Standing outside the forest, Heath looked at the dense ice sculptures in the forest. These ice sculptures were hollow. Judging from the remaining spiritual power on them, they should have been real people not long ago. It was likely that the Apprentices who had entered the forest had encountered some kind of accident and were all frozen into ice sculptures. Then, they triggered the protection mechanism on the scroll and were sent out, leaving behind ice sculptures here. What did it do?
To be able to freeze a person into an ice sculpture in an instant, it had to be at least at the level of a Wizard. However, Heath did not find any material of this level in the surroundings.
Was it in the forest?
Upon closer inspection, the forest in front of him was indeed somewhat unusual. The trees growing in the forest were much more sparse than the surrounding trees, and all of them were Snowflake Trees.
This kind of plant that looked like a birch tree was a kind of magic plant that grew in an ice and snow environment. It would only grow in places where the ice element was extremely dense. It would bear a fruit called the Ice Fruit, it was very popular among demonized creatures, and because of this, many demonized creatures would usually reside around the Snowflake Trees.
However, at a glance, the forest was abnormally calm. There were no demonized creatures in the surroundings either. This was indeed a little strange.
“Should I go in and take a look?”
The Heart of the Sea appeared randomly. There would be some unusual situations where the Heart of the Sea appeared. It seemed that everything that happened before his eyes was most likely due to the Heart of the Sea.
If…
Just as he was thinking about this, Heath suddenly frowned and looked behind him.
Just now, he could clearly feel a spiritual fluctuation coming from behind him. Someone was coming, and from the route, it seemed like they were heading to the forest in front of him.
“Let the others test the waters first!”
After thinking for a while, Heath chanted a short spell, and his figure instantly disappeared from where he was. It was the invisibility spell that he had used for many years. He had not improved much on the invisibility spell over the years. However, from his spiritual senses, he could tell that the few people who had come were only at the Apprentice level. The invisibility spell alone was enough for them to overlook him.
After waiting for a while, he heard footsteps coming from behind, followed by a series of voices.
“This d*mned place, it’s freezing. Why is there such a strange island in the ocean? Haru, how much longer do we have to keep going?”
“The Heart of the Sea can appear anywhere. We have to at least search the entire island!”
“Oh my god! Then how long do we have to stay in this ice and snow? If we knew this would happen, we would have been better off floating in the ocean.”
“Speaking of which, did you see the Wizard who came in with us? He should have come here as well, right?”
“Who knows? Maybe he drowned in the sea?”
“How is that possible? That’s a Wizard!”
“So what if he’s a Wizard? Even if he’s a Wizard, he won’t be able to last long in that deep sea without a shapeshifting spell.”
There were three Apprentices who came. They were all male and looked like they were in their twenties. The spiritual age of their souls was similar.
The three of them walked here as they talked. Soon, they saw the forest in front of them.
One of the Apprentices said, “Oh! Look, that’s what’s going on. There are so many ice sculptures!”
“Eh? Really?”
“How could these ice sculptures appear out of nowhere in this world of ice and snow? Could it be…”
The more abnormal the place, the more likely it was to produce the Heart of the Sea. In an instant, several Apprentices blurted out.
“Heart of the Sea!”
The three Apprentices’ eyes lit up, and they immediately rushed in. “Quick, go in and look! Maybe there’s a Heart of the Sea here!”
“Look carefully! Don’t let go of any corner!”
“If you find the Heart of the Sea, you must give it to me first!”
“In your dreams! If you really find it, it’s mine too.”
“D*mn it, do you want to die?”
“With just you? Then come and try it! I’ve been annoyed with you for a long time. Don’t think that I don’t know that you used despicable methods to get Ruth into bed!”
For some reason, the three Apprentices suddenly became irritable and fell into an argument. The two Apprentices even took out their wands and looked like they were about to fight.
Heath frowned.
‘Is this a spiritual spell?’
He clearly felt that the spiritual waves in the forest suddenly became abnormal, which was also the main reason for the changes in the mood of the Apprentices.
“Let’s have a duel, a spar! Today, I’ll show you who the real Wizard is!” “Then let’s fight!”
“D*mn it, do you guys have to force me to fight?”
The three Apprentices finally could not control their emotions and started fighting. At that moment, the three of them waved their magic wands and summoned frost, lightning, fireballs, and other spells at each other.
III
Rumble!
Crackle!
Intense explosions rang throughout the forest, and all kinds of magic beams flashed one after another.
“D*mn… D*mn it, Haru, you b*stard…”
“I… Even if I become a ghost… I will not let the two of you off… D*mn…”
The battle ended very quickly. Two of the Apprentices were covered in blood as they fell to the snow. Although they were quickly teleported out of the snow by the teleportation scroll… judging from the injuries on their bodies, they would not be able to recover in a short period of time even if they were out.
Although the Deep Sea Feast was mainly a trial-type competition, there were quite a number of Apprentices who were injured or even lost their lives in this competition…
“Ha… haha… two… two pieces of trash… you still want to fight with me…”
The only remaining Apprentice was standing in the snow covered in blood, panting heavily. The steam that was like white fog was constantly spewing out of his mouth and filling the air.
Huff! Huff! At this moment, a gust of cold wind blew over from afar and swept up a large amount of snow on the ground.
The wind and snow between heaven and earth suddenly became stronger unknowingly. The snow that was as white as goose feathers fell on the snow one after another and landed on the Apprentice’s hair, face, skin, and arms.
In the clear cracking sound, layers of frost suddenly bloomed on the Apprentice’s body, and soon, a layer of shallow ice flowers had formed.
However, the Apprentice who was in the middle of it seemed to be unaware of it. All he knew was to stand on the spot and celebrate his victory. His eyes were excited.
“It’s coming!”
Heath’s mind was suddenly focused.
A strong elemental fluctuation sounded in the forest. With this violent elemental fluctuation, a large number of snowflakes swept up and wrapped around the Apprentice in the forest.
At the same time, Heath finally understood what was going on in the forest…
