Wizard: My career panel has no upper limit

Chapter 442 Hunting and Breaking the Stalemate
Ron's hand slowly moved to his left chest, where he felt an unusual burning sensation.

A hairline crack is spreading across the skin's surface.

The crack was extremely regular in shape, like an eye that was opening.

When the "eyes" are fully open, a faint but clear pulse can be heard emanating from them.

Each jump was accompanied by a slight tremor in space, as if sending precise coordinate information to a certain place.

"how so……"

Ron's voice trembled, and cold sweat beaded on his forehead:
"This must be a wound inflicted by that Time Hound last time. It's left a mark after it healed?"

He activated the "Hermit's Insight" for in-depth analysis and immediately discovered the terrifying nature of this mark.

It can penetrate the boundary between the space of consciousness and the real world.

The user's precise location is transmitted in real time to the hunters wandering through the river of time.

"The pocket watch's time reset ability... why didn't it erase this mark?"

Ron forced himself to remain calm, carefully recalling every detail of the last battle.

The Time Hound's piercing maw did indeed pierce his consciousness, leaving a shockingly large hole.

Although the power of the silver pocket watch healed the wound, perhaps... some deeper "marks" were not completely removed.

The frequency of the imprint's pulsation began to increase, gradually rising from once per second to three, five, ten times per second...

At the same time, Ron could feel the response coming from outside the crack.

Seven distinct forces of malice are trying to squeeze in.

Each one carries a unique "flavor":
Some are like the biting, icy winds of a cold winter;
Some are like the deathly stillness of a decaying tomb;
Others include the sharp hissing sound of steel rubbing together...

"Seven of them... If I were to encounter them in their advantageous terrain, I'm afraid I wouldn't last even three seconds."

He gritted his teeth, his brain starting to work at high speed.

Running away is not a realistic option.

The Timehounds have extremely strong tracking abilities, and the mark continues to send coordinates.

"Back when we were at the Morning Star level, we could only flee in disarray if we encountered even a hunting dog, but now..."

He felt the changes that came with his promotion.

A breakthrough at the Moon-level is not just about increasing mental strength.

The activated radiation field, like a second skin, enveloped his consciousness, within which flowed energy channels capable of memory and learning.

The triple boost from the "Intelligence Triangle" increased his thinking speed several times over, allowing him to deduce every tactical detail in the blink of an eye.

The "devouring" magic that "The Star Eater's Whispers" awakened upon reaching a new stage, although he has not yet fully mastered it, has already been able to subtly influence the energy environment in a small area.

"Since there's no escaping it, it's a good opportunity to test the increased strength after advancing to the Moon Rank."

A cold glint appeared in Ron's eyes as an unprecedentedly audacious plan took shape in his mind:
"But we must not let them swarm in. We must create terrain advantages and turn group battles into one-on-one duels."

………………

Taking a deep breath, he began an unprecedented project—transforming his consciousness space into a hunting ground.

Unlike the simple operation of the Morning Star system, the "micro-structure modification" feature is pushed to its limit.

Magic surged from his spiritual core, sculpting every inch of the "land" of his consciousness space like a scalpel.

The activated radiation field played a key role.

It is like an extended organ with life, capable of sensing and remembering the most subtle energy fluctuations.

The once flat and open mental realm began to undergo drastic changes.

The ground rose up, forming countless towering "ridges".

These ridges are arranged with extreme precision, and the distances between them are calculated in detail to form narrow canyons that can only accommodate a single vehicle at a time.

"In the last battle, that hunting dog was used to attacking from the left rear, and its movement trajectory tended to be an arc-shaped flanking maneuver..."

Previous memories are retrieved like a database, providing precise parameters for the angle and width of each canyon.

"Although their body shape can change, they maintain a relatively fixed size when attacking..."

As Ron modified the terrain, he mentally rehearsed his tactics:

“These canyons are just wide enough for a single hound to pass through, but they would hinder their group cooperation.”

At each key juncture of the canyon, he pre-embedded the energy core of the "Ring of Radiance".

These cores are hidden beneath the surface like landmines, waiting for the right moment to detonate.

Light is the greatest nemesis of Timehounds, as it can eliminate the shadow angles they rely on for attacks.

Next comes the more ingenious part – the setup of the bait.

In the southeast corner of the consciousness space, Ron constructed an area that exuded an alluring aura.

