[Ding! Hunting Task Completed: Ghoul I (Ghouls Killed: 100/100)]
[Reward Received: Small XP Beads ×4000, Witcher Journal – Ghoul]
[Hunting Task: Ghoul II (Drowners Killed: 8/250)]
[Ding! Witcher Journal "Ghoul" Unlocked. Conjunction of the Spheres – Ghoul will appear in 54 seconds. Prepare yourself!]
As the system notification sounded, Allen abandoned the surrounding ghouls and turned his gaze to the tentacle in the sky, where the concentration of eye clusters near the tall tower was the densest.
Countless semi-transparent threads stretched before his eyes.
Allen's mind stirred, manipulating his mental energy.
In an instant—
"Swish!"
A light sound echoed.
The chaotic scene of ghouls and monsters before him transformed into a vast sea of densely packed eyes.
Before he could take a breath, Allen's armor briefly shimmered. The ancient and menacing Wild Hunt Armor flickered into existence for a second before being concealed by the illusory effects of the Mirage Pearl.
[Name: Wild Hunt's Warlord Armor]
[Type: Magical Item]
[Abilities:
1. Helmet - Spectral Skull: Masks the wearer's face with a spectral illusion, instilling fear in non-extraordinary beings and occasionally affecting extraordinary beings.
2. Breastplate - Phantom Ghost: Grants ghostly intangibility, making the wearer immune to physical attacks upon activation.
3. Gauntlets - Iron Grip: Enhances strength and grants immunity to disarm effects.
4. Pauldrons - Elemental Balance: Stabilizes elemental energies, significantly suppressing elemental volatility.
5. Greaves - Arcane Amplifier: Increases spellcasting potency and enhances mana gathering.
6. Boots - Tread of the Wastes: Negates adverse effects of terrain such as swamps, quagmires, and snowy fields.]
[Set Bonuses:]
1. Spiral: ...
2. Rebirth: ...
[Notes:] ...
With both feet landing firmly on the slippery tentacle, it felt as steady as solid ground.
"Splatter!"
[Monster Hunt Progress: 48%]
Suddenly, everything turned blood red.
[Warning! Warning! Warning!]
[Conjunction of the Spheres detected! Conjunction of the Spheres detected!]
A chilling hum resonated as the Witcher medallion tugged violently at its chain beneath his armor.
When Allen paused his assault to regain his footing, the Wild Hunt's Warlord Armor performed better than he'd anticipated. The boots adhered to the tentacle like glue, ensuring stability.
"Boom!"
The valley roared as though it was on the brink of collapse. Towering ridges along the edges shed massive rocks, pine trees, and chunks of barren brown soil.
From the forest beyond the valley, frantic human shouts and commands to maintain order could be heard. However, with the Conjunction's epicenter firmly in the valley, Allen wasn't overly concerned about collateral damage.
Turning back, Vesemir glanced briefly at Allen perched atop the tentacle. Seizing the opportunity presented by the chaos among the monsters, he, along with a royal griffin's windstorm, weaved through the monstrous horde, his crimson-tinged blade slicing effortlessly through their grotesque forms.
The Conjunction of the Spheres was no stranger to Vesemir.
The earth-shattering tremors failed to hinder his slaughter; they only fueled it further.
The monsters screamed in terror.
Tentacles sprawling across the valley collapsed like severed puppets.
"Boom, boom, boom!"
Rotfiends and Scurvers erupted in dazzling fireballs.
More ghouls and monstrous Alghouls were crushed into grotesque heaps of flesh and gore.
[Ding! Hunting Task Completed: Rotfiend I (Rotfiends Killed: 50/50)]
[Reward Received: XP Beads ×50, Witcher Journal – Rotfiend]
[Hunting Task: Rotfiend II (Rotfiends Killed: 26/100)]
[Ding! Witcher Journal "Rotfiend" Unlocked. Conjunction of the Spheres – Rotfiend will appear in 59 seconds. Prepare yourself!]
[Ding! Hunting Task Completed: Alghoul I (Alghouls Killed: 10/10)]
[Reward Received: XP Beads ×100, Witcher Journal – Alghoul]
[Hunting Task: Alghoul II (Alghouls Killed: 4/20)]
[Ding! Witcher Journal "Alghoul" Unlocked. Conjunction of the Spheres – Alghoul will appear in 59 seconds. Prepare yourself!]
The system's icy prompts caught Allen off guard.
The experience beads he had depleted earlier in the evening were now replenished in full. Surprisingly, the Witcher Journal credited all the monsters crushed by the tentacles as his kills.
"No complaints here!"
Dodging the thrashing tentacles, Allen crouched, leaped, and rolled, seizing every opportunity to pierce another eye while contemplating the implications of consecutive Conjunctions of the Spheres.
Killing one giant monster was killing one; killing two was the same. None could be worse than the summoning ritual or the dark god's monstrous eye.
Perhaps these summoned monsters might even help him deal with the ritual or the malevolent deity.
Furthermore, handling such matters in this remote valley far from human settlements wasn't a bad thing—better now than a surprise encounter someday.
