They hadn’t walked far when, on the road covered with rubble and faint brick patterns, a figure ran toward them, screaming.
From the identical voice, it was clear that this was the person who had previously let out the sharp scream.
With the vision of a Transcendent, even on an unobstructed road, one could see the figure’s appearance with the naked eye; it was a short-haired woman in tight leather clothing.
Behind the short-haired woman, a purple-scaled creature was wildly chasing her.
It seemed that the series of screams was all because of this creature.
After all, when ordinary people face magical creatures, unless they are well-trained Heavy-Armored Knights, they basically have no power to fight back.
At first, she ran in their direction, perhaps coincidentally, but when the short-haired woman saw several figures here, she almost didn’t hesitate and ran directly toward them.
Evidently, she mistook Angel and the others for ordinary people like her, intending to lead the creature to them, overcoming her fear of the monster by keeping her mouth shut to avoid startling it.
Since she was heading toward them, everyone stopped in their tracks, waiting quietly.
At this point, with the short-haired woman’s vision, she could finally make out the group in front, and to her surprise, they seemed to have seen her already and also noticed the creature behind her.
However, the group showed no intention of fleeing, which made her feel a vague unease in her heart.
She had heard rumors about this vast relic in her adventure group; although the most common threats here were those terrifying Bloodthirsty Vines, there were also many human-shaped creatures. The one behind her was such a misconception; her teammate had mistaken it for a person in purple clothing and approached to chat, only to find it was a creature.
Now, could the group ahead also be creatures?
Despite her unease and doubts, the short-haired woman couldn’t turn back now as she was already committed, so she braced herself and charged forward.
If they really were creatures, then maybe the creatures would fight among themselves. If they were humans, then her apologies.
The short-haired woman’s inner thoughts were unknown to Angel and the others, but her deliberate actions toward them were clear as day. Yet, they didn’t mind; the will to survive exists in everyone, and if things went wrong, without the shackles of a contract, even close friends among wizards could turn against each other, let alone the uncomplicated act of diverting a threat.
The group didn’t even discuss the woman’s behavior, instead focusing their attention on the creature.
"Purple scales, smoke swirling while moving, can’t see its face... it seems familiar, yet I can’t remember what kind it is." Kaier tapped his brow with his knuckles, continuously trying to recall.
Vay seemed to recognize it but couldn’t speak, so he gestured with his hands, yet failed to capture Kaier’s attention.
Dox chuckled and said to Kaier, "Why, just because this creature is bare-chested without that ragged coat, you can’t recognize it?"
"The illustrations show the typical images of creatures; if you only look at one form, how can you recognize all creatures?"
Just as humans come in all shapes and sizes, the most beautiful or ugly, the most extreme individuals, are just categorized as "humans" in the eyes of creatures.
"In the illustrations, there’s this tattered coat and faint purple smoke swirling..." With Dox’s reminder, Kaier seemed to remember something, "Is it a Ghosteye Witch?"
Dox didn’t respond to Kaier’s words; instead, he spoke to Angel, "Look, Kaier is a typical example of the Academy Faction: without being explicitly pointed out, he only applies his learning rigidly. He even fancies himself a traveler, loving to explore the ruins, tsk tsk... I don’t think he’s that great. The Academy Faction always mocks the non-academics, yet when it comes to combat, they can’t even identify their opponents."
Though speaking to Angel, Kaier heard every word clearly, his expression turning slightly embarrassed. Even though Dox grouped him with the entire Academy Faction, the fact remained that he confirmed incorrectly this time.
Kaier said nothing, nor did Angel respond.
Angel had recognized the creature as a Ghosteye Witch too, but that was because he had seen many Ghosteye Witch corpses in the Nightmare Realm. If it had been another creature, Dox’s words would likely ring true; the illustrations portray typical representations, not every nuanced detail.
Because of this, Angel refrained from speaking and instead silently introspected: I can’t rely solely on illustrations and written words in the future; I’ll need to see for myself and draw conclusions based on reality.
While this conversation took place, the short-haired woman had already led the Ghosteye Witch close.
When she was just over fifty meters away, she finally called out, "Run quickly, there’s a creature!"
It seemed like a kind reminder but was actually an alternative way to save face.
No one bothered to acknowledge her; Dox directly said, "Vay, this Ghosteye Witch is yours to deal with. Don’t let all that time spent indoors weaken you to the point where you can’t even handle a low-level creature."
Vay wanted to retort but couldn’t speak, so he could only prove himself with actions: he’s not a weakling.
However, when it came time to fight the Ghosteye Witch, Vay did fumble for a moment.
Although the Ghosteye Witch is a low-level creature, it possesses a certain intelligence; otherwise, it wouldn’t have collected those tattered clothes to cover its shame, as a sense of shame is a mark of intelligence.
Previously, it chased the short-haired woman entirely for fun or to see if she could lead it to a human hub to find more delicacies.
When the Ghosteye Witch fought seriously, its form became indiscernible.
One could only see a thin smoky shadow flickering incessantly, showcasing its incredible speed.
Transcendents of the Earth element originally had an advantage over speed-type creatures because, as long as they stood on the ground, they were in their primary domain.
The Ghosteye Witch couldn’t fly, so how could it compete with the Earth element?
But Dox was right; Vay, after not fighting for a long time, bungled his opening trick.
He attempted a trick similar to "Earth Spikes" to aim for a One-Hit Kill and showcase his power. Yet employing such a trick was tantamount to competing in speed with the Ghosteye Witch.
You’re an Earth element Junior Apprentice competing in speed with a creature that specializes in it—pure folly.
Several Earth Spikes missed, and the Ghosteye Witch even kicked him, luckily buffered by a Defense Spell; otherwise, that kick alone would have put him in recovery for days.
Vay’s misjudgment made Dox cast him a "see, see" look again, although, to avoid disrupting his friend’s battle, he refrained from verbal mockery and simply displayed a bemused expression continuously.
Nevertheless, Vay’s misjudgment wasn’t entirely without benefit.
This also led the Ghosteye Witch to perceive Vay as a manageable human Transcendent.
Originally, it hadn’t intended to confront human Transcendents, but Vay’s "weakness" made it believe it could win. Since victory seemed conceivable, there was no need to flee; the flesh of human Transcendents tastes far better than that of ordinary humans!
This could be considered Vay being in the first layer of misjudgment, leading the Ghosteye Witch to wrongly believe it was on the second layer.
The Ghosteye Witch began battling Vay in earnest, and the scale of the combat was vast, with dust everywhere and shadowy figures looming.