His most "important" memory projection was placed there:

The heartwarming scene of his first meeting with Mrs. Allen, where the old woman taught him how to brew his first potion;

Academic discussions with mentors such as Soren and Yuni during the Black Mist School;

Playing with young Dale in the crystal pool, the little siren's long silver hair fluttering in the water;

In the afternoon in the garden with Ailan, the tree spirit's emerald green branches swayed gracefully in the sunlight;

There's also his encounter with Nari, and his time with Eve...

He carefully "seasoned" each memory, giving it a richer emotional flavor.

The pure emotions contained in these beautiful memories are the most delicious food for the Time Hound, a half-spiritual being.

"They are attracted to these 'delicious' memories, just like sharks are attracted to the smell of blood."

Ron chuckled softly:
"And to get these baits, you have to go through the canyon maze I designed."

When everything was finished, the originally simple spiritual realm had become a labyrinth.

The canyons are crisscrossed, traps are scattered everywhere, and the bait areas exude an irresistible sweet aroma.

"bring it on……"

………………

The first crack began to appear at the edge of the consciousness space.

It was an extremely narrow crack, only as thick as a hair, but it exuded a chilling, alien aura.

The edges of the crack were irregularly jagged, as if it had been forcibly torn open by some extremely sharp claws.

As the crack widened, a low, rhythmic breathing sound could be heard emanating from it.

That is the rhythm of time itself, with each rise and fall accompanied by a subtle distortion of space.

One of the obstacles was first widened to a point where it was wide enough to pass through.

The first hound eagerly squeezed its way in.

This hunting dog looks completely different from the one we encountered last time.

It is more slender, and its body flows with a silvery luster like liquid metal.

It has no fixed head; instead, it is an energy vortex that constantly changes shape.

The cone-shaped mouthparts were also larger than those seen before, and their surface was covered with spiral barbs.

"This one is clearly stronger than the last one. It seems that the last one was just a low-level, wandering individual?"

Ron's heart sank, but he still carried out his plan step by step.

After the hound entered the consciousness space, it did not immediately launch an attack.

It cautiously probed the edge area, constantly sniffing the air.

The silver body slowly writhed in place, adjusting its sensory range with each transformation.

The hounds moved much slower than expected.

That flexibility that allows one to move freely in space and time is being weakened by the influence of the "swallowing" characteristic.

"It sensed the threat, but didn't understand its source."

Ron deliberately created a faint mental fluctuation in the bait area.

Those were fragments of his memory from when he said goodbye to Andrei at the palace, filled with a strong sense of loss and melancholy.

The hound's attention was immediately drawn.

The head, which resembled an energy vortex, began to spin rapidly, its conical mouthparts trembling excitedly.

It begins to move toward the bait area, but the path must inevitably traverse Ron's meticulously designed "canyon maze".

With its silver body flowing like mercury, the hound entered the entrance to the first canyon.

The width of the canyon just limits its range of movement, preventing it from making large-scale blinking movements.

As the hounds made their way to the middle of the canyon, Ron's fingers brushed against an invisible "switch".

"Activate the first trap!"

Suddenly, a blinding golden light shone on both sides of the canyon.

The energy cores of several "Radiant Rings" are activated simultaneously!
Intense light surged into the canyon like a tide, dispelling all shadows.

The hounds let out sharp, angry howls, the sound as grating as metal scraping.

The spacetime angle it relied on for its attacks was completely eliminated, and its originally smooth movement became stiff and sluggish.

"The results were even better than expected..."

Ron's eyes showed satisfaction, but it was quickly replaced by new worries.

Simply because the hunting dog displayed abilities he had never anticipated.

Faced with the overwhelming light, the hound's body suddenly became translucent, and countless tiny spatial rifts appeared on its surface.

By sacrificing its own essential existence, it forcibly created a shadow angle for attack within pure light!
"This is an ability I haven't seen before..."

Ron's pupils suddenly contracted:
"Or is it that the hound from last time didn't consider me a serious opponent at all?"

A cone-shaped mouthpart emerged from a tiny crack, piercing Ron's mental core at a completely unexpected and bizarre angle.

This attack came without any warning, without any energy accumulation, without any spatial fluctuations; it was as if it appeared directly from nothingness.

At the critical moment, Ron activated "Time Jump".

