Lux walked deeper into the forest. The dense, tall branches of the trees intertwined, and countless roots spread across the ground. If you were an ant, you would see endless mountain ranges of wood stretching out.

  Lux moved through this place. The feeling of being surrounded by plants was something she had never experienced before. Although it had only been less than fifteen minutes since she took the bundle from the blue-skinned man, darkness had already begun to creep in. The distant sun was reduced to an endlessly elongated, bloody red, seemingly making its last stand, while the outline of the moon had begun to faintly appear in the sky.

  Everything here was unfamiliar, like another world.

  Lux's speed was quick, like a cheetah chasing its prey. Even though there was no prey, she ran as fast as she could. Lux could feel the difference in how her body, imbued with magic, used the accessories.

  Her flesh, constantly tensing and releasing, transformed into a gust of wind in the jungle, sweeping up fallen leaves and rushing in one direction.

  Lux had many things she wanted to think about, but a seemingly most urgent question kept circling in her mind. That was: Which way is north, and how do I get to the Theater Capital?

  But she knew that the answer to this question could wait until she was farther away from Purple City. "Speaking of which... haven't I been here before?" Lux paused slightly, then muttered to herself in frustration.

  Yes, she had a terrible sense of direction. In Purple City, she could recognize roads by scent and her memory of landmarks, but now, in this jungle where everything looked the same, Lux was completely lost.

  "Maybe I should go left. No, maybe right?" Lux shook her head. "Why do these trees grow so tall? They make me feel so short." Lux was somewhat discouraged.

  "There's a road over there. Maybe I can follow the road... No, that's dangerous. I might get spotted." After running for another fifteen minutes, Lux spotted a winding dirt road in the distance. The road led up a small hill.

  "But maybe I can follow it for a bit, or go up to that small hill to check the terrain in the distance and determine the direction," Lux thought. She felt that staying put wasn't a solution. She cautiously observed the surroundings of the road, then headed towards the small hill.

  Soon, Lux climbed the small hill and looked around. Straight ahead was an endless expanse of deep forest, like a green ocean. Behind her was the direction of Purple City, but the fire had died down, leaving behind a black city of ruins and charred remains.

  To the right, there seemed to be a long river with a large bridge spanning both sides. To the left was also forest...

  "There's no one ahead. Maybe I can continue along this road... Or maybe I should go into the forest and follow this direction." Lux pondered for a moment, decided on a direction, and prepared to descend the hill and head towards the forest in that direction...

  Then Lux noticed a very peculiar insect flying around her. There were indeed many insects in the forest, especially since it was now night. But this one caught Lux's attention.

  It was an insect that looked like a dragonfly with transparent wings and a red, crystalline body that emitted a faint glow in the moonlight... No! It wasn't an insect, it was a flying gemstone!

  Suddenly, the gemstone insect emitted a blinding light and exploded! The massive explosion created a crater in the hilltop!

  Lux, enveloped in the black shadow, flew out of the explosion, then crashed into the surrounding trees, breaking a large one.

  "It cost me a red crystal, about ten blue silver coins each, but I was very lucky that you used magic. Otherwise, my ten blue silver coins would have been wasted. This proves that you're with that rebel group!" A man wearing a white robe with gold trim and a ruby-encrusted headdress emerged from the forest shadows. He was a Blessed of the Wealth Church, and beside him was a Demon Hunter wearing a black robe with bandages wrapped around his hands.

  "Oh right, Kane, and you. If you can capture this girl, I can give you an eighty-twenty split... No, a seventy-thirty split." The Blessed suddenly remembered he had a subordinate nearby, then gritted his teeth and proposed what he thought was an incredibly generous deal.

  You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

  "Well... Mr. Brad, I think we should follow protocol and fire a flare to notify others nearby," the Demon Hunter named Kane said.

  "What did you say?!" Brad immediately stomped his feet. "Do you know that the more people who come, the less I, no, the less we'll get?! It's already our incredible luck that this guy chose this shitty road! I'll take responsibility if anything goes wrong, so listen to my orders!"

  "Okay, Mr. Brad." The Demon Hunter Kane nodded. Getting this promise of responsibility was the standard procedure he had developed in his year as Brad's subordinate. If this guy didn't promise, he would definitely try to weasel out of responsibility later.

  "Also, that girl has already run away. Shouldn't we hurry up and chase her?" Kane said to Brad with a smile, almost mockingly.

  "What!? My 1200 shining gold coins?! No, it's 840 shining gold coins. Chase her!" Brad had already assumed that Lux had the so-called shard on her. He didn't pay attention to Kane's mocking smile and urged him to chase after her.

