The Dreamer's POV

[01 Months: 29 Days: 15 Hours]

~VWUUSH!~

An odd, electrifying sensation coursed through me as I passed through the blueish portal that led me outside the First Floor.

The moment I went into it, I found myself appearing in the garden in the Lyma Estate, the same venue I was in before leaving for the challenge.

'I'm back.' A smile formed on my face as I took in a deep breath and looked around me.

It was dark out, which wasn't surprising. This was nighttime, after all.

So far, the entire area seemed to be fine. There was no sign of an invasion, or any major damage to property.

'The barriers are also fine, so no one interfered with them…' My thoughts trailed as I observed my environment even further.

It seemed, just as I had hoped, nothing of note happened in my absence.

'Guess I was overreacting befo—'

… Nng!

A sudden sensation coursed through me, forcing me to clutch my chest tightly.

'W-what is this…?!'

I didn't know how or where it came from, but my combined senses were picking up something. And that thing was resonating deep within me.

No, it wasn't resonating.

This felt more like a dissonance, and it caused my heart to burn in response to the thing I was sensing.

'Where is it? Where could it be?!' At this point, sweat coursed through my body as I looked around.

I felt desperate, suddenly on edge.

A sharp glow appeared in my eyes as I activated multiple Skills at the same time, all for the sake of spotting even a trace of whatever I felt was present.

Whatever was watching me!

… And then I finally caught it.

"Y-you…" My eyes widened as every sense I could muster focused on a corner in the garden. There was a large stone statue, much bigger than the human size, located there.

And behind the statue, something stood still.

It had an oily black body, obsidian from head to toe. It's murky surface seemed to be painted by sheer malevolence, and the only thing remotely human about it was its humanoid appearance.

This 'thing' seemingly born of malleable dark clay had purple-like eyes, and its glowing irises consistently stared at me, almost like it was recording my every move.

"... Who are you?" I muttered, my body shivering slightly as I looked into those brimming eyes of its.

However, the moment I uttered those words, a name appeared in my head.

"Dark Spawn."

The creature of darkness tilted its head slightly, reacting to my words instantly. Before now it hadn't moved, not even when I noticed its presence.

'So that's its name? But how did I know that?' No… that wasn't what was important right now.

The important thing was finding out what the hell this creature was.

'<Absolute Appraisal>' I glared at the Dark Spawn and activated my Skill.

[Skill Error]

<You Are Unable To Use Your Skill On The Target>

'W-what?! It was cancelled?' My eyes bulged in shock.

My thoughts calmed almost as soon as I began to get agitated, and while my glare deepened, I rationally thought of the best step to take at the current moment.

Only one seemed to be the answer.

'Let's capture it!'n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

With that in mind, I didn't hesitate to fortify myself with <Turbo> and <Elevate>, instantly pushing my powers to new heights.

<Immersion> and <Visualize> had already been activated, even <Dragon Eyes> as well, so with both my senses and physical attributes strenghtened, I decided to make my move.

~VWUSSH!~

I saw the Dark Spawn vanish from its position, but thankfully that was 5 seconds in the future. Right now, in the present, it was moving ever so slightly, almost as if preparing for its premature departure.

'Where do you think you're going?!'

~WHOOOOSSHH!~

At Level 70, five seconds was more than enough for me to reach my target and solidify my hold on them.

At that point, the Dark Spawn activated its teleportation and vanished from the garden—with me in tow.

~VWUUUUSHHH!~

I felt the environment shift in an instant, and before I knew it, the Dark Spawn ad I were outside the Lyma Capital.

'Perfect. I also wanted to do this outside the city.' I smiled, my hold on the creature deepening as I clenched my fists.

"Who are you, and what do you want?" My loud voice echoed, and I felt the brimming light in the Dark Spawn's eyes increase its intensity.

"SKRIIIIIIII!!!" The creature screeched, creating a grinding sound that left my brain screaming in pain.

"Gahh!" I clutched my head and staggered back, wincing at the pain.

Unfortunately, with or without my ability to see the future, I couldn't deflect sonic attacks with my current Skillset.

"Guhh! You…"

The Dark Spawn and taken this chance to flee, creating quite a distance from me and it with its swift steps.

However, that was only five seconds into the future. In the present, it was only just a few meters from me.

'You want to play tag? Let's play!' My grin broadened as I swiftly recovered from the brain damage I suffered and strengthened my legs.

The Dark Spawn had a head start, but there was no way it was going to outrun me. Explore more stories with empire

~WHOOOOOOSSSSH!~

The ground shattered apart beneath me as I exerted enough force to create a massive cloud of dust in my wake.

In a blur, I began my chase, my body acclimating to the rushing chilly winds in an instant. My eyes were on the running target, who seemed to be getting closer and closer despite seemingly trying its hardest to escape me.

'Why doesn't it use teleportation like last time? Has it run out of Energy? Or is there some other reason?'

I couldn't rule out any possibility at this point. That was because even I was holding back considerably in this exchange with the Dark Spawn.

And that was for one simple reason.

I wanted to study it.

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[A/N]

Thanks for reading.

Cheers!