Heaven's Greatest Professor

The hound's howl failed to evoke any dreamlike sensations, let alone paralyze him as he thrust the gilded edge of the [Bane of the Calamity] into its head. Black tar-like blood, or rather a liquid essence, oozed from the inflicted wound.

Warden narrowed his eyes; this creature's existence seemed more unnatural than those found in dungeons. It was brimming with essence, perhaps more than it could handle. Killing it could potentially yield higher rewards than anything Warden had encountered before.

"Don't engage in direct combat!" Agnes shouted, flying with her dark wings spread on her back, obstructing its advance. "You cannot kill it..."

"Is that a challenge, captain?" Warden shouted back. The liquid essence drew into him, rushing in a chilly sensation across his body, causing him to shudder. It didn't necessarily increase his attributes, but Warden deemed it was improving his physique. However, cultivating the [Void Vanquishing Physique] wasn't advisable, putting his body under nearly unbearable stress while fighting the Moonspawn.

"I'm being serious," Agnes said, thrusting her wards as Warden flung himself up from its back. "We may manage to kill it by combining all our power, and the rewards might even be worth it, at least for me. But it will leave us both vulnerable for another fight. You don't know how tenacious a moonspawn is..."

"What do you advise, then?"

"We retreat. Just distract it for some time... I'll take care of your retreat."

"As you wish," Warden agreed. He didn't want to waste stamina just to enter the inheritance ground. There were still places to explore, and secrets to unearth, not to mention the exhaustion it would bring to his prepared runes.

Warden ceased intense combat, flying around the beast to aggravate it further. It had already flattened a good part of the forest. He shoved a thick tree trunk, uprooted with its maddening dash, at the moonspawn, but the creature didn't budge. He continued throwing trees at it from all directions.

The Tier-3 Anti-gravity runes made it easier for him to carry the heavy trunk, as Warden gained insights on how to improve it.

Then abruptly, Agnes shot her spear of darkness into its eyes and intercepted Warden. She caught his arms as the wings of darkness folded around them, cocooning them completely as they were concealed in the darkness.

The moonspawn regained its sightless eyes, but it couldn't locate them anymore. It continued rampaging, unfazed by the absence of the ranker who had aggravated it.

"Let's go," Agnes said as they flew away. It felt as if she were literally carrying him, but Warden didn't complain. After covering a considerable distance from the disturbance, Agnes released his hand and landed.

"So..." Warden began, unsure of what to say. "You mentioned we shouldn't be seen together on this expedition."

"Nobody saw you," she replied. "Those soldiers were too desperate to save their lives to watch you fight."

"I see," Warden said, feeling an awkward tension. "So... should we keep our distance now?"

Agnes pondered this for about a minute and then shook her head. "There's no point now... the outer layer of the space is larger than the rest, and there's a good chance we won't encounter people easily," she said. "Besides, you are in disguise..."

"Makes sense."

Without saying much, she began walking, and Warden followed, attempting to break the silence. "So, how do you like your new armour?"

"It fits me well," she replied, tracing a careless finger on her black breastplate. "It's better than my old one, though not much of an improvement. Hopefully, it will last longer."

Warden had completed it on a deadline to gain more points from the department. Although he had worked carefully on it, Tier-5 runes were his limit. He had embedded a stronger shell of Restoration runes, intending to mitigate the duress Agnes put on her equipment.

Unfortunately for him, Elder Ming hadn't even begun making the spear for him to carve runes into. Given what he had asked of him, the least he could do was give the old man some time. Until then, he would have to make do with his brooms.

"Although this is the outermost layer of the inheritance ground, it is not without its rewards," Agnes said after several minutes of silent walking. "We'd need to move for at least a week to get into the next layer. It is better if you take whatever benefits you can, but beware; most of the Silver rankers died in this layer."

"What are the dangers here other than the moonspawn?"

"The moonspawn isn't enough for you?" Agnes quirked her eyebrows. "Just one of these is enough to put you under stress; think what a pack of them could do to you."

