Awakened Talent: 10,000 Exp Converter! - Chapter 161

Chapter 161: Mist Stalker
Chapter 161: Mist Stalker

Despite the incoming attack, Vincent stood still, unmoving like a statue. He waited until the danger was only inches away from him before finally making a move.

In that fleeting moment, his sharp eyes caught the full appearance of the primal predator.

Four-legged creatures prowling in the mist, their sleek, silvery fur shimmering like liquid metal under dim light. Their glowing yellow eyes burned through the fog like eerie lanterns, and their razor-sharp claws left trails of glowing light with every swipe.

Mist Stalker Tier 2 (3★)

Vincent tilted his head slightly, evading the glinting claws by mere millimeters. In the same motion, he launched his fist toward the beast. However, before his attack could land, the Mist Stalker vanished back into the dense fog, as if it were a ghost.

Squeak!

Suddenly, his umbral rats let out sharp, panicked squeaks, their sounds echoing in the haze. Then, just as quickly as the noise came, it was gone. A chilling silence followed, signaling the inevitable.

The connection between Vincent and his summoned umbral rats was severed.

They were dead.

Mochi, who had been watching everything from the sidelines despite the thick veil of mist, couldn’t help but speak.

“Your pets are dead. Are you not going to do anything?” Mochi’s tone was casual, almost mocking.

But Vincent said nothing. He kept his gaze fixed deep within the swirling fog, his expression unreadable.

With his finely tuned mental perception, he could see what others could not. Amidst the chaos of the mist, he detected a group of Origin Warriors. They were struggling to fend off a relentless pack of Mist Stalkers, their glowing eyes circling like predators closing in on prey.

“Stand your ground! Don’t you dare think of running! If any of you cowards try to flee, I’ll make sure to end your career myself!” a furious voice bellowed.

“B-But, party leader! Our healer is already injured and exhausted! Even Junjun’s completely drained of energy!”

“Shut up! I said we’re clearing this labyrinth before anyone else, and that’s final!”

In the midst of the chaos, one of the party members stationed at the rear suddenly noticed movement. His voice wavered as he shouted.

“Leader, there’s someone coming from behind us…”

No sooner had he spoken than Vincent emerged from the thick fog, his presence commanding and unshaken.

The party turned to face him, their wary gazes scanning him from head to toe.

Vincent’s attention, however, was elsewhere. His eyes locked onto the figure of a brown-haired woman kneeling on the ground. She wore a clown mask and clutched her injured shoulder in obvious pain.

He recognized that mask. He recognized that figure.

As the group continued to fend off the sneaky Mist Stalkers while cautiously observing him, Vincent softly called out.

“Clauny?”

The clown-masked woman slowly turned her head toward him. Behind the mask, her eyes widened slightly with curiosity and confusion.

“Do you know him?!” asked the tanned-skinned man at the front, his buzzed haircut and rugged features giving him an intimidating appearance.

“I-I don’t know him, Leader…” Clauny stammered, her voice shaky. She didn’t recognize Vincent, likely because he wasn’t hiding his true appearance anymore.

The man, Boscauk, narrowed his eyes at Vincent and growled, “Who the hell are you? And how do you know our healer?”

Vincent ignored the question entirely, his gaze never leaving Clauny.

He remembered her clearly. Clauny was part of the first party he had joined during his visit to the Blackbite Rat Labyrinth. She had been the one to invite him to join their group back then. Her kindness had left an impression, and he had never forgotten her.

As Vincent’s thoughts wandered, the man wielding the large shield let out a pained cry. The shield slipped from his grasp as he fell to the ground.

“Argh!”

“Matthew!” someone shouted.

Boscauk tore his gaze from Vincent and turned back to Clauny. His face twisted in anger as he barked, “Stop kneeling there! Go and heal him now!”

Vincent’s frown deepened. Clauny was visibly injured, her body trembling from exhaustion. Yet Boscauk showed no concern for her state, his tone as harsh as ever.

Vincent couldn’t help but wonder what had happened to Clauny’s previous party. While his time with them had been brief, he was certain that Jokyr, her former leader, had been a responsible and considerate leader.

Despite her pain, Clauny gritted her teeth and tried to stand. Her hands trembled as she braced herself against the ground, but her strength gave out, and she collapsed back onto her knees.

