Amon watched in silence as Medici began dissecting the lizard. The creature wasn't anything particularly strong, just an Awakened monster. Still, it seemed tougher than most of its kind.

Medici had used the bones of a higher-ranked nightmare creature he'd found to set the trap and kill it. Perhaps the monster whose bones he'd discovered had been killed by the First Lord and his cohort.

What mattered now, though, was simple... he wouldn't be starving today.

"Hey, why don't you help me? Maybe you'll learn something."

Amon sighed and stood up as Medici split open the beast's stomach. Carefully, he removed the sacs that held poison, then the stomach itself, which definitely contained acid.

He put down sacs while tossing stomach into a hole he had dug. A moment later, a fireball, at least a meter across, flared into existence a few centimeters above his palm. He hurled the blazing sphere into the hole, incinerating the organs, then buried the remains beneath a layer of earth.

It seemed as though Medici had an instinctive understanding that some predators might be drawn by the scent of burned body or blood, so he buried the remains without hesitation. Then he gestured for Amon to come closer.

"You stole the Endless Spring, right? Help me wash out the blood, this stuff's poisonous."

Amon nodded silently and used the Endless Spring to rinse the inside of the abomination's carcass. Once that was done, he helped Medici peel away the creature's thick scales. His little unsettling friend then set about butchering the creature with practiced efficiency.

Amon frowned as they worked together to store the meat.

"Uh… my dear hot… friend. Why are you removing the brain, too?"

Medici flashed him a grin, wiping the sweat from his brow. At the moment, he was drenched in grime, reeking of blood and rot. If Amon was being honest, he smelled like a shit.

"Hmm? Because it's edible. What? Don't be picky now."

Amon froze mid-cut, staring at Medici. Was he serious? …Apparently, yes. Eh. Guess life's about to get tougher.

Noticing his expression, Medici merely shrugged, as if this was nothing out of the ordinary.

"What? You've read about people eating, I don't know, animal balls, and this is what disgusts you? We don't have much choice here, either eat this garbage or starve to death."

Amon sighed, shot him a look of annoyance, and went back to working on the meat.

An hour later, the two of them sat around a campfire. Amon's Memory, Hearth, wasn't an ordinary flame: it was a gentle, peaceful fire that would never extinguish on its own.

At first, Amon hadn't been able to use it properly, but now… perhaps he understood its enhancement better. The correct description would be that as long as there was a familiar, warm atmosphere of home, Hearth would always grant its user that same comforting warmth... Well, at least that's how he thought Spell would describe the Memory's enhancement.

Medici used Endless Spring to fill a pot, then began cutting the meat. He tossed in a few leaves Amon didn't recognize, stirred the mixture, and set it to cook.

Half an hour later, Amon set down his… well, it wasn't exactly a bowl, more like the skull of some unfortunate beast but the container didn't matter. What mattered was Medici's cooking.

Damn... This shit is actually delicious.

He blinked at Medici, stunned. This guy didn't look like he could cook to save his life. Could it be his Hunter abilities? Most likely.

If Amon was being honest, he barely remembered the details of Lord of the Mysteries or Shadow Slave anymore, it had been almost three years, maybe more, since he'd read them. He only remembered the important bits.

But one thing he did remember? Hunters were overpowered. Masters of surviving the wild.

…Well, except Danitz. That guy ain't surviving shit.

Amon's chest swelled with emotion as he stared at Medici, the glow of the fire casting heroic shadows across his face. With a dramatic flourish, he stood and placed a firm hand on Medici's shoulder.

Medici blinked, utterly confused until he noticed the single, glittering tear sliding down Amon's cheek.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"Shush."

Amon pressed a finger to Medici's lips, shaking his head solemnly as he wiped the tear away.

"There's no need for words… Stand proud, Medici. You… can cook."

Medici froze. His eyes widened and his fists clenched like he was preparing for battle. A single tear escaped but before it could touch the ground, it hissed into steam, vaporized by the faint heat of his fire.

"War Gods… don't cry too…"

The night passed filled with unspoken words.

The next day, they woke early and began preparing for their journey. Medici and Amon packed everything important into the Fraud's Bag: food, poison, and other essentials.

As they walked, Amon calmly explained everything he had learned about his aspect and how to evolve his attributes.

Gradually, Medici's eyes widened, then he exhaled softly, his expression becoming more complicated.

"What about Secret Supplicant or Listener? Those two sequences are the most dangerous… Luna is in trouble now. Being in the dream realm, she'll grow… damn it."

Amon nodded grimly, keeping his expression calm, though concern flickered in his eyes. There was another problem, too. The Uniqueness of the Hanged Man's pathway: a self-sacrificing path that would not hesitate to risk one's life so that others could live. Sin-Bearer and Scapegoat... Shit.

