2025-06-24 19:56:20Master duke stood beside her, his presence commanding and unshakable.
"Place your hand on the enchanted crystal ball, " he instructed.
Akira nodded with confidence. She reached out pressing her palm against the smooth surface of the enhancement crystal ball.
The moment she did, darkness swallowed the entire hall.
A heavy, suffocating blackness
Gasps filled the air. Some recruits stepped back, others clutched their chests In fear. Even the master duke narrowed his eyes as he observed the phenomenon.
Then, just as suddenly as it came, the darkness disappeared.
The crystal pulsed once, then settled.
Master duke glanced at it and immediately understood. He turned back to the expectant crowd.
"Akira has received the ability of the best manifestation!" He announced.
The hall erupted with cheers. Some recruits clapped, others whistles, but all eyes were on the girl who had just received an extraordinary gift.
Master duke handed her a folded uniform." Here is your hunter's uniform. I will personally mentor you to become a great hunter."
Akira took the uniform, wearing it with pride before stepping down to stand among the newly awakened recruits.
"Woah, this is insane..." Riley muttered, completely awestruck.
He shifted the weight of his bag, still stunned by what he had just witnessed, but his hands fumbled.
The bag slipped from his grasp and hit the ground, spilling swords, daggers, and bows across the floor.The entire hall fell silent, then all eyes turned to Riley.
"Who are you, boy?" Master duke asked.
Riley's heart hammered in his chest as he immediately knew to gather the scattered weapons.
Before he could finish, a ur moved at inhuman speed, it was master duke.
The hunter leader appeared right in front of Riley within seconds, his piercing gaze locked into him.
"Who are you, boy?" His voice carried an overwhelming authority.
Riley swallowed hard. He could barely breathe.
"Um...um... I'm the grandson of the blacksmith," he stuttered. " The famous blacksmith." Riley replied.
Master Duke's expression hardened. "Mr Daniel?"
"Yeah, yeah...he asked me to deliver their weapons to you. He's kind of sick, that's why he sent me instead," Riley rushed to explain.
Master duke relaxed slightly before studying him closely.
"I see..." The hunter leader paused. " What ability do you have?" Master duke asked Riley.
Riley froze, he already knew where this was going.
"Um....I haven't touched the enchanted crystal yet..." His voice came out hesitant, barely above w whispering.
A stirring murmur ran through the recruits. Some gasped, others exchanged looks of shock and amusement.
Master Duke's brows furrowed. " What?How old are you?" He asked.
"N-Nineteen..."Riley answered, his voice crackling slightly. "My grandfather never let me get abilities. He said it was too dangerous to be a hunter." Riley added.
A few chuckles rose from the crowd.
"Nineteen?, and he hasn't even awakened?!" Someone yelled.
"Is he serious?" Another whispered.
Master duke ignored the murmurs. He looked Riley in the eyes and asked, " Do you want to become a hunter?" He asked.
Riley's mouth went dry, he wanted to say no, to walk away, to hide from the embarrassment.
.
But instead, his heart spoke.
"Yeah .. I've always wanted to be a hunter." His voice was soft, but the desire in it was real.
Master duke smiled. "Then let's do it."
Bekfr Riley could even protest, master duke grabbed him by the arm and started walking him towards the stage.
"Um....sir...sir!, I don't think I'm ready!" Riley panicked, trying to pull away but it was too late.
The crowd was watching, there was no backing out now.
Riley stood beside the enchanted crystal ball, his entire body shaking.
Master duke placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "It is time, Riley. Your wishes will be granted. Just touch the crystal ball and focus." Master duke said softly.
Riley hesitated, what if he wasn't meant for this?, what if his grandfather had been right?
His hands trembled, but he took a deep breath and pressed his palm against the crystal.
Nothing.
The crystal ball remained still, no flow, no light, joy reaction.
Master Duke's expression shifted from confidence to concern.
"Strange." He frowned. "Try again, Riley, focus." Master duke said.
Riley tried again, and again, and again, nothing happened.
The whispers in the crowd grew louder
"Wait... he's not getting any abilities?"
."hah! Even the crystal doesn't want to give him power!"
"Is he broken or something?"
Laughter rippled through the hall.
Riley's vision blurred. His hands clenched into fists, his breathing became shallow.
"Enough." Master Duke's voice cut through the noise, but the damage was already done.
The humiliation sank deep into Riley's bones.
He felt like his entire existence had just been publicly invalidated.
"Why what's going, I can keep trying, maybe it's broken..let me keep trying" Riley was already trembling.
"Riley if you keep trying, you are likely to die...if you keep forcing yourself on the crystal...you could be destroyed" master duke.
"Come-on, don't do me like this, Icaj I try one last time, perhaps I wasn't focusing properly" Riley muttered with sadness.
"I'm sorry Riley, but you could die if you keep trying... perhaps it's not your destiny to become a hunter, guess your grandfather was right all along" master duke replied.
"No, no, no sir" risky pleading.
"You're a good kid, you will be just fine without those abilities " master duke replied calmly.
Without thinking, Riley grabbed the bag of weapons, shoved it into master Duke's hands and ran.
He didn't look back, he just ran.
Tears burned in Riley's eyes as he sprinted down the endless stairs, barely able to send through his blurred vision.
The mocking words echoed in his head.
"Even the crystal doesn't want him!"
"What kind of loser doesn't awaken at nineteen?"
"He's nothing but a weakling."
His chest ached, his mind screamed.
By the time he reached the bottom of the stairs, his legs gave out. He collapsed to his knees, sobbing into his hands.
He couldn't go home like this, his grandfather had warned him, he had been right, Riley wasn't meant to be a hunter, he was meant to be nothing.
