Aaron stretched out on the ledge, watching as the first sunlight crept over the ridges. The girls had been fast asleep for three hours; Kyela was even drooling. With five hours left in the team mission, Aaron figured he'd let them rest a bit longer. He could catch up on sleep once they were back in the city.
With nothing else to do, he decided to use his unassigned attribute points. He had 15 of them. Since his Strength and Constitution were already above twenty, he put five points each into Stamina, Agility, and S.E to balance out his stats.
As he added the points, shadow energy spread through his body. He was used to the feeling by now, so it didn't surprise him. When it was done, Aaron looked over his stats with a satisfied smile.
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Name: Aaron White
Class: SSS Rank – Abyssal Phantom
Level: 16 (Progression: 92%)
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Attributes
Strength: 21 (26)
Stamina: 15.50 (18.5)
Constitution: 20 (24)
Agility: 16 (19)
S.E: 20
Unassigned Points: 0
State: Stable
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Health Points: 2000 / 2000 (2400 / 2400)
S.E Capacity: 200 / 200 (S.E × 10)
Attack Power: 210 (260)
Affinities: Darkness, Shadow
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Skills
Abyssal Insight (Passive), Shadow Resource (Passive), Phantom's Resilience (Passive), Predator of the Weak (Active), Shadow Stealth (Active), Shadow Veil (Active)
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Guild
Name: Phantom Shadows
Guild Master: Aaron White
Guild Members:
Tyra (Expand to view details)
Kyela (Expand to view details)
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M.P. (Mission Points): 0
Team Mission: Trial of Fangs
Requirements:
Kill 10 Venomweave Skulkers (8 / 10)
Raise Tyra and Kyela to Level 10 (Completed)
Duration: 5 Hours
Reward: 2 MP and 2 unassigned attribute points (Can be given to team members)
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Another hour passed, and now sunlight reached the entrance of the cave where the girls were sleeping. After a few minutes, Tyra's eyes twitched as the light hit her face. She opened her eyes slowly and covered them with her hand. She saw the grey, ridged walls of the cave, then turned to her left, where Kyela was sleeping with her head on Tyra's shoulder.
It took Tyra a few seconds to remember where they were. Suddenly, her eyes shot open, and all her sleepiness disappeared. She remembered they were supposed to wait for Aaron here. She stood up in a panic, worried about how long they had slept. As she got up, Kyela, who had been leaning on her, fell to the ground headfirst.
The fall woke Kyela from her dreams. Rubbing her head, she asked, "W...What happened?" Tyra looked around the cave and outside for Aaron and said, "Wake up. We both fell asleep while we were waiting last night. I can't see Aaron anywhere."
When Kyela heard Aaron's name, she quickly stood up. "When...when did we fall asleep? And what do you mean you can't see Aaron?" Tyra replied, "I don't know, but he's not here. I think we've been sleeping for almost three or four hours. Even the sun is out." Tears started falling down Tyra's face, worried that Aaron might still be inside and that something had gone wrong.
Both girls started to panic when they heard footsteps coming from outside. They ran to the edge of the ledge and looked down. Aaron was climbing up the ridge with plates in his hands. He saw the girls watching him, smiled, and called out, "Good morning, girls. Wait up there, I'm coming."
Seeing Aaron, both girls let out a sigh of relief. Kyela wiped away her tears as Aaron reached the cave and said, "Good, you're both awake." He handed Tyra a plate with two pieces of freshly cooked wolf meat, still steaming. "Eat up," he told them. "After this, we'll hunt a few more Skulkers, then head back."
Tyra said, "But you haven't slept. We can take turns watching over you now." Aaron replied, "Don't worry. We'll just hunt a few more, then I'll get some rest back in the city." After all, Aaron was no stranger to sleepless nights. He'd gone through plenty during missions in his past life.
Both girls nodded and finished their meal. After that, they headed down the ridge, searching for a new cave. They walked along the base for a few hundred meters before finding another cave. This one was at ground level, with a gently sloping path leading inside.
Aaron found it odd; all the other caves had been several meters higher up the ridge, but this one was different. He could already see webs near the entrance. With only four hours left in the mission, they didn't have time to wait. Aaron and the girls went inside.
With the mana lamp lighting the way, they went inside the cave. After only thirty meters, Aaron spotted the glowing eyes of a Skulker just a few meters ahead. He checked its stats with Abyssal Insight—it was only level 15.
He clicked his tongue and said, "The beast is right there. Take the lamp and stay a few meters behind me," he instructed. The girls slowly backed up until the lamp's light barely reached where Aaron stood.
The Skulker hadn't noticed Aaron. Using Shadow Stealth, he moved closer. The air was thick with the smell of blood and the crunch of bone. The spider had been feasting on a Razorboar that got caught in its webs. Aaron slowly circled to its left.
This time, the Skulker wasn't high up, so Aaron could reach it easily. He activated Shadow Veil, covered both blades in dark energy, and slashed straight for the Skulker's head. The spider's head dropped like a sacrificial offering without any ceremony. The system flashed the kill message, just enough for Aaron to reach the last 9% he needed to level up.
