2026-08-08 02:51:18"You all heard that, right? Just one guy. And he already made Bloodthorn run off like a scared kid."
The voice echoed from behind the cliffside ruins, followed by footsteps, far more of them than before. Nox stopped, quickly counting the silhouettes emerging from every direction.
Bloodthorn stood in the middle of the crowd, his face still carrying the grudge from his earlier defeat, now smirking with full confidence.
"Didn't expect you'd be brave enough to come back," Nox said.
Bloodthorn raised a hand, signaling to his entire group. "I came back to make sure you never get the chance to tell anyone what happened earlier."
A hulking man stepped forward from the ranks, a double-headed axe gripped in both hands, his face marked with virtual scars he'd deliberately kept as a status symbol.
"Deathbringer," Nox murmured, reading the name. "You brought an entire PK guild just for me?"
"Reputation costs money, Bloodthorn already paid a fortune to summon us," Deathbringer replied.
Nox recalculated, nine against one, a far cry from the earlier fight. "Nine of them. Erebus, come out!"
[Shadow Dormancy Deactivated]
The Erebus Guardian emerged from his shadow, followed by two Shadow Wisps and one remaining Wraith Sentinel Shadow harvested from the previous dungeon.
"Attack!" Deathbringer shouted, and all nine of them surged forward at once from every direction.
Nox melted into Umbral Veil, trying to repeat the tactic that had worked before, but this time there were too many enemies for a single blind spot to be fully exploited. Two attackers slashed straight at the shadow where he was hiding, forcing him out faster than planned.
"They know how I hide. Bloodthorn must've told them," he muttered, parrying one strike and dodging another.
The Erebus Guardian struck down two attackers at once with its claws, but three others immediately surrounded it from behind, jagged chains wrapping around its legs and wings, pinning it in place.
"Erebus!" Nox shouted, trying to fight his way through to help, but Deathbringer blocked his path with the double-headed axe, forcing Nox onto the defensive instead of letting him press the attack.
The Wraith Sentinel Shadow fell first, swarmed by three attackers at once until its shadowy body shattered into mist and vanished. One of the Shadow Wisps followed soon after.
"No, this still isn't enough. I need more time," Nox hissed, watching his small force fall one by one.
He tried melting into Umbral Veil again, but two attackers who'd already memorized the trick struck the nearest shadow simultaneously, forcing him out before he could piece together a new strategy.
Nox's HP kept dropping. He was getting cut from every direction, too many angles to block all at once.
"This isn't like before," he muttered.
Deathbringer swung his axe down, and Nox managed to block it with Requiem, but the impact left his arm numb for a moment, long enough for two other attackers to slash across his back from behind.
[HP: 94/1,240]
The world around him began to spin. He dropped to his knees, Silence slipping from his grip and clattering against the stone.
"Thought you could win that easily again?" Bloodthorn sneered, stepping forward with a satisfied smirk. "Finish him!"
The Erebus Guardian, still bound by the chains, thrashed violently at the sight of Nox falling, its usually calm eyes now blazing wild, a desperate roar tearing from its throat and shaking the entire ruin.
"Erebus," Nox whispered, his vision starting to blur, "don't push yourself too hard."
You think I'm going to just sit here and watch this happen?
The voice echoed through Nox's mind, far louder than before, carrying an anger that had been held back for far too long.
The violet cracks of light that had once spread slowly now exploded across the Erebus Guardian's entire body all at once. The jagged chains binding it melted instantly, burned away by a sudden heat surging from its own scales.
"W-what is that?" One of the attackers stumbled back in fear.
The Erebus Guardian rose to its full height, its body growing larger, its horns curving into a shape as perfect as a crown, and thick black smoke began pouring out from between his teeth.
[Erebus Guardian: Full Awakening Detected] [True Form Partially Restored]
It lifted its head, drew a deep breath, then let out a roar aimed straight at the crowd surrounding Nox.
[Fear Aura Active] [Effect Inversely Proportional to Enemy Level]
Five of the nine attackers collapsed to the ground instantly, shaking violently, their bodies refusing to move at all. The other three staggered back in a panic, shoving each other aside in their rush to flee. Only Deathbringer and Bloodthorn remained standing, though both their faces had gone deathly pale.
"Fall back, now!" Deathbringer shouted.
The Erebus Guardian gave them no such chance. It drew another breath and unleashed a blast of black flame wrapped in shadow straight into the ground between them, close enough to scorch part of the stone into blackened glass as one final warning.
[New Skill Unlocked: Black Shadow Breath]
Deathbringer dropped his own axe, trembling, then turned and ran as fast as he could. Bloodthorn followed without a word, activating an emergency escape scroll along with whatever members of his group were still conscious.
Within seconds, the ruined area fell silent again.
"You saved me." Nox smiled weakly, lifting a hand to touch the creature's snout.
You are my lord, you're the one who woke me. Helping you is my duty.
The Erebus Guardian lowered itself further, letting Nox lean his full weight against its scales, which now felt warm instead of their usual cold.
[New Skill Unlocked: Flight]
The massive wings beat once, and slowly the two of them lifted off the ground, rising into the darkening night sky.
"Take me home," Nox whispered, his eyes starting to close from the exhaustion that had been building since the fight began.
