The lake's water was a dark red.
It felt like an accumulation of blood, though not nearly as thick. Only some areas were blood-red, while others were their normal, clear color, as if droplets of blood had fallen into the water without dispersing.
"Huh?!"
This time, it was Magallan's turn to be dumbfounded. She rubbed her eyes, seemingly in disbelief, afraid she was seeing things.
The others, however, were unaware, assuming it was just a unique landscape. Like tourists, they quickly took out their phones to snap pictures.
Magallan hurriedly patted Lucas Reeve on the shoulder.
"Mr. Reeve, what color is this lake water?"
"Red."
Lucas Reeve replied casually, already swirling his hand in the water. This body was formed from energy, immune to all poisons, so he had nothing to worry about.
"What's wrong?"
Magallan's expression changed slightly, and she whispered, "When... when I came here last time, the river was crystal clear. There wasn't a hint of red at all."
Magallan's voice wasn't loud, but everyone present could hear her clearly.
Instantly, their expressions shifted.
Only Ceobe, who was beside them imitating Lucas Reeve by stirring the lake's surface with her hand, seemed oblivious to what was happening, completely engrossed in her own fun.
"I have a bad feeling about this," Liskarm said slowly.
Franka nodded in agreement, forced to acknowledge the premonition.
"After all, Miss Magallan is with us."
Although it was Lisa's first time meeting Magallan, from the jinxed events along the way and the others' comments, she had a rough idea that Magallan seemed to possess an 'ability' to spread bad luck to those around her.
She quickly grabbed Lucas Reeve's hand and said, a little scared.
"Maybe... we should go."
In truth, it wasn't that they were afraid. After all, their group consisted of two Elite Operators, a quasi-Elite Operator, a 'veteran' explorer, and a spirit. Normally, no one would have cared, but after experiencing the recent Originium Storm, they had to admit that Magallan's bad-luck-spreading constitution was terrifyingly real. Who knew what kind of even more absurd things they might encounter.
Encountering a monster in Bolívar that they had never seen or even heard of in their lives was one thing; they could chalk that up to broadening their horizons. But... they had run into a once-in-a-decade Originium Storm, and not just any, but a once-in-a-century twin Originium Storm.
They couldn't help but be suspicious.
If they stayed here any longer, with Magallan's metaphysical constitution, who knew what kind of trouble would stir up. The best choice was to run, and quickly. It wasn't that they were cowards; no one liked to gamble with their own life.
As the thought of retreat surfaced in their minds, the surrounding, once beautiful green vegetation, suddenly seemed to turn sinister along with their thoughts.
The dense trees looked like monsters with bared fangs and brandished claws, and they didn't know when these trees might suddenly open their sharp maws.
"Oh, man..."
Franka looked behind her at the forest path they had just walked through, which had seemed so cool and beautiful before.
Now...
Somehow, it had gradually become eerie. The overly dense canopy made it difficult for sunlight to penetrate, making the path they had just taken look even darker, like a nocturnal beast that could swallow people whole.
"Hold on, let me get a water sample. I feel this lake water might have some research value."
Although Magallan really wanted to study the water here, deep down, she knew it wasn't a place to linger.
As an explorer, Magallan naturally wouldn't be afraid. In fact, encountering such a strange phenomenon would probably make her happily set up camp nearby to study it thoroughly. But she wasn't alone.
Though she was reluctant to admit her bad-luck-spreading constitution, after experiencing so much together, even if Magallan wouldn't say it out loud, she had to admit it in her heart...
She was a jinx (self-aware)!!
Therefore, the moment she saw this strange phenomenon, Magallan's first reaction was also to retreat immediately and come back alone next time.
Quickly unscrewing the cap on her device, Magallan took samples from different parts of the lake's surface. Then, using other small petri dishes, she collected soil from various spots, as well as from the area with the distinctly crimson water, as research material. The whole process was smooth and fluid, taking only five minutes from start to finish.
"That's about it. Let's go!"
Magallan shouldered her pack and called for everyone to leave.
