Chapter 782 – Three Thousand Mirror Ruins 49

According to 《A Beginner’s Primer for Professional Mirror Explorers》, a Mirror Explorer at the one-star level could extract a maximum of five beast core skills.

One skill could be extracted for every two stages—fewer was better than more.

Any more than that, and the psychic power occupied by skills would leave insufficient reserves to actually cast them.

At Mo Lan’s publicly displayed level of One-Star Fifth Stage, she could technically extract two beast core skills. However, for now, she hardly needed skill assistance to handle one-star or even two-star mirror beasts.

Still, during her night watch shift, Mo Lan behaved just like any “novice” who had freshly extracted a beast core skill—when a fang hound approached the camp, she “eagerly” used her new skill.

In an instant, another slightly blurred “phantom” that was nearly identical to Mo Lan’s true form appeared just ahead of her.

The fang hound clearly hadn’t anticipated the sudden appearance of a second target. Its pouncing motion instinctively hesitated for a split second, and its fangs reflexively snapped toward the “person” further ahead.

Riiip!

The phantom was torn apart by sharp claws, rippling like a burst bubble before dissipating. But that brief moment of misdirection was more than enough.

The real Mo Lan had already seized the opportunity to sidestep half a pace. Her refined iron long blade carved a cold, sharp arc through the air, slicing precisely into the massive fang hound’s exposed neck as it stumbled from its missed lunge!

“Awooo!” A short, pained howl, and the fang hound crashed heavily to the ground.

The fight ended quickly, but the Lesser Mirror Image Mo Lan had cast was clearly observed by Bai Wei and Ren Miao.

The two curiously gathered around, hovering over where the phantom had dissipated, then looked at Mo Lan, their eyes full of amazement.

“Oh my god, that was so realistic!” Bai Wei whispered in astonishment. “I almost couldn’t tell the difference just now! I feel like even the Lesser Mirror Image cast by an actual phantom leopard cat wouldn’t be much better than that, right?”

Ren Miao nodded in agreement. “Mo Lan, that skill of yours… the extraction completeness must be extremely high, right? Was it a perfect extraction?”

“Mm.” Mo Lan sheathed her long blade and nodded.

She had solo-killed the phantom leopard cat in direct combat, and her psychic power level was right there—a perfect beast core extraction was simply a natural result.

Hearing this, envy appeared on Bai Wei and Ren Miao’s faces.

Their own skill extraction rates were also quite high, above ninety percent, but there was still a small gap before reaching perfect extraction.

In fact, for a complete novice without a single beast core skill, being able to solo-kill a mirror beast on their first hunt was already considered impressive.

Achieving a direct kill was something most couldn’t force—after all, if you relied on anyone else’s help, or on tools and equipment, it didn’t count as a direct kill.

After Mo Lan cleaned up the fang hound’s carcass, dawn was nearly breaking.

Today they still needed to accompany Chen Xingye to find a color-shifting iguana. He was planning to take the assassin route and needed the color-shifting iguana beast core’s “chromatic camouflage” skill.

Compared to the tension and awkwardness of their first days in the wilderness, the team’s atmosphere was now completely different.

Days of continuous hunting had given everyone invaluable combat experience, and their eyes now carried a new measure of composure and sharpness.

More importantly, the team’s core fighting strength had undergone a qualitative leap.

A full six members had successfully obtained and mastered beast core skills.

Mo Lan’s Lesser Mirror Image could effectively disrupt an enemy’s judgment, creating perfect openings.

Ren Miao’s Lesser Water Arrow was a masterful crowd-control skill that severely limited a mirror beast’s mobility.

Zhou Ming’s Stone Armor Shield provided reliable frontal defense. Zhu Rao’s Brute Charge gave the team powerful burst damage and the ability to break through deadlocks.

Wang Jingnan’s Wind-Chasing Blade added a ranged attack option.

Bai Wei’s Glimmer Heal ensured the team’s ability to sustain prolonged combat.

Together, these six skills formed a miniature tactical system covering offense, defense, control, support, and disruption!

That morning, they also re-discussed their combat strategy going forward. When the team set out again, weaving between stone formations and sandy terrain in search of color-shifting iguanas, everyone’s mindset was far more relaxed.

The one-star mirror beasts of Kaleidoscope Wilderness posed virtually no threat to them anymore.

Typically, the moment an encounter began, Ren Miao’s Lesser Water Arrow would already hit the target, reducing its speed. Zhou Ming would apply Stone Armor Shield to everyone so they could fight without worry. Zhu Rao would seize the right moment to launch a Brute Charge, disrupting formations or heavily wounding leaders. Wang Jingnan would look for openings to strike mirror beast weak points with his Wind-Chasing Blade. Mo Lan would use her phantom to confuse key targets, creating lethal openings. And Bai Wei would restore everyone’s condition after battle.

With this combination in play, fights were usually over quickly.

Even when they encountered a lone two-star mirror beast, they now had the strength to fight.

Though the process still required careful coordination and the occasional harrowing moment arose, under the synergistic effect of the five members’ skills, they actually managed several successful hunts.

This not only yielded more precious two-star mirror beast materials but also tremendously boosted everyone’s confidence.

When Chen Xingye successfully solo-killed a color-shifting iguana and extracted the chromatic camouflage skill, the team’s overall strength climbed another level.

This ability not only greatly enhanced Chen Xingye’s personal camouflage and scouting capabilities but also made the team’s movements far more silent and stealthy.

Xiang Yufan had previously attempted to solo-hunt a windchaser antelope but had fallen short due to its astonishing speed and alertness.

Now, with the benefit of Chen Xingye’s chromatic camouflage buff, he approached the target zone in complete silence, drastically reducing the chances of early detection.

He ultimately seized the perfect moment and used an armor-piercing crossbow bolt to complete a clean solo kill, finally securing the long-coveted windchaser antelope beast core and making up for his earlier regret.

With the team’s overall strength now elevated, hunting efficiency multiplied.

Ding Yan hunted a Flame Archer in an energy-rich woodland and obtained the flame ray skill.

Lin Yue found a charm fox in the same woodland, hunted it, and extracted the lesser charm skill, gaining psychic interference abilities.

Zhao Wuchen successfully ambushed a rot-moss swamp crocodile in the Whispering Wetlands and extracted the corrosive venom skill.

“Only Su Yu’s razor-claw weasel is left—let’s search the wetland edges again!”

After days of hunting, most of the team had achieved their goals. Some had even prepared the beast core for a second desired skill. Only Su Yu’s target, the razor-claw weasel, remained unfound.

The team advanced in combat formation, methodically combing the wetland’s edge.

A determined gleam flashed in Su Yu’s eyes as she gripped her blade and headed in that direction.

After just a few minutes, a short, piercing shriek came from the muddy marshland, and then everything fell silent.

Soon, Su Yu’s figure emerged from behind the bushes, holding in her hand an ink-green beast core still carrying faint body warmth. Faint earth-yellow patterns traced across its surface, along with a subtle, unsettling dark gleam—it was unmistakably the beast core of a razor-claw weasel.

Su Yu didn’t waste any time. She sat down right where she was, concentrated her mind, and began extracting the skill imprint from the beast core. (End of Chapter)