Another monster suddenly prepared to attack from a tree branch.
Its image was seen on three branches, but just before the jump, the blue light inside the trunk behind it went dark for a fraction of a second.
The real body had blocked the light. The reflections did not have this effect.
Lian stepped aside, and the Stalker’s claw passed by his face.
[Analysis: 21%]
The Stalker landed on the ground and faded again. Three other creatures moved among the trees at the same time.
Their images shattered on dozens of surfaces.
"Did you figure anything out?" Seris kept her sword ready. It was clear that even she was not satisfied with the current situation.
Their opponents were extremely weak, but with the help of the environment, they had caused them to lose all their senses and instincts, and they had no idea what they were fighting.
Every strike they made hit nothing, as if they were fighting illusions and air.
To the point that it was becoming so annoying that even Seris was slowly losing her patience.
"When the real body is in front of the light flow, the trunk goes dark for a moment." Lian said quietly.
"But which trunk?" The young girl’s eyes moved over the trees.
Lian focused Echo Adaptation on the Stalker. The purple light in the second tree on the right dimmed for a moment.
"Three o’clock. Behind the second tree."
Seris moved without seeing the enemy.
[King’s Edge]
Mana was compressed on her sword’s edge. She stepped forward and sent a horizontal strike. The blade did not hit the transparent trunk.
At that same moment, the Prismfang Stalker came out from behind the tree.
Seris’s sword went directly into its side. The transparent body was split in half, and a blue liquid splashed on the soil.
The creature rolled a few meters on the ground and remained motionless. Its reflected images disappeared at the same time.
"Finally!"
[Analysis: 39%]
The second Stalker jumped from a high branch toward Lian. This time, he saw the darkening light before the attack.
Thunder Step was activated, and an explosion of lightning formed among the trees.
Lian moved out of the attack path and appeared on a higher branch.
Glacial Reaper Claw formed on his hand.
The Stalker was still in the air when the ice claw landed on its neck.
The cold spread through its transparent body. Its legs and spine froze in an instant, and its body stuck to the branch.
One jumped from below. Its massive jaws closed around the frozen body, and with one squeeze, the Stalker was shattered into several pieces of ice and broken crystal.
Two other creatures attacked at the same time.
One from the front, the other from behind Seris. At least that was what the eye could see.
The first image jumped directly toward her chest. The young Pendragon made no defensive move.
The image passed through her body and shattered on the trunk behind her... it was a reflection.
The real creature attacked from the left a moment later.
Seris, without fully turning her body, lowered her sword. The blade passed through the transparent Stalker’s jaw and went up to its neck.
The monster fell on the ground with a sound like a glass goblet shattering.
"Did you know which one was real from the start?" Lian gave her a brief look.
"Reflections don’t have a smell." Seris shook the blue blood off her blade.
"When did you realize that?"
"Just now."
A deep roar echoed in the forest. The reflections trembled for a moment. All the remaining Stalkers stepped back.
Not to flee, but as if to open a path. A faint light moved among the trunks.
Something larger was slowly approaching. Its body was taller and more muscular than the other Stalkers.
Its skin was more transparent, so much so that from some angles, it almost completely disappeared. Golden and purple veins flowed inside its body.
Its teeth were longer, and prismatic blades had grown along its spine.
Its panel appeared.
[Prismfang Alpha]
[Level: 21]
[Rank: Normal]
The Alpha lowered its head, and its reflection appeared on all the surrounding trees.
Dozens of identical bodies, some on the ground, some on the branches, and some even standing on the transparent trunks in a direction opposite to gravity.
This time, not only the creature’s body was reflected, but its movements were also repeated several times.
The Alpha raised its right claw. At that same moment, dozens of glowing lines resembling claws moved toward them from different angles.
Lian kept Predator’s Instincts active. Most of the attacks were only light reflections, but identifying the real claw among them was not easy.
"Be careful, this one knows even better how to use the environment." He then warned.
The other monsters could use the environment to some extent, but they had obvious weaknesses. However, this Alpha knew much better how to use the environment.
Seris stepped back and held her sword in front of her body.
A few light lines passed by her. One hit her armor and created a scratch on it.
Only one was real.
The Alpha changed its path at that same moment. Instead of Lian or Seris, it moved toward One.
It had probably detected the remaining exhaustion in the ant’s body.
One opened its jaws, but still did not know which direction the attack would come from.
"You thought only you could do it? Two can play that game!" Lian whispered mockingly and activated False Presence.
[False Presence]
A few meters away, a false presence of One formed. The sound of six legs moving on the ground, the smell of the ant’s body, and a weak Mana Signature.
The Alpha turned its head toward the false presence for a fraction of a second.
Its body changed its path, but stopped before completing the attack.
Its prismatic eyes narrowed. The false presence had no natural shadow. Its weight pressure on the ground was not felt.
The Alpha had noticed the difference.
False Presence had not been able to completely fool it, but that fraction of a second was enough.
Seris raised her sword.
[Silver Requiem]
The blade’s movement disappeared from view. Dozens of silver strikes appeared in the space around the Alpha, and each cut collided with one of the attack’s reflections.
The false lines broke, the deflected lights collapsed, and for a moment, only the Alpha’s real body remained.
Lian also did not miss the opportunity and moved.
[Iron Fortress Charge]
Force gathered in his legs and shoulder. He hit the Alpha’s side at high speed.
The monster’s semi-transparent body was lifted off the ground and thrown through two trees into a more open space. A few glass branches shattered under its weight.
Before falling completely, the Alpha spun its body and landed on four legs.
But One had already moved. The ant lunged at it, and its jaws closed around the Alpha’s back leg.
The monster roared and brought its claws down on One’s head. The ant’s shell developed shallow cracks.
But One did not let go.
Lian activated Thunder Step. Blue lightning ran on the ground, and he appeared right in front of the Alpha.
Glacial Reaper Claw formed on his hand.
The Alpha raised its free claw. Several light reflections were created along with it.
Echo Adaptation had now seen enough of the species’ movement patterns.
"Your tricks won’t work anymore."
Lian identified the real point before the attack was complete. He lowered his body, and the Alpha’s claw passed over his head.
He sank Glacial Reaper Claw directly into the monster’s transparent chest. The cold spread through its body.
The light inside its organs went out. The ice spread from its chest to its neck and legs.
The Alpha tried to pull back, but One was still holding its leg.
It had no chance to escape!
A crack formed in the center of the monster’s chest, then a second crack, and then dozens of cracks ran through its entire transparent body.
Lian turned the claw. The Prismfang Alpha’s body collapsed from the inside.
The crystalline pieces fell on the ground. The reflected lights in the entire forest went out.
The remaining Stalkers remained motionless for a few moments upon seeing the Alpha’s death, then scattered among the trees without trying to continue the battle.
Lian did not chase them. Their goal was hunting, but entering a deeper ambush for a few Level 17 or 18 creatures was not worth it.
System notifications appeared.
[You have slain Prismfang Stalker Lv.17.]
[You have slain Prismfang Stalker Lv.18.]
[You have slain Prismfang Stalker Lv.18.]
[You have slain Prismfang Alpha Lv.21.]
[Bloodlust has absorbed 100% of the available exp.]
[Due to group kill, the EXP received is halved.]