"We need to find Luna as quickly as possible. That's our priority right now. At the same time… the Statue will arrive soon, so we can head to Dark City. If we're lucky, Luna will be there. If not… we start the search."

Medici nodded solemnly, his muscles tensing slightly with concern before he sighed.

"Fine by me. Wait… how do you know when the Statue will arrive?"

Amon blinked, as if recalling something, then smiled and glanced back at him.

"Hawk's Eye."

"Avenger?"

"Nah… just a spyglass."

They walked for some time. Amon had been on watch yesterday, so he knew that a large battle had taken place somewhere in the South between nightmare creatures. In the Hollow Mountains, there weren't many, but the ones that remained were alive and fully capable of slaughtering them like sheep.

As he thought back to the sounds of their brawl, a strange question crossed his mind: Could I swindle an Abomination?

The thought seemed absurd but… could he? Swindling wasn't just about trickery; it was about giving the target a choice. Making them believe they were acting freely, wisely, of their own accord…

Hmm. Curious...

They finally arrived at their destination. Medici looked down at the wide chasm, then back at the road behind them. He paused, glancing at Amon, who was smirking deviously. Then he smiled.

"So… do you want to? Your plan seems a bit crazy, to be honest."

Amon grinned, sitting at the edge of the road with a thoughtful look. Hmm… this might actually work…

"I'm sure. Sometimes we need to take risks, right? Life's too boring without them."

Medici nodded but then froze, narrowing his eyes in concern. Uniqueness? he thought, slightly disturbed. But he shook his head. No… Amon had always been a troublemaker who sought thrills...

That day, Amon observed a peculiar Abomination. It was slightly larger than the lizard Medici had hunted, but it seemed far stronger and noticeably more intelligent. Awakened Demon? Probably.

Normally, Amon would have been terrified to be this close to such a beast. But after digesting Marauder, his combat capabilities had improved drastically. On top of that, he was now a monster himself, making him stronger than almost any other sleeper. If Nephis and her cohort had managed to kill Carapace Demon even if it was injured, why couldn't he?

Not to mention, Nephis and her cohort were dormant beasts with a single core, while Amon was a Monster with two cores. Add Medici's raw destructive power and knowledge of the wilderness and hunting… their chances were better than the original cohort's.

The creature looked like a humanoid giant, but with eyes on its palms and a single mouth on its face. Pale… Shit! What's wrong with my enemies? Why are they all pale!?

Sighing, Amon continued his observation. Its arms were unnaturally long, long enough to reach its toes, and it was hunched over, devouring other monsters with relentless glee.

Amon frowned. So that's how it is… Even if every creature in the Dream Realm was corrupted and insane, they were still living beings. They still had priorities and motivations; whether it was food, spreading corruption, defending territory, or growing stronger. And that meant… they could still be deceived.

Amon had a clear reason for targeting this creature: the soul shards. Corrupted creatures had no use for them, which meant they were left behind after devouring their prey. Scattered around the creature were dozens of monster bones and among them, gleaming soul shards, untouched and discarded.

Sure, he could wait for the creature to leave and then steal them but that wasn't an option. The Builder's statue would arrive soon, leaving them no time. And the Demon had enough food to stay satisfied for quite a while, which meant it wouldn't leave its territory before the statue arrived.

Amon sighed, a hint of greed flickering in his eyes, but he held himself back. He leapt from the cliff, sliding to the right before jumping again. With surprising agility, he managed to grip the rocky terrain and began climbing toward their camp.

If he had been alone, he would die but Medici was here. That significantly increased their chances of success. Of course, the knowledge gained from digesting his aspect played a big role as well. Medici was slowly digesting the characteristics of his own attribute too, and perhaps, soon, the true provoker would be born.

That bum… he should have let him name Alista Tudor. At least then he'd be a goat emperor and not some freaking fraud.

"I feel like you're mocking me."

"You're imagining it."

Amon said smoothly and took a seat near the campfire. Of course, they didn't let the light escape, being inside the cave, the skin of the nightmare creature blocked any glow, ensuring it wouldn't attract unwanted attention.

After eating, Amon extinguished the fire with water from Endless Spring and lay down on the skin of the nightmare creature. Well… sometimes big Abominations were useful. Not exactly a pillow, but far more comfortable than the cold ground.

Meanwhile, Medici borrowed Endless Spring to wash himself. A true Hunter knew the importance of cleanliness, if a bear could smell blood from kilometers away, what would mystical Abominations do? Stealing Endless Spring had been the right choice.

Yaaawn. Life was good now, at least for the moment.

Tomorrow would be his first day as a Swindler, and he had found… not exactly a gullible pigeon, but a victim good enough.

Victory shall be mine. Hehehe.