Chapter 99: Courage (Seeking monthly votes)

Lu Mi sat on the ground, panting heavily, feeling that even moving a single finger was a chore.

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

During this process, Lu Mi merely leaned his body forward, using his left hand to pick up the "Fallen Mercury," while his right palm still gripped that iron-black axe to guard against any potential accidents.

He did not let his focus wander, remaining exceptionally vigilant.

Of course, deep down, he couldn't help but offer a prayer to the "Eternal Blazing Sun" and that great existence whose honorific he did not know, hoping They would protect him from encountering any accidents in the moments to come.

After all, in his current state, not to mention if the flame monster hadn't truly died and suddenly resurrected, even the arrival of an ordinary enemy like the skinless monster would likely be enough to finish him off.

Time ticked by second by second. Lu Mi's spirituality and physical strength slowly recovered a little, but the injuries on his body were even more severe, to the point where his mind occasionally drifted, unable to remain focused:

"A 'Hunter' must not only be careful, cautious, calm, and patient, and know how to utilize the environment and leverage their own advantages, but they must also possess courage."

"The courage to face unexpected situations head-on, the courage to never give up when a great crisis arises, the courage to make a firm decision when there is no way back, the courage to seek a path to survival while facing death..."

These thoughts flashed through Lu Mi's mind, and while they caused him to involuntarily lose focus, he suddenly felt as though the "Hunter" potion within his body had been completely digested:

It was as if some barrier had been completely shattered, as if tiny sparks had fused with every part of his body.

The remaining signs of his loss of control vanished for the most part, and his state instantly improved significantly.

He slowly stood up, silently sighing to himself:

"It really is digested..."

This meant he was prepared to consume the next potion.

Lu Mi, with his left hand wrapped in bandages and gripping the silver-black short blade, scanned his surroundings, occasionally watching the flame monster's corpse, patiently waiting for the Beyonder characteristic to precipitate.

Unlike the hunting rifle monster which had shown corresponding changes quickly, Lu Mi waited for a full half-hour this time, waiting until he suspected the flame monster hadn't died completely, and he pondered whether he should deliver a few more strikes.

Finally, just as he was about to faint from his increasingly severe injuries, a tiny, crimson, spark-like light flew out from the monster's body.

They resembled a large swarm of fireflies, tightly surrounding the corpse before slowly contracting inward, condensing into a crimson object resembling a heart.

That "heart" slowly expanded and contracted, its surface covered in dense, tiny holes, with barely visible flames spewing out from each one.

"Is this the main ingredient for the 'Pyromaniac' potion?" Lu Mi whispered as he leaned down to pick up the object.

An intense burning sensation traveled from his palm to his mind, making him subconsciously want to throw the "heart" away to escape the corresponding pain.

Fortunately, Lu Mi's skin had already been numbed in many places by the flame monster's burns earlier, so he could barely endure this not-so-severe injury.

He tried wrapping the "heart" with cloth strips, but the cloth gradually caught fire and turned into ash.

Lu Mi thought for a moment, placed the Beyonder material on the ground, wrapped the "Fallen Mercury" well with the remaining black cloth strips, and tucked it back into his waist.

Then, he opened the cloth bag containing lead bullets, took out the few remaining items inside, and put them into his pocket.

Immediately after, Lu Mi dug up the surrounding soil and filled them into the cloth bag.

Once the soil filled half the bag, he picked up the "heart" wreathed in faint flames and tossed it inside.

This wasn't the end; Lu Mi continued to stuff soil into the bag until the "heart" was filled in all directions—front, back, left, right, top, and bottom—with this non-flammable brown material, layer upon layer.

He then let out a breath, and while carrying the cloth bag toward the edge of the ruins, he pondered a problem he had just discovered:

"I am only Sequence 9, and this is the main ingredient for the corresponding Sequence 7 'Pyromaniac'. I can't just jump straight to Sequence 7, right?"

"That would lead to a loss of control!"

"I originally thought the flame monster would precipitate one 'Pyromaniac' Beyonder characteristic, one 'Provoker' Beyonder characteristic, and one 'Hunter' Beyonder characteristic, but it turns out they are mixed together..."

Not knowing what to do, Lu Mi walked back with a slightly unsteady gait.

Along the way, he was extremely lucky and didn't encounter a single monster; otherwise, in his current state, things would have been quite troublesome and tricky. His only hope earlier had been to rely on his powerful observational skills and keen senses to discover danger in advance and be prepared to hide and evade.

Not knowing how much time had passed, Lu Mi exited the dream ruins, crossed the weedless wilderness, and returned to his own semi-underground two-story building.

He climbed to the second floor with difficulty, took down the "Fallen Mercury," the cloth bag containing the "Pyromaniac" main ingredient, the iron-black axe, and other items one by one, placing them on the bedside table or tossing them onto the floor, before walking on his own to the full-length mirror embedded in the wardrobe.

Lu Mi saw that his own face in the mirror was exceptionally pale, with many traces left by the flames, and patches of silver-black color, faint and elusive, remained on many parts of his skin.

Within his blue eyes, illusory silver-white faintly stood out, intertwining with themselves and stained with black.

This was the external manifestation of having suffered heavy injuries and nearly losing control.

