Chapter 88

Based on the behavior of the flame monster and the three-faced monster towards him, Lumian categorized the monsters in the dream ruins into three levels: the lowest level were those who only had instincts and would attempt to attack him upon sight, but once he activated or semi-activated the black thorn symbol on his chest, they would all choose complete submission, allowing themselves to be slaughtered.

The next level, before he semi-activated the black thorn symbol, would also hunt him, but after he completed the sacrificial dance, they would very sensibly choose to flee. However, once they were more than five meters away, they could no longer sense the presence of the black thorn symbol. The flame monster from earlier was probably just left with fear, equating the aura of pollution from the seal with Lumian, which is why it kept avoiding him.

Those of a certain rank did not need Lumian to activate or semi-activate the black thorn symbol on his chest, nor did they need to be within five meters to directly perceive his "special" nature, showing clear fear.

Lumian believed there should be other levels beyond these three, at least one, possibly up to three. For example, those who, despite the semi-activation of the black thorn symbol, did not flee in terror but continued to attack despite significant weakening, or those whose rank was so high that they did not react to the black thorn symbol at all. Therefore, Lumian was both pleased that he could scare off the three-faced monster, seemingly able to walk freely in the dream ruins, but also dared not be the slightest bit careless.

Not to mention the possibility of even more terrifying beings with a higher rank than the three-faced monster, even the flame monster, with its powerful ranged attack, could completely ignore the semi-activated black thorn symbol and burn him to a crisp.

With this judgment, Lumian hesitated for a moment, then followed the route the three-faced monster had fled, heading deeper into the dream ruins. He planned to explore the state of the blood-red "mountain" and the surrounding area today, gathering preliminary intelligence to help unravel the secrets of the dream.

On the way, he always walked in relatively hidden places, less likely to be discovered, and remained vigilant for any monsters that might suddenly jump out.

Perhaps because the three-faced monster had just passed by, scaring the other monsters away from their original positions, Lumian did not see a single "figure" and smoothly crossed through the collapsed buildings and the gray, broken stones, reaching the base of the blood-red "mountain."

There was another circle of ruins here, but unlike the outer layers, the buildings themselves had not collapsed. Instead, they seemed to have twisted and reformed as if they had a life of their own, connecting to form a bizarre wall of "thorns."

The "wall" was tinged with a faint, grayish black, with the windows and doors of the original buildings haphazardly embedded in its surface. Some were open, revealing broken tables and chairs inside, while others were tightly closed, seemingly impossible to open.

Lumian glanced around and looked up at the blood-red "mountain" behind the "wall."

At this distance, even though the mist in the high sky was still thick and the light entering this world was quite dim, he could clearly see the details of the "mountain."

It was made of stones and soil, no more than thirty meters high, yet it gave the impression of soaring into the clouds. Its surface color was unnatural, whether the reddish-brown of the stones or the reddish-brown of the soil, as if they had been dyed from behind, extremely sinister.

"According to Orol and those paranormal magazines, this might be dyed with human blood," Lumian muttered to himself, his gaze rising higher, toward the top of the "mountain," which was obscured by the thick mist.

At that moment, it was as if an invisible wind blew through the air, dispersing much of the mist.

The top of the "mountain" suddenly became clearly visible to Lumian.

There, sitting cross-legged, was a "giant" about four to five meters tall. It was naked, with three heads on its neck. One faced left, expressing anger, greed, and hatred, extremely evil; one faced forward, with a twisted expression full of pain and regret; one faced right, with a holy face and eyes filled with compassion.

This "giant" had six arms, extending at different angles into the air. Its entire body, including the three heads, was made of pieces of flesh and organs, with visible cracks and yellow pus oozing out. The head facing Lumian had tears of transparent blood streaming down its eyes.

As soon as he saw this "giant," Lumian's mind instantly "buzzed," and he heard a terrifying voice that seemed to come from an infinite distance yet was right beside him.

His head felt as if it had been split open by an axe, the intense pain dominating his thoughts, depriving him of all rationality. On his skin, veins of various sizes bulged, red as if about to ignite.

When Lumian "woke" from his near-death state, he found himself curled on the ground, rolling back and forth, as if that was the only way to alleviate the pain.

