The Dark Mage Of The Magus World-Chapter 49: The Silence

Hutson had ventured deep into Moonlight Forest, now a good thirty minutes’ walk from the forest’s entrance.

"I’ll push forward a little further using AI chip’s detection, but not too deep. The moment something feels off, I’ll retreat."

The outer regions had been nearly stripped of Slumbering Mushrooms. If he wanted more, he had to take a risk.

But the forest’s depths harbored two primary dangers:

The creatures—beasts of magic, twisted plants, and things far worse.The sorcerers of Green Lodge—those who ruled these woods in the shadows.

The deeper he went, the thicker the fallen leaves became, layering the forest floor like a soft, decaying carpet.

Some patches were so dense, they reached up to his knees.

Thankfully, AI chip’s sensory field ensured he wouldn’t step into a hidden pit or a trap.

For the next hour, he remained cautious, keeping within this safer region.

He had unearthed eight Slumbering Mushrooms—a significant improvement over the forest’s outer edges.

But something felt wrong.

It was too quiet.

A Stillness That Should Not Be

Hutson stopped in his tracks.

It was only now that he realized—

There had been no sound at all.

No birds. No insects. No rustling leaves.

Not even the wind.

A suffocating silence pressed against the forest.

He slowly turned his head, scanning his surroundings with narrowed eyes.

Something felt fundamentally wrong about this place.

Then he noticed it.

The trees. The grass. The flowers.

Nothing moved.

Not even the slightest quiver.

It was as if the entire forest had turned into a frozen image.

His instincts flared.

Hutson took three slow steps back—

But something wasn’t right.

He should have been approaching the large tree behind him, but no matter how many steps he took—

It remained the same distance away.

His pulse spiked.

He was trapped.

A Strange Decay

Forcing himself to remain calm, Hutson crouched down and reached out to touch a tall blade of grass.

The moment his fingers made contact—

The entire plant withered in an instant.

It collapsed into ash.

His pupils shrank.

"AI chip, were there any magical fluctuations just now?"

"No anomalies detected."

That made no sense.

"AI chip, scan my mental state. Have I fallen into an illusion?"

"Scan complete. No abnormality detected."

So it wasn’t a hallucination.

Then what was this place?

"Moving randomly is too dangerous. If I walk blindly, I might fall into something unknown—like a fog maze leading to another dimension."

A thought struck him.

"The fog maze..."

His Starry Sky Meditation Technique had helped him navigate through the Mist Maze before.

Could it work again?

Without hesitation, Hutson entered a meditative state, reaching for the familiar four stars in his consciousness—

But there was nothing.

His stars were gone.

And when he turned his mental gaze upward—

The sky was different.

The constellations, the star positions—everything had changed.

It was as if he were standing beneath an entirely different sky.

A different world.

His chest tightened.

This was no ordinary illusion.

He wasn’t just lost.

He had been transported somewhere else entirely.

A faint sound broke through the suffocating silence.

A ragged breath.

A weak cough.

Faint, distant—but in this absolute stillness, it was deafening.

Hutson immediately focused his senses.

Within AI chip’s detection range, three figures appeared—

Three men, running.

They were sprinting through the silent woods, panic etched into every movement.

The leader was dressed in an ornate, gold-trimmed sorcerer’s robe, while the two behind him wore standard apprentice garb.

All three bore the mark of a wooden house on their robes.

Green Lodge.

Hutson’s eyes darkened.

"AI chip, analyze their stats."

Instantly, the data materialized before him.

Leader:

Strength: 6.2Agility: 6.8Constitution: 7.0Spirit: 18.9Second man:

Strength: 3.7Agility: 2.9Constitution: 4.1Spirit: 9.5Third man:

Strength: 3.5Agility: 2.5Constitution: 3.5Spirit: 8.3

Hutson’s muscles tensed.

They were all stronger than him.

Especially the leader.

His spirit power alone was at third-tier apprentice level.

Hutson instinctively backed away, slipping behind a dense thicket of shrubs.

But the problem was—

The plants here were like the grass from earlier.

If he touched them, they would instantly decay into ash.

Hiding was futile.

If those sorcerers were perceptive, they would spot him easily.

"Lord Luen! We’re already in Moonlight Grove’s territory—if we stay any longer, we’ll risk running into their people!"

The weakest of the three gasped between breaths, his voice trembling.

The leader—Luen—turned, his face twisted with fear.

He threw a desperate glance over his shoulder before snarling, "What choice do we have?!"

"I’d rather take my chances with the sorcerers of Moonlight Grove than die to whatever’s chasing us!"

The second man, barely keeping up, panted, "B-but Lord Luen, you’re Malcolm’s brother! The Moonlight sorcerers wouldn’t dare kill you! Maybe... maybe if we lure Shiva’ro here, we can—"

"Fool!"

Luen snapped.

"We don’t even know if we’ll make it that far! I had to burn a priceless enchanted artifact just to buy us a few extra seconds!"

With that, he pushed ahead, widening the gap between himself and the other two.

The two apprentices hesitated, exchanging glances.

Then they realized something.

Luen wasn’t slowing down for them.

In fact—

He was leaving them behind.

Their faces paled.

The real danger wasn’t just what was behind them.

It was the man leading them forward.

Luen was too fast.

His two companions—already struggling—quickly realized the grim reality:

The monster chasing them would catch them first.

Their faces flushed red, lungs burning, as they pushed their bodies to the limit, running with all the strength they could muster.

But deep down, they knew the truth.

Luen wasn’t slowing down for them.

He was using them as bait.

"Malcolm’s younger brother..."

Hutson’s expression darkened.

That name—Malcolm.

He remembered it well.

The sorcerer who slaughtered an entire noble household in the castle.

The man who had introduced himself as a member of Green Lodge.

"What are the chances? His brother also happens to be a third-tier sorcerer apprentice."

This was a complication he hadn’t expected.

In mere moments, Luen and his men reached Hutson’s location.

The instant Luen spotted him, Hutson braced himself—

But Luen didn’t even spare him a glance.

He just kept running.

Straight ahead.

That’s when they noticed something was wrong.

The forest wasn’t letting them pass.

Luen’s face twisted in horror.

"What’s going on?! Why can’t we move forward?!"

His subordinate, gasping for breath, stammered, "C-Could it be a barrier? Maybe the Moonlight Grove sorcerers set something up here?"

Luen whipped his head around, scanning the area.

His gaze locked onto Hutson’s hiding place.

Without hesitation, he raised his hand—

And unleashed a Fireball.

Hutson had been watching closely.

The moment Luen turned, he was already prepared to move.

"Ice Shield!"

"Mana Shield!"

"Dark Energy Shield!"

Three layers of defense snapped into place.

At the same time—

He activated the Ring of the Wind Spirit.

With a burst of speed, he dodged sideways just as the Fireball hurtled toward him.

A split second later—

BOOM.

The Fireball detonated upon impact, consuming the area in a storm of flames.

Grass and trees instantly withered into ash, the explosion kicking up a thick cloud of dust and smoke.

Hutson narrowed his eyes.

Luen had attacked on instinct.

Not because he saw Hutson as a threat—

But because he didn’t care who got in his way.

That meant one thing.

Something even worse was coming.