The world in his eyes became as sticky as honey again, and everything around him was in a state of extremely slow motion.

He himself maintained extraordinary speed like an arrow released from a bow.

In this strange time difference, Ron could clearly see the piercing device slowly approaching, measured in millimeters.

The spiral barbs on the surface of the mouthparts exude a disgusting urge to suck.

"I must not be hit!" The mouthparts almost grazed the surface of his consciousness, taking away a tiny wisp of spiritual energy.

Even this slight contact sent a chill down Ron's spine.

"That was too close... If I had reacted even 0.1 seconds slower, I would have taken a full hit."

He immediately distanced himself after landing, his back soaked in cold sweat.

The hound's attack missed, but it did not immediately launch a second attack.

Under the continued suppression of light, it needs more time to reposition its goals.

This brief opening was precisely the counterattack opportunity that Ron had been waiting for.

"It's my turn..."

A dangerous glint appeared in his eyes; all fear and tension were replaced by a fighting instinct.

—Sonic vibration!
Unlike traditional point-to-point mental attacks, Ron began to construct a three-dimensional shock network.

The "Chaos Disturbance" property is activated, and dual mental shockwaves are launched simultaneously from different dimensions, forming an invisible three-dimensional cage.

The hound's silver body trembled violently.

It attempted to trigger a time reset to undo the damage, but Ron's psychic blast after completing the iteration produced a strong disruptive effect.

The reset process was noticeably choppy, like a mechanical gear getting stuck in sand.

"It's now!"

Ron seized this fleeting opportunity and began to unleash his strongest killing move under normal circumstances.

Ancient and distorted murmurs echoed through the canyon:

"Iai'leth N'gha Fhtagn..."

The first syllable carries a primal malice from the depths of the star field, and even the air itself begins to distort and deform.
"Shugal V'doru Nyth'drn..."

The second syllable contains the terrifying power of reality's erosion, directly impacting even the very essence of the hunting dog's existence.

The distorted, high-dimensional syllables sliced ​​through the hound's consciousness like invisible blades.

This attack had clearly exceeded the hound's tolerance limit, and its body began to disintegrate in large areas, becoming "pixelated".

The head, swirling with energy, let out a final, unwilling screech.

Then, his entire body turned into specks of light and dust and dissipated in the canyon.

"The first one... solved."

Ron slowly exhaled.

As the hounds disappeared, a faint tremor came from the silver pocket watch on his chest.

The pocket watch greedily absorbed the pure time energy released when the Time Hound died.

The warmth from the abundant energy flowing through the pocket watch brought him some comfort.

But this comfort was soon shattered by new threats.

The other six cracks at the edge of the consciousness space are expanding rapidly.

An angry and shrill screech came from outside, like the piercing noise of metal twisting under high temperature.

The sounds were layered and clearly came from more than one source.

The remaining hounds clearly learned a painful lesson from the death of their companion.

Instead of acting alone again, they began to display a chilling collective intelligence.

………………

The second Timehound slowly peeked its head out from the crack on the east side.

The hound's form was even more bizarre, constantly flowing like liquid mercury, its surface reflecting a distorted luster.

It did not rush into the canyon maze set up by Ron, but instead carefully observed from the edge of the crack.

Almost simultaneously, a third hound appeared at the crack on the west side.

Its body is semi-transparent, as if it might disappear into nothingness at any moment.

The two hounds maintained an eerie synchronization, their every move as symmetrical as a mirror image.

"Coordination in combat...this is troublesome."

Ron gritted his teeth, and even more cold sweat seeped from his forehead.

Dealing with a single Timehound is already extremely difficult, but the threat of two working together increases dramatically.

Even worse, the two hounds began to display a terrifying attack capability he had never heard of before.

The Mercury Hound on the east side began to gather its strength, its spiked muzzle aimed at Ron not far away.

The translucent hound on the west side is eerily "anchored" to a certain point in time.

Its target isn't now, but Ron 0.5 seconds from now!
The terrifying thing about this attack method is that no matter how he dodges, one of his attacks will always hit him precisely.

If he dodges to the left, the current attack will miss, but the attack 0.5 seconds later will hit his new position precisely.

If he dodges to the right, he will still be caught in the crossfire due to the time difference.

Even "time jump" cannot be completely avoided, because the attack of the translucent hound itself takes place in the time dimension.

