In the pitch-black night of the Outer Reaches, a sharp, piercing shriek echoed through the dilapidated streets.
The landlord stumbled down the stairs, his voice cracking as he wailed at the top of his lungs, "Someone help! There’s been a murder! That cripple Elena, the one with the shattered Mana Core—she’s practicing forbidden arts in her room! She’s summoning demons!"
Within three minutes, the heavy, rhythmic thud of boots thundered from the end of the street.
"What’s all this damn noise about?!"
A harsh shout rang out as four members of the City Defense Guard, clad in reinforced iron plate and wielding long spears, stormed up the stairs. The captain leading them wore a grim expression, his longsword clattering against his hip with every heavy step.
Cowering behind the guards, the landlord pointed at the open door, his body trembling with terror. "Captain! It’s her! I saw it with my own eyes—black mist pouring out of her, and her eyes turned purple! She’s a dark mystic, I swear it!"
The captain drew his sword, and with a resounding crash, he and his men kicked the door open. Cold spear tips instantly leveled at Elena, who stood in the center of the room.
"A dark mystic? You’ve got guts, practicing that filth in my jurisdiction!" the captain roared. "Seize her! If she resists, run her through!"
Elena stood perfectly still. The black mist had already retracted, vanishing without a trace, and the purple glint in her eyes had faded back into a clear, dark brown.
Facing four sharpened spears, her expression remained as cold as ice, utterly unshaken.
Just as the tension reached a breaking point and the guards prepared to strike—
Tap. Tap.
The slow, rhythmic sound of a wooden staff hitting the floor echoed from the hallway, accompanied by a dry, measured cough.
An old man emerged from the shadows. He leaned on a plain wooden cane, dressed in an old, faded gray robe that had been washed white at the seams.
The captain’s brow furrowed, his mouth opening to bark an insult. "Where did this old bag of bones come from? Get the hell out of—"
The words died in his throat. The old man looked up, revealing a dark gold metallic badge pinned to his chest.
It was the Archsage Crest, jointly issued by The Arcane Consortium and The Grand Archives. In Nocturne City, a bearer of this crest held a status that rivaled a Baron of the Outer Reaches.
The captain’s face paled instantly. He sheared his sword with frantic haste and bowed low. "Sir! I... I had no idea. What brings you here?"
The elder swept a cold, unimpressed gaze over the captain. His voice was flat, yet carried an undeniable weight of authority.
"I serve at the Archives. This girl is a cleaner I recently recruited. She was born with a frail constitution, and out of pity, I have been teaching her The Ancient Repose to bolster her health. Tell me... since when has The Ancient Repose been considered a forbidden art by the City Defense Guard?"
The captain froze, then whipped around to glare at the landlord. "This..."
The elder reached into his sleeve and produced fifty heavy, pure gold coins. With a casual flick of his finger, they flew through the air.
Clink.
The coins landed perfectly in the captain's palm, the metallic ring sweet and heavy.
"I borrowed her room to test the effects of a meditation technique, which seems to have disturbed the neighbors. Take this and buy your men some tea," the elder said indifferently.
Feeling the weight of the gold, the captain’s grin nearly split his face in two. This was more than half a year’s salary in a single toss.
He shoved the coins into his pouch and, without warning, backhanded the landlord across the face.
Smack!
The blow sent the landlord spinning. He crashed to the floor, blood spraying from his mouth.
"You blind dog!" the captain spat. "This master was teaching a sacred meditation technique, and you dared to file a false report against a distinguished scholar? If I hear another peep out of you, I’ll throw you in the dungeon for a month!"
The landlord clutched his swelling cheek, his soul nearly departing his body in fright. He groveled, sobbing, "I won't! I wouldn't dare! Forgive me, Master! Forgive me, distinguished scholar!"
"Get out!" The captain kicked the landlord toward the stairs before turning back to the elder with a subservient bow. "Sir, we won’t disturb you further. If you need anything, just call for us!"
