The mist returned, swirling around Medeia as if trying to blind her, or perhaps the panther was attempting to trap her in another hallucination.
However, once someone was able to break free from the hallucination on their own, their mind became immune to it. Hence, the panther couldn’t use the same trick on her twice.
Medeia took a deep breath and closed her eyes. In her demonic form, she could sharpen all her senses, especially her hearing.
She focused on the faintest sounds, the rustling of leaves, the rhythm of her own heartbeat, and there it was, the light sound of footsteps against the ground.
The panther was circling her.
A smile appeared on her lips. Did it really think she was helpless just because she couldn’t see?
With a sudden burst of movement, she spun on her heel and struck. Her sword sliced through the mist, aiming straight for the hidden predator in the middle of the mist. "Good night, little kitty."
In a single swift motion, the abyssal sword severed its head. The mist that had surrounded her vanished along with the panther’s final breath.
[You have slain an Abyss Stalker (Grade-SSS / Mutated Panther): 1,000 XP]
[Congratulations! You have reached Level 27!]
[Stat increase: +2,700 MP (Total: 42,700), +1,200 HP (Total: 15,400), Intelligent: +40 (Total: 315)]
[Passive Skill Reward: Predator Instinct (Grade-S) — Enhances the user’s ability by 150% to detect hidden or invisible foes within a 100-meter radius.]
Eight more levels to go before she could use Demonic Strength without suffering from the pain.
[Countdown: 00:19:34]
It only took her about five minutes to kill the panther? Not bad, but it would have been even better if she had done it in under a minute.
Every second was precious, after all.
Before walking away, Medeia lowered her head to glance at the lifeless panther. "Just as I thought, I’m not a cat person."
Not only had it trapped her in a hallucination, but it had also dared to dredge up disturbing memories of her ex-husband.
Oh, what a bad kitty.
She flicked her sword once to shake off the black blood from its blade, then turned her head toward Lucian and Bear.
The wolf was still pinning Lucian down, and it seemed like Bear had stabbed him more than twice with the dagger.
Its head hung low, guilt weighing heavily on the wolf for having harmed the most important person in its life.
"Bear, you can move away from him now!" Medeia shouted from a distance.
Bear immediately lifted its paws off Lucian and tossed the dagger to the ground. The wolf even hissed at it, clearly despising the weapon for what it had done to its papa.
Medeia raised an eyebrow, wondering why Lucian still hadn’t woken up even though she had already killed the panther.
Were his memories so bad that he got stuck there? But what exactly did he see?
Medeia was about to approach him when the ground beneath her suddenly shook violently and the cracks started to form around Lucian.
Bear panicked. It wanted to drag Lucian away, but it didn’t dare to move, afraid that the ground would suddenly collapse under its weight.
"Bear, don’t move!" Medeia warned. "I can handle this."
The truth was, she couldn’t.
The ground beneath Lucian suddenly cracked open, and his body plummeted into the abyss.
Medeia’s eyes widened in horror. "Lucian!"
He hadn’t woken up from his nightmare, so Medeia wasn’t sure if he could survive the fall from such a height without relying on his abilities.
Of course, the chances were zero.
[Emergency Quest: Save Lucian (Grade-SSS)]
[If you completed this quest, you will unlock a rare physic—]
The system hadn’t even had a chance to say anything, but Medeia had pushed the wolf away and jumped into the hole.
She didn’t hesitate at all or think about what would happen to both of them if they fell into the hole.
Medeia didn’t even know how deep the hole was or what she could do to save Lucian.
But her body moved faster than her brain.
As soon as she saw him in danger, her first instinct was to follow him without thinking twice.
So, she couldn’t help but wonder, did she truly want to save him, or did she just want to die with him?
Gravity pulled them down with terrifying speed. Medeia stretched out her arms and wrapped them tightly around Lucian’s body. Her heart pounded wildly, and a chilling sensation spread through her entire body.
What would happen next?
Would they both die the moment their heads hit the ground?
"Lucian! Wake up!" she shouted into his ear, but his eyes remained shut, as if he had no intention of leaving his nightmare.
[Rare Physical Trait Unlock: Wings]
Medeia was taken aback when the system suddenly mentioned wings. Before she could say anything, a sharp pain shot through her back, like two blades piercing her flesh at the same time.
It was so unbearable that, for a moment, she couldn’t even breathe.
She wanted to pass out, but her arms were still wrapped tightly around Lucian.
Forcing her eyes open, she saw that they were rapidly approaching the bottom of the abyss.
Medeia gritted her teeth, her mind racing. Even with wings, the narrow space made it almost impossible to spread them.
What was she supposed to do?
[Don’t worry, Host. There’s enough space for you to extend your wings below.]
A skeletal frame formed on her back, becoming the foundation of her wings before they were enveloped in sleek black feathers.
Medeia clenched her jaw as pain tore through her body with every twitch of her new wings.
She wondered, were they a gift or just another curse to burden her?
[Don’t worry, Host. Once you reach level 35, you’ll be able to use your wings without any pain!]
Like hell that helped right now.
Medeia could barely process the system’s words because her entire body was overwhelmed by the excruciating pain. It felt like her back was being torn open from the inside.
[Host, spread your wings in 3... 2... 1!]
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