Chapter 265 262: Forest of Hypnosis

Chapter 265 262: Forest of Hypnosis

Val blinked his eyes several times, rapidly clearing the fog of disorientation that had clouded his vision. Once his vision cleared up, he looked around with heightened alertness, his eyes darting from one point to another to take in every detail of his immediate surroundings.

He found himself standing in a secluded, almost magical, patch of forest. Thousands of luminous mushrooms carpeted the ground around him, casting an ethereal glow that illuminated the space in an otherworldly light. Above, the night sky was a spectacle in itself. A crescent moon, its outline partly veiled by rolling dark clouds, dominated the celestial scene. Stars, twinkling like tiny diamonds, added a sparkling accent to the dark expanse of the sky.

While the scenery was undeniably captivating, something within Val told him not to get too lost in its beauty.

A saying from Earth echoed in his mind: the more beautiful something in nature is, the more dangerous it could potentially be. It was a principle that had served him well in the past and one he was not about to disregard, especially in this foreign landscape.

Besides, exercising caution was especially important when encountering the unfamiliar. After all, being cautious allows one to better assess the situation, understand potential risks, and make informed decisions that minimize harm or danger.

Not to mention, he felt a weird tingling sensation in both his eyes and brain a few seconds after he appeared in this part of the forest. This was basically his sixth sense signaling to him that something was not quite right with the forest he had found himself in.

Thus, he didn't let his guard down, vigilantly surveying his surroundings for any sign of danger.

Val's sixth sense was urgently alerting him that he was in danger, and after thoroughly scrutinizing his surroundings, he saw nothing but the mushrooms; this led him to suspect that these warm, glowing fungi, emitting a green light so pleasant to the eyes that it almost felt relaxing, might actually be the source of the looming threat he sensed.

Val decided to employ his 'detect' spell on the mushrooms to confirm if they were as harmless as they appeared.

Almost immediately, a semi-transparent screen materialized in front of him.

[System Notification: "Luminous Entrapment Mushrooms detected. The light emitted by these fungi has a hypnotic effect. Gazing at the glow for more than 15 seconds will render the viewer entranced, immobilizing them. Prolonged exposure will result in permanent transformation into one of these fungi, making them an eternal part of this forest.]

'I was right all along. Had I not exercised caution from the very start, these seemingly benign mushrooms could've been the end of me!'

Val had been in this forest for seven seconds already, and his eyes had been open for those seconds, meaning he had been exposed to their glow for that amount of time too.

It also meant that if he continued looking at them for 8 more seconds, he would lose himself in their hypnotizing allure and eventually become another mushroom in this part of the forest!

To avoid this, Val immediately closed shut his eyes.

Just then, a valuable thought crossed his mind.

He reflected on what Marshall had said before they entered the lesser dimension.

Marshall had warned them about the strange and dangerous aspects of this place but had also cautioned them against trying to understand them.

Val thought about what he had just faced and realized that Marshall was both right and wrong in his advice.

Indeed, the lesser dimension was filled with bizarre phenomena, but Marshall's advice to not try and understand them was a double-edged sword.

On the one hand, the advice made sense for the average person who, unlike Val, might not have the quick analytical skills to assess threats. Lingering around trying to make sense of the unknown in the lesser dimension could be fatal to them. On the other hand, the opposite could be said for the people who have the skills to quickly understand whatever they set their sight on like Val.

'Some of Marshall's advice is only good for people who lack skills like 'Detect', not me. I shouldn't blindly follow them.'

Val thought to himself before he began to think about how he should navigate the tricky situation he was in.

He could navigate through the forest with his eyes closed using the skills he had learned in his past life, but doing something like this would be akin to suicide if devils or similar creatures were lurking in the forest.

He would be in great danger if he moved through the forest blindly. At that point, getting to safe ground in one piece would depend on his luck, and he wasn't lucky in recent days, taking into account his encounter with the three-headed dog, the Nameless and the Fog that almost jeopardized his life. So he definitely couldn't take actions that relied on luck to succeed. n./0vELb1n

Using his "Heavenly Eye" skill would also put him at risk, as it would allow him to see the glow of the mushrooms despite his eyes being closed.

He had already looked at them for seven seconds; he could only stare at them for seven more seconds. Any more than that, and it would completely enthrall him.

'These seven seconds are extremely precious. I can't afford to waste them.'

'Is there no other way to safely navigate the forest without using my eyes?'

Val pondered for another minute before a sensible idea flashed in his mind.

'Why not use the same skill that Oliver used to sense his surroundings?'

Val decided to go for it as it seemed like a good idea. Since it came from him, how could it be bad?

He activated his wizardry. His arcane heart released a torrent of soul power that spread through his body and outwards in the form of hundreds of thin, long threads.

These threads acted as extensions of his senses; whatever they touched, he could feel and identify!