The crystal was visible from afar, even despite the thick fog behind which everything was hidden, as Wain could not see the tree that was near to him. However, the path to the crystal was not short and extremely dangerous.

Step. Step. Step.historical

Wain slowly stepped forward while looking around as it seemed for some time now that someone was following him, but he couldn't figure out what exactly it was.

"Hehehe, I can't believe someone is finally here." Suddenly an insidious voice rang out.

"Damn, he's a human. That's really rare."

Whoooooosh.

Several shadows burst out of the mist as they stood opposite Wain. They were three humanoid lizards with dark scales and woody armor. Their amber eyes with vertical pupils stared at Wain while their long tongues swung from side to side among their razor-sharp teeth.

"Who are you, bastards?" Wain frowned as his aura intensified.

"We...? You come into our territory and dare to ask us such questions?" One of the Lizards smirked.

"Your territory? Isn't Fifth Chronicle one in charge here? You're just petty pipsqueaks!" Wain uttered as he waved his hand in a mocking manner.

"Argh! We are enough to deal with you! You're only in the First Stage!" The Lizard exclaimed before pouncing on Wain.

,m The Lizard was instantly in front of Wain as sharp claws rained down on him. At the same time, the dark sword appeared in Wain's hand as he blocked the attack. Then the second Lizard approached Wain with its mouth wide open. Wain's pupils narrowed as he ducked sharply, so the second Lizard flew over him.

"Don't forget about me!" The third Lizard exclaimed as a thick tail slammed into Wain's stomach.

The impact threw Wain aside with a powerful shockwave that scattered the fog around as Wain broke several trees with his back before stopping.

"Fuck... That wasn't a weak blow." Wain muttered while wiping the blood flowing from his mouth.

"Hmm? Can you stand on your feet?" The third Lizard asked with a dazed look.

"Huh, you're a pretty tough guy." The second Lizard said with a fluttering tongue.

"But, that won't do you any good! No one can handle us when we fight together!" The first Lizard exclaimed as they turned into shadows.

The lizards appeared around Wain and simultaneously attacked. Wain swung his sword as he blocked two attacks, but the third hit him again, so his face contorted in pain.

"Die!" The lizards exclaimed as three tails struck at different points.

Wain was tossed aside and buried under the ashy sand that was partially covered in his blood.

'Huh, they got you pretty good. Can't you handle three amphibians?' Gladius grinned.

'Shut up!' Wain internally exclaimed as he pounded the ground with his fist, 'I just need to change tactics.'

Whoooooosh.

Wain stood up, returned the sword to the seal, and his eyes sparkled.

Waves of energy emitted from him cast ash aside, and his hair turned as gray as the mantle that appeared on him with the dense eye patch.

'You haven't used my power in quite some time. Has that moment really come? The Blind Sorcerer spoke with a sly smile on his face.

"Yeah..." Wain muttered as a gray, unremarkable book appeared in his hands.

[The Art of True Illusion Book (Unique)

This book belonged to a wizard who specialized in creating illusions. He was incredibly successful at it but never made it to his final goal - to create an illusion that would surpass reality.

Create copies of your attacks that are half the power of the original.

Sometimes illusion looks more believable than reality]

'Just what you need. I knew your weapon would be something interesting.' Wain pronounced to himself before opening the book.

In front of him appeared a magical circle from which an energy arrow flew out, then the symbols on the pages shone brightly, and next to the arrow appeared two more similar ones that rushed towards the Lizards.

"What!?" The Lizards exclaimed as they jumped aside, but the arrows continued to chase them.

"That's not all!" Wain smirked before spreading his arms out to his sides.

Tremble. Tremble. Tremble.

A powerful stream of white energy burst out of Wain that made space tremble as a huge magical circle with many ancient runs appeared behind him. Ten projectiles burst out of it that as though missiles were headed towards the Lizards, and seconds later, their number had tripled.

"Ahahahahahaha! You motherfuckers are finished!" Wain laughed with an evil look while the projectiles attacked the Lizards from all sides.

The Lizards tried to defend themselves, but they just couldn't handle such pressure, so some projectiles managed to break through their scales and seriously wound them.

"Stop! Don't kill us!" The Lizard cried out with a frightened look while blood flowed from its mouth.

The other lizards didn't even have the strength to speak as they expended all their energy to survive.

"Huh, why would I do that? Don't give me that crap, just die with dignity!" Wain smirked while covering his hands with white energy.

"But...! We can...!"

Bam.

Wain's hands turned into a blur as the Lizard's head exploded.

"It doesn't matter anymore. I don't need anything from you except your Souls." Wain muttered with an ice-cold look as he removed the form.

Blue Souls flew out of those Lizards, they weren't very big, but they contained a lot of energy.

"Great. I can finally get stronger. If I had second Torch lit during my fight with Prima, I could probably handle her with ease." Wain muttered, pulled the Souls to him, and crushed them.

'Damn it, Wain! Why did you do that?" Gladius exclaimed in a worried voice.

'What are you talking about?' Wain muttered inwardly while in confusion.

Tremble. Tremble. Tremble.

[You have absorbed three Souls and gained some of the Soul Essence.]

[Your First Torch is 100% full!]

[The ignition process to activate the Second Torch begins!]

[During this process, you will release a huge amount of energy that can attract dangerous creatures, so it is better to be in a safe place.]