Phew… Lumian exhaled steadily and reined in his racing thoughts. He slung his shotgun over his shoulder and clipped on his axe. Leaving the semi-subterranean two-story building perched on the edge of the wild, he strode into the dream ruins.
Tracking a familiar route through the dense forest, he crept deeper into the tangle of collapsed houses towards the hulking "peak" of crumbling red stone.
Thick fog clung to the somber sky, weeds rasped at his feet. The whole world was darkened, bleak.
Soon Lumian left familiar ground behind, plunging into the heart of the ruins.
He scanned the ruins constantly, cataloging every trace, theorizing how each might be useful in a fight.
Caution slowed his progress but hunting taught caution and carefulness above all.
Finally, a clue. Fresh footprints, seemingly human. Tucked behind a jumble of rubble at the road's edge, cunningly concealed.
This one knows how to move unseen… Capable of eliminating traces to a certain extent… Lumian observed for a while and made a preliminary judgment.
He suspected that it was something similar to the shotgun monster, perhaps bearing clues to Sequence 8 of the Hunter's pathway.
Experience and Aurore's speculation told him three types of monsters likely infested these ruins.
The first bore no boons or Beyonder characteristics, like Noodle Man or the mouth-orifice monster, probably under the sway of that hidden being called Inevitability.
The second displayed Beyonder characteristics but no boons, typified by the shotgun monster. The black thorn on Lumian's chest would suppress them. It meant that they were tainted by some hidden corruption, resulting in them turning into monsters.
The third showed no boons or Beyonder characteristics, mere humans or creatures twisted into horrors like the skinless monster he first found.
Whether monsters with both boons and Beyonder characteristics existed, he and Aurore suspected so but lacked proof.
Therefore, it was very likely that a monster with Hunter traits possessed Beyonder characteristics!
Lumian tracked the footprints and discovered two lethal traps along the way, validating his hypothesis.
Had he not tread carefully or lacked his Hunter abilities, he might have become prey instead of predator.
Soon, the footprints grew fresher.
This meant a high probability of encountering his target if he pressed on.
Rather than rushing to "greet" his target, Lumian circled around and located an ideal ambush spot.
Then he began to dance.
Amid the intangible melody, he stamped with powerful steps and spun in a gentle, graceful semicircle, reenacting Noodle Man's strange, mysterious sacrificial dance.
His skills were rough and rusty, but with his Dancer power, Lumian felt his chest heat up.
After undoing his shirt and confirming the black thorn symbol's materialization, Lumian climbed into the collapsed house's center and settled into his chosen hiding place.
He quickly glanced into the distance and spied a figure digging a trap.
It was certainly a "person," but its whole body was charred black, and crimson flames blazed on its surface endlessly.
No way it's a Pyromaniac, right? I've landed a big one… Lumian was both thrilled and vexed.
He was thrilled that the primary ingredient matching a Sequence 8 Provoker had appeared. What troubled him was that it was much stronger than the prey he had anticipated.
Pyromaniac was a Sequence 7 of the Hunter pathway. According to Aurore, it was a Sequence that had undergone a qualitative change. Its ancient name was Fire Mage.
Lumian believed that with him being a Hunter, a Dancer, and possessing the black thorn symbol, as long as he wasn't careless, hunting a Provoker monster shouldn't be an issue. However, he wasn't confident against a Sequence 7 Pyromaniac.
As long as the monster attacked him from afar, it might not be weakened by the black thorn symbol!
After some thought, Lumian decided to retreat.
He planned to devise an effective plan to handle the flaming monster after setting up a targeted trap.
His initial idea was to head home and dance the dance that could summon the strange objects in the surrounding area and see what kind of adverse effects it would have on him when allowing the remnant spirit of the mouth-orifice monster to possess him.
If it wasn't severe and acceptable, he could borrow the other party's ability in the future, such as Invisibility.
Lumian wasn't too worried about the aftereffects of being possessed or whether the vengeful spirit would be willing to leave after successfully possessing him.
In any case, he was in the dream ruins. As long as he didn't die on the spot, he could recover fully after returning to reality to rest.
Just as Lumian made a move, the flaming monster suddenly raised its charred face and bulging eyes, looking right at him.
