Deep within the Shadowfen Ruins, a thick scent of blood hung heavy in the deathly silent air.
Elena gripped her Shadowfang Dagger with a white-knuckled intensity. The wound on her left shoulder throbbed with a tearing agony, and blood gushed between her slender fingers, staining her clothes crimson. She had barely managed to evade the first killing blow from her brother, Vincent. Now, as they faced each other again, the air seemed to turn to ice.
"Vincent..." Her voice was hoarse, trembling with a shock that had yet to fade. "We grew up together. You told me you’d always protect me..."
Vincent sneered, the murderous intent in his eyes no longer hidden behind a mask. "That was then! Now, you're nothing but the biggest obstacle in my path to becoming the head of the house! As long as you die here in the depths of this forgotten dungeon, all the resources will finally return to me!"
He raised his longsword again, and a wave of killing intent swept through the hall.
[Detection Results]
Target: Vincent Nocturne
Level: 15
Class: Shadow Blade (A-Rank)
HP: 2800 / 2800
Attack Power: 185
Status: Hostile / Murderous Intent
Before his words even finished echoing, Vincent’s body blurred into a pitch-black streak of light. His sword carried a howling storm as it swung down, aiming directly for Elena’s head!
In that life-or-death moment, the despair in Elena’s eyes vanished, replaced by the cold, sharp instinct of an assassin.
[Combat Initiated]
Vincent Nocturne | Level 15 (A-Rank)
HP: 2800 / 2800 | Attack: 185
Class: Shadow Blade
Advantage: Level Suppression (+9 Levels), Extensive Combat Experience
Elena Nocturne | Level 6 (S-Rank)
HP: 185 / 320 [Bleeding] | MP: 540 / 540
Attack: 142
Disadvantage: Massive Level Gap, Heavily Wounded
"Void Step!"
Elena cried out, and shadow energy detonated beneath her feet, forcing her body to shift half a meter to the side!
BOOM!
Vincent’s sword qi slammed into the marble floor, smashing a massive crater into the ground and sending stone shards flying in every direction.
[Combat Log]
Elena used Void Step!
MP: 540 → 490 (-50)
Successfully dodged physical direct hit!
However, the movement caused her wound to tear further. Elena let out a muffled groan, her face turning even paler.
[Status Settlement]
Affected by [Bleeding] effect, HP: 185 → 165
"Quick on your feet, but against absolute level suppression, your resistance is meaningless!"
Vincent continued to sneer. With a twist of his body, he swung his shadow sword in a flurry of strikes, creating an impenetrable net of black blades that pressed down on her with overwhelming force.
The Level 9 gap was insurmountable; Vincent’s attack speed and Strength completely crushed Elena’s.
After-images swirled around her, forcing Elena to rely on nothing but her sharpened assassin’s intuition to desperately evade the onslaught.
[Combat Log]
Vincent activated skill Umbral Slash!
Damage Calculation: 187!
Elena triggered Auto-Evasion!
Result: Evasion Successful!
Elena HP: 165 → 165
The residual wind from the sword strikes still tore through her sleeves, leaving thin lines of blood across her skin.
[Status Settlement]
Affected by [Bleeding] effect, HP: 165 → 145
This won't work! I'll be ground down at this rate!
Elena’s eyes narrowed. After dodging another horizontal sweep, she ignored the searing pain and lunged forward. The Shadowfang Dagger in her left hand traced a ghostly blue arc as she thrust it toward Vincent’s chest!
[Combat Log]
Elena used Lethal Blow!
MP: 490 → 440 (-50)
Critical Hit!
Damage to Vincent: 425!
Vincent HP: 2800 → 2375
The dagger pierced Vincent’s armor, drawing a spray of blood.
However, Vincent merely looked down at the wound on his chest, the mockery at the corners of his mouth only growing more pronounced.
"Is that all the damage you can do?"
Vincent suddenly raised his leg and stomped heavily on the ground. A massive shockwave erupted, blasting Elena backward!
"That S-Rank class you’re so proud of is nothing but a joke to me until it actually grows up!" Vincent closed the distance step by step, the black light on his sword growing more intense.
The battle in the hall grew increasingly brutal.
