Knight and Wand

Chapter 9 Cursed Land
The rushing river water completely separated the three young men, and they drifted farther and farther downstream in the waves.

Surrounded by icy water all over, Leon felt something was wrong. He still underestimated the powerful thrust of the rapids.

The waves continued to hit his body, and with nowhere to gain leverage, everything around him became blurred and there was only constant chaos as he was tossed up and down. Soon, he inevitably began to choke on water, and the feeling of exhaustion that made it impossible for him to float became more and more obvious.

No matter how hard he tried to stay calm, hold his breath, and maintain his balance, his already limited remaining strength was gradually depleted, and the raging current was like a ruthless hand that completely swept him into the deep water.

As he was completely swallowed by the river, his consciousness and physical strength slowly faded away.

How are Azerien and the others? Are they still in the water?
Am I going to die?
Pain, depression, silence
The river water pouring into his body caused Leon's remaining spirit to slowly solidify in suffocation, and he began to feel that this might be his end.

A passer-by from another time and space is about to drown at the bottom of this deep river. It is really an abrupt and funny ending.

Unable to struggle any longer, the boy's body sank deeper and deeper until it slowly fell to the bottom of the river.

"Should I say you are lucky or unlucky?"

"Leon" opened his eyes again.

However, those eyes, which were originally black, now flashed bright gold in the deep darkness.

"We can only make a quick decision."

"Leon" nimbly turned over in the water, and his hands skillfully swept the river water to draw runes. The unknown force quickly isolated the surrounding water flow.

The next moment he flew out from the bottom of the river, swimming as fast as a fish.

In the pitch-dark river, "Leon" almost ignored the rapid undercurrent beneath the water.

"Found it." His golden eyes swept through the darkness, he turned around, broke through the river water, and flew over.

Reaching out his hand, "Leon" accurately grabbed Lohak's collar, then turned suddenly and swam towards another boy who was still tumbling on the river surface.

On the river, Azerien was still struggling in the turbulent current.

He had tried his best, but even his best swimming skills could not resist the cruel reality that his strength was about to run out.

Suddenly, the boy felt a huge force hitting him, and then he was pushed away from the turbulent water and flew up.

——Bang!

The surface of the river exploded with a loud bang, and "Leon" soared into the air in the splashing waves. He held Lohak in one hand and Azerien's arm in the other, jumped high from the river, and his figure landed lightly on the cliff on the river bank.

As soon as he stood firm, "Leon" loosened his hands, threw Lohak and Azerien down, his body swayed, and the golden light in his eyes suddenly dissipated.

".Ugh!! - Ugh!" Leon suddenly regained consciousness and fell to the ground in pain, lowering his head and vomiting continuously.

The gurgling river water flowed out of his throat like a floodgate opening, gushing out onto the ground in large streams. He felt as if he was going to vomit out his stomach and lungs.

Azerien was still in shock and had confused eyes. His brain hadn't figured out the situation yet. After all, he thought he was going to die the moment before, and the next second he was thrown to the shore somehow.

But soon, seeing that another companion had fallen to the ground and his life or death was unknown, Azerien woke up as if from a dream, and quickly ran to Lohak to give first aid. He hurriedly stripped off the chain mail and lining on the other party, poured water and pressed his heart and lungs. After a long time, he finally heard the painful cough of the other party waking up.

"Ugh~ cough cough cough—" Lohak choked on the river water in his stomach in extreme pain. He tilted his head and vomited for a long time before he opened his eyes weakly.

".Huh~ I'm saved." Lohak gasped and looked at the chain mail that was taken off by his companion. His helmet was lost after he fell into the water, but he failed to take off the chain mail in time in the water, which made him sink to the bottom of the river first.

"It's a miracle that you were able to pull me ashore. I will never be stupid enough to go into the water wearing armor again in my life."

Azerien sat down on the ground with weak legs. After hearing Lohak's thanks, he smiled bitterly and shook his head, pointing at Leon who was lying not far away and in an even more miserable state.

"I can't even save myself, how can I save you? I don't even know where you were washed away by the river. It was Leon who dragged us out of the river."

Azerien couldn't understand how he had managed to carry the two men from the water to the shore, but he wisely chose not to delve into his companion's secrets.

Leon finally recovered and wiped his face with his hand, then collapsed on the ground exhausted. Having escaped death, he forced a couple of dry laughs in response.

Leon still remembered what he had just experienced in the water. His body was controlled by the magical power to travel through the river, which showed that he was saved again by the unknown existence that had helped him before.

She is here, she must have been paying attention to herself
Unable to suppress his gratitude and curiosity any longer, Leon silently called out to his heart: "Are you still there?"

After waiting for a while, there was still no response.

He couldn't help but wonder if he had taken it for granted. Maybe that existence couldn't communicate through mental consciousness?
This time, he was not afraid of being heard by others like he was last time when he was escorted by mercenaries. Leon simply opened his mouth and asked loudly to the air:

"Hello!.Hello~? Are you still here?"

