Chương 623: The Predator’s Leap

"Opportunity makes the thief," Luke said, looking over the list of class skills available to him. He was standing beside Eleanor and Layla. The group had split up. Four of them continued across the island, aiming to reach the beach on the other side, while Luke's group went after the side challenge. [Island Challenge: Capture the Flag] Objective: In the marked glowing area, there is a single special flag that may prove very useful in the boat race. (The Island Challenge is optional.)"You seem a lot less terrified now," Eleanor said to Layla.

"If we lose, all of us get thrown outside together, right? I know you'd help me by sharing your item, Professor," Layla said.

"Unlike that guy over there."

"Keep feeding Katarina," Luke said. Layla was carrying the jar with Katarina inside, the carnivorous plant alert and watchful. Luke had told Eleanor he was strategically waiting until he knew exactly which skill to choose, but the truth was much less impressive. He was lost. Every skill he had passed over from level 60 to 85 was still there, waiting for him. [Dark Blood Arrow (Epic)]: The Demonic Predator creates a black arrow born from the power of [Dark Blood] and [Corrupted Blood of Mother Freya].

Upon hitting the target, the arrow explodes into black thorns imbued with the power of [Basic Dark Dash], piercing everything around it. The thorns also carry the power of [Profane Knife Throwing], dealing additional Bleed damage. If an enemy dies from this skill, their corpse transforms into a nest of living thorns, triggering a second thorn explosion that spreads death and chaos across the battlefield.

[Darkness Tentacles (Epic)]: Using the power of [Wraith Form], the Demonic Predator can launch a fragment of dense, dark mist from his hands. Upon hitting the ground or a target, it explodes into a cloud of living shadows, from which darkness tentacles emerge, moving intelligently and dangerously while absorbing the power of [Demonic Blade Dance]. These shadow tentacles rapidly spread across the area, enveloping and temporarily immobilizing enemies while draining their Health Points via [Basic Blood Regeneration].

Trapped by the suffocating grasp of the tentacles, the targets become vulnerable, unable to escape the cruel embrace of the hungry darkness that feeds the predator with the blood of its prey. [Distraction Knife (Rare)]: An illusion and deception skill in which the assassin throws a knife infused with his own mana signature, aura, and visual outline, creating a perfect moving duplicate of himself. The illusion runs, breathes, and emits presence, confusing enemies who rely both on sight and magical detection.

It is used to mislead, misdirect, or set up ambushes, allowing the real assassin to strike from the shadows while his opponents waste their efforts attacking nothing more than the echo of their own death. [Basic Intangibility (Ultra-Rare)]: Allows the assassin to merge his body with the ethereal plane for brief moments, gaining the ability to pass through walls, doors, and other forms of physical barriers.

[Well of Darkness (Epic)]: Expands and strengthens the surrounding shadows, creating a field of dense darkness where sight and perception become distorted. Inside the well, sound dulls and shapes dissolve into twilight, while the assassin moves unseen and unheard. Ideal for executions, ambushes, or vanishings, this ability turns any darkness into a personal domain where the predator reigns supreme and the prey exists only as a trembling whisper of fear.

[Feline Agility (Epic)]: By channeling mana with precise control, the assassin's body becomes lighter and his reflexes sharpen to an exceptional degree, granting the flexible, fluid grace of a hunting cat. This ability heightens balance, reaction speed, movement accuracy, and the capacity to slip through tight spaces, evade blows, and leap great distances with lethal elegance. Every muscle moves in harmony, every step falls silent, like the breath of a predator stalking its prey.

[Paralyzing Knife Throw (Rare)]: By imbuing a knife with mana before throwing it, the Assassin creates a debilitating effect. If the blade strikes the target, there is a chance to inflict temporary slow, hindering movement and reactions. [Cloak of Darkness (Epic)]: The Demonic Predator's body is wrapped in a living mantle of Darkness, shaped from his own shadowy mana. This dense mist merges him with the night, rendering him nearly invisible in low-light environments.

As he moves, faint ripples of shadow trail behind him, remnants of the power surrounding him. While the cloak is active, he becomes one with the darkness, moving silently like a predator lying in wait. [Coagulated Blood (Rare)]: The Assassin accelerates the flow of blood through his body, forcing muscles and reflexes to operate beyond normal limits. While active, it grants +15% movement speed, useful for pursuit, repositioning, or quick escape.

[Trap of Darkness (Rare)]: The Demonic Predator creates a circle of dense shadows on the ground. When prey steps into the area, the darkness condenses into a shadowy jaw lined with teeth, biting down and holding the target in place for a short duration. Ideal for area control and ambushes. The list went on, more skills still available, but those were the ones he saw as real contenders. Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road. Damn it. They're all good.

