Chapter 94

"Sure enough, no matter where I fall asleep, I always wake up here." Lumian got out of bed, glanced at the "Hunter's Blade," no, the "Fallen Mercury," and walked to the window amidst the faint gray mist.

He leaned on the desk with both hands, his gaze fixed on the blood-red "peak."

At the top of the "peak," the mist was thick and layered, completely obscuring the three-headed, six-armed "giant."

"Just a glance last time almost made me lose control. I don't know what to do if I have to face it again..." Lumian sighed, feeling quite troubled.

He didn't stay in this mood for long and quickly shook it off, as he had many things to do.

Lumian performed the dance that attracted strange creatures in the bedroom, spreading his spirituality through the frenzied and twisted movements, combining it with the natural forces he had stirred, and broadcasting it in all directions.

Before long, he sensed something approaching and saw the transparent and blurry figures of the mouthed creature, the rifle creature, and the skinless creature reflected on the glass window.

Lumian didn't rush. Following the dance movements, he drew the ritual silver dagger and stabbed his left hand.

A drop of fresh red blood quickly overflowed, drawn by his spirituality and the natural forces, forming a bead and embedding itself on his skin.

The three figures all showed signs of movement, but none dared to enter Lumian's house and attach to him.

Lumian turned half a circle, raised his left hand, and shouted, "I!"

He used ancient Hermetic, and the entire room seemed to tremble slightly, the faint gray mist rippling.

Lumian used the ritual silver dagger to pick up the drop of blood and pointed it at the mouthed creature, "Command you!"

"Come to me!" This was still in ancient Hermetic, and an invisible wind subtly arose.

The transparent and blurry figure of the mouthed creature trembled visibly, as if lifted and shaken by an invisible force.

Just as Lumian performed the final movement, thinking it would have no effect, the mouthed creature flew into the house, landed on the ritual silver dagger, and devoured the drop of fresh red blood.

Then, it violently trembled and drilled into Lumian's body through the silver dagger.

Lumian involuntarily opened his mouth, his mind echoing with the thoughts, "So hungry, so hungry, I'm so hungry."

He quickly turned his body and looked at the full-length mirror on the wardrobe, seeing his pale face, tinged with green, his mouth wide open like a corpse rather than a living person.

It worked... Lumian was delighted, but looking at himself in the mirror felt like looking at a stranger.

It really felt a bit strange.

He resisted the intense hunger and tried to sense the mouthed creature that had attached to him.

It was as if he had an additional brain, most of it filled with hunger, bloodlust, and madness, with a few areas retaining some instinctive abilities.

Lumian could amplify one of these instincts through his will and spirituality, which would allow him to use one of the mouthed creature's traits or abilities.

Without hesitation, Lumian chose "Invisibility."

The next second, he saw himself disappear in the full-length mirror.

From his body to his clothes to the ritual silver dagger, everything vanished.

Lumian took a few steps back and forth, finding no trace of himself in the mirror or on the glass.

Of course, his footprints and his scent did not disappear.

Lumian sheathed the silver dagger given to him by Orol, raised his arms, and threw a few punches.

The thuds echoed, but the full-length mirror still did not reflect him until Lumian genuinely punched the mirror.

As his fist hit the mirror's surface, his figure instantly appeared, his face pale with a greenish tinge, his eyes fierce.

"Amazing... No matter what I do, the 'Invisibility' effect remains, but it doesn't silence me. If I attack a mirror, the 'Invisibility' can't be maintained... I thought it was just optical camouflage as Orol said, but now it seems there are mystical factors involved... Attacking something means establishing a connection with it, making me visible to it?" Lumian let his right fist hover over the mirror's surface.

After confirming the effects and limitations of "Invisibility," he could no longer resist the intense hunger and hurriedly went downstairs to the cellar, pulling out two steaks.

If he hadn't retained his rationality, he would have already started gnawing on the dark, bloody meat.

Thinking about the need to light the stove and at least cook the steaks to medium-rare, Lumian abandoned this idea and chose the cheese he had stocked at home.

He didn't care about cleanliness or taste, stuffing food into his mouth like a ghost dying of hunger.

After eating several slices of cut cheese, Lumian finally managed to suppress the intense hunger.

