Chapter 3 – The Eye in the Mist
There was a line
sharp, invisible, absolute dividing the developed outposts of the Border Region from the chaos beyond.
It wasn't marked by walls or fences, yet even the air itself seemed to know not to cross. On one side: safety, steel, and order. On the other: mist, silence, and death.
As Jiang He crossed that line, a bone-chilling dampness clung to his lungs. The fog bit at his throat, freezing his breath mid-inhale. Every pore on his skin closed instinctively.
"Relax a bit~" Lu Wenbiao chuckled, his tone light despite the creeping tension. "We've walked this route more than a dozen times. You'll get used to it just be a little bolder."
Jiang He frowned. "Brother Biao… what level of Source Ability User are you?"
Lu Wenbiao glanced over, lips curling. "Why, you planning to dig up my past in a hellhole like this?"
"I just read," Jiang He replied, cautious, "that Eye Worms are D-rank 'Ghouls,' and some can even reach C-rank. Most Source Ability Users can't even reach D-rank…"
"Relax." Lu Wenbiao smirked. "Everyone here's D-rank or above. Because those who aren't…" he tapped the side of his neck "have already been eaten."
Jiang He froze.
But Lu Wenbiao wasn't done.
"Well, except for me." He jabbed a thumb at himself proudly. "I haven't reached D-rank."
"…" Jiang He stared.
So his guide
a round man barely 1.7 meters tall wasn't even D-rank.
And the mission today was to hunt a D-rank Ghoul.
That's suicide, Jiang He thought blankly.
The guy leading me is just as doomed as I am.
Lu Wenbiao grinned at Jiang He's horrified face. "No need to look so shocked. Brother Biao's not shy about his past. Truth is, I'm just like you an Ability Nullifier!"
Jiang He's breath hitched. He stepped back slightly, wary now.
How did he know?
He had only arrived in the Border Region today.
Did people here already know everything about him? Even the color of his underwear?
Lu Wenbiao waved a hand as if reading his thoughts. "Don't give me that look. Everyone already knows. That's why no one wanted to team up with you. But that's exactly why I did."
He tilted his head back, eyes half-closed toward the dull, gray sky. "After all, there aren't many of us Nullifiers left in this hell."
Jiang He stayed silent. Because everything he said was true.
In a world where survival depended on Source Abilities, Nullifiers were the discarded ones weak, powerless, and forgotten.
In the fog, where monsters thrived, a Nullifier's fate was certain death.
Lu Wenbiao clapped his shoulder gently. "Listen, some things are born with us. We can't change them. But that doesn't mean you look down on yourself. The only thing separating us from those fancy Source Ability Users is a Source Ability."
He grinned, baring teeth. "But fists? Reflexes? Instinct? Those are ours too."
Swish!
In one fluid motion, he drew two gleaming short swords from behind his back.
"Get ready," Lu Wenbiao's voice dropped, deep and sharp. "They're coming. Watch carefully, kid Brother Biao's about to show you an Ability Nullifier's elegant dance!"
The ground trembled.
The wet mud beneath Jiang He's boots began to ripple, then swell.
From the mist, something massive erupted
a pillar thick as a man's torso, coated in mucus and slime.
Jiang He's pupils contracted.
That wasn't a pillar. It was a leg.
He was finally seeing one for the first time
a real Ghoul.
"Remember," Lu Wenbiao said, voice low, steady, "eating humans is a Ghoul's instinct. When it locks onto prey, its body amplifies
speed, strength, everything."
"I know." Jiang He nodded stiffly. "I've read about them."
"Oh?" Lu Wenbiao snorted. "A scholar, huh? Then go hide behind that rock, Scholar. Brother Biao's going in."
With both blades flashing, Lu Wenbiao charged forward, his heavy frame moving with shocking agility.
Jiang He's jaw nearly dropped.
For the first time in his life, he saw an Ability Nullifier charge toward a D-rank monster.
The mist boiled as the creature emerged
a towering, ten-meter-tall abomination.
Its bloated body pulsed wetly, glistening with translucent slime.
Atop it, a cluster of twitching eyes blinked in every direction, overlapping grotesquely, watching everything.
Below that disgusting mass dangled over a dozen flexible, boneless limbs
like an octopus made of human flesh and nightmares.
Jiang He ducked behind a boulder, heart pounding, just in time to see Lu Wenbiao leap into the fog.
Swish!
A sharp flash of steel cut through the mist.
Then a thud.
A massive worm leg fell to the ground beside Jiang He, twitching, spraying dark green ichor across the mud.
"This…" Jiang He's breath caught. He was too stunned to even finish the thought.
That blow it was clean, precise, powerful.
But the monster didn't even flinch.
Pain meant nothing to Ghouls.
Its other limbs twisted violently, wrapping toward Lu Wenbiao's silhouette.
"Bang!"
A body flew out of the mist, landing right next to Jiang He.
It was Lu Wenbiao, face twisted in agony, clutching his backside.
"Ouch damn it!" he hissed, grimacing. "Brother Biao might've underestimated it… that slug's at D-rank peak!"
Before Jiang He could react, the Eye Worm screeched a sound like metal scraping flesh and lunged again.
Lu Wenbiao spat, wiped his mouth, and charged right back in.
The man and the monster disappeared into the dense fog once more, their sounds of combat muffled and distant.
Jiang He stood frozen, knuckles white against the rock.
Could he really win? Against that?
Minutes dragged by.
Then, silence.
Just as Jiang He thought his companion had been devoured, a short, disheveled figure emerged from the fog, his twin blades sheathed.
He wasn't tall, his steps were heavy, but his eyes
they burned with quiet fire.
Lu Wenbiao stopped in front of Jiang He, a smug grin tugging at his lips. "Well? Impressed by Brother Biao yet?"
He turned his wrist, palm upward.
Resting there, shimmering faintly with misty light was a lump of pure white essence.
Jiang He's eyes widened. "That's… Source Essence?"
Lu Wenbiao winked. "The real deal. Fresh from that slimy bastard's body."
Jiang He stared, awe filling his chest.
The fog swirled around them, the air heavy with blood and smoke, yet a strange spark flickered in his heart.
For the first time since entering this cursed land
he began to believe that maybe, just maybe,
an Ability Nullifier could survive here after all.
Note —
Ability Nullifier: About 10% of the Ark Alliance population fail to Awaken Source Abilities. Even after consuming Source Essence, they remain powerless called "Ability Nullifiers." They can only strengthen themselves through physical training and martial arts.
Ability Nullifier Strength: The Ark Alliance has no formal rank for Nullifiers. However, by raw combat capability, talented martial artists can reach E-rank levels, and rare masters can rival D-rank Source Ability Users.