Ethan was feeling a lot of things at the mont, but he did not let those feelings cloud his judgnt or rush him into doing sothing he would regret. He patiently waited a while until his minions hunted the demonic beasts and the demonic humans lurking in the forest.
The forest sprawled between two cities. It was vast and dense, its tangled paths and towering trees stretching out endlessly before Ethan. It took hours to navigate its winding trails, searching for any sign of the demonic humans and twisted beasts that road within.
He waited patiently until his minions had spread out and scoured a good portion of the forest, reporting back with either half-dead prey. Finally, more and more of them started reporting back with nothing.
By then, Ethan had hit level 10 in his mage class—a small but significant step forward. It was ti to go for the mines. Those abandoned mines lay at the center of this whole ss. Those mines were the source of the corruption that had twisted the innocent people of the town into sothing demonic.
As he started walking toward the mines, he half-expected at least so of his minions to have run into city guards or other dangers by now, but the coast seed oddly clear.
The late afternoon light had faded into the deep blue of night, and it appeared that the guards had decided to wait until morning before patrolling further. Ethan didn't care—he'd co too far to turn back empty-handed.
A part of him clung to a fragile hope: maybe whatever dark secret lay within those mines could hold the key to reversing the corruption. Back when he had killed the corrupted panther, it had reverted to its normal, majestic form. Perhaps the magic within the mines could work in a similar way on the villagers.
Ethan did not know, but he wanted to at least try. He steeled himself and pressed onward into the night. It took a few minutes before he finally arrived at the mines. It took him only a few minutes to arrive at the edge of the corrupted forest, but the mont he stepped into that area, his entire body felt as though it were being suffocated by a heavy, oppressive air.
The forest he had once known was almost unrecognizable now. The demonic corruption had seeped into every corner of the land, reaching its zenith near the mines.
Trees that had once boasted lush, vibrant leaves now stood twisted and blackened, their bark marred by deep, eerie scars. Branches writhed like tortured limbs, and the foliage had taken on a sickly, ashen hue. Even the plants along the forest floor, which should have been teeming with life, now looked withered and contorted—almost as if they were writhing in pain.
Ethan's thoughts felt muddled and heavy, making it difficult for him to think straight. The malevolent energy was so intense that every step forward threatened to overwhelm his senses. He knew that lingering here for too long might have unpredictable effects on his own body and mind.
He quickly cast a mana barrier around himself. The shimring shield provided a brief, albeit insufficient, respite from the encroaching demonic energy. Despite the barrier, he could still feel the corruption seeping through like an insidious poison.
A few minutes later, he arrived at the entrance of the mines. The demonic aura grew even more oppressive as Ethan approached the mine's entrance. Scorch marks and infernal symbols—twisted, ancient runes—were etched into the cold stone walls, their red glow pulsing in the darkness. The very ground around the entrance seed to shudder with malevolent energy.
This was different from when he had visited the mines last ti. Everything had gotten much worse. He took a deep breath, steadying himself as he adjusted the mana barrier around him. Although the shield only bought him a few precious monts, it was enough to ward off the worst of the oppressive energy.
He tried to examine the symbols, but he did not understand any of them. It was definitely a different language than the magica language which he knew about. More importantly, these symbols seed to be etched into the rocks. It was as if soone had deliberately caused all of this.
Until now, Ethan assud that there was so sort of natural phenonon inside or perhaps a demon beast nest or sothing like that. But now he had other doubts. Was there a reason why not one but two city lords refused to take action?
There was only one way to find out. To go in.
Ethan paused for a mont and summoned all of his demonic minions before doing anything else. They inhaled the air, and their eyes lit up. They clearly liked being here. Did it perhaps make them stronger? That would be a good bonus.
"Go inside and check if soone is there." Ethan sent one of the newer lesser demons inside. However, as soon as the minion walked down the dark, narrow corridor of the mine, its body stiffened, and it swiveled its head to turn back and look at Ethan.
Ethan's eyes widened. He did not understand what was going on. The next second, sothing hard hit his head.
Ethan staggered as a sudden, searing impact struck his head. His vision blurred into darkness, and for a few agonizing seconds, nothing existed except the pounding in his ears. When he finally ca to, he found himself sprawled on cold, hard stone in a narrow corridor of the mine. His face burned with an intense heat, and his head throbbed as if split in two.
He imdiately tried to cast a mana barrier and get up, but it was useless. He found his hands and legs tied up. Mother fucker! He cursed under his breath. He was sohow back in the sa situation all over again, chained and tied up to a wall.
All the training and all the extra stats did not help him at all. He was simply too weak.
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