Marks

"Tentacles?" Lumian paused for a second before remembering how to define the thing binding that mass of flesh.

He was well-versed in all of Aurora's novels, had seen all the illustrations, and not only remembered every melodramatic plot point, but also knew a lot about things he wouldn't normally encounter, such as Monster tentacles.

Seven or eight deep black, flesh-covered tentacles wrapped around the mass of flesh and dragged it toward the Ruins of a house to the side.

A figure emerged from the area hidden by the scattered rocks.

He resembled a human, bare-chested and barefoot, wearing black trousers.

Unlike humans, it has no head, only a section of its neck, the cross-section of which is covered with sharp Teeth in Whirlpool pattern, and bright red skin is clearly visible between the Teeth.

It was as if Someone had replaced their head and half a neck with strange mouthparts, leaving "decapitation expert" Lumian shaking his head repeatedly, unable to find a place to start.

The seven or eight dark tentacles covered with fleshy membranes extended from the edge of the Monster's "mouthparts," and they quickly dragged the mass of flesh to its front and lifted it up.

The Monster's "mouth" at its neck suddenly opened, like a blooming trumpet flower.

Those sharp white Teeth bit into the mass of flesh and blood, swallowing it whole like a snake devouring its prey.

Seeing this, Lumian silently scoffed:

"I thought you all could survive without eating, but it turns out you still need to eat..."

He then fell into deep thought:

"This Ruins is probably teeming with Monster; there's definitely very little food to be had..."

"In other words, some Monster feed on other Monster, just like what happened earlier, or perhaps everyone is both Hunter and prey..."

"If I encounter Monster I can't defeat, is it possible to lure it to other Monster, let them Hunting and harm each other, and then I can join in and reap the benefits?"

"Theoretically feasible, but it seems very dangerous. Who knows if the Monster will team up and kill me first..."

As the thought crossed his mind, Lumian saw the Monster's chest cavity, which had "mouthparts" as its head and neck, begin to swell and contract, as if it were undergoing violent digestion.

This caught Lumian's attention and led him to discover something unusual about the Monster's bare upper body.

It has a black mark resembling a stamp on its left chest, right chest, and below its neck.

"This..." Lumian's pupils dilated involuntarily, as he tried to see more clearly.

He had seen something similar on the Parish Priest!

Those were the Black Mark revealed when the Parish Priest's body swelled up and tore through his clothes at the end of the Lent Festival celebration!

After careful examination, Lumian confirmed that the three black, stamp-like marks on the Monster's body belonged to the same category as those on the Parish Priest's body.

They are all composed of unique characters and strange symbols, as if connected to another indescribable world.

The difference is that the Parish Priest has at least eleven or twelve, while this Monster only has three.

"What is the purpose of these Black Mark? Are they Brand placed by some Hidden Being? The more marks there are, the greater the Gift received?" Lumian observed with a mixture of doubt and confusion.

He tried hard to memorize the characters and symbols that made up one of the marks, but since they were all unfamiliar to him, he couldn't remember them in a short time. And since he didn't have paper and pen with him, he couldn't make a copy.

The Monster finally finished digesting the mass of flesh and blood. It stretched its arms and shook the seven or eight dark tentacles covered with fleshy membranes next to its "mouthparts".

The mark below its neck glowed slightly, and its chest cavity emitted a buzzing resonance.

The sound grew louder and louder, like a current of air raging through the hive, moving in and out of one Cavern after another.

Its trumpet-shaped "mouthparts" opened, and the buzzing sound became more and more obvious.

Lumian was extremely annoyed and wanted nothing more than to beat that Monster up.

Do you know how awful that sound is?

As his blood and qi surged, Lumian felt a surge of anger rush from his heart to his head.

He suddenly became impulsive, grabbed his Hunting Rifle, walked around the rocks that were obscuring his figure, and jumped off the half-collapsed roof.

Bang!

Lumian landed on the ground, staring at the Monster's Whirlpool, Blood-Colored "mouthparts" filled with sharp teeth.

Lumian, who was about to angrily call the other person a pig, instantly regained her composure, displaying the bewilderment and helplessness of an Spectator forced onto the stage.

The Monster's Blood-Colored mouth was pointed at him, and it stopped making a sound.

"Can I say, I'm sorry, it's a misunderstanding?" Lumian muttered softly.

He suspected there was something wrong with the noise, which caused him to lose his Rationality, jump out of his Concealment place, and attempt to launch an attack!

But what's done is done, and an apology is useless. He only has two choices: fight or flee.

Based on Lumian's experience, trying to escape directly in this situation would most likely be futile. Not only was the opponent unharmed, but they were also prepared, raising their seven or eight tentacles.

So, if we really want to escape, we have to fight first and find an opportunity!

Without hesitation, Lumian raised his Hunting Rifle, which was already loaded with Lead Bullets, as soon as he regained his Rationality.

Bang!

The Monster clearly hadn't anticipated the enemy's decisiveness and speed, and lacked understanding of the existence of Hunting Rifle. It had no time to dodge and was directly hit by the shattered Lead Shot.

"Ah!"

