Chapter 62: The Silent Valley and a Preceding Footprint

The forest path swiftly swallowed Lia from view.

The coarse scent of Fallen Leaf Town—a blend of firewood, dust, and livestock dung—was completely sealed off.

An immediate, profound silence descended.

Only the rustling of wind through the leaves and the soft crunch of her boots on dry foliage remained.

In her previous life, she had indeed participated in outdoor geological explorations, but those were always under the secure auspices of a professional team and comprehensive logistical support.

Now, however, in this vast expanse of world, she found herself utterly alone.

An unfamiliar knot of emotion—a blend of excitement and trepidation—tightened in her chest.

From her backpack’s side pocket, she retrieved the ‘Wilderness Survival Guide’ Adèle had practically thrust upon her, consulting it as she walked, matching its descriptions to the surrounding flora.

“Triple-thorn Berry: non-toxic, fruit tart, can replenish fluids in an emergency…”

“Weeping Vine: its sap possesses potent hallucinogenic properties; absolute avoidance is paramount…”

Lia perused the entries with keen interest, as if she were not navigating a perilous wilderness, but rather enjoying a leisurely stroll through the academy’s botanical gardens.

After approximately half a day’s journey, the sky began to darken, casting a mottled, eerie light through the forest canopy.

Lia halted, intending to locate a suitable spot for camp.

She hadn’t even had a chance to properly use the “Portable Thermostatic Tent Generation Spell” scroll Klein had given her, and was eager to experience its promised five-star wilderness camping amenities.

It was then that a faint, almost imperceptible rustle emanated from the thicket behind and to her side.

The sound was soft, yet it possessed a rhythmic cadence utterly unlike the unpredictable whispers of the wind.

Lia’s movements froze mid-action.

She dared not turn, her breath unconsciously catching in her throat.

Something was approaching.

‘Should I deploy the scroll immediately, or observe first?’

Klein’s instruction, ‘When faced with insurmountable danger, do not hesitate,’ echoed in her mind.

The problem, however, was that she had yet to ascertain the true magnitude of the threat.

What if it was merely a passing wild rabbit, and a single “Spear of Lightning” from her would inadvertently ignite the entire mountainside?

‘Calm yourself.’

Forcing herself into a state of calm, she rapidly cycled through the relevant sections of her ‘Wilderness Survival Guide’.

Based on the sounds, the creature was not large, yet its movements were exceptionally cautious, indicative of a classic ambush predator.

Lia silently retrieved the vial of “Jungle’s Breath” potion Adèle had given her from her spatial ring.

She uncapped the vial and swiftly applied a few dabs to her skin.

The combined aroma of fresh grass and damp earth immediately masked her natural scent.

Having completed this, she maintained her original posture, utterly motionless, her peripheral vision acutely focused on the area behind her.

The sounds from within the thicket ceased.

Yet, the sensation of being observed by unseen eyes persisted, coiling around her spine like a cold serpent, tightening its grip with each passing moment.

The creature was remarkably patient.

Lia, too, possessed an unwavering patience.

Thus, human and beast engaged in a silent, deadly game, played out beneath the deepening twilight.

As the minutes bled into one another, Lia felt her legs begin to grow numb.

Finally, the thicket stirred once more.

A creature, utterly black, resembling a leopard in build but moving with the absolute silence of a shadow, slowly emerged from the foliage.

Its eyes were a cloudy, unfocused grey.

‘A Shadow Stalker!’

‘The guide mentioned it! These magical beasts possess severely atrophied vision, relying entirely on their acute senses of hearing and smell for hunting.

Their auditory range is over ten times that of a human, allowing them to detect the faintest heartbeat or muscle twitch of their prey, and even to perceive fluctuations in magical energy.’

Lia’s heart lurched.

‘Damn it.’

She instantly realized she had to attempt to control her racing heartbeat, relax her tensed muscles, and suppress any extraneous sound.

The Shadow Stalker tilted its head, its grey eyes abruptly sweeping its surroundings, seemingly puzzled as to why the prey it “heard” could no longer be “smelled.”

Tentatively, it took two steps forward, closing the distance to Lia to less than five meters.

Lia could even discern the intricate patterns on its paw pads.

At that precise moment, an unknown flying insect buzzed past Lia’s ear.

The Shadow Stalker’s ears twitched violently, instantly swiveling towards the sound of the insect!

‘Now!’

Without an iota of hesitation, Lia pressed her right index and middle fingers together, her mental energy condensing with utmost focus.

An apprentice-level spell matrix instantly coalesced in her mind.

“Force Field – Minor Deflection!”

A compressed, invisible force field precisely impacted a small stone lying near her foot.

Snap!

The stone was flung outward, striking a large tree over ten meters away with a sharp crack.

The Shadow Stalker’s body instantly coiled, launching itself like an arrow from a taut bowstring, hurtling towards the source of the sound!

Thud!

It slammed headfirst into the unyielding tree trunk, emitting a muffled yelp as the impact left the creature disoriented.

Seizing the fleeting opportunity, Lia cast a zero-ring Lightning Strike spell towards it with a flick of her wrist, then spun and fled.

Her movements were seamless, executed with practiced precision and not a trace of hesitation.

She refrained from using a Flight spell, wary that even a faint ripple of magical energy might betray her location once more.