His only concern was the Wild Hunt.
After all, he hadn't prearranged a concealment ritual dedicated to Melitele.
Then again, for a lower-tier Conjunction, the interference was minor. The Wild Hunt's wrath should still be focused solely on Ban Ard Academy.
Even if their scouts came investigating, the grandeur of this dark god ritual should be explanation enough for anyone.
The myriad eyes scattered across the pallid skeletal and sinewy flesh abruptly froze under the Conjunction's effects.
This brought a glimmer of hope to Allen.
Sidestepping swiftly, he pressed against the flesh tower as a massive tentacle whipped past, missing his nose by mere inches before soaring into the sky.
"Splatter!"
The sword withdrew from the flesh, drawing a bright red arc in the air.
[Monster Hunt Progress: 57%]
The tremors from the Conjunction of the Spheres began to subside.
Just as Allen was about to channel his strength into turning back and inspecting what kind of monsters the ghoul-based Conjunction had summoned—
"Roar!"
"Slap!"
"Boom!"
A strange roar from a lion-tiger hybrid transformed into a feline whimper before abruptly ceasing.
Following that was a heavy crash of flesh colliding, and then a dark shape rolled and slammed into a mountain ridge, causing rocks to crack and tumble down, burying the monster summoned by the Conjunction of the Spheres. The creature was silenced, its fate unknown.
Allen: ?
"Is that it?" Allen's sword swing faltered. "On the bright side, at least I don't have to worry about the new member being a ghoul that's 'joining' the summoning ritual."
But that made sense.
Ghouls were at a similar level to drowners; what kind of powerful monster could they summon...?
"Slap!"
He withdrew his gaze, dodging a slapping tentacle and jumping onto another nearby one, instinctively looking up.
The eyeballs clinging to the tall tower trembled, their muscular textures twisting and contorting.
"It's about to open its eyes!"
Seeing this, Allen, who had been poking the eyeball, once again adjusted the translucent threads in front of him. Almost in the split second before the giant eye opened, he teleported into mid-air.
The massive crimson vertical pupil snapped open, and upon seeing Allen, the eye's pupil violently shook in fear.
The once-stilled sacrificial eye showed signs of withering and cracking again.
But before it could launch an attack, Allen waved his right hand, sending a cloud of brown magical dust into the single eye.
"Slap!"
The grayish-brown eyelid slammed shut with a loud thud.
"Roar!"
A painful, angry howl echoed.
However, from the tremors in the single eye and the movements of the ghouls, Allen could clearly sense that the effect of the Blind Dust wasn't as potent as his first use of the Magic Flash.
Therefore, without waiting for a free fall, he scanned the chaotic valley and teleported again, stabilizing himself atop another tentacle.
With a swift swing of his sword, he stabbed directly at another eye.
[Monster Hunt Progress: 57%]
Thankfully, he had already leveled up his [Monster Hunt] skill to level six, meaning his Witcher state could last for 450 seconds—almost eight minutes.
Otherwise, after all the struggle during the summoning ritual, his Witcher state would have ended long ago.
But even so, the remaining time was just over a minute.
This meant he had to pierce an eye every four seconds.
It sounded easy, especially given his attributes and swordsmanship, where he could easily land three strikes per second.
The key problem, however, was that the summoning ritual was not static.
The tentacles, as thick as the tower itself, swirled and whipped with overwhelming power.
Wasn't this just like the Lord of R'lyeh from the Cthulhu Mythos?
Even though the eye had yet to open fully, the frequency and accuracy of its strikes weren't too high, each time he pierced an eye, he would be greeted by a lash.
And dodging those lashes took time.
So...
Time was running out!
If he didn't complete the progress before the time ran out this time...
To be honest, with the summoning ritual already adapting to the Magic Flash and Blind Dust, and with the talisman already cracked, he didn't think he'd get another chance.
"Once we stop the dark god, I must collect all the different kinds of sword oils," Allen silently vowed.
This lesson was far too deep.
Without the right sword oils, encountering troublesome monsters was more dangerous and difficult than facing a monstrous siege.
If it weren't for the summoning ritual having eyeballs as weak points, he'd have to run away with Vesemir or wait for Ianna and Tissaia to arrive before fighting...
No!
Even then, fighting would be impossible. If it came to that, a horde of ghouls would surge in, combined with the Cthulhu-like summoning ritual.
Tissaia would definitely take the sorceresses from Aretuza and leave, and he would only be able to try escaping with a few familiar faces.
But then what?
The dark god would descend.
There was no way Ellander could escape, and by that time, Ianna wouldn't leave, neither would Arthur and Sara, and even Lysa might not...
Allen couldn't continue with his thoughts.
In the low emotional state of his Monster Hunt state, a chill ran down his spine. He hurriedly lowered his head, focusing all his strength, agility, and skills, stabbing mechanically.
[Monster Hunt Progress: 60%]
-----------------------------------
[Monster Hunt Progress: 75%]
The progress bar grew little by little, making Allen feel increasingly anxious.
His stamina was also being drained with each high-intensity dodge and attack, forcing him to occasionally use the essence of a drowner's heart to replenish it.
