Chapter 56: Trump card Fails

No time to even raise his hand.

The Shadow Cat slammed into him.

Its enormous jaws clamped down on his shoulder with terrifying force.

CRUNCH!

A large chunk of flesh was torn from Jackson’s shoulder.

Blood splattered across the forest floor.

For a moment, the entire team froze.

The Shadow Cat had succeeded.

It had bitten directly into Bitter Rain’s shoulder.

Alchemist Dawn, Locke, and the other members of the team reacted almost instantly.

Shock and dread flashed across their faces.

Just moments ago, they had been discussing the terrifying hunting abilities of the mutated Shadow Cats.

They had warned each other to remain vigilant.

And yet, almost immediately after those words had left Alchemist Dawn’s mouth, one of the very monsters they had been discussing had emerged from the shadows and attacked Bitter Rain.

The timing was almost cruel.

Alchemist Dawn’s fists clenched tightly.

His gaze remained fixed on the bloodthirsty Shadow Cat as its jaws tore through Bitter Rain’s alloyed armor. The metallic plates bent and cracked beneath the creature’s terrifying bite, while fresh blood stained the forest floor.

Regret flooded Alchemist Dawn’s heart.

This is my fault.

He should have warned Bitter Rain more clearly.

He should have made sure the newly awakened hunter understood just how dangerous the Shadow Cats were.

Instead, he had merely issued a casual warning.

Now...

Because of his negligence, humanity might have just lost a promising genius.

The thought made his chest tighten.

But before he could launch himself forward, something strange happened.

The body trapped within the Shadow Cat’s jaws suddenly began to glow.

Then, without warning, it broke apart.

The entire figure transformed into countless particles of light that scattered through the air before completely disappearing.

"What?!"

Someone shouted in disbelief.

The members of the team stared at the empty space left behind.

A moment later, realization struck them simultaneously.

"That was a clone!"

"It was a movement skill!"

Their expressions changed.

Bitter Rain hadn’t been caught.

He had been bait.

Several dozen meters away, behind another enormous ancient tree, space suddenly rippled.

A figure gradually materialized from the distortion.

Jackson stepped out of the shadows. ℴℴ𝘮

His alloyed armor was completely intact.

There wasn’t even a scratch on his body.

Behind the armored mask, however, his expression was as dark as charcoal.

That had been far too close.

Thankfully, he had already mastered the Twin Moon Escape Skill before coming here.

Otherwise, the Shadow Cat’s attack would have landed on his real body.

And the result...

Jackson glanced toward the monster.

He didn’t need to imagine it.

The torn-apart clone had already shown him exactly what would have happened.

Thankfully, all that effort wasn’t wasted.

The Twin Moon Escape Skill had been notoriously difficult to master.

He had spent considerable time practicing it, repeatedly failing before finally managing to grasp its essence.

At the time, he had wondered whether the effort was worth it.

Now, he had his answer.

It had just saved his life.

Jackson’s gaze shifted toward the Shadow Cat.

The creature stood nearly five feet tall.

Its body was slender and graceful, almost feline in its elegance, yet there was nothing graceful about the bloodlust burning within its eyes.

Cold killing intent radiated from it as it scanned the surroundings, searching for the prey it had failed to kill.

Jackson stared at it silently.

A status window appeared before his eyes.

[Shadow Cat - Second Sequence Monster]

[Talent - Heart of the Shadow]

[Spiritual Force - 15]

[Mana/Physique - 18]

Jackson’s eyes narrowed slightly.

As expected.

It was a genuine Second Sequence monster.

And judging from its attributes, it was considerably stronger than most of the creatures he had encountered before.

Compared to the demonic hunter, Samuel Twig, this Shadow Cat was undoubtedly one of the strongest Second Sequence opponents Jackson had ever faced.

Both of its primary attributes were already approaching the mid-Second Sequence.

More importantly...

Heart of the Shadow.

Jackson finally understood why he had failed to detect it before the attack.

The talent had allowed the creature to merge almost perfectly with its surroundings, concealing both its presence and its killing intent.

If he had not possessed the Twin Moon Escape Skill, that first attack could have ended his life.

But now...

It didn’t matter.

Jackson’s eyes gradually became cold.

You’re going to die.

A cruel glint flashed beneath his mask.

It was time to use the Golden Brush.

His spiritual force surged.

The invisible power of the Golden Brush immediately enveloped the Shadow Cat.

Jackson attempted to manipulate its attributes, intending to create an imbalance within its body and force it toward destruction.

But the moment the Golden Brush began working, he felt something completely different.

Resistance.

A powerful resistance.

His expression changed slightly.

The Golden Brush’s power could not proceed smoothly.

It was as though an invisible barrier had suddenly appeared between him and the Shadow Cat’s body.

Jackson frowned.

Magical power.

He immediately understood what was happening.

The Shadow Cat’s magical power was interfering with his ability.

First Sequence monsters did not possess magical power in the same sense.

That was one of the reasons they were so much easier for him to deal with using the Golden Brush.

But Second Sequence creatures were different.

They had already crossed another threshold of life.

Their bodies were infused with magical power, and that power could resist the Golden Brush’s manipulation.

If Jackson wanted to directly alter the Shadow Cat’s attributes, he first needed to drain its magical reserves.

Only when its magical power fell below his own could the Golden Brush forcefully penetrate its defenses.

So that’s the difference between First and Second Sequence.

Jackson’s eyes flickered.

He had already discovered another limitation of his ability.

The Golden Brush was powerful.

But it was not invincible.

Against opponents whose magical power exceeded his own, brute force would not work.

He needed to weaken them first.

Fortunately...

He wasn’t alone.

While Jackson was analyzing the situation, the other members of the team had already recovered from their initial shock.

These people were experienced hunters.