The sound in the small room grew clearer. On the other side of the neatly arranged stone wall, there was a group of organism creatures that could threaten anyone who approached. In addition, the thin, damp air made anyone have to exert extra effort just to breathe steadily.
Celis gripped the black spear that had resonance capability with him—the ability he had briefly learned before. However, he realized that his mastery of that technique was still far from perfect.
The young man moved slowly, creeping with his back pressed against the cold stone wall.
The black spear, as if thirsty for blood, was held tightly in his grip.
Carefully, Celis peeked from behind the corner of the wall to confirm the number of monsters gathered there. He counted them one by one.
Five.
All five monsters appeared to be communicating with each other.
"They look like intelligent monsters…" Celis thought to himself.
Even though their appearance was hideous, there was something in their movements and the way they looked at each other that indicated intelligence. However, he couldn't confirm it fully yet.
After observing them one by one, Celis suddenly realized something.
Among them was one monster that looked different.
The difference was very striking.
All the monsters looked like ferocious wolves—but far more terrifying. Their bodies were covered in large, gaping wounds, exposing internal organs that should have been hidden.
Even ordinary wolves felt more pleasant to look at compared to those creatures.
"I thought they were injured… turns out this is really their true terrifying form," Celis muttered softly.
His gaze now focused on one wolf that was smaller than the others.
Its body was dark red. Not a single gaping wound like the other monsters had.
"I know… that one is the leader."
Celis's plan immediately changed.
He began to formulate what he considered the most rational strategy.
Those monsters moved in a group. If there was a leader providing coordination, they would become far more dangerous.
Killing the small wolf would most likely be useless if the leader was still alive.
However, attacking the leader directly was also risky.
Celis took a slow breath.
---
A few moments later, a mature plan had formed in his head.
Celis raised the palm of his hand into the air. The air around him mixed with mana, slowly absorbed into his bloodstream.
'My attacking abilities still can't be learned directly…' he thought.
'Maybe… it's better to bet in this fight to obtain it.'
Without warning, a shadow shot forward quickly.
Celis lunged ahead.
In one frontal motion, the black spear in his hand was swung with full force.
Its blade slashed across the neck of that monster leader.
Blood spurted.
The dark red wolf's body fell heavily onto the stone floor.
Only then did the other monsters realize they had been attacked.
Celis stood near the body of the leader he had just killed.
He flicked his spear to the side, shaking off the blood clinging to the blade.
His gaze now sharp.
His breathing remained steady even though his lungs had to work harder in the room with thin air.
The four remaining monsters stared at Celis with high alertness.
Without their leader, the encirclement formation that had formed looked chaotic and uncoordinated.
Their leader was dead.
There was no longer a battle brain capable of directing them toward victory.
However, before the wolves could leap to charge at Celis, something suddenly stuck in his mind.
Celis paused for a moment.
His face furrowed.
His right hand lifted and held the bridge of his nose because of the sudden pain that appeared.
'Why…?'
'As if I'm already used to fights like this…'
'Even… I didn't feel any difficulty killing their leader.'
That thought made him a little confused.
However, before he could understand that strange feeling, the wolves had already leaped toward him with brutal ferocity.
Their claws and fangs were ready to tear his body apart.
Strangely, what Celis saw felt slower than usual.
As if time around him was moving more slowly.
His awareness returned fully.
The danger came only in a fraction of a second before—flashes of dazzling slashes began to fly through the air as Celis swung his spear in this seemingly slow time.
Every slash began to cut through the wolves' bodies.
Blood sprayed in all directions, soaking the walls and floor.
"Eh?"
Celis was surprised when he saw the wolves' bodies chopped up on the floor. He quickly looked at his black spear with a confused expression.
"How could this happen?" he muttered in wonder.
"There must be a new ability I just obtained."
Celis closed his eyes again. His consciousness began to sink into the sea of darkness where many things would help him in the future.
Celis had realized that he was in a world somewhere unknown. But here he thought he could control a projection that displayed every progress of experience.
"As I expected." He looked around; there was only emptiness without light, stars, or arranged variables.
"This room can be explored according to my expectations. I thought about everything I went through after entering this realm before; unintentionally at that time I received a blessing."
Celis imagined a thin square floating in the air like what he had seen before receiving the ability. Most likely what he thought really happened.
A transparent blue screen appeared in front of him. With a short projection explanation regarding the ability. There were steps for every aspect listed there.
Celis opened his eyes again and looked at the full detailed description of each ability. Celis set aside abilities considered non-combat, namely the ability to see the future—no… this was not an ability that ordinary people could understand.
Right now his eyes only focused on one ability among the 5 previously empty slots.
His hand pointed to one line of sentences.
"So this is the ability from the root of the Swallowing Shadow skill tree," the young man muttered. The feeling in his heart felt heated as if anticipating a battle.
He didn't want battles except there was another will inside him. Isn't something like this going to influence the mentality that needs to awaken?
There was no real certainty.
Besides only being able to hold 5 empty slots in the main section, there was great potential from the ability roots that hadn't appeared yet.
Celis looked at the ability. [Black Lunaris Art]
But below it appeared one skill root from that slot named.
[Lunar Slash: Slash from the shadow behind the moon that shines black.
"The ability to slash every enemy with ability according to the quality and type of weapon. Every weapon will have a unique ability after being analyzed by the Chandra Slash ability.
Failed. Failed. Failed.
User does not have authority to view other abilities."]
Celis only smiled cynically, but doubt seemed to envelop his face. Everything he had gone through didn't really make progress easier to move forward.
"I don't need to worry. I just need to rely on every ability I get seriously."
Celis sent his consciousness back to the real world. Where the room still carried the iron scent from the blood of the previous battle. The corpses of the ferocious monsters still lay on the floor.
The spear that had been used as a killing medium was now safely stored in an unknown black depth even to its own user.
Everything seemed finished; he continued walking to explore every room in these ruins. There was one more general knowledge he had just remembered;
If you've killed your enemy, don't linger too long near its corpse. You will be cursed with bad luck if you don't leave immediately—unless you are not someone who can be controlled by fate.