Chapter 22 The Goblin King rose slowly from its throne. It didn't charge. It simply stared at Owen. Its yellow eyes followed every movement he made as it stepped down from the stone platform. One step. Then another. Each footfall echoed through the chamber. Owen tightened his grip on his twin short blades. The Goblin King towered over him at nearly seven feet. Its broad body was covered in thick, green skin, crisscrossed by old scars. Some were thin and faded. Others were deep enough to make Owen wonder what kind of weapon had left them. This thing had fought before. A lot. The dead Goblin General had charged at him with confidence. This one wasn't making the same mistake. Owen shifted his weight. It's not underestimating me. The Goblin King stopped a few meters away. Its fingers tightened around the hilt of its long sword. The blade was crude compared to the weapons Owen had seen from humans, but its edge looked sharp enough to split bone. Torchlight slid across the

“Where is Kai?”Owen stepped forward, scanning the group of soldiers and civilians gathered around.The little boy was nowhere in sight.He grabbed one of the soldiers by the collar and pulled him closer.“Where’s the little boy?”The soldier swallowed hard. His hands went up instinctively as Owen's grip tightened.There was something different about Owen.He looked the same, but something about him had changed after coming out of the rift. Even standing still, he made the soldier feel like he was staring at someone he shouldn't provoke.“The kid is safe.”A voice cut through the crowd.Owen snapped his head toward the voice, but his hand remained locked around the soldier's collar.Lieutenant Colonel Jeffrey stepped out from the crowd, still wearing his armor.The same man who had ordered Owen to get back in line three days ago without even listening to what he had to say.Owen had disliked him from the beginning.“The boy, Kai, and the others who came out of the rift are over there.

Chapter 26Owen watched the monsters for more than an hour.They didn't leave.They wandered through the streets, sniffing around abandoned cars and tearing through anything that caught their attention. Every now and then, one of them would stop and raise its head, as if searching for something.Owen's stomach growled.He lowered his gaze to his stomach.Then he remembered.He hadn't eaten anything since they returned to Earth.He searched through the barber shop, opening cabinets and checking behind the counter, but there was nothing edible in sight.“I can't bear this hunger anymore.”Kai looked at him.“But there are monsters out there.”“I know.”Owen's eyes returned to the street.“But that doesn't mean I'm going to starve myself.”Kai walked closer to the window and carefully peeked outside.“So… what's the plan?”“They're just monsters. No different from the ones we encountered in the rift.”Owen walked towards the door.“We're going down the street to the nearest shop. We'll g

Chapter 28[Host has been granted two skills by the system: Invisibility and Stealth.][Invisibility: As an assassin, your ultimate strength lies in striking when nobody sees you.]| Requirements: -1 Endurance point every five seconds when the skill is activated. || Stealth: Take advantage of shadows and cover to attack your opponents. || Requirements: -1 Endurance point every ten seconds. |Owen activated his Invisibility skill.His body vanished.Kai's eyes widened as he stared at the empty spot where Owen had been standing only a second ago.“Wait here!” Owen's voice came from beside him.Kai turned toward the voice and stared at the empty space.“Okay,” he replied.Owen moved forward under the cover of his new skill, his footsteps barely making a sound as he walked down the street with his sword in his hands.A mutated lizard stood ahead of him.It was as large as a car, its thick tail dragging across the road as it crawled between the abandoned buildings.Owen tightened his gri

Chapter 30Owen and Kai walked out of the house.Owen's face had returned to the emotionless expression Kai had grown used to seeing. But something about his eyes was different.They were colder. Like he'd let the world burn without baiting an eye.Kai kept glancing at him as they walked.He remembered what Owen had looked like the previous day. The way he had sat on the floor, his head lowered, surrounded by bloodstains.That Owen was gone.This Owen walked with his hands firmly around the hilt of his sword, his eyes moving from one building to another.Kai lowered his gaze.He couldn't help but wonder if Owen would still care about him.Or if, just like everyone else, Owen would leave him behind when things got difficult.The thought made his chest tighten.He didn't want to be alone again.Owen had never promised to protect him forever. He had never told Kai that he would stay with him no matter what happened.But somewhere along the way, Kai had started believing he would.Maybe t