Chapter 1955: The Hunt Continues
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Elayne smiled calmly at the charging creature, a giant version of the Dream Imps, with a muscular body and the power to summon and manipulate Nightmare Specters around it. A single swing of its massive arms shattered the ground and sent boulders flying in every direction. Yet Elayne took a step forward. The ground beneath her shaped itself to her will, forming stable footholds without issue even as the beast tried to destroy it.
"GRAAAHHHH!"
The beast roared and unleashed a sea of nightmare specters. Elayne quickly manifested a sword made of divine wood from her body, swung it horizontally, and sliced through all the specters in one radiant golden attack.
SLAAASH!
The attack cut through hundreds of bug-sized nightmare specters before striking the monster, cleaving it apart and killing it instantly. The slash continued onward, carving a deep gash into a distant mountain.
BOOOM!
A massive explosion of golden spirit flames followed, engulfing half the mountain. The Nightmare Beasts inside began to burn and die in droves. They revealed themselves as a huge swarm of black bats, each with a single crimson eye. Their charred bodies fell one after another.
"Oh... oops?"
Elayne stared in shock at her own strength, feeling a twinge of guilt for causing so much destruction—far more than she had intended.
Ding!
[You have slain [Dream Sentinel (Tier 2.5)] x1, [Nightmare Specters (Tier 1)] x100+, and [Nightmarish One-Eyed Bats (Tier 1.5)] x200+]
[You have earned a large quantity of EXP.]
[Level Up!] repeated twelve times.
[Your Level has increased from Level 7 to Level 39.]
[You learned the Skill: [Holy Tree of Yggdrasil Swordsmanship – Tier 1: Level 1/10]!]
[You earned the Title: [Nightmare Hunter]!]
[You awakened the Talent: [Sword Goddess (SSS)]!]
"Oh my, that’s quite a lot, isn’t it? So it was a Dream Sentinel. And it was almost Tier 3—indeed, quite strong. It’s completely justified. Yep," Elayne said, trying to reassure herself. She disliked bullying the weak, after all.
Besides, her level had risen dramatically. Gaining thirty-two levels was nothing to scoff at. She felt the power surging within her, her very existence being redefined with every increase. The sensation was far more gratifying than anything humans experienced when leveling.
This was because she was a Heroic Spirit, a being originally tied to the land for summoning. Yet with each level, Elayne gained her own internal power, and that power kept growing. Her Dual Dream Nightmare Heart already supported her, but these levels made her existence feel more solid, more defined—more real.
"If I level up enough and grow strong enough, it might be possible to leave Japan and confront the Demon King of Death’s army!" she said, enthusiasm rising at the thought of finally taking her revenge. "But above all, the burden on my daughter will lighten with every level. I have to keep going. It doesn’t matter if I’m bullying these creatures... sacrifices must be made for the greater good."
Elayne was a kind woman at heart, yet Gaia and Tartarus resided within her Spirit Core. Their personalities subtly influenced her, making her far more decisive and mature in moments like these. She still felt a pang of guilt, but she accepted it as a necessary sacrifice to protect her daughter and everyone precious to her.
"Erebus Junior, how many Nightmare Beasts are here?" she asked.
"Why am I Junior?!" he protested. "Is there another Erebus you know of?"
"Tartarus knows about Erebus, the Primordial God of Darkness!" Elayne replied. "But that’s beside the point. There’s also Erebus from... well, I shouldn’t reveal more about that."
She stopped herself from mentioning Arcadia. She did not want to reveal the existence of that realm to this creature just yet.
"Huh, whatever," he sighed. "There are several more around here, but if you kill them all, this realm will severely weaken. They’re part of the ecosystem. If you drive them to extinction, there won’t be anything left for them to sustain."
"Hmm. How many can I hunt?" Elayne wondered.
"Well, there’s around ten thousand..." Erebus Junior said. "But—"
"I’ll hunt five thousand. Is that fine?" she asked.
"F-Five thousand?!" he gasped. "You’re crazy. How can you even hunt that many?"
"I’ve got my ways to optimize it," Elayne replied with a smile. Her aura surged as massive portals opened behind her.
From them emerged Gigantes, Cyclops, Hydras, Dryads, Harpies, and many other creatures from mythology. Towering above them all were the Hecatoncheires, hundred-armed titans wielding hundreds of weapons.
"U-Unbelievable..."
"Of course, this space is large enough for me to use them. In dungeons, it might not be possible," Elayne sighed. "So I might as well put in the effort, right? Everyone, please hunt five thousand monsters. Let’s do this together."
"OOOOHHHHHH!"
With her army of mythological creatures, Elayne advanced deeper into the crystal dream forest. Entire armies of Dream Imps confronted her, firing projectiles and swinging magic weapons.
To deal with the pests, a single horizontal swing of her sword unleashed a wave of blinding light. They were all cleaved in half and burned to cinders, a massive explosion consuming half the forest.
BOOOMMM!!!
The attack reached deeper, destroying their nests and forcing the Dream Sentinels to emerge. Elayne let them come. She thrust her fist forward, and giant masses of wood and trees surged forth, coiling around their bodies before forming enormous fists that punched through them. She then summoned Fire Spirits and Earth Spirits, raining down a Spirit Meteor Shower upon the horde.
BOOOM! BOOOM! BOOOM! BOOOM!
In just a minute, the entire forest had vanished. She had hunted roughly four hundred nightmare beasts in that single sweep.
Ding!
[You have slain [Dream Sentinel (Tier 2.5)] x30+, [Nightmare Specters (Tier 1)] x100+, and [Dream Imps (Tier 1.5)] x300+]
[You have earned a large quantity of EXP.]
[Level Up!] repeated eleven times.
[Your Level has increased from Level 39 to Level 55.]
[You learned the Skill: [Nature Spirit Call – Tier 1: Level 1/10]!]
[You earned the Title: [Druid]!]
[You awakened the Talent: [Spirit Master (SSS)]!]
Elayne continued onward, moving from the forest into the nearby swamp. There she encountered Shadow Specters and Nightmare Crawlers—giant, strange creatures with skinny, fleshy bodies, long tongues, and massive claws.
"My, what a beautiful... swamp."
Her eyes twitched. She had hoped for something more mystical and enchanting, but this would have to do.
At the very least, it would let her continue leveling up. She pressed forward on her path toward even greater power.
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