With that, the guards dragged the landlord up the stairs like a dead dog and vanished into the night.
The crisis evaporated in seconds.
[System Notification]
Threat Assessment: Extreme Risk → Resolved
Guardian’s Protection: City Defense Guard inspection successfully repelled.
Evaluation: Crisis averted.
Elena looked at the elder and let out a soft breath.
The old man entered the room and pulled the wooden door shut behind him. The indifference on his face shifted into a look of stern gravity.
"In the future, do your training in the attic basement, not in a dump like this. The waters in the Outer Reaches are murky. If you had been even a second slower in retracting your Shadow Energy, you’d be dying in a dark cell tonight."
Elena bowed respectfully in gratitude. "Thank you for saving me, sir. If not for you, I would have been in serious trouble."
The elder waved it off, his eyes deep and unreadable. "Don't thank me. This path... I walked it myself once. I simply didn't want to see a promising sprout crushed by ignorant fools before she could bloom."
Elena’s heart stirred. He walked the path of Veilwalking too?
The elder offered no further explanation. He turned to leave, tossing one final instruction over his shoulder.
"Tomorrow morning, six o'clock. The Archives basement. From tomorrow on, you clean books during the day and temper your body in the secret chamber at night. Move."
The next morning, in the secret basement of The Archives.
The air was damp, and the walls were etched with ancient runes designed to isolate mana fluctuations. It was so quiet Elena could hear her own heartbeat.
"Sit."
The elder stood to the side, watching Elena as she sat cross-legged on the floor. "Your method of running Shadow Breathing last night was idiotic. You’re using brute force to suck in Shadow Energy, like trying to grab a handful of hedgehogs. The harder you pull, the more the energy lashes out. That’s why the pain was unbearable."
Elena looked up. "Please guide me, sir."
The elder raised a withered palm. A strand of Shadow Energy, black as ink, flowed around his fingers like a silken thread. There was no violence in it, only a haunting, eerie grace.
"Shadow Energy isn't a beast to be conquered. It is a force to be guided. Use your consciousness as a vessel. Let it flow naturally, and make it your own."
As he explained, he demonstrated the precise path the Shadow Energy should take through the body.
Elena watched his movements without blinking. In her mind, the formulas of Shadow Breathing rapidly overlapped with the elder's demonstration.
[System Notification]
[Skill Breakthrough]
Guidance from a high-level powerhouse detected...
Shadow Breathing path optimization complete!
Shadow Energy Guidance Efficiency: 15% → 45% (+30%)
Backlash Pain Level: Reduced by 30%
Elena closed her eyes and began the breathing technique again, following the corrected path.
Hiss...
Instantly, the surrounding Shadow Energy seeped into her skin and flesh like rivers flowing to the sea. While a needle-like stinging persisted, it was nothing compared to the muscle-tearing agony of the previous night. It was entirely manageable.
The elder nodded slightly, a flicker of surprise in his eyes. "You learn quickly. Come. Time for combat practice."
He led Elena out of the Archives and deep into a desolate forest on the back mountain.
Stopping before a dark stone cave, the elder waved his staff to undo a simple seal.
Roar!
A low, vicious growl erupted, and a beast the size of a large boar, wreathed in dark mist, charged from the cave!
[System Notification]
Target Scan: Level 2 Shadow Wolf
Threat Level: Low
Recommendation: Test guidance results in live combat.
"Use the guidance method you just learned. It will be far more effective than the clumsy brawling you did in that alleyway," the elder said, standing calmly on a tree branch above.
The Shadow Wolf opened its maw, bringing a gust of foul wind as it lunged at Elena.
A month ago, Elena would have been frozen in terror. Now, her eyes were as cold as ice.
Her Agility of 16 flared to life.
Elena moved in a strange, shifting arc. Her body became a black blur, slipping past the Shadow Wolf’s rending claws by a hair’s breadth.
Shadowstep activated.
