It was on a morning when the mist was relatively thin.

As he always did, Ian emerged from a hidden rock crevice. He drank the small amount of morning dew he had collected and prepared to continue his trek.

Suddenly, he froze.

The wind... still carried the bone-chilling cold of the mountains, but the chaotic Magic Power that saturated the air... seemed to have weakened!

It wasn’t his imagination!

He closed his eyes and focused his senses. His Spiritual Power reached out like the most sensitive of tentacles.

It was true. The resistance, like moving through water, had lessened!

He opened his eyes and looked around. There were fewer of the twisted, gnarled trees. In their place stood tree species that, while still strange, were at least passably normal.

The moss on the ground, the kind that could spring to life at any moment, was also gone. Only ordinary, slick rocks and sparse clumps of grass remained.

Even the whispers that had constantly haunted him, fluctuating in intensity, had faded until they were almost imperceptible.

Ian’s heart suddenly began to pound.

He didn’t dare lower his guard, keeping his [Eye of Vigilance] active at its maximum perception range and observing his surroundings carefully for a long while.

There were no lurking Demonized Fierce Beasts, no abnormal Energy fluctuations, no malice from the environment itself.

’Could it be... I’m finally getting out?’

An irrepressible wave of excitement ignited in the depths of his cold, weary heart.

He fought back the urge to break into a sprint. Years of caution compelled him to verify his suspicions first. He began to explore, carefully...

An hour, two hours...

The changes in the environment grew more and more distinct. The chaotic Magic Power continued to weaken, eventually reaching the same level as when he had first entered the mountains. 𝕗𝐫𝚎𝗲𝘄𝐞𝕓𝐧𝕠𝘃𝕖𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝚖

He even found a faint trail trodden by beasts, winding toward the northeast.

He climbed the highest nearby peak and gazed into the distance. The gray-white fog had thinned, and the faraway mountains no longer appeared twisted and grotesque. Instead, they held the natural majesty of the earth.

Ian’s heart hammered in his chest once more. All signs pointed to one thing: he had truly escaped the terrifying mountain range!

He took a deep breath of the "fresh" air, wiped the dust from his face, and, with eyes full of anticipation, continued northeast.

...

「Silver Stream Town.」

A dust-covered traveler appeared on the main road outside of town. He looked as though he’d survived some disaster in the mountains, and his gait was slightly unsteady.

Ian’s appearance attracted some attention, but the townspeople only gave him a few curious glances before looking away.

Around the mountain range, such wanderers were not uncommon.

At a general store in town, Ian traded a few beast teeth for a clean set of clothes, along with some long-lasting dry rations and jerky.

He deliberately used a slightly hoarse voice to haggle, playing the part of a taciturn adventurer.

After replenishing his supplies, he went to the only tavern in town, the best place to gather information.

He ordered a mug of ale, sat in a corner, and silently listened to the chatter of adventurers and townspeople.

At first, the talk was of mundane trifles. But after a few mugs of ale, a burly, stubble-faced man—Baloo, the leader of the town’s adventurers—began bragging about a "harrowing" experience from his youth.

"...Back then, we were chasing a wounded Saber-toothed Tiger and unknowingly ran to the edge of the Glowing Forest to the north!"

Baloo lowered his voice, his face filled with awe. "That place is sinister. It’s foggy even during the day, and the trees grow in bizarre shapes. We didn’t dare go deep, so we just skirted the outer edge of the woods..."

Someone next to him jeered, "Boss Baloo, did you see a ’Fairy’ again?"

"To hell with you!" Baloo swore, but his expression grew serious.

"We didn’t see a Fairy, but we saw... someone walk out of the forest, wearing a gray robe. We couldn’t see their face. They pointed at the ground, and a stone floated up! We were so scared we didn’t dare move, just lay on the ground. That person glanced at us, and then... SWOOSH, they disappeared!"

The tavern went quiet for a moment, then someone whispered, "That was a mountain spirit, right?"

"Could also be one of the legendary Lord Wizards..."

"Shh! Don’t speak of such things! You’ll bring trouble down on us!"

Baloo took a swig of ale and concluded, "From then on, our party made a rule: we never go within three miles of the Glowing Forest. There’s... something there. In any case, it’s not for mortals like us to mess with."

Ian listened and understood. ’Gray robe, Magic Staff, moving objects... That description most likely fits a Wizard Apprentice.’

’He probably used [Wizard’s Hand] or a similar Low Level Witchcraft. As for disappearing in a "swoosh," that was likely an Acceleration or Concealment Witchcraft. To adventurers, such abilities would seem incredible.’

’Glowing Forest...’ Ian committed the name and its general direction to memory.

After finishing his ale, he got up, left the tavern, and found an inn in town to stay at.

After closing the door, he cleaned himself up thoroughly, a contemplative look in his eyes.

’I can’t stay here for long,’ Ian thought to himself. ’This place is too isolated. It’s almost impossible to get any information on the wizarding world, let alone find any resources.’

His journey through the mountains had taken nearly three months. Lacking resources on the way, he hadn’t dared to enter deep Meditation, so his Realm had barely progressed.

The only good news was that by constantly driving off and killing Demonized Fierce Beasts during his journey, the skill levels for his *Secondary Frost Freeze Beam* and *Bloodline Purification Technique* had increased rapidly, bringing them to the verge of Limit-Breaking.

[Invisibility Technique] was a Tier Zero High Level Witchcraft he had newly learned. Along with [Secret Magic Mark], these were the only two High Level Witchcrafts Ian currently possessed.

[Realm: High Level Wizard Apprentice (7.5%)]

[Talent: Moderate Light Attribute Affinity]

[Skill: Star Moon Middle Level Meditation Method: Control (122/1600)

Secondary Frost Freeze Beam: Limit-Broken 1 time (768/800) (Limit-Breaking Effect: 1. Twin)

Secret Magic Mark: Beginner (7/400)

Invisibility Technique: Skilled (217/800)

Bloodline Purification Technique: Control (781/800)

Rock Bear Potion: Beginner (213/400)

Concentration Potion: Beginner (26/400)

Other Skills...]

His goal was to gather resources, resume his cultivation, and continuously improve himself until he was strong enough to return to Shadow Moon Tower openly and with dignity.

There, many unfulfilled wishes—and his family—awaited him.

Early the next morning, Ian left Silver Stream Town carrying a wooden chest.

He didn’t ask for specific directions, only heading north based on the general direction Baloo had described and his own judgment.

His condition was much better than before. At least his clothes were neat, he had basic supplies, and his Spiritual Power, after being honed under high intensity, was more solid and agile.

Two days later, he approached a forest shrouded in a faint, grayish-white mist. The trees here were much more normal than before, and they were exceptionally tall and dense.

The light in the forest was dim, and the concentration of free-floating Magic Power in the air was clearly higher than in Silver Stream Town. It was also relatively peaceful, lacking the chaos and malice of the unknown land he had left behind.

’This should be the place. The Glowing Forest.’

Ian stopped. He didn’t enter rashly, but first found a hidden spot to rest and bring his condition to its peak.

Then, he released his own aura, faintly emitting the Spiritual Fluctuation of a High Level Apprentice.

He took a step forward, walking steadily toward the mist-shrouded Glowing Forest.