The battle raged on as Alex twisted his body to the side, barely avoiding a chain that slashed past his face with a metallic hiss. He spun on his heel and brought his scythe down in a wide, arc-shaped slash, the blade humming with lethal precision. A wraith's head was severed cleanly from its shoulders, rolling across the cracked pavement before dissolving into black mist.
Breathing heavily, Alex steadied himself and surveyed the battlefield. Dozens of twisted corpses littered the ground, their chains coiling loosely like dead serpents. Only three Chain Wraiths remained—each hovering ominously in the air, their hollow eyes gleaming red with malice. Their levels hovered between 17 and 18.
"Tch not done yet," Alex muttered, wiping the blood from his cheek. He pulled out a vial and uncorked it with his thumb.
This was his fifth Shacklebane Elixir. He downed it in one gulp, the sharp, metallic taste burning down his throat as energy surged through his limbs. Shadow energy rippled faintly around his body as the elixir's effect took hold.
The three wraiths attacked in unison. Chains lashed out from all directions—dozens of them—each aimed to slice, pierce, or bind.
Alex's eyes sharpened. He ducked his head just in time as the first chain screamed past, missing by a hair's breadth. The next came faster, forcing him to twist mid-step, his cloak snapping behind him as the metal whip tore through the air. Then, as the third chain came flying toward him while he was still mid-leap, he spun in the air.
The scythe glowed with dark energy.
Clang!
He brought the blade around in a spinning motion, shattering the third chain with explosive force. Metal fragments scattered across the battlefield as Alex landed in a low crouch, his momentum carrying him forward into a sprint.
The first wraith moved to intercept, its chains forming a barrier of spinning steel—but Alex was faster. He infused his scythe with Shadow Energy, dark tendrils wrapping around the blade like living smoke.
He swung upward with devastating strength. The scythe tore through the wraith from head to toe, the impact splitting it cleanly in half. Its body erupted into dark mist before vanishing completely.
Alex didn't pause. He reached into his inventory and drew three shadow-coated daggers between his fingers.
"Let's finish this."
He threw them in rapid succession—thwip, thwip, thwip!—each dagger cutting through the air with deadly accuracy. The wraith tried to evade, but two of the daggers struck true: one embedded deep into its skull, the other pierced its chest. The last missed by inches, lodging into a cracked wall behind it.
The wraith shrieked, its form unraveling as the shadow energy spread through its body like poison. It disintegrated seconds later.
Only one remained.
The final wraith let out an unearthly screech, its chains trembling violently as it began to retreat into the fog. But before it could move more than a few meters, a dark shadow blurred behind it.
Alex.
His eyes gleamed red under the flickering light as he whispered,
"Half Moon Slash."
The scythe traced a perfect crescent through the air. A surge of shadow energy exploded outward, forming a half-moon-shaped wave that cleaved straight through the wraith's neck. Its head flew off, spinning once before dissolving into nothingness.
Silence followed. The battlefield was littered with broken chains and fading shadows. Alex stood still, chest heaving, the faint hum of his scythe the only sound that remained.
Moments later, a soft chime echoed in his ears.
[Ding! You have gained 4 levels.]
[Level: 19]
He dismissed the system window with a swipe and leapt onto a nearby building to catch his breath. The wind brushed against his sweat-damp hair as he gazed at the ruins below, his scythe resting loosely in his hand.
As usual, he distributed his stat points evenly:
[Strength: 30]
[Agility: 30]
[Stamina: 30]
[Mana: 29]
[Shadow Energy: 19]
A soft chime echoed as Alex pulled up his system window. The faint blue glow reflected in his eyes, and a wave of comfort washed over him. He felt his wounds close, muscles tightening and repairing under the passive effect of [Nebula Healing]. Warm energy pulsed through his veins, knitting torn flesh and restoring lost vitality until only faint traces of pain lingered.
Exhaling slowly, Alex closed the window and stepped off the rooftop. His boots struck the cracked stone below, and he began walking toward the hazy expanse ahead.
The World of Chains is divided into three layers, he recalled, his gaze distant. The first layer… mostly Chain Wraiths. The second… a mix of five Iron Lashes and plenty more wraiths. And the final layer—that's where Velkar, the boss monster, waits.
He clenched his fist around his scythe. "Then the second layer's next."
As he stepped into the fog-filled corridor that marked the boundary between the first and second layers, the air grew heavier. The sound of rattling chains echoed faintly—then all at once, the mist erupted with movement.
Dozens of Chain Wraiths materialized around him, their twisted forms writhing like smoke. But towering behind them was a massive figure: an Iron Lash, its body plated with dark metal, its single, jagged sword dragging against the ground and leaving a trail of sparks.
Alex's eyes narrowed. "Level twenty-four…DId I just walk into a hornet's nest?"
Without hesitation, he uncorked a vial of Shacklebane Elixir and downed it in one gulp. The liquid burned like acid, but its effects were immediate—his muscles tensed, his reflexes sharpened, and the shadow energy within him pulsed eagerly.
The wraiths screamed and lunged forward, their chains whipping through the air like a rain of blades.
Alex didn't retreat. He stepped in.
His scythe flared to life, cloaked in swirling black mist. With a powerful spin, he unleashed a wide arc slash that carved through the nearest wraiths. Chains shattered on contact, fragments clattering against the cobblestones as the shadowy creatures dissolved into vapor.
One wraith tried to bind his arm, its chain coiling toward him from behind—but Alex twisted, his scythe sweeping upward in a perfect crescent that bisected both the chain and the wraith that wielded it.
But there were too many. Chains flew from every direction, forcing Alex into constant motion—ducking, weaving, spinning, each step calculated and fluid. Sparks danced in the air as metal met shadow, the battlefield a blur of black mist and flashing steel.
"Too slow!" Alex growled, pivoting and driving his scythe straight through another wraith's chest.
Before the body even hit the ground, the Iron Lash moved. Its massive frame blurred forward with surprising speed, its rusted sword cutting through the air in a deadly vertical slash.
Alex raised his scythe to block—
CLANG!
The impact sent a shockwave through the street.