Chapter 168: Chapter 167: Dangerous Illusion

Colin waited until it was completely silent outside before daring to peek his head out.

The once-dense, snow-covered forest had been flattened by the avalanche. Broken trees were sticking out of the snow everywhere, and the original terrain had changed beyond recognition.

’If I run into this again and there isn’t a convenient cave, wouldn’t I be dead for sure?’

’What’s the best way to survive an avalanche? I should at least have a few backup plans...’

Colin frowned, deep in thought.

"Are we clear to go?" Kase asked from the back. "If we are, then come on back and help your old brother here push the sled, Colin."

"Fine, fine. Someone’s gotta be the leader."

Colin jumped back into the cave. He, his companions, and the sled dogs all worked together, pulling from the front and pushing from behind, to force the sled out of the snow-blocked entrance.

He panted heavily, brushing the loose snow off his clothes.

"If I could use Magic, clearing the entrance with *Burning Hand* would’ve been a lot easier," Colin complained.

Kase flexed his scarred arms, showing off his bulging muscles. "Well, this here’s brute force Magic. Heh, and it looks like the result was just as good."

’This must be what they call physical magic,’ Colin grumbled inwardly.

With that, they climbed onto the sled and continued onward, following the edge of the avalanche’s path.

"The avalanche packed the snow down tight. Makes for a good path," Kase said. "But we gotta keep our eyes peeled. Be a real mess if we hit a tree or some other damn thing buried in the snow."

With that, he gave a command to the sled dogs.

The sled began to glide across the hardened snow. The surface wasn’t perfectly flat, making for a bumpy ride. Everyone was on edge, watching for any unnatural mounds or shapes.

Luckily, this stretch of the journey passed without further incident.

That damned White Dragon had also completely disappeared.

The sled entered another forest nestled between small, snowy hills, following a winding path through the trees.

"Mister Colin, aren’t you going to read?"

"After what we just went through, I can’t settle my mind enough to read." Colin scanned his surroundings warily, searching for the subtlest of clues.

Having asked, Orelia also began to scan the area intently, as if eager to help.

The surroundings were silent. They saw nothing but the occasional snow deer.

Time slowly passed, and the sled continued onward.

About an hour later, the team stopped in a valley to let the sled dogs rest.

"How much farther are we from our destination?" Colin asked.

Kase said, "Probably a few more days’ travel. Because of that White Dragon, I figure we’ve fallen a bit behind schedule."

"Then we should hurry," Orelia said.

Colin looked at the surrounding hills, then raised his head to look at the dark gray sky.

By the light of the shimmering aurora, he could faintly make out a shadow circling high in the sky.

"Speaking of which, do you guys feel like something’s a little off around here?"

At Colin’s words, the others—busy feeding the dogs, reading, or packing—all paused, then began to look around as well.

"I don’t know why, but it seems the stench of decay is gone..."

"Now that you mention it, I do feel like something’s not right."

"Remember Salin? The Half-Sheepman," Colin muttered. "I recall that his kind of Illusion Magic could be seen through with the naked eye. Maybe I can check our surroundings by trying to perceive fluctuations in the Magic Net."

To be more precise, it relied on the Intelligence Attribute.

Drawing on the senses he used for Casting, Colin reached out to perceive his surroundings. Faintly, he thought he could see the air around them begin to ripple.

He suddenly felt a wave of dizziness wash over him.

The image of the valley around them suddenly became illusory, wavering slightly like a projection on the snow.

And beneath this illusion was...

TAP... TAP... TAP.

A pebble tumbled down a cliff face, striking against the protruding rocks.

Colin swallowed hard and yanked back his right leg, which was dangling over the edge of a cliff.

His legs felt weak. Before him was a crevasse, dozens of meters deep, that had just appeared.

He had nearly fallen into a crevasse concealed by Illusion Magic!

The crevasse was over ten meters wide and ran nearly the entire length of the valley, though there was just enough room along the edges for the sled to pass.

’A chill went down his spine. Thank god I put that extra point into Intelligence. If I hadn’t been able to see through that, I’d be dead!’

"Get back!"

Kase, standing behind, quickly dragged Colin to a safe distance.

"Everyone, look up!" Orelia’s voice came from behind them.

The shadow they had seen circling overhead was now diving straight for them. It was a giant snow owl with brilliant white feathers!

The Casters in the group immediately began Casting.

Three Cantrips and an Arrow from Kase flew toward the attacking raptor, instantly tearing it to shreds.

But the moment it was struck, the raptor dissolved into a cloud of white mist. A figure wielding a scythe tore through the vapor, descending upon them.

Seeing this, Kase dropped his Longbow and raised his shield to cover himself and Colin.

A sharp DING! rang out from above, followed by the sound of someone leaping away.

Then, from a distance behind them, they heard the crunch of footsteps on snow.

Looking back, a woman wearing a thick fur cloak and leather clothes was standing in the distance.

She had the same brown skin as the Barbarians. She wore a white deer-skull hood, and her face beneath it was painted with snowflake patterns. She clutched a gnarled wooden stick, from which a scythe blade forged of pure ice extended.

Her attire immediately identified her as a Frostland Druid.

"The ’Cursed’ Kase? Hah, I thought you were dead. Perfect timing. Go and lead your people to serve the Lady!" the Druid said.

Kase asked coldly, "Was that Magic your doing?"

"A small test. To see if the warm south has made your dull brain even duller!"

"Fine. We’re just passing through."

"You can’t leave. The Lady has a task for you."

The Druid glanced at the others. "As for these warmbloods, you may keep them with you for now. Once your task is complete, perhaps the Lady will forgive your past transgressions."

"My tribe... is it safe now?"

"I will remind you one last time: you are still ’the Cursed’," the Druid said, her tone laced with undeniable authority.

"So the yearly hunts our tribe offers, the rituals we perform... and the souls who walked into the snows to be tortured to death... none of that can even buy a simple answer? Does the blood, flesh, and pain we’ve paid mean nothing to you?"

Kase’s voice trembled as he spoke, enunciating every word. "Either let us pass, or answer me: is my tribe still safe?"

The Druid remained silent, merely tightening her grip on her scythe.

’That gesture was an answer in itself.’

Kase turned his head to look at Colin beside him.