Hunting

As soon as Lumian realized the situation, he immediately turned and ran.

The environment here is unusable, and he lacks understanding of the "Blacksmith" Monster's abilities. What else can he do but run?

Once you reach the nearest natural trap, and the enemy is hot on your heels, then consider launching a counterattack.

Thump thump thump!

Lumian didn't walk in a straight line; instead, he ran in an "S" shape like a snake.

He was worried that the other side would predict his movements and throw Fireball or ranged weapons.

In the past, Lumian could run in a curved path, but at certain times he needed to significantly reduce his speed and inertia; otherwise, either his body couldn't withstand it, or he would likely fall.

But now it's different. He is extremely flexible, far exceeding that of normal humans. His muscles and ligaments easily pulled his body around half a circle, with a very smooth arc.

With this skill, he felt that as long as the "Blacksmith" Monster didn't have any special abilities, he should be able to escape the "City Wall" area and enter the building Ruins that were only seven or eight meters away.

Suddenly, his heart tightened, and he had a strong Danger Premonition.

Without much consideration or analysis, Lumian fell forward, carried away by the momentum of his run.

With a ripping sound, he felt a sharp pain in his back as the Evil silver-black Dagger had slashed him, drawing bright red blood.

The "Blacksmith" Monster caught up with Lumian in a single step and swung its weapon.

It's as if it has condensed a distance of more than ten steps into less than one!

Despite the pain, Lumian rolled around twice before finally touching the edge of a partially collapsed building.

He braced himself with both hands, darted inside, and used the walls and furniture for cover to escape through the back door.

Back in this area, he was like Tiger in the mountains, a trout in the river, skillfully navigating the Ruined Buildings, sometimes skirting around, sometimes going straight.

In just ten seconds, he arrived at a natural trap he had previously scouted, hid behind a roof that had slid down to the ground, and waited for the "Blacksmith" Monster to arrive.

He didn't try to perform the Sacrificial Dance because he felt it would be too late; the other party clearly possessed some unique chasing ability.

Time ticked by, but Lumian saw neither the "Blacksmith" Monster nor heard any approaching sounds, nor noticed any faint footprints around him.

"They didn't chase after us?" Lumian couldn't help but frown.

He felt both relieved and that the situation was somewhat strange.

After thinking for a while, he guessed that the "Blacksmith" Monster could not leave the "City Wall" area, so as soon as he entered this architectural Ruins, the monster gave up the chase.

Considering that he had already suffered two injuries and was exhausted, Lumian decided to stop exploring.

With his terrifying flexibility, he treated the wound on his back and walked back the way he came towards the edge of the Ruins.

After walking for a long time, he looked at the familiar collapsed buildings around him and suddenly felt that something was wrong:

"It's been over, enough time for a dinner, and the Dream Ruins aren't that big. If you can walk in a straight line, why am I still not out?"

Lumian felt increasingly uneasy, even noticing that his thoughts were becoming sluggish and fragmented, as if he were experiencing extreme fatigue or was about to fall asleep.

He quickly rallied his spirits and used his "Hunter" abilities to navigate the path, hoping to escape the Ruins as soon as possible.

However, during the walk, he would occasionally become uncontrollably dazed, to the point that in the end he was not even sure what he was doing.

After an unknown amount of time, flickering Orange-Yellow flames suddenly appeared in Lumian's Eyes.

He returned to the "City Wall" area, back to the room where the "Blacksmith" Monster was.

"Not good...

"Am I affected by it?"

No wonder it didn't chase after it...

"It seems we can't force our way out. We can only try to find a way from that Monster..."

Lumian's thoughts became increasingly dull and stagnant.

As he uncontrollably approached the room, he began to perform a mysterious Sacrificial Dance with difficulty.

Since we need to deal with the "Blacksmith" Monster, his greatest asset is the Black Thorn Symbol on his chest, which must be activated as soon as possible!

Amidst the clanging yet intermittent movements, Lumian saw the door, glowing with orange firelight, open, and Monster in a black Robe, wielding Silver-Black Dagger and Hammer, appeared in the doorway.

Unlike before, much of the rotting marks on its face had disappeared, and fresh flesh and blood had grown from the wounds that exposed bone.

Its eyes also became lively, and its gaze towards Lumian was filled with undisguised Greed and amusement.

This makes "it" look more like a human than Living Corpse.

At the same time, Lumian saw his reflection in the Glass Window:

His face was pale and bluish, his eyes were dull and lifeless, and some of his skin showed signs of decay.

He was more like Living Corpse than a human.

In an instant, Lumian had an epiphany:

"I will Replacement that ' Monster,' and it will go out as a human..."

Unaware of what power influenced her or when she encountered the anomaly, Lumian had only one thought left: to finish the Sacrificial Dance, partially activate the Black Thorn Symbol on her chest, and make one last desperate attempt.

He began to dance slowly but resolutely, but the "Blacksmith" Monster did not seize the opportunity to attack, seemingly patiently waiting for the final outcome, afraid that any extra action would affect its own Destiny.