His vision was blurry, tinged with blood, and everything looked hazy.

In this state, Lumian felt that even a skinless monster could easily kill him, but perhaps because the black thorn symbol was fully activated, no one dared to enter this area.

The "giant" on top of the blood-red "mountain" either could not leave or was similarly affected by the black thorn symbol, and did not attack the nearly out-of-control Lumian.

After a while, Lumian got up and saw that his dark jacket and the linen shirt underneath were covered in blood and sweat.

"What was that thing?" He felt increasingly fearful as he thought about it.

Just one glance had fully activated his black thorn symbol, nearly causing him to lose control, more dangerous than when he gained the Dancer's power.

He now dared not even think about the "giant's" appearance, only making certain inferences based on his memory: "A higher-level version of the three-faced monster?" Highly contaminated?

"Indeed, Orol was right; one should not look at things that should not be seen...

"It sits on the blood-red 'mountain,' the center of the entire dream ruins—does this mean it is part of the secret of the dream?"

As these thoughts raced through his mind, Lumian resisted the urge to look at the top of the "mountain" again.

One more glance and he would really die!

He decided to withdraw first, return to reality to rest, and come back to explore at night.

Turning around, Lumian was about to leave along the path he had come when he suddenly heard the sound of "clang! clang! clang!"

"What's going on?" He was curious and decided to sneak over to check.

Of course, he was not so hasty or reckless. He found a half-collapsed building near the "wall" to hide in, waiting for his senses to recover a bit.

After a while, Lumian once again performed the mysterious sacrificial dance.

He seemed to transform into a priest of a secret existence, using a dance that could summon the surrounding natural forces to please him.

When the burning sensation in his chest appeared, Lumian stopped and moved stealthily toward the intermittent "clang" sounds.

Circling around the blood-red "mountain" and the twisted "wall" and dancing again, he saw a flicker of firelight.

Behind a half-open brown wooden door on the "wall," the flickering orange firelight shone through.

"Clang! Clang! Clang!"

The figure inside was reflected on the glass window above, human-like but elongated by the light.

At that moment, the "figure" was raising a hammer-like object and striking it forcefully.

"Clang!"

Another clear metallic collision sound.

"Blacksmith? There's a blacksmith in the dream ruins?" Lumian made a guess based on his knowledge.

Relying on the black thorn symbol on his chest, which had not yet disappeared, he crouched and crept to the glass window, turning his body to peer inside.

Although Lumian's eyes had not fully recovered and things were still a bit blurry, he could勉强 discern the scene inside the room on the "wall": broken furniture and a stove with its upper half missing, with a fire burning inside and a patchwork iron plate on top.

On the iron plate lay a silver-black short knife, about twice the length of a normal dagger, covered in strange patterns. Lumian felt dizzy just from one glance.

"Clang!"

The "figure" with the hammer, like a skilled blacksmith, continuously struck the short knife.

It wore a black robe, and the side of its face facing Lumian was covered in rot, with some parts even exposing the white bone.

Another monster? Is it continuing what it did when it was human? That short knife is not ordinary, a bit sinister, I wonder if it's a sealed item or an extraordinary weapon? Various thoughts flashed through Lumian's mind.

He was less than three meters away from the rotting "blacksmith," but the other seemed to have no sense of the black thorn symbol on Lumian's chest, continuing to hammer the short knife silently.

Considering that the black thorn symbol was about to disappear, Lumian pulled back and quietly moved away from the window area.

He had only taken a few steps when the burning sensation in his chest disappeared.

The next second, he heard a creaking sound from behind.

Lumian quickly turned around and saw the brown wooden door fully open.

The "blacksmith" in the black robe appeared there, with several rotting wounds on its face exposing the bone, and its left eye hanging halfway out of the socket, looking like a corpse that had been dead for some time.

It held a hammer in its right hand and the silver-black short knife in its left, both of its lifeless eyes reflecting Lumian's figure.

"++!"

Lumian couldn't help but curse.

He instantly understood the situation: the "blacksmith" monster had clearly been affected by the black thorn symbol, so it had been "quietly" hammering the sinister short knife, pretending nothing was wrong.

Once the black thorn symbol disappeared, it immediately picked up its weapons and came out to hunt him.