Wolfe led the group forward, and the light from Cassie's spell began to fade, suppressed by the darkness in this place.
"What's going on with the light? Other magic seems to work fine." She asked as she added a bit more mana to the spell.
"If I understood it correctly from the last Seraph that I talked to, Light Magic is the polar opposite of the magic of this place. The stronger the magic in the area is, the harder it will be to keep light magic active." Wolfe offered.
"Then, do we have an alternative?" Cassie asked.
"You can use Detect Hidden. It will reveal most things that are hidden from your vision. That's everything once the light goes out, but it's not perfect. Does anyone have a better spell?" Wolfe asked.
Molly sighed. "I've never needed one. I can see pretty well in the dark to begin with, so I never even learned [Detect Hidden]."
"I know a Thermal Vision charm. That should be enough when combined with [Detect Hidden]. Wolfe, if you can use your specialty on everyone, I will prepare the charms. Then we can let the light fade and decide if we can see well enough to continue." Ella offered.
Her charms were ready in a few seconds, and they all strung them around their necks with their armour amulets.
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇt"Wait, I have another idea. I will make smana gathering and storage charms. That way, if we get separated or cut off from outside mana, you all have something to work with." Wolfe offered.
Cassie took out a set of amulet blanks with a hole to string them with the others, but Wolfe shook his head and made a set of Noxus Family logo amulets out of Jade Green Mana Crystals at the Rank Five maximum density.
"Welcto the Noxus Family, Molly. I know it's a bit sudden, but you are one of us now. Anyone else who tries to wear one of these will die." Wolfe explained.
The little beastkin gave him a hug.
"Thank you so much. I know the situation is weird, but it's a real honour." She replied.
To the residents of Forest Grove, the Noxus Family was a bit like a Royal Family. There weren't many members of the actual Family, and they were all powerful, making up a portion of the leadership, and including Cassie and Ella, who were generally considered the operational leaders of the city.
The amulets would hold enough mana that the witches could channel constantly for half a day before it ran dry, and Wolfe could sense the annoyance of that incredibly powerful being that he was exploiting the rules of the trial.
It was still Rank Five, but his Rank Five and the average Witch's Rank Five were very different things.
Cassie let the light fade once they were all wearing their new amulets and charms. That turned the tunnel to shades of grey, while the others were spots of red and yellow. There were enough fluctuations that Wolfe could see even without turning up Detect Hidden, but he cast it for everyone else anyhow, so they could see as well as possible.
Molly immediately squeaked and covered her eyes, which made Cassie laugh.
"Just turn down the sensitivity of the spell a little, until you can't see through clothes anymore." She whispered.
Wolfe hadn't considered that. Her vision was already much more sensitive than the others, so she didn't need as strong of a spell to see what was hidden.
The little beastkin covered herself and looked around suspiciously.
"Are you all looking at everyone naked all the time?" She asked.
"Of course not. Your eyesight is just better than ours, so the spell worked better than expected. I didn't cast a strong enough version for anyone else to see through clothing. The Armour spell will make you look completely normal to everyone else in the group." Wolfe explained.
"That spell is dangerous. We should put it on the restricted list when we get home." Molly muttered as she adjusted her own spell until she was seeing only what she wanted to.
"You will find that all private rooms in Forest Grove are shielded against it. Even if you turn it all the way up, you won't be able to see into homes or underground bedrooms." Cassie informed her with a smile.
"That does makefeel a bit better. But out in public..." She shuddered at the thought.
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏmElla patted her fluffy ears. "The guards can sense it, and there are penalties for being a creep. Plus, Kind Intentions doesn't allow them to use it to be a pervert."
Wolfe snapped his fingers. "That's a great idea. More amulets incoming."
He quickly created a set of coins that were Kind Intentions on one side and Mana Purification on the other, so they didn't end up cursed while they travelled.
"Will this stop us from being attacked?" Molly asked.
Wolfe shook his head. "Doubtful. Plus, it's only over yourself, and not a radius effect, to save mana. I will cast a larger one, but it might not do anything either, as these creatures view the whole situation as harmless entertainment.
None of the monsters that we are seeing are natural-born creatures, they're all created by a spell."
The Witches looked at the heat signatures in the distance with increased curiosity. If everything here was part of ssort of spell, was this their equivalent to Tribulation? Could this be more of a 'Turnabout is fair play' situation than just an excuse to torture them for messing with the Fallen Army?
Wolfe motioned forward. "Are we ready to move? I get the feeling that whatever is ahead will be different from what we're expecting."
The others nodded, and Wolfe stepped forward into the next room. It appeared empty, but the level of this world's strange mana in the room was tenfold higher than it had been outside, and he could feel it seeping into his body in a steady stream.
Then a spell activated, and everyone was plunged into a nightmare of illusions.