Chapter 170: The Beast Lord’s Domain

Luke was surrounded. The Beast Lord had coiled its enormous body around the very ground he stood on. He knew there was no winning this fight. His eyes scanned the streets, the alleys, the crumbling buildings—even the debris at his feet. His mind raced, exploding with possibilities, but every scenario led to the same end: death. Prolonging the battle by even a minute would seal his fate. The Beast Lord watched him, its slit eyes gleaming, its face almost twisted into a smile.

He had no choice. Luke improvised. He focused everything he had and hurled a kukri straight at one of the creature’s fangs. The serpent roared in pain and lunged forward, furious. Luke detonated the mist. A silent explosion.

Black smoke engulfed the area in seconds. The serpent’s jaws snapped on empty air. It crushed an entire house. Spat rubble. Nothing. It began spinning, thrashing its tail, demolishing everything nearby. It sniffed. Tried to sense vibrations in the air. But the mist smothered everything. No sound. No scent. No trace. It froze, narrowed its eyes. Its forked tongue flicked through the air, searching. Then it turned and slithered away, disappearing into the city, hunting down its prey elsewhere.

***

Minutes passed. Luke waited, motionless, until he was certain the monster had moved on. A thin thread of black mist seeped out from a narrow hole beneath the rubble. Luke reformed into human shape, gasping for air. He knew that damn thing could track by scent too. But mist had no scent.

He slipped into the ruins of a house, pressed his back to the wall, and melted into the shadows, waiting. Outside, the serpent howled again, still searching. He stayed perfectly still for a long time, not even daring to breathe too loudly. Only when the sound of the creature finally faded did he allow himself to move. From his hiding spot, he spotted movement. Creatures were emerging from the ruins scattered across the streets.

[Vigilant Dead – Lvl 29]

Undead. Clad in silver armor. Their movements were slow but coordinated. Luke recognized them—he’d fought similar enemies when he crossed the wall with Allison. Other beasts began to appear: hyenas, black-furred buffalo, twisted-horned monsters. They prowled the streets like they were on patrol.

Only then did Luke finally allow himself to exhale. At first, he’d assumed he’d just been unlucky, running into the serpent so early. But the more he watched, the more obvious it became. He was wrong. This wasn’t chance. The entire city was that creature’s territory. It wasn’t passing through. It was guarding. Controlling. The serpent’s presence was a constant—like a watchdog patrolling the borders of an invisible prison.

That monster will never let anyone near the third mechanism.

And it wasn’t just the mechanism. There was the castle too—the exit from the tutorial. The serpent would never allow any group to reach it—especially not a large one. Even if the survivors teamed up, it would crush them before they got close. Luke glanced down and let out a long sigh. At some point, they would have to kill the Beast Lord… if they ever wanted to return to Earth.

“The eyes on that snake were terrifying,” Artemis said.

Luke wiped his face with his sleeve. The creature’s drool still clung to his hair and armor. He looked down at himself—soaked in slime—and grimaced at the stench.

“Perfect. Just what I needed.”

***

After hours of hiding in the same spot, the serpent had finally moved far enough away for Luke to escape. The city was still an unpredictable threat, and he decided to retreat to the forest. At least there, the number of potential enemies was smaller. He pulled a wooden barrel of water from his necklace—he needed to clean himself. The serpent’s saliva still clung to his skin and armor.

“Were that snake’s eyes really that terrifying?” he asked, glancing down at the pendant around his neck.

“Yes! For a second, I thought we were both going to get swallowed and die together.”

He narrowed his eyes, suspicious. “Artemis… didn’t you say you couldn’t see?”

Silence. Then a faint gulp, like someone swallowing hard.

“You lied,” Luke said, his voice low. “You told me you were blind.”

“Alright, alright! You got me. I can see, okay?” she admitted.

Luke froze. “So every time I… got naked to bathe… you saw?”

“Yes. Every time. Hehe.”

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“Why did you just say ‘hehe’?” he asked, gripping the necklace tighter.

Artemis began to panic.

“Come on! I’m an ancient woman trapped in a magical necklace! Watching a young, handsome man shirtless is one of the few joys I have left!”

“You perverted necklace!” Luke growled, squeezing the pendant even harder.

“HELP! POLICE! HE’S HARASSING ME! HE’S HARASSING ME!” Artemis screamed, her voice echoing through the forest.

“Shut up and stop talking nonsense!”

Out of patience, Luke yanked the necklace off his neck and threw it to the ground. Then he took his shirt and tossed it over the pendant.

“This isn’t fair!” Artemis shouted, her voice muffled beneath the fabric. “I deserve happiness too!”

Luke walked away in silence, ignoring her loud protests. Just to be safe, he kept going a little farther before starting his bath.

***