As she pivoted, she funneled the Shadow Energy flowing through her body directly into the dagger in her right hand.
Squelch!
The black dagger turned into a streak of dark lightning, plunging with surgical precision deep into the wolf's throat.
Awooo—!
The Shadow Wolf let out a strangled yelp. Its massive body tumbled forward from inertia, crashing into the dirt. After a few violent twitches, it went still.
[System Notification]
[Combat Evaluation]
Target: Level 2 Shadow Wolf
Attack Type: Guided Shadow Strike
Damage Result: Lethal Critical Hit!
Combat Result: One-shot kill! Time: 1.2 seconds!
Shadow Breathing: 4.2% → 5.5% (+1.3%)
Shadow Energy: 10 → 15 (+5)
The elder dropped lightly from the branch. He looked at the dead wolf, a rare look of satisfaction crossing his face.
"Decisive. No wasted movement. You’re a quick study, girl."
The gears of time began to spin rapidly.
For the next month, Elena lived through a hellish training regimen.
Every morning at five, she arrived at The Archives to sweep and clean, using the opportunity to read ancient texts and enrich her knowledge. After her shift, she descended into the secret basement for hours of brutal body tempering.
Late in the second week, in the depths of the basement.
The elder solemnly produced a Shadow Stone—pitch black and radiating a bone-chilling cold.
"The energy in this Shadow Stone is incredibly pure, but also extremely violent," he warned. "Using it will double your absorption speed, but the pain will also double. If your will falters, your meridians will rupture and you’ll die. Are you sure you want to use it?"
Elena looked at the stone, showing no hesitation. She snatched it from his hand.
"I’m not afraid of death. Why would I fear pain?"
Her voice was hoarse, but it carried a chilling fanaticism.
The elder stared at her for a long moment before uttering two words: "Ruthless girl."
The most savage stage of training began.
As Elena gripped the Shadow Stone, the cold, violent energy erupted like a volcano, flooding into her meridians with overwhelming force.
"Gahhh!!"
The agonizing pain caused tiny cracks to open across her skin. Blood seeped out, only to be instantly vaporized by the rampaging Shadow Energy.
Elena’s body went into violent spasms. Her eyes were bloodshot, and she had bitten through her lower lip.
It hurt. It hurt so much.
It felt as though someone were searing her internal organs with a branding iron while ten thousand poisonous insects gnawed at her marrow.
Several times, on the verge of blacking out, Elena roared mentally.
Don’t you dare pass out!
Vincent’s mocking face as he called her a waste flashed before her eyes.
The humiliation of being kicked out like a stray dog by her own family burned in her soul.
If she didn't get stronger, she would simply rot away in this dark corner of the world.
"Absorb... it!!"
Elena screamed silently, clinging to consciousness with everything she had. She forced the Shadow Breathing to continue, weaving the violent energy into her bones and muscles, bit by agonizing bit.
Standing in the shadows, the elder watched the girl—covered in blood, yet refusing to make a sound, enduring to the bitter end. His eyes shook with shock.
This girl’s willpower... it was more ferocious than his own had been. More terrifying.
What did a shattered Mana Core matter?
With this kind of hellish ruthlessness and obsession, so long as she didn't die, she would eventually become a monster that would make the world tremble.
Time ticked by, and the system prompts flashed with staggering frequency.
[System Notification]
[Hell Training - Day 10]
Shadow Stone catalysis in progress! Absorption Efficiency +100%!
Pain Index: 200% (Willpower Check: Forced Success!)
Shadow Breathing: 5.5% → 14.2% (+8.7%)
Vitality: 7 → 9 (+2)
Strength: 8 → 11 (+3)
Agility: 16 → 21 (+5)
Combat Power: 32 → 98 (+66)
She was closing in on the 100 mark. But this was only the beginning.
On the night of the twentieth day.
In the center of the chamber, Elena was soaked in sweat and blood, but the Shadow Energy swirling around her had grown as thick as a python.
