"(sigh) I should end this quickly. I'm running low… and honestly, I'm getting tired of this place," Tianluo muttered, clenching his sword tighter. The fatigue wasn't just physical, it was creeping into his thoughts.
Normally, Tianluo would combine his ether skills with his qi. However, with his qi sealed, he was doing everything he could to avoid using his ether skills actively. Instead, he used ether energy passively enhancing his strength, speed, and reflexes to mimic the effects of qi.
The monster let out a roar, trying to intimidate him.
Without much warning, it charged. Its massive foot crashed into the ground. The swordsman didn't flinch. With a subtle sidestep, he avoided the attack by half a step. The monster's claw missed completely, slicing through empty air.
A single swing.
Silence.
The monster froze. A thin wound appeared on its chest not deep, but enough to make it flinch and recoil.
"A monster is still a monster. High level or not, its movements are too monotonous and hasty."
The creature tried again, this time more cautiously. They exchanged blows, claws and fists clashing against swift, efficient sword strikes. Tianluo rarely attacked. He focused on defense, observing carefully.
Minutes passed.
"You're strong, but untrained. You rely solely on instinct," Tianluo said calmly.
The monster growled as if offended and charged again with a louder roar.
Tianluo sighed, raised his sword, and in a slow, smooth motion, swung it through the air.
There was a sound like tearing paper. The space before his blade wavered briefly, then returned to normal. The monster froze mid-charge then slowly dropped to its knees. A thin cut had appeared across its abdomen. It didn't look serious, but it was enough to sap the creature's strength.
"Dimensional Slash," the swordsman muttered.
"Not for show. Only used when necessary. I still need to conserve energy in case the others are facing monsters like you."
The monster remained conscious, but no longer attacked. Its breathing grew erratic, its gaze lost more from confusion than pain. It couldn't comprehend how it had been defeated so easily.
Tianluo stepped closer and drove his blade into it's heart, then slowly walked toward the formation crystal and slashed it, hoping it would destroy the forbidden realm. But even after waiting a while nothing happened.
"Looks like I was right. That wasn't the only core crystal. I'd better regroup with the others," Tianluo said, then dashed off in another direction.
*
Meanwhile, elsewhere in the battlefield...
A silver-haired woman with her hair tied back in a neat ponytail stared down a monster before her, eyes sharp and cold. The creature had the same model as the one Tianluo had fought earlier, almost like a copy-paste except this one was dark crimson in color.
Without a word, the woman gave a small nod.
The monster raised its arm, as if accepting her challenge.
WUSSH!
Two pistols materialized in her hands. She darted forward in a semi-circle, firing with precision.
The monster blocked the bullets with its arms, then lunged forward.
The woman leapt back, glanced at her guns and just like that, they vanished into the light of her belt. A moment later, a long spear appeared in her hand, which she hurled at the monster's chest.
THUNK!
The spear embedded itself shallowly. The monster swung its arm, knocking the weapon aside and sending it flying.
Before the spear hit the ground, the woman's eyes narrowed. The weapon vanished, recalled into her inventory, her ether inventory.
"These things aren't cheap, y'know" she murmured.
The monster grew angrier, attacking more wildly. It slashed with claws, smashed the ground but she was always a step ahead. She spun, leapt, and tossed a grenade above its head.
BOOM!
Dust and rubble flew everywhere. From the explosion's haze, the woman emerged shotgun in hand.
BLAM! The first shot slammed into the monster's head.
BLAM! The second blasted its left leg, forcing it to kneel.
She stored the shotgun, summoned her spear again, and held it in her left hand. Her right hand conjured the pistols again, firing as she advanced.
The monster struggled to rise and swung one last desperate attack. She spun behind it and drove her spear into the back of its knee.
The creature howled in pain and collapsed.
Her breathing remained steady. Sweat glistened on her temples, but she showed no signs of exhaustion.
"That's enough. You're strong but I've figured out your weak points."
She summoned her shotgun again, stepped calmly to the monster's side, now sitting weakly on the ground.
The creature stared at her, as if silently saying, "I'm not paid enough for this..."
She bowed her head briefly, then raised her weapon.
BLAM!
The final shot right between its two beady eyes.
Its massive body slumped to the ground, dead in silence.
She stood still for a moment, then stashed her shotgun, spear, and pistols back into her inventory, all with a calm look in her eyes.
"Phew, it's been a while since I've fought a pretty high-level monster. I've been stuck in navigation duty for so long. Good thing I never skipped training," Yuemei muttered.
She then approached the crystal.
She tossed a bomb artifact toward the crystal. With a sharp BOOM, it cracked apart.
"Still nothing happened? These cores… they must be linked. Probably spread out like anchor points for this realm," she muttered, narrowing her eyes. "Whoever designed this didn't want us getting out easily."
*
Up north in the forbidden realm...
A white variant of the monster lay dead on the ground. Behind it, shattered fragments of a formation crystal scattered across the soil. Before the wreckage stood an elegant older man.
He reached into the monster's body. Despite the creature's hardened flesh, Elder Sanghyuk's hand pierced through as effortlessly as plunging into mochi.
Closing his eyes, the elder tried to sense the lingering energy within.
"Hoho... fascinating. Breeding a creature like this without detection is impossible. And this energy... It confirms my suspicions. This is the work of the Xiao family. You may hide many things, but to raise a monster of this level without it going berserk, you'd need to impose restrictions. Especially if it's used as a guardian for an eye formation,", elder Sanghyuk said with a satisfied smile, having uncovered the culprit behind the ambush.
He turned and walked away.
*
"Hmm... now how do I defeat this thing? My only advantage is that I can still use my concealment magic because of the rune carved on my back. But even if I land a first strike, I doubt I can kill it instantly," Gaia murmured.
When the forbidden realm activated, Gai quickly realized conventional spellcasting was disabled. However, mana still flowed through his body, and his mana veins remained active. The conclusion, he couldn't activate channeled spells but he could use runic magic, so long as the glyphs were directly linked to his mana source.
Spells formed outside the body vanished instantly. However, spells that altered or enhanced the body's structure still functioned but only if they were inscribed on the body and directly connected to the mana veins.
Gaia's concealment technique was also a little... unconventional. What he actually did was use a strengthening spell from one of many rune circles carved into his body not to boost his strength, but to reduce it. So much so that his presence nearly faded into the surroundings. Then, he applied a misdirection concept to everyone, including the monster.
In short, Rather than hiding from sight, he made himself the last thing anyone would think to look for.
"I didn't think a basketball trick from an Earth novel would work so well with magic... but even so, I still have no way to kill this thing," he muttered.
He circled the green variant of the monster, the same model as the others. It never noticed him. He racked his brain for ideas.
Eventually, he stopped, as if struck by inspiration, and tapped himself on the forehead.
"Ah… Seriously, Gai? What were you thinking?" he tapped his forehead, frustrated.
"Trying to be a cool protagonist when I could've just smashed the crystal from the start…"
He looked past the monster at the massive crystal behind it.
"Hmm... it's big. And it looks tough too. How the hell do I break it?" he muttered, staring at the crystal as if silently regretting, "I really shouldn't have tried to look cool by tagging along..."