The Shadow Wolf's growl was a low, vibrating hum that seemed to shake the very leaves of the Forbidden Forest. It was a creature born of darkness, its fur bristling like needles of obsidian. In this world, a Grade-1 monster like this could easily tear apart an unarmored adult man. To a six-year-old child like Arain, it should have been a nightmare.
But Arain wasn't a normal child. He stood his ground, the dark mana from his Abyssal Deep-Breathing still swirling around his small feet like a localized hurricane of ink.
'A Shadow Wolf? How nostalgic,' Arain thought, his red eyes reflecting the predator's gaze. 'In the Abyss, I used to keep creatures like this as house pets. Though, in this tiny body, I suppose it's a fair fight.'
[System Alert: Combat Mode Engaged.]
[Target: Shadow Wolf (Grade-1)]
[Host Condition: Exhausted (Low Stamina, 12% Mana Capacity)]
[Probability of Victory: 65%... Calculation revised... 99% with 'Demon King's Intent'.]
The wolf lunged. It didn't bark or howl; it moved in total silence, a blur of grey and black teeth aiming straight for Arain's throat.
Arain didn't move until the very last millisecond. He tilted his head slightly to the left, the wolf's claws whistling past his ear, close enough to draw a thin line of blood on his cheek. Instead of retreating, Arain stepped into the wolf's space.
"Shadow Extraction: First Form—Point of Impact," he whispered.
He drove his tiny fist into the wolf's underbelly. It wasn't a normal punch. The dark mana concentrated on his knuckles acted like a drill, piercing through the beast's magical hide.
CRUNCH.
The wolf let out a pained yelp, its ribs shattering. It was sent tumbling back into a thick oak tree, the impact cracking the trunk.
However, the beast was resilient. It scrambled back to its feet, its eyes now glowing with a frenzied, blood-red light. It realized this wasn't an easy meal. This was a monster in human skin. The wolf opened its maw, and a ball of concentrated shadow energy began to form—its signature move, the 'Shadow Bolt'.
'Using magic already?' Arain smirked, despite the sharp pain in his chest. His lungs felt like they were on fire from the sudden mana exertion. 'Fine. Let's see if this world's shadows remember their true master.'
Arain raised his right hand. He didn't form a bolt. He simply made a 'grabbing' motion in the air.
"Shadow Command: Silence."
The 'Shadow Bolt' in the wolf's mouth didn't fire. Instead, it imploded. The beast's own magic turned against it, muzzling it with its own energy. The wolf's eyes widened in pure terror. It tried to run, sensing a power that defied the laws of nature.
"Too late," Arain muttered.
He vanished. He didn't use a high-level teleportation spell—his body couldn't handle that—but he used 'Shadow Stepping', a technique that allowed him to move through the shadows cast by the trees.
He appeared directly above the wolf, his hand shaped like a blade.
"Rest in the darkness."
SWISH.
A clean cut. The wolf's head hit the ground before its body even realized it was dead. Not a drop of blood was wasted; the Abyssal energy around Arain's hand instantly began to absorb the essence of the fallen monster.
[System: Target Slain.]
[Experience Gained: 200 EXP.]
[Loot: Shadow Core (Fragment), Wolf Pelt.]
[Host Level Up! Level 1 -> Level 2.]
[All Stats Increased.]
Arain collapsed to his knees, gasping for air. His small hands were trembling. 'Leveling up... what a strange feeling. But the mana... it's purer now.'
He looked at the System screen floating in front of him:
[Host: Arain Luxmore]
[Title: Reincarnated Demon King]
[Level: 2]
[Strength: 8 | Agility: 10 | Intelligence: 25 | Mana: 15/50]
[Skills: Void Veil (Passive), Abyssal Deep-Breathing (Stage 1), Shadow Extraction (Beginner).]
Arain sat back against the tree, ignoring the corpse of the beast. He looked up at the moon through the thick canopy of the Forbidden Forest.
"One wolf won't be enough," he said to the darkness. "Leonard and Hector are growing stronger every day in that golden mansion. If I want to survive the coming 'Purge', I need to turn this entire forest into my personal graveyard."
Suddenly, the System chimed again, but this time the message was highlighted in blood-red.
[Emergency Quest: The Duke's Suspicion.]
[Description: Duke Valerius has sent a scout to follow you. The scout is hidden 50 meters to your North-East.]
[Objective: Kill the scout or evade detection.]
[Penalty for Failure: Eternal imprisonment in the Luxmore Dungeons.]
Arain's eyes cold. He didn't look towards the North-East, but his shadow began to stretch and crawl along the forest floor like a living snake.
"A scout? It seems Father is more interested in his 'mana-less' son than I thought."
He slowly stood up, a dark aura radiating from his small frame once more. The hunt wasn't over. It was just getting started.