Inch by inch, dance by dance, Lumian's vision grew increasingly blurry. All he could see was the "Blacksmith" Monster's smile growing ever stronger, and its overall appearance becoming more and more human.

After traveling a while longer, Lumian's mind went blank.

He heard that terrifying sound, which seemed to come from both infinite distance and close at hand.

It wasn't clear enough; it felt very unreal. It only caused some mental confusion but didn't bring about Near-Death experience.

Amidst this chaos, Lumian suddenly cleared, and his vision returned to normal.

He felt a burning sensation in his chest, knowing that the Black Thorn Symbol had been partially activated.

Almost simultaneously, he saw the smile on the "Blacksmith" Monster's face freeze.

One after another, fleshy tumors protruded from the Monster's face, head, and the back of its hands, all with a silvery-white base and some black stains.

The Evil Dagger in its hand vibrated and hummed, as if it were trembling violently.

Snap!

With a crisp metallic clang, a deep crack appeared on the surface of the silver-black Dagger, which was engraved with Evil patterns.

The "Blacksmith" Monster then collapsed, turning into a ground covered in silvery-white fleshy tumors with black veins and Distortion Worms crawling on a black Robe.

The Worms and tumors quickly stopped expanding and contracting, returning to chunks of Gray-White flesh.

Lumian stared blankly at the scene, feeling a kind of hallucinatory sensation, as if he were being captured by an enemy and powerless to resist, when the enemy suddenly committed suicide.

After a dozen seconds, he looked at the pieces of flesh with a mixture of amusement and confusion and said, "You brought me here just so I could give you a farewell Ritual?"

"You should have said so earlier! No need for all this trouble. I would have definitely been there, and I would have even applauded!"

He took a few steps to the pieces of flesh and blood that the "Blacksmith" Monster had disintegrated into, and began to examine them carefully.

He noticed nothing else unusual, only that the slightly broken silver-black Dagger was still trembling slightly, like a small animal that had encountered a predator and been injured.

Lumian's heart skipped a beat. She looked down at her left chest and seemed to see the Black Thorn Symbol through her clothes.

He suddenly realized something, and reached out with his right hand to grab the silver-black Dagger.

The Evil Dagger trembled even more violently, but showed no sign of struggling or resisting, remaining remarkably "docile."

The moment Lumian grasped the Dagger, the burning sensation in his chest became more pronounced.

He sensed something leaking out, resonating with the silver-black Dagger.

Amidst the metallic hum, Lumian's mind gained new knowledge—knowledge about the Evil Dagger in his hand:

This is an Beyonder weapon that has been severely Corruption, thus gaining power and exhibiting some signs of life.

In other words, Lumian didn't encounter the "Blacksmith" Monster, but rather this Evil Dagger; the "Blacksmith" Monster was its Marionette, or rather, its "Blade-Bearer."

It can gradually turn most living beings that come into direct contact with it into Living Corpse, completely losing their own selves, and causing them to hold onto it and do things according to its will.

Those who are cut by it and bleed will have a portion of their Destiny taken away by it through a trade.

In the process of exchanging those Destiny, no further harm can be caused to the target.

Just now, it traded the Destiny of the "Blacksmith" Monster becoming Marionette for Lumian's Destiny of escaping the Wilderness as a human.

If there are no things to exchange or books, the target must be killed completely to extract a part of his Destiny and keep it within the blade.

This ability originates from Sequence 5, "Fate Hunter," corresponding to "Dancer"!

Therefore, after the Corruption within Lumian's body was partially activated, it resonated with this Evil Dagger through flesh and blood contact, and a trace of knowledge seeped out.

Otherwise, he would have to ask someone to use Divination, pattern identification, or other methods to assess the capabilities and characteristics of this silver-black Dagger, or gather information through repeated experiments on his own.

After sorting through the new knowledge in his mind, Lumian looked at the still trembling, Evil Dagger in his hand and chuckled, "I don't actually mind you taking away a part of my Destiny, but you have to be able to bear it!"

"If you could exchange my Destiny of being trapped in a time Loop, I would kneel down and kowtow to you three times without any problem."

"Tsk, trying to capture every Destiny will only get you killed!"

The silver-black Dagger trembled, daring not to respond.

Lumian now understands why "it" is so obedient:

First, there was the suppression of his position from the semi-activated state of the Black Thorn Symbol; second, the previous encounter had left a psychological scar on this Beyonder weapon with living characteristics.

Letting out a breath, Lumian said to the Evil Dagger, "From today onwards, you will be called ' Fate-Hunting Knife.' How about that, simple and clear, right?"

The silver-black Dagger twitched up and down twice, as if nodding.

"It's a pity. You're just Beyonder weapon; your power will gradually diminish. You could have lasted for two more years, but after being severely injured this time, you can only maintain it for six months," Lumian said with a hint of regret.

In fact, he could have used the Ritual to extract power from the Corruption within his body to replenish the "Fate-Hunting Knife," but only if he could find someone to repair the crack.

As soon as he finished speaking, Lumian felt the burning sensation in his chest disappear rapidly.

One minute is up.

Without a second thought, he immediately threw the "Fate-Hunting Knife" away, as if it were a piece of red-hot charcoal.