Chương 25: The Strength of Origin Flames

With Mongrel by my side, I stepped into the Crystal Forest—a perilous Soul Beast Nest teeming with high-ranking beasts. It was a place Hrymdra had often taken me to hunt together. I still remembered how she would let me catch something, and then we would cook it side by side and share the meal. Those small moments had probably meant nothing to her, but to me, they meant everything. Because of that, I could not abandon her. I simply couldn't.

Not after the times we had spent together—and not when I still longed to share so many more with her. I had to save her.

"Ugh, but I should still try to call my parents, the thing is, I can't... or well, I have no idea how." And it wasn't just that, there's Time Dilation here, I've noticed it for a while. If I wake up and then return, hours might have passed or days. Aunt might be dead or turned into... something else. And even if I still wanted to gamble it, I already tried waking up and I can't. Something is interrupting my ability to do so inside this Realm, it's like Nightmare Essence is spreading and trapping the souls inside.

If this keeps going, it'll get worse. The only option is to do it myself, I must do it, there's no other way.

"Astraea, I'm here now," I said. [Good. I can see through you, Master. Hrymdra is fine for now. She has just fallen asleep. Her breathing is heavy, but… she still possesses a great amount of vitality.]"That's reassuring," I nodded.

"Alright, Mongrel. Let's go hunting." We ventured deeper into the Crystal Forest, marveling at its breathtaking beauty. Towering trees of ice crystals shimmered in shades of blue and white, bathing the entire forest in an ethereal glow as countless colors danced across their surfaces. The dim sun of the Ice Dragon Realm shone brightly enough today to illuminate the woods almost completely. Constant reflections of light rays wove through the crystals, turning the scene into something truly magical.

"So what exactly do we need from here?" Mongrel groaned, sounding as bored and annoyed as ever.

"You're awfully chatty today," I said with a smile.

"I appreciate it."

"Shut up and just tell me what we need…" he yawned.

"From my experience hunting with my aunt, the best Soul Essence-replenishing food comes from the meat and blood of the strongest monsters in this area," I replied.

"Their hearts work well too. We can also grind their Soul Cores into dust and add that."

"But what kind of creatures live here?" he asked.

"You can see for yourself," I said, glancing around.

"We're already surrounded."

"Huh?!" Mongrel gasped. Indeed, we were. At least five creatures had encircled us. They looked like white-and-blue werewolves, with oversized arms and stubby legs. Their massive heads bristled with sharp fangs, and their eyes glowed with feral red madness. These were the most common Soul Beasts of the Crystal Forest: Ice Crystal Wolves.

"AWOOOOOO!" Among them loomed an even larger specimen—the pack leader—standing atop a nearby hill. It glared down at us with raw fury, fangs bared in a menacing growl. [Ice Crystal Wolf: Rank 5] [Ice Crystal Wolf Pack Leader: Rank 6] They were strong, but not invincible. My Soul was only at Rank 2, so I could not afford to take direct hits. I would have to rely on my physical strength instead, just as I had done since arriving in this world. That was where the Rogue Class would prove invaluable.

And so would my newly awakened Spiral.

"ROAR!" The wolves lunged at me all at once. I vanished from sight using Stealth, then—"Paragon!" I summoned the knight clad in silvery-white dragon armor. It thrust its longsword forward, slicing through two wolves and leaving deep bleeding gashes across their bodies. They let out agonized yelps as I reappeared behind them, slashing their backs with Dragon Claw before following up with Baby Dragon Breath. A black-and-white beam of light and darkness erupted, blasting the wolves away. BOOOM!

Both beasts were incinerated on the spot, their charred corpses collapsing onto the snow. The remaining wolves charged furiously. I answered by hurling knives at them. Through Knife Throwing, three Chaos Knives materialized. Guided by the skill's accuracy boost, they struck the wolves straight in the eyes, blinding all three at once. The knives—made of solidified Chaos Energy—then exploded, shattering their skulls and killing them instantly.

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"Wow, done already?" I stood there, surprised by how effortlessly the Skills had worked. Before my Awakening, I could only manage weak Dragon Claws or small breath attacks—and a big one only if I pushed myself to the limit. Now, simply activating a Skill unleashed powerful effects almost instantly. These abilities seemed to draw from my own latent power while making everything feel far more natural.

"Grrr!" RUMBLE! The ground shook as the Pack Leader descended from the hill, howling with rage. Its aura flared bright red as it began absorbing the energy from its fallen pack.

"Hey, wait—what are you doing?!" This was no ordinary Ice Crystal Wolf. It was a rare variant, nothing like the ones I had hunted with my aunt. [The Ice Crystal Wolf Pack Leader (Rank 6) is enraged at the loss of its pack!] [It has activated the Skill: Blood Sacrifice – Last Stand (Level 1)! It has gained 25% of the stats from all its fallen comrades, rising to Rank 7!]"Are you kidding me—Guh?!"

"ROOOAR!" The enraged werewolf swung its massive claws at me. They scraped across my scales, leaving cracks, but failed to pierce through. Still, one claw struck my face, slicing across my eye. Blinding pain exploded through me as blood poured down and my vision went dark on that side.

"Master!" Astraea cried out in panic.

"Get off her, you bastard!!!" Mongrel hissed. He transformed into a giant mass of tentacles and seized the werewolf, but the beast roared and began ripping him apart.

"Ouch! That hurts!" I quickly activated Harmonious Restoration. As the wound on my eye began to close, I darted behind the beast, shapeshifted my weapon into a long broadsword, and drove it deep into its back.

