?


    The sight before his eyes was undoubtedly one of unparalleled carnage, yet Tyler was utterly captivated by Heloise''s ballet-like grace in motion.


    Her four des served as extensions of her limbs, each pirouette and flourish leaving a gash in the gaping maw of the Sand Devouring Centipede.


    After an immeasurable number of strikes (4852-1219 / 6327), the Sand Devouring Centipede fell, and Heloisended on the sand with an unparalleled lightness.


    Remarkably, not a drop of the creature''s blood nor corrosive fluid found its way onto her.


    ·


    (If she were to utilize that technique against me... I suspect I''d have no choice but to resort to ''Shadow Step''.)


    Tyler mused, continuing to unleash ''Power Arrows'' at the fallen Sand Devouring Centipede. Despite its fall, the creature was not yet dead.


    The concept of vitality was perhaps most fitting when applied to worm-like demons, as they could endure even with their heads blown apart.


    Heloise shared Tyler''s understanding. After a brief respite, she seized the opportunity tounch another attack, aiming for the wound on the Sand Devouring Centipede''s head!


    "ept the judgment of the Nefarious Tiger King... Die! White · Tiger · Continual · Bite!"


    This time, Heloise swung her sleeve sword directly from a position about five meters away from the Sand Devouring Centipede.


    Apanying her right hand''s sh, a white sword aura flew from her de, followed by a sh from her left hand, then a double-spinning sh from her foot-sword in mid-air leap.


    These four sword auras sessively hit the wound on the Sand Devouring Centipede, further tearing its body apart, each strike inflicting over 500 damage! (3633-2167 / 6327)


    (The force of four consecutive hits canpare with the previous ''Blue ze Steed''. This must be her Tier 2 skill.)


    By this point in the battle, Tyler had seen both of Heloise''s skills. Unless she possessed some unique ability, it seemed he had a solid grasp of her strength.


    Without exaggeration, Tyler could immediately think of three or more ways to kill her. However, he had no immediate ns to take action.


    ·


    The Sand Devouring Centipede, with just over a thousand life points remaining, had fallen into a state of weakness.


    In the world of Prison Star, thebat abilities of all life forms are closely rted to their life energy. As soon as life energy drops to a certain level, all bodily functions follow suit, unless they possess some special ability or skill.


    And the Sand Devouring Centipede, clearly, was not one of those creatures that could staunch their bleeding.


    By this time, the Sand Devouring Centipede no longer had the strength to fight back. It was unable to use its unknown third skill, and was subsequently butchered by Tyler and Heloise.


    Having emerged victorious, Tyler''s experience points were full once again, and Heloise had also reached the maximum level of 50.


    Considering the majority of the damage output in this battle was dealt by Heloise, Tyler let her decide how to distribute the Sand Devouring Centipede''s materials.


    Surprisingly, Heloise didn''t want anything. Instead, she asked him if she could simply extract the magic core, leaving the rest to return to nature.


    (So it is, the tiger race reveres harmony and coexistence with nature.)


    Tyler readily agreed. Through this conversation, he gained a preliminary understanding of the tigerkin''s cultural philosophy.


    To express her gratitude for "Felix''s" understanding, Heloise voluntarily gave up the Sand Devouring Centipede''s magic core.


    "At this moment, I feel the power of the Nefarious Tiger King god is full within me. It seems I have gained enough experience, and this victory is sufficient reward!"


    Tyler knew this was Heloise''s recognition that she had leveled up and reached the second-tier level bottleneck. He was also experiencing this feeling.


    Since Heloise was now offering the magic core, Tyler saw no reason to decline.


    "Then I shall ept it without reservation."


    Tyler ced the magic core of the Sand Devouring Centipede into his bag. Now, the magic core of the Poison de Rat King was no longer alone.


    .


    Upon vanquishing the Sand Devouring Centipede, Tyler and Heloise retraced their steps, spending some time finding the route back to Delis Town before embarking once again.


    Before long, they came across ake. Upon sight of it, Heloise suggested a rest by thekeside, expressing her desire to wash off the grime coating her form.


    Tyler had no objections — it was a fine opportunity to replenish their fresh water supplies. Thus, they agreed and split up to carry out their individual tasks.


    With some solitude atst, Tyler had time to contemte his thoughts about Heloise.


    When they first met, she had introduced herself as the "ck Tigerwing" and imed to be a member of the tigerkin race.


    By appearance alone, he could discern no characteristics that would identify Heloise as part of any demi-human tribe.


    She bore neither fluffy ears nor a tail, appearing wholly human. Likewise, his identification revealed no evidence of her tigerkin heritage.


    He didn''t believe she had any reason to fabricate such an obvious lie — it would bring her no benefit... It seemed there was a story hidden behind her appearance, but Tyler had no immediate interest in it.


    What Tyler cared about now was Heloise''s title of "ck Tigerwing". What''s "Tigerwing" anyway? However, associating "wings" to "flying", It could be aligning perfectly with the first line of the "Ster Oracle" left by the divination rabbit to Banning.


    ("Do not be entranced by the butterfly''s dance, the ck butterfly is the servant of the snake…")


    ("The butterfly''s dance... de Dancer...")


    Recalling Heloise''sbat style, which was akin to a dance, Tyler couldn''t help but admire it. However, was such admiration enough to warrant the warning of "do not be entranced"?


    Tyler felt it was somewhat far-fetched.


    However, thetter half of the "Ster Oracle" couldn''t be more fitting. As a reserve executive of the Shadow Serpent Society, Heloise perfectly fit the description of the "ck butterfly" being the "servant of the snake".


    The only issue was the slight difference between the "ck Tigerwing" and "ck Butterfly", which irked Tyler greatly.


    Following the "Ster Oracle" left by the divination rabbit, Tyler''s most sensible course of action would be to part ways with Heloise or to kill her to avoid any potential danger.


    However, he was reluctant to make such a rash decision.


    The identity of the tigerkin, the strange typo, the overly cautious warning... all these elements made Tyler feel as though he had yet to uncover the true story.


    The "Ster Oracle" was still without a correct answer.


    (There must be some unknown information... there must be.)


    Since Heloise posed no immediate threat to his life, Tyler decided to continue traveling with her for the time being. While there were risks, the potential rewards were equally significant, making the gamble seem worthwhile.


    (First... let''s verify her identity as a member of the deerkin tribe.)


    Tyler took out the upgraded binocle and quietly skirted around the grove of trees, heading towards the opposite side of theke where Heloise resided.


    When he could barely make out Heloise''s figure with his naked eye, he raised the binocle and locked onto her position, adjusting the distance between the lenses to obtain the best focal length. When the image of Heloise became the clearest, he activated his skill.


    (Calction Boost - Overclock)