Lucas Reeve didn't mind. He had also looked around and found nothing unusual about the water or the surroundings, as if the red was simply the water's natural color. This time, it was probably just everyone being overly cautious. The psychological shadow of the Originium Storm had left them with a feeling of being spooked by a mere rustle in the grass.
But it didn't matter. Lucas Reeve took Lisa's hand with one hand and Jessica's with the other, turning to leave with them.
But just as he took a step,
it was as if a bolt of lightning instantly pierced his soul. Then, a vague, unfamiliar voice echoed within him.
"Help... help... save... me..."
The voice was ethereal, reverberating all around, seemingly bypassing his eardrums and descending directly into his soul, as if someone were speaking right next to his ear. The proximity of the voice made Lucas Reeve slightly uncomfortable.
For a moment,
Lucas Reeve's steps halted. His eyes first widened, then gradually sharpened.
Judging by the timbre, the voice belonged to a young girl, likely not very old. But he couldn't rule out the possibility of a monster imitating a girl's voice to lure people into a trap... One thing was certain: there might really be some 'strange creature' in these mountains...
Damn it!
So this was Magallan's jinxed constitution?
Lucas Reeve hadn't really believed it before. After all, one should believe in science, not so much in metaphysics. Although his own existence was the biggest metaphysical anomaly, Lucas Reeve still wanted to advise others to trust scientific explanations more. A person's luck was too vague a concept.
He had tolerated the once-in-a-century twin Originium Storm earlier.
Even though the probability was lower than winning the lottery multiple times, there was still an element of luck involved. But... to actually run into trouble in the mountains again...
Now, even Lucas Reeve was wondering if it was really Magallan's luck. She always seemed to create opportunities for those around her to encounter monsters or strange, life-threatening phenomena. No wonder Magallan hadn't had any teammates in recent years...
"Is something wrong, Mr. Reeve?"
Jessica, walking ahead and holding his hand, noticed he had stopped and turned her head in concern to ask about him.
Hearing Jessica's voice, Franka, Liskarm, and Magallan, who were in front, also stopped and turned to look at Lucas Reeve.
In this team,
Lucas Reeve was practically the anchor. No matter what difficulties they encountered, as long as he was there, everything could be resolved. Even the two formerly self-reliant Elite Operators had gradually come to rely on him under his guidance.
However, if Lucas Reeve frowned, everyone's heart would involuntarily skip a beat. It meant the problem was often not as simple as it seemed.
"Mr. Reeve, what's wrong?"
Lisa was also a little worried. She gently squeezed Lucas Reeve's hand and asked cautiously.
"Did you guys hear a voice?"
Lucas Reeve's question puzzled everyone, and they all shook their heads. However, Jessica's and Lisa's faces had already paled.
They trusted Lucas Reeve's senses one hundred percent. Since he heard a strange voice, it meant there was really something wrong with this mountain!!
As expected...
Things always go wrong when you're around Magallan...
Trouble again.
Hopefully, it's not a huge mess.
"Didn't hear anything..."
Everyone shook their heads, telling the truth. Only Ceobe, beside them, raised her hand.
"Big Brother Lucas, you heard it too?!"
Ceobe's words made everyone's hearts sink to the bottom.
This mountain...
really has something unclean!!
A ghost!!
Although Lucas Reeve himself was a ghost, it was a case of one of their own meeting one of their own.
"Ceobe, what sound did you hear?"
Lucas Reeve asked.
Ceobe scratched her head. "It sounded like a big sister calling for help... I think that's what it was."
It matches...
In that case, Lucas Reeve was certain of one thing.
This voice was not actually produced by vocal cords, but rather a sound generated through some kind of spiritual application. This special sound wave could only be perceived by those with special senses, or perhaps only by spiritual bodies.
Lucas Reeve himself was a spirit, so hearing it wasn't strange. As for Ceobe, due to her unique constitution and race, she could even see his soul directly through his physical body.
Lucas Reeve's words sent shivers down everyone's spines.
Monsters weren't scary.