If not for the strong "home-field advantage" in this dream ruin, and if not for obtaining the "Fallen Mercury" and possessing the "Invisibility" ability, Lu Mi would have had almost no hope of hunting that flame monster.

He chewed on dried meat and cheese, fighting against the intense hunger left by the possession state, and lay down on the bed.

He urgently needed to return to reality to rest for a period of time to help his body recover quickly.

…………

Light penetrated the curtains, shining into the bedroom, outlining Aurora's desk, which was piled with many reference materials, reading notes, and stacks of manuscripts, and outlining the wardrobe filled with dresses and the exquisite full-length mirror beside it.

As soon as Lu Mi opened his eyes, he saw his sister's pair of light blue eyes.

Aurora watched him wake up and asked with concern:

"How is it? Are you alright?"

She knew her brother had gone to the dream ruins this time to hunt the flame monster.

"I succeeded." Lu Mi fumbled to sit up, feeling only that his head was empty, his skin was stinging in waves, and his bones felt as if they were about to break.

But compared to the severe pain in the dream that had nearly killed him, this was nothing at all.

He lowered his head to check his body and found that many parts of his skin were red and swollen, as if he were having an allergic reaction.

"That's good then..." Aurora let out a breath of relief. "You were convulsing all over nearly an hour ago, flailing your hands and feet, and kicked me awake."

Lu Mi gave a self-deprecating laugh:

"It was indeed very dangerous at that time; I nearly lost control."

"I was very hesitant about whether to wake you up directly, but you calmed down quickly and didn't look so scary anymore," Aurora said, feeling quite fortunate.

Lu Mi's heart stirred:

"So you just watched me the whole time?"

"That's right." Aurora nodded frankly. "If there was any situation, I had to shake you awake immediately so you could return to reality and not die in the dream."

Lu Mi suddenly felt that the hardship, pain, struggle, and the fear of nearly dying in the dream were all washed away and submerged at this moment by the warm current surging from the bottom of his heart.

He asked subconsciously:

"You weren't actually kicked awake by me, but hadn't slept at all, right?"

Aurora smiled and said:

"I originally intended to do that, but I thought about how long you might have to wait for that monster, and I had just finished my night watch. If I didn't catch up on some sleep, I would definitely be mentally dazed in the latter half, which would make it easy to make mistakes and be too late to wake you up."

"So, I finally decided to keep my hand on you while catching some sleep."

"This way, as soon as you had any movement, I would be able to sense it and wake up quickly. Hehe, I really was kicked by you!"

As she spoke, she pointed to her right lower leg, where there was a clear bruise.

Without giving Lu Mi a chance to respond, she turned to ask:

"Tell me the specific process."

Lu Mi lowered his voice and recounted how he set the traps, how he ambushed in the middle of the road, how his clothes were ignited, making him unable to remain invisible, and how he had to flee into the basement to rely on meditation to fully activate the black thorn symbol.

Aurora listened very attentively, occasionally showing a pained expression for her brother's dangerous situation; she was clearly the type of person who easily empathized when reading novels.

When he finished, Lu Mi raised a question:

"How do I separate the 'Provoker' Beyonder characteristic from the 'Pyromaniac' one?"

Moreover, he still didn't know where to get the potion formula.

Aurora pondered for a few seconds and said:

"I don't know how to separate them. I've only heard people mention that for similar situations, you might need to ask a high-ranking Beyonder for help."

"A demigod?" Lu Mi guessed.

The only people he knew now who might have reached Sequence 4 were only three:

That mysterious lady, Madam Pualis, and the one lying in the coffin in the tomb.

Aurora nodded:

"I suspect, actually, you don't need to worry. I suspect that mysterious lady will come to find you soon to provide some help. She always appears at the critical nodes of your growth, and this time shouldn't be an exception. After all, the cycle hasn't been broken, and the secret of the dream ruins hasn't been solved either."

"Go to the old tavern to find her?" Lu Mi frowned.

Their agreement with Ryan and the others was to try not to go out.

Aurora went "Uh":

"Wait a bit first; she might come to visit directly."

Speaking of this, Aurora sighed and said:

"For normal Beyonders, the potion formula isn't much of a problem, but you are different. You have contamination sealed within you, and any slight problem could lead to a loss of control. You still need the complete, correct 'Provoker' potion formula."

"Why don't normal Beyonders need a potion formula?" Lu Mi was somewhat surprised.

Aurora explained:

"It's not that they don't need one, but below Sequence 7, one can rely on forcibly consuming the main ingredient to advance."

"Wouldn't that lead to a loss of control?" Lu Mi asked in astonishment.

Aurora went "Hmm":

"In previous years, doing so would likely lead to a loss of control, but in recent years, the Beyonder characteristics of Sequence 9 and Sequence 8 can indeed be used directly, just with about twenty to thirty percent more danger than when formulated into a potion."

"Hmm, this is the investigation conclusion made by our society president, 'Gandalf'."

Why? Just as Lu Mi was about to ask this, a series of familiar songs drifted from outside the house.

The siblings immediately looked at each other, their expressions becoming solemn.

The Lenten festival had begun, and the "Spring Elf" parade had reached this area.

ps: Seeking monthly votes~

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 100 =====