[Venomweave Skulker (Lv. 15) Defeated]
[Congratulations! You have leveled up. Bonus attribute points awarded.]
Aaron called the girls over because he didn't want to waste time. After so many kills, the girls had learned to collect materials quickly and finished in just five minutes. This time, Aaron decided to go deeper into the cave. Before, they hadn't explored far since the girls were still low-level, but now that both had leveled up, they might find Skulkers above level 20.
As they went deeper, they found nothing for almost a hundred meters. The path sloped downward and got steeper with every step. They had to walk carefully, since one wrong move could make them slip and fall down the rocky slope.
After another fifty meters, the passage abruptly ended at a large hole in the cave floor. Aaron stepped forward to check. It wasn't a bottomless pit, but rather a slanted tunnel dropping at a forty-five degree angle, lined with jagged stones.
A harsh, acidic stench rose from below, much stronger than anything Aaron had smelled in any other cave. He quickly covered his nose, instantly alert. There had to be a powerful Skulker down there. He glanced back at the girls, who stood ready and waited for his instructions.
Part of him wanted to leave the girls at the top and handle the beast alone. But with the cave at ground level, he worried another Razorboar could wander in, and the girls wouldn't be able to handle it by themselves. Besides, this was a good chance for them to learn how to deal with the pressure of facing a stronger monster.
He turned to the girls, sounding serious. "We're going down. There's probably a Skulker down there stronger than any we've fought so far. You two follow me, but don't join the fight—just watch and learn." The girls nodded, knowing that when Aaron spoke like this, it was time to focus.
They started down slowly, careful with each step. Aaron told the girls to step where he did so no one would slip. After about thirty meters, the path leveled out, and they saw a faint light at the far end. It reminded Aaron of the chamber he'd seen last night with the Skulker couple, but now they were deep underground, so any light here was strange.
As they got closer, an opening appeared, showing a chamber like the one before. The air was thick and hot, and all three of them were sweating. Aaron turned to the girls and said quietly, "I'll go in with stealth. You two stay here and just watch—don't follow me." The girls nodded, feeling that whatever was inside was much more dangerous than anything they'd faced before.
Aaron didn't want to alert any beast by showing himself, so he used Shadow Stealth and almost disappeared from view. He slipped inside and saw it wasn't just a small chamber. It was dome-shaped, surrounded by jagged stone pillars, and completely closed in. He turned to his left and froze, eyes wide at what he saw.
The Skulker inside was massive—almost twice the size of the level 20 he'd fought before. Its huge body hung from a web net, eyes closed. But it wasn't the size that shocked Aaron. Next to the beast stood a seven-foot-tall grey portal, glowing bright and lighting up the chamber. Faint trails of mana leaked from its edges.
It was a dungeon portal. Every month, dozens of dungeons appeared near Blightforge City alone. Across the kingdom, the number reached into the hundreds. Dungeons were both common and rare—common in how many existed, but rare because the awakened population was so large that many never saw one in their entire lives.
Aaron remembered what he'd learned from Estrium and Old Latem, who he'd visited to sell materials. No one knew where dungeons came from or why they appeared in the forests. If all the monsters inside a dungeon were defeated, it granted a clearing reward and vanished. But if a clearing attempt failed, the monsters would escape into the world outside.
There were six known types of dungeons, but Aaron only knew four, each ranked similarly to monster classifications:
Fragment Dungeon — Level 0 to 30 beast (Grey)
Core Dungeon — Level 31 to 90 beast (Yellow)
Crystal Dungeon — Level 91 to 180 beast (Blue)
Nexus Dungeon — Level 181 to 300 beast (Green)
The one next to the Skulker was a Fragment Dungeon. Aaron smiled when he saw it, but suddenly a glob of venom shot at him. He dodged thanks to his speed, but he was shocked. How did it sense him? He knew Shadow Stealth didn't hide him completely, but for a beast that might only be level twenty-five to notice him—that was crazy.
Aaron was now on full alert, moving nonstop to make it harder for the beast to track him. The Skulker scanned its surroundings, searching for any hint of his presence. Aaron used Abyssal Insight to check its stats, and what he saw left him speechless.
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Name: Venomweave Skulkers
Tier: Fragment ★★★
Level: 30
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Health Points: 1605 / 1605
Mana Capacity: 450 / 450
Attack Power: 288
Affinity: Venom
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Skills
Silk Snare
Launches a web in a wide spread, restricting the target's movement.
Venom Spit
Spits a glob of toxic fluid from its fangs, dealing increased damage by 45% with burn effect.
Fang Pierce
Lunges forward, striking with both venomous fangs, dealing 60% increased damage. After the attack, the target suffers a deadly poison, losing 50 health points per second for 5 seconds.
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Aaron frowned and muttered, "This son of a bitch has been soaking up the mana leak from the dungeon like it's a hot spring, getting stronger just by sitting here. No wonder he could sense me." Its attack power was high, and its skills were boosted, too. Aaron knew he had to be careful; if it attacked, it would really burn this time.