Wings of the Devourer
The wings I manifested using Urkan's essence.
This was my first time using them in actual combat, so they weren't performing as well as I'd hoped.
-Why don't you try flying properly?
"If only it were that easy... Whoa!"
The strength and direction of the wind.
It felt completely different from when I used Wind Path.
If I reached a higher realm, I could supposedly free myself from gravity just by condensing mana, but this was my first time flying like this.
"Kiiiiii!"
"Stop screaming already."
I snatched a Nightghast that had closed in right next to me by the scruff of its neck and unleashed my monstrous strength.
Crack!
The Nightghast's neck twisted backward at an unnatural angle.
Thanks to its flight capabilities, it was classified as a Platinum-tier combatant, but its physical stats were only at the Gold level.
There was no need to even use any martial techniques.
"Kiiit!"
"Kiiiiiiii!"
The swarm of Nightghasts pressed their numerical advantage.
Shwaaaack!
Long tails wrapped around my wings.
The densely packed thorns tore through fur and flesh alike as they dug in.
The Nightghasts twisted my wings from both sides while moving left and right.
At this rate, flying was out of the question. I'd have to scrap it entirely.
"You're being a real nuisance."
I flapped my wings with all my might while simultaneously deploying my monstrous strength.
On top of that, I wrapped them in Dark Fighting Spirit.
The Nightghasts' tails were torn apart by the overwhelming force.
The thorns were so sharp that many of them remained embedded in my wings.
I pushed them out using my Dark Fighting Spirit, then resumed flight and began hunting the Nightghasts one by one.
"Ugh, this is making me dizzy."
-Why not use a flight skill?
"It would mess with my sense of balance while I'm still getting used to this."
Aerial combat using manifested wings.
Since this was a body part I'd never handled before my regression, it was proving difficult.
-Once your abilities rise further, won't you no longer need to rely on wings?
"You're right, but these seem pretty useful too."
When I'd hunted my tenth one, Hong Yunsu rode the wind and ascended to join me.
"Kiiit!"
The swarm of Nightghasts began to flee.
Tsk.
I still hadn't absorbed 100% of their essence, and they were already running away?
"Guild Master, shall we pursue them?"
"No. Visibility is poor here anyway. Let's take it slow."
Time flowed more slowly inside Dreamland than outside.
That meant we had plenty of time to explore.
Besides, I already knew the characteristics of the Demon Realm from my previous life.
There was no need to rush.
Our group slowly advanced deeper into Dreamland.
The sky was dreamlike, like black ink dissolved in water.
With swarms of Nightghasts shrieking like background noise as they charged at us, there was never a dull moment.
You have devoured a Nightghast's essence.
Essence absorbed: 100%
Essence Grade: Rare
You have perfectly absorbed the essence of one species.
Skill - Nightmare Thorn has been added.
Nightmare Thorn
Grade: ★★
Type: Active
Causes nightmare thorns to sprout from any part of the body.
The thorns deal damage to enemies in proportion to the user's magic power.
Consumes a small amount of mana.
A skill that could create thorns anywhere on the body.
The difference from the Thorn Boar's essence was that the damage scaled with magic power rather than physical force.
Considering that Dreamland's inhabitants existed in the space between the Outer Universe and reality, it made sense that this skill had been generated.
Thorn Boar's essence resonates with Nightmare Thorn.
Two essences can be fused to create a new skill.
Thorns Missile
Grade: ★★★
Type: Active
Generates thorns from the skin and launches them forward.
Consumes stamina and mana.
The Thorn Boar's essence was something I hadn't obtained in my previous life.
I knew there would be a synergistic effect when the two essences met, but...
"Looks like I'm pretty lucky."
I'd expected the synergy to be defense-related at best.
Instead, an entirely unexpected skill had been born.
I tested it by activating Thorns Missile on my forearm.
Thorns as thick as my thumb sprouted, and when I infused them with magic power, they shot forward.
-The power doesn't seem particularly strong.
"Since it's treated as a martial technique, I can use it while rearranging my mana too."
I'd been worried about overlap with my Metal Reflection Gloves and positioning, but now I had a useful mid-to-long-range checking skill.
And Nightghasts weren't the only essence available in Dreamland.
A good start indeed.
-What a truly horrifying hybrid you are.
"Where did you learn to say something like that?"
-Hehehe. Who else but your disciple Jiyoung?
Damn it.
Just wait until I see you, Jiyoung.
* * *
The first day's exploration ended without any major incidents.
Although swarms of Nightghasts ambushed us from time to time, with two Rankers in the party, they posed no real threat.
I'd also gotten in quite a bit of flight practice.
I'd excluded both Wind Path and the Flight skill, relying solely on the wings manifested through the Void Mirror.
"Real combat really is the best teacher."
-It's not very convincing when your face is deathly pale.
"I'm dizzy, so stop... ugh."
Controlling unfamiliar wings while simultaneously hunting Nightghasts had been exhausting.
By the time the Void Mirror's duration ran out, I was on the verge of throwing up.
"Guild Master, are you alright?"
"Ah, more or less."
"Honestly, your abilities seem to have no limits, Guild Master."
Hong Yunsu let out a sigh of admiration.
I appreciated the compliment, but right now I wasn't in any state to have a proper conversation.
I swallowed my true feelings and lifted my head.
"That's something I should be saying. I've seen the Ruler of the Storm's skills up close. Very impressive."
"Handling wind is my specialty, after all."
Whooooosh—!
