Moon had seen enough.
The spirit was powerful. Its speed, reflexes, and combat awareness were all well above anything the wolves or the PanPig had shown. If he had to estimate, it sat at the peak of 0-Star, possibly touching the lower edge of 1-Star.
During his evaluation at the association, Moon's combat power had been asured at roughly three acupoints. A low 0-Star Evolver. On paper, the spirit had the advantage. But the evaluation hadn't accounted for everything. It didn't factor in the C-Rank Elental Staff nestled in his hands. It didn't account for the spiritual energy now flowing through his first acupoint, strengthening his elental output. It didn't consider the twenty-two skills he could draw from at any mont, each one giving him an option that most Evolvers simply didn't have.
And it didn't include Mirage.
Moon looked at the spirit one more ti. It was still playing with the woman, deflecting her attacks, that faint smile sitting on its face.
'Killing this spirit will yield massive rewards. The spiritual energy alone would be worth the fight.'
The power gap was there, but it wasn't a chasm. It was a crack, and Moon had bridged wider ones before.
'It's worth the risk.'
His eyes shifted to Mirage. The horse was already watching him, body low, waiting for his command. Moon gave a single, silent nod and Mirage's right eye began to glow purple as he activated the skill he had gained from the Three Tailed Illusion Fox.
Moon glanced at the container he had crafted to protect the turtle egg. Ever since he had hidden the egg inside of it, Moon had kept it with him almost all the ti, except for the occasions when he needed to visit areas where powerful people might sense its aura.
He looked around carefully, ensuring nobody was watching. Then he dug a deep hole behind one of the larger boulders, placed the container with the egg inside, and covered it back up. He packed the dirt down evenly, smoothing the surface until it looked completely untouched. No marks, uneven ground, or anything to suggest the earth had been disturbed.
He left tiny holes in the packed dirt so air could reach the egg. He wasn't going to suffocate the small turtle growing inside it.
After that, Moon was ready.
He moved away from the burial site and positioned himself behind a cluster of boulders away from the Spirit and the woman. Then, he began to charge his attack.
He didn't want the spirit to feel his presence yet. He needed ti to build a powerful attack before revealing himself. The elent of surprise was the most valuable weapon he had right now, and he wasn't going to waste it.
Lightning gathered in his hands as the wolf took shape slowly, crackling and dense, fed by mana Moon could spare. Thunderclap Raiju—his strongest skill, fully evolved to Second Order, waiting to be unleashed.
Once the wolf was ready, Moon signaled Mirage to begin their plan.
The horse moved imdiately. His right eye flared purple and his doppelganger split from his body, peeling off to the left. The clone broke into a full charge toward the clearing, hooves thundering against the rocky ground.
The spirit and the woman both heard it at the sa ti.
The woman's reaction was instant. Her eyes darted to the charging horse, then back to the spirit. The horse wasn't coming for her. It was heading straight for the spirit.
'Perfect timing…I'm saved!'
She didn't hesitate, turning around and fleeing, abandoning the fight without a second glance. The spirit didn't chase her. Its attention had already shifted entirely to the incoming threat. Its eyes narrowed as it readied its blade and surged forward to et the charge.
The two collided, the spirit drove its dagger deep into the horse's flank with a precise, killing thrust.
Unexpectedly, the horse vanished into thin air.
The spirit's blade cut through empty space. It stumbled forward half a step before catching itself, its posture shifting from offensive to defensive in an instant. The easy confidence it had shown against the woman was gone.
Its eyes swept the clearing slowly becoming more alert than before. It knew sothing was out there. The horse hadn't charged blindly, no creature would do so. In its mind, this could only an one thing… It had been sent. And whatever sent it was still hiding, watching, waiting for the right mont.
The diamond on the spirit's forehead shone faintly as it raised its dagger and turned in a slow circle. Moon's brows furrowed as he watched the woman flee without looking back. 'I should've expected that. All that anger and emotion was just for show.'
He pulled back imdiately. He wasn't going to act as a scapegoat so the woman could escape. His plan had relied on her keeping the spirit occupied while he struck from the shadows. With her running, engaging was no longer worth the risk.
So he aborted.
Moon retreated behind the boulders and waited. The spirit scanned the clearing for several seconds, its blade raised. When nothing erged and no second attack ca, it lowered its guard slightly before taking off after the woman.
Moon followed from a distance, keeping well out of the spirit's detection range while tracking its movent through the rocky terrain. The spirit was fast, covering ground with long, effortless strides that ate up the distance between it and its prey.
The woman didn't get far. Her injuries and the death debuff had sapped too much from her body, and Mirage's doppelganger didn't exactly buy enough ti for her to escape. The spirit caught up to her within a minute.
With nowhere left to run, she turned and fought the spirit once more. But this ti, the spirit wasn't playing.
Its attacks ca faster, harder, each strike aid at ending the fight quickly. It pressed forward relentlessly, giving the woman no room to breathe, or space to reset. The deflections from before were replaced with aggressive combinations that drove her backward step by step.
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