A Conversation by the Campfire

"It's theoretically feasible, but not in reality?"

Linsey seemed a little confused by the answer, so Anrui continued to explain in detail, "Linsey, you also know that Devil Beast, like us humans, are essentially using Essence."

"But there are differences among them."

"Devil Beast follow their instincts and are born with the ability to use this power, while we humans have suppressed this nature, merely using Essence as energy to power the skills we have honed."

"As a result, Devil Beast are easily affected by changes in external Essence, but to affect humans... either the environmental changes must be so drastic that they are difficult to resist, or there must be a design within the environment specifically targeting human awakeners."

Upon hearing this, Linsey understood everything. "With the abilities of the Dragon Beast dwelling in Black Mountain, they couldn't have created a design targeting human awakeners?"

"Its actions are simple and brutal." Anrui nodded. "The environmental changes in Black Mountain are so simple that they seem to lack any skill, just like natural changes. This is why I had to find Devil Beast to confirm it."

Linsey understood everything.

He then went on to explain how he had learned the information through a map while Anrui was resting.

At this point, the campfire, which had been burning for some time, was about to go out.

Linsey took some more firewood from his bag and added it in. The flickering firelight that had rekindled his thoughts.

"Essence is so important to both Devil Beast and humans, and it can be said to be the foundation of all magical arts." Watching the flames reignite, Linsey asked curiously, "Isn't there anyone who has specifically studied the nature of Essence?"

"Of course there are, but it's very, very difficult."

Anrui first acknowledged Linsey's problem, but then spoke in a very pessimistic tone, "Any major school of thought will definitely have people focusing on the study of Essence."

"The result is that once it is mixed with human skills or comes into contact with any material in the Real World, the Essence will immediately exhibit the corresponding properties, and it will be difficult to restore it to its original state."

"Some people have tried to gather as many existing Essence types as possible to find commonalities among them. But to my knowledge, no one has made any progress in this regard yet."

This means that the Essence is easily influenced by the characteristics of other things, but cannot be restored.

This is indeed a tricky problem when studying the essence of things.

But Linsey immediately came up with another idea. "What about the once-every-ten-year Source Material Tide?"

"With the methods of those more powerful Awakened Ones, they should be able to gain something from this, right?"

Anrui shrugged, a simple gesture that made him realize his empty left arm, and his expression immediately darkened.

"Well..."

"Some people have tried it."

"But if you try to gather these waves of Essence emerging from nature, then it will change, but the result will still be the same. In the end, all you can do is develop some techniques for using Essence, or methods for manufacturing weapons and equipment."

"..."

Hearing this description, Linsey felt a strong sense of déjà vu.

How could the observer's own observational actions affect the observation results?! Linsey doesn't have any advanced instruments or methods to study Essence.

So he put that topic aside for now and turned his attention to Anrui's current state. "Uncle Anrui, how are you feeling now?"

Linsey carefully examined Anrui, who was sitting on the Vines.

Compared to before falling asleep, Anrui's paleness was not as severe. The fracture in his left arm had mostly healed, leaving only a gruesome scar.

If I weren't a witness to this incident...

It's hard to imagine that just a few hours ago Anrui was in such a miserable state.

Anrui nodded, indicating that he was in good condition. "The toxins have been basically cleared, and now I just need to recover my strength."

Linsey then suggested, "Now that the spiders have retreated, why don't we find some time to return to town?"

Anrui didn't agree immediately, but asked again, "You just said they left two hours ago?"

Linsey nodded naturally and said, "That's right."

Anrui then made a decision:

"Then let's wait another four hours. We can't afford to be careless at a time like this!"

Linsey expressed her support for this.

The two continued to rest and recover their strength in the enclosed cave.

Considering that they still had to climb several thousand meters to return to the Hidden Borderlands, Linsey prepared several more portions of barbecue to replenish their energy as much as possible.

During this time, he flipped through his Hunting Notes.

Sure enough, a new string of data appeared in Devil Beast's database.