Whether it was zombies or that tree monster from Bolívar, as long as a creature had a physical body, they wouldn't be afraid. After all, a physical body meant it could be killed, that it had a health bar. And as long as it had a health bar, even chipping away at it could eventually bring down a boss.
But this kind of ethereal, elusive ghost was far more frightening.
Franka currently had ten thousand complaints she wanted to voice. Why was it that whenever she was with Miss McFlurry, she always encountered absurd things she would never have run into in her entire life.
Running into a giant tree monster! Running into a rare, once-in-a-century storm! And now, running into a ghost!!
Franka was already planning in her head that if she made it back to Columbia this time, she probably never wanted to go out with Magallan again for the rest of her life.
This....
This was just too unlucky!
Franka even suspected that these few outings with Magallan had used up a lifetime's worth of bad luck...
Although curious about the voice,
with so many people around, Lucas Reeve wasn't planning on investigating further. He prepared to retreat.
Just as Lucas Reeve's second foot stepped forward, the moment his sole touched the ground,
*Ding~*
A bell chimed deep within Lucas Reeve's soul.
When he came to his senses, the colors of the surrounding scenery had completely changed, becoming like the film of an old camera—pure black paired with pure white, the contrast stark and obvious.
Not only had the environment changed, but Franka and the others, who were just in front of him a second ago, had vanished. Jessica, on his right, had also disappeared. Only Lisa on his left seemed unaffected, gripping his hand tightly in fear, her small body leaning against his leg out of fright.
"Mr. Reeve...."
Lisa's voice was filled with fear. This was all too bizarre. Compared to monsters, it was the incomprehensible weirdness that was the most terrifying.
This is why Western horror movies rarely scare people, while Eastern horror movies can scare you to death. Eastern horror is true terror, penetrating the softest parts of the human heart. As for the West...
Zombies, monsters.
Things that can be killed with a knife....
Another illusion?
Lucas Reeve had encountered this kind of trick back in Bolívar, and it had been... pathetically weak...
Without any hesitation, Lucas Reeve directly poured a portion of his Prayer Power into this soul fragment to amplify its spiritual strength.
This illusion was so simple that Lucas Reeve didn't even need to exert himself. He summoned a longsword into his hand, its blade burning with a raging spiritual fire, and casually slashed.
The space in front of him was effortlessly sliced in two. In an instant, the environment enveloping Lucas Reeve shattered, revealing the real world.
However....
The next second, Lucas Reeve froze in place, his brow furrowed.
Because...
The souls of Jessica, Franka, Magallan, and Liskarm were no longer in their bodies.
This is bad!
I was careless!!
It deliberately used a very crude spiritual world to mislead me, making me think the 'thing' hiding in the dark was weak, and then, while I was slightly off guard, it snatched away the souls of the other four?
This enemy's proficiency at the spiritual level is at least a bit stronger than the tree monster's...
Lisa was fine because she and I have a formal Shikigami and Onmyōji relationship, with a contractual bond in our souls. So, as long as I'm okay, nothing will happen to Lisa. As for Ceobe, it was purely because her constitution is so incredibly special that the opponent didn't have the ability to affect her.
Lucas Reeve's expression grew darker.
He began to worry for Jessica's safety. A fire started to burn fiercely in his chest. Anger was getting to his head now. A massive amount of Prayer Power flooded into his soul, and the soul fragment attached to Lisa instantly became much stronger, even far surpassing his soul fragment over with the Reunion Movement.
In an instant,
Lucas Reeve's terrifying spiritual pressure and a faint divinity enveloped more than half of the mountain range.
————————
Somewhere on the mountain peak.
In a secret room.
A young girl was tied up, a special device on her head, completely immobilized, unable to even speak. A small teddy bear was currently crawling quietly beside the little girl, saying nervously.
"We're doomed!! We were calling for help, but it seems we've provoked a major figure..."
"A god!!"
"What the hell!! Why is there a god here!!"
"Whatever, as long as he can get us out of here..."
The bound girl said nothing.
And in the teddy bear's hands lay four glass-like beads, formed entirely from condensed souls.
Within those beads,
the group of four had begun a brand new dream journey.