Chapter 126: Botanical Garden

"Senior Sharona, what kind of place is this?"

The three interns all huddled behind Sharona, eyes wide, faces filled with boundless terror.

They had never seen such monsters; the plague and mental shocks were pushing them toward collapse.

The twisted, diseased, even nauseating plants before them—roses covered in tumors and sickly hues, witch thorns pruned into bizarre shapes, and rampant, corrupted greenery—would test their psychological limits.

Over time,

the young mages Pavla, Leon, and Vernon gradually began to see signs of careful tending in these plants.

And faintly, through their distortions and mutations, they could perceive beauty and vitality within.

But none of them dared to speak it aloud.

"Is the Fear Field always like this?"

Even Sharona, well-traveled and experienced, could not suppress her fear.

Fear Beasts, these cosmic entities, had appeared on the continent for ages, and many records existed of them; the Fear Field was no exception.

Yet none of the documented 【Memory Purgatory】, 【Terror Embodiment】, or 【Judgment Platform】 appeared here.

This place seemed already occupied by different forces: bone dragons, graveyards, a botanical garden.

They had usurped it, greedily draining the accumulated nourishment long stored here.

The obese, diseased gardener noticed them slacking off.

He angrily swung his vine whip—whip-crack—striking Sharona.

The dog-people girl cried out in pain.

A searing burn flared on her wound.

Helpless, they had no choice but to mimic the gardener's methods of tending and pruning the roses.

He kept chattering incessantly, but none of them understood a word.

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

Pavla asked timidly, face drawn with sorrow.

She was a young mage obsessed with trends, her hair dyed pale gold with green highlights.

Her re-tailored mage robe accentuated her high waistline, with a cute cartoon dragon stitched along the hem.

"Pavla, be strong! I'll find a way!"

Vernon declared firmly.

Indeed, among the three youths, his condition was the best.

Magical research reports claimed that those with positive mindsets possessed slightly stronger spiritual resistance than the pessimistic.

"Just tell me your plan first. Waaah, Leon, there's something I've always wanted to say to you—I'm afraid if I don't say it now, I'll never get the chance."

Leon, the one with chestnut hair and a cold, handsome demeanor, carried noble airs.

He frowned, beads of sweat glistening at his temples, clearly uninterested in Pavla's words:

"Senior Sharona, I heard cosmic entities are chaotic beings—why do they know how to cultivate plants?"

Sharona shook her head.

"I don't know. In recent years, magical disasters caused by cosmic entities have surged. Strange things have happened in the alternate dimensions—like the Fear Field. The records don't match what we're seeing now."

Leon could hear the despair in her tone.

But he refused to accept it; he clenched his teeth.

"My family has a secret technique, originally meant to enhance spellcasting focus, but it can also briefly strengthen the soul. I'll teach you the incantation—perhaps we can break out using it."

"Why didn't you say this sooner?!"

Vernon cheered, his naturally optimistic nature already imagining the exhilaration of escape.

"Will it work?" Pavla looked worried. "I'm not doubting you, Leon—I just don't think I can learn it right away."

Sharona's expression remained unchanged.

Still trapped in despair.

Unlike the interns, whose magical reserves were low, she clearly sensed how formidable these gardeners were.

The body is one of the key magical conduits; in soul form alone, they could hardly cast powerful spells.

Just as she was about to speak,

a heavy dragging sound came from the entrance.

Turning, she saw a massive shadow dimly visible through the thick spore-laden toxic mist of the garden.

It looked like someone was seated atop a giant snail.

The gardeners immediately showed fear and dread, then prostrated themselves, burying their faces deep into soil mixed with excrement.

This was clearly a higher-tier cosmic entity.

The four held their breath.

They quickly lowered their heads.

Thick, foul-smelling toxic mist spread, sticky as if clinging to their lungs.

"It's them. I need them."

A familiar voice came from ahead.

All four froze.

But none dared raise their heads, fearing this was the cosmic entity's old trick—mimicking voices they knew.

"Don't look!"

Sharona whispered, "Cosmic entities often use the voices of people we know!"

The three intern mages fell silent as mice.

The gardener looked confused.

He chattered on again incoherently.

The voice grew impatient:

"What the hell do you care? Will a few less skulls kill the roses? You fat-assed lump—trying to slack off? Starting today, you live upside down. Kill one plant, I crush you."

Again, Luo De was a man of decorum.

Swearing wasn't his nature—he was merely mimicking, following the theory that the more you bully, the more you resemble a boss.

The obese gardener shrank into a pitiful ball.

Luo De figured it was enough.

He pulled the four onto the giant snail's back and slowly headed toward the botanical garden's exit.

Watching the four mages, eyes and mouths tightly shut, he couldn't help but smile wryly.

Luo De pinched Sharona's wrist, trying to signal something.

She trembled violently—and burst into tears.

"Uh."

He gave up on them.

At least they were out now.

The snail moved painfully slow, and along its trail of toxic mucus, a horde of tiger-sized monsters began to gather.

They had obese bodies made of warts, no faces visible—only countless pink, elongated mouthparts waving wildly in the air, playing and laughing in the snail's slime trail.

Whether it was an illusion or not,

Luo De found himself thinking they were kind of cute.

It took nearly half an hour before they reached the garden's edge.

Luo De quickly pulled the four off the snail.

Only now did the relatively braver Vernon dare to sneak a glance.

". uo. Luo De?"

"Idiot!"

Leon's face darkened; he rushed to pull him back.

"It's not a cosmic entity! It's really Mr. Luo De!"

Vernon beamed, shaking off Leon's hand: "Mr. Luo De! You finally came to save us!!"

His face glowed with admiration and excitement.

The others, hesitant at first, slowly opened their eyes—and were stunned to see it truly was him.

"Could it be a cosmic entity skilled in disguise?"

Leon asked warily.

Sharona's face lit up: "In the spiritual dimension, shape-shifting is impossible. Here, it reflects the true form of the being."

She frowned, puzzled.

"But why are you in the botanical garden so…?"

Luo De smiled: "A small trick."

Everyone froze, staring at him with respect and awe.

Though the three interns wore mostly worshipful expressions.

Just as Luo De explained how he arrived and prepared to activate the return ritual on the crystal,

a green lightning bolt flashed across the sky.

Immediately after,

It was nothing but green rain carrying a stench of decay.

Luo De frowned slightly, a bad premonition rising in his heart.

He immediately activated it.

Yet, there was no response whatsoever.

(End of Chapter)