He entered the hall, a backpack was tugged onto his right shoulder, clothes were all looking as good as new.
His eyes shifted towards Maya and then Synthia. "Are you both ready?" His voice came out low, but firm.
Both of them gave a small nod, and Synthia got up from her couch and walked towards Leon.
"I should be asking that from you, newbie." She gave a small wink as she teased him a little.
He didn't show any emotions, just simply walked towards the main door.
"Then, let's leave for the journey." He said, putting his first step outside of the Dark Mage Tower.
A carriage was waiting for the three of them outside the mage tower. The carriage had two horses, a guy sitting at the front, and the leashes of the horses were in his hands.
Leon walked outside, gaze of his gaze fell onto the carriage as he started walking towards it.
When he reached there, he opened the door and put his backpack on the seat.
He turned his gaze back to the mage tower, looking at Synthia and Maya, who had just left the tower.
They both reached the carriage soon, put their stuff inside too, and all three of them sat inside the carriage.
"We are all here, you can lead the way now, Mister," Leon said, eyes were slightly closed, and arms crossed.
Maya and Synthia were sitting in the opposite seat from him. Maya was looking outside the window, and Synthia was chit-chatting with her.
Soon, they reached a point where the route ahead of them was under construction, and there was a huge sign next to it stating 'No passing for a few days.'
"I think we can't go this way." The coachman said without looking back at them.
Synthia peeked outside through the window. "Tch... they had to do all this today only?"
She didn't take any pause between her words and said. "Take from the route of the jungle, we don't have time to waste."
The coachman hesitated as he refused to move the carriage towards that route.
"Why are you hesitating? Do as I said." Synthia's voice came out loud.
"O-Okay.. miss." The coachman's voice came out low, but the tone was a bit scared.
He lifted the leash as he pulled it backwards, and directed the horses towards the right.
The carriage started moving once again. The sun was also setting now, the golden rays of the setting sun were covering the entire land.
There was a small pond next to the road on which they were going.
The rays of the sun were reflecting on it, and the scenery was looking beautiful.
Synthia's attention turned towards Leon, her voice came out low. "Newbie, you know this jungle, which we are passing through, is known as 'The Never Return Jungle'."
He didn't say anything and just looked at her with a straight face. But Maya's voice came out low. "N-never return jungle?"
Both of them turned their attention towards her, her face was completely covered with sweat, fingers were wrapping around each other nervously.
Synthia leaned in slightly towards Maya, raised her finger as she touched her cheek with it. "Yes, this jungle is known as the 'Never Return jungle'."
"Do you want to know why?" She said, teasing her slightly.
Maya's voice came out low, but it was a bit shaky. "N-no.. I don't want to know about it."
Leon didn't waste any time and jumped into the conversation. "Tell me more about it, Senior."
Synthia turned her attention towards him, a small wicked grin curled up on her lips as the aura around her started to turn omniscient.
"The stories that we used to listen to stated that whoever went to this jungle at night time, never returned."
She took a small pause as she continued. "And their bodies were nowhere to be found either."
"So, no one dared to go through this route."
A small screech came out of Maya's mouth. "EEEE!!"
Leon's gaze shifted towards the mirror as he started looking outside. "Don't tease her, senior. She might pee herself."
"Yeah, yeah. I'll not." She said as she leaned back into her chair, resting her head on the cushion.
When they entered inside of the jungle, the inside of the jungle was dark. Massive trees stood everywhere, their trunks thick and ancient. The branches were old and twisted, stretching out and weaving together until they blocked the sky completely.
No kind of light was able to reach the ground, the only source of light inside the jungle was that of luminous insects, and their soft light was pulsing in the darkness.
Long, creepy vines were wrapped around the trees like veins, covering the entire bark, and stretching from one trunk to another, binding the entire jungle like it was one single living organism.
Leon's eyes were scanning through the entire jungle, noticing every detail inside the dungeon clearly.
Draviel's voice rang inside his mind. "Kid, I need to tell you something."
'Why are you trying to contact like this, Draviel? What if someone hears you?'
"No one except you can listen to me, kid."
'Hmm, if that's the case, then explain the thing you were about to tell me before.'
Leon's face remained calm, there was no kind of expression on it, eyes were still scanning the forest.
"I think that the root cause of this 'No Return Jungle' is not some kind of puzzle, but monsters."
'Monsters? Hmm... If you state it like that, then I think so too, because these trees, and the presence in here, isn't normal.'
"You sure catch on quick," Draviel said, voice firm.
Leon didn't converse with Draviel anymore, his eyes remained focused on the outside.
A small sigh escaped through his mouth, joining both of his hands together, and then he flexed them forward to let go of all the tension.
A/N
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