Boom!!-

The thunderous sound of a wooden door finally giving way echoed violently through the enclosed space, the impact rolling through the dusty corridor like a miniature shockwave. A dark, hulking, almost ape-like creature tumbled forward in a messy heap, crashing to the ground with a heavy thud as its limbs sprawled helplessly. And on top of that beastly form, pressing down with all the force he could muster, was a young man, his grip firm and unwavering as he drove his dagger against the creature's trembling neck.

"Roar!!"

The creature bellowed, unleashing a guttural cry that vibrated with raw desperation. It thrashed, twisted, and attempted to wriggle free with everything left in its fading strength, but the young man's physical power completely overwhelmed it. Its resistance only lasted a few strained seconds before its body stiffened, squirmed uncontrollably, and finally went limp as life drained away.

[You have slain a canine laros]

[Symphoning starlight]

Enzo quickly pushed himself up from the carcass, rising with a smooth motion as he wiped the back of his hand across his cheek. He scanned the surroundings carefully, allowing his eyes to sweep across the scattered debris and faintly smoking ruins around them. On his left side, Raven was elegantly dismantling a cluster of lower-tier monsters with calculated precision, her movements sharp and efficient. On his right, Zhou and Marth were engaged in a similar situation, their coordinated strikes bringing down several more beasts as they held their ground.

Being assigned to clear out the lower-level creatures had turned out to be far more of a blessing than they had initially expected. Though it seemed like a mundane task at first glance, the opportunity to repeatedly kill these creatures allowed them to stockpile a steadily growing stash of echos and accumulate the starlight energy they desperately needed to loosen and eventually break the invisible shackles restraining their growth.

In fact, the more they fought, the more Enzo realized — almost with an odd sense of amusement — that this entire so-called conquest seemed intentionally structured to raise the average combat power of all the institute's students, pushing them collectively to a completely new threshold.

Woosh.

Without hesitation, Enzo lunged forward with explosive speed, closing the distance between himself and two unsuspecting creatures before they even sensed his presence. In one swift motion, he swung his dagger in a clean horizontal arc, severing both of their heads effortlessly. A faint smile tugged at the corner of his lips as familiar notifications flashed across his vision once again, signaling more incremental progress.

Sooner or later — and he could feel it drawing nearer with every passing encounter — he would reach the absolute peak of stage three. That would finally qualify him for a second voyage.

Once a weaver achieved sufficient strength, they needed to find a star seed in order to embark on their next voyage, and completing that step allowed them to ascend further and become exalted. It was a major milestone, one typically separated by vast difficulty.

In the past, however, obtaining a star seed was insanely difficult to the point of being almost mythical. It remained difficult even now, but as always, money had a peculiar way of smoothing out the impossible. Wealthy families, the kind with generations upon generations of accumulated influence and knowledge, could manufacture near-replica star seeds and sell them to those desperate enough to pay the price.

And in this particular case, the price was outrageous — a minimum of one hundred thousand years of lifespan for even the cheapest replicated seeds, those produced by ancient families with the expertise needed to artificially refine them. For such families, locating real star seeds was never truly that challenging. As a result, putting them on the market had become almost routine.

"That should be all of them on this street," Enzo muttered as he yanked his dagger free from the cracked skull of yet another beast. Zhou approached from behind, brushing dust from his sleeves, while Marth stumbled forward in an exhausted jog, panting heavily.

"Alright, next street," Enzo said with a nod before looking toward Raven, who hovered not too far away.

Upon noticing his gaze, Raven gently wrapped herself with her orbiting orbs, her expression calm and unreadable. Slowly, she lifted herself upward, allowing her body to float a few meters above the ground so she could scout the area ahead more clearly.

They had been at this repetitively for several days now — clearing out the hordes of creatures crowding the regions surrounding the cathedral as they gradually advanced toward the town hall, the temporary base controlled by the third-year students. Technically, they didn't need to march all the way there. They only needed to clear the outskirts and surrounding routes.

Unfortunately, while sweeping through another area, they stumbled upon a rather peculiar and unexpected scene.