But the essence of a drowner's heart could only restore stamina, not alleviate the fatigue and soreness in his arm muscles.
This only heightened Allen's inner anxiety.
However, he didn't dare to stop for even a moment. He had to rely on the effects of the giant ghoul's potion brewing to constantly stimulate his adrenal glands and force his muscles to keep fighting.
"Melitele, please... no more surprises, no more surprises..." he muttered under his breath.
Unfortunately, the surprise still came.
"Splatter~"
Allen pierced an eyeball, instinctively glancing around to dodge the incoming attack.
But there was no attack...
Although sluggish, the tentacles that could crush him into paste with a single strike didn't whip through the air like a long whip, accompanied by a howling wind.
"This is bad," Allen frowned, his heart sinking.
Another variable had appeared!
This was what it was like dealing with intelligent monsters.
If the monster couldn't be eliminated in a short amount of time, every additional second added to the unpredictability.
They didn't behave like the monsters in the games from his previous life, where the most intelligent AI would only have a few preset attack patterns. As long as you memorized them and fought a few times, even the strongest monsters became predictable.
But in reality, it wasn't like that.
Smart monsters, once they discovered that one attack method was ineffective, would quickly switch to another.
They could even counter tactics like humans.
Just like the summoning ritual.
At first, it slowly corroded the talisman. After Allen used his weapon to counter it, the ritual immediately began to sacrifice eyeballs and unleash powerful telekinetic attacks.
After the telekinetic attacks were thwarted by the Magic Flash, it sacrificed more eyeballs, giving vitality and immense power to the tentacles that were merely ceremonial lines of the ritual.
"Sword oil!" Allen silently repeated to himself.
If he had the right sword oil, the time wouldn't have dragged on, and perhaps the phase of talisman corrosion could have been resolved before it even started.
But now wasn't the time for regrets.
He didn't stop his movements, his eyes quickly scanning the surroundings: "After the tentacles, what new trick is the summoning ritual pulling now?"
The giant eye clinging to the tower was still, lifeless, its eyelids closed.
Other nearby eyes were the same.
The tentacles that had been rising earlier quietly fell back, without a sound.
The entire valley fell silent for a moment, with only the griffin's flapping cries and Vesemir's angry shouts echoing.
Even the enormous magical pressure that had come with the creature's presence began to dissipate.
Aside from the strange atmosphere, the valley felt like the summoning ritual had been successfully destroyed.
"Splatter~"
[Monster Hunt Progress: 81%]
Besides the [Monster Hunt] progress, the [Monster Hunt] status also reminded him that the summoning ritual was still alive.
"Doesn't matter!" Allen gritted his teeth, putting everything into it, speeding up his sword swings. "Only seven more hits, with no tentacles in the way, two or three seconds of—"
Before he finished speaking.
"Boom!"
A loud explosion.
Dark red, murky fluid exploded all over him as he instinctively dodged.
It was the eyeball he had just been about to strike. The one he had aimed at exploded.
"This isn't right..."
The previously sacrificed eyeballs had all withered and burst from top to bottom, which meant that the summoning ritual intentionally sacrificed them from top to bottom. This was normal.
Just like when he curled his toes, he couldn't just curl his middle finger.
He paused for a moment and quickly stabbed at the remaining intact eyeball.
"Boom!"
Another loud explosion.
The eyeball Allen had aimed at exploded suddenly. Elsa's sword struck the empty "eye socket" and sank deep inside, but his [Monster Hunt] progress didn't increase at all.
This explosion seemed to have triggered some kind of chain reaction.
"Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom..."
The explosions merged together, and a massive amount of dark red, murky fluid poured down like a blood rain.
This time, Allen didn't even try to dodge.
In the blink of an eye, all the eyeballs exploded.
He was in despair.
Allen couldn't think of a solution in that moment, and the thought of calling the griffin to leave with Vesemir flashed through his mind.
[Warning! Warning! Warning!]
[Detection of Conjunction of the Spheres fluctuations! Detection of Conjunction of the Spheres fluctuations!]
[Warning! Warning! Warning!]
The world before him turned crimson, as though the entire world had been drenched in blood.
Four red banners, dark as night, flickered at the top of Allen's vision, glowing with an intensely dangerous light.
Under the intense spatial fluctuations from the Conjunction of the Spheres, the griffin and Vesemir could adapt, but there was no way they could safely retreat, completely dispelling his idea.
He gripped his sword, stunned, unsure of what to do.
Suddenly, a thought crossed his mind.
"What happens when all the eyeballs are sacrificed?"
"Crack!"
Just as that thought crossed his mind, a strange sound of cracking wood came from his chest.
The talisman that had cracked after half the night finally broke completely, a crack appearing on the neck of the pregnant woman's pendant as well.
Instinctively, he looked up.
The giant eye opened once again, but this time...
The dragon-like single eye flickered, towering like a blue mountain peak, cold and indifferent, with the crazy crimson glow.
In that moment, he felt like he had seen this light before.
No, it wasn't just a feeling...
He had indeed seen it before.
The dark god... had arrived!
.....
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