Chapter 79: Alien Star Perception
After resting well, Xilutiya felt much better mentally, especially after that dream ended. She roughly understood that this place was not entirely unconnected to the normal world.
Since those past knights and witches could enter here, it meant this was not a completely unknown place, and there existed some method to enter and exit.
Packing up her things, she headed once more toward the upper mountain slope. As she strolled along the sheer cliff, the view before her gradually widened until she reached the mountain peak, from where she could gaze at the vast world in the distance.
The view was a vast gray white expanse, but occasionally she could catch glimpses of hidden colors within, like a sudden blue flower appearing in a black-and-white print, or red berries on shrubs.
In this nearly gray white and still world, she spotted a faintly different outline in the misty mountains far away.
In the center of that forest, there seemed to be ruined stone pillar buildings, apparently some ancient ruins.
Could people have lived in such a world before? Xilutiya was surprised, but since people had once resided here regularly, they should also have had passages connecting the normal world and here.
Perhaps she should go there and take a look, searching for possible clues.
The gaze in her eyes shifted, planning her route there, then she turned back.
Returning once more to the colored bubble where the gray iron stone sword stood, Xilutiya rested briefly and stepped into the gray white world below.
This time, she traveled for a long while, gradually leaving the mountain slope with sparse vegetation and entering the dense twisted forest.
The trees here had long been twisted by the ‘twisted’ nature power mutation. Their appearance frozen in the gray white world suggested they might have stopped growing long ago, becoming withered dead things.
Passing through this small forest, Xilutiya arrived at a node in the forest, where a tall moss-covered boulder stood.
She remained suspicious and cautious of anything abnormal, a lesson learned from the experience of seeing Knight Holling in the dream.
Facing this stone, Xilutiya gathered her perception, her eyes focusing intently, trying to see what was different inside.
However, there was nothing unusual; all perceptions told her it was just an ordinary stone.
A prank? Xilutiya was a bit skeptical and decided to go around it.
She circled the stone, moving her steps, then swiftly fled into the gray white world, leaving this colored bubble. Nothing unexpected happened during the process, and she no longer cared, continuing onward.
The next node was at a waterside in the forest.
As she stepped into this colored bubble, she was attacked.
A poisonous snake in the forest attacked her, leaping directly from the tree, gliding slightly in the air, twisting its head, and lunging at her.
The maiden quickly leaped back, then drew her short sword.
With the breathing technique’s enhancement, the short sword swung rapidly, slicing the poisonous snake into three segments mid-air. Black blood and thick mist flowed from the wounds in its body.
Soon, this strangely patterned poisonous snake died.
Standing aside, Xilutiya observed carefully for a while, then used her dagger to pry open the dead snake’s head, carefully extracting the poison fang and storing it.
【Poison Fang】（Twisted）: Sharp fang containing twisted venom, usable for potion making and killing enemies.
She continued forward to the small riverbank and looked at the water bottom.
On the water surface, Xilutiya’s figure was reflected, her silver-snow long hair floating, her slightly dreamlike features undulating with the current.
‘I envy you.’
The maiden in the water suddenly made a hoarse sound, then opened her mouth, her blood-colored tongue suddenly extending and snapping toward the maiden on the riverbank.
Facing this sudden attack, Xilutiya’s heart raced, barely dodging. The blood-colored tongue flashed past her eyes and retracted into the water in an instant.
She hurriedly leaped back, away from the riverbank, then drew her short sword.
However, this time, the reflection in the water had already vanished, with no abnormalities visible.
This… is a bit creepy here, the maiden thought to herself.
She picked up pebbles and threw them into the water, but there was no reaction, which left Xilutiya slightly troubled.
If she continued forward, she had to cross the river, but the current situation clearly showed the river surface was unsafe.
What other means did she have? Breathing technique? Dew prayer method? Neither could harm this strange thing.
Did she have to use the black cat to solve it? But that was only once, and Xilutiya was a bit reluctant.
Speaking of which, after transforming into alien star, she hadn’t used this power.