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Chapter Twenty-Three
The cavern shook as the Titan’s molten body retreated into the darkness. Its burning chains dragged Alira across the floor, her silver glow flickering as she struggled against them. Her voice echoed through the heat and ash.“Riley!”Her cry pierced his chest like a blade.He tried to move, but his legs buckled. His arms shook violently, his blade gone, his vision swimming in red haze. The infection inside him surged like fire, tearing through his veins. His system blinked in frantic warning.SYSTEM ALERT: Collapse Imminent.HP: 45/500.Infection Progress: 94%.“Not yet,” Riley whispered through bloodied lips. He planted his hand against the molten ground, forcing himself up inch by inch. His breath came in ragged gasps. “Not, yet.”But the Titan was already gone, vanishing into the glowing tunnels with Alira bound in its grasp. The last echo of her cry faded into silence.Riley collapsed again, coughing hard. His blood hit the black stone, sizzling on the heated ground. He clenched
Chapter Twenty-Two
The Titan’s roar shook the cavern walls. Lava dripped from its body, glowing rivers running across the floor. Its molten chains dug into Riley’s skin, each link burning like fire pressed into his flesh.He gritted his teeth, pulling against them with all his strength. His system blinked in his vision:ALERT: Shadow Bind, Escape Chance 5%.HP: 110/500.Not enough. He was trapped. Alira stepped forward, her silver glow faint but steady. Her eyes never left the Titan’s burning face. “You still live,” she whispered.The Titan’s voice rumbled like a grinding stone. “And you still run. But not this time, Alira.”Riley’s chest tightened. The Titan knew her. He forced the words out through clenched teeth. “What, what are you to him?”Alira’s gaze flickered briefly toward Riley, then back to the monster. Her voice was calm, too calm. “He was my creation’s first host.”Riley froze. His stomach dropped. “What?”Alira’s eyes darkened. “Before you, before me, the Titan bore the system.”The chamb
Chapter Twenty-One
The valley was silent. The screaming mist had gone. The glowing moss no longer pulsed. The ground lay broken, ash from the fallen Guardians scattered like gray snow.Riley stood on shaky legs, breathing hard. His blade had dissolved, his energy almost gone. His arm still throbbed with black veins, faint but stubborn, crawling beneath his skin like poison that refused to leave.Alira stood a few paces away, her silver hair glowing faintly in the dim light. She seemed calm, too calm for the destruction around them.Riley forced himself to speak, though his voice was hoarse. “You said, my team. They’re alive?”Alira turned her glowing eyes on him. “Yes. Alive. But held in a place worse than death.”Riley’s chest tightened. “Where?”Her gaze shifted toward the distance. Beyond the shattered valley, the horizon burned faintly red. There, a mountain rose, black and jagged, glowing with cracks of molten fire. “The Titan’s lair,” she said softly. “They are trapped within.”The name itself m
Chapter Twenty
The valley trembled as the shadow’s darkness closed in. The Guardians knelt like worshippers, their glowing chests dimming in reverence to their master.The mist pressed heavy, the air choking, the moss under Riley’s knees burning with each pulse.Riley’s vision blurred. His arm was almost completely black now, veins spreading into his chest. The infection crawled like fire under his skin, tearing him apart from inside.His blade flickered weakly in his hand, its light barely holding. The shadow loomed closer, white eyes burning like frozen suns. “It is finished,” the shadow whispered. “The system is mine.”Dark tendrils reached for him, but the voice came again. Clear. Fierce. Urgent. “Say my name.”Riley’s breath caught. His head snapped toward the chained woman glowing in the pit. Her eyes were still closed, her body still wrapped in those glowing bindings, but her lips moved faintly, forming silent words. He couldn’t hear them. His system blinked in panic.ALERT: Synchronization
Chapter Nineteen
The valley shook like a living thing. Light cracked through the mossy ground, green and white streams bursting upward in violent arcs. The mist thickened, swirling fast as if it were alive too, wrapping the whole valley in a prison of haze.Riley’s eyes locked on the chained woman at the center of it all. She hung in the glow like she was floating underwater, her body still, her eyes closed. The chains around her shimmered with a dull white light, and they pulsed in rhythm with the moss beneath Riley’s feet.It was as if the entire valley was tied to her, but he had no time to think. The Guardians were rising.Their massive moss-and-stone bodies tore free of the ground, glowing cracks spreading across their chests. First one, then three, then a dozen. In moments, Riley was surrounded. His system blinked wildly.ENTITY DETECTED: VALLEY GUARDIANS (x27).Threat Level: Overwhelming.Recommended Strategy: Retreat.Riley clenched his jaw. “Retreat to where?” he muttered bitterly.The gr
Chapter Eighteen
The moss beneath Riley’s boots pulsed faintly, almost like a heartbeat. Each step he took sank slightly, as if the ground was soft flesh instead of plant.The mist was thick, glowing faintly with that same green light, curling like smoke around his legs. Somewhere in the haze, the sound came again. Thump. Thump.Heavy, steady, deliberate. Riley’s grip tightened on his glowing blade. Its light wavered, still unstable, flickering with each heartbeat of his own. He spun in place, scanning the shadows. “Show yourself.”No answer. Just another slow, heavy step. Then a voice, faint, broken, carried through the mist. “Riley.”He froze. His chest tightened. That voice, it sounded like Akira. He took a cautious step forward. “Akira?”No reply. Just the sound again, softer now. “Riley.” It pulled him deeper into the mist.The glowing moss grew taller here, rising in strange stalks that bent toward him as he passed, brushing against his arms like cold fingers. Their glow dimmed when his blade d
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