Courage

Lumian sat on the ground, panting heavily, finding it difficult even to move a finger.

He watched silently as the clusters of crimson flames on the ground around him swayed in the wind, gradually dimming from their intense heat until they went out.

During this process, Lumian simply leaned forward, picked up the "Fallen Mercury" with his left hand, and kept his right hand gripping the Iron-Black Axe in case of any accidents.

He remained focused and exceptionally vigilant.

Of course, he couldn't help but secretly pray to the "Eternal Blazing Sun" and That One Great Ones Honorific Name he did not know, hoping that they could Protection him from any accidents that might happen to him.

Given his current state, even if the Flame Monster hadn't completely died and had suddenly Resurrection, he could most likely defeat even a regular enemy resembling a Skinless Monster.

Time passed slowly, and Lumian's spirituality and physical strength gradually recovered somewhat, but his injuries became more severe, to the point that his mind would occasionally become hazy and he would be unable to concentrate for long periods.

"Hunter must not only be careful, cautious, calm, and patient, but also know how to utilize the environment and leverage his own strengths, and he must also have Courage."

"The Courage to face unexpected situations head-on, the Courage to never give up in the face of a great crisis, the Courage to make a firm decision when there is no way out, the Courage to seek a way to survive even in the face of death..."

These thoughts flashed through Lumian's mind, distracting him involuntarily, while simultaneously giving him the sudden feeling that the "Hunter's " Potion within him had been completely digested:

It was as if some Barrier had been completely shattered, as if tiny sparks had merged with every part of the body.

Lumian's remaining signs of Loss of Control largely disappeared, and his condition improved significantly in an instant.

He slowly rose, silently remarking, "It's definitely digested..."

This means he is ready to take the next dose of the Potion.

With his left hand Entanglement bandages and gripping Silver-Black Dagger, Lumian looked around, glancing occasionally at the Corpse of the Flame Monster, patiently waiting for the Beyonder Characteristic to be extracted.

Unlike the Shotgun Monster, which Change quickly, Lumian waited a full half hour this time, until he began to wonder if the Flame Monster was truly dead and started to consider whether he should deliver a few more blows.

Finally, just as he was about to faint Past his increasingly severe injuries, tiny sparks of crimson light flew out from the Monster's body.

They resembled a swarm of fireflies, completely surrounding the Corpse before slowly shrinking inwards and coalescing into a heart-shaped, crimson object.

The "heart" slowly expanded and contracted, its surface covered with dense pores, from which tiny Flames shot out.

"Is this the Main Ingredient of the ' Pyromaniac ' Potion?" Lumian murmured as he bent down to pick it up.

A searing burning sensation traveled from his palm to his brain, making him instinctively want to discard the "heart" and escape the corresponding Pain.

Fortunately, Lumian had previously suffered burns to multiple areas of his skin from the Flame Monster, Paralysis, so he could barely withstand this relatively minor injury.

He tried to wrap the "heart" with strips of cloth, but the cloth gradually Burning and turned to ashes.

Lumian thought for a moment, then placed the extraordinary material on the ground, wrapped the "Fallen Mercury" with the remaining black cloth strips, and tucked it back into his waistband.

Then, he opened the Bag of Lead Shot, took out the few remaining items, and put them in his pocket.

Next, Lumian dug up the surrounding soil and filled it into a cloth bag.

After the cloth bag was half full of soil, he picked up the "heart" with a tiny Flames flickering around it and threw it inside.

That wasn't all. Lumian continued stuffing soil into the bag until the "heart" was completely filled with this non- Burning brown material, layer upon layer.

He then let out a breath, and while carrying the cloth bag, walked towards the edge of the Ruins, pondering a problem he had just discovered:

"I only have Sequence 9, which is the Main Ingredient for Sequence 7 ' Pyromaniac '. I can't just upgrade directly to Sequence 7, can I?"

This is going to Loss of Control!

"I originally thought the Flame Monster would have one ' Pyromaniac ' Beyonder Characteristic, one ' Provocateur ' Beyonder Characteristic, and one ' Hunter ' Beyonder Characteristic, but it turns out they're all mixed together..."

Not knowing what to do with the book, Lumian walked back with slightly unsteady steps.

He was incredibly lucky along the way, and didn't encounter a single Monster. Otherwise, given his current state, things would have been quite troublesome and difficult. His only hope was that he could use his strong observation skills and keen senses to detect danger in advance and take cover and avoid it.

After an unknown amount of time, Lumian left the Dream Ruins, crossed the Weeds Wilderness, and returned to his two-story semi-underground house.

He struggled to climb to the second floor, took down the "Fallen Mercury," the cloth bag containing the Main Ingredient of the "Pyromaniac," and the Iron-Black Axe, and placed them either on the bedside table or on the ground. Then he walked to the Full-Length Mirror embedded in the wardrobe.

Lumian saw that his face in the mirror was unusually pale, with many marks left by Flames, and faint silver-black patches on his skin.

Within his blue Eyes, a faint, ethereal silver-white glint appeared, Entanglement with itself, tinged with black.