"This attack pattern is somewhat unsolvable..."

Ron's brain began to work at high speed, and his "Hermit's Sense" was pushed to its limit.

In the face of life and death, his thinking ability was stimulated to an unprecedented level.

Dozens of solutions were quickly generated, analyzed, and rejected in my mind...

"The canyon I designed greatly reduces the attack angles of the hounds."

Since we can't avoid them, let's guide them towards the wrong target!

A crazy yet ingenious plan took shape in an instant.

Ron began activating the recording function of "Thousand Transformations".

This time, I'm not recording other people's abilities, but rather recording my own actions.

Light surged from his body and began to form a projection on the front of his body.

A "Ron from 0.5 seconds ago" slowly appeared, perfectly replicating his every action and expression.

This projection is not only incredibly realistic in appearance, but it even mimics the same mental fluctuations.

But a single projection is not enough.

He activated the substitute puppet that had been unused for a long time.

The purplish-black humanoid puppet materialized immediately, displaying the exact same appearance as Ron.

There are currently three "Ron"s in the consciousness space:
The projection of the past, the present self, and a "stand-in puppet" used to mislead the eye.

………………

The two Time Hounds attacked simultaneously, and a tearing screech echoed through the space.

Mercury Hound's spike pierced the projection of "Ron in the present" like lightning.

The spiral barbs on the surface of the mouthparts rotate at high speed, creating ripples in the space.

The translucent hound's attack was even more bizarre; its spikes seemed to transcend the boundaries of time, appearing directly in front of Ron.

The two attacks hit the target almost simultaneously.

The spike pierced precisely through the bodies of the projection and the puppet, and began to greedily suck up the "spiritual energy".

But the next second, the hounds were confused and angry.

The mercury hounds only inhale illusory light and shadow; it has no nutritional value whatsoever.

The translucent hound absorbed the abyssal crystals from the puppet's body, and the dense, chaotic aura made it feel extremely nauseous and uncomfortable.

Just as the two hounds were briefly confused because they did not get the expected "food" from the straw mouthpiece.

The real Ron had already moved to a new location via "time jump" when they launched their attack.

"It's now!"

Without the slightest hesitation, he immediately launched a counterattack.

—Super Magic Skill Exploitation

Ron forcefully squeezed and fixed the mental shockwaves, as if squeezing the water out of a sponge to its limit.

This kind of overdraft is extremely dangerous, but in the face of life and death, he no longer cared about the consequences.

A surge of spiritual power erupted like a burst dam, forming two intertwined energy spirals in his hands.

—Psychic Bombardment Grid
This was a highly difficult technique he had never attempted before: simultaneously unleashing a gridded mental blast on two targets.

The first shockwave network enveloped Mercury Hound, simultaneously bombarding its core consciousness from different angles.

The second shockwave network surrounds the translucent hound, specifically designed to disrupt its time-anchoring ability.

Both hounds let out painful howls at the same time, and their bodies began to tremble violently.

Even more ingeniously, the grid effect of the mental shockwave produced an unexpected chain reaction.

The Mercury Hound's spike suddenly changed direction, aiming for the translucent hound's side.

The translucent hounds were not to be outdone, retaliating with their mouthparts as venomous as snakes.

Two hounds, now in disarray, begin to fight in the canyon.

Sharp spikes crisscrossed and danced in the air, splashing specks of silver.

"Success... We're safe for now..."

Ron leaned against the canyon wall, breathing heavily.

The aftereffects of excessive mental exertion are beginning to appear:
Flashing spots of light appeared at the edge of my vision, and a sharp, drill-like pain shot through my temples.

But he knew he couldn't let his guard down; he had to take advantage of the opportunity while the hounds were fighting each other to eliminate them completely.

—Sonic oscillation erosion state

Ancient murmurs echoed through the canyon, the distorted syllables cutting like invisible blades into the two fighting hounds.

The power of high-dimensional pollution caused their bodies to begin to fester in large areas, with silver liquid and translucent energy scattering everywhere.

In their final desperate struggle, the two hounds simultaneously transformed into countless specks of light and vanished, greedily absorbed by the pocket watch on Ron's chest.

At the same time, a deadly sense of crisis suddenly came from behind.

A spike appeared out of nowhere and pierced through with lightning speed.

(End of this chapter)