The forest behind the mirror

Reflected on the surface of what appears to be a mirror made of a liquid substance, two beautiful figures appeared from a distance.

The strange object is located in the center of a cave in the deepest part of the subsoil. The place that was originally a picturesque work of nature completely isolated from the outside world, has undergone great modifications under the hands of the first visitors who arrived here.

Large stone pillars with various inscriptions on their structure are arranged symmetrically at the edges of the cave. The floor that was originally made of dirt and pebbles was transformed into a large stone slab on which an intricate magical circle is drawn.

Qian Mei's magical literacy is almost zero, but after probing the area for traps she found nothing unusual, and coupled with the stable spatial fluctuations she accurately deduced the purpose of such arrangements.

In her previous life, the most important thing when exploring ancient ruins and secret kingdoms was not to obtain treasures before anyone else, but to secure a way back.

Especially when the exploration location is in a different space or it is necessary to access through some type of portal. There is no guarantee that the door will always stay open and there is a high risk of getting trapped.

Qian Mei is sure that this world is no exception to this rule.

On the other hand, there is no certainty of what will happen once inside: traps, strange phenomena, conspiracies, betrayals, etc.

Qian Mei has experienced many adverse situations of this type, to the point that she already has the necessary precautions engraved in her instinct to have a relatively safe journey.

In the current situation, it seems that someone has already taken the first step to protect the portal. Although she cannot completely rely on the preparations of others, there is no doubt that this makes her work a little easier.

Any activity related to space requires great effort and in the case of Qian Mei who has been weakened, it requires the use of extremely scarce resources such as spirit stones.

A quarter of an hour later, Qian Mei added a protective formation to prevent accidents, making the appearance of the cave even more strange, showing a combination of magic and cultivation.

Qian Mei was full of curiosity about the magic circle and gained a lot of inspiration to improve her own skills; She wanted to stay a little longer but it's time to leave, Anna has been looking at her impatiently and has almost devoured half of the snacks that she hid inside her clothes.

The travel process was not very complicated, the people who came before already left everything prepared and only needed to cross the liquid mirror.

After entering, a feeling of wetness ran across Qian Mei's delicate skin. Once inside, the experience was similar to diving into the water and after a few seconds the landscape suddenly changed to a lush forest.

The dazzling rays of the sun affected Qian Mei's vision due to the abrupt change in lighting, but that did not stop her from keeping one hand on the hilt of the sword.

She is not on vacation and since she set foot in this place, Qian Mei's alertness has been raised to the maximum.

Nature should be a very pleasant place for a dryad, but the feeling this forest gives her is unsettling, she can't erase the uncomfortable feeling in her chest, as if something here is out of place.

At first glance, there are no signs of any enemies or traps in the surrounding area. But as expected this is not a smooth ride; There are no traces of the portal or Anna either.

Qian Mei classified the current situation as a typical random teleportation, it is not surprising and is within the scenarios she had foreseen. However, two new priorities have been added: finding the portal and regrouping with Anna.

Before crossing the mirror they agreed that Anna would hide in Qian Mei's shadow in the hope of avoiding this type of situation, which obviously failed.

After a quick analysis, Qian Mei without hesitation used one of the precious spirit stones until it turned into dust, causing a series of brilliant talismans to rotate around her.

She has not forgotten the strange feeling after entering this place. Unlike the forest where she was doing experiments yesterday, the vitality here is practically zero, which makes no sense.

Which made Qian Mei doubt if she is already being attacked and want to make sure she is not under some kind of illusion or spiritual interference.

As a result, she confirmed that she has not been poisoned or affected by a spirit-type ability. However, the uneasiness in her chest has not disappeared, Qian Mei is sure that there is something wrong with the surroundings.

Without any clear clue as to what this forest was hiding, Qian Mei decided to stay alert and observe carefully. The next step is to use the inscriptions she left on Anna's armor as a guide to find her as soon as possible.

Qian Mei does not fear for the girl's safety, during the short period of time they shared, she has noticed Anna's abnormality.

In Kyle's words, she is a talented girl with a special physique, but Qian Mei's intuition tells her that there are more secrets behind it.

But regardless of Anna's strength, it is undeniable that she has a playful and mischievous mentality. If someone is clever enough, it is very likely that he will manage to fool that silly girl.

Making sure she hadn't missed anything, Qian Mei decided it was time to leave. But before she took her first step an invisible hand hit her waist.

- Me...i

The situation is disconcerting, she already verified that she was not affected by spiritual abilities which proves that the voice is real, but the problem is that there is not sign of movement in the surroundings.

The only answer is that something is indeed wrong.

But she didn't have much time to reflect, the invisible person grabbed Qian Mei by her clothes and although she wanted to resist, a powerful impulse made her fall backwards.

This is not enough to disconcert an experienced fighter like Qian Mei, she recovered quickly and already had her sword drawn with the intention of counterattacking.

However the surprising changes in the surroundings gave her the answer she had been looking for.

Qian Mei realized that she was now inside a huge bubble and the missing Anna was pointing her finger at her.

- Stupid Mei, stop ignoring me. Also, don't stay stunned, those bad guys are already on their way.

Outside the barrier, there is a thin layer of almost invisible fog. Translucent figures move at full speed under the cover of the trees, waiting for the right moment to attack the newcomers.

By observing carefully, Qian Mei noticed that even the trees and bushes are moving slowly, causing the terrain to change little by little without anyone noticing.

Furthermore, the portal has not disappeared and is right behind her.

She immediately knew that the culprit of everything was the fog, the principle behind its operation is similar to that of a mirage in the desert, confusing the viewer's senses but without directly interfering with them.

However, this fog is not that simple, the level of interference of the five senses is at an unprecedented level.

Despite the feeling of incongruity that Qian Mei had at all times, there is no doubt that the fog managed to affect the perception of the experienced cultivator since she entered the forest.

Now she understands why Anneth wanted to keep them away from here. If an ordinary student enters this domain, he has no other fate than death.

Unless they have special abilities like Anna or are able to use spiritual perception like her, there is no safe way to advance in this sinister forest and they will most likely end up as food for the ghostly creatures lurking in the shadows.