Xilutiya thought for a moment, her eyes blinking, lifted her wrist, and carefully perceived her own information.
Name: Xilutiya·※※※※
Race: Human（※※※）
Status: Healthy（No Anomalies）
Talent: Star【Unknown Grade】, Cornflower’s Affection【Rare Grade, Upgradable】
Fate Card: 【Girl Under the Starry Sky】（First Order·Alien Star）
‘The maiden sleeping unawakened under the starry sky possesses unimaginable potential. Now, meteors flicker, dispelling the twisted fog.’
–
Effect【Discernment Eyes Lv.3】: From special talent and physique, you can discern colors and partial essences of things that ordinary people cannot perceive.（When you upgrade the fate card’s tier, this ability will also gain synchronous enhancement）-
Effect【Alien Star Perception Lv.2】: After being infused with alien star power, your observation of all things is more insightful, allowing you to see five colors ordinary people cannot perceive and discover unknown secrets.
Ability Card: 【Breathing Technique Lv.3】【Weird Black Cat（Consumption）】
Skills: 『Basic Sword Technique Lv.4』『Military Sword Technique Lv.4』『Basic Archery Lv.4』『Basic Spear Technique Lv.4』『Secret History Knowledge Lv.5』『Gardening Technique Lv.4』『Garden Sword Technique Lv.2』
——
【Alien Star Perception Lv.2】 What is the effect of this ability?
Xilutiya focused her mind on this effect. The original Discernment Eyes gained an additional strange color, allowing her vision to cross ordinary boundaries and see deeper kernels.
This was a view between reality, shadows, and dream realm. She saw things nonexistent in reality, like formless monsters twisting in thick heavy clouds, dream realm creatures hiding in forest corners. They were meatball-sized, with tiny wings, no eyes or mouths, inhaling and exhaling.
As she approached, these meatball creatures seemed somewhat afraid of her and scattered away, which was why she hadn’t noticed them before.
Afraid of me, why? Xilutiya was puzzled, but she was too lazy to bother with these little things now and instead searched for the monster that had attacked from the water surface earlier.
Looking around, though there were some strange formless things at the water bottom, they were all very weak, without the ability to launch attacks, so she still couldn’t find the target.
Suddenly, she thought of something, shifted direction, and observed the space above the riverbank water surface. Then, at the top of a treetop, she spotted a hidden transparent tree frog. Though called a tree frog, this thing had six legs, no eyes on its head, but a twisted human face on its snow-white belly.
This guy is very weird. Its attack method is actually through the water reflection to strike again. This way, anyone would think it’s underwater, while actually it’s above water.
Not understanding this eerie creature, Xilutiya carefully confirmed once more. The main body shouldn’t be strong, so she gripped her sword, strode forward quickly, kicked off the tree trunk to leap up, and slashed down with the sharp sword blade, cleaving it in half at the treetop.
The dead weird tree frog fell, and only then did Xilutiya see its full appearance clearly.
【Human-Faced Tree Frog】（Nightmare）: Transparent tree frog hiding in the dream realm, can attack through mirrors, method eerie and hard to trace.
‘Nightmare’ nature—this was the first time Xilutiya had seen a creature with this nature.
The dead tree frog oozed blue-purple blood, which contained polluted twisted black mist, but in small proportion. It seemed not yet fully eroded by pollution.
She didn’t know how this guy had survived before; it should have other food too. Xilutiya suddenly thought of the meatball creatures hidden in the forest on the other side earlier.
【Dream Infant Beast】（Nightmare）: Weak dream realm alien beast that can nibble on creatures’ dreams, fears clear moonlight.
She hadn’t known the names and abilities of these creatures before, but now she analyzed and understood them directly, automatically comprehending.
It seemed the ‘alien star’ power was particularly strong in analyzing and uncovering truth?
Fears moonlight—could it be afraid of ‘Brilliant Moon’ power? But she hadn’t cultivated ‘Brilliant Moon’ nature power, so why fear her?
The maiden shook her head, swaying slightly, deciding not to think further, or it would never end.
Just assume she still carried the lingering aura of Brilliant Moon.
