Of all places, it had to be Margrave!

  Running with all his might, his figure blurred, becoming a living shadow that melded into the darkness. There was no trace of panic on his face, though his heart protested otherwise.

  The trail was made of soil, a little wet, and as his foot pressed against the ground, a mushy sensation rose. If anything, he was fortunate that it wasn’t wet mud or swampy water. That would've been disastrous.

  Clank. Clank.

  Clank.

  While running, he noticed a number of shadows chasing him. There was a sound, or rather, noisy sounds of bone cracking in the air. There was no doubt these were skeletons!

  Undead beings!

  She never warned me about this!

  Recalling Rosaline's attitude, he can’t help but sigh helplessly. Rosaline was a powerful Weaver, at least a Rank 3. How can their standard be equally matched? Supposedly, this was his fault for being so careless.

  Either way, these skeletons did not care about his thoughts and chased him relentlessly, as though they had no life left.

  The light, I heard skeletons are weak to light!

  His speed didn’t slow down in the slightest—in fact, it was getting faster as he neared the giant, bright tree. At the same time, he can’t help but let out a deep gasp.

  What is going on? Where is this source of agility coming from? Ulrich's boot sprawled in the wet soil, his eyes staring at the horde of skeletons clamoring his way with a deep frown.

  There was only one source he could think of—Blessings of the Shadow!

  Enhanced vision in the dark, minor night vision, and improved agility… Just these three effects from a single talent were almost cheating. However, he didn’t voice this complaint and tapped his chest thrice, an expression of his appreciation to the Great Mother.

  By now, Ulrich was extremely close to the bright tree. Moving closer to about twenty meters, he froze.

  Fuck. That’s not a tree, is it…

  The bright tree, which resembles a modified jellyfish emitted a yellow light. Back then, he was far, so its details were obscured by the radiant glow. But getting closer, he could see it.

  There was a black ‘face’ carved into the top of the treetop, and the moment he froze, it had sensed his presence.

  Suddenly, you guys are quite cute. He chuckled, his leg took an L-turn away from the horde of skeletons and the big tree.

  Big, bright tree? Its face was so ugly he couldn’t even bear to look at it. Even that Abominations had a prettier face than this!

  Not far from his current position, there was a giant crumbled wall. Perhaps it had come from another, massive building in the past. Either way, Ulrich dived toward a blind spot away from the horde of skeletons and the tree.

  According to Rosaline’s brief introduction to the shadow realm, the creatures here do not discriminate between a human, and that of other species. Using this knowledge, he hoped that they would fight one another.

  Skeletons and undead creatures are weak against light… So, light should be their natural enemy.

  And he was right.

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  The skeleton didn’t pay Ulrich's presence any mind after seeing the big tree, as though he were a pest that happened to waltz in their home. As for the black-face tree, however, its fate was not so great.

  The tree light became a beacon of hatred for the skeletons, who armed themselves with weapons of all kinds—mace, swords, even bows and arrows. They rallied together, forming a tidal wave that bashed against the trunks of the black-face tree.

  In response, its ‘tentacles’ like vines produce an even brighter light, followed by a sizzling sound that rumbled in the air and the smell of charred bones.

  Ulrich stood back, watching from the sideline.

  This tree… It has jelly-like electrocution power, as well as light-based talents similar to the Rune of Light?

  He had learn of some rudimentary biology, as well as skimmed through the record of Bestiary within the Sanctuary’s library. And yet, seeing it personally shocked him no less.

  This is what “All beings possess spirituality” means… What a terrifying world.

  With a sigh, Ulrich activated his shadow vision. Ever since that awakening, he’d stop using it, as there was no purpose in doing so.

  Plus, the side effect of shadow vision leaves him weakened, going as far as losing his sight. And in this foreign realm, this was a great disadvantage. However, his purpose here is to collect runes, not sightseeing.

  How can there be substantial benefits without some risk? He took in a deep breath and got up from the crumbled wall.

  His pupil was dilated, emitting a deep starlight. The Blessings of the Shadow already had this trait of imbuing light into his eyes, and the Shadow Vision only made it more radiant.

  In this moment, countless lines appeared in his vision. These were shadow lines, the true form of ‘shadows’. In the shadow realm, ordinary ‘shadow’ was more tangible, and with the aid of his shadow vision, it became entirely visible.

  Staring at the skeleton holding a short sword, he waited. Just as the black-face tree pulses with light, Ulrich's mouth mimicked a sound:

  Bang!

  A single arrow made of shadow shot forward, piercing the ‘skull’ of the sword-holding skeleton.

  As the skull was pierced, not a sound came—it was strange. This was because Ulrich shot the shadow beneath the skeleton, not its physical appearance. Thus, no sound arrived.

  I can feel it… My vital runes have condensed slightly just from a single kill. He smiled in silence.

  Not a single skeleton noticed the abnormal deaths of their comrades. All their focus was on cutting down the giant tree that stood in their way, and Ulrich was glad to see their fervent effort.

  Bang!

  Another arrow flew, and another skeleton died.

  Ulrich relied on his Shadow Vision to see the tangible shadow, then Dark Arrow to attack that shadow, allowing him to ‘kill’ the target without striking it physically.

  This combination was something he’d thought of before, but never had the chance to put it into practice. Theory to him, was useless if not proven effective. As such, this result left him satisfied.

  At the same time, he noted another passive effect stemming from Blessings of the Shadow.

  I have enhanced spirituality… I can’t tell if this is a normal talent to have or not. This was the fourth known effect that he assumed was from this single talent.

  Either way, the more powerful, the better. This blessing in his eyes is one of his trump cards, not including all his other secrets.

  After the tenth skeleton, his finger trembled. Staring at the horde of skeletons that was much less than when it started, Ulrich let out a deep sigh full of regret.

  My spirituality, despite being enhanced, is only capable of so much. What a shame. He had a revolver on his person. But the idea of shooting it and risk angering an entire army of undead was unwise.

  With that, Ulrich slouched against the wall, letting the skirmish fade in the background. Then, there was silence, perhaps his brain simply filtered the noise, though it could just be spirituality weakness.

  After a minute, he opened his eyes—the battle behind him was still ongoing.

  “Wow, that’s a big horde of skeletons if I’d ever seen one myself.”

  It was a male voice, a dense and stud tone that contrasted the sharp metallic clashing in the background. Ulrich woke up from his stupor and looked in the direction of this voice.

  “Who are you?”

  It was a man, dressed in a ceremonial cassock, the same one Father Lorel wore. However, this one was blue in color, though not bright enough to escape the shade of darkness in the shadow realm.

  A priest? In the Shadow Realm?

  Noticing Ulrich's scrutiny, he smiled and bowed, "The name is Silas, Silas of Autora."