1016 Chapter 971

Located in the northwest of the city of Freyport was appeared to be a normal forest, well, at first glance.

The forest was small, luminous, and flourishing. Its canopy was reigned by elm, alder, and walnut, who provided just enough openings for light to pass down for scattered herbs to rule the sloping and slanting ground below.

Bundled tree limbs drooped from every tree, and a variety of flowers, which grew dispersed and sparingly, clashed with the otherwise beige lower level.

A disharmony of wild noises, most of which were small creatures, echoed in the air, and were in harmony with the occasional sounds of birds of prey gliding in the air.

''I see nothing but a normal forest, though,'' Sera mumbled as she descended from the sky and walked into the forest; walking inside, she did, and everything changed.

Outside, daylight still held sway. But as soon as Sera stepped into the forest a moment ago, she mistakingly thought it was a normal forest; darkness surrounded her. From chirping birds to the whistle of the wind, one could hear absolutely nothing, as if all life vanished as soon as one stepped into the forest.

Small brume started appearing all around her, and Sera could swear that the trees, which were normal a moment again, had turned weird-shaped and eerie; no, the entire forest had become eerie.

Sera's heart skipped a beat. Still, she pressed on, marching with slow, careful steps as she spread her senses to watch out for distasteful surprises.

''Eins did not lie; this forest must hide something; it is as if it was created to lure you in.'' She mumbled while recalling another piece of information Eins gave her.

'According to him, the brume occasionally expands or shrinks, depending on factors that no one seems able to make sense of. Let's see what you are hiding.'

Despite her senses, her presence detection skill not working, Sera still pressed on; she had to gain as much information as she could before reporting to Alex. There was no doubt that Eins should by now reported this information to Alex; however, busy as he was, he could not spare enough time to come to investigate, so the duty of investigating to acquire more information fell on her as she was passing by, she could spare a little bit of her time for the investigation. Sera was sure that Alex would be surprised to see him and even more shocked if she were to bring more information about this mysterious forest.

Determined to give her man a nice gift, a surprise worthy of love and reward, Sera continued; however, she stopped and checked her status as she felt something wasn't right.

[Sera Olivia Wexon]

Class: Assassin

Age: 23

Female

Race: Human

Rank 15 [Demigod]

Level 143

Experience Value (XP): 200000/ 500700

Magic Power: 4300/4500

Magic: Darkness/Wind

Attack: 2215

Defense: 2100

Agility: 2200

Intelligence: 1370

Luck: 1170

Gift: Eternal Sword

BP: 0

SP: 0

Skills: [Slash Level 10] [Evasion Level 10] [Wind Steps Level 5] [Shadowless Steps Level 8] [Darkness Art Level 7] [Close Quarters Combat Level 10 Max] [Wind Art Level 5] [Sword Art Level 7] [Presence Detection Level 4] (New)

Special Abilities: [Death Hand] [Shadow World]

Titles: [Slaughterer] [Assassin Queen] [goddess of Death] [Huntress] [Slayer]

''Huh! As I thought, my mana was getting drained. One should not detect anything if you weren't alert. As someone who doesn't possess too many mana, I have to be careful and know how to spend them; therefore, I'm sensitive. I bet Eins didn't detect anything.'' Sera concluded, and her conclusion couldn't be more right on the spot; Eins didn't feel anything because he was too focused on the brume blocking his senses and what possibly could be in the depth of this ominous forest.

''This forest is dangerous, without a doubt. Should I go back?" Sera contemplated; who knows how much mana would be drained from her as she went deeper? What would happen once she ran out of mana and collapsed? The response was simple and didn't need too many thoughts; she would damned, whatever was inside this forest as it had to be, this thing would capture her, and she would die.

Facing the prospect of losing her life and not being able to see Alex anymore, normally, she should have retreated, but Sera was not normal, and she was not someone who was afraid of the unknown; on the contrary, facing the unknown would always make her excited because it means discovering new things, experiencing new challenge and challenges she loved.

Once more, she pressed on, doing her best not let the ominous feeling creep in. She walked in deeper; her mana was slowly getting eaten away, yet she never stopped her feet.

One minute passed, then two, three. With each passing minute, the brume got closer—warning the queen of Assassin that she neared her target.

Suddenly, Sera her chest tightened, ominous sensations spreading through her veins as she once again tried spreading her senses at a distance. Strangely, the presence detection skill worked, however, as if trying to mess up with her didn't sense anything, and yet the ominous senses only got stronger. Alarmed, she came to an abrupt halt.

'What is this feeling? Don't tell me that…' Sera didn't have the time to finish her words. One voice boomed out, shaking the surrounding almost as if a blizzard was passing by.

''Bold ants! How dare you step into this sacred place?!" Boundless pressure followed that voice, pinning the Sera right where she stood. Unable to resist the pressure of that voice's owner, she dropped to her knees, trembling uncontrollably.

Sera could not look ahead; the pressure she felt surpassed anything she had ever felt until now. There is no doubt that the owner of this pressure had surpassed the Demigod realm; not only did the owner's pressure make her unable to move, but it had also stripped her of her mana, turning her into a normal and fragile mortal. The Queen of Assassin had never felt so helpless before, and for a second, she regretted her decision to continue forward.

'Is this the end?' She wondered with a hardened expression.