It was very early in the Nightmare Realm.
Some flowers were yet to shine. The land was filled with an unusual feeling because of the purple moon, the grey mountains, and the dim lights from the flowers.
There were a few people heading toward Rock Apple Mountain. Among them was a group of four — Kira, Drayen, Kael, and Jim.
Other people were here and there, also heading toward the mountain. Soon, each group moved in different directions according to the intel on their maps.
Kira whispered, "Remember how you hunted last time? Avoid big boar groups… and hunter groups."
She continued, "We'll meet in town," without giving them a chance to reply.
She increased her speed and left them behind.
Today she was on a mission — to collect Rank 2 cores and take back the Spider Den's badge. She wasn't here to mentor them.
She was heading toward the Iron Skin Boars' area.
Drayen, Kael, and Jim were too weak to join her there.
As for Zuko, he was training on his own in town. Kira felt he wasn't ready yet.
The three of them were brimming with confidence.
Especially Jim. He had finally gained new abilities.
As for Drayen, he had also obtained an ability — Basic Wing Thrust.
It was a good ability. A basic thrust-type skill. On its own, it wasn't that great. If you used it barehanded, your arm would probably break from the impact. It had to be combined with a weapon, preferably a sword.
And the word Basic was misleading.
The Moon Butterfly bloodline didn't have many offensive skills, but each one had its own specialty. Wing Thrust was about extreme speed. When used with a good weapon, it could even penetrate the iron-like skin of Iron Boars.
But that created a new problem for Drayen.
He didn't have a weapon.
Instructor Miller had once carried a sword, but it was already broken during the earlier fight. Not to mention, Instructor Miller had been using it for a long time, and it was far beyond repair.
Now Drayen needed to buy a new sword.
Jim had a similar issue.
He had gained two new abilities that allowed him to strengthen and accelerate himself using poison on himself. They were called Self Poisoning Speed and Self Poisoning Strength. But they were one-time burst skills with huge cooldowns.
So, in their group, the main hitter was Kael.
But Jim had other control abilities, like Stamina Decreasing Mist.
It was actually a very bad ability. Not even worth mentioning.
But against massive Rock Skin Boars, it surprisingly did enough work. Their size made them slow, and the mist could drain them over time.
However, against creatures like Shadow Hounds, it was almost useless. Using it there would just be waiting to be slaughtered — a complete waste of an ability.
Not to mention, the mist had very low range. It couldn't function properly on its own.
Jim was lucky.
He had also gained a complementary ability — one that amplified mist-type skills. Mist-type skills were commonly found in scorpion bloodlines. Without that amplification, Stamina Decreasing Mist would have been nothing more than a wasted ability.
Not all abilities were strong or powerful. Most of the time, they were even unusable.
Jim had possessed this ability even when Shadow Hounds and Strength Paw Hounds surrounded them in Houndswell Forest. But it only became useful now because of the amplification ability.
Kael started scouting.
Drayen joined him, climbing a small mound to get a better view of the surroundings.
His eyes had finally been upgraded. Because of that, his scouting ability — at least in terms of vision — was far more precise and advanced than before.
Previously, he had Moon Butterfly Jewel Eyes.
Now, it was Butterfly Jewel Eyes.
Although both were of the same rank, the gap between them was huge.
Most vision abilities were dependent on light conditions. Moon Butterfly Jewel Eyes were highly specialized for dark environments. They performed best at night or in dim areas.
Butterfly Jewel Eyes, however, could function efficiently in all lighting conditions.
On the surface, it might seem like a small upgrade.
In reality, it was a massive one.
Both of them soon spotted a group of boars.
Kael clenched his fingers as if drawing out his claws. "Let's go."
Drayen shook his head. "It seems a hunting group is already there. Let's not get involved."
Kael had a good nose, but even though his vision had improved, it was still far inferior to Drayen's Butterfly Jewel Eyes. It was obvious he couldn't see what Drayen saw.
Kael still insisted. "Let's go. We'll take them out first."
There were six boars. It was a perfect opportunity.
In the Nightmare Realm, before a fight actually began, there was no rule of finders keepers. Since the other group hadn't engaged yet, the prey was still open.
Jim sided with Drayen. "Drae, let's check there," he said, pointing in another direction.
Kael clicked his tongue. "Bastards. Leaving me and deciding on your own."
But he wasn't truly angry.
After a moment of thought, he also started to feel that getting involved would only cause trouble. He was just cursing for his own satisfaction.
Three to four hours passed.
The three of them now had three Rockskins hanging on their backs. This was just their first round of hunting.
They were resting under a tree, waiting for their Nightmare Essence to recover while eating Rock Apples. The fruit had a hard shell, but inside it was creamy, sweet, and delicious.
Kael had eaten nine to ten of the fruits. He liked sweets.
Jim was even teasing him. "You will sleep if you eat one more."
Kael had a mouthful as he said, "Min… business." [Mind your own business.]
Soon, their essence fully recovered.
They moved again.
All the flowers and leaves were shining very brightly now, indicating it was already midday.
Kael suddenly snorted. "There's a strong scent in this area. Let's climb the tree."
After getting to higher ground, they spotted another group.
Eight boars.
Drayen frowned.
In his mind, the calculation was simple. With Jim added to the team, they could handle six. But eight… wasn't that slightly beyond their current capacity?
Drayen glanced at Jim.
Jim's expression clearly said: What do we do?
Kael spoke confidently, "Don't worry unnecessarily like cowards. Let's finish them off."
He wasn't being reckless.
They weren't the only ones who had upgraded their abilities. In the previous fight, Drayen and Jim had both noticed Kael's fighting style becoming far more aggressive.
He had grown stronger too.