Rest. I'll take care of the rest.
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Latest Chapter
The Person Who Should Have Disappeared
"Sit down. We're talking now."Amara closed the door to her private office, her voice firm even though a hint of caution still lingered beneath it.A few minutes earlier, as they walked down the hallway, neatly dressed staff members had stared at Raka with puzzled expressions, wondering why their superior had brought a man in a worn black hoodie straight into her private office without a word of explanation. Amara ignored every curious glance, giving the receptionist a brief signal to make sure no one disturbed them.Raka sat in the chair she indicated, while Amara remained standing several steps away, keeping her distance. Her eyes never left him, watching his every move."Who are you?" Amara said. It sounded less like a question and more like a demand. "And how do you know the name Azrael?""I came because there's something I need to tell you," Raka replied calmly."That's not the answer," Amara cut in."I know. But I need you to trust me before I explain any further."Amara folded
The Man in the Black Hoodie
"I can't keep thinking about this alone."Raka woke up that morning with a decision he had already made the night before. Amara's message was still displayed on his phone. Azrael's account had been completely erased, the Shadow Master class was not recorded in any database, the hidden gate with the corrupted audio log, all of it had piled into one massive question he could no longer answer on his own."If there's one person who might know something, it's her."He changed into whatever clothes he could find. The worn black hoodie was the only choice he had in his closet, so he put it on and headed for an address he had known for a long time from community news reports."Sorry, this area is restricted to staff and registered guests. Who are you?"Raka stopped in front of the large glass doors Order of the First Light building. Two broad-shouldered security guards immediately blocked his path.The building towered overhead, its sides covered in gleaming glass. Well-dressed people moved i
After Azrael Disappeared
"It's already morning."Raka opened his eyes, his own hoarse voice breaking the silence of the room. There were no system notifications floating before his face, no status window, and no shadow of Erebus waiting for his command. There was only the cramped room, its paint beginning to fade, and a pile of laundry in the corner that he had yet to clean up.He sat on the edge of the bed and rubbed his eyes. His body still felt heavy despite having slept for a long time inside the capsule. The wall clock showed eleven in the morning."Late again," he muttered, lazily getting up and heading toward the small kitchen in the corner of the apartment.He poured water into a glass and drank it quickly before opening the refrigerator, which contained little more than some sliced bread and eggs. It was a simple breakfast, far removed from the luxury people might imagine for a top-ranked player in a massive game."If they knew Azrael ate dry bread every morning, they probably wouldn't be so impresse
The Black Hollow Rumor
"Thanks a lot. You really saved us back there."Ironwall patted Nox on the shoulder as they stepped out of the city gates, his grin still wide after their victory in the Old Root Dungeon."No problem," Nox replied briefly, though the corners of his lips lifted slightly."We're going to grab something to eat at the tavern nearby," Brightpetal said, her eyes lighting up with excitement. "Want to come?"Nox hesitated for a moment. His old habits as a solo player nearly made him refuse, but something held him back."Sure," he finally replied.The small tavern was nowhere near as crowded as the main street. Simple wooden tables were scattered throughout the room, and the aroma of warm soup filled the air. The four of them sat in a corner, ordering simple meals as they rested."That was seriously crazy," Swiftfeather excitedly told the tavern server who happened to walk past. "We cleared the dungeon that fast, even though it usually takes more than two hours.""It was nothing. You're just s
The Beginner Party
"Hey, you! Want to join our party? We need one more player!"Nox turned and found three young players waving enthusiastically from in front of the beginner dungeon bulletin board."Me?" Nox pointed at himself, making sure they had not mistaken him for someone else."Yeah, you!" A muscular young man with a large shield strapped to his back stepped closer, flashing a wide grin. "My name's Ironwall. I'm the tank for this party. We're about to enter the Old Root Dungeon, but we're short one DPS."A girl in a white robe nodded behind him. "I'm Brightpetal, the healer. The one over there is Swiftfeather, our archer."Swiftfeather raised his bow slightly and offered an awkward smile. "Nice to meet you. What level are you?""Twenty-four," Nox answered briefly."Perfect!" Ironwall exclaimed excitedly. "This dungeon is recommended for levels twenty to twenty-five. So, what do you say? Want to join?"Nox actually wanted to refuse. The easiest excuse was already on the tip of his tongue. But some
Selling the Loot
"Let me see the items first. Don't rush into negotiating a price before you know what they're worth."The material shop owner, an elderly man with a thick beard and glasses perched at the tip of his nose, held out his hand, waiting for Nox to place his goods on the counter.Nox took out several items from last night's dungeon and placed them one by one on the worn wooden counter."Three Bone Reaver feathers, and one crystal core from a Bone Sovereign."The old man picked up one of the feathers, turning it beneath the lamplight as his brows slowly drew together."This quality is too good," he muttered, eyeing Nox suspiciously. "Ordinary Bone Reaver feathers aren't this clean, especially when they still have energy residue that hasn't dissipated.""It's from a Bone Reaver, I killed it last night," Nox replied flatly."What level are you?" the man asked, narrowing his eyes."Twenty-four."The shop owner let out a short, disbelieving laugh. "The Bone Reavers in the dungeon I'm thinking of
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