His Whirlpool, tooth-filled mouth opened instinctively, letting out a scream of agony. Instantly, several parts of his chest became a bloody mess, including the area where the Black Mark was on his right side.

But the Black Mark seemed to be etched into the blood and flesh, still clearly visible, and not significantly affected by the condition of the wound.

Lumian didn't have time to appreciate the prey's screams. As soon as he fired, he moved to a different position and reached into his waist pouch to pull out new Lead Bullets.

Just as he re-aimed at the target, the Black Mark on the Monster's left chest emitted a faint glow.

The humanoid creature, whose head and half of its neck had transformed into a giant "mouth," then disappeared.

It simply vanished before Lumian's eyes!

Did she escape? Invisibility? Lumian sought answers in the various novels written by Aurora and in the Mysticism knowledge she taught.

He quickly looked to the left and right, but the Monster seemed to have vanished into thin air.

This unprecedented scene and difficulty made Lumian a little flustered. He wanted to take the opportunity to escape and subconsciously took a few steps back.

Suddenly, his ankles tightened, and he abruptly lost his balance, being flipped over.

The deep black tentacles covered in fleshy membranes appeared in the air, Entanglement Lumian's legs and lifting him into the air.

The Monster also revealed itself; it was not far from Lumian's side.

At this moment, the Black Mark on its right chest shone brightly, and its Whirlpool "mouthparts" full of white sharp teeth opened to their limit, revealing Blood-Colored interior, as if it wanted to use its tentacles to swallow Lumian whole.

An indescribable stench emanated from that "mouth organ," making Lumian was hanging upside down in mid-air, feel a little dizzy.

What met his Eyes was Blood-Colored oral cavity and countless white, sharp teeth.

A thought struck him, and before a tentacle Entanglement around his arm, he aimed his Hunting Rifle at the Monster's "mouthparts" while hanging upside down.

Bang!

The Monster let out another scream, its "mouthparts" filled with flying blood and flesh, blackened with lead.

It flung Lumian away abruptly, its body becoming transparent in an instant before disappearing again.

Lumian landed on the ground with a thud, rolled several times before getting back to his feet, and focused his attention on finding traces of his target.

The next second, he twitched his nose, feeling a strong smell of blood rapidly approaching him.

Without thinking about what this meant, he lunged forward, heading in the opposite direction.

Where he had been standing, deep black tentacles covered in fleshy membranes emerged from the air, but they did not Entanglement anything.

Three or four meters away from them, the Monster revealed itself, its Whirlpool "mouth" wide open, as if waiting for food.

Lumian quickly loaded the Hunting Rifle with Lead Bullets, but the Black Mark on the Monster's left chest lit up and then disappeared from his sight again.

Invisibility, it really is Invisibility! Lumian made his judgment instantly.

Based on his recent experience, he believed that this Invisibility could not conceal his scent and would become ineffective once he entered an attack state.

Having figured it out, Lumian felt reassured and secretly scoffed, "What kind of Invisibility if you can't even hide your scent?"

And capturing various traces is a specialty of "Hunter".

No longer panicked by the encounter, Lumian, now much more confident, calmed down and began to observe his surroundings as he wandered around.

Soon, he saw the Monster's footprints and smelled its blood and original stench.

Using these marks, he repeatedly avoided the Monster's attacks and fired his Hunting Rifle at it time and time again.

But the Monster seemed to have no vital organs; after being shot multiple times, it only became much weaker.

With the Lead Bullets running out, Lumian's mind raced as he considered what to do.

In just a few seconds, he had his answer:

On his way here, he didn't forget to observe the environment and found several natural traps that could be used, one of which was perfect for dealing with the Monster he was facing.

Seeing two faint footprints suddenly appear not far away, Lumian turned around and ran.

The dark tentacles covered by fleshy membranes missed their mark once again.

Lumian ran and stopped intermittently, occasionally looking back to observe, making sure the Monster wouldn't give up the chase, and using this information to dodge attacks in advance.

Buzz buzz buzz!

The "noise" emanating from the Monster's chest cavity reached Lumian's ears once again, infuriating him and making him extremely angry. He wished he could immediately stop running away and turn around to give the creature a few Axe.

Fortunately, he remembered that his purpose in running was to kill that guy, and that he wasn't really running away at the moment. Anger and frustration didn't change his plan; they just made him more proactive.

Thump thump thump!

Lumian finally saw the half-collapsed building.

He rushed in, reached the other edge, and stopped there, pretending to be in ambush.

Before long, faint footprints appeared inside the half-collapsed house, and the stench of blood drew ever closer to Lumian.

Lumian estimated the distance of the tentacles, then suddenly took two steps back, raised the Axe he had pulled out earlier, and chopped it into a Stone Pillars that was about to crumble.

Immediately afterwards, he kicked the Stone Pillars hard and rolled backward.

The already fragile, partially collapsed house could no longer hold on and crumbled to the ground.

With a crash, a large number of heavy stones fell, completely filling the interior space that was originally passable.

The Monster that had been Concealment there, poised to strike, suddenly let out a fierce scream.

Its screams lasted less than a second before abruptly ceasing.