Not giving the monster a chance to recover, Langdon struck its thorax once again with his hammer.
"CRACK!"
The beast's exoskeleton began to fracture. The spider thrashed wildly, trying to strike him even while upside down, using its razor-sharp legs—which, though still deadly, failed to reach him. Langdon struck again!
"BAM!"
The once-sturdy thorax shattered, revealing the soft flesh beneath. Without hesitation, Langdon unleashed a burst of fire magic straight into the open wound, searing the creature's insides. It shrieked violently before collapsing, unable to endure the damage.
---
"AAAAAA... finally! That felt like a war of attrition!"
Langdon let out a breath, wiping sweat from his brow.
"This thing is definitely worthy of being a Level Three monster. I used up almost 60% of my star dust during the fight. If I hadn't grown stronger before this... I would've died for sure!"
He looked at the creature's core with a grin.
"Now it's time to reap the rewards of my hard work. I'll make good use of this monster's core."
He sat in a lotus position in a quiet spot nearby, crushed the core in his hand, and absorbed the mana. His body surged with energy, replenishing what was spent and pushing him past the barrier—
Langdon had finally reached Level Three.
---
"Hnn... damn it! Ewan didn't tell me the new word I'm supposed to inscribe!"
He sighed, thinking for a moment.
"Well, I'll just wait until he wakes up. According to what he explained, I can record two new words at this level—and I can also reinforce two of the ones I already have..."
He focused inward.
"Strange... after leveling up, the dark mana forming my body seems to have changed. It now has glowing purple lines and dots running through it, almost like veins."
His eyes widened slightly.
"Also, my star dust reserve has doubled. I think I can maintain the fur cloak for at least six hours nonstop now, and even use it alongside other spells without completely exhausting my reserves. If I combine it with alchemy and biomancy, I can probably last around thirty minutes with both active!"
Feeling elated by his newfound strength, Langdon walked toward the road. It looked long, perhaps too long—
"I'd better pick up the pace."
This time, he decided to take flight. But rather than use the same transformation, he tested a new one.
Langdon became a raven.
His new form measured nearly twenty inches from beak to tail—just over half a meter—yet his presence was far more commanding than his size suggested.
"Fruuush!"
With a powerful flap of wings, he soared into the sky, continuing his journey from above.
---
After several hours of flight, Langdon spotted a strange scene on a broader road. A toppled carriage...
Nearby, the bodies of what looked like guards lay lifeless.
A middle-aged butler stood defensively in front of a young noble girl—no older than seventeen—shielding her from a group of savage, snarling attackers.
Langdon narrowed his eyes.
The assailants weren't just human—he saw mixed bloods, betas, and various beastkin, all with bloodshot eyes and foaming mouths. They howled and roared, on the verge of tearing the girl and her butler apart.
Still in raven form, Langdon dove.
"Vruuum!"
Several attackers were flung aside like sacks of flour, some instantly crushed by the force of the dive. Then, rising swiftly, he skimmed the treetops, landed unseen, and conjured his human skin cloak in an instant.
In the blink of an eye, he had returned to human form.
With a clear plan in mind—to defeat the rest and earn the noble family's favor—Langdon stepped into view and unleashed wind magic with brutal efficiency.
Blades of air cut the enemies clean in half.
The girl and her butler, stunned and terrified, struggled to process what had just happened.
The butler was the first to recover.
"Aah! What just happened!? Who are you?? Wait! You helped us, but what do you want from us!? And where's that black raven? Are you with it!?"
He hadn't lowered his guard—just because they were saved didn't mean this stranger wasn't dangerous. For all he knew, this could be a kidnapping plot, and given the young lady's status, that wasn't unreasonable.
"Calm down, sir. I'm not your enemy. I saved you—not out of pure heroism, but because I need information… and a place to stay for a few days. My name is Pietro."
Honest and straightforward, Langdon's response made the butler lower his guard. After all, no one helps for free—and anyone with common sense knew that.
Then the girl, who had been dazed until now, finally spoke:
"Alaric!! Is that how you treat our benefactor!? I'm so disappointed in your rudeness!"
She turned to Langdon with a radiant smile.
"It's a pleasure to meet you, kind and noble young man! I'm Chryseis Ralphie, of the great Ralphie family, and I'm deeply grateful for your rescue! Of course, you may stay at our countryside estate as our guest!"
"But, my lady, I understand your gratitude—I feel the same—but we still don't know this young man. We shoul—"
"Enough!"
She glared at him.
"Alaric, I won't tolerate your lack of courtesy. Pietro will stay with us. That's final!"
"Forgive me, my lady... this humble servant forgot his place. My apologies, young master Pietro. Oh, and yes—you mentioned needing information. What is it you wish to know?"
Langdon nodded.
"Right. I almost forgot. I want to know where we are. I got lost and need to get my bearings... and how far am I from the Monster Nation?"
The truth was, even with his cloak technique, Langdon couldn't simply walk into a major human city. There were magical detectors and trained guards specifically skilled at identifying disguised monsters. If he were discovered, things could go very, very wrong.
"If memory serves," Alaric said, adjusting his stance, "we are in the northern region of the great Erduluma Forest, near the kingdom of Sylvaran—more precisely, close to the Ralphie family's countryside estate. We're about a week's journey from the Monster Nation."
Langdon's heart sank.
"WHAT!? The north!? That crazy Ewan teleported us in the exact opposite direction! I was so close! And now I'm a week away... Damn it. Well... could be worse. At least I found a rich family willing to help me. Ralphie family, huh...? Never heard of them, but they must be powerful."
Alaric interrupted his thoughts.
"Young man, forgive the question, but... why would someone as strong as you want to go to a place like that, among them?"
"Alaric—!! What are you saying!? Now you're prying into our savior's business!?"
Reprimanded again, Alaric bowed in apology.
Langdon chuckled.
"Don't worry, my lady. He has a point."
He smiled at Alaric.
"I'm actually a summoner. I heard there are exotic creatures there—perfect for contracts. Oh, and by the way, that black raven that saved you two? He's mine."
Chryseis's eyes sparkled.
"A summoner!? That's amazing! My dream is to awaken my core and become one too. Please, show me more of your summoning abilities later! But first—let's get out of here! We have tea and biscuits at the estate!"
Happy to finally have real company again after so long, Langdon accepted the invitation without hesitation.