Chapter 459: Gorgeous Dream
Relying on the extreme luck created by Lucky Burst, the meteor he manifested purely through his own spiritual power actually avoided him with perfect precision and slammed straight into Cosmo Isaac, who had been right next to him.
Compared to the Heaven-Averting Starquake with its three-kilometer diameter, this one was admittedly miniature, but in a way, it counted as Wayne Sturwell's own version of the Heaven-Averting Starquake.
Beside him, Ignatius Woods—who had been helping the dual-headed electronic dragon pin down the other two attackers—stared wide-eyed in utter shock. He had seen a flame-wreathed meteor drop from the sky, passing cleanly around Wayne and landing squarely on Cosmo Isaac's head. Wayne Sturwell simply pressed one hand against the brim of his top hat, looking down with calm indifference—as if everything had unfolded exactly as he intended.
In that moment, Ignatius faintly sensed something divine, as if the man before him had already stepped into the realm of the half-human, half-god.
Meanwhile, the hidden space collapsed after the meteor's impact. A web-like crack appeared high in the sky and quickly spread. A clear shattering sound echoed in Wayne's ears.
Within moments, the dark, crumbling alley vanished, replaced once again by the unlit, vine-covered, faintly eerie white three-story house.
The road around them was littered with meteor fragments as if struck by bombardment. Cosmo Isaac lay on his back on the pavement, still alive thanks to the extraordinary durability granted by demonic transformation—though just barely. Struggling to rise, he found Wayne already aiming Boudica the Arrow Goddess's Wrist Crossbow at him.
During his first hunt, Wayne had drawn out the soul of the werewolf Mason, transferred it into a vial, and stored it in his inventory.
He hesitated not at all. Just as Cosmo opened his eyes with terror on his face, Wayne pulled the trigger. Empowered by Beowulf, a brilliant shaft of light streaked forth, piercing both Cosmo and the ground beneath him, carving a deep crater.
A horned demon-shaped soul floated above the crossbow, silently cursing Wayne.
At the same time, the game interface displayed new prompts:
[You have killed the transcendent-rank hunter Cosmo Isaac (lv84). You gained 276000 experience.]
[Hunt Thirty-Six Guilty Souls: 2/36.]
Another successful hunt. Wayne no longer felt the excitement of his first; he simply turned, face calm, toward the remaining two enemies.
The revolver Retribution appeared silently in his hand. He removed the magazine, poured out the jammed rounds, then reloaded one bullet after another before leveling the gun toward them.
Both were also fallen ones, each capable of transformation. The long-haired woman turned into a winged, eagle-headed sura; the northern giant transformed into a horned demon. The mission required him to repel all attackers—mercy was optional, but unnecessary.
Seeing Cosmo die threw them into panic. They immediately tried to flee, only for Ignatius Woods to forcibly hold them back with his own life.
Silver light blossomed as one sanctified bullet after another fired forward, dazzling with brilliance.
With a final short scream, the boss-rank long-haired woman collapsed. The transcendent-rank giant hesitated as if to beg for mercy, but all he saw was the dark muzzle of Retribution.
Bang!
A Heartbeat Echo round punched through his skull and exited cleanly from the other side.
[You have killed transcendent-rank hunter Andre Clara (lv74). You gained 183200 experience.]
Wayne let out a long breath. Only now was the battle truly over.
The interface chimed again:
[Emergency Mission: Protect Ignatius Woods — Completed]
[You gained 1,200,000 experience.]
[You gained 5000 Vecktas.]
[You gained a random transcendent item; Ignatius Woods can craft it for you.]
Aside from the experience, the remaining rewards had not yet been delivered, but Wayne was confident he wouldn't be cheated. He dismissed Retribution, dispelled the dual-headed electronic dragon, and didn't spare a glance at the corpses before turning back to Ignatius Woods.
"It's safe now. What do you want to do next?"
Ignatius, no longer arrogant as before, now looked at Wayne with deep reverence. Grateful, he said:
"I will honor my promise. But the remaining 5000 Vecktas must be withdrawn from the bank—I don't have any cash on me. As for the transcendent item I promised, I'll send someone to notify you when it's finished."
He hesitated. "For now… could you take me into that building across the street to check the situation? I'll pay you for the assistance."
"This one's on the house." Wayne shook his head. With his Observation Haki, he could tell the three-story building held danger, but nothing that could threaten him. Greed was fine, but excessive greed was beneath him.
Ignatius's gratitude deepened. While passing Cosmo's body, he bent down and picked up a broken small box and handed it to Wayne:
"This is an unknown artifact of the Alchemy and Craftsman Church—Gorgeous Dream. It can create a hidden space and alter the environment to form a terrain advantage. Its drawbacks are still unclear. It's damaged now, but if you can gather the materials, I can repair it for you free of charge."
Wayne accepted it with thanks. The material resembled wood but was lighter. Looking closely, one could faintly see pale faces embedded within.
"This wood is called Heartwood in the craftsman system. Everyone's mind contains a great tree; the process of corruption is the tree's decay. Heartwood can only be obtained by transcendent-rank priests entering others' dreams to cut it down. It's extremely rare."
Heartwood… if he remembered right, he had obtained some from the Elven King's tomb and given it to Old Turin to make the Dragon Blood Elixir. He hadn't expected its origin to be like this.
Wayne nodded and asked casually, "What materials are needed to repair this artifact?"
"Seventy grams of Heartwood, two hundred grams of mythril silver, and three pieces of moonstone."
By now, they had reached the front door of the three-story building. After circling once, they returned to the entrance. Ignatius took out a key, inserted it into the lock, and turned it. The door swung inward.
A cloud of dust hit their faces. Wayne had already prepared and waved it aside.
Inside, the layout resembled a normal residence, but everything was in chaos. Furniture overturned, belongings scattered—clearly abandoned for a long time.
But on the floor were several sets of footprints, some old, some fresh, proving that people had been here recently.