Chapter 90

When the silver-black dagger fell to the ground, it bounced a few times.

Lumian let out a sigh of relief and muttered to himself, "Without the black thorn symbol to protect it, this thing is a bomb."

Fortunately, he already knew how to avoid the negative effects of this sinister dagger.

Walking among the grayish-white chunks of flesh, Lumian picked up the black robe left by the blacksmith monster.

He tore it with a few tugs and wrapped it around his right hand, as if bandaging it properly.

Then, Lumian used this hand to pick up the Life-Hunting Dagger.

The silver-black dagger showed no abnormal reactions throughout the process.

Lumian, who was ready to throw it away at any moment, relaxed and said softly, "I need to get a sheath for it, so it's easier to carry."

"Am I going to have to keep my left or right hand wrapped in bandages all the time, just in case I need to draw the dagger in an emergency and don't have time to protect myself?"

"This thing is dangerous, but it's also truly powerful. Apart from its short lifespan, it outperforms the Beyonder weapons mentioned by Aurel."

As he muttered to himself, Lumian wrapped the Life-Hunting Dagger with the black cloth, layering it three times before he felt confident enough to tuck the sinister dagger into his left belt.

After finishing this task, Lumian rubbed his temples, feeling physically and mentally exhausted. He entered the room where the blacksmith monster had emerged and searched it thoroughly.

Apart from the furnace still burning, he found nothing.

With this, Lumian's exploration came to an end. He made his way back, being very cautious and careful. Without the interference of fate, he smoothly left the ruins and the desolate plain, entering his semi-underground two-story building.

He didn't rush to bed. After leaving the place, he put away the Life-Hunting Dagger, rested for a while, and waited until his spirituality was restored to a satisfactory level. Then, in his bedroom, he began the bizarre dance that was sometimes frenzied and sometimes twisted.

He wanted to attract strange creatures from the surrounding area to try to possess him and see what negative effects they might have.

After noticing the fear and reverence the flame monster, the three-faced monster, and the Life-Hunting Dagger had for the black thorn symbol, he was no longer as afraid of being possessed by these creatures.

The pollution in his body was far more severe than these!

Moreover, he was quite exhausted and would fall asleep quickly. By the time he woke up, even if the possessing creature didn't want to leave or caused serious negative effects, he would be fully recovered after a day's rest in the real world.

"Is this what Aurel often calls 'cheating' and 'using cheats'?" Lumian thought as he danced.

As the dance became more intense, his spirituality gradually spread out, merging with a certain natural force in the surroundings and radiating in all directions.

Gradually, Lumian, who seemed to have merged with the surroundings, felt something enter the area. He lifted his leg, stepped forward, and turned around. Without using "Spirit Vision," he directly saw three transparent figures appear on the bedroom window.

They were still the skinless monster, the rifle monster, and the mouth monster. It seems my inspiration isn't strong enough, or my rank is too low, so I can only 'summon' them.

Lumian didn't mind. He pulled out the silver ritual dagger given by Aurel and cut a wound on the back of his left hand.

A drop of fresh red blood quickly seeped out but didn't spread around.

It coagulated in place, taking on an eerie color.

The three transparent figures outside the window immediately became restless.

Lumian then used the silver ritual dagger to pick up the coagulated drop of blood. With the final dance moves, he pointed the tip of the dagger at the monster.

The monster with three black marks on its upper body opened its vortex-like mouth, as if it had heard Lumian's summons, but it didn't make any further moves.

"Right, the window is still closed, and the monsters in the dream ruins don't dare to enter my house." Lumian understood something. Following the rhythm of the dance, he half-jumped and landed next to the desk by the window.

He then extended his left hand, opened the tightly closed window, and extended the silver ritual dagger with the blood to the outside.

The monster didn't come to consume the drop of blood. Instead, the silver ritual dagger entered Lumian's body, and in the howling wind, it retreated a meter and floated in the air, staring blankly at him as he danced.

"Hey, come on!" Lumian, who was performing the final dance move, couldn't help but urge it impatiently.

The three blurry transparent figures outside the house floated even further away. When Lumian's dance stopped, they completely disappeared.

Lumian looked at this scene in disbelief, not understanding why the monsters were unwilling to possess him.