With every breath, the dark energy merged obediently into her limbs.
[System Notification]
[Hell Training - Day 20]
Extreme Body Tempering successful! Shadow Energy has reshaped muscles and meridians!
Shadow Breathing: 14.2% → 25.8% (+11.6%)
Vitality: 9 → 12 (+3)
Strength: 11 → 15 (+4)
Agility: 21 → 27 (+6)
Combat Power: 98 → 210 (+112)
Combat Power broke 200.
Late on the thirtieth night—the final day of the month.
The Shadow Stone in her hand let out a sharp crack. The last of its energy was drained, and it crumbled into white powder, slipping through Elena's fingers.
Elena’s eyes snapped open!
A sharp, blade-like glint of black light flashed across her pupils.
The lines of her muscles were now tight and lean, without a single ounce of wasted mass. She radiated a cold, powerful aura, like a sword pulled from its sheath.
[System Notification]
[Hell Training - Day 30 Complete]
Shadow Stone energy fully absorbed!
[Status Update]
Shadow Breathing: 25.8% → 35.1% (+9.3%)
Vitality: 12 → 15 (+3)
Strength: 15 → 18 (+3)
Agility: 27 → 32 (+5)
Shadow Energy: 15 → 68/100 (+53)
Combat Power: 210 → 350 (+140)
[Overall Status]: Metamorphosis Complete! Combat Power has increased 10.9 times compared to one month ago!
In just one month!
From a cripple with a Combat Power of 32 who could have died of illness at any moment, she had transformed into a true killer with a Combat Power of 350.
If this growth rate were made public, it would be enough to terrify every so-called "genius" in Nocturne City.
The elder walked in from the hallway. Looking at the reborn Elena, he gave a satisfied smile. "One month is up. But locking yourself away doesn't make you a true powerhouse. Today, we conduct the final test."
He raised his hand, pointing toward a fog-covered forest deep in the back mountain.
"In there lies a Level 5 Elite monster, the Razorfang Alpha. It is the overlord of that territory—heavily armored, incredibly fast, and with a Combat Power equivalent to a peak low-tier human knight. Kill it, and your training is officially complete."
Elena stood up, gripping the Shadowfang Dagger. There was no hesitation or fear in her eyes.
"Fine."
Ten minutes later, in the slick mud of the deep mountain.
The air was thick with a nauseating stench.
Roar!!
With a savage howl that shook the forest, a wolf the size of two bulls, its back covered in jagged black bone blades, erupted from the mist!
Its crimson eyes locked onto Elena. Where it passed, trees as thick as bowls were sheared in half by its bone blades.
[System Notification]
Target Scan: Level 5 Elite Monster [Razorfang Alpha]
Threat Level: Medium
Target Power: 320
Host Power: 350
Win Probability: 85%
Roar!!
The Razorfang Alpha lunged. Its massive body became a black hurricane, tearing through the air with a piercing whistle as it brought a massive claw down toward Elena's head!
Fast. Extremely fast.
A month ago, Elena wouldn't have even seen the monster's afterimage before being crushed into paste.
But now—
In the eyes of a girl with 32 Agility, the Razorfang Alpha’s fierce pounce looked like a slow-motion playback.
"Too slow," Elena muttered.
She moved.
Shadowstep exploded!
Elena’s figure instantly transformed into a wisp of drifting black smoke.
BOOM!!
The Razorfang Alpha’s claw slammed into the earth, gouging out a massive crater and sending stones flying.
But the strike hit nothing but air.
"Over here."
The cold, emotionless voice sounded right beside the Razorfang Alpha’s ear.
Elena appeared like a ghost at the monster’s left flank!
Shadow Breathing operated at full throttle. The 68 points of Shadow Energy in her body surged like a rampaging flood into the Shadowfang Dagger.
A foot-long blade of black light erupted from the dagger.
Strength of 18 fully unleashed!
