanted to say didn’t come out, “Ah… got it.” was all that I could manage. I caught a glimpse of Rhea smiling at me as I passed by her.

Earth walls were quickly erected. Stone, mud, and clay intermingled together and attached to any sturdy plant or tree it could find. The MP expenditure was clearly high as the remaining mages only managed to fortify a small area. They would need dozens of hours or at least 6 or 7 more mages with high MP to finish this fort by nightfall.

My job of being on the lookout ended up uneventful. It took around twenty minutes before other groups began to show up. They continued to arrive in dribs and drabs over the next hour as the Adventurer’s Guild Master located everyone.

It seemed not every group had been as lucky as us. Two reported casualties on the first day, and in an area I’d consider low traffic. The West Abithos continent was no joke. A party of this size could trample over North Maledith without any reservations.

“Mages, assist in fortifying the walls and set up platforms in the trees. I need all archers in the trees! If you see anything you report immediately, regardless of what it is. Priests on standby while you recover your MP, tanks as well. Anyone in decent shape please help unload materials!” The Adventurer’s Guild Master began barking orders on rapid fire.

The area became busy in a moment, like a thriving ant hive. Walls rose in mere moments, and then were double stacked for extra protection. A special magic was cast over top of the defenses that prevented anything from entering, especially insects.

I was amazed at just how quickly our fortified camp had come together. Walls higher than ten feet on each side held torches placed a meter apart. The only entrance was the one we came in from. Scout towers in the trees allowed for pre-emptive sightings of any creatures.

This was just the level we needed to perform at to ensure we could survive on this continent.

“This will do for the night. Tomorrow will be a long day of clearing and expansion. After that we’ll be sending people back and looking to reinforce as much as possible.”

We would be sleeping under the skies in a foreign land. A glimpse of two of the moons peeked through the dense canopy above as I rested my head. Despite the potential danger lurking in the shadows I slept soundly that night.

“Up, up, up! Early morning for everyone!” My eyes opened slowly as I wiped them hard. I didn’t notice until I was properly up that a dense layer of fog covered the jungle floor. Not even the thick earthen walls could keep the chest-high fog from covering the entire camp.

The mist was eerily thick, to the point of not being able to see your hands, or waist, or feet below your chest. Passing through it caused it to swirl before reforming in place: no doubt a consequence from the terrible humidity.

The temperature was moderate but a layer of sweat was in every crevice of my body. My robe stuck to my back like glue. All I could do was peel it away from my skin and slowly fan it as I made my way out of my little abode.

All of the guild leaders, including the Adventurer’s Guild Master, had already huddled together and were discussing strategy. A voice said, “We can’t find anything about our location at all?”

“No, I’ve sent my scouts up and past the trees as far as they will go. There is nothing but more trees as far as the eye can see,” replied Rhea.

Someone else sounded scornful, “The map you recovered from nearly three-hundred years ago is of no value then, Rhea.”

“I don’t agree,” she answered back at once. “Fresey is in this area, we should be here.” She pointed at the map. “We will confirm it today with our search.”

The talking was turning to bickering and the only useful information we had was that the West Abithos continent was absolutely nothing like anyone had expected. Gaining a foothold would be hard.

“Joseph!” I turned my head to find Vichi calling out to me; it seemed she held great trust in my sensing abilities and already had something planned out for me. Rhea was aware of this arrangement apparently, as she did not interject at all.

“Yes?” I had gotten used to her blunt way of speaking, a way that never gave me any wiggle room. I was fully prepared to accept any assignment.

“The walls will be coming down here soon,” she pointed. “I’ll need you on duty. We are expanding the perimeter today,” Her eyes scanned my rod that I had previously turned into a scythe, “will you need assistance to secure a line about a hundred feet from here or can I trust you and two mages to manage?”

I thought hard about how I should answer. If I didn’t want to sit here and watch all day, and be a burden, it was important I stepped up and showed a bit of ability. Not only that, I had the foresight of my senses and felt no threat from the plants that lurked just past these walls. I would be able to react and adjust accordingly. “I can handle it,” I said.

“I’ll be trusting you this time, don’t mess it up.” Her way of talking left a bad taste in my mouth. She couldn’t have been that much older than me. It was hard to stomach being talked down to.