He carefully recalled the entire process, confirming that his dance and the blood-cutting procedure were correct.

"Could it be that they remember I killed them and are unwilling to possess me? But the knowledge attached to the Dancer didn't mention this. Logically, they should be more eager to possess me to seek revenge." Lumian fell into deep thought.

Thinking about how the three-faced monster ran away as soon as it saw him, he had a new hypothesis.

"I have the pollution of an evil god and the seals in my body. These strange creatures are terrified and dare not possess me?"

This is a very rare situation, and it's normal that the esoteric knowledge corresponding to the Dancer didn't mention it.

The more Lumian thought about it, the more he believed this was the reason, and the more he became angry: "You just watch me dance and don't want to possess me?"

"What is this? In Aurel's words, it's freeloading!" Lumian felt disappointed. This way, the Dancer's ability would be useless when he faced the bound person, as he couldn't attract strange creatures to possess him and use their traits or abilities.

He could only console himself that perhaps only the strange creatures in the dream ruins were like this, as they were closely related to the owner of the black thorn symbol.

"I wonder what I can attract in the real world and if they dare to possess me." Lumian muttered, walked to the bed, and lay down.

Looking at the Life-Hunting Dagger wrapped in layers of black cloth on the side table, his mood improved significantly.

This is a very powerful Beyonder weapon that can help him explore the dream ruins and uncover their secrets. The only drawback is that it can't be brought to the real world.

I wonder if that mysterious lady can help bring it out, just as she brought the potion and ritual materials into the dream ruins.

But for the next exploration of the dream ruins, I'll have to trouble her to bring the Life-Hunting Dagger back.

"Providing repeated assistance like this, she definitely won't be willing. She clearly shows a strong aversion to trouble and likes to be lazy."

With this thought, Lumian fell into a deep sleep.

When Lumian woke up, the sky was unusually dark, with a hint of red sunset lingering in the distance.

This scene made him feel inexplicably low, as if he had been abandoned by the entire world.

Adjusting his emotions, Lumian left the room and went downstairs. Aurel was busy preparing dinner.

"Are your eyes better?" Lumian offered to help.

Aurel flicked her golden hair behind her ear, turned her face, and opened her eyes wide. "Almost."

Lumian looked at her eyes and saw that apart from some bloodshot, there were no other abnormalities.

Aurel continued to fry the lamb chops and asked casually, "Did you find anything in the dream ruins this time?"

Lumian started slicing the next dish and recounted his encounter in detail.

"That dagger is indeed very powerful." Seeing that her brother was fine, Aurel's concern subsided, and she laughed. "If it were me, I wouldn't name it Life-Hunting Dagger. It's too straightforward and lacks the necessary charm."

Lumian asked curiously, "What would you name it?"

Aurel smiled. "I would call it Fallen Mercury!"

"Okay, from now on, it's called Fallen Mercury!" Lumian nodded immediately. The name his sister chose must be used!

Aurel laughed. "Actually, this name isn't that great, but I could only think of it in such a short time."

"Right. The behavior of those monsters further confirms our hypothesis. The black thorn symbol on my chest, or the pollution in my body, is not simple. It can suppress things of high rank that are closely related to that hidden existence."

"Perhaps the key to the cycle really lies with you."

"Right." Lumian nodded. "Now we just need to uncover the secrets hidden in the dream ruins and wait patiently for one night."

So far, they have investigated almost all the anomalies twice, except for the place where the owl is located.

That place is extremely dangerous, and the only hope is to get Puaris to help, but she clearly doesn't want to get involved.

We can only wait for that special time to come. Lumian, not holding much hope, mentioned that the dance to attract strange creatures was hindered by the two symbols on his body and couldn't succeed. He concluded, "Sister, do you have any ideas on how to bypass this restriction?"

"Ideas?"

Aurel flipped the lamb chops and thought for a moment. "Possession seems impossible. How about trying commands?"

Lumian's eyes lit up.

"Commands?"

Aurel nodded slightly. "Since those strange creatures fear the pollution in your body and the seal of that great existence, you can use their fear to command them to possess you. Yes, use the ancient Hermetic language when you do."

"That's an idea." Lumian understood what his sister meant by "using the tiger's might to command the fox."