"Ah… bah!" Daniel spat out the snow stuck to his lips, then quickly closed his mouth. Even though his body was protected by invisible magical barriers, the biting wind and blinding snow battered him relentlessly. Each gust slammed into him like a wall of ice.
He raised his head, but all he could see was a curtain of swirling white. The jagged peaks stretched endlessly around him, their shapes vanishing into the blizzard. He had no sense of direction.
For now, all Daniel could do was find a cave to shield himself from the storm, rest, and wait for the weather to calm before figuring out where he was. With his abilities, once the storm cleared, he could return to the human world even without using his teleportation spells.
Honestly, this wasn't even his fault. His teleportation spell had been aimed inland toward New Jersey. He had intentionally used only a small amount of magic, expecting to travel just two or three hundred kilometers—maybe a little off target, but not too far.
What he hadn't expected was that the real issue wasn't his magic or the teleportation circle, it was that cursed ancient cauldron.
When he had cast the teleportation spell, a sudden surge of magic erupted from the cauldron and interfered with his spell, throwing him completely off course and leaving him stranded in this frozen wasteland.
Still, this was definitely Earth. The magical inertia of the environment confirmed it. And it wasn't the North or South Pole, despite the raging blizzard, the day-night cycle was normal. The poles were currently in their long periods of polar day or night, so those could be ruled out.
That left only a few options: perhaps he was in Alaska, the Canadian Arctic Archipelago, or somewhere deep within the United States. But none of those places should have snowstorms this severe, and the endless peaks he saw weren't something you'd find on the mainland.
Daniel briefly considered the Alps or some remote mountains in Europe or Asia, but he dismissed the thought. His magic expenditure hadn't been nearly enough to send him halfway across the world.
The storm here was deadly. Any ordinary person would've been swept away by the winds long ago or buried alive if they triggered an avalanche. But Daniel wasn't ordinary—he could walk through the blizzard as if it were just a bad rainstorm, even finding the energy to complain along the way.
He could have taken out his Mjolnir and flown straight upward, maybe breaking through the storm clouds entirely. But he didn't. The mountains around him felt… strange. The magical inertia here was slightly weaker than usual, and that made him cautious.
In remote and untouched places like these, magic often had a "livelier" presence, but something beneath the surface felt off. As he walked, he realized he was moving in a straight, unwavering line, as if something ahead was pulling him toward it.
For the next hour and a half, Daniel pushed through the icy storm, his feet moving effortlessly despite the treacherous terrain. Eventually, he emerged from the white void and spotted the base of the tallest mountain nearby. Half-buried under the snow, almost invisible, was the dark mouth of a cave.
He scanned the area carefully. The heavy snowfall had erased all traces of life. No footprints, no signs that anyone had passed through here in years. If he hadn't sensed the faint irregularities in the flow of magic, he would have missed the cave entirely.
There were no protective wards, no defensive magic circles... nothing. To magical sight, this was just another forgotten peak. And yet, the energy emanating from within the cave was… different. It felt alive, fresh, like stumbling upon an oasis in a desert.
The environment itself retains traces of presence. Even if wind and snow cover all physical signs, at the microscopic magical level, the "breath" of human activity lingers for a long time. But here, it was nothing. Not a single trace of life.
Daniel stepped inside, his boots crunching against the icy floor. There were no footprints along the walls or floor—nothing. Could there be some powerful magical artifact hidden deep inside? Or maybe this accidental teleportation had led him to a hidden treasure?
He smirked. "Well, I didn't find a mountain maiden bathing in a hot spring, but maybe this counts as an adventure."
The cave sloped downward at a gentle angle, the walls unusually smooth, almost as if they'd formed naturally. It wasn't so much a cave as a tunnel—a secret path leading to the mountain's depths. The space was narrow, just wide enough for two or three people to walk side by side. The air was thin and stale, making him wonder if he'd end up at a dead end.
Daniel raised his wand, its tip glowing faintly and illuminating the way forward. If something dangerous lurked ahead, his light might alert it, but it would also give him enough time to react and summon the Mjolnir.
He walked on for hundreds of meters. Then a thousand. Still no end. Just when he started to wonder if the tunnel would ever end, he saw it, a faint blue light glowing in the distance.
He quickened his pace. The tunnel widened, and suddenly he stepped into an enormous underground cavern. Rock pillars, some as tall as trees, rose from the floor to the ceiling, stretching as far as he could see. Somewhere deeper inside, he could hear the faint trickle of running water.
Before he could take in more, a hoarse, aged voice echoed through the cavern.
"Oh… a distinguished guest has arrived."
Daniel snapped to attention, his eyes darting toward the sound. Two figures slowly emerged from behind a massive stone pillar, hundreds of meters away.
One of them, a young man in a deep purple robe, stood barefoot and stirred something in a small bowl with a pair of chopsticks. The other—a frail-looking old man—sat cross-legged, floating in mid-air.
The old man's bare torso showed a wiry, almost skeletal frame. A blue cloak hung loosely from his neck, and his face, devoid of any hair, was framed by long white eyebrows that extended past his cheeks.
The younger man, though clothed, was no less strange. He too was barefoot, as if shoes were foreign to him. The contents of the small bowl in his hands radiated an astonishingly dense magical energy, causing Daniel to frown in curiosity.
Daniel quickly composed himself and gave a respectful bow. "I greet you, Elder."
He spoke in Chinese. These two weren't speaking English, and from the look of things, he might not even be in the United States anymore. The thought made him smile wryly. "Elder, I ended up here by accident. May I ask… where exactly is this place?"
"This is the Himalayas," the old man replied. His expression didn't change, his gaunt face looked carved from stone, but his eyes carried a warmth that immediately put Daniel somewhat at ease.
Still, Daniel didn't drop his guard. The old man's strength was impossible to gauge. If either of them had attacked him, he would have instantly retaliated with a devastating lightning strike. But neither of them showed hostile intent. The young man continued stirring his bowl, and the old man's magic felt more defensive than aggressive.
"I sensed a faint spatial ripple earlier," the old man continued. "It seems you were teleported here from far away."
Daniel's eyes widened slightly. The distance between here and New York was enormous. He had traveled across countless mountain ranges to arrive here, if he hadn't detected the odd magic flow in this region, he would have left long ago.
"Yes," Daniel admitted. "I was in New York, but something interfered with my spell, and I ended up here by mistake. I'm sorry if I've disturbed you."
"It's no trouble," the old man said with a small nod. "We rarely receive visitors here. Come, we're having dinner. Join us."
Without waiting for a response, the old man floated back behind the pillar. The young man shot Daniel a curious glance before following.
Daniel finally let out the breath he'd been holding. These people were strangers, but there was no malice in their magic.
The old man's power, however, was something else. It was vast, ancient, and deep. Daniel had only ever heard of two legendary mages in this world—The Ancient One and Merlin. But this man… this man was undoubtedly on their level.
Daniel's lips curved into a faint smile and thought, 'Just how many legends are hiding in this world?'