"Eleanor, when you hit profession level ninety, did the old skills show up again for you too?" he asked.

"They did. And at ninety-five, I got the 'capstone' skill for that profession, right before I evolved it."

"Got it." If both profession and class let you choose old skills again at level ninety, then if race works the same way, Charlie might get the chance to pick one of her old vampire skills too. That was interesting. There was a path branching off from the vampire skills they had left behind, leading to the Vampiric Beast Path skill. I need to talk to Charlie about that when the timing's right. They kept moving, alert.

"No telling how many people landed here. Maybe we were second. Your shark gave us a huge speed advantage," Eleanor said.

"We only lost to the ship." Which was exactly why going after the optional objective while Evangeline's group secured a boat at the final beach was the best play.

"But is it really worth risking the race?" Layla asked.

"It's a race. That's exactly why being ahead matters. Since we're already in second, we can afford a little delay," he replied. Out of all the skills, three stood out most to him: [Well of Darkness (Epic)], [Feline Agility (Epic)], [Cloak of Darkness (Epic)]. If I could, I'd take all three. He stopped staring at the screen. Then he made his choice. [You acquired the Class Skill: Feline Agility] Maybe Azazel is rolling in his grave right now. Or maybe not. Either way, he can know I picked this one on instinct.

Eleanor, Luke, and Layla stopped to rest. Luke climbed up to get a better view of the area. The forest was dense, and night had already fallen. In terms of size, this island was far larger than the last one. Crossing it was going to take time.

"It's completely dark out here, Professor," Layla said.

"Luke's good at seeing in the dark. He'll find the right trail," Eleanor replied.

"I know. I had to put up with him for months in the temple dungeon. And now I'm trapped in another dungeon with him again."

"Fate has a sense of irony," Eleanor said.

"You too, Professor?"

"I was just making an observation." But inwardly, Eleanor laughed. A little later, Luke came back down, and they kept moving. Far off in the forest, high on a hill, they spotted a glow. That was where the flag was. The trees had begun to thin out, letting more moonlight through. Luke ran ahead. He jumped, absurdly high, caught a branch midair, then twisted, threw a knife, and let the thread yank him forward. When he landed, he rolled across the ground with effortless grace.

Along the way, the smaller beasts were already dead, taken down by his kukris before they could even become a problem.

"Is it just me, or do you look like one of those parkour guys who used to go viral online?" Eleanor asked.

"I'm testing the new way my body moves. Look, I can rotate my arm without breaking the bones now," he said.

"That's disgusting. Ugh," Layla said, squeezing her eyes shut.

"We've seen decapitated bodies all over this journey, and that's what bothers you, Layla Pumpkin?"

"D-don't say my last name..." she muttered.

"I... don't like it."

"It suits you perfectly," Eleanor said.

"I agree," Luke said.

"Pumpkins are boring." Layla gave him a flat look.

"You can make fun of it all you want. I got mocked enough for it in school already."

"You two actually match," Eleanor said.

"Pumpkins are basically the symbol of Halloween, aren't they, Luke? And you were born on Halloween."

"Halloween is the worst day for me," Layla said.

"Halloween is the best day for me," Luke replied.

"Yeah... those two really do match," Artemis said.

"I do not match with him in any way," Layla snapped. Suddenly, Luke stopped and looked at a plant.

"Finally. Something useful. That would make a great ingredient for a potion."

"A potion?" Layla and Eleanor said at the same time.

"No potions," Layla said.

"I agree," Eleanor added.

"I don't just make that kind of potion. I make normal potions too."

By morning, they reached the site. Eleanor and Layla were up in the trees, firing arrows. Luke ran below, weaving past the enemies. He had no intention of wasting time in a drawn-out fight. The flag stood at the center of a clearing, surrounded by giant shrimp-like creatures. Luke kept moving, leaping past them. Then he jumped. He went far higher than he normally would have. As he dropped, he slipped just past the claws of a lobster-like beast a split second before they snapped shut around empty air.

He hit the ground in a roll, severed the creature's legs, and kept running. Feline Agility is making an insane difference. He reached the flag and grabbed it. It was green. Luke ripped it free along with the pole. [Island Challenge "Capture the Flag" has been successfully completed] Then he turned and sprinted, launching himself off the hill. Layla and Eleanor came right behind him. The lobsters tried to follow, but the trees got in their way.

"You actually got it?" Layla asked when they dropped into a stream and started running through the water.

"Obviously."

"And what does it do?" Eleanor asked.

"No idea." He used [Identify].

"Now I get why this thing matters."