Chapter 33: Chapter 33

Shrouded in White Mist

"The hunting grounds become increasingly dangerous the farther forward you go. The Fairyland is the most dangerous hunting ground, except for the First and Second hunting grounds," The latest_epɪ_sodes are on_the n0velfire.net

"But I don't think it's that dangerous here,"

"That's correct, because fairies can be communicated with. The third hunting ground, fairyland, and the fourth hunting ground, the Abyss of Puppets—the races dwelling there, fairies and puppets, both can be communicated with. As long as you establish good communication, they won't attack you proactively."

"Except for the third and fourth hunting grounds, there are many deadly things wandering in the other hunting grounds, along with some monsters that are completely irrational. They will attack any living being indiscriminately."

"That said, fairyland is still the third hunting ground. If the fairies lose their senses and begin to attack indiscriminately, this hunting ground could be even more threatening than the first seven."

"That's all that needs to be said. You can now look around Fairyland. Consider it an opportunity to understand this hunting ground, and if you are capable enough, you might even be able to contract with a fairy."

"I want to make a contract with a fairy!"

Mo Ying said, her face full of excitement.

"Fairies are drawn to those with high magical power. As long as you have the ability, you can try,"

Wei replied, taking out a box of milk, inserting a straw, and saying no more.

"Fairies are not truly benevolent. Be sure to scrutinize the content of any contract carefully—don't let them exploit loopholes, or you may lose your life."

Mo Ying and the other two quietly left the high cliff and entered the fairy forest below.

Here, vibrant plants and a variety of unknown flowers flourished, as well as fairies of different sizes.

Some of the fairies were the size of humans, while others were only as big as a palm.

Mo Ying and her companions spotted a familiar face—Luo Ji, who often appeared in Liushu's class with them.

Luo Ji also noticed them.

"Have you contracted with a fairy?"

Luo Ji answered, sounding a bit disappointed.

"But I saw others successfully contract with fairies, and they look so happy. I'm so envious. Why won't any fairy pick me?"

"Don't get too worked up..."

Mo Ying tried to calm Luo Ji down.

"Maybe it's a good thing..."

Having heard Director Wei's warning, the three knew that fairies were not harmless.

They could drain everything from those who contracted with them.

"Caution is a must, otherwise you'll be left with nothing,"

Both Xiya and Shuang Yun seemed quite cautious, but Mo Ying didn't think the same. She was already heading deeper into the forest.

The other two could do nothing but say goodbye to Luo Ji and follow after her.

The deeper they went into the forest, the more fairies they saw.

"#￥%@#," one fairy said in its native tongue, fluttering over to the three and coming to rest on Xiya.

Of the trio, Xiya from the Magic Department probably possessed the greatest magical power.

"@#￥@#@," the fairy continued speaking, though none of them understood.

But then, the fairy produced a blue object that resembled parchment.

Blue writing was scrawled across it—symbols none of them had ever seen.

"You... want to make a contract with me?"

Xiya said, looking at the writing on the page.

She didn't recognize the script, but somehow she could understand it.

She fixed her gaze on the paper, reading the content of the contract carefully, word by word.

After nearly five minutes, Xiya shook her head.

"@#￥@#," the fairy seemed to understand her gesture and regretfully flew away.

"No. Her ability is cell regeneration, but the price is lifespan... I don't have enough lifespan to feed her, I'm not someone like Director Wei,"

"Refusing was the right decision," said Shuang Yun.

Any fairy that exacts a price in lifespan ought to be refused.

With that minor incident behind them, the trio moved on.

In a clearing, Mo Ying spotted the elusive Rain Master.

For once, Li Shihe was not at his side.

Around the Rain Master's left side congregated a huge number of fairies—almost a hundred, maybe more?

The number was too great for Mo Ying to count.

"Ah, have you found one you're satisfied with?"

A voice came—Li Shihe's, but he was nowhere in sight.

All the fairies at the Rain Master's left fluttered into the air.

Li Shihe emerged from their midst. All these fairies seemed to be orbiting him.

Shuang Yun breathed, echoing Mo Ying's reaction.

"I don't want to trust these fairies, teacher," the Rain Master glanced at the fairies around him, then turned his gaze to Li Shihe.

It seemed Li Shihe had explained the pros and cons of these fairies to her as well.

"The relationship was always one of mutual exploitation, not trust or distrust,"

Li Shihe said with a yawn, as a few more fairies flew to his side.

"If you want special privileges, you have to pay a price. That's pretty basic common sense. The only thing that falls from the sky is trouble; fortune never does."

"If you haven't found a satisfactory one, then let's move on."

"Since you're here in Fairyland, contracting with one or two fairies is ideal. But if none suit you, there's nothing to be done."

"You can contract with more than one fairy?" the Rain Master inquired.

"As long as you can bear the cost, you can make a hundred contracts for all I care,"

Li Shihe replied with another yawn. Why did he seem so sleepy?

"Fairyland, huh... I wonder if 'she' wants to return here,"

Li Shihe chuckled softly as he led the Rain Master away.

They didn't seem to notice Mo Ying and her companions at all.

"The stronger your magical power, the more the fairies favor you. Just how powerful is that Li Shihe?"

Mo Ying wondered aloud.

The fairies encircling Li Shihe could probably form a line all the way back to the entrance.

"The Rain Master has a real chance of becoming Lixiya's first imperial princess—her teacher can't be ordinary," said Shuang Yun.

"People like the Empress are way beyond us... We're just students."

Mo Ying shook her head.

The other two nodded in agreement.

They kept heading deeper into the forest.

Then, they got lost...

"Why are we running around in this forest with no map?"

It seemed the fog was rising again.

Visibility dropped even lower as mist began to fill the forest.

Wei, standing atop the high cliff, watched the thick mist pour in, frowning.

"Activate all students' Return Prisms. Something unexpected has happened."

Wei's decision was swift and decisive.

"Let's leave for now."

Li Shihe stopped and spoke to the Rain Master behind him.

The fog was back again.

"Something's wrong..."

Mo Ying stopped as well.

There were no plants left around them, only dense white fog.

Another abnormal situation.

The three of them held hands in the mist, afraid of being separated.

"Hmm? Getting off early today?"

Outside, Liushu, cigarette in hand, watched as a flood of students suddenly appeared.

"Yeah, why did I suddenly come back? I was just about to sign a contract with a fairy."

The students' confused chatter filled the air.

"An anomaly has appeared."

Wei punched Liushu hard, tossing his cigarette into the trash.

"That white mist is back,"

Liushu picked himself up off the ground.

That white mist—could it really spread into the hunting ground itself?

"Count the students,"

"I'm still detecting eleven Return Prisms that haven't activated,"

Teacher Zhi Ying replied.

"They are: Mo Ying, Shuang Yun, Xiya, mo Luo...."

"They're trapped in that fog,"

Wei quickly concluded.

"Wait until the fog clears and then activate the Return Prisms. If that fails, look for them. If we can't find them, give up."

"That mysterious white mist is sweeping across all of Fairyland. If we don't know what's going on in there, charging in blindly might mean no one comes back,"

Liushu knew Wei was right.

"If we lose eleven people all at once, the Principal will probably panic,"

Wei appeared unconcerned.

The conversation between the two was cold, as if they didn't care whether any of the eleven students lived or died.