When Ed heard the prompt sound in his mind, he couldn't help but feel ecstatic.
At the same time, the changes in his body were instantaneous.
In the moment of the breakthrough, it wasn't just his strength and physique that had improved drastically.
He could clearly feel another immense change — his sensory abilities!
The Demon Hunter's most renowned skill — sensory perception!
At this moment, Ed, now a Black Iron-level Demon Hunter, saw the world through completely different eyes.
The once ordinary room now appeared to him with an array of mixed, distinct auras.
He could sense that several other people had lived here before him.
Some of these auras were from long ago, while others were relatively recent. It seemed like people were constantly rotating in and out of the space.
"But I can't make out too many details," Ed thought to himself.
Although he had the sensory abilities of a Demon Hunter, that was all. He couldn't tell exactly who had been here before.
Nor could he determine how much time had passed between each lingering aura.
But even so, this was enough to make Ed feel completely transformed!
He remembered a phrase he had heard once:
"Demon Hunters and humans are essentially two different species!"
"That's because the power of a Demon Hunter is so great that it has completely surpassed the limits of humanity!"
"Because of this, Demon Hunters can live for centuries, but they cannot reproduce. It's as if they are reproductively isolated from humans!"
Everything about this showed just how special Demon Hunters were.
And now, Ed had become one of them!
He clenched his fist tightly.
Now, he was no longer powerless!
After his breakthrough to Black Iron-level Demon Hunter, a line of information appeared in his mind:
[Black Iron-level Hunter, Low Grade]
[Progress towards Mid Grade: 1%]
Ed then took out the stone Luna had given him earlier, inspecting it carefully under the moonlight.
Luna had found it in that very mine.
Most of the rocks in that mine were ordinary, with even the purple stones being scarce.
This particular stone, though black all over with an unknown material, didn't seem to have any special properties. Ed even wondered if it was just an ordinary, worthless rock!
However, just as he thought that…
Shhh!
The black stone suddenly emitted a faint glow.
Ed was shocked to see the moonlight flowing into the stone, absorbed by it.
This phenomenon was exactly the same as when his own body absorbed moonlight!
"What?"
Ed was taken aback. He hadn't expected the stone to have the ability to absorb moonlight as well.
He immediately grasped the stone in his hand and was surprised to find that the speed at which it absorbed moonlight had actually increased!
He could clearly sense all of this with his new Demon Hunter abilities.
An hour later, as Ed tightly held the black stone, it continued absorbing the moonlight.
A faint rune began to appear on its surface.
Ed then felt a surge of power inside the stone, one that he could manipulate and even release at will.
Immediately, an idea sprang to his mind — he wanted to try it out.
He walked to a corner of the room, pointed the stone toward the floor, and suddenly swung it through the air!
Boom!
The stone flared brightly, emitting a sharp white light like lightning, which instantly triggered an explosion!
In the blink of an eye, a massive hole was blasted into the floor and walls of the stone house!
Luckily, the sound wasn't too loud, and it likely hadn't attracted anyone's attention. But Ed was still greatly startled.
"Is this the power of moonlight...?" he muttered to himself.
He dragged his bed over to cover the hole, then sat down on it, still staring at the stone in his hand.
Because of the earlier release, the rune that had formed on the stone had disappeared.
Now, Ed was fully aware that this stone was no ordinary object.
It could even become a powerful tool to deal with the fox-woman!
He named it, "Moonstone."
…
The next day, Ed and his classmates were working as usual.
The fox-woman appeared again. Just like the day before, she called out for one of the students to undergo the magic drug experiment. This time, she passed right by Ed, choosing the person on his right.
As night fell, the moon rose.
"Howl!"
Just like the previous day, the chosen student transformed into a werewolf, but it didn't last long. He exploded in a gruesome burst, dying instantly.
Finally, Ed had a chance to sleep. He quickly took out the Moonstone and tightly gripped it in his hand.
He focused on making it absorb the moonlight.
After about an hour, sure enough, a rune reappeared on the Moonstone.
Ed wondered, "Can it absorb even more of the moonlight's power?"
He noticed that the Moonstone's absorption didn't stop even after the rune appeared.
So, he continued. Two hours later, a second rune appeared!
As the number of runes increased, it became slower to form the next one.
Eventually, after a whole night had passed, Ed had managed to produce four runes.
"I wonder if this is enough to kill that fox-woman sorceress..." he thought.
...
Three days quickly passed.
One by one, Ed's classmates died due to the magic potion. Before long, only three of them remained.
Ed, Luna, and another boy.
That night, the three of them were once again ordered to line up. The fox-woman glanced at them and singled out the other boy.
The boy, terrified beyond belief, trembled uncontrollably, unable to move.
But the fox-woman simply pulled out a potion from her storage bag. The boy had no choice but to obey, swallowing the potion without resistance.
The fox-woman looked at him expectantly. "This time, it absolutely won't fail."
"After all these days of improvements, I will finally have a powerful and obedient werewolf servant!"
As she spoke, the moonlight outside shone on the boy.
In an instant, his body underwent a transformation!
It was the same transformation as the others from the past few days—hair sprouted all over his body, his form expanded, and he ultimately became a monstrous werewolf with sharp fangs and a grotesque face!
However, there was one difference.
This time, after transforming into a werewolf, the boy didn't explode into a burst of gore like the others.
The fox-woman nodded in satisfaction. "Good, very good! Looks like I definitely got it right this time."
"I've created a perfectly obedient werewolf servant!"
With that, she beckoned toward the werewolf in front of her. "Come here."
The werewolf lifted its head, seemingly hearing her command, though its movements were sluggish.
Still, it eventually shuffled toward her.
"Good boy!"
The fox-woman's face was filled with joy and excitement. She looked at the ugly werewolf with eyes that seemed to gleam with affection, as if looking at a child.
It was as though a scientist, after many years of research, was finally witnessing the fruits of their labor.
"Raise your paw." The fox-woman's voice came again, and the werewolf obeyed her command, slowly lifting its sharp claws as it moved closer.
The fox-woman watched the werewolf with great delight, basking in the joy of her success. But just as she was relishing the moment—
"Uuuuooooo!"
The werewolf suddenly erupted! Its ferocity flared up, and it swung its claws, leaping at the fox-woman in an attack!
Its mouth opened wide, full of aggression, as it tried to tear her apart and kill her!
"What—No!"
The fox-woman saw her experiment spiral out of control again, and she let out a furious and desperate cry.
In the same instant, she swiftly made a slashing motion with her hand.
A sharp silver light cut through the air, and the next moment, the enraged werewolf's body froze.
Then, its head shifted with a clean motion—as if sliced by a sharp blade—and its head was severed from its neck.
The werewolf's body crashed to the ground, blood spurting from the wound!
Ed watched in awe as the scene unfolded. The werewolf had been effortlessly dispatched with a mere flick of the fox-woman's finger!
The fox-woman's expression showed signs of sorrow, mixed with some fatigue. It seemed that her quick reaction had drained quite a bit of her energy.
Although sorceresses wielded powerful magic, they were still not the same as monster hunters, and combat was not their primary focus.
So, the fox-woman sank into a chair and rested for a solid ten minutes.
Afterward, she lifted her head and looked at Luna and Ed. "You two, come with me!"