Two mages waited behind her in the fog, one man and one woman. The man was half a head taller than me and cleared the fog easily. A wizard cap adorned his head and his appearance was quite different to that of a typical mage.

His face was rugged, with a full beard and mustache. A scar passed beneath his right eye that went across his cheek before tapering off. His body was muscular as if he did strength training. Some body armor and a sword could have me completely convinced he was a melee fighter. “I’m Zilian,” he said while reaching out a hand.

I shook his hand happily and turned my attention to the female mage at his side. She was his polar opposite on many fronts. Her head barely broke through the fog, and just tilting it forward would allow her to vanish from my sight if not for the headdress covering her face. Her skin I could see was fair, and her voice soft-spoken. “Amy,” she said.

“Nice to meet you both, I’m Joseph. Can I ask what magic types you specialize in?”

“Earth,” Zilean said.

“Lightning and Ice.”

“I’m a bit of a hybrid so I will be your eyes. In case of an emergency we should call for backup immediately.”

They nodded in understanding and I moved to the area Vichi needed cleared. Zilean raised a hand and the earthen wall before us started to crumble away. The first layer fell like dried mud and splattered onto the ground. The second layer followed shortly after as a section of wall was chipped away and the jungle opened before us.

We had scouts above us in the trees, and there was no reason to not use them. “How does it look?” I shouted up.

The scout above jerked awake from my call. The leisurely look on his face disappeared as his eyes grew super focused and scanned the distance. He looked down and gave me a thumbs up before leaning his head back once again. I couldn’t feel anything either, so his extra confirmation gave me a bit more confidence.

“Stick close,” I said. We needed to walk quite a ways into the fog, and the other groups had started as well. At the exit of the camp I could see them to my left and right, but that changed very quickly.

Visibility was the issue: just seeing where we left from wasn’t possible after two dozen steps. Not that I was lost, because we could at most be fifteen or twenty feet from camp. Fortunately, the fog didn’t do anything to hinder my sense of approaching monsters.

We carefully moved forward to an area with many vines and plants that I had no doubt would attack. The variety of signatures was low in this area, and I had gotten a feeling for most of them. I gauged the distance by feel and already had Mana Scythe ready.

There was no sound, no displacement of fog, but the feeling was there. The minutest attack coming directly for the side of my face. Mana Scythe came up silently as I took half a step backwards with Phase Step. I was not yet fast enough to dodge these vines without skill usage.

A green blur passed just in front of my face and made to retract. Unfortunately for the plant, Mana Scythe had already dug into the vine and cut it clean off.

The two-foot-long vine, as thick as my arm, hit the ground with a plop and disappeared into the fog below. “Nothing to worry about.” I said calmly. The two behind me gave no reaction, and so I didn’t care to look back. My focus grew as I couldn’t afford to make a mistake. All my attention was on the plants dotting the distance of my awareness.

This same situation played out four more times in similar fashion over the course of two or three minutes. Our progress was steady and unhindered. No doubt other groups were not moving as quickly as we were.

“This should be about the place to stop, right?” My eyes started to scan the distance as I waited for a reply that never came. I turned around abruptly only to realize there was no one behind me.

A sudden shock of panic raced through me. My senses were not dulled, and yet I had focused too much on my foes and not enough on my allies. “Zilian! Amy?” I shouted. My voice echoed into the jungle and I received no reply.

There was nothing in front of me, nothing behind me. I needed to calm down and avoid getting lost. In my desire to make good progress I hadn’t marked any trees; I didn’t deem it necessary. That decision was now biting me in the ass.

I took a deep breath and calmed myself. Regardless, the camp is close by. Just avoid getting mixed up. It took me a moment to realize that the plant signatures nearby had all vanished as well. Something was absolutely not right.

I felt a static from the fog around me, as if something now lurked within. There was no sound, but instead a fullness that I could faintly detect. It was closing in on me slowly. Gust!

The Adventurer’s Guild Master had forced me to learn all types of magic, and Gust was one of them. The air around me displaced as it was forced outward, and for a brief moment the fog obstructing my vision receded.

My hair stood on end and an electric shock arched up my back. The sight was anything but pleasant: thousands upon thousands of flying insects the size of rice grains floated there. The fog must have concealed hundreds of thousands of them.

Immediately after being revealed, their little wings begin to flap harder. The previous silence was immediately replaced by a humming that grew in intensity. They were closing in on me.

