"Raightmare Voidling | Subspecies: CollectorExpected Potential: E to E+on of choice: Cws, StrengthKnown weaknesses: Sense of SightOne of the few Nightmares born with eaew Outbreak. Out of the usual starting trio, Collectors are the most dangerous in a fight. They are fast, strong and durable. Only their sense of sight stops them from being the ultimate predators of the Night that no one escape from. Unfortunately, they are usually supported by Scouters, thus rendering their disadvantage null during a pursuit. To stay out of their path, it is wise to not have any dead bodies in your viity."~ry in Leo's Bestiary. Opened right before Collector's first attack.

  Forcefully stopped, you say? Leo snorted, gng at the boiling corpse o him that, at this point, already turned into a puddle of blood and steaming flesh. There was nothing forceful about it. Just pure idiod the power of the the big fshlight above.

  Leo shook his head. He really didn't expect the Nightmare to go after him. Those beasts were supposed to be creatures of the Night, a faly proved by the sunlight's effe them. Yet, for some reason, this single Collector decided to push past the fre and right into the Sun just to kill him.

  A lesson learned, only for me though. Leo chuckled, averting his eyes from the corpse. Evidently those fuckers are willing to give up their lives just to have a shot at taking down another survivor. Some messed up shit, but better learn about it now than ter...

  As Leo's gaze passed over the hole leading into the mall, he shuddered. At least only one decided to forfeit its life. No way I could have survived against two or more... Hell, I must have burhrough a shit tone of Ether just to live through this.

  And wasn't that the truth...

  Despite starting this fight with Limit Break at half power, Leo pushed it to one hundred and fifty pert ohe beast got too close for his liking. He maintai and Reinfort until the Collector spped him away, thus sacrifig over a hundred of Ether if his quick calcutions weren't wrong.

  And to think I almost had enough for the mutation. Leo sighed. Not that it really matters. Without Limit Break, I would've been dead. Some Ether and additional strain on my soul is a low price to pay instead...

  Swiping the System's message away, Leo let the one e forward.

  Collector (LVL: 21) sin | Experience awarded | 53 Ether gained

  Huh? Leo's eyes widened just a bit. Twenty-one? Bloody hell, how? Were they born with a higher level, or is it something else? I mean, there are hundreds of corpses inside, but no way that's enough. Not for so many Nightmares...

  He shook his head. Nothing good would e from thinking about it. There was no way to find the answer now, and Leo had plenty of better things to worry about. Somehow, Nightmares' horrifying growth speed was low on the list of his troubles...

  At least I got back almost half of the Ether I lost. Not bad overall. Leed, cheg the total number again. Still not enough for the mutation, but nothing a dozen or two of Voidlings 't ge.

  With that, the notification disappeared, only to be repced by another one, a much more wele one.

  Level 16 reached. Css and Racial attributes have been distributed. Please assign your 3 free attributes.

  Suppose a level twenty-o had to be enough t me over the edge. Leo hummed, slowly sidering his choices. I could go for the same distribution as before. Or maybe put more into Might if this fight taught me anything...

  Yet even if the prospect of being harder to kill sounded quite o Leo's ears, his gaze hovered over the Mind attribute. Forty-six with all effectiveness boosts. With one more ing from css and race each, I only wo more for assion...

  At that moment, the choice that came with each level disappeared. Leo remembered the burst of power that appeared with the st assion, the differeween a Mortal and a Supernatural. Nothing could pare to that, definitely not a few points in Might just to make his trip back a bit easier.

  System. Put all points into Mind.

  At once, every single ounce of Essenside Leo's soul came to a halt. His mind cleared, focused entirely ohical energy capable of anything. And then, like never before, his thoughts touched the frozen power that seemed so far, yet closer than ever.

  To Leo's surprise, his Essence didn't run or try to escape his phantom hold. Instead, it iwined with his thoughts, with his mind, strengthening the e betweewo to heights he never expected to see, to feel.

  And just like that, the process finished, Leo's Essence resuming its zy flow inside his soul. However, the newly formed e never disappeared; his mind now stantly iwined with the energy as it waited for a and.

  Then have it…

  With naught but a thought, Leo summoned his Esseside. Before he could even blink, it rushed out, f a perfect, solid crimson orb hanging above his open palm.

