91 Scheming
Lumian danced to lure in strange creatures. His objective: to use Invisibility to slip closer and analyze the flaming monster’s habits and movements, gathering intel for future hunts.
Within a mere 30 to 40 seconds, he used ancient Hermes to reattach the mouth-orifice creature to himself.
An overwhelming hunger consumed Lumian, compelling him to open his mouth. It was as if his mouth had sprouted vortex-shaped teeth.
Swiftly, he stifled the ravenous and insane thoughts flooding his being, pulled out a small biscuit and a cube of cheese, and shoved them into his mouth, chewing and swallowing.
!!
Simultaneously, he strengthened the mouth-orifice creature’s invisibility, causing him to vanish from sight.
Having quelled his hunger, Lumian tried hard to clamp his mouth shut to prevent the aroma of biscuit and cheese from escaping.
He then trailed the flaming monster along the road’s edge.
Before long, Lumian spotted the charred monster, its every limb ablaze.
It was constructing a new trap in the clearing from before.
You’re already a monster, yet you’re still so dedicated? Lumian silently jeered.
Naturally, he understood this was merely an expression of the monster’s instinctive behavior.
Lumian dared not approach too closely, halting beside a crumbling wall at the clearing’s perimeter.
He studied the flaming monster for a few moments before glancing back at the path he had traversed. He noticed that, although his footprints were faint and concealed in less conspicuous areas, they still existed.
Lumian eyed his current position and hatched a plan.
Closely monitoring the monster’s movements, he seized a larger rock and hurled it to the side. As it flew, he pressed his right hand against the decaying wall and vaulted up, landing securely atop the wall.
Crash! Lumian’s actions were flawlessly masked by the sound of the rock striking the ground.
After changing his vantage point, Lumian felt much more at ease. Monitoring his dwindling spirituality, he intently observed the flaming monster.
He discerned that the flaming monster’s traps were neither concealed nor challenging to detect. They didn’t exploit any logical vulnerabilities or inertia-driven movement. They were simple and exposed.
The most elementary example was the flaming monster stretching a rope slightly above one’s ankle between two ruined buildings across the clearing.
Any human or monster with normal vision could easily discover this trap.
At first, Lumian didn’t grasp its purpose, but after placing himself in the monster’s position, he gradually discerned its potential significance.
The intent of such traps was not to directly harm or ensnare enemies, but to forge an environment that enabled Hunters to exhibit their full potential.
In the heat of battle, one struggled to observe the environment and maintain situational awareness. Constantly distracted by these limitations, they occasionally had to slow down or alter their stance to evade traps. Hunters possessed the unique ability to remain alert to their surroundings at all times and exploit the environment to their advantage.
This disparity widened the gulf between their strengths.
An open conspiracy… Lumian nodded in understanding, recalling Aurore’s words.
Suddenly, he perceived the flaming monster as a stern instructor imparting valuable lessons about Hunters to him.
Simultaneously, he remembered the content of Aurore’s novel: Stealing from a master is punishable by death!
Eventually, the flaming monster ceased its activity. Its charred face instinctively scanned the vicinity.
Then, it strode towards the edge of the clearing near Lumian, flames dancing from its body.
Following a predetermined route to the next location? Lumian mused to himself, his excitement mounting.
For Hunters, discerning a quarry’s path was invaluable.
Most traps lay hidden along such routes!
As the flaming monster ambled, it scrutinized its surroundings and examined the ground, remaining vigilant.
This caused Lumian to furrow his brow. He realized that a higher Sequence Hunter wouldn’t be easily handled.
The most effective counter to Beyonders was often individuals or objects of a higher Sequence from the same pathway, even if the gap was only one or two Sequences.
I’m better at your strengths than you are. You may lack what I possess!
If not for his Dancer-related abilities and the Fallen Mercury dirk, Lumian wouldn’t have dared to entertain any designs on the flaming monster.
Seven to eight seconds later, the flaming monster reached the edge of the clearing, approximately five to six meters from the crumbling wall.
As before, the flaming monster’s gaze instinctively roved.
It paused, as if observing footprints near the wall’s edge that appeared to have been left by someone.
Thump, thump. Lumian’s heart pounded involuntarily.
He wasn’t prepared to hunt the flaming monster just yet.
Despite the five to six meters between them, Lumian hesitated to kill the enemy with Fallen Mercury, knowing the latter hadn’t stored an exchangeable fate.
If a fight erupted, he’d be hunted before he could activate the black thorn symbol!
