Chapter 35: The Fierce Wolf in the Canyon (Bonus Update)

After leaving the Forgotten Land, Miss Vilyric and her pet continued their journey.

Next stop: the royal capital.

Although the map indicated that their current location was still over a thousand kilometers in a straight line from the City of Courage, the Priestess had no plans to linger in any cities for long. Therefore, their travel speed should be relatively fast.

At the moment, they were at a marvel known as the Oaken Canyon. Exiting from here would lead them to Norton Fortress, then onto the main road, and after that, a clear path directly to the City of Courage.

While the Oaken Canyon was not originally on Vilyric’s itinerary, it certainly had its own legend.

The legend of the Wish Fairy.

According to some not-so-reliable hearsay, there was a sacred treasure within the canyon that housed a spirit, but unless you were the destined one, even if you had heavenly skills, you would have no chance of finding this treasure.

And if it were truly encountered, the fairy within could grant you one wish, hence it is also called the Wish Fairy.

When Liliya mentioned this rumor to Vilyric, she felt an overwhelming sense of déjà vu…

Why did this story remind her so much of some fairy tale from Blue Star? At least in that one, you could make three wishes, but here it’s just one; don’t you think that’s a bit exaggerated?

Indeed, the Priestess paid little mind to this rumor, finding it too outlandish.

“To grant any wish,” such a statement was overly vague and sounded like something conjured up by some dreamers.

The sacred treasure was equivalent to a golden spirit artifact in the fantasy world. If such things could have such flashy functions, wouldn’t Miss Vilyric, with her collection of half a dozen divine artifacts, be more impressive than the Creator God?

In fact, Liliya had never heard of anyone who actually found the so-called “Wish Fairy,” and she joked that instead of hoping for that, it would be more likely to get a wish fulfilled by just asking her sister, Vilyric.

Though she didn’t hold expectations, the Oaken Canyon was indeed a necessary passage to the royal capital. Unless Vilyric wanted to fly, they had to cross it.

Thus, a certain Priestess and a certain dragon stood before a three-way fork in the road.

“?”

Vilyric stared at the three paths ahead, then took out the map to study for ages. She could ascertain that there was absolutely no sign marking the terrain, it was just a straight line.

Rather, the Oaken Canyon itself seemed to be a one-way road; how could it possibly split into forks?

Had they run into another weird event? Was this probability a bit too high…? Did she have some kind of strange constitution?

“Um, you ladies…you’re from out of town, right?”

After hesitating for quite a while, a thirty-something farmer, carrying firewood from a distance, noticed Vilyric and her companion, and cheerfully struck up a conversation.

“Ah? Oh right! This place doesn’t seem to match the map. Do you know why, Uncle?”

“Ha…”

The farmer slapped his thigh and laughed heartily.

“You’re not the first person to ask that, miss. That map you’re holding must be quite old. Actually, a big event happened in Oaken Canyon about three months ago.”

As if discussing some huge secret, the farmer dramatically covered his mouth and leaned in closely.

“Have you ever heard of the legend of the Wish Fairy?”

“Wish… huh?! You mean to say…?”

“Exactly! You look like you’re in the know, so that makes the explanation a lot easier. Simply put, someone got that treasure, and through it, transformed this canyon into its current state.”

“No way, there’s really something like that…?”

Vilyric was genuinely surprised. If some random person told her someone got the Wish Fairy, she’d probably just scoff.

But seeing the evidence before her and knowing that the Oaken Canyon had indeed changed to its strange appearance, the farmer’s words gained a lot more credibility.

Nevertheless, being surprised didn’t drive Vilyric to dig deeper; her goal was simply to pass through and reach Norton Fortress.

Ultimately, the Priestess didn’t believe that anything could really “grant all wishes.” At most, it was likely something with relatively powerful abilities compared to ordinary folk.

“I see… So, Uncle, do you know which of these three paths is the way back to the original route?”

“Heh heh, you might not believe this, but all three paths connect to the same place. In other words, it’s just one big road split into three smaller ones, hahaha!”

Okay, confirmed: whoever changed the terrain has definitely got some serious issues.

At this point, the farmer changed his tone.

“But if you want to take the original road into Norton Fortress, it’s best to follow me. Although the three paths have only one exit, inside there are a ton of new forks; it’s easy to end up in a dead end. Simply put, this Oaken Canyon has been turned into a maze.”

“Why would anyone wish for that? What’s the point?”

The farmer awkwardly scratched his head and smiled innocently, “Who knows? The way out of the maze was slowly figured out by us locals; we ran into plenty of trouble at first… So, how about it? Would you like to join me? If not, I might head off first; I still have chores waiting at home.”

“…”

Vilyric shifted her gaze, looking at the farmer’s honest, straightforward expression that seemed genuine, then glanced back at the three forks and made eye contact with the indifferent little dragon.

“Alright, then I’ll trouble you.”

And so, together with the enthusiastic farmer, the two girls entered the maze-like Oaken Canyon along the middle path.

Just as the farmer claimed, the environment inside had indeed become intricate and complicated. Even though they could still see the clear sky above and the tall cliffs on the sides, the once-straight paths of the canyon had inexplicably sprouted countless towering walls, cutting the paths into a disordered web of trails.

This was the result of magic.

If earth and stone magic could cause such an astonishing effect all at once, it would need to be at least level 6, if not higher, level 7.

Could a mere golden quality treasure spirit possess such prowess?

Of course, the notion of the Wish Fairy was just the farmer’s word; if a large number of lower-tier earth magics accumulated over time, similar effects could also be achieved.

Such a possibility certainly existed.

But if that was the case…

The Priestess’s eyes deepened slightly.

The farmer led Vilyric and Xiao Guang through at least seventeen or eighteen forks, not once pausing or hesitating in their steps. It was clear he was quite familiar with these paths.

After about half an hour, the three finally turned around one last fork and revealed to Vilyric a small human settlement.

There were no abrupt rock faces surrounding them anymore, but… a much larger circle of rocks enclosed the entire settlement, forming a natural barrier.

Rather than Vilyric emerging, it felt more like she was brought deep into the heart of the maze.

“Ha… this is really…”

The Priestess, gripping her softly glowing staff, shook her head helplessly.

Behind her, several rugged-looking men wielding machetes appeared from the corners of her vision, gradually surrounding her and Xiao Guang with malicious smiles.

And the “kind” farmer who had led them here also turned around with a smirk, looking at the two stunningly beautiful girls with smooth, fair skin, bowing politely.

“Well then, welcome to the lair of the Fierce Wolf ~”

   

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