This is an outward manifestation of someone who has suffered serious injuries and nearly Loss of Control.

If it weren't for the strong "home advantage" in this Dream Ruins, and if it weren't for obtaining "Fallen Mercury" and gaining the ability to "Invisibility," Lumian would have had almost no hope of hunting down that Flame Monster.

He chewed on jerky and cheese, fighting off the intense hunger lingering from the possession, and lay down on the bed.

He desperately needs to return to reality and rest for a while to help his body recover quickly.

Sunlight streamed through the curtains into the bedroom, illuminating Aurora's desk, which was filled with reference materials, reading notes, and stacks of manuscripts, as well as the Desk next to it, which was covered with dresses, and an elegant Full-Length Mirror.

As soon as Lumian opened her eyes, she saw her Older Sister's light blue eyes.

Aurora, seeing that he had woken up, asked with concern, "How are you? Are you alright?"

She knew her brother was going to the Dream Ruins to Hunting Flame Monster.

"I did it." Lumian groped his way to sit up, feeling a blankness in his head, a throbbing pain in his skin, and as if his bones were about to break.

But compared to the excruciating pain in his Dream that nearly killed him, this was nothing.

He looked down and examined his body, finding several areas of skin that were red and swollen, like an allergic reaction.

"That's good..." Aurora breathed a sigh of relief, "You were convulsing and moving your arms and legs around almost an hour ago, which woke me up."

Lumian chuckled self-deprecatingly, "It was indeed very dangerous at that time; I almost Loss of Control."

"I hesitated to wake you up, but you calmed down quickly and weren't so scary anymore," Aurora said with relief.

Lumian's heart skipped a beat:

"And then you just kept staring at me?"

"Yes," Aurora nodded frankly, "If anything happens, I'll have to shake you awake immediately, bring you back to reality, and not let you die in your dream."

Lumian suddenly felt that the hardship, Pain, struggle, and fear of almost dying in his dream were all washed away and submerged by a warm current welling up from the bottom of his heart.

He asked instinctively, "You weren't actually woken up by me, you just hadn't been asleep all along, right?"

Aurora smiled and said, "That was my original plan, but then I thought about how long you'd be camping that Monster, and I'd just finished my night shift. If I didn't get some sleep, I'd definitely be dazed in the latter part of the shift and make mistakes, and I wouldn't be able to wake you up in time."

"So, I finally decided to Handle on you while trying to get some sleep."

"That way, I can sense any movement you make and wake up quickly. Heh, you really did kick me!"

As she spoke, she pointed to her right calf, where there was a noticeable bruise.

Without giving Lumian a chance to respond, she asked instead, "Tell me the details."

Lumian lowered his voice and recounted how he set up the trap, how he ambushed people in the middle of the road, how his clothes were set on fire and he was unable to Invisibility, forcing him to escape into the Basement and fully activate the Black Thorn Symbol through Meditation.

Aurora listened intently, her expression occasionally showing concern for her brother's perilous situation; she was clearly the kind of person who easily empathized with her brother while reading a novel.

At the end of his speech, Lumian posed a question:

How can we differentiate the "Provocateur" from the Beyonder Characteristic of the "Pyromaniac"?

Moreover, he didn't know where to get the Potion Formula.

Aurora hesitated for a few seconds before saying, "I don't know how to separate them. I've only heard that in similar situations, one might need the help of High Sequence Beyonder."

"Half-God?" Lumian guessed.

He currently knows perhaps only three people who have reached Sequence 4:

That One mysterious Lady, Madame Pualis, and the That One lying in the Coffin in the Tomb Chamber.

Aurora nodded:

"You don't need to worry. I suspect That One mysterious Lady will come to you soon to offer some help. She always appears at key moments in your growth, and this time should be no exception. After all, the Loop hasn't been broken yet, and the secrets of the Dream Ruins haven't been solved."

"Go to the Old Tavern to find her?" Lumian frowned.

Their agreement with Ryan and the others was to avoid going out as much as possible.

Aurora made an "uh" sound:

"Wait a minute, she might come to visit us in person."

At this point, Aurora sighed and said, "For normal Beyonder, the Potion Formula isn't a big problem, but you're different. There's Corruption sealed within you, and the slightest problem could cause Loss of Control. You still need the complete and correct ' Provocateur ' Potion Formula."

"Why don't normal Beyonder need Potion Formula?" Lumian, somewhat surprised.

Aurora explained, "It's not that it's unnecessary, but rather that those below level 7 can advance by forcibly consuming the Main Ingredient."

"Won't this get Loss of Control?" Lumian asked in surprise.

Aurora hummed in agreement.

"In previous years, doing this would most likely Loss of Control, but in recent years, the Beyonder Characteristic of Sequence 9 and Sequence 8 can indeed be used directly, although it is about 20 to 30 percent more dangerous than concocting them into Potion."

"Yes, this is the conclusion of our guild leader, ' Gandalf '."

"Why?" Lumian was about to ask when a familiar song drifted from outside the house.

The siblings immediately exchanged a glance, their expressions turning serious.

Lent Festival has begun, and the "Spring Spirit" have arrived here.