A single gust of wind lifted Hong Yunsu's body lightly into the air.
"On the contrary, being skilled at aerial combat without any unique abilities is even more impressive."
"Well, I wouldn't go that far."
"There's so much I can learn from you, Guild Master."
Was he always this talkative?
When we first met, he hadn't been like this, even though he was supposedly repaying me for saving his sister.
I nodded with a slightly awkward expression.
"Since we've finished scouting the surrounding area, let's set up a base camp."
"Understood."
"Senior Junseok. Could you take charge of the base camp?"
"That's no difficult request."
Shin Junseok, Thomas, and Han Suchang would stay at the base camp.
Hong Yunsu and I would split up to explore east and west respectively.
"I'll leave it to you."
"You can count on me."
With the base camp as the dividing line, our group split apart.
Being alone made movement much more comfortable.
I already had a rough map of Dreamland's layout in my head.
Going too deep would be suicidal, so I needed to circle the outskirts first and target the essences that would be most useful to devour.
Especially those that would synergize well with the essence of Grand Duke Naeshan, which I hadn't obtained in my first life.
After passing through the mountain range, a vast plain came into view.
Meeeeeh—!
The sound of goats bleating echoed in my ears like a lingering resonance.
Seed of the Goat
A monster with a goat's head and the muscular body of a giant below.
These were the Seed of the Goat, creations of one of the Outer Gods—Shub-Niggurath.
"Meeeeh?"
The Seed of the Goat tilted its head at a forty-five-degree angle.
Its yellow pupils moved at an eerie angle.
The moment our eyes met.
The Seed of the Goat that had been grazing suddenly kicked off the ground and leaped high into the air.
Leap Attack.
It raised the axe in its hand.
Just judging by reaction speed, it was faster than Ping Lei?
The Seed of the Goat soared dozens of meters into the air before plummeting back down.
The axe with its gleaming blue edge aimed for my head, but...
"That's not going to work."
Rearranged mana coalesced in the air.
An Ice Spear flew through the empty space.
As the ice spearhead flew toward the Seed of the Goat, it swung its axe.
I control the target eroded by the Blessing of Greed.
The Ice Spear suddenly changed trajectory in midair and embedded itself in the back of the Seed of the Goat's head.
The monster fell straight down.
-Did you finish it?
"As if."
The Seed of the Goat that had crashed into the ground quickly got back up.
It was covered in nothing but dirt.
Even the spot where the Ice Spear had struck was completely unharmed.
"Meeeeeh!!"
The Seed of the Goat let out a thunderous cry.
The other members of its kind scattered across the wide plain began to gather.
-It seems we've got a problem.
"No, this is going according to plan."
-Was calling in all those goats part of the plan?
"The more the better, right?"
Nyx let out a short sigh.
Shub-Niggurath's creations.
The Seed of the Goat lived up to their creator—the Goddess of Fertility—by boasting an enormous population.
This plain was their territory.
It would be best to clean up the entrance area first.
And while I was at it, I could devour their essence to 100%.
-How did you know about that as well?
"The Necronomicon copy."
It was the reward I'd received after clearing the Deep Ones' dwelling.
-So you interpreted its contents.
"More or less?"
In reality, it wasn't that I'd interpreted the Necronomicon—I simply remembered it from my previous life.
I gave a vague answer and looked over the gathering Seeds of the Goat.
"Meeeeeh!"
The goat-headed, muscular giants charged at me all at once.
I'd already confirmed their leaping power.
Using Leap.
Using Wind Bomb.
Using Wind Path.
I kicked off the ground while deploying a Wind Bomb beneath my feet.
In an instant, I leaped dozens of meters and activated Wind Path.
The Seeds of the Goat that were a beat late in reacting also kicked off the ground to follow.
"Yeah. I calculated all of this."
The Seeds of the Goat fell back toward the ground from a precarious height.
Their leaping power was tremendous, but since the terrain was a plain, there was a clear limit.
Now that I'd secured my position.
I canceled Wind Path and maintained altitude with flight.
"This is the real charm of herding hunts."
Using Solar Explosion.
Using Blessing of Greed.
To make sure I finished them off properly, I deployed two Solar Explosions.
Enhancing their power by eroding them with the Blessing of Greed was just the cherry on top.
The Solar Explosions fell right where the Seeds of the Goat were clustered.
The moment the highly compressed heat was released, a blinding light engulfed the entire plain.
A mushroom cloud rose, and the hot air currents from the explosion clung to my skin.
"Ugh, that's disgustingly hot."
-How reckless. You should have used it from outside the blast radius.
"Then those goats wouldn't have stayed put."
The mountains where Nightghasts mainly lived were also advantageous terrain for the Seeds of the Goat.
With their leaping power, they could close a hundred-meter distance in no time.
When the smoke cleared, I saw the Seeds of the Goat lying on the ground with their tongues hanging out.
Even after detonating two Solar Explosions, their bodies were still intact.
Their magic resistance was truly outstanding.
I slowly lowered my altitude.
-This should be enough to fill your essence to 100%.
"Well..."
I trailed off.
As I was slowly descending.
Meeeeeh!!
The sound of goats bleating rang out once again, echoing loudly.
The symbol of fertility and abundance.
True to being Shub-Niggurath's creations, the Seeds of the Goat possessed incredible reproductive power.
The moment they sensed the anomaly within their territory, reinforcements began pouring in.
-Partner! More of those hideous creatures are coming!
"No time to rest, huh."
I swallowed a smile.
The real herding hunt was only just beginning.