Titus's team.

And they appeared to be locked in what could only be described as a chaotic, swirling free-for-all skirmish. Dozens of beasts moved in unpredictable patterns, crashing into one another, tearing through debris, and clashing with the third-years' attacks.

"Should we… join them?" Marth asked, his voice carrying a mixture of uncertainty and awe as he watched the beasts move in surprisingly coordinated patterns. They were too far away from the torrents to execute any large-scale strategy effectively, leaving them with little choice but to target each beast individually.

"I'd rather not, honestly." Enzo shook his head without a shred of hesitation.

A significant portion of his ability to kill great terrors lay in his use of the poison talisman, and that particular tool was extremely inconvenient when other allies were nearby. Besides, from the looks of it, the third-years weren't struggling enough to require their help.

"Let's go this way," Enzo said, pointing nonchalantly toward a random direction. Without any objection, the rest of the team followed him, putting as much distance as possible between themselves and the chaotic battle.

But as though fate — or some cruel force of attraction — refused to let them walk away peacefully…

"Don't let it run away!!" Titus shouted at the top of his lungs from above, gripping his sword tightly as he rushed forward with impressive speed.

The great terror they had been fighting suddenly jerked, its body tensing before it leapt high into the air, attempting to create a final burst of distance between itself and the encircling fighters. A viscount-class creature would never normally hesitate to fight, much less flee.

But this time, it was running for its life.

And unfortunately for everyone involved, it ran directly into another group of weavers.

"Uhhh…" Enzo stumbled to a halt, blinking in slight disbelief as the battered creature crashed down in front of him. Its leg hung at an unnatural angle, clearly broken, and its eyes burned with a vicious rage that radiated outward like a storm. The third-years had undeniably done serious damage to it, leaving it utterly enraged and desperate — but even so, it was still nowhere near weak enough for ordinary students to confront head-on. It simply had no choice but to run.

"Hold it!!" Titus yelled again, surfing rapidly through the air along a trail of ice he generated beneath his feet. He was speeding directly toward Enzo's position, clearly intent on finishing what his team started.

That beast was, by every definition, a slippery menace. They had spent three entire days hunting it down, ambushing it continuously, but every time, it escaped by the narrowest margins. If the main force returned to the town and found out the third-years still hadn't finished it off… well, that would leave quite the embarrassing stain on their generation's reputation.

"Sigh…" Enzo exhaled deeply, casting a helpless glance toward Raven, who returned a mildly exasperated look.

"You guys stay out of this. Let me handle it," Enzo said firmly as he pulled out a sleek silver spear along with a glowing green talisman from seemingly nowhere.

There was no way he would ask Zhou or Marth to risk themselves against a great terror. Raven could probably endure it, but relying entirely on one joint assault was reckless at best. The real reason behind his instruction, though, was simple — he needed them to clear space so he could safely activate the poison talisman.

Phasing seamlessly into his shadow, Enzo vanished for a split second before appearing behind the beast. Without hesitation, he thrust his spear forward, aiming precisely at the creature's already dislocated joint.

The creature screeched and squirmed violently, but despite the substantial blow, it regained its footing quickly and continued its frantic escape, bursting through the wooden building to its left and shattering it into fragments.

"You can't run away from me," Enzo muttered with a tired shake of his head before sinking into the ground once again, immediately giving chase.

According to the Void Coffin, his legacy belonged to that of a hunter — one born and shaped to pursue, overwhelm, and eliminate anything that dared resist the arrival of nightfall. His very body and skillset were honed for the art of tracking and killing creatures.

Staying close behind the fleeing beast, Enzo chased it through the narrow streets of the quiet town. Every time he found an opening, he brandished his spear and stabbed at it, further wearing down its stamina and defenses. The viscount-class terror, however, remained fully focused on escaping. It knew full well that the threats chasing it from above were far more dangerous than Enzoj alone could ever be.

But as Enzo gradually drained its strength and stamina blow by blow, a creeping sense of danger — and unmistakable weakness — began washing over the creature, slowly consuming its resolve.

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