Krune flew through the forest, alert of his surroundings, knowing very well the range of the nightmare effect around a Nightmare Demon Wolf. In fact, it ranged around twenty meters. Beyond that, the effect only made someone faintly drowsy.
Even when the number of Nightmare Demon Wolves in a pack increased in number, the range never increased. Of course, the potency of the drowsiness subjected beyond the range of the nightmares also increased.
Nevertheless, this was also the perfect indicator of a Nightmare Demon Wolf's presence.
Of course, Krune didn't rely on something as dangerous as that, simply chasing after the sounds as he maintained an alert state, intending to swiftly fly away the moment it felt like he would fall into a nightmare.
To assure himself of his safety, he thought that if he curled his ethereal form while doing so, the Nightmare Demon Wolves would simply mistake him as a rock and gloss over him in the event he wasn't fast enough to react. Even otherwise, if he fell prey to their abilities and was carried by a wolf to play with, he would soon be set free the moment the wolf was killed.
After all, people constantly arrived to hunt the Nightmare Demon Wolves. Since Krune only moved around the edges of the forest, the likelihood of him surviving a capture was guaranteed.
While moving about, he brought out his Soul Needle, noticing it spin a bit before pointing in a certain direction, causing him to be shocked. "There's a treasure here?"
For a moment, Krune was conflicted before deciding to satisfy his curiosity, "This is within the Alacatra Ruins. So, the treasure might be something valuable."
Without any hesitation, Krune swerved directions, immediately flying towards the direction pointed by the Soul Needle, stopping abruptly when he noticed a group of Nightmare Demon Wolves before him. There were more than twenty in the pack.
Krune immediately retracted his ethereal form and hid behind a branch, silently observing the pack of wolves pass by. Only after that did he begin moving. He was always alert, ensuring to keep track of at least a couple of hiding places at every point while moving about.
This sense of caution had been instilled in him after becoming a mortal human. Even though he had returned to his old self a bit after returning to his wisp form, the changes still existed, largely so.
This sense of caution was one of them.
After traveling for thirty minutes in such a fashion, Krune had treaded deep into the valley, crossing boundaries beyond human action, trodding into uncharted territory. He arrived before a boulder that the Soul Needle pointed at, noticing a tiny badge hover in the air above it, looking ethereal in nature.
The moment he saw it, Krune shuddered, realizing very well what it signified, feeling his consciousness slipping away as he hurriedly retreated towards a safe distance.
Spiritual Mark!
It had arrived so abruptly that Krune failed to make sense of the situation. "How…?"
"Wasn't it something that could only be obtained after passing tens of trials? How come there is one here already?"
Faint energy fluctuations emanated from the Spiritual Mark right at this time, causing a couple of words to appear in his mind, stating the identity of the Spiritual Mark.
Nightmare Spiritual Mark!
This was a Spiritual Mark that subjected one inside a nightmare, a rather powerful one at that. Upon realizing that it was a genuine Spiritual Mark, Krune was rather tempted. Moreover, the faint energy fluctuation asked him whether he was ready to accept it or not.
'But, nightmares…huh. Do I really want them to be my trump card?' Krune thought, thinking of quite the scenes of danger he had been in. 'No, I'm not mentally well equipped to use this Spiritual Mark to its full potential. Even though it's a waste, this isn't the right fit for me.'
Even though he was aware that he was missing a great opportunity, Krune didn't wish to obtain something that he wouldn't be able to use properly and simply decided to leave it for someone that might need it instead.
He soon returned towards the edge of the valley, scouring for some more time before noticing a group with three Nightmare Demon Wolves. He arrived well beyond their range, using his Soul Needle to scrape off the bark of a nearby tree, producing shrill noise that alerted the keen senses of the three wolves.
"Haha, bite me! Cowards!" Krune laughed as he danced in the air provocatively, making exaggerated circles while scratching the tree barks constantly. Immediately, he managed to piss off the three Nightmare Demon Wolves that began to chase after him.
Krune took off at his greatest speed, noticing the three wolves slowly close in on him. He used his advantages to make abrupt turns in an effort to throw them off, angering them even further, causing them to chase after him with even more vigor.
Soon, he arrived at the appointed place, unable to notice Calveb in the location. Still, he was cautious, acting like before as he swerved around the place with the potential trap, proceeding to run further.
The three wolves chased after him, rushing through the trap, and suddenly, the sound of something shattering resounded when a wind blade shot out from opposite sides, attacking the legs of the wolves, severing them.
One of them had been in the air and only got its toes chopped off. The remaining two had their legs completely severed, causing them to crash into the ground and howl in pain.
Calveb revealed himself, seeming as if he had hidden himself using a Talisman to avoid any detection. He then gazed at Krune, pointing at the three Nightmare Demon Wolves that were unable to put up any resistance. "Quick! Kill one! I'll kill the other two!"
"On it!" Krune plunged his Soul Needle through the head of the Nightmare Demon Wolf with the highest injury while Calveb used a Talisman to shoot out another wind blade that severed the heads of the remaining two.
No sooner had they done so did Calveb stagger, barely orienting himself as he muttered, "Thank goodness, the injury suppressed their abilities for a moment.. If we delayed killing them, we would have fallen prey to their nightmare."
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