The two young men next to him stared at Leon in confusion, wondering who he was talking to.

However, a voice that only Leon could hear rang out from his heart:

"Hey~ I'm here, I'm here~, why are you shouting so loudly?"

The girl complained in a faint voice, but this time, her voice sounded clearer and smoother. Finally hearing the concrete response he had been looking forward to, Leon was overjoyed.

"Sorry, I just wanted to see if I had to speak louder so you could hear me."

As he spoke, he scratched his wet hair, feeling excited. Not only was he finally confirming the suspicion that had been bothering him since that day, but he was also excited that there was a friendly being with extraordinary powers living in his body.

If he was the protagonist of those online novels he read in his previous life, could this be his personal grandfather or lady?
But who is she?
Is it the soul of the native people of this world?

Or is it the soul of a "time traveler" from some different time and space like myself?
A myriad of speculations came to my mind.

".There's no need to shout loudly. I can hear your call without you saying anything. I just ignored you before." The pleasant voice answered lazily.

Leon felt a little embarrassed that the other party ignored him, but he didn't have any resentment. After all, the other party had saved his life twice.

“I’m sorry.” Leon shut up and returned to the conscious level to continue the conversation: “I just wanted to thank you for your help.”

"Okay~ don't think too much, I don't have any problem with you."

The girl's voice continued, "You have a lot of questions, and so do I, but I'm too weak. If I hadn't fallen into a place like this, I'm afraid I wouldn't even be able to maintain a conversation. To be honest, I didn't realize that you..."

Before the mysterious consciousness finished speaking, Leon heard Azerien's exclamation.

"Leon! Leon!"

The mental communication was interrupted, and Leon pulled his consciousness back to the reality in confusion.

"What's the matter?" He quickly looked at his companions.

For some reason, Lohak was staring up at the sky in a daze, while Azerien pointed around.

Only then did Leon notice the abnormality of his surroundings.

He had just escaped death and was in a hurry to communicate with the voice in his heart, so he hadn't had time to pay attention. Now that he had regained his consciousness and looked around, he found that the visibility around him was so clear that he could see everything near and far!
In broad daylight, this would not be surprising.

But if his brain was not accidentally flooded with water, he would remember that it should be midnight with a crescent moon in the sky.

Whether it was the fierce battle that broke out when encountering the wild goblins not long ago, or the subsequent desperate escape from the giant mountain bear, even if the fall into the water just now was added, these processes were far from enough to advance time to the dawn.

You know, when the three of them fell into the water, even if they ran to an area with sparse trees, it was still difficult to see the woods and the deadly river under the moonlight.

But now. Leon swallowed and staggered to his feet. The surroundings were neither day nor night.

The forest is still the forest, and the river before them is still the river that almost swallowed them.

But everything around me has an eerie clarity that is difficult to describe.

It is not the bright and visible scene under the sunlight during the day, but all things seem to be covered by a faded filter. Wherever you look, everything seems to be rendered in hazy and strange colors.

Following Lohak's stunned gaze, Leon raised his head, and then he couldn't help but be dumbfounded like him.

There is no sun, no moon, and no stars in the sky.
The entire unreachable sky was an endless dark and colorful scene, with turbid shadows interweaving and surging across the sky, like a black ocean composed purely of crude oil.

"What is this place?"

Lohak's brain was about to shut down. Even the terrifying forest beast before was not as frightening as what he saw now.

Lohak looked at his companions blankly: "Are we actually drowned? Is this the afterlife?"

Leon's eyebrows twisted into a ball: "Calm down, don't talk nonsense, we must still be alive."

Azerien seemed to have regained his sanity. He suddenly spoke in an uncertain and hesitant tone: "You all should have heard the story of the Field of Despair, right?"

Luohak's eyes widened, and he looked around repeatedly before confirming, "You mean, we have entered the cursed land?!"

Leon's memories surged, and he immediately understood what Azerien meant. It was a bedtime story that had been told to the original owner over and over again by his parents since he was a child.

The Field of Despair that Azerien talked about is not some unknown mystery, but a well-known folk legend in the Kingdom of Serrian.

Legends describe a cursed land that exists in various uninhabited corners of the continent.

There are countless treasures and man-eating monsters hidden in it.

The cursed land is sometimes in the depths of a vast forest, sometimes in a desolate wilderness or desert, but the common description is that in that hopeless land abandoned by the gods, there is no sky, no sun, moon, stars, and no boundaries. Once you accidentally walk into it, there is no possibility of returning alive.
".The name of the Cursed Land is quite appropriate."

"Do you know where this is?" Hearing the voice of the girl in his heart, Leon felt relieved for no reason.

He realized that the mysterious consciousness in his heart that could use magic obviously knew more about the current strange environment than his blind guessing.

“Spiritual Field, this is the real name of this area.” The girl’s voice suddenly became a little low, and there was an inexplicable sadness in her ethereal voice.

(End of this chapter)