After the hordes of strange monsters were gone, a heavy silence fell over the blood and gore-stained hall. The trio sat panting, trying to catch their ragged breaths. Their thoughts swirled in their heads like a vortex, each trying to comprehend what they had just been through and what awaited them.
Suddenly, the group felt three simultaneous waves of mana wash over them. The trio were surprised by the sudden surge of energy that enveloped each of them. Then, the mana began to seep into their bodies through their skin and open pores, flowing through their meridians and rushing towards their respective mana cores.
Their mana cores filled completely, and then the mana began to gather within them forcefully, as if compelling their bodies to cultivate a new rank. Instinctively, each of the trio assumed the lotus position, and then they began the silent process of cultivation.
After moments of intense focus, the following happened: BOOM! A powerful mana explosion erupted first from Orion, followed by a similar explosion from Kai, and then Liana. They felt a new power surging through their veins.
The trio opened their eyes at the same moment, and looked at each other in surprise and astonishment. "Flame Rank..." Kai whispered slowly, his eyes widening. The trio nodded to each other in silent understanding.
Each of them immediately focused on their own guide, trying to understand the changes and new skills they had acquired.
Orion's guide appeared before him:
[Shadow Guide]
Name: Orion Terra
Age: 9 years
Gender: Male
Race: Human/Shadow
[Traits]
(💀 Heart of Shadows)
(👁️ Whispers of Shadows)
(🌑 Brother of Shadows)
(⚡ Shadow Instinct)
(🏚️ Shadow Sanctuary)
[Stats]
🛡️ Strength: 100
⚡ Speed: 125
🔥 Endurance: 130
❤️ Vitality: 110
🌀 Perception: 150
✨ Charisma: 120
⬛ Shadow Energy: 1000/5000
🔮 Primary Mana Rank: Flame
[Innate Ability]
🔲 Shadow Call
You can summon shadow creatures from the shadow world.
These creatures can evolve with you, but their rank cannot exceed your own.
You can summon shadow specters, but you cannot summon a specter that exceeds your rank.
You can form an eternal bond with only one shadow companion.
Shadow Companion (1)
Shadow Creatures (2/4)
(1000/5000) Shadow Specters
[Skills]
⚔️ Shadow Manipulation
⚫ Shadow Step
"Tap the skill to learn it"
Orion noticed the significant changes in his guide. First, the "Shadow Member" trait had changed to "Brother of Shadows." Second, the number of shadow creatures and shadow specters he could summon had increased. Third, his increased stats were remarkable, as they usually increased with training or upon achieving a secondary or primary breakthrough. Fourth, a brand new skill had appeared: "Shadow Step."
Immediately, Orion tapped the skill. A wave of knowledge and information flowed into his mind. Thanks to his high perception, he analyzed all the information in mere seconds. He opened his eyes and decided to test it immediately.
He felt the shadows around him as if they were gently embracing him. Then, in an instant, Orion disappeared and reappeared in another part of the hall, a place where the shadows were dense. This skill allowed him to instantly teleport to any place where shadows existed, as long as he could pay the required mana cost.
Orion also felt the direct benefit of his trait upgrading to "Brother of Shadows." The shadows responded to his commands faster, and he felt as if they treated him like a brother, obedient and ready to help.
Orion sensed movement and saw Kai and Liana getting up from their spots with wide smiles on their faces. Then Orion appeared beside them using the "Shadow Step" skill.
"So that's what I got... awesome!" Kai said with a broad smile. "Let's put that aside for now. What were those monsters? Second, what caused those mana waves?"
Orion spoke calmly as usual: "Tsk... troublesome. As for what those monsters were, let me see." Then Kai activated his "Eyes of Truth" skill.
[Corrupted Beast]
"It just says 'Corrupted Beast.' Strange. First, what is a corrupted beast anyway? Second, it doesn't show me any information about it." Kai frowned as he tried to extract more data.
"I feel like I've seen them somewhere..." The trio looked at the speaker, and it was none other than Anarak.
"Anarak, what do you mean?" Orion asked curiously.
Anarak sighed and then said, "First, I haven't told you this before, but I'm missing many of my memories. I don't even know why or when I was in the shadow world, but when I broke through to the Flame Rank, some fragments started returning to me. Sorry, I can't help you more than that." Anarak shook his head apologetically.
Orion nodded in understanding, putting the new information in the back of his mind for the time being. Then he looked at Kai and Liana and said, "So, what about the mana waves?"
Kai and Liana shrugged simultaneously. Liana said, "We don't know, but I'm sure we'll find out in the future." Orion and Kai nodded in agreement.
Then Orion sighed and said, "Alright, what did you two get?"
Kai smiled, saying, "Well, the number of abilities I can copy has increased to 4, and skills to 8. And I gained a skill called 'Absolute Adaptation' that makes me adapt quickly to any ability or skill I copy, or even a weapon." Orion nodded with admiration.
Then he looked at Liana. "Well, now I can use stronger runes. In addition to getting an Origin Rune that summons two clones of me with the same strength, skills, traits, etc. But the copies cannot use the Clone Rune." Liana smiled confidently.
Orion nodded, then looked at the thousands of corrupted corpses lying on the ground. [Arise]. Thousands of shadow specters rose from the corpses and gathered around Orion in silent obedience. Orion stored them in his shadow. Then he activated the [Shadow Call] skill to summon new shadow creatures.
The same familiar shadow gate appeared, and after ten seconds, two new shadow creatures emerged. The first was a shadow giant about 5 meters tall, with emerald green eyes glowing, carrying a huge double-bladed axe in his hand. The other was a figure about two meters tall with four strong arms and a long, powerful tail , while his eyes glowed crimson red.
"Zak... Gracus." Orion called their names softly.
When the two shadows heard their names, they immediately bowed towards Orion and said in a deep, harmonious voice, "My King." After that, two new bonds formed between the shadow trio and Orion.
"I am Orion Terra, the Shadow Lord who summoned you. Introduce yourselves." Orion commanded.
"I am Zak, the Shadow Lumberjack. My strength focuses on my axe." said the shadow giant in a gruff voice.
"I am Gracus, the Shadow Fighter. My strength focuses on my fists." said the four-armed creature with a wicked grin.
Then Orion introduced the two newcomers to their companions. After that, Orion summoned only the shadow quintet without the specters, then turned to Kai and Liana and said, "Let's go." Finally, they headed towards the path that Orion had initially indicated.