Chapter 126: Botanical Garden

"Senior Sharon, what exactly is this place?"

The three interns were mostly cowering behind Sharon, their eyes wide with infinite terror on their faces.

They had never seen such monsters; the plague and the mental shock were constantly driving them toward collapse.

Before them, these twisted, sickly, even nauseating plants—roses with tumors and morbid colors, witch thorns divided into strange shapes, and morbid greenery spreading everywhere—these sights would challenge their psychological endurance.

As time passed.

The three young mages, Pavla, Leon, and Vernon, gradually began to see traces of careful tending within these plants.

Moreover, vaguely through their twisted and diseased postures, they could see beauty and vitality within them.

It was just that none of them dared to speak it aloud.

"Is the Realm of Dread like this?"

Even Sharon, who had seen much, could not help but feel fear in her heart.

The Realm of Dread, a cosmic creature, had appeared on the continent for a long time, so there were many records about it; the same was true for the Realm of Dread.

But now, the 【Memory Purgatory】, 【Terror Manifestation】, and 【Judgment Seat】 recorded in the books had all failed to appear.

It seemed this place had already been occupied by different factions: bone dragons, graveyards, the Botanical Garden.

They had usurped the nest, greedily absorbing the nutrients that had accumulated here for a long time.

The diseased, fat gardener saw them zoning out.

He angrily waved the vine whip in his hand and cracked it once, striking Sharon.

The canine girl cried out in pain.

A stinging burning sensation appeared on the wound.

Helpless, they could only imitate the gardener's actions to tend and prune the roses.

The other party kept muttering incessantly, but the group understood not a single word.

"Senior Sharon, will anyone come to save us?"

Pavla asked secretly, her face looking like she was about to cry.

She was a young mage who chased trends, with hair dyed light blonde and featuring green highlights.

Her mage robe, newly tailored, further emphasized a high waistline, and cute cartoon dragons were sewn onto the hem.

"Pavla, be strong! I will definitely find a way!"

Vernon said firmly.

Confirmed: among the three young people, his state was the best.

Some spell research reports claimed that people with a positive mindset had stronger mental resistance than those with a negative one.

"You can talk about finding a way when you actually find one... *sob sob sob*. Leon, I have something I've always wanted to say to you; I'm afraid if I don't say it now, I won't get the chance."

This one named Leon was a cool, handsome guy with brown hair, carrying an air of nobility.

He frowned tightly, fine sweat seeping from his temples; obviously, he had little interest in Pavla's words, and said:

"Senior Sharon, I heard that cosmic creatures are chaotic beings; why do they know how to cultivate plants?"

Sharon shook her head.

"I don't know. In recent years, spell disasters involving cosmic creatures have surged. Many difficult-to-investigate situations have occurred within the extra-dimensional spaces; just like the Realm of Dread, the records are completely different from what we see now."

Leon could hear the despair in this senior's tone.

But he was not willing to give up; he gritted his teeth.

"My family has a secret technique originally used to enhance spellcasting focus, but it can also temporarily strengthen soul strength. I will tell you the key points; perhaps we can use this to break out."

"If there's such a good thing, why didn't you say so earlier!"

Vernon was overjoyed; naturally optimistic, he had already begun to imagine the thrill of escaping.

"Will it work?" Pavla asked, her face full of worry. "It's not that I don't trust you, Leon; I just have no confidence that I can learn it immediately."

And Sharon's emotions did not change.

She remained in despair.

Unlike the interns whose mana accumulation was not very high, she clearly perceived how difficult opponents the gardeners before them were.

The body is one of the important mediums for spellcasting; with only the state of the soul, it would be very difficult for them to cast powerful spells.

Just as she was about to speak.

She heard a heavy dragging sound coming from the direction of the entrance.

Turning her head, she saw a huge shadow vaguely within the thick spore poison fog of the garden.

It was as if someone was sitting atop a giant snail.

The gardeners nearby immediately showed fear and panic, then respectfully prostrated themselves on the ground, burying their faces deep into the soil mixed with excrement water.

This was obviously a higher-level cosmic creature.

The four of them did not dare to breathe.

They quickly turned their faces downward.

A thick and foul-smelling poison fog spread out, sticky as if it were about to stick into their lungs.

"It's them; I have use for them."

A familiar voice line came from ahead.

All four of them froze.

But they did not dare to lift their heads, fearing it was this cosmic creature's sick sense of humor, specifically imitating people they knew.

"Don't look at him!"

Sharon whispered, "Using the voices of people we know in common is an old trick of cosmic creatures!"

The three intern mages fell silent as if frozen by cold.

The gardener was confused.

Jiligulu rattled off another long string of words.

And that voice replied impatiently:

"Why the hell are you bothering me? Would Skull Rose die if a few people were missing? You fat-headed, big-eared bastard — are you trying to slack off yourself? I'm punishing you to live upside-down starting today. If one plant dies, I'll squeeze you to death!"

Once again, for the record, Rod is a dignified man.

Cursing like a sailor was never his intention — he was merely trying to imitate, based on the theory that the more you oppress, the more you look like a boss.

The fat gardener curled up into a ball, aggrieved.

Rod figured it was about enough.

He pulled the four of them up onto the giant snail's back and slowly headed toward the exit of the Plague Botanical Garden.

Looking at the four mages before him with their eyes and mouths tightly shut, he couldn't help but be caught between laughter and tears.

Rod reached over and pinched the back of Sharon's hand, trying to signal her something.

Unexpectedly, she was so startled she trembled all over and actually burst into tears.

"Uh—"

He stopped bothering with them.

Anyway, he'd deal with it once they got out.

Snail-bro moved really slowly, and within the toxic slime trail it left behind, a swarm of tiger-sized monsters gradually gathered.

They had bloated bodies made of fleshy tumors, with no visible face on their heads — only countless pink, strip-like mouthparts waving wildly toward the sky, frolicking and playing in the snail's slime trail.

He wasn't sure if it was an illusion.

Rod actually found them a little bit cute.

It took a full half hour before they finally reached the edge of the botanical garden.

Rod hurriedly pulled the four of them down off the snail.

Only now did the relatively bolder one among them, Vernon, sneak a peek.

"M-Mr. Rod?"

"Idiot!"

Leon's face changed and he hurriedly tried to pull him back.

"It's not a cosmic creature! It's really Mr. Rod!"

Vernon was overjoyed and shook off his hand: "Mr. Rod! You've finally come to rescue us!!"

His face was full of worship, utterly thrilled.

Only then did the others half-open their eyes, still half in doubt, and then stared in astonishment to find it really was him.

"Could it be a cosmic creature skilled at disguise?"

Leon asked warily.

Sharon, meanwhile, was already wearing a pleased expression: "Transformation can't be used in the spiritual dimension — what's reflected here is the person's true form."

As she spoke, a puzzled look crossed her face again.

"Keke, why were you in the botanical garden so—"

Rod smiled: "Just a little trick."

Everyone was stunned, and the looks in their eyes as they gazed at him were filled with respect and awe.

Though the three apprentice mages carried more worship than anything else.

Just as Rod finished explaining how he'd arrived and was about to activate the return ritual on the crystal—

A bolt of green lightning flashed across the sky.

Immediately following—

Came a downpour of green rain carrying the stench of rot.

Rod's brow furrowed slightly, and a bad premonition welled up in his heart.

He hurriedly activated it.

However, there was no response whatsoever.

(End of this chapter)