  "Okay, Mr. Brad." The Demon Hunter Kane unwrapped the bandages on his arm, revealing an arm that looked like a dried-up corpse. Almost instantly, his arm began to swell, becoming a gigantic and grotesque claw like that of a magical beast, reaching three or four meters in length.

  His feet also split and enlarged, transforming into the hind legs of a giant lizard. Then, he took off at a terrifying speed and disappeared into the forest.

  Lux, after getting up from the ground, immediately ran away. She used the Wildcat Ring, sprinting through the forest that was now steeped in darkness.

  She felt like she was diving into the darkness, as if the longer she submerged, the safer she would be. Lux constantly changed direction as she ran, until her legs began to ache. Then she found a large rock to hide behind and rest for a moment.

  'There should only be two of them, but more people might come later. The most urgent thing now is to get out of their search area. Maybe I can run in the direction of that road, and it seems like they haven't caught up yet.' Lux thought, catching her breath, then patted the dirt off her body and prepared to continue her escape.

  "Right here." A voice came from behind her, and a pair of giant claws, almost faster than the sound, slammed into the rock behind Lux. The entire rock shattered into fragments, like mashed potatoes.

  After shattering the rock, the giant claws also struck at Lux. Lux enveloped herself in the black shadow, and she was sent flying like a cricket ball, crashing through seven or eight trees before stopping.

  "Shadow magic, huh? Reminds me of an annoying colleague," Kane said casually, as if introducing himself to Lux. "My name is Kane, my title is the Beast, though I don't like that title at all."

  "Aren't you going to introduce yourself? If that guy comes, you probably won't have time to introduce yourself. We Demon Hunters at least took etiquette classes, unlike those crude priests." Kane, or rather the Beast, raised his head and laughed. His giant claws and hind legs with eyeballs made him look like a wingless dragon, but his torso and head were still human, looking very grotesque.

  "Your colleague is annoying, I strongly agree. No need for self-introduction, because I haven't thought of a title yet. I'll tell you next time we meet," Lux said, waving her hand.

  "You know Leo? That's quite interesting. And I don't think your suggestion is very good," Kane stretched his claws and giant feet, then said, "Because there won't be a next time for us, lady."

  Then Kane pushed off the ground with both feet, creating two craters. His entire body made a sound like tearing through the air, and his giant claws slammed towards Lux.

  "That's a real shame," Lux said, using the black shadow to create a wall to block Kane's claws, "I still want to eat a lot of cake, so I don't plan on letting you catch me."

  "Oh, then why don't you surrender? I'll bring you a lot of cake later," Kane seemed amused by Lux's words and joked, "Before you're executed."

  "No way," Lux replied. "You look quite scary. I guess your taste isn't great, and the cake you bring would probably be awful."

  "Is that so..." He was silent for a moment after hearing Lux's words, then gritted his teeth and replied, "Then die!"

  Kane's giant claws on both hands swelled up again, and sharp barbs grew on the back of his claws, like a row of wild beast fangs. He rapidly swung his claws at Lux, while Lux continuously summoned black shadows to form shields, blocking the attacks.

  "Had enough?" Lux condensed the black shadow in her left hand, forming a black wave that slammed towards Kane, like a giant black beast biting at him. Kane raised his giant claws to withstand the attack. The impact forced him back dozens of meters, his giant feet leaving two long trenches in the ground. The surface of his claws was riddled with holes from the impact, but they instantly regenerated.

  "Your magic power is quite abundant, but your magic control isn't very skilled. You waste a lot of magic power," Kane commented.

  "How about this?" Lux immediately appeared, and the black shadows, like bloodthirsty sharks, relentlessly attacked Kane. Some of these black shadow sharks exploded as they approached Kane, transforming into countless black thorns that stabbed at him, while the rest circled around Kane. Soon, Kane was surrounded.

  Lux opened her only remaining left hand, then clenched it tightly and shouted, "Converge!" All the black 'sharks' lunged at Kane, scattering countless black thorns in mid-air, leaving almost no blind spots.

  "Bone Thorn Armor!" Kane shouted. Many white bone thorns rapidly sprouted from his arms and legs, spreading all over his body, encasing him completely, leaving only his eyes visible. The black thorns bounced off him.

  "Let me tell you something. This is a skill I specifically learned to counter Leo. It's a pity I only mastered it after graduation. Today, I'll use it on you," Kane said with a smile. Then, two long whips of flesh and blood with blades appeared behind Kane. The blades constantly swayed, full of frenzy and danger.

  Then, he bowed to Lux with his giant claws. "Let me show you how a real magic battle looks like, rookie lady."