"Gryyyaaahhh!" The monster screamed and vomited blood all over Mongrel before wrenching itself free. It kicked me viciously in the face and body with its powerful legs, then opened its bleeding maw and unleashed a searing beam of red light. BOOOM! Thankfully, I summoned my Tiamat Scale Shield in time. The shield absorbed the blast as I pushed forward and slammed the beast into the ground.

The roaring creature hissed furiously and manipulated the surrounding ice, forming dozens of icicle spears that hovered menacingly above me before hurtling down. If even one struck me cleanly, my soul could shatter. I swiftly summoned Ariel and layered Protective Shield after Protective Shield around myself, burning through my Mana to keep the beast pinned.

"Ugh! Stay down!" The light shields shattered one after another under the relentless assault. I reshaped my weapon into a long spear and thrust it toward the monster's neck—but missed narrowly, stabbing its armpit instead. The beast kicked my shield hard, sending me flying backward onto the snow.

"GROOOARR!" Undeterred by its many wounds and constant bleeding, the creature leaped at me again like a demon possessed. I fired Chaos Knives followed immediately by Harmony Knives. Both sets exploded across its body at once, tearing through skin and fur. Even as it stood skinless, raw red flesh exposed and bleeding heavily, the monster still lunged, jaws wide open to crush my neck. At that moment, I activated Young Dragon Scales. My scales hardened instantly, becoming as tough as the strongest metals.

Paragon stabbed the beast's back with its sword, yet the monster refused to stop—until…

"Gryack?!" Its teeth shattered against my reinforced scales. Seizing the opening, I opened my jaws wide and bit down with all my strength, tearing its head clean off.

"RAAAAHH!" CRASH! Blood sprayed everywhere as I spat the severed head onto the snow, along with clumps of fur I had accidentally swallowed.

"Eugh… god, this sucks." I sighed in relief and sat down on the blood-soaked snow, waiting for my eye to finish healing. [Master! Are you alright?] Astraea's voice was laced with worry.

"I'm fine. Don't worry. It was surprising, but nothing I couldn't handle. That thing had no fear and seemed completely immune to pain." [Ah, that's a relief. Congratulations on your first kill since Awakening!]"Oh? Right!" In the heat of worry over Hrymdra and the Nightmare, I had completely forgotten that I had just slain a monster after my Awakening and the unlocking of my Status. The question of whether Soul Beasts granted EXP was answered immediately. Ding! [You have slain Ice Crystal Wolf (Rank 5) ×6.] [You have slain Ice Crystal Wolf Pack Leader (Rank 7) ×1.] [You have earned EXP.] [Level Up!] [Level Up!] [Level Up!] [Level Up!] [Level Up!] [Your Dragon Path has leveled up from Level 0 to Level 5!] [Your Chaos Demon Path has leveled up from Level 0 to Level 4!] [Your Human Path has leveled up from Level 0 to Level 3!] [Your Class has leveled up from Level 0 to Level 6!] [All your Stats have increased.]"Multiple level-ups. Nice."

In "Your Story Online," player characters leveled up multiple Paths instead of having one overall level. These Paths were tied to species, classes, or even divinities, each gaining experience separately under specific conditions. The Dragon Path required fighting with Dragon Skills or in Dragon Form. The Chaos Demon Path seemed to benefit from Chaos Magic as well, though it granted less EXP. The Human Path likely gained from Tool Mastery.

The Class leveled up through the use of Class Skills, which I had done plenty of. It could become tiresome to remember mixing everything during hunts, but I could always hunt more monsters anyway. Ding! [You earned 12, 000 Stat Points.] [You earned 43, 000 System Points.] Several skills leveled up as well, including Dragon Form Manifestation, Baby Dragon Breath, Young Dragon Scales, Tool Mastery, Stealth, Knife Throwing, and Harmonious Restoration.

Finally, every Path level granted 1, 000 Stat Points, and slaying monsters provided System Points—usually 1, 000 per Rank. Ding! [Your Bonded Familiar: Incarnation of the Spiral of Eternity – Paragon (Rank 3) has leveled up to Level 5!] [Your Bonded Familiar: Nightmare Vestige Spirit – Mongrel (Rank 1) has leveled up to Level 6!] [Your Bonded Familiar: Nightmare Vestige Spirit – Mongrel (Rank 1, Level 6/100) has awakened the Skill: Nightmare Chains!]"What's this?!" Mongrel exclaimed.

"I feel stronger somehow…! And this strength stays with me even if I get hungrier. I also learned a new power?! Is this part of this world's strange rules?"

"Yeah. Since you're my familiar, you're part of the System too," I explained.

"By fighting alongside me, you gain EXP. You just learned Nightmare Chains—it should let you bind enemies and slow them down. Pretty useful."

"Hmmm… this is getting more and more interesting! Maybe this world isn't so bad after all…" Mongrel said, rubbing his chin with a small tentacle.

"Yeah, and each level gives you more stats," I added.

"See? It's definitely better to help me out."

"Hmph… I'll think about it!" he grumbled. I ignored him and examined the corpses. After purifying the Chaos within them using Harmony, I stored them in my Inventory.

"I think this will make a hearty stew…" I said.

"Let's head back to Auntie's castle." We set off toward the castle, but on the way, another group of creatures ambushed us. This time, they were Ice Crystal Treants, camouflaged among the crystalline trees. They roared and attacked by conjuring and launching icicles at us.

"Alright, one last hunt won't hurt," I muttered.

"Let's finish this quickly." I might as well practice the Origin Flame Magic that King Surtr had lent me.