Lumian struggled to control his heartbeat and breathing. His right hand hovered over the black cloth covering Fallen Mercury’s blade, ready to tear it away at any moment.
If he leaped with full force from his current position, he might reach the flaming monster and avoid a long-range battle that favored his opponent.
Two or three seconds ticked by. The flaming monster averted its gaze and moved on.
It didn’t seem to have noticed Lumian’s footprints.
After covering another ten meters, the flaming monster suddenly spun around.
Flames erupted from its body, condensing into a massive, searing white fireball.
The fireball rocketed like a cannonball toward the spot where Lumian had been perched at the edge of the crumbling wall.
Following his instincts, Lumian, who was crouching on the wall, leaped down to the other side, where the flaming monster had laid its trap.
Boom!
A fiery blast erupted, causing the already unstable wall to collapse.
...
Upon landing, Lumian rolled twice to avoid falling debris and the shockwave laced with flames.
He immediately sprang back up, maintaining his “invisibility” as he sped through the traps left by the flaming monster and headed toward another exit in the clearing.
The flaming monster couldn’t detect its enemy right away, so it focused on searching for clues.
Finally, it spotted a series of faint footprints.
By then, Lumian had reached the rope stretched between two collapsed buildings, easily jumping over it and fleeing the clearing.
He dashed to a natural trap and shook off his pursuer.
Having deactivated his invisibility, Lumian cursed in pain, “Too treacherous, too treacherous! One of these monsters’ heads is worth two of Pons’s. After finding my footprints, it pretended not to see them and deliberately increased the distance between us, fearing it might be defeated!”
As Lumian cursed, he felt like he had learned something new.
Of course, there were drawbacks to this approach: the increased distance gave Lumian room to escape.
Furthermore, his invisibility meant the flaming monster couldn’t lock onto him right away. His chances of escaping were high.
After catching his breath and restoring some energy, Lumian mused while eating biscuits and cheese, “Based on what just happened, as long as I plan carefully and strike at the right moment, I can rely on Invisibility to create distance and escape to a safe location, waiting for the fate exchange to complete.”
...
Lumian’s Invisibility would break upon attacking, but as long as he avoided contact, he could use it again.
This valuable insight emerged from his reconnaissance.
However, he also realized a problem. As a Hunter, I didn’t bring water when I went ‘hunting in the mountains!’ I’m so thirsty!
Both cheese and biscuits required water.
The jerky Lumian intended to make in the future fell into this category too.
After resting briefly, he resolved to hunt Noodle Man, strip its bad fate, and store it in Fallen Mercury. He couldn’t risk being defenseless in an emergency again.
A puppet’s fate also belonged to Fallen Mercury and could be exchanged. But Lumian wasn’t a wielder. He couldn’t swap his fate with others. If he could, he’d gladly give away the bomb on him.
……
About thirty minutes later, Lumian tracked down Noodle Man, the grotesque hodgepodge of limbs and features.
Having completed the ritualistic dance in advance, Lumian strode towards Noodle Man openly. As expected, he found Noodle Man prostrate on the fetid ground, trembling uncontrollably.
Very obedient… Lumian praised, gripping an iron-black axe in his right hand and the pewter-black Fallen Mercury dirk in his left.
Though Fallen Mercury dirk’s malignant aura seeped into Lumian’s skin even without contact, he had long grown immune to its corrupting influence. What might drive ordinary Beyonders to losing control was nothing to him.
Lumian glowered at the pathetic Noodle Man cowering before him, retracting his gaze from the gnashing maw on its forehead.
“According to Aurore, death is a mercy for your kind. The sooner you expire, the sooner your suffering will end.”
As he spoke, Lumian crouched and plunged the pewter-black dirk deep into the back of Noodle Man’s neck.
Noodle Man spasmed, but did not resist or struggle.
Lumian wrenched the dirk free and gripped his axe, swinging the weapon down with fluid grace.
The axehead cleaved through flesh and bone, sending Noodle Man’s head tumbling across the ground with Fallen Mercury’s swipe.
Blood erupted from the severed neck, splattering everywhere.
Noodle Man’s twitching remains soon fell still, lifeless at last.
Lumian strode over to the head and retrieved FalleN mercury with his left hand.
In the fleeting second between breaths, an illusory river shimmered before his eyes.
The river appeared to be constructed from intricate mercury symbols, and each symbol seemed formed by the river itself.
At once, the river’s branches disappeared, leaving only the primary current. It fractured midway and kinked as if wanting to double back to its source but for now could not prevail.