Not good! Lumian thought. Instead of climbing, he jumped down from his hiding spot.
Almost instantly, a massive fireball smashed into where he'd been, sending bricks and rocks flying, erupting in flames.
Lumian staggered in a sorry state. When he crashed, he could barely control his body. All he could do was tumble and roll to cushion the impact.
If not for Dancer's extraordinary flexibility, his muscles and ligaments would have torn from the twisted movement.
By the time Lumian stood up again, the flaming monster had already materialized atop the collapsed building. Phantasmal fire ravens coalesced from flames around it.
Upon seeing this, Lumian felt as if surrounded by soldiers with guns trained on him.
Without hesitation, he bolted towards the collapsed building where the flaming monster stood.
Faced with such a scene, he felt the only way to turn defeat into victory was by using the black thorn symbol on his chest.
And this seemed to require closing the distance!
Thud thud thud!
As Lumian ran, half the Fire Ravens descended from the sky and detonated behind him, causing heat waves to surge and explosions to reverberate.
The remaining illusory Fire Ravens banked and locked onto their running target.
At that moment, Lumian arrived at the bottom of the collapsed building, no more than five meters from the flaming monster.
In the next second, the charred monster enveloped in crimson flames froze. The remaining Fire Ravens around it were instantly snuffed out.
It's working! Just as joy flooded Lumian's heart, the flaming monster pivoted and fled from the collapsed building in the opposite direction.
"Hey, don't run!" Lumian blurted subconsciously.
He circled around the ruins before him and chased after the flaming monster.
Lumian chased it for two blocks. As the monster was too swift, he completely lost sight of it.
At this moment, the searing sensation in Lumian's chest vanished.
He had no choice but to stop and adjust his breathing, gearing himself up to track the footprints and watch out for traps.
As he panted, Lumian's gaze swept around and suddenly froze.
Not far away, a figure loomed in the doorway of a half-collapsed building.
The figure wore a black robe with a hood. Aside from that, it seemed ordinary enough, except it had three faces on its head.
The front face was an old man's. Milky eyes, scraggly brows, wrinkled as a prune.
The left was in its prime, chiseled and stubbled, icy blue eyes gleaming.
The right was a child's—one less than five years old—smooth and round, blue eyes wide with innocence and ignorance.
The three-faced monster! That three-faced monster! Lumian was truly frightened.
As he was chasing after the flaming monster, he'd wandered deep into the ruins and stumbled on the three-faced monster!
Despite mastering the mysterious Sacrificial Dance and activating the black thorn symbol, Lumian had no intention of using the three-faced monster as target practice. His instincts screamed that this foe was lethal. According to the mysterious lady's words, even weakened by the black thorn symbol, the monster could easily slay a weak hunter.
Lumian's plan was to steer clear of the three-faced monster's territory and practice on other monsters. He wanted to test the black thorn mark's power against enemies of varying might before deciding whether to hunt the three-faced monster.
Unexpectedly, the monster left its domain and stumbled upon Lumian!
Eh… would a little dance of contrition perhaps appease you? Lumian thought, taking an involuntary step back.
At the entrance of the crumbling building, the three-faced monster in a black robe and hood retreated a step.
Lumian spun around.
The three-faced monster mirrored him.
Lumian bolted.
The three-faced monster fled as well.
Lumian, who had meant to flee and try dancing, ran a few paces before sensing something amiss.
He halted and glanced back. By chance, he saw the three-faced monster retreating.
"…" Lumian stared, stunned.
After a moment, Lumian vaguely grasped the situation. He touched his face and muttered, "Am I that scary?"
The three-faced monster's actions reminded him of their first encounter.
Back then, Lumian stole a glance at the three-faced monster and cowered in terror, praying to the Eternal Blazing Sun to conceal him. Though the three-faced monster clearly peered toward his hiding spot, it didn't seem to notice anything. Instead, it took the initiative to retreat further away.
So it wasn't the Eternal Blazing Sun that shielded me, nor was I very fortunate. Did the three-faced monster sense my "specialness" and flee? Lumian nodded thoughtfully, hazarding a guess.
In the dream ruins, can monsters of a certain level directly perceive my "specialness" without me half-activating the black thorn symbol?
