The two walked along the paved path toward the back of the Wizard Tower. After bypassing a half-buried energy node tower, an area enclosed by high tree walls appeared before them.
The tree walls stood a full thirty meters high, with dense, overlapping layers of dark green leaves that let no light or air through.
Fist-sized, emerald-green crystals were embedded in the walls every few paces, the light swirling within them flickering between the gaps in the leaves.
A row of Treant guards stood at the entrance.
These Treants were taller than any Ethan had seen elsewhere in the fortress, each standing well over four meters tall, with dark gold runic patterns flowing across the surface of their wooden trunks.
Their leaves were a deep dark green, with jagged thorns along the edges.
The leading Treant took a step forward.
Its massive foot stomped onto the paved ground, letting out a dull, heavy thud.
“Halt. This is the cross-world teleportation array area. Show your clearance.”
The Energy-Eating Insect poked half its body out from the top of Ethan's head and waved a foreleg in the air. A dark purple rune emerged from the cracks in its carapace and hovered in midair, its surface covered in dense, flowing silver lines.
The Treant guard stared at the rune for two seconds, its dark green leaves rustling slightly.
“Clearance confirmed, Lord Energy-Eating Insect. Please enter.”
The crystals in the center of the tree wall lit up simultaneously, and emerald-green light poured from them, weaving into a light barrier at the entrance.
A gap split down the middle of the light barrier, and it slowly slid open to both sides.
Ethan walked through the gap.
Behind the tree walls was a vast, circular plaza.
The plaza spanned over a hundred meters in diameter, paved with dark green stone slabs, every single one carved with intricate runic patterns.
These patterns converged from the edges of the plaza toward the center, layering over one another until they finally intertwined into a massive runic array over twenty meters in diameter at the very center.
A circle of Treant guards stood around the array.
These Treants were even larger than the ones at the entrance, each standing over five meters tall.
Their leaves were pitch black, with edges as sharp as blades that glinted coldly in the sunlight. Each Treant held a bone-white staff, the emerald-green crystal embedded at the tip pulsing with light.
Directly in front of the array stood a long stone table.
Behind the table sat a Treant whose trunk was thicker than any of the surrounding guards. Its bark was covered in fine cracks, within which faint gold light could be seen flowing.
Three palm-sized crystal displays hovered before it, the runic patterns on them constantly updating.
The Energy-Eating Insect flew down from Ethan's head and landed on the stone table. Its six legs scurried quickly across the surface as it pushed one of the crystal displays toward the Treant.
“Registration. Destination: Jade Shadow Forest Academy. Two travelers. Me, Energy-Eating Insect, Second-Tier enslaved beast, ID: Jade Shadow-Energy. This kid, Ethan Leo, Third-Tier Apprentice from Blood Bone Tower Academy, ID: Blood Bone-Apprentice.”
The Treant looked down at it, its dark green leaves rustling slightly.
It extended a slender finger and tapped the crystal display several times.
“Identity confirmed.”
The runic patterns on the surface of the crystal display lit up, and a pale green light poured out, weaving into a palm-sized emerald rune in the air.
The rune hovered in midair, spinning slowly, its edges continuously shedding tiny specks of light.
The Treant raised its hand and tapped the rune.
The rune burst, turning into countless tiny specks of light that rained down upon Ethan and the Energy-Eating Insect.
The specks of light landed on Ethan's shoulders, arms, and chest, flickering briefly before sinking into his skin and disappearing.
“Transit mark activated. You may freely use the cross-world teleportation array within the validity period.”
The Treant withdrew its finger and stood up from behind the stone table.
It turned and walked toward the massive runic array in the center of the plaza, each step making the stone floor tremble slightly.
Upon reaching the edge of the array, it raised both hands, its ten slender fingers tracing rapidly through the air. Streams of emerald-green light flowed from its fingertips, sinking into the runic patterns on the ground.
The array began to glow.
The patterns carved into the stone slabs lit up in sequence from the edges to the center, the emerald-green light flowing through the grooves growing brighter and brighter.
The runes at the center of the array were the first to reach peak brightness, the light shifting from emerald-green to pale gold, and then from pale gold to an almost transparent, incandescent white.
Then, the entire space began to hum with a low, continuous vibration.
Ethan could feel the stone slabs beneath his feet trembling, the surrounding air vibrating, and even the light in his field of vision warping slightly.
“Kid, stand in the center of the array.” The Energy-Eating Insect flew back to the top of Ethan's head, its six legs scratching around in his hair.
Ethan walked toward the center of the array.
The runic patterns beneath his feet grew denser, and the light grew increasingly blinding.
By the time he reached the center, the surrounding temperature had risen significantly, and the air felt as dry as a desert wind.
The Treant guards raised their bone-white staves in unison.
The emerald-green crystals at the tips of the staves lit up, and twelve beams of light shot from different directions toward the center of the array, converging into a sphere of light three meters above Ethan's head.
The sphere of light expanded, compressed, and expanded again.
A massive force surged from beneath his feet, lifting Ethan entirely off the ground.
The surrounding scenery began to warp, and emerald-green light rushed in from all directions, swallowing him whole.
The teleportation had begun.
There was none of the instantaneous weightlessness and sudden solid footing of a normal teleportation array.
The process of cross-world teleportation was far longer and much more complex.
Ethan felt as if he were enveloped in a warm fluid.
He was surrounded entirely by emerald-green light so thick it was almost physical, pressing against his body from all sides.
He could feel the light penetrating his skin, seeping into his muscles, and sinking into his bones, as if conducting some sort of inspection.
The Energy-Eating Insect's voice drifted down from above his head, its sharp tone slightly distorted within the light.
“Don't be nervous, cross-world teleportation is always like this. The fortress's array will pack up our data and project it to the receiving array at Jade Shadow Forest Academy. This process takes about several dozen seconds. Just relax.”
Ethan nodded.
He could feel his body being stretched, compressed, and folded in a bizarre fashion.
His limbs were still there, and his torso was still intact, but the distortion on a spatial level gave him a surreal sensation.
The light grew brighter and brighter.
The squeezing sensation around him suddenly vanished, replaced by a weightless sensation of falling.
Ethan felt himself plummeting at an absurd speed, the surrounding light stretching into countless emerald-green threads in his field of vision.
Then, the falling sensation vanished as well.
The surrounding light thinned from thick to sparse, shifting from emerald-green to pale green, and then from pale green to completely transparent.
The sensation of solid ground beneath his feet returned.
Ethan opened his eyes.
The paved ground beneath his feet had changed from dark green to grayish-white, and the runic patterns carved into it had shifted from emerald-green to pale gold.
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