Elena shifted and flickered between the narrow floor tiles, her form little more than a blur. But every dodge was rapidly draining her already meager stamina and mana.
[Status Settlement]
Affected by [Bleeding] effect, HP: 145 → 125
Her Mana Points were plummeting under the strain!
[System Prompt]
MP: 440 → 220 → 120 → 40
Warning: MP nearly depleted!
Elena gasped for breath, her forehead drenched in cold sweat. The repeated use of Void Step combined with high-intensity physical exertion had caused her legs to tremble. Inevitably, her movements slowed.
Vincent sharpened his focus, catching that split second of stiffness.
"It’s over, my dear sister!"
The murderous intent in Vincent’s eyes peaked. He raised his sword high with both hands, his entire being enveloped in a dense, physical Shadow Energy.
The energy coalesced violently, whipping up a biting storm in the center of the hall!
[Vincent Activating Ultimate Skill]
Shadow Execution (Max Level)
Effect: 500% Attack Power Damage + Physical Armor Penetration!
Estimated Damage: 925!
A pitch-black sword light, like a bolt of destructive lightning falling from the heavens, thundered down toward Elena with unstoppable force!
The strike locked down the surrounding space. With her mana exhausted, Elena had nowhere to run!
She grit her teeth and forced her Shadowfang Dagger upward, attempting to parry.
CRASH!
The terrifying impact shattered the dagger’s defensive glow in an instant. The black sword light pierced through Elena’s abdomen without resistance, slamming her into the ground and through a massive stone pillar behind her!
The pillar collapsed in a heap of rubble and rising dust.
[Critical Hit]
Elena received a Lethal Blow!
HP: 125 → -800
Warning: Fatal Damage Detected!
The fatal damage numbers exploded in her vision. The shadow of the Reaper instantly swarmed over Elena’s consciousness, and her world plunged into darkness.
However, just as Elena’s HP hit zero and her soul was about to dissipate, something changed!
The ancient, plain-looking Mother’s Ring on her left ring finger suddenly erupted with a brilliant, blinding purple light!
A warm, primordial strength surged from the ring, shielding Elena’s shattered heart.
[System Prompt]
Equipment Mother's Ring passive effect forced to activate!
Emergency Protection Power triggered!
Fatal Damage Nullified!
Elena HP: -800 → 1 (Forced Survival)
Added Status: [Near Death]
The dust slowly began to settle.
Elena lay limp among the ruins, her body soaked in blood. She breathed weakly, her HP stubbornly stuck at that final 1 point.
Vincent walked slowly to her side. He looked down at his dying sister, his brow furrowing slightly.
"Hmm? You survived a max-level Shadow Execution?"
Vincent’s gaze fell upon the ring on Elena’s finger, which was currently pulsing with a faint purple light. He let out a cold laugh. "So, it’s that ring... the heirloom Mother left you? You certainly are lucky."
His eyes suddenly turned vicious and cruel. "But since you're already a corpse, you won't be needing these things anymore."
Vincent abruptly raised his sword. The tip whistled through the air and plunged with cold, clinical precision into Elena’s lower abdomen!
PLUCK!
Blood sprayed out!
With a twisted grin, Vincent twisted the blade inside her abdomen and flicked it upward!
A crackling, faintly glowing transparent crystal—Elena’s Mana Core—was brutally gouged out of her flesh and tossed into the air!
Vincent swung his sword, shattering the extracted Mana Core into dust in mid-air!
[Catastrophic Damage]
Warning! Lower abdomen Mana Core subjected to physical destruction and extraction!
Mana Core Integrity: 50%... 80%... 100%!
Mana Core has been completely extracted and shattered!
[System Error]
Host mana source destroyed!
Fate Panel experiencing severe anomaly...
Class system forced offline...
All skill panels locked...
A heart-wrenching agony spread through her body like lethal poison!
"AAAAAAAGH—!"
Elena let out a harrowing scream, her small frame convulsing and twitching violently. Mana leaked uncontrollably from her ruptured abdomen. She could clearly feel that a vital cornerstone of her being had been utterly destroyed.
It was the foundation of an adventurer, of a warrior!
The panels in her vision flashed red frantically, with countless error symbols scrolling down like a waterfall.