"Die!"
Elena gripped the dagger with both hands and drove it with everything she had into the beast's vulnerable carotid artery.
Pschhh!
The dark blade tore through the thick hide and bone without resistance. The chaotic Shadow Energy exploded inside the wolf like a bomb.
Awoooo—!
The Razorfang Alpha let out a soul-piercing shriek. Its massive frame convulsed, blood spraying like a fountain. It crashed to the ground with a thunderous impact, and within seconds, the last of its life faded away.
One hit.
Just one hit.
A Level 5 Elite monster, dead.
[System Notification]
[Kill Alert]
Target Slain: Level 5 Elite Monster [Razorfang Alpha]
Combat Evaluation: Perfect Lethal Blow! Time: 2.1 seconds!
Processing Combat Experience... Shadow Breathing proficiency slightly increased!
Elena pulled out the dagger, flicked the blood off the blade, and stood quietly by the carcass. Her breathing was steady, showing no signs of exertion.
She crouched down, carving out a glowing dark shadow core from the beast's chest. She tossed it into her storage ring—a core of this quality would fetch a good price on the black market, helping to subsidize her training costs.
Watching from a distant treetop, the elder was visibly shaken.
He jumped down and walked over, looking at the pool of wolf blood and then at the composed Elena. A genuine smile finally broke across his face.
"Good! A magnificent one-shot kill!" he praised loudly. "A waste? Hah! If any of those fools from House Nocturne who call themselves geniuses dare call you a waste now, tell them to come face this Razorfang Alpha themselves!"
Elena sheathed her dagger and gave him a slight bow. "Thank you for the month of guidance, sir."
The elder patted her shoulder, a complex look in his eyes. "Your own ruthlessness saved you. Go on. Go back and rest today."
Night fell once more.
Elena returned to her dilapidated wooden shack.
Moonlight filtered through the cracked window, spilling onto the table. Elena sat cross-legged on the bed, quietly settling the newfound strength in her body.
Vitality 15, Strength 18, Agility 32, Combat Power 350. Her Shadow Energy had reached 68 points.
Compared to a month ago, she was an entirely different person.
However, just as Elena was about to close her eyes for her routine meditation—
Hummmm—!!
A violent, unprovoked vibration suddenly erupted from the ring finger of her left hand.
It was the silver ring her mother had left her—the one that had looked so ordinary, even tarnished.
At this moment, the ring began to radiate a blinding, deep purple light. The glow was like a miniature sun blooming in the room, illuminating every corner of the shack in brilliant violet.
[System Notification]
[Warning / Event Detected]
Ancient energy within [Mother’s Keepsake Ring] responding violently!
Shadow Energy (68/100) resonating with the internal array of the ring!
Energy unlock threshold reached!
Ring Seal Activation: 10% → 50%!
The hot, gentle purple light formed a thick cocoon of energy, instantly enveloping Elena.
Elena’s eyes snapped open. Looking at her hands wrapped in violet light, her heart skipped a beat.
This light... this aura...
It was a hundred times stronger than any previous reaction.
"This time... it’s completely different!"
The purple light intensified. Vaguely, deep within the ring, something ancient that had been sleeping for a very long time was slowly beginning to wake up.
Meanwhile.
Dozens of meters away from the shack, under a pitch-black eave.
A dark shadow, who had been monitoring Elena for a full month, stared at the window radiating the piercing purple light.
The shadow's pupils shrank to pinpricks. The hair on his neck stood up, and his eyes were filled with an unbelievable mix of terror and shock.
"What... what is this energy surge?!"
The shadow sucked in a sharp breath, his voice trembling with extreme agitation. "This is absolutely not something a waste with a destroyed Mana Core could produce! Something is wrong! Very wrong!"
"I must report this to Vincent immediately!"
The shadow didn't dare linger. He transformed into a black blur, fleeing in a panic toward the Highborn Quarter, heading straight for House Nocturne.