The three of them turned into statues, scattered apart from one another, while the hawk simply stood there, thinking through the best way to kill them.
The hawk spotted the tied-up deer, which was trying to flee in panic, but it couldn't move Shun De at first. However, once Shun De froze completely, the deer managed to drag him along with it, and when Shun De hit the ground, he regained his ability to move.
"Pain restores movement?"
Shun De didn't waste time thinking it over, immediately landing long-range strikes on his two friends, just enough to cause mild pain without actually hurting them.
The moment Luo regained his ability to move, he activated his combat Pattern, his shape transforming into a massive, solid projectile, launching himself at an unreasonable speed straight toward the hawk.
The hawk didn't even bother blocking it, simply dodging with an ease far beyond expectations. Luo kept rolling, smashing through several massive trees along the way, until he'd been carried hundreds of meters off. Once he finally stopped, he returned to his normal form; his injuries were minor, but he was now very far from his friends, the Phantom still in his hand.
As for the hawk, it landed near Shun De and Cha Ji, then turned its gaze eagerly toward the deer.
The two of them braced for a fight, but once they realized its gaze was fixed on the deer, relief washed over them; they'd found a way out.
Shun De pulled the deer toward himself, bound its legs so it couldn't move, then he and Cha Ji began backing away slowly and carefully.
Since the Phantom wasn't with them, the hawk let them go. It then turned toward Luo and pinned him in place, but after a few seconds, it lost interest and went back to its feast, letting him go too.
---
Half an hour later, the three of them gathered at the city gates, caught somewhere between shock and overwhelming joy.
Once they realized the true value of what had just happened, they understood that encountering that hawk had been the best stroke of luck they'd had in the past three years.
"Hahahahaha! I don't think that was pure coincidence at all. We've got more than enough money now to buy a few support Phantoms, and make the necessary preparations to enter the cave."
Cha Ji laughed with genuine joy. He'd wanted to buy a particular Phantom himself too, but hadn't been able to voice that desire; he cared about the group's shared interest, and believed the best thing for everyone was to prioritize Luo, since he was the strongest fighter among them.
But after what had just happened, he now had a real chance to get what he wanted too.
"Of course, you two go buy whatever you need, I'll head to the base first to refine this Level Two Phantom, heehee."
Luo said that, then rushed off before he could hear their opinion. His joy was unbelievable; he'd finally gotten the Phantom he'd wanted for so long.
He made his way to what was called "the Base"; the place where a few men would gather to form a team or group, then buy or rent a location, or turn one of their own homes into their operational headquarters. Teams were usually formed to increase their chances of survival and to secure better spoils, and this had become something of a habit, or tradition, among the people of the city and a few neighboring ones.
After Luo left, Shun De and Cha Ji headed to the commercial district, then entered the Phantom section. They had thirty-five thousand four hundred Crystal Notes between them, so they split it in half, and went first to buy Cha Ji's Phantom.
Cha Ji specialized in long-range attacks, and he knew well that adding just any random Phantom to his collection wouldn't actually benefit him, unless it carried a truly unique ability.
And he knew exactly what he was looking for...
The Attack Consciousness Phantom was a Phantom that gave attacks a degree of awareness and the ability to move on their own, letting the user direct and program them according to predetermined commands.
Thanks to the strength of the user's consciousness and mental control, the user could organize their combat Patterns in far more complex ways, granting their attacks a measure of independence; instead of a strike being just an attack fired in a given direction, it could be turned into something like a soldier, chasing down the enemy, changing course, and continuing the pursuit until it landed its hit.
And the Phantom's potential wasn't limited to that; its capabilities were nearly limitless for the right person. The greater the user's strength of consciousness and mental control, the more complex the programming they could apply to their attacks, and the more new uses they could invent for the Phantom.
Its price was six thousand five hundred Crystal Notes, since it was only Level One.
"I want this Phantom, heehee."
Cha Ji smiled at Shun De, then they went to buy his Phantom too.
"Anyway, what do you think, is it actually worth it, going into this cave and spending all our savings? I mean, is this competition really that important that it's worth risking everything we own?"
Shun De wondered aloud as they made their way toward the section he wanted, and Cha Ji answered him:
"Of course it is. And even if we don't win anything, the attempt alone is worth it. Besides, we don't save money just to bury it, we save it to spend when the time's right, and that time is now. You didn't hesitate when Luo asked to buy that Phantom, because you knew how badly he wanted it, and because you owe him a lot too. And now, after getting his Phantom, he's letting us buy whatever we want too. He's not our leader for nothing. At the end of the day, I know exactly who I chose to follow."
When they arrived, Shun De bought the Attrition Phantom, a Phantom that didn't consume much energy while still inflicting direct, continuous damage on an opponent.
But to maintain the attrition effect, the user had to reactivate the Phantom every few minutes.
After preparing and regrouping, the three of them set out early in the morning toward their destination. Their journey took nearly three hours, heading to a remote area in one of the mountains.
As they traveled, the three of them exchanged conversation, talking about their new strength, after having spent the night refining their new Phantoms and training with them a little at dawn.
They generally relied on real combat to sharpen their strength and improve their skills, and this particular cave was one they'd discovered a year earlier, but hadn't dared enter. Now, though, with all three of them having reached Level Two, they had far more motivation to take the risk.
The competition being held in the city also made entering the cave nearly unavoidable; they needed a substantial amount of money, especially since the registration fee alone came to five thousand Crystal Notes, not counting the cost of preparations and equipment.
"Anyway, we're about to face some serious danger. If either of you wants to back out and find an alternative, I won't mind. Our lives matter more than anything."
Luo said, unable to hide the excitement on his face.
Shun De answered:
"No backing out now. Let's give it our absolute best."
As for Cha Ji, he simply walked ahead of the other two with a smile that carried everything he wanted to say.
When they reached the cave's entrance, they found the opening too narrow, so they widened it to let Luo through too, given his massive build.
Once inside, they began lighting large lamps, their glow pushing back some of the cave's darkness.
And behind them, something else slipped into the cave, surrounded by a shimmering blue glow, though none of the three of them noticed it.
In
complete silence, the thing rose toward the ceiling of the cave and vanished into the dark.