Chapter 564: 566. The Shadow Inside

“Nox,” Dallion said.

Instantly, the puma-like crackling emerged, leaping onto the ground a step away. His appearance was very different from the cub that Dallion had taken years ago. The eagerness and enthusiasm had gradually been replaced by lethal predator skills and lots of sleep. One thing that hadn’t changed was Nox’s desire to be flashy, especially in front of people who could see him.

“That’s your familiar?” Diroh asked as the puma walked around, rubbing against her legs as it did so.

“My first familiar.” Dallion reached to pat the crackling’s head. Nox pulled away like a teenager, ashamed to be seen with his parents. It was only after a few tries that he “reluctantly” allowed himself to be pet, still maintaining a displeased expression. “He’s quite strong and helped me unseal awakened.”

“Wow.” Cautiously, Diroh reached to pet the side of Nox’s head. This time, the puma didn’t play hard to get.

“He’ll help me find anything that’s not supposed to be here.”

“You think there’s something wrong with me?” Confusion shifted into anger.

“You’re not supposed to feel pain in the real world,” Dallion quickly explained.

There was nothing out of the ordinary in the room itself. When Nox finished going over it, Dallion summoned Gleam and Lux to check it out as well. There were no illusions, no hidden realms, or anything that wasn’t supposed to be there. Even the ice withstood Lux’s flames, although it didn’t hurt the fury.

With all options exhausted, Dallion stepped into the corridor. Unlike the one he used to have, this was nothing more than a straight tunnel continuing forward from the awakening room. With no limiting echo, the realm was rather dull.

“Was the corridor this long last time?” Dallion asked. Even with his current level of perception, he could barely see the end and not due to a lack of light.

“I’m not sure. I only went down a few times.”

That was impressive. When Dallion was level one, all he could do was mend and improve items. It was only later that he was told how to enter his awakened realm. The only plausible explanation was Diroh had picked up enough from the hunter chatter to be able to do this on her own. However, if that were the case, why was she so freaked out?

Felygn, if there’s any Moon involved, can you tell me? Dallion asked.

No one answered.

The first few hundred feet or so passed well. There was nothing remotely suspicious. As Dallion approached the end of the corridor, though, he saw it—the faint shimmering of something that wasn’t supposed to be there.

There’s something ahead, Nox said.

I see it. Starspawn?

I don’t know, but it’s not pleasant.

It’s not Starspawn, Gleam clarified. It’s from the wilderness. Quite strong, though.

“Di,” Dallion split into instances, grabbing her shoulder in one. “Stay back.”

“Why? What’s wrong?”

“Just stay here.”

Gear emerged on Dallion as he walked to the end of the corridor. There was nothing but a blank wall there, probably the place that had held the dagger. Being new to this, the fury probably hadn’t even noticed the shimmering in the texture. Or maybe she didn’t have the level to?

Lux, Dallion ordered.

The firebird surrounded Dallion in blue flames.

Gleam, protect Di. I’ll deal with whatever this is.

That’s a bad idea, the shardfly complained. Whatever’s hiding there is strong. You might need a bit more help.

It’s fine. I’ll talk to it first.

The argument wasn’t at all convincing, but it still got Gleam to flutter closer to the fury. Meanwhile, Dallion drew his harpsiswird.

Aware of what Dallion was about to do, Nox ran to the wall and struck at the hard surface with his claw. There was a sound like breaking ice, as transparent cracks appeared emerged. Normally, it would take a few more claws for anything to happen, but on this occasion, the wall suddenly shattered.

“Nox!” Dallion shouted.

The crackling lost form, instantly re-emerging on his belt as a dagger. Almost simultaneously, a hoof hit the spot that the puma had been.

SKILL GEM EMBODIMENT

Species: ICICORN

Class: SHADOW

Health: 100%

Traits:

- BODY 3

- MIND 3

- PERCEPTION 3

- REACTION 6

- MAGIC 3

Skills:

- ATTACK

- GUARD

- ATHLETICS

- CHARGE (Species Unique)

- ICE FLOW (Species Unique)

Weakness: HOOVES

“What the heck?!” Dallion couldn’t believe his eyes.

The only place he’d seen an icicorn was in the magic bestiary he’d been given. They were magic creatures rarer than dragons. It was believed they had been abundant in the past until something had happened, effectively almost wiping them out. Now, the only places to frequently see them were within the realm of awakening altars and the occasional artifact.

Why’s there a creature in her realm? Dozens of instances rushed to attack the creature, while dozens more held back.

One of the instances proceeded with a series of slash attacks, stacking up five red rectangles of minor damages, before suffering the aftereffects.

PERMANENT EFFECT - FROZEN ARM

Your RIGHT ARM has been permanently frozen. You will not be able to use your arm until the status is removed.

The status continues to be in effect in the real world.

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That was a new effect, and achieved by Dallion attacking no less. Now wanting to deal with such a situation, he switched to an instance in which he was armed with his dartblade. Without hesitation, Dallion pulled the trigger, targeting and hitting the creature’s front left hoof.

CRITICAL HIT

Damage dealt is increased by 200%

The entire leg shattered to pieces before Dallion’s very eyes.

LEG SEVERED

Enemy will no longer be able to make use of its FRONT LEFT LEG.

