CHAPTER 49: CHAPTER 49: CROW WITCH

After resting for a while and not lingering too long in the danger-laden swamp, Aiven decided to go back the same way.

"It’s fine to occasionally come out to gather magic potion materials for a change of pace, but if you spend every day running around for rare medicines that grow in all sorts of distant places, the time and effort would be too high a cost.

Perhaps, the path of seizing wealth from the sea and then converting that wealth into various cultivation resources would suit me better."

Though he just successfully completed a hunt unscathed, Aiven was already considering staying away from this kind of routine in the future.

The ancient sages said cultivation requires ’wealth, companions, law, and land’, but for Aiven, a wizard apprentice, except for ’wealth’, the other elements are hard to come by at the present stage.

Aiven was not in a hurry.

As a promising Navy officer, his future is destined to be on the vast sea, where wealth, secret treasures, and power would be obtained.

This is also the charm of the sea, luring generation after generation to explore tirelessly.

"Milk will be there, and bread will be there."

Whoosh—

Lightly leveraging the fallen deadwood, Aiven darted swiftly like an agile leopard among the islands, which were not far apart. What might take a day of hiking for an ordinary person could take Aiven just an hour.

Moreover, going back was much faster than coming.

The path he had traveled was no longer a mystery to Aiven, and he could easily tell where the footholds were and where danger might lurk.

But today, Aiven’s luck was evidently not good, as the weather changed faster than his return journey.

Just as he left the continuous land islands and stepped onto firm ground, a sudden inexplicable fog swept over the entire swamp in no time, and darkness fell abruptly.

Although it wasn’t yet to the point where he couldn’t see his hand in front of his face, it severely affected his vision.

After all, "Data Visualization" is based on Aiven’s sensory perception, and it couldn’t enhance his vision; under such weather, he dared not travel recklessly.

For caution’s sake, Aiven paused, chopped some oil-rich branches, made a torch, and then slowed his pace to continue forward.

Hunting the crocodiles had already delayed Aiven quite a bit, and he didn’t want to spend the night in such a godforsaken place.

The time shown in the "Data Visualization" is now two fifty-four in the afternoon.

He had to strive to leave the swamp by five o’clock, otherwise, the sky could fully darken before five in such weather, bringing unpredicted dangers.

Unlike in his past life, where supernatural stories were merely fantasies or tales, this world manifested extraordinary powers. With knights and wizards appearing, are those eerie horrors really far behind?

Aiven had no desire to experience the terrifying oddities that inevitably exist in this magical world!

Unfortunately, events did not change according to Aiven’s will.

Time ticked by, and though the path he took still bore noticeable traces, Aiven felt the road beneath his feet seemed to have stretched significantly.

Not an actual spatial elongation, but in Aiven’s perception, at his normal pace, he should have already left this wooded area adjacent to the swamp.

Yet by the torchlight, all he could see were gloomy endless chaotic woods, silent and eerie with no bird chirps or insect calls.

Halting slowly, Aiven had to acknowledge something inexplicable was happening that he couldn’t presently understand.

"A ghost wall?"

Even with his boldness, he couldn’t help but feel a tingle down his spine; venomous creatures and beasts were nothing compared to the fear of the unknown.

Moreover, whether a misconception or not, the instant he paused, Aiven felt as though numerous eyes atop the surrounding tree canopies suddenly opened, staring unblinkingly at him.

Aiven’s expression turned somewhat grim.

The area was marked ’non-dangerous’ on the map, at least indicating no extraordinary level beings that could threaten him should be active here, yet now Aiven only wanted to curse the swindler who sold him the map!

But that was a matter for later.

The crisis at hand had already arrived!

"Flap, flap, flap..."

A dense flock of birds took flight from within the woods.

Crows!

More crows, and more crows!

With a size comparable to small falcons, hundreds or maybe thousands soared simultaneously; their wings formed a blanket that obscured the sky, blocking even the faintest light.

Darkness had fallen.

The scene before him was too bizarre, completely beyond Aiven’s comprehension, driving him to instinctively step back two paces. His torch seemed affected by his turbulent emotions, flickering a few times in response.

At the same time.

Whoosh—

Chilly, moist winds mingled with peculiar scents swept through the treetops, converging from all directions.

"Caw, caw, caw..."

Aiven spun around only to instantly stagger back two steps.

He couldn’t even control the power in his legs, embedding several deep footprints into the muddy ground.

Because, on the tree alarmingly close behind Aiven, a "creature" was silently perched on the treetop.

It had an abstractly distorted human face, its sallow skin wrinkled, with a protruding nose resembling a bird’s beak, and its grayish eyes gleaming with spots of blood-red light, radiating cruelty and indifference!

Its hands and feet, almost mutated into claws, were covered with black feathers, yet a delicate wreath adorned its neck.

Squatting on the tree, it looked like a crow spirit morphed into human form, evoking intense discomfort at just a glance.

"Caw caw...!"

The red-eyed crow on its shoulder, with a very human-like tilt of its head, looked at Aiven, letting out two ghastly caws that chilled the spine.

Crow Witch!!!

Even though Aiven was new to the extraordinary world, he had heard of this creature’s notorious name.

Leon’s notes had detailed descriptions of the Crow Witch, though Aiven was more concerned about what exactly Leon experienced at the time, which was not precisely recorded, yet surely not a pleasant experience.

Unlike the established groups of demonized creatures or ferocious creatures formed by the mutation of regular animals.

The Crow Witch wasn’t inherently a demon; they actually used to be human witches!

Unlike traditional wizards who gradually transform through pathways of cultivation, these witches, like demonized creatures, naturally awaken certain supernatural powers as they age.

In some sense, they are born casters favored by gods.

But.

But... without systematic guidance, learning, and further mastering this innate gift, their rapid growth will expose them to tremendous risks of losing control.

It’s akin to a skyscraper with a skewed foundation; the more powerful they grow, the higher the risk of losing control!

Until one day.

When their magic power goes haywire or they die with grievances, if not promptly purified, they and their crow familiars might mutate, becoming this hideous and terrifying demon—Crow Witches.

More importantly, their diet consists of... humans!