WOOF WOOF WOOF!!
The German Shepherd had a strange, sudden stress reaction, barking its head off at the empty downhill road.
"What’s going on?"
But no matter how they shone their flashlights, they couldn’t find anything suspicious. This was especially strange, considering the numerous glow sticks scattered along the path.
"Could there really be a ghost?"
Someone wondered aloud. But as they watched the dog continuously retreat while still barking furiously, a chill ran down everyone’s spine.
"An invisible monster is approaching. Be careful."
Su Chen’s brows furrowed, and he took a few steps back.
The Night Monkey from before could apparently only stay invisible while standing perfectly still. This strange, approaching Dark Element monster, however, didn’t break its invisibility even while on the move.
As he mulled it over, he tentatively tried to activate the Dark Element Essence he had just obtained.
BUZZ!
A secret, night-black ripple gradually covered the palm of his right hand and extended to his forearm. The process caused his flesh to fade, hiding it from sight.
This was one of the traits granted by the Dark Element Essence: invisibility.
With a sharp swing of his right hand, the enveloping veil of invisibility collapsed, revealing his arm once more.
The Night Monkey’s trick was figured out that easily.
But this unknown Dark Element monster approaching from the downhill road was clearly beyond that. Perhaps the same Essences and Runes manifested very differently in different creatures.
"Let’s see what kind of monster we’re dealing with."
One man, a skeptic, stood behind the barricade. He raised his right hand, which was wreathed in fire, and sprayed a torrent of raging flames forward.
"Be careful..."
Someone behind him shouted a warning, but before they could finish, the fire-wielding man’s upper body, which was leaning over the barricade, exploded into a mist of blood.
"Fuck..."
The sight left many of them dumbstruck.
"There’s a huge tiger!"
The sudden attack revealed a tiger-like figure in front of the barricade, six meters away. After killing a human with a Shadow Ball, the Night Tiger, its fur as black as ink, accelerated into a charge.
The barricade of vehicles, iron frames, and sandbags was useless against it. With a single, effortless leap, it cleared the obstacle.
Even more terrifying...
Just as everyone’s attention was fixed on it, another Night Tiger appeared silently in the middle of the crowd.
SLASH!!
A pair of claws, glowing with a cold, dark light, swiped forward. Blood sprayed as two people were cut across the waist, their entrails spilling out.
Before another person could even turn around, the Night Tiger lunged, pouncing on them and pinning them viciously underfoot.
In an instant, the crowd erupted into chaos.
"Run!!"
The surrounding twenty or so people scattered like frightened animals. Many faces were etched with sheer panic. It wasn’t just the brutal, bloody scene that was too much for their nerves; it was also the intense anxiety stemming from an unknown type of attack.
This kind of illogical, unannounced slaughter completely shattered their last line of defense.
It was no wonder this barely-cooperative group broke and ran.
’This is bad...’
Su Chen’s expression was grim. The golf ball in his right hand was fully charged with the Power of Flame Burst, but the fleeing crowd blocked his line of sight, preventing him from throwing it.
The perfect window to attack was wasted.
This surge of Elemental Power naturally put the Night Tiger on high alert. It glanced over, its dark, vertical pupils glaring at Su Chen as the faint black mist surrounding its body suddenly swirled and enveloped it completely.
The next instant, it vanished on the spot.
It vanished into the night without a trace.
An immense pressure bore down on him from the side, as if something was about to tear its way out of thin air...
’This isn’t an invisibility Skill!’
A life-or-death urgency flooded Su Chen’s mind. He had occasionally experienced this feeling during downhill skiing—the severe loss of balance when his snowboard hit a rock, or the shock of a towering fir tree appearing out of a snow cloud right in front of him.
Fear was present, but it didn’t overwhelm him.
His heart beat faster, but it hadn’t lost its rhythm.
At this critical juncture, there was no time for conscious thought. The moment he activated Startle Reflex, his body’s instincts took over.
WHOOSH!!
The instant the Night Tiger warped through space to appear at his left, its claws tearing through the air, Su Chen’s torso had already shot to the right like a compressed spring.
SWOOSH!
The tiger’s claws barely grazed his left arm, leaving only three shallow cuts.
Having escaped danger, Su Chen entered a state beyond the Heart Stream. His expression was placid as a still lake. Facing the Night Tiger at point-blank range, he seized the opportunity and threw the crimson ball clutched in his hand.
BOOM!
It struck the Night Tiger squarely on the jaw at close range.
Brutal flames instantly engulfed its entire head, destroying most of it. The violent impact sent the massive, 300-plus-kilogram tiger flying several meters.
In an instant, the roles of hunter and prey were reversed.
On the brink of death, Su Chen had made a daring escape and successfully turned the tables on the Night Tiger.
"GRAAAH!!"
Seeing the male tiger dead, the other tigress charged forward, grief-stricken. But after just a few steps, an arrow shot from a distance struck it squarely in the flank. The wound was deep, and every step forward was agonizing.
Helpless, after glaring angrily at Su Chen, the tigress leaped over the vehicle barrier and vanished into the night, disappearing from sight.
Based on the brief fight, it seemed only the Night Tiger that had been killed by a headshot possessed the bizarre and unpredictable Shadow Shifting ability.
’It’s not just a guaranteed kill on a first encounter. Even if you know what it can do, it’s nearly impossible to defend against. I can’t think of a reliable countermeasure.’
Now, a deep, dark Rune of the Dark Element was floating up from the Night Tiger’s corpse.
Su Chen was already waiting for it; he couldn’t afford to let it get away.
Only someone who had personally faced it could understand the immense value of this Dark Element Rune.
The instant the Rune appeared, he snatched it out of the air.
A few seconds later,
this Power flowed up his arm and into his brain. In the dim, boundless depths of his Sea of Consciousness, a fourth light bloomed. It was a deep, dark light, its surface covered with countless complex and arcane patterns.
Su Chen then interpreted the information it contained.
[Shadow Leap] (Lv2): The Spellcaster may perform a spatial leap to any dark area or deep shadow region within their line of sight. Maximum range is 18 meters.
Synthesis Formula: Dark + Wind + Light (Elemental Essence)
Upgrade Requirement: Dark (2/2) + Wind (1/2) + Light (0/2)
Runes Mastered: Water Mirror Refraction Lv1, Flame Burst Lv3, Startle Reflex Lv2, Shadow Leap Lv2
’A proper mobility Skill,’ Su Chen thought, delighted.
In a dark environment like this, the Rune Ability was a perfect fit and would be incredibly effective.
And Shadow Leap wasn’t completely useless during the day, either.
As the saying goes, where there is light, there is shadow. As long as it was within his line of sight, he could leap to any patch of shadow. The prerequisite was that it had to be a deep shadow; at Lv2, it clearly wasn’t strong enough to let him leap into another person’s shadow during the day.
’It even dropped as a Lv2 Rune, and I’ve already gathered half the materials for the next upgrade.’
Su Chen took note of this pleasant surprise. This would save him a lot of effort.
But that wasn’t all.
The tiger’s corpse also dropped a Fire Element Essence and a wisp of sparkling, floating powder.
’Could this be Spiritual Dust Sand?’
As the thought crossed his mind, the Flame Burst Rune in his Sea of Consciousness began to glow faintly, radiating an intense feeling of desire.

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