That, at least, seemed to have remained unchanged. It wasn’t much of a consolation. While Dallion had leveled up a few dozen times since his last encounter with such a creature, having to fight in another’s realm made him feel more than a bit uneasy.

Two of his instances turned around to make sure that the Diroh was alright. To his surprise, she seemed to be handling it a lot better than he expected. There was a slight element of tenseness, but no shock or fear, as if she had been through this before. The calmness made Dallion wonder what exactly went on in hunter inns.

Before Dallion could think about it more, the icicorn’s missing leg regrew before his very eyes. Clearly, he wasn’t the only one with the ability to heal himself. Not only that, but the creature slammed both front legs on the floor, filling the tunnel with ice fragments.

Shield! Dallion said as he lifted the armadil shield in front of him. It instantly expanded to the width of the tunnel. Dozens of ice pieces hit the shield, breaking like crushed glass.

“Di, go back!” Dallion shouted as he split again. Instances ran along the walls in an attempt to drive the creature back. Half of them were frozen solid.

Out in the real world, Dallion wouldn’t dream of fighting like this. if Eury were here to see him now, she’d probably be extremely pissed. However, there was a time and place for everything, and in this situation, instances provided the greatest advantage.

“Stop!” Dallion shouted, using his music skills to instill hesitation into the icicorn. “There’s no need for this to go on.”

To his surprise, the creature did indeed stop. Snorting a few times, it even went back a few steps until its hind legs were against the wall.

Careful, Nil said. It might be preparing to charge.

I know what I’m doing. Dallion lowered his shield.

“Thanks,” he said. Meanwhile, a dozen of instances were moving back, ready to react should the icicorn attack again. “Why are you here?” he asked.

I was placed here, the creature replied.

Hearing that, Dallion was glad that Diroh couldn’t understand guardians.

By whom?

A hunter. He was very cunning. Tracked me down for months, then caught me. He was strong, much stronger than you.

I’m not particularly strong, Dallion lied.

You’re strong, just not as strong as him.

That still doesn’t explain what you’re doing here. Guardians shouldn’t enter an awakened’s realm uninvited.

The fury wasn’t awakened when I was put here. That is why the hunter placed me in her realm—to hide me.

If I may, dear boy, Nil interrupted. I believe you’ve stumbled on an instance of skill smuggling. It’s quite punishable, but some hunters used to place skill gems within non-awakened to transport them. I guess no one expected for the person carrying it to awaken.

Chills ran down Dallion’s spine. Only a mage would have come up with that. While he was a hunter, he’d heard quite a few questionable practices, but none of them came close. Having a skill gem placed in someone sounded as bad as placing a limiting echo inside.

Could that have caused her awakening? Dallion asked.

It’s as likely as not. That’s why the practice is discouraged. Sadly, I must admit that the main reason was that the skill gem could be damaged, rather than anything else. Getting skills in and out of a non-awakened’s realm is not that difficult in itself. You yourself managed to get a dragon in yours. However, the side effects are unpredictable, even when using magic.

Why not just carry it as a gem?

That, I don’t know. Maybe it wasn’t something that the person wanted to be seen with. Or maybe it was harmful to awakened. I guess you’ll have to ask the hunter in question to find out.

Maybe one day Dallion would do that. Given how many hunters passed through a hunter’s inn, though, it was likely going to be a long search, if the hunter in question was even alive. Despite their skills, hunters died every year, especially on tough assignments. Fighting an icicorn in real life would be considered quite a challenge.

“What’s happening?” Diroh asked. “Is the fighting over?”

“Stay there, Di!” Dallion almost shouted. I can get you out of here, he told the creature.

No, you can’t.

I have a Vermillion ring. I can—

I’m a shadow. The hunter I was fighting killed me. He took my skill gem and placed me here, where I grew, following the memories I had left.

How long ago did he put you here?

It’s difficult to say. A very long time. I had very few memories at first, but as time passed, my memories grew. I remembered what I was like, how I behaved, what powers I had, until one day I had the strength to make the realm bigger.

There was nothing one could say to this. It was so extraordinary, even to Dallion, that he had no idea if it was the truth, or a weird dream belonging to a guardian. Sadly, that wasn’t the toughest part.

You can’t stay here, Dallion looked away. I can try to take you to my realm. Maybe there—

I can’t leave this realm. This isn’t my form, this is only what I have created using my power. I am part of the realm, but also separate.

I don’t want to kill you.

You’re a hunter, you’re used to killing.

I’m also an empath.

Clusters of serenity flared up within the creature like grapes. When Dallion saw them, he already knew what was to follow. He had seen enough creatures in the awakening realms to guess.

She’s too young to kill you, he said.

She’s not. And she won’t kill me. I’ll disappear and become part of her. My memories would be free as they were supposed to be.

Won’t you have any regrets?

What are regrets? The icicorn asked, making its way past Dallion.

Gleam immediately fluttered in front of Diroh, protecting the girl. However, Dallion gave her a sign to move away.

“It’s over?” the fury asked, still unsure what was going on.

“It will be,” Dallion replied.

The icicorn looked at the girl. She was quite small in comparison, rising just slightly above his chest. Slowly, the creature lowered its head, placing it on her shoulder.

“Okay,” Diroh laughed, reaching to pat it on the side of the neck. Before her hand reached it, however, the icicorn disappeared in a cloud of white dust that quickly faded. Away.

HAILSTORM acquired.

A green rectangle appeared.

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