Boscauk sneered, his frustration boiling over. Without hesitation, he kicked her in the side.

“Useless!”

“Ugh!” Clauny gasped, clutching her side as pain radiated through her body.

Vincent’s expression darkened further. His fists clenched at his sides, though Boscauk was too caught up in his tantrum to notice.

The short young man with long bangs covering his eyes flinched as Boscauk turned to him next.

“You! Get over there and give Matthew a recovery potion!”

“Y-Yes, Leader!”

The young man, Mauro, scrambled toward the fallen shield-wielder, Matthew, who was being protected by another party member desperately slashing at the Mist Stalkers.

Boscauk’s attention snapped back to Clauny, who was still struggling to catch her breath.

“If you weren’t so damn useless, I would’ve cleared this labyrinth ages ago!” he snarled. Raising his foot, he prepared to stomp on her.

But before he could follow through, a sudden gust of wind surged toward him, forcing him to stagger backward.

“W-What the—?!” Boscauk exclaimed, his voice tinged with surprise.

When he looked up, a shadowy figure loomed over Clauny, shielding her from further harm. She slowly raised her head, and though she couldn’t recognize him, she saw Vincent standing tall in front of her.

“Are you alright?” Vincent asked, his tone soft yet steady, his gaze piercing.

Clauny hesitated, her voice weak as she replied, “I-I’m fine. Please, don’t worry about me. If you interfere, you’ll only offend our leader.”

“Stay still,” Vincent said firmly. He pulled out a recovery potion and extended it toward her.

“W-What are you doing?” Clauny asked, bewildered. The stranger’s actions confused her even more. Why was he helping her? Why did he know her?

“Drink it,” Vincent commanded, his voice leaving no room for argument.

As Clauny stared at the potion, still frozen in confusion, Boscauk finally regained his composure. His face contorted in fury as he bellowed, “You bastard! Who the hell do you think you are? Giving a recovery potion to that useless healer?!”

Vincent’s head turned slowly. His icy glare locked onto Boscauk, freezing the man in place. A chill ran down Boscauk’s spine as the atmosphere grew tense.

The tension was shattered by another pained scream. The man wielding a sword was overwhelmed by Mist Stalkers.

“L-Leader…” Mauro stammered, his voice laced with fear.

Boscauk turned toward the source of the scream, his face paling as he took in the sight. Dozens of glowing yellow eyes stared back at him from the thick mist.

It wasn’t just in front of them. The eerie lights surrounded them completely, cutting off all paths of escape.

Boscauk instinctively took a step back, only to stumble into a puddle of sizzling green liquid.

“Argh! Fuck!” he cursed, the acid burning his leg.

“L-Leader! We have to leave!” Matthew cried out, his voice frantic.

“I said we’re not leaving! Anyone who tries to run will answer to me later!” Boscauk roared.

He turned back to Vincent, pointing a shaking finger at him. “And you—”

But his words were cut short as the Mist Stalkers surged forward, their glowing eyes narrowing with intent to kill.

At that moment, Vincent released a fiery draconic energy that roared to life around him.

He had activated his Legendary-grade skill: Infernal Dragon’s Wrath!

The Mist Stalkers froze mid-attack, their high-pitched screeches echoing as their minds were crushed by the overwhelming pressure.

Within seconds, they disintegrated into light, their forms vanishing into nothingness as system notifications flooded Vincent’s vision.

You have successfully killed a Mist Stalker Tier 2(3★)!

You have successfully killed a Mist Stalker Tier 2(2★)!

You have successfully killed…

Vincent simply ignored the system’s notifications before turning to Boscauk who had a stunned expression. Nevertheless, he was satisfied by the results of his Legendary-grade skill.

Although he knew it was a strong legendary-grade skill, he didn’t expect that it would kill the Mist Stalkers with his sheer pressure alone.

At this moment, Boscauk had no idea what to say or react. But needless to say, his expression was dark.

He didn’t expect that this nobody was actually a powerful Origin Warrior!

And he already offended him. In addition to that, this powerful individual seemed like had a connection with the useless healer.

Vincent then ignored Boscauk and faced Clauny, who also had a shocked expression beneath her clown mask.

“Are you alright now? Can you stand up?” He offered his hand.

Clauny hesitated for a second before accepting his hand and stood up.