As Austin passed through the stone wall, he was greeted with a quiet and serene valley. Nature's fine
curves and shadows touched him like they were a song woven together. In a patch of the meadow,
flowers of different varieties flourished. These were open fields, with a shade for comfort and a brook of
fresh water. Every sound and sigh were welcoming to him. Such beauty was unparalleled.
A plain log cabin sat amidst the valley. In its front yard, a glint of goldfish enjoyed their sunny swims in
the one-acre pond.
What an entrancing land!
Austin inhaled and a waft of fresh air invaded his nostrils.
It was a pleasure to find the scenic valley behind the stone wall.
"What is this place? It took me more than half a spiritual sense to get here," Austin wondered out loud.
A few seconds later, Violet came through the stone wall after him, gasping for air. Apparently, it took
her all of her strength to fight the force of spiritual sense that the stone wall projected.
What shocked both Austin and Violet was seeing the gnome pass breezily through the stone wall, as if
the force of spiritual sense was nothing to him. The second the gnome came in, he looked around with
curiosity and excitement flashing through his eyes.
With his sight fixing on the log cabin, Austin noticed something that astonished him.
In its front yard, the patch of green plants was all elixirs.
And all of them seemed to belong to the sixth or seventh grade. What a stroke of luck to find these
many medicinal herbs here!
It was evident that the most precious treasures of Medicine Valley were all here in one place, which
was as Austin had expected.
"Wow! So many elixirs!"
Violet exclaimed when her wide eyes landed on the patch of medicinal herbs. She was awestruck to
see them all in such a great number.
Austin's attention was fixated on the elixirs too. He immediately stepped toward the yard.
However, an omnipresent force pushed him back!
Before he could have completed a single step, he was almost thrown out of the valley.
'It's spiritual sense! Again!'
Austin grimaced as he faced the strong resistance once again. He looked around, wondering how far
the omnipresent spiritual sense stretched.
Meanwhile, Violet also found herself being pushed back. The spiritual sense in this valley was as
ubiquitous as the fresh air that flowed through it, invisible but aggressive.
The gnome beside Austin began to move as well. He leaped in the air.
But soon, he too was thrown back by the omnipresent spiritual sense and onto the ground.
The gnome lolled about among the leaves as he collapsed.
Squeaking with anger, he stood up.
To the surprise of the other two, the gnome started glowing from the inside, a kind of khaki light
radiating from him.
Once the light had him covered like a dome, he jumped and sprinted forward.
The khaki dome empowered him to run ahead easily, rendering him capable of ignoring the
omnipresent spiritual sense altogether.
Austin's and Violet's eyes seemed to bulge out. They could not believe what they were seeing.
"What a surprise! The little guy has a superpower," Austin marveled with a tinge of jealousy.
Fighting the omnipresent spiritual sense should prove to be strenuous for the gnome, but he managed
to sidestep the aggressive force like it didn't exist at all.
"Superpower? Come on, Austin! He and his kind are ancient beings.
The gnomes are born with powers like this. No human being or animals has access to their gifts.
This is not a huge feat for them," Violet said to Austin, giggling.
"Come on, little guy! Don't do that!"
Both of them suddenly stopped talking as they watched on, their faces turning grim. The gnome got
into the yard all right, but then they saw him uprooting the elixirs and shoving them into his mouth. The
crunch of them echoed through the valley. In the blink of an eye, he ate up a dozen or so medicinal
herbs.
"Jesus Christ! These are all at the sixth or seventh grade. Stop now! Gnome!" Austin yelled at the
gnome. Austin scowled as he thought of the loss, angry beyond belief at the way the gnome was
wasting away the elixirs.
Fortunately for Austin, his warning worked. The gnome stopped as soon as he heard him, swallowing
down the elixirs he had already chewed through. He left the yard a bit shaken and wandered around
the valley.
Once Austin was sure that the gnome had stopped ruining the elixirs, he tried to step through once
again.
The second he moved forward, he was gripped by the omnipresent spiritual sense and stood
paralyzed.
"Well, no matter what, I will find a way! Fuck the spiritual sense!"
A fire seemed to ignite in his chest, fueling him to battle the omnipresent force.
He activated his spiritual sense in Soul Sea to fight the aggressive force looming everywhere in the
valley.
Austin's spiritual sense was strong and could attack anyone and anything within six thousand meters.
He channeled it and waved a hand. Within moments, a translucent wall of spiritual sense was formed in
front of him. Strong energy rippled through the wall.
Thud!
Austin finally managed to take a step after activating his spiritual sense.
He struggled to move toward the log cabin, as if he were pulling a carriage by his shoulders behind
him.
Austin exerted all of his spiritual sense in the Soul Sea to fight the demanding force as he trudged
forward slowly.
However, the closer he got to the log cabin, the stronger the force got. Austin was moving with the pace
of a snail.
The spiritual sense had a strong presence around the log cabin and was belligerent against the
intruder. A wave of the hostile force collided with Austin again and again.
The pressure was akin to carrying a mountain on his back. Each step consumed all of Austin's energy
and tortured him. He heard a light creak inside his body with every step. Soon, he was soaked to the
skin in his sweat.
"Damn it! What the hell is this place? Why is the spiritual sense here so ridiculously strong?"
Austin bristled with rage.
Although he was annoyed, he was also aware that there was something waiting for him inside the log
cabin.
He steeled himself and continued to walk. He could not give up now.
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