The iron gates of Oakhaven creaked shut behind Arlan, a sound that felt like the final chord of a tragic symphony. He didn't look back. The village, with its corruption and its betrayal, was now a ghost of his past. Ahead of him lay the Whispering Woods, a vast, dark expanse that served as a natural border between the frontier and the heart of the empire.
[System Alert: Entering High-Risk Zone - Whispering Woods]
[Average Level of Inhabitants: 10-15]
[Warning: Mana density is unstable. Stealth is advised.]
Arlan tightened the grip on his Shadow Dagger. The Cloak of the Void felt cool against his skin, its dark fibers absorbing the pale moonlight and making him almost invisible against the gnarled trees.
Crunch. Crunch.
Every step he took on the dry leaves echoed in the unnatural silence of the forest. Suddenly, Arlan stopped. His sharpened senses, boosted by the Shadow Essence Elixir, picked up a faint scent—the metallic tang of blood mixed with a foul, sulfurous odor.
[New Hidden Quest: The Fallen Merchant]
[Objective: Investigate the source of the scent.]
[Reward: 500 Exp, System Gold x100]
Arlan moved like a panther, his Shadow Step allowing him to glide between trees without making a sound. A few hundred yards ahead, he saw the remains of a caravan. The wooden wagons were shattered, and two dead horses lay in pools of black blood. But it wasn't bandits who had done this. The claw marks on the wood were too deep, too jagged.
"Help... me..." a weak voice groaned from under a broken carriage.
Arlan approached slowly, his dagger ready. He found an old man, his legs crushed under the weight of the wagon. This was a merchant, likely trying to bypass the heavy taxes of Oakhaven.
"What attacked you?" Arlan asked, his voice cold.
The merchant's eyes widened as he saw Arlan's glowing golden eyes. "A... a Shadow Stalker. It came from the trees... it didn't want the gold... it wanted our souls..."
Before Arlan could respond, the system blared in his mind.
[Danger! Enemy detected in the canopy!]
[Enemy: Shadow Stalker (Level 12 - Elite)]
A massive creature, looking like a cross between a wolf and a spider, dropped from the trees. Its skin was translucent, and its multiple eyes glowed with a sickly green light. It let out a shriek that felt like needles piercing Arlan's brain.
"So, the forest has guardians," Arlan muttered, a dark smile playing on his lips. "System, activate Berserk Mode!"
[Berserk Mode: Activated!]
[Duration: 10 Minutes]
[Strength and Agility increased by 200%!]
The battle began in a flash of black and green. The Shadow Stalker lunged, its razor-sharp claws narrowly missing Arlan's chest thanks to his Cloak of the Void. Arlan countered with a series of rapid stabs, his dagger glowing with a dark purple aura as it began to feast on the creature's mana.
The Shadow Stalker was unlike any beast Arlan had encountered in Oakhaven. Its movements were erratic, twitching with a speed that defied human logic. Every time Arlan's blade got close, the creature would dissolve into a puddle of green slime and reappear behind him.
[System Alert: Enemy using High-Level Illusion Magic!]
[Counter-measure: Focus on Mana Fluctuations, not visual cues.]
"Focus on the mana..." Arlan closed his eyes for a split second. Thanks to the Shadow Essence Elixir he had consumed earlier, his senses were now finely tuned to the flow of energy around him. He could feel the creature's heartbeat—not in its chest, but in the shadows themselves.
Suddenly, Arlan spun around and drove his Shadow Dagger into the seemingly empty air.
SPLAT.
A shriek of pure agony ripped through the trees. The Shadow Stalker materialized, the obsidian blade buried deep into its primary eye.
[Critical Hit! 450% Damage!]
[Soul Hunger Activated: Draining Essence of the Stalker...]
As the beast withered away, a surge of dark energy traveled up Arlan's arm. It was intoxicating. For a moment, his mind drifted back to the Royal Palace of Valoria—back to the night everything was taken from him.
[FLASHBACK: The Night of the Crimson Feast]
Ten years ago. The palace air had been thick with the scent of jasmine and betrayal. Arlan, only a boy of seven, had been sitting at the royal dinner table. His father, the Emperor, hadn't even looked at him. His brothers were whispering, their eyes cold.
"Drink, Arlan," his eldest brother had said, pushing a golden goblet toward him. "It's a special vintage for the 'weakest' prince."
Arlan had taken a sip, and within seconds, his world had turned into a blur of fire and pain. The poison had been designed not to kill him, but to shatter his mana core—to make him 'trash' forever. As he lay on the cold marble floor, he saw his family laughing. That was the day the Prince died, and the Forsaken began his long wait for revenge.
