Human-headed Serpent

"Where are the others?"

When Roy came to his senses, Renion and the others had already vanished without explanation.

Looking ahead again, Sophia and Sailen were also dissipating like smoke.

A Moment Later, they too vanished into thin air.

A chill ran through Roy's heart. Goosebumps rose all over his body, as though he had seen a ghost in broad daylight.

"Where are you?"

He tried calling out softly, but received no response at all.

The silent, desolate garden carried an inherently eerie atmosphere.

Earlier, when the others had been around, nothing had seemed particularly unusual.

But now that he had been left alone, it suddenly became inexplicably terrifying.

A chill like sinister cold air swept over him, and goosebumps kept rising across Roy's body.

"Stay calm, I have to stay calm!

People don't just vanish for no reason.

And even Sophia is gone. It probably wasn't some monster attack.

It could be a Mental Illusion!"

Roy forcibly calmed himself as he pondered inwardly.

Serpent Fruit was a special product with mind-altering hallucinogenic effects. Normally, it had to be eaten before it could induce hallucinations.

But there were special methods, such as brewing it into wine or mixing it into alcohol, which could extract its essence and release it as a scent.

Back when living Formal Wizards still remained in the tower, they had all liked using this stuff to brew wine.

But now, after the Forbidden Experiment in the Small World had gone wrong, Witchcraft Energy radiation had contaminated the outside world.

Even the earth veins here might have been affected, creating a Large-scale hallucination.

What he had encountered was likely exactly that.

Hee hee hee hee...

Just then, Roy suddenly heard that inexplicable laughter by his ear again.

It sounded as if someone were frolicking nearby, drawing closer and closer.

Gradually, he could even smell an unfamiliar sweet, fishy scent.

It resembled fermented wine, with a hint of rotten apples.

Roy could not help but waver, his mind gradually turning hazy.

It was a strange sensation, half dream and half reality, like being sleepy. He clearly realized something was wrong, yet had no strength whatsoever to resist it.

The ground beneath his feet felt soft and sticky. Looking down, he was horrified to discover that he had somehow walked into a swamp.

What lay beneath his feet was a mass of bloody and mutilated unknown matter.

It was made from a mixture of blood and minced flesh, a nauseating crimson color, accompanied by a strong scent of rust.

Not far away, several ferocious giant serpents with human heads appeared, winding toward him as they tried to approach.

Their bodies were an eerie red, seemingly also made from blood and minced flesh, spread across the ground. Only their heads still retained human features.

The giant serpents' eyes were hollow and vacant. They seemed to be staring directly at him, yet also seemed completely unfocused.

"Damn it, I'm surrounded by monsters!"

Roy instinctively backed away.

But five Human-headed Serpents converged on him, completely blocking his escape route.

Seeing this, Roy decisively pressed the mechanism on his armguard.

A spray nozzle extended. The High-Pressure Gas Cylinder activated, and Acid Spray burst forth.

Aah!

A miserable scream seemed to pierce his skull, like Banshee's Wail stabbing straight into his brain.

After the serpents ahead came into contact with the acid, they began twisting in agony and rapidly dissolved.

Roy had no time to think. He hurriedly seized the chance to break out of the encirclement, running several kilometers without stopping.

Only after the mist gradually dispersed did he finally stop, still shaken and gasping for breath.

"Wait, what exactly were those things just now?

We never learned about them in general studies. They looked more like unknown creatures spawned by a Mental Illusion—very likely distorted Spiritual Entities..."

Only then did he suddenly realize that he really had been hypnotized by the illusion.

"I had clearly decided to stay where I was and respond to all changes by remaining unchanged, but I never expected that I simply couldn't stay awake!"

Before he had time for regret or self-reproach, the last shred of clarity told Roy that he had not escaped this illusion at all.

He was still trapped inside it, still in danger!

As the smell of wine fermented from rotten apples drifted over again, his consciousness was about to blur once more...

The fresh, natural scent of Fragrant Cattail Water suddenly appeared!

Its calming effect seemed to carry some mysterious magic, clearing his mind and gradually sharpening his vision.

Roy suddenly realized that the perfume he had refined actually had an awakening effect!

He had been relying on this perfume to make money lately, so naturally he had made quite a lot of it.

Even when he went out, he carried some with him and had sprayed some on himself.

He had not expected it to actually work.

"Could the reason I always retained a trace of clarity earlier have been because of its effects?"

Roy hurriedly took out the perfume, sprayed it onto his hand, and covered his mouth and nose to ward off the smell of rotten apples.

Sure enough, his drowsiness melted away rapidly like thin snow beneath the blazing sun.

He finally saw the truth of his surroundings clearly.

His three companions lay sprawled in disarray nearby.

Nia was covered in blood, having actually been injured by Renion's blade.

Andov had been sprayed with corrosive liquid. Even while unconscious, he writhed in pain, while a large portion of his face and neck had rotted away.

Somewhat startled, Roy approached and examined Andov's facial injuries.

It was clearly damage caused by his own mechanism.

This young man, who had originally possessed ordinary looks and a few freckles on his face, had now thoroughly become pockmarked.

He had even been blinded in one eye. His left eye had rotted into something like a spoiled lychee.

"An unfavorable first battle, and I dealt a heavy blow to my teammates..."

His thoughts were a complete mess.

The acid in his armguard mechanism had originally been prepared for enemies, but his teammates had gotten a taste of it first.

"Never mind. I'll stop worrying about that for now and get them out first!

It's dangerous to stay here. If we remain too long, we might get drunk to death in our sleep!"

He quickly rallied himself, carrying everyone to the orchard entrance first before simply bandaging and treating their wounds.

After an unknown amount of time had passed, Sophia returned again, looking somewhat surprised.

"How did you get out?"

"Senior, we were caught in an illusion just now." Roy explained vaguely, feeling a little Guilty Conscience.

Sophia pondered. "The smell alone of those contaminated Serpent Fruits rotting and fermenting created such a massive Mental Illusion.

This is no longer a Level 0 Resource Node. It is a Level 1 Resource Node at the level of a Formal Wizard.

The Serpent Fruits it produces may also undergo some special mutation."

Only then did Roy notice that Sophia held a bag of fruit in her left hand, while Sailen hung unconscious from her right hand like a chick.

She asked with great interest, "How did you resist this illusion?

I underestimated this place earlier. Otherwise, I would not have allowed you to enter the garden."

"I used the Calming Pu Shui Xiang I blended myself. It seemed to be somewhat useful!"

Roy praised his own product. He happened to have brought a bottle with him this time, so he immediately showed it to her.

Sophia carefully sniffed it, then unceremoniously slipped the bottle straight into her pocket.