That confidence wasn't empty.
After a brief pause, both of them agreed.
Drayen said, "I'll cover the outside. If we're taking all eight, we'll need Jim to act."
Jim took a deep breath. This would be his first time fighting up close using only his abilities.
He was obviously nervous.
Kael smirked. "Don't drag me down. Hehe."
The three of them looked at each other and nodded. They hung the Rockskins of the boars on a tree branch.
Jim moved first.
He activated his Stamina Decreasing Mist.
With every breath, foggy air escaped from his mouth. Slowly, the surrounding area began to fill with mist.
The boars seemed to notice something was wrong.
They grew agitated, snorting loudly as they searched the area.
Each step landed with a heavy thump — as if warning or intimidating whatever was hiding nearby.
One of the larger boars stomped hard and suddenly charged in a direction.
Kael had deliberately made noise. It had noticed him.
The boar rushed toward the tree like a truck.
Kael didn't face it head-on. He dodged and kept moving, circling around it.
Soon, the other boars noticed the disturbance. All of them turned toward Kael, ready to bring him down.
In that deliberate movement, another figure entered the battlefield.
Drayen seized the moment while all their attention was on Kael. As they focused on Kael, they were focusing on one direction. He got the eye contact he needed. He activated Bewildering Eyes.
Kael understood instantly and adjusted his movement in sync with Drayen.
The group of boars suddenly became chaotic. All of them attacked the large boar chasing Kael. They turned aggressive, attacking one another in confusion.
The largest boar, after taking a few hits, violently suppressed the others within moments. It overpowered them through sheer size and strength.
But now it was breathing heavily.
Its stamina had been severely drained.
Jim was still nervous, hesitating.
"Jim—now!" Kael shouted.
The other boars lifted their heads at the sound. They were about to charge him.
Kael lunged forward, muttering under his breath, "Werewolf claws… Wolf's legs."
His fingers elongated, bones shifting as dark grey claws burst through his nails. His palms thickened, fur spreading across them as they warped into wolf-like paws. At the same time, his legs swelled with muscle. Fur covered them as his feet transformed into powerful half-wolf paws — yet he remained upright, standing on two legs.
Then he charged and slammed a blow into the large boar.
Although it was very tired, it was still aggressive.
The other boars also rushed to crush Kael. Kael couldn't damage it enough, but he had to run for his life.
THUMP.
Rocks flew everywhere, and the big boar finally fell. Its nose was bleeding; it wasn't able to move.
It was Jim. His hands were bulged with purplish-black veins. His legs also looked slightly bulged, but his pants hid it to some extent. Some poison miasma coated his hands and legs. With each blow, it emitted poison.
Kael turned around. "Finally. Hahaha."
Jim and Kael rampaged the battlefield. Drayen was just watching the show, but the more he watched, the more he frowned. Eight boars were simply too many.
Jim was enjoying the feeling of power. He was crazy as he punched the boars.
Due to the poison, more and more boars were falling at Jim's hands.
Jim wasn't concentrating.
Suddenly, the transformation stopped.
In the heat of the moment, he had forgotten how long it lasted. Three minutes had already passed. He had returned to normal.
"Oh no…"
Sweat poured down his face.
A boar rushed to crush him. It almost landed a heavy blow, but he barely managed to dodge. Even so, his arm twisted at a wrong angle — severely broken.
Another boar seized the opportunity and charged in to finish him.
Jim's eyes widened.
What do I do?
He tried to stand — but what was the point of standing? He was about to get hit again.
At that instant—
Drayen used Butterfly Walk and appeared beside him.
For the first time, Drayen noticed another problem with Butterfly Walk.
It only provided a burst of speed for a few seconds.
There were no hiding spots nearby.
The boar spotted him and charged straight toward him.
Drayen had no time to think. He activated Bewildering Eyes again.
The boar stumbled for a moment. Its vision showed different boars attacking it — exactly what Drayen imagined.
But it didn't attack anything.
It simply hesitated.
After a few seconds, it regained clarity and charged again.
Now Drayen truly understood the weaknesses of his abilities.
Bewildering Eyes only affected vision.
It was powerful — it could force the enemy to see exactly what Drayen imagined. But if his imagination was weak, or if the scenario wasn't constructed properly, the effect became almost useless.
Typically, it lasted around three seconds. More precisely, its duration depended entirely on the user's focus and mental imagination.
Butterfly Walk was similar.
It was only a short burst. At most, he could cover ten to twelve meters per activation.
That was it.
He activated Butterfly Walk again.
His essence was running low. He was panicking from the inside. He gazed across the battlefield and chose a direction.
Only seventeen Nightmare Essence remained.
He didn't hesitate.
He used the ability two more times, escaping the battlefield.
Kael stepped in to help, distracting the boar and pulling its attention away.
Drayen and Jim barely climbed the tree and hid on a tree branch, watching Kael. Drayen had one Nightmare Essence left. And Jim was in a worse state; he had become pale like paper and was feeling nauseous.
Kael kept running.
Although he still had essence left, he was physically getting tired.
"Huff… huff…"
He continued using his ability actively.
As he dodged another charge, a thought crossed his mind.
If I hadn't upgraded my ability to Night Favor, I would've been doomed.
The boars' movements were slowing.
The poison and drained stamina were finally taking effect.
One by one, they began to collapse.
Soon, the last of them fell.
Kael kept moving for a few more seconds before finally stopping.
The battlefield was now scattered with Rock Skin Boars' corpses.
There was silence in the air. They could hear their breathing and heartbeats.
Suddenly, they heard a clap, clap.
"Good. Very good."
Drayen looked in the direction of the sound.
They had three Rockskins on their shoulders.