[PRESENT DAY]
Arlan snapped back to reality, his eyes glowing with a renewed fury. The Shadow Stalker was now nothing but a pile of ash.
[Hidden Quest Completed: The Fallen Merchant]
[Experience Gained: 1,500 Exp]
[Level Up! Level 8 -> Level 10]
[New Feature Unlocked: System Pet/Companion Slot]
[System Gold: +500]
The merchant he had tried to save was dead, his soul already consumed by the forest. Arlan didn't feel sadness—only a cold realization. "In this world, the weak are just fuel for the strong," he muttered.
He opened the System Shop again. He had 1,200 points now.
[New Item Available: Heart of the Abyss (Rank B) - 1,000 Points]
[Description: A crystal that allows the user to tame a beast of the Shadow Realm.]
Arlan looked at the empty pet slot. He needed more than just a dagger to take down an empire. He needed an army. He clicked 'Purchase'.
[Purchasing: Heart of the Abyss...]
[Warning: Taming process involves 50% chance of Soul Backlash!]
"Do it," Arlan commanded. "I've survived poison and betrayal. A little soul backlash won't stop me."
The Heart of the Abyss pulsed in Arlan's palm like a living heart. It was a jagged, obsidian crystal that seemed to swallow the very light around it. As Arlan gripped it tighter, the system's warnings began to flash in a violent red hue.
[Warning: Ritual of the Void beginning...]
[The user must withstand the mental pressure of the Abyss for 180 seconds.]
[Success Rate: 50% | Penalty for Failure: Permanent Sanity Loss.]
"Permanent sanity loss?" Arlan let out a dry, cold laugh that startled the birds in the dark canopy above. "I lost my sanity the day my own blood tried to erase me from existence. System, begin the synchronization!"
Instantly, the world around him vanished. The trees, the dead merchant, and the smell of sulfur were replaced by a vast, endless ocean of darkness. In front of Arlan stood a creature that made the Shadow Stalker look like a common house cat.
It was a Shadow Direwolf, its fur made of swirling smoke and its eyes burning like blue supernovas. It stood over ten feet tall, its claws carving runes into the void itself.
[Target: Ancient Shadow Wolf (Level 20 - Sealed)]
[Status: Hostile / Untamed]
The wolf roared, a sound that didn't hit Arlan's ears, but his soul. The mental pressure was immense, like a mountain being dropped on his chest. Arlan fell to one knee, his nose bleeding from the sheer intensity of the beast's aura.
"You think... a mere beast can make me bow?" Arlan growled, his golden eyes clashing with the wolf's blue flames. "I am the one who crawled back from hell! I am the Sovereign of Shadows!"
He activated Soul Devour, a skill he hadn't fully mastered yet, but one that was necessary for survival. Instead of the wolf consuming him, Arlan began to pull the beast's essence into his own mana core.
[Synchronization: 30%... 45%... 60%...]
The wolf lunged, its spectral jaws snapping inches from Arlan's throat. But Arlan didn't move. He grabbed the wolf's snout with his bare hands, the obsidian crystal from the System Shop acting as a bridge between their spirits.
"Yield!" Arlan roared. "Yield, and you shall witness the fall of empires! Resist, and I will erase your very existence from the annals of time!"
The void began to crack. The mental pressure reached its peak, and for a second, Arlan saw a vision of the future—a throne made of dragon bones and himself sitting upon it, with a world in flames at his feet.
[Synchronization: 100%!]
[Ritual Successful!]
[New Companion Acquired: Fenris (Shadow Direwolf)]
[Level 10 reached! All stats increased by +10!]
The darkness shattered, and Arlan found himself back in the Whispering Woods. In front of him, the massive wolf was no longer hostile. It lowered its head, whimpering softly, and nudged Arlan's hand.
[Companion Status: Bound for Life]
[Ability Unlocked: Shadow Mount - Travel speed increased by 300%.]
Arlan wiped the blood from his face and climbed onto the back of the massive wolf. The fur felt like cold silk. He looked toward the north, where the lights of the next border town, Silverleaf, were barely visible through the thick mist.
"Fenris, run," Arlan commanded.
With a single leap, the wolf vanished into the shadows. They were no longer walking through the forest; they were becoming a part of it. At this speed, Arlan would reach the border in hours instead of days. But he knew that the Border Guards were far more disciplined than the village militia.
He needed a plan. He needed an identity. And most importantly, he needed to test Fenris's combat abilities against something... human.