"It seems this is the negative effect brought by the mouthed creature..." he assessed seriously, "Fortunately, I can still control my body and haven't completely lost my reason... That thing has a strong desire for revenge, but it's overwhelmed by an even stronger fear... If I say 'leave' in ancient Hermetic, it will run faster than anything..."

Thus, Lumian confirmed that the negative effects of the mouthed creature's attachment were within acceptable limits, and "Invisibility" would become a powerful tool for exploring and fighting in the dream ruins.

Combined with "Fallen Mercury," he felt his combat ability had more than doubled.

Lumian returned to the dining table, pulled out a chair, and sat down, patiently waiting for the attachment to end.

Before long, his spirituality was almost depleted.

He didn't push himself, stood up, and performed a few seemingly crazy movements.

This was part of the dance to attract the creature, designed to make the attached entity leave.

Without needing Lumian to command in ancient Hermetic, the blurry and transparent figure of the mouthed creature flew out and disappeared through the first-floor glass window without looking back.

"Don't run so fast, it's like I have a cesspool on me," Lumian couldn't help but mock himself.

He initially confirmed that his spirituality could maintain the attachment for about three minutes, and once "Invisibility" was activated, the consumption rate doubled.

Of course, this was under normal circumstances. In dangerous situations, Lumian could push his limits to maintain the attachment longer, but that risked losing control, so he tried to avoid it.

Although the mouthed creature had left, Lumian still felt the hunger, so he lit the stove and cooked the steaks to medium-well.

Then, he picked up a knife and fork, quickly cutting, spearing, and eating the meat, savoring the delicious juices locked inside.

In less than ten minutes, Lumian finished the two steaks and no longer felt hungry.

Looking at the empty plate before him, he sighed, "Three minutes of attachment, and it takes at least two hours to recover..."

This referred not only to the elimination of hunger but also to the restoration of his spirituality.

Seeing that his current state was unsuitable for exploration, Lumian found flour, sugar, and other ingredients and used the home oven to make cookies.

These would be his primary source of energy in the ruins, along with cheese.

If he had more time, he would have made some jerky—something the shepherds often carried, and he, being in Cordu Village, knew how to make it.

While busy, Lumian thought about what he would do in the dream ruins: "First, I'll circle around the 'wall,' and second, I'll consider hunting the flame creature..."

Only by improving his strength could he better explore and unravel the secrets of the dream.

The flame creature displayed at least Sequence 7 strength and was likely on the "Hunter" path, with abilities that perfectly suppressed Lumian. He hadn't planned to deal with it soon, intending to first find weaker targets, equivalent to "Provokers." However, the acquisition of "Fallen Mercury" and "Invisibility" gave him some hope.

Once his spirituality was mostly restored, Lumian put the baked cookies and cut cheese into a cloth bag and hung it on his waist.

He then carefully wrapped his left hand in layers of white bandages, picked up the sinister short knife named "Fallen Mercury," slung the rifle over his back, secured the axe, and took the other items he needed.

As he walked toward the front door, he felt like a fully armed hunter preparing for a dangerous hunt.

Many thoughts floated through his mind: "The initial plan is to first understand the movement patterns of the flame creature, then use 'Invisibility' to quietly approach it and use 'Fallen Mercury' to inflict a wound." Before that, he would hunt a weaker creature, strip it of some bad fate, and wait for the exchange with the flame creature.

"In the attached state, I can't perform the sacrificial dance to half-activate the black thorn symbol, as the mouthed creature would immediately detach from my body. So, how to maintain distance after injuring the flame creature and wait for the fate exchange is the most challenging part of the plan. Relying solely on 'Invisibility' makes it easy for the creature to track me through traces..."

Lumian hadn't yet found a solution to this problem, which depended on the initial information gathering.

Pulling open the front door and stepping into the wilderness, he had a premonition: "If I can successfully hunt the flame creature, my 'Hunter' potion will be fully digested."

In the area where he had previously encountered the flame creature, Lumian held the silver-black short knife in his left hand, carefully searching for any possible traces and constantly guarding against sudden attacks.

After cautiously searching for nearly ten minutes, he finally found what seemed to be traces left by the flame creature: in the corner of a collapsed house, a stone had burn marks, while none of the surrounding stones did.

With one, there would be more, and Lumian quickly locked onto the flame creature's trail, slowly and cautiously following it.

When the traces became fresh, he stopped and began to dance.