Corrupted Poison Spider

[Arthropods - Essence ~ Awakening Stage 5]

[Body length 0.003~2.3 meters]

[Weight 0.02~102kg]

[Their crawling speed is slightly faster than that of an adult human.]

Eight-eyed spiders possess keen sense of touch, are agile, and have potent venom.

[Corrupted Poison Spider prefer to hunt by setting webs. Once their prey is entangled in the web, they swiftly strike, wrapping the prey in their strong web, then piercing it and injecting venom. Throughout this process, the Corrupted Poison Spider holds the prey tightly. When the prey stops moving, the digestive enzymes in the venom decompose the prey, and the Corrupted Poison Spider carries it back to its nest.]

Weaknesses: Brain, abdomen.

[Hunting advice: Launch a fire attack outside the spiderweb nest beforehand.]

[Kill Achievement: 121/150]

[Leader Kill Achievement: 0/1]

"..."

Linsey then realized just how many spiders Anrui and she had killed! These Corrupted Poison Spider exist in various forms, from individuals that have never fused with the Essence to individuals at Fifth Stage, so the number of individuals required for the Hunting Notes is quite unique.

Linsey has now completed the first two phases of her achievements.

In the First Stage, you only have one enhanced title: [Spider Killer].

In the Second Stage, in addition to the title of "Spider Bane," he also obtained a special achievement item.

[Equipment: Eight-Claw Spider Silk Hook]

[Once equipped, the user can shoot out eight white spider silk threads, each up to eight meters long, to pull the user's body along.]

[The items are versatile and reasonably priced.]

"..."

Linsey immediately wanted to try out the new equipment.

But when he looked at Anrui beside him and thought about how the other man got injured, Linsey gave up the idea that might upset Anrui.

At this moment, I am sitting with Anrui in a secluded corner of the Black Mountain World.

Linsey thought about many things, especially his ideas about breaking through the Black Mountain. The Lord of the Hidden Borderlands was sitting beside him, and Linsey was also curious about the man's attitude.

So he spoke:

"Uncle Anrui, what do you think about the idea that some people in the town want to break through Black Mountain?"

Linsey thought Anrui would offer encouragement.

Just like the other awakened ones he encountered in the town.

But Anrui shook his head. "No, that's too stupid."

"Black Mountain, where the Dragon Beast was stationed before, had no hope of breaking through to a higher realm. Now that it is attempting to break through, this situation will only become more dangerous than before!"

Linsey tried to retort, "But you should also know that staying in such a tiny world on the Hidden Borderlands is definitely not a wise choice."

Anrui asserted, "That's still better than running up to a Dragon Beast and feeding it its teeth!"

"And Linsey, as you saw, just down to the border, there are Fifth Stage spider Devil Beast lurking in the mountainous woodlands."

"How many of the people in this town do you think would survive to the end if they were to travel such a long distance in this world?"

"..."

Linsey fell silent.

Anrui then raised his remaining right arm and tapped his chest:

"Linsey, I am the Lord of this Border Town. Although this responsibility came suddenly, I have been taking it seriously."

"I cannot allow this to happen because of my duty to protect people."

At this point, Anrui changed the subject again, proposing a new possibility. "Moreover, holding onto the Hidden Borderlands is not a completely dead end."

"The members of the Expedition Team were all powerful figures with considerable status and position in their respective worlds!"

"We 'Hidden Borderlands and cut off from the outside world for a full decade!"

"It was about time when someone tried to break through Black Mountain from the outside and re-establish contact with us."

"..."

Linsey did not speak immediately.

Following Anrui to the Black Mountain World, they encountered another attack by those spiders.

He can understand Anrui's current thoughts very well.

But when she thought of the town, of her friends and elders who had always longed to break free of their cages, Linsey understood that that hope and yearning would not be easily deterred by the danger before her.

Linsey could only try to say:

"But people in the town keep leaving to try this out."

Faced with this question, Anrui's expression turned somewhat helpless.

He closed his eyes and sighed:

"I can't control individual behavior, after all, I can't tie everyone down."

"But Linsey believes me."

"This kind of adventure is just a meaningless waste of life."

[Third update!]

I wrote three chapters in one day, how disgusting.