Single Mother of a Werewolf Baby novel Chapter 316

Chapter 316: Field of Lightning

Eleanor should have realised long ago that something was amiss the moment she grew overly comfortable. It shouldn’t have been difficult for her to deduce as much after the first half-hour... normally that was all the time she needed to meditate and regain her full strength, even when she was completely depleted. Moreover, she was inside a trial, and her mental resistance was hardly feeble.

Yet judging from the situation, this trial was truly terrifying. Silently, every ability she possessed had been sealed away. She had no power to pierce illusions; she was reduced to an ordinary werewolf who couldn’t even revert to her human form. The trial must have tricked her mind in some manner. If she wished to break this stalemate, she would have to leave this place.

Having made up her mind, Eleanor rose and walked towards the nearby hill. She reasoned that from its peak she would be able to see the far side, as well as her general surroundings. There had to be a way out of this area.

After half an hour, she frowned. By her estimation, she should already have reached the hill, yet reality insisted otherwise... the hill remained half an hour’s walk ahead. Something was undeniably wrong.

She examined the land around her: white flower bushes scattered about, small trees not far off, the same shades of grass and wildflowers stretching everywhere. But she had walked forward; she shouldn’t still be standing in the same place.

This time, she watched her own steps and the scenery passing by, advancing carefully. Yet after ten minutes she realised she remained exactly at the same distance from the hill.

Eleanor sank down and thought hard. After a few minutes, she decided to close her eyes to avoid any illusion that might be manipulating her senses. She focused instead on the sounds around her. Her ears picked up the faintest noises drifting from afar.

At first, she heard the chirping of distant birds. Then the rustling of leaves. Suddenly, the soft rush of falling water reached her. A waterfall, perhaps. Her mood lifted at once.

She focused intently on the sound of the waterfall, and it sharpened in her mind. Rising to her feet, she followed it. After some trial and error, she fixed the direction of the sound and moved towards it. More than once she stumbled into bushes or trees, yet she never opened her eyes for even a moment. Whenever the sound grew fainter, she immediately adjusted her course towards wherever it swelled louder again.

An unknown stretch of time passed before she felt cool vapour brushing her face. The roar of the waterfall was deafening here. When she finally opened her eyes, she found herself standing at the summit of a mountain. Clouds curled around her, and in front of her there was no sign of any waterfall at all.

Looking back, she saw the vast valley she had been in earlier. She was now high above it, perched upon a mountain that pierced the clouds. Yet she had no memory of climbing. She had walked only across flat ground. Never before had she encountered an illusion so dreadful.

There had certainly been a waterfall before her... she had heard it and even felt it, but now she could not see it even at such proximity. Drawing a deep breath, she shut her eyes once more and stepped forward.

Sure enough, within five minutes she plunged straight into water. She opened her eyes in a rush, finding a great waterfall towering before her. She had fallen into a wide lake formed by its cascade. Pulling herself onto the bank, she noted her fur was drenched. Fortunately, the water was sweet and pure, causing her no discomfort.

She shook herself several times, sending droplets flying, and managed to rid most of the water clinging to her coat. Properly drying, however, would take time.

Surveying her surroundings, she saw a vast mountain range on one side, blocking her way. Opposite it lay the plain she had come from, though it lacked the beauty she had witnessed in the illusion... here the grass and trees were sparse, the landscape rather worn. Beside the mountains, the waterfall fed a river that ran along the rocky slope. On the far side of the river, between the mountains, stretched a clear path.

Eleanor didn’t know where the path would lead, but she felt instinctively that it must be the way out.

The instant she crossed out from the mountain’s shelter, several bolts of lightning crashed down upon her. Her body froze rigid, and a piercing pain ripped through her, as though she were being torn apart.

She had endured lightning before at the academy, but that had been controlled... thin threads of current directed with precision. This was natural lightning, far more savage and several times more agonising. It felt as though the bolts struck her very soul. The sheer magnitude of the pain pushed her mind to its limits, and she swayed, close to fainting.

"At this rate, I’ll die from the pain long before I cross this field," Eleanor thought grimly.

She possessed strong mental resilience, granting her an impressive tolerance for pain. Even so, the relentless agony of lightning crashing down on her the moment she stepped into the field’s edge left her feeling as though she might faint at any moment. 𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖

"I don’t have a choice. I’ll have to endure this, no matter how unbearable it is. I must pass this trial," she told herself. Fuelled by sheer determination, she pushed forward.

Though she moved slowly and tried to keep away from the densest clusters of lightning, the bolts were far too numerous to avoid entirely. She had advanced less than a hundred metres into the field, yet she had already been struck a couple of hundred times.

Her mind was on the verge of collapsing under the torment. She felt it was impossible to continue forcing her way ahead and was just about to retreat for the moment... to think of another method, when she suddenly noticed the pain from each strike beginning to fade. Her eyes widened in surprise.

"This is just like the lava tunnel and the thunder seed room. The more I endure, the less effective it becomes. I have to follow my previous pattern," she realised and a faint smile slowly formed on her lips.