In the grey shroud of mist, all they could see was the eye monster. All around them were trees, but only pieces of them—cracked wood, long dead, promising them the same fate would soon be theirs.
It held them all, mesmerized, a horror straight from the nightmares that had awoken them in their childhoods, making them weep for hours.
“Ss. Ss.”
The eye monster made a strange hissing sound as it swung its sharp claws at the trio, trailing a ghoulish miasma in the attack.
There was corruption on the claws. If it made contact, it would enter their bodies, leaving a fatal wound.
Weng!
The black claws raked against Li Luo’s scalp, clamping down. It squeezed.
The digits passed through his head without resistance.
The eye contracted briefly in confusion, then it narrowed in frustration as the three figures faded away.
Illusions!
The hissing grew even more furious now.
“The Umbra Cave really is dangerous as hell.” Li Luo sighed, walking out from behind a tree. Their eyes were protected with resonant power.
He had made the prudent suggestion for them to use illusions to scout ahead, while they would follow at a safe distance.
Which meant that the eye monster’s bewitching effect had gone to waste.
“Leader, you’re awesome.” Bai Mengmeng praised him with dutiful applause.
“Oh, you. Your illusions are the real star here.” Li Luo congratulated her in turn.
Shoosh!
While the two were busy slapping each other on the back, Xin Fu was already taking care of business. He was most at home in this dim environment. With a few quick leaps, he was behind the eye monster, dagger in hand. A tongue of shadow resonant power licked out from the blade, wavering in length from moment to moment. He reversed his grip, aiming to drive it into the fleshy eyeball like a stake.
A milky-white aura pulsed out from the creature, then a claw reversed its direction, lunging at bewildering speed to block Xin Fu’s attack.
Golden sparks clanged out, a brief flash of bright yellow in the monochrome.
Xin Fu faded back, using the mist to his advantage.
“Careful, it’s quite strong. A white eroder, should be about Second Pattern in strength,” he called from the shadows.
“Second Pattern, huh…”
This was a notch stronger than both Li Luo and Xin Fu. But luckily, they had already nullified its hypnotic abilities.
“Watch yourself, Mengmeng.”
Li Luo warned her, then he shot forth, shortswords in hand. His Water Edge hummed with intensity, cutting through the air.
Within him, both resonance seeds flared to life, supplying energy to their user.
He charged the Other, the dull roar of a tide coming from his blades.
With a frustrated screech, the eye creature moved to meet him, white energy on its claws. They clashed and disengaged again and again.
More sparks.
Li Luo was fully concentrating now. The impact of each clash felt powerful enough to rip his arms off at the shoulder, and yet he stubbornly stood his ground, tanking the attacks. He might be up against a Second Pattern, but his dual resonances allowed him to stand up to it without too much of a disadvantage.
As the battle dragged on, the eyeball was gradually turning from white to red, becoming more aggressive and unpredictable.
Li Luo was weaving in and out of its long claws, trying to close in, when the eye itself suddenly started to glow, sending a greyish-white beam of light straight at his face.
Too fast! He was caught off guard…
A butterfly of pure starlight fluttered past his face, its wings opening to shield him from the grey light.
It only shielded him for a moment, its paper-thin shape eviscerated by the attack in a flash.
The single moment was enough. Li Luo had already made his escape, leaving the grey light to sail on and bore a hole in the tree behind him.
The tree immediately began to decay before their very eyes.
Li Luo blanched. If not for Bai Mengmeng’s save, he would be rotting away right now.
Foiled yet again, the eye monster was working itself into a frenzy. It leaped at Bai Mengmeng.
Midair, Xin Fu struck. He unleashed a blistering series of shadow strikes faster than the eye could see. They punched through the monster’s defenses and connected with its fleshy eye-body. Milky-grey pus spurted out.
Its ire now raised, the creature shot another beam of grey light at Xin Fu, who retreated hurriedly.
It charged after him, but suddenly the ground beneath it became as gooey as a swamp. Its feet sank in.
It was ready when Li Luo appeared before it, shooting another attack his way.
“Watch out!” Bai Mengmeng cried from behind.
Li Luo barely batted an eyelid. Swords raised, resonant power gathered on the edges as he started to fashion a pathetic little ball of light.
“Waterlight Ball.”
It popped in a brilliant flash, briefly lighting up the mist.
When the attack released an insignificant pop, the eye monster let out an anguished wail. Sticky pus spurted out in every direction and black smoke billowed. It began to crumble, and after a few moments, there was no trace that it had ever existed.
Xin Fu appeared beside Li Luo. “Just like that?” he asked, shocked.
Bai Mengmeng had run over timidly as well. “Seems like it’s scared of strong light.”
Li Luo nodded. “It might have some strong abilities, but it has weaknesses too… The eye was too large. It’s very weak against light.
“I noticed that it was flinching away from light in our clashes before, especially whenever sparks flew. Careful observation helped me find its weakness.”
“Still,” said Xin Fu doubtfully, “that waterball attack of yours seemed especially bright. It’s not a normal attack, is it?”
“Ah, a special house blend,” he said lightly. He saw that there was a black fragment left on the ground, charged with some evil will.
He bent down and gingerly picked it up, throwing it into a bottle that he carried.
Proof of points earned, to be brought back to school.
“First blood.”
With the eye monster settled, Li Luo was in good spirits. They had had their first encounter with the Others and emerged triumphant. It hadn’t been easy, but together they had overcome it with the power of friendship.
“Let’s keep on clearing them out in that direction.”
Li Luo gestured ahead. Their first win had put some confidence back in their hearts.
Both nodded, and they set off.
On the slope.
The three third years were watching the battle intently, and their surprise showed when Li Luo’s group managed to take down the eye Other.
“Not bad. Illusions to scout the way, and an intelligent seeking of the Other’s weak point…” Tian Tian said in admiration. These three were way better than she had expected.
“Most importantly, they didn’t charge ahead recklessly to clear the purification tower. They’re sweeping and preparing the ground first, so they don’t get swamped later.”
“They were a little panicky at the start, but they’re doing well. These newbies aren’t half bad,” Qiu Bai said with an approving nod.
Jiang Qing’e was still watching the forest, especially a spot where the black mist was particularly dense.
“This is just the beginning…
“Save your judgment for when they successfully reactivate the purification tower.”