Vincent looked down at the screaming Elena, his eyes filled with nothing but satisfaction. "Without a Mana Core, even if you survive, you're nothing but a useless cripple who can't gather mana! There is no longer a place for you in House Nocturne!"
The pain caused Elena’s consciousness to blur, and the world around her began to fade into black and white.
Death reached out its scythe once more.
However, at the very moment her Mana Core shattered and Elena was about to draw her final breath—
The Mother's Ring on her finger seemed to sense its master’s total destruction. It suddenly burst forth with a purple light as blinding as the sun!
A dense purple cocoon formed out of thin air, completely enveloping Elena’s broken body.
[Unknown Power Activated]
Mother's Ring hidden runes fully activated!
Spatial Transfer mechanism initiating...
Transfer Progress: 10%... 50%... 100%!
Vincent was startled by the sudden change and stumbled back half a step. Seeing the brilliant purple light, his expression shifted drastically. He roared in fury, "What is this?! Stay here!"
He swung his sword with all his might, pouring his mana into a strike against the light!
BOOM!
A terrifying shockwave of energy exploded outward. Vincent felt as though a sledgehammer had struck his chest; he groaned as he was sent flying, slamming hard into the hall’s wall.
By the time he struggled back to his feet, the purple light in the center of the room had vanished without a trace.
In the ruins, only a shocking pool of blood remained.
Elena was gone.
Vincent clenched his fists until they turned white. His face was so dark it looked like it might drip ink, and he hissed through his teeth, "Dammit... she was teleported away by that ring!"
He panted heavily, staring at the bloodstains on the ground. After a moment, the cold, cruel smirk returned to his lips.
"Hmph, so what if she ran?"
Vincent brushed the dust off his clothes and chuckled. "I gouged out her Mana Core and crushed it with my own hands. Not even the gods themselves could save her now. A cripple without mana is worth less than a stray dog in this world. She’ll never cause trouble again!"
He turned and strode toward the ruins' exit.
"The heir to House Nocturne... was always meant to be me!"
On the outskirts of the Shadowfen Ruins, at the edge of a desolate forest.
The air rippled violently, and a small, blood-covered figure fell heavily from mid-air into the damp mud.
Blood quickly stained the withered grass leaves crimson.
Elena lay collapsed in the pool of her own blood, the cold rain pelting her pale face. The tearing pain in her abdomen hammered against her nerves; every breath felt like swallowing shards of white-hot glass.
Her consciousness drifted between a hazy fog and sharp clarity.
In her vision, the once brilliant holographic panel was now covered in cracks, dim and lifeless. Rows of despair-inducing red text popped up:
[Fate Panel Anomaly - Severely Damaged]
═════════════════════════════
Name: Elena Nocturne
Status: [Near Death], [Mana Core Destroyed], [Crippled]
Class: Shadowdancer (S-Rank) → Sealed ❌
Level: 6 → 1 (Forced Level Down)
HP: 1 / 50
MP: 0 / 0 ❌
Attributes: -80%
STR: 7 | AGI: 15 | VIT: 6 | INT: 9 | SPR: 8
All Skills: Locked ❌
All Equipment Slots: Disabled ❌
Combat Power: 15
[System Warning]
⚠️ Mana Core Destroyed
⚠️ Unable to Level Up
⚠️ Unable to Use Skills
⚠️ Fate System Offline
Suggestion: Abandon adventurer career.
═════════════════════════════
Her S-Rank class was sealed!
Her level had plummeted back to the starting Level 1!
Her mana was zero! Her Combat Power was a pathetic 15 points!
The system had even given her the final judgment: Abandon adventurer career.
Cold rain slid down her cheeks, mixing with the blood seeping from the corners of her eyes.
Betrayed by her family, struck down by her own kin, her cultivation destroyed, reduced to a complete cripple who could no longer practice magic...
Despair was a bottomless abyss, threatening to swallow her whole.
Is this... my end?
Elena let out a silent, self-mocking laugh in her mind. Her eyes slowly closed, and her vision sank into an infinite, boundless darkness.
Only the faintly glowing ring on her finger remained, casting a thin, cold, and resilient light amidst the torrential rain, silently guarding her flickering breath.