Warden pondered deeply on that; indeed, such encounters would be better avoided for now.

"But apart from spawns, there are Shadow Stalkers and various other dangerous creatures, though none can compare to the moon spawns."

"And these benefits you mentioned," Warden said, "are they related to the moonspawn?"

"It is," she faltered in her pacing and met his gaze. "As you have already noticed its existence, a moonspawn's core and heart are greatly beneficial to one's physical body. It doesn't necessarily just increase attribute points, but it advances the body to a qualitative prospect. There were actually cults who hunted down moonspawn and other spawn of defeated Calamities to get benefits from them."

"I see," Warden said.

"But, as you have noticed, it is very difficult to kill them with how aggressive they are, not to mention their regenerative power."

"You don't have any plans?"

"I was hoping you'd come up with something," she grinned and then brought out a bow and a quiver full of arrows. "This might be of some help... but my path clashes greatly with it."

She handed it to Warden for inspection. The bow appeared to be of high elven build, though made of metal instead of wood. However, what interested him were the arrows. There were twelve of them, each identical and seemed to be consumable items.

[Aurora Bolts: Heroic/Consumable items

Aurora bolts emit a tangible and dazzling light upon release, which is the bane of all darkness. They deal greater damage to cursed existence. The pure essence of Radiance was used in the creation of the arrows and can only be wielded to their best by those with light or fire attributes.]

"There was an idiot who thought he could defeat me with these arrows," Agnes said with a sigh. "Although he had greatly overestimated his capabilities, I cannot overlook how sublime these arrows were. Unfortunately, we need to find someone with a Light attribute to use them... I was hoping for the Princess; it might be better to find someone of less prominent standing."

Warden could only nod to her. He could have helped if he had managed to awaken his Radiance power, but that would have to wait for now.

"That reminds me," Warden said. "What about the Imperial Prince and your team? Aren't you supposed to join them as soon as possible?"

Agnes didn't answer for several minutes. Warden could tell she didn't enjoy being on this expedition, and more so, she disliked whatever mission she was given. However, she had to do it if she wanted to regain her freedom, a deal the military had imposed on her.

"I..." She let out a deep exhalation. "I want to slay at least one moonspawn before I have to join them. Its core will help me boost my power without advancing to the silver rank."

"Did nobody hunt any the previous time you were here?" Warden couldn't help but ask.

"The silver rankers managed to defeat one, but it cost them a lot," she said, her eyes gleaming with coldness. "I had participated in the battle, but with my condemned nature, it wasn't a hard decision for them to overlook my contribution."

"If you give me some time, I think I can prepare some scripts that will give us some advantages against the creature," Warden suggested. Hell, if he put all his scripts into use, perhaps he could even defeat one on his own. However, that would possibly leave him drained. Using the rune spells took a heavy toll on the body. "As for the arrows... I'll see if I can use them after all."

They moved for about a couple of hours, meeting no creatures dangerous enough to threaten their lives. Finally, they decided it was time to take refuge in... Agnes prepared the tents, setting up the ward stones. While Warden prepared food. None of the two had breakfast, after all.

"Fuck, this cold is getting on my nerves," Warden muttered. "Even the fire doing a little to relieve it."

Agnes narrowed her eyes, sitting on the other of the fire. She was still in her armour, but from the look of it, wasn't feeling any bit of the cold.

Well, Warden could have ignored it too, if he put on his legendary cloak, and turned on its ward.

"I can help with that," Agnes said. She stood up and walked to sit next to him. She raised her arm, and she touched his bare skin. Her skin was unnaturally cold, even with the chilly environment.

The essence of her power enveloped his body... it was unsettling for a bit, but it didn't do anything to him. Instead, the thin layer of darkness began devouring the biting coldness that was finding its way into his system.

"Thank you," Warden said.

"The cold played a role in weakening our forces the first time," Agnes said. "Feel free to communicate with me if you feel unwell anytime."

Warden nodded and brought out his scribing tools to work on his new project.