I cast another Gust to keep the fog away and realized the sudden burst of wind had no effect on them at all. My mind raced for any ideas that could get me out of this situation. The only solace was that they seemed to move more slowly outside of the fog.

Their movement when covered in the fog was nimble, and yet outside they remained slow and sluggish. It was in my best interest to keep the fog as far away as possible. The problem was they were enclosing on me from every side. My only option was to pick a direction and force a way through.

The best choice was back towards camp, but Gust had revealed that in that direction were an endless number of insects. It seemed they had deliberately cut me off and had no intention of letting me leave. I threw out Inspect hoping to get more information.

Blood-sucker Fly LEVEL: 55 INSECT NEUTRAL

HP: 999 MP: 10

STR: 1

AGI: 35

DEX: 1

VIT: 1

INT: 1

An incredibly small fly that thrives on blood. Typically, only found in hordes.

The stats on them individually were pathetic and it bolstered my confidence. Their HP was low enough to where a single AOE attack could dispatch large amounts of them at once: it was possible to carve a path out.

There was an ice skill that the Adventurer’s Guild Master had taught me personally that would work perfectly for this situation.

Glacial Cascade LV. 1 Send forth a cascade of ice to impale and dislodge enemies in your path.

Glacial Cascade LV. 1 170/250

I had practiced this spell many times, and it was an amazing ability that split enemies apart magnificently. I turned and looked deeper into the jungle. It was a huge gamble, but my intuition told me these flies only hunted during this foggy period. If I could somehow last for a while longer I could make it out of this disaster alive.

I cast Gust twice in a row as fast as possible, pushing the fog away and giving me the best chance I would ever have. The horde of insects closed in regardless, but just behind them the numbers dwindled. My only option was to move forward.

My hand raised and I cast Glacial Cascade. Ice exploded forth from the floor and traveled in the direction I aimed like a tidal wave. Any fly unlucky enough to not dodge was frozen and shattered into a million bug pieces.

The rest shifted around a jutting shard of ice that continued for a dozen feet. Time was of the essence, and my feet began to move. I leaped atop my ice bridge, which brought me just above the fog, and sprinted as hard as I could.

With all the power in my legs that I could muster I jumped and flew through the air. Gust was already being cast as I landed and as I had hoped there were almost no blood-sucking flies here. To their cost, most of them had gathered close together to get a piece of me.

Despite that, there were still several remaining in the outskirts, which were moving with haste through the fog and were quickly looking to devour me. I cast another Gust behind me to delay them as much as possible before rushing into the distance.

A vine from a plant shot out lightning fast and I could do nothing to retaliate. My body tilted just enough to avoid being impaled as the green tentacle rubbed against my chest and slashed me open.

It was painful as hell, but not life threatening. I could only continue running, but the smell of blood sent the flies into a frenzy. Their movement grew even quicker, and they would soon be upon me. I cast Gust as often as I could to dislodge their pathing and kept moving.

My brain was working a million miles an hour, and when it seemed I had no other option but to be swallowed up, a simple solution came to me. I could climb a tree, couldn’t I? That’s what I thought, and I picked my target just ahead.

I rushed on harder and put more weight into my steps. My foot came down hard as I prepared to leap up to a branch felt the ground below me give way. My foot had came down on something soft that couldn’t bear my weight.

Along with a piece of rotten wood, I fell through two or three feet of jungle vines. My shoulder collided with solid ground and absorbed the brunt of my fall. A grunt escaped my mouth and I wondered if my shoulder blade had snapped just like that.

Despite the terrible pain, my eyes shifted to the opening above me. I couldn’t be sure if the blood-sucking flies would follow me in to this hole or not. I used Glacial Spike several times in succession until a thick layer of frost and ice covered my viney entrance.

Only when I was sure nothing was flying through to get me did my eyes focus elsewhere. I looked at my robe now caked in blood and lifted it up. The gash on my side wasn’t deep, but it was bleeding profusely.

I chugged a white potion and bandaged myself before running my hand along my shoulder. While sore, it didn’t seem broken. I moved my arm in circles and ensured the movement wasn’t impaired at all.

Where had I fallen? I looked around me and could see nothing but old vines and cobweb. There were the faintest speckles of light coming from above, not enough to give me any idea at all. The air was putrid and the faintest of movements sent dust into my nose and eyes.