  "Holy…" Leo muttered as he ordered the orb to ge shapes each sed. Not once did it waver, and not even for a moment did it require direct tact with his skin for more Esseo flow into it. "So much trol…"

  Not waiting another sed, Leo gave his soul aug, and shadows dived out. A long spear formed, floating in the air without any linking it back to his body. Hell, it even ged shapes just like the orb did.

  This is the step. Leo blinked before hurling the spear forward. At first, everything seemed alright, yet ohe struct passed a few meters, it exploded, bursting into a cloud of shadows.

  Despite the failure, Leo had a wide, bloody grin on his face. The assion of Mind attribute fixed an issue with Creation he had wao correct ever since he received this teique. That it didn't work perfectly on the first try didn't matter at all.

  Best choice I had made sihis bullshit started. Leo admitted as he went through almost every skill he knew. Even Decoy, which he used only once before, barely took a few seds to form. He didn't even have to focus too hard on i for the illusion to slither out of his body.

  And what do you have to say, System? Leo called out, finally dispersing all of his creations. Even if all of this took barely a minute or two, the clock was still tig after all.

  gratution! Your Mind asded past the Mortal Tier (50). Sed Supernatural tier obtained.

  Thanks to your Mind asding to the Supernatural Tier, your Essence trol skill has evolved. gratutions! Soul Arts skill gained.

  Soul Arts (Rare)Like every stroke of a painter's brush, with enough dedication, every single move of your Essence also bee an art. For Soul Arts, imagination is the limit, and now your mind and soul are w together to break past it.Effects:This skill greatly improves the trol over your Essence. Soul Arts remembers everything. The efficy of this skill improves with your Mind and Soul.

  Soul Arts... Simir to what the System said during the awakening. Leo noted, cheg the description again. Seems like it's ected to what I felt during assion... No idea what 'Soul Arts remembers everything' is supposed to mean though. Ahing to figure out ter...

  Leo shook his head, letting the skill notification fade away. He waited a moment for the o e and wasn't disappointed when a message he had previously ignored returned.

  The System has acquired enough information about Wolford's Graveyard. Do you wish to dispy the collected assessment now?

  Might as well. Doubt you will have anything new for me here. Not with this kind of message.

  Wolford's Graveyard | Threat: D- | Status: Fledging Nightmare Factory | Corruption: Stage I (Accelerated)

  I stand corrected...

  Leo swallowed hard. The threat ranking alone should have earned such a rea from him, but for some reason, that wasn't it. Instead, his gaze stayed glued to the Corruption part, a pit f in his stomach.

  Stage one. Accelerated. Leo didn't know why, didn't know how, but both he and Hunter, somehow, deep inside, uood what this meant. Darkness. Ever spreading darkness, ing what remained of the light... Army, legions of Nightmares...

  'Void. Death.' Hunter added, earning a shiver from Leo. Those two simple words reverberated through his mind as images fshed before his eyes. Images of horrors his imagination wasn't capable of juring.

  This is bad. Very fug bad. Leo gritted his teeth, rising from the ground even as half his body throbbed in pain. Any idea how long it will take for things tress to that point?

  Hunter screeched, denying everything. The beast once more only knew as much as Leo. Disappointing but not surprising at all.

  Again, would be nice if you woke up Nikra. Leo scowled, stopping right at the hole leading bato the mall. This pce is a tig bomb, and I o know how to defuse it.

  Yet, like each time before, the Old One didn't answer. Only Hunter's soft growling filled his mind, with Nikra o be seen.

  Shit! Leo hissed, walking away from the lone pair of violet eyes watg him from the darkness of the office below. They didn't move even an inch, evidently not wanting to share the Collector's fate...

  'Return. Must.' Hunter growled again, f Leo's speeding thoughts to e to a halt. The beast most likely reized that walking in circles, both outside and inside, wouldn't help anyone.

  I know. I know... Leo squeezed his eyes shut, taking a deep breath. I just don't have a single idea how to deal with this. s I take. Tainted Wastends, probably too. But this, Huhis is beyond us, beyond anyone here. And I bet you that there are hundreds, if not thousands, more pces like this one...

  This time, Hunter remained silent.

  Leo sighed as he reached the edge of the roof, a few Vetilim webs ready to carry him to a building oher side of the road. No matter how the System's assessment of the Graveyard troubled him, Hunter was right. They had to go back.

  't do much more than warn them anyway. We are all too weak to do anything about this pce. Leo admitted even if it hurt him to do so. Weak didn't survive in this world, and if nothing ged, he and everyone he cared about would die.

  Adapt or die, Leo. Adapt or die. There is nothing iween.