"Priest Malthor, please pull yourself together. As a strong believer, don’t let yourself fall apart like this," Vesha said, kneeling beside him and helping him to his feet.
"Lady Vesha..." Malthor tried to speak, but his voice faltered.
"Why don’t we head back to the village?" She suggested gently. "We can sit down, have so tea, clear our heads, and go over everything calmly. Who knows, maybe it’s not as hopeless as it seems."
She began guiding him away, slowly pulling him by the arm in a quiet attempt to steady his nerves.
Behind them, as they walked away, Adyr raised a hand and gave her a thumbs-up.
As far as he was concerned, the priest had served his purpose. Now that he had the clues he needed, it was ti to begin the real hunt alone.
But first, he nudged the ghostly form of the rainbow sparrow aside with his foot, careful not to make direct contact, then picked up the crystal beneath it and sent it to the Dawn Land.
"Now let’s see what this culprit looks like," Adyr said with a grin, turning toward the forest’s depths.
He didn’t know exactly what he was looking for, but he knew where to start. And he wasn’t wasting ti.
From ti to ti, he reached for the throwing knives at his belt and struck down rainbow sparrows perched on the branches above. As their bodies dissolved into their spectral forms, he gathered the crystals left behind.
What pleased him most was their number. The trees were alive with their cheerful chirping, and the forest seed full of them. Unlike the wolves he had fought before, these creatures weren’t particularly dangerous.
Sure, the mory loss effect was strong, but as long as he avoided direct contact, they posed no real threat. They weren’t aggressive either. The most they did was flap away when they sensed danger, but they rarely got far before his knives found them.
"This place is just a perfect farming spot," Adyr laughed in satisfaction. At this rate, he might even collect enough energy crystals to register a level 3 talent—or maybe even subdue a Rank 2 Spark.
Especially the one resting quietly in his pocket: the Null Maggot. If he could use its Sense Fade skill, it would be the perfect ability for soone like him—a forr serial killer.
As Adyr continued deeper into the woods, he ca across more of the missing trees the priest had ntioned. According to Malthor, there were 13 of them—but Adyr, unsurprisingly, found more than that.
The number 13 was just a projection—a false assumption made by the villagers. Since 13 children had lost their mories, they believed 13 trees had vanished. But they had never ventured this far into the forest. They didn’t know how many had actually disappeared—or that the connection to the children wasn’t as direct as they thought.
Assuming there was a gap of one or two months between each disappearance, Adyr began analyzing the details. There had to be a pattern, so consistent logic connecting the first missing tree to the most recent one.
If he could identify it, predicting which tree would vanish next wouldn’t be difficult at all.
He spent around three hours walking between the ghostlike trees. Starting from what he believed was the first to disappear, he traced a path—then found the second, then the third.
Just as he suspected, each tree had vanished in sequence, almost as if they were aligned along a straight path.
The Spark was moving through the woods with intent. It would target a tree, begin whatever strange process turned it into that spectral shell, then move on once it was done.
Now he only had one objective: find the tree currently undergoing that shift. The Spark’s next victim. If he could locate it before the process was complete, he might be able to catch the Spark itself in the act.
And finally, after nearly six hours of searching, he found it—the last tree that had already transford, and just ahead, the next one still untouched. Its trunk was solid, its leaves real, not yet faded into that ghostlike form.
"So where is it?" Adyr muttered, narrowing his eyes at the tree ahead. He kept his distance, studying it carefully. He knew firsthand how dangerous a Rank 2 Spark could be—getting too close without caution wasn’t an option.
But even after observing it for a while, nothing happened. No system ssage appeared. No unusual signs on the tree. Nothing out of place.
He understood why the system remained silent. Just like with the alpha wolf, it wouldn’t trigger a [Spark Found] notification unless he made direct visual contact with the creature itself.
What bothered him, though, was the tree. It looked completely normal. Too normal.
He just couldn’t figure out how to draw the Spark out.
After so thought and further observation, he realized he was spending too much ti in one place. Shifting focus, he turned his attention inward—toward the Dawn Land.
There, in the middle of the still, transparent sea, bathed in the golden light of a sun that didn’t exist, stood his small island. A patch of green grass surrounded by silence. At its center, on a cushion, rested the crystals he had collected.
His energy body approached them. It was just like his physical form, only entirely transparent—made of pure energy. In the Dawn Land, despite its ethereal appearance, everything could be touched, moved, and interacted with as if it were real.
On the cushion were exactly 43 Level 2 energy crystals and 10 Level 1s. That made 44 usable energy points in total.
With these, I can register four Level 2 talents and get 40 free stat points, Adyr thought, his energy form placing a hand under his chin.
After a mont of quiet calculation, he made his decision. He would use 20 of them.
Even a 20-point boost might be enough to catch the Spark.
His energy form reached out and picked up 20 crystals. In an instant, they dissolved into pure energy and rged with his body.
Back in the forest, Adyr opened his eyes and imdiately pulled up his stat panel to review the changes.
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