Inside the damp and dripping rainforest, the ten Hunters moved in a tight formation. Their footsteps were as careful as they could be, and their eyes constantly scanned their surroundings, every one of their senses sharpened to the extreme.
The forest canopy towered above them, and the colossal trees in the forest, easily stretching over a hundred meters tall with their wide, moss-covered leaves, shielded the group from the brunt of the heavy downpour.
Only the occasional droplets filtered through, pattering softly onto the damp ground beneath their boots as mud clung to their soles, the stench of wet earth and decomposing foliage strong in the air.
Noel stayed exactly where Yi Wenzhou had assigned him to be, which was near the rear of the formation beside Luther, the hulking and muscular dark-skinned Berserker with a blue spear strapped to his back.
Noel and Luther walked in silence, as he would rather not be distracted. It was his first time inside an E-rank rift, and he was deep in monster territory. If he allowed himself to be careless, this could very well be his last rift.
Time passed quickly, and Noel lost track of how long they had been walking inside this rainforest. All he could hear was the ever-present chirping of insects, the rhythmic croaking of frogs, and the occasional buzzing of flies.
There was a small amount of fog in the forest that greatly hindered their vision, but everyone in the party were Hunters, so they could still make out their surroundings.
Surprisingly, no monster had appeared yet despite how long they had been walking in the forest.
Noel and the others continued walking, but merely ten minutes later, it did not take them long for him to discover something wrong with the forest.
The fog, which was light at first, started creeping in slowly, and it became extremely thick. It thickened considerably until the visibility was reduced to mere meters. The shapes of the trees, which had been clear before, suddenly became vague, and even the outlines of his fellow Hunters faded into silhouettes.
"What's going on?" Noel asked Luther as he glanced cautiously at his surroundings. However, there was no response from his partner.
"I don't know, but the formation's breaking!" Luther responded gravely, drawing his spear and gripping it tightly.
Noel narrowed his eyes at Lancelot's words and hurriedly glanced around. He could barely make out the crimson-robed girl in the middle of the formation, but as she took a few more steps, she vanished into the mist completely.
"Hey! Noel! Can you hear me?" Luther bellowed, but his voice sounded distant and somewhat muffled by the strange thickness of the air.
Noel turned around quickly, and to his surprise, Lancelot was no longer close to him!
"What's happening?" Noel muttered in surprise. He was completely shocked by the sequence of events that occurred.
He looked around wildly and tried his best to locate his teammates, but no matter how much he squinted his eyes, he couldn't see anything. The mist, which was getting thicker with each passing second, completely obscured his vision, and he couldn't help but panic.
Noel promptly pulled out the pair of daggers he had bought from the Black Market. Although he was not very adept at using them, he had no choice to but use them. At the very least, he could try to put up a fight.
As Noel took yet another cautious step forward, voices started appearing inside his head. They were extremely distorted at first, no more than garbled echoes brushing against the edges of his consciousness, but with each step he took, the static unraveled, and the murmurs began to form clearer and more familiar shapes in his mind.
"Noel… come here." A voice softly whispered to him. It was soft and caring, and something about it warmed the cold in his chest.
The mist in the forest slowly dissipated, and when it finally cleared away, he found himself no longer standing in a rainforest but in the modest living room of his childhood home. The images in his head were so real, and the scent of steamed rice and spices from his mother's cooking tickled his nose.
His throat tightened, causing him to feel asphyxiated.
Sitting on the couch were two blurry figures, as if half-formed from smoke; but he knew them. Even if their faces blurred every time he tried to focus, the warmth in their postures, the gentle way the man set down his newspaper, and the quiet hum of a tune from the woman in the kitchen were all unmistakable to him.
"Mom…? Dad…?" His voice cracked as he whispered those words.
The man turned, and though the face remained unclear, the eyes twinkled in a way Noel hadn't seen in years.
"You're home early, Noel…" the blurry figure said, and Noel almost collapsed right there.
His legs carried him forward, and after so many years had passed, he hadn't realized just how much he'd missed this and how desperately he had craved just a moment of being surrounded by the warmth of his family.
In the corner of the room, a younger boy sat cross-legged, tapping on a game console, his familiar grin tugging at Noel's heart.
"Julius…" Noel knelt beside him, brushing his hand against his brother's shoulder. It felt solid and real, and he laughed softly.
"Come sit, Noel. Dinner's almost ready." His mother's voice called gently.
Dinner?
That can't be…
Noel immediately felt a tremble in his chest, as if a string tightened around his heart.
Noel froze.
Julius was in a hospital bed, struggling in a coma, and he hadn't left the hospital in years.
This is a complete lie!
A sharp ringing filled his ears, like a struck chord vibrating through his skull. The light in the room flickered and started to dim, and the smiling shapes of his family trembled and wavered like images on water.
The walls cracked, and the warm scent of home dissolved into nothingness, and then it was gone.
The damp rainforest snapped back into his view, with the mist still as thick as ever and the towering trees looming above.
Noel looked around and frowned, his heart still beating furiously from the illusion he just escaped. Nonetheless, it didn't take long for him to come to a jarring conclusion.
He was alone.
"What a scary illusion. This rift is more dangerous than I thought." Noel muttered as he glanced around the rainforest, and he immediately raised his guard to the maximum.
"I need to recoup with the rest of the team as soon as possible. It's too dangerous to stay here alone." Noel mumbled as he gripped his pair of daggers tightly. However, he had barely taken a single step forward when his instincts suddenly screamed at him.
Noel instantly got into a combat position, but before he could make sense of his surroundings, a flash of green tore through the mist like lightning!
Noel barely ducked, and he felt something extremely sharp graze the side of his neck. The next second, a searing pain spread through his neck!
"Fuck—!" Noel hissed and stumbled backward, clutching the open wound tightly. Hot, red blood ran between his fingers and dripped onto the pristine white of his Moonwalker coat, staining it crimson.
"What the hell was that?!" Noel growled angrily as he looked around the forest, aiming to get a clear look at the culprit.
That was far too close! Had he hesitated and moved even a second later, that strike would have separated his head from his body!
The searing pain on his neck burnt, but Noel gritted his teeth and remained on alert, his vision sharpening.
He couldn't afford to lose focus now, or his head might really be separated from his body!
Noel immediately stepped back and created a distance between him and the unknown assailant. His fingers immediately blurred through the air as he drew runes in rapid succession, and in less than three seconds, a pale black magic circle bloomed beside him.
A black swirling portal suddenly appeared, and a tall figure clad in black armor slowly stepped out. His golden hair glistened, and his exquisite face maintained a stoic expression. In his hands was a snow-white spear, and the figure exuded a regal aura.
Noel's instincts suddenly screamed at him again, and the green flash appeared in his line of sight. However, before the green flash could reach him, the tall figure suddenly moved and appeared in front of him, and in the next second, a loud clang sound echoed in the forest.
The green blur was thrown back, crashing into a tree over ten meters away, while the tall warrior only slid three meters away!
It was absolutely shocking!
Noel immediately used the brief moment of reprieve he had to pull out a low healing potion from his spatial ring and quickly uncorked it, pouring the colorless liquid over the gash in his neck.
A cool sensation spread across his wound, dulling the searing pain he was feeling, and the wound slowly began to close.
A system prompt and a translucent screen suddenly appeared in front of him, but Noel immediately closed it. He couldn't afford to check it yet.
He exhaled slowly and raised his eyes through the mist. He glared at the spot where Kaiser threw the assailant away, a murderous glint in his eyes.
A loud thud sound suddenly echoed in the forest, and a few moments later, the green blur finally revealed itself.