Moonshadow Necklace

The five met at Celine and the other two's residence on Dew Street. Once Liam had distributed everyone's supplies, they were ready to set out.

To save time and conserve their strength, they had already decided to hire a carriage to take them to the entrance of the Whispering Forest.

Inside the carriage, the five sat in two rows. Liam, the halfling wanderer, spread a parchment map open on the floor.

"Although we've already discussed this together before, I'd like to go over it again," he said to his teammates.

"Our destination is deep within the Whispering Forest." He gripped his dagger and pointed at a circled spot on the map—the place where Gray, the Orc warrior, had said he had seen Charlotte Fenrir. "Starting from Colin Town, it'll take about a day to get there. Even at our fastest, it'll be noon tomorrow."

He raised his head and continued in a grave tone.

"For the past few decades, Colin Town has made its living hunting low-star Demonic Beasts, but very few people are willing to venture deep into the Whispering Forest.

"There are two reasons. First, that area is the territory of quite a few three-star Demonic Beasts. Only Veteran Level professionals and three-star adventurers have the strength to enter.

"Second, that place is a mana-depleted zone."

He paused, his gaze sweeping over Ulshi, Elaine, and Lynn one by one. "For casters, a mana-depleted zone means that even with magical implements, it's very difficult to recover by absorbing mana from the outside world..."

Hearing that, the pale-faced Ulshi pointed indifferently at the longbow on his back. "It's fine. I can shoot arrows anyway."

Elaine smiled and said, "I brought enough mana potions." As she spoke, she looked at Lynn. "Don't worry. I'll share them with you."

Lynn nodded to thank her, but in truth, he did not think he would need those things.

Even in a mana-depleted zone, while the mana recovery effects of his Magic Web and Super Magic Staff would be weakened, [Mana Drain] would not be affected.

Therefore, he could replenish his mana by killing Demonic Beasts and maintain his endurance.

"In short," Liam concluded, "we must be careful, then be careful again—especially the two of you, Lynn, Elaine!"

After all, he, Celine, and Ulshi were all Initiate Level professionals and two-star adventurers. They still had the ability to protect themselves against three-star Demonic Beasts, but Lynn and Elaine would be in great danger.

Elaine was made nervous by his words at once. After taking a deep breath, she took out an item radiating mana from her staff.

It was an extremely exquisite necklace, pendanted with a moon-shaped white gemstone that gleamed with a warm, lustrous sheen.

Elaine carefully stroked the moon gemstone with the pad of her finger, the corners of her lips lifting slightly.

Clearly, she cherished and loved this item very much.

"This is a gift from that druid friend of mine. It's called the 'Moonshadow Necklace,' and a second-ring spell, [Invisible Shadow], is inscribed inside it."

"Invisible Shadow?" Ulshi asked with great interest. As a ranger professional who possessed casting ability, he had clearly also learned about this spell before.

Elaine nodded and raised the moon gemstone necklace. "After activation, it can form a special area within a ten-meter range. Everyone inside the area can conceal their forms and won't leave behind any traces."

In other words, with this magic item, they could become invisible people in the forest!

Lynn's eyes lit up. As expected, it was good stuff.

Ordinary magic items at most possessed some special abilities, such as emitting light and heat or resisting mental attacks, but this necklace could actually have a second-ring spell inscribed into it.

He wondered how much a magic item of this level was worth.

"We can wait until we enter the deeper area before using it. Does it have any restrictions, or anything we need to pay attention to?" Liam asked cautiously.

"The most important thing is to pay attention to the range. Also, try not to make any sound. Once an enemy discovers us and intrudes into the spell's range, the concealment will fail.

"As for the rest, it's mostly fine. The Moonshadow Necklace absorbs the moon's radiance at night to replenish its mana. If necessary, I can also use my own mana to sustain the spell. It can last at least an hour..."

As she spoke, Elaine's green eyes looked toward Lynn.

If she had not joined Lynn's Magic Web, with her previous mana pool, it would have been very difficult for her to use the Moonshadow Necklace.

After silently expressing her gratitude to Lynn in her heart, she temporarily put the necklace away.

There were still guards setting up checkpoints on the outskirts of the Whispering Forest. After the group showed their adventurer badges, they passed through smoothly, while the carriage returned from there.

"Our main task is to find someone, so we should avoid battle as much as possible. I know a road where Demonic Beasts are sparsely distributed. Follow me."

As a ranger, Ulshi was also an outstanding jungle hunter. His excellent scouting and exploration abilities could be put to great use here.

And Liam, the halfling wanderer, and Celine, the pantherkin, possessed similarly keen senses.

It could be said that the three of them were born for this kind of wilderness adventure.

As for Lynn and Elaine, the two mages, they were arranged in the center of the team as the key targets for protection.

The journey was very peaceful. Areas where Demonic Beasts were sparse were destined to be rarely visited during the day by adventurers who came to hunt Demonic Beasts.

Only at night, when they needed to find a place to set up camp, would they come to such places.

Because of that, quite a few remnants of campfires could be found along the way.

"Strange..." After traveling for nearly half a day, Ulshi suddenly stopped beside a campfire, frowning as he examined the fire pit on the ground.

Within the circle piled from broken stones, a layer of ash from wood that had burned to nothing covered the ground.

Lynn looked carefully but did not notice anything unusual. Still, he trusted that with a ranger's experience, Ulshi could see more details.

So he asked, "Is something wrong?"

Ulshi drew an arrow and stirred the ashes with it. "Very fresh. Someone should have camped here just last night, but something's very wrong. Normally speaking, firewood wouldn't burn this completely. When adventurers leave, they use soil to put out the campfire and prevent a fire from breaking out."

He emphasized, "In Colin Town, this is an established custom. In some areas, it's even been written into local regulations."

Lynn caught the clue. "So, you think they left suddenly and didn't have time to put out the campfire at all?"

Ulshi nodded lightly. "Very likely. We should be able to find some traces nearby."

The others immediately grew alert at his words. Pairing off in twos, they carefully searched the surroundings.

Sure enough, Liam soon found some tracks not far away.

"Signs of a fight, and then..." He looked ahead. Lynn followed his gaze and saw, in front of a thicket over a dozen meters away, a faint trail of earth whose color did not quite match the rest.

"These are drag marks. Looks like someone was taken away after they fell."

He carefully checked again, then concluded, "There's no blood. Whoever attacked them must have been very strong, strong enough to knock them down with ease, or else they had some special control ability."

Just then, the beast-form Orc Celine flicked her leopard tail, her nose twitching, and suddenly said in a low voice toward the depths of the forest, "There are people over there. The smell of blood... very close to us!"

The group exchanged glances and quickly made a decision, gathering together, while Elaine gently placed her hand on the Moonshadow Necklace.

Invisible magic enveloped the five of them. They felt nothing unusual among themselves, but in the eyes of creatures in the outside world, those five people seemed to have suddenly evaporated from the face of the earth.