Instead, she pushed her physical endurance to its absolute limit, scrambling frantically through the rugged woodland.

Only when the sounds of pursuit faded completely behind her did she finally lean against a tree.

She gasped, her chest heaving.

The adrenaline-fueled tremor of survival shot from her spine to her scalp, leaving her simultaneously shaken with lingering fear and a strange urge to laugh.

“Damn it… that was more thrilling than a thesis defense.”

She muttered under her breath, wiping the cold sweat from her brow.

Her first true combat encounter, though clumsy, had yielded a favorable outcome.

She hadn’t resorted to any high-tier scrolls, relying solely on Adèle’s potion and her precise command of foundational spells to resolve what had been no small predicament.

This unexpected success instilled in her a tangible sense of confidence for the remainder of her journey.

***

Over the next two days, Lia adopted an even greater degree of caution.

She meticulously adhered to the guide’s instructions, steering clear of vibrantly colored mushrooms and giving wide berth to the cloyingly sweet scent of carnivorous flora.

She encountered several more magical beasts along the way, but each time she managed to evade them without incident.

She discovered that the hunting logic of most magical beasts in this world was remarkably straightforward; understanding their habits made circumventing them relatively simple.

This journey, rather than a perilous adventure, felt more akin to a grand-scale outdoor practical lesson.

The only caveat was that the consequences of failing this particular lesson could prove rather severe.

****

On the afternoon of the third day, as she crested a mountain ridge, the path before her was completely obstructed by a peculiar expanse of vines.

The vines themselves were an unhealthy purplish-red, their stems adorned with grotesque, tumor-like growths that eerily resembled human faces, swaying gently in the breeze as if weeping silently.

‘Weeping Vines.’

Adèle had explicitly warned her that the sap of these plants possessed potent hallucinogenic effects.

Lia frowned, realizing the sheer breadth of the vine patch effectively sealed off the entire mountain pass. To circumvent it would consume at least half a day’s additional travel.

She had no desire to spend another night lost within the woods.

Burning them with fire? That was also out of the question. The guide had specifically noted that incineration would cause the sap to vaporize, creating a far wider spread of hallucinogenic toxic mist.

Cutting them with Wind Blades? Also unfeasible, as the splashing sap would pose an identical threat.

Lia remained rooted to her spot, her gaze fixed for a moment on the contorted “human faces.”

A daring idea began to coalesce in her mind.

She extended her right hand, palm upward.

This time, she didn’t manipulate a force field; instead, she invoked a different, more fundamental model of particle motion.

‘Thermal Stripping.’

This was a trick-like technique she had derived from thermodynamic theory, using concentrated mental energy to forcibly interfere with molecular thermal motion, causing a drastic temperature drop within an extremely small localized area.

The air directly before her plummeted to freezing point in an instant.

Visible white frost, originating from her, rapidly spread across the patch of Weeping Vines.

The purplish-red vines instantly became coated in a thin layer of ice.

Their previously pliant stems grew rigid and brittle.

The swaying “human faces” seemed frozen in an eternal moment of silent lament.

Crunch

Lia stepped forward, easily snapping the obstructing vines as if breaking an ice pop.

The breaks were clean and smooth, not a single drop of sap oozing out.

She thus carved a safe passage through the ice-bound vines, walking with an unhurried grace.

After passing through this section, Lia glanced back.

Under the sunlight, the frost was slowly melting, and the vines would soon revert to their original state, as if nothing had ever transpired.

She clapped her hands, a smile playing on her lips.

It would have been simple to obliterate this area with an eight-ring spell, but navigating it by her own ingenuity felt far more gratifying.

***

Two more days of arduous trekking ensued.

The deeper she ventured, the more profound the silence of her surroundings became.

Birdsong, insect chirps, even the whisper of the wind, gradually faded away.

The air grew viscous, like solidified honey, each breath met with heavy resistance, and the magical environment became chaotic and turbulent.

As Lia finally emerged from the dense forest, the sight before her stole her breath.

A colossal mountain basin, vast and ancient, stretched out before her eyes.

Within the basin lay a sprawling expanse of ruins.

Collapsed mage towers, broken stone bridges, vine-choked plazas—the remnants of an ancient city, sleeping in silence for untold ages.

This was the Silent Valley.

Its “silence” was not one of peace, but of a deadly stillness where life had ceased to exist.

Lia retrieved the parchment map and meticulously matched its features to the ruins before her.

‘The map’s starting point is the Twin Towers at the city’s entrance…’

She quickly located two partially collapsed towers at the edge of the ruins.

She had finally arrived.

Lia let out a long sigh of relief, preparing to descend into the valley and commence her true exploration.

Yet, her gaze was drawn to a series of marks on the ground.

They were footprints.

The footprints were fresh, the upturned soil along their edges still damp.

These were not the claw marks of a magical beast, but the impressions left by human shoes.

Lia crouched down, examining the footprint closely.

Judging by its size and depth, the individual was an adult male of robust build.

Moreover… he had walked with an air of composure.

This suggested either a deep familiarity with the environment or sufficient power to disregard the dangers it presented.

Lia’s heart sank.

Following the direction of the footprints, she saw them extending towards the Twin Towers, vanishing into the depths of the ruins.

It seemed someone had already beaten her to it.