CHAPTER 118: SHADOW HOP

The thin lines etched across Riley’s dark fanged daggers were already glowing faintly, the crimson hue pulsing as though alive.

The faint light contrasted sharply against the gloom of the cavern, flickering like veins that drank in every ounce of energy they touched.

Riley’s eyes narrowed, his gaze burning with a bright red glint, and he clenched the daggers firmly in his grip.

His chest rose and fell with steady, controlled breaths, the rhythm of a predator preparing to strike again.

He hadn’t managed to land a proper hit earlier—his blades had only scratched the thick crystal hide of the beast.

But that little scratch... that single graze was more than enough for the dark fanged daggers to do their job.

Already, they had siphoned a sliver of mana from the monster’s body, greedily pulling it into their glowing channels.

Riley smirked to himself, the faint shimmer in his pupils intensifying.

Four more strikes—that was all it would take. With four clean hits, he would have drained enough energy to unleash [Pulse Rupture].

Just imagining the devastating burst sent a dark thrill down his spine. He could practically taste it.

But the monster wasn’t about to give him the luxury of planning.

The Shiny Crystal Boar let out a guttural roar, the sound thick and ear-splitting, echoing off the cavern walls like an earthquake given voice.

Its massive body lowered, muscles tensing under the weight of its crystalline armor. Then, with terrifying speed, it charged.

The cavern floor quaked violently, trembling as its colossal body lunged forward.

Rocks loosened from the jagged ceiling above, tumbling down as the beast closed the distance in seconds, its glowing red eyes locked firmly on Riley.

With a savage bellow, one of its crystal-coated hooves lifted, gleaming with reflected light from the cavern crystals.

Then it came crashing down at rapid speed, aiming to squash Riley like a fragile insect.

The sheer momentum tore through the air, carrying a force that could crush bone and stone alike.

Riley’s instincts screamed, and his body moved on its own.

At the very last second, he rolled sharply to the side, the beast’s hoof slamming into the ground where he’d stood an instant earlier.

BOOM!

The earth caved in instantly. Dust and shattered stone exploded outward, cracks spiderwebbing violently from the impact point.

The cavern trembled under the weight of the strike, jagged fissures running through the crystal-encrusted floor.

Riley sprang back onto his feet with a grin, his daggers twirling lightly in his hands.

"You’re pretty fast for your size," he muttered under his breath, his lips curling into a razor-edged smirk, "but still too slow."

Without hesitation, he leapt away, his body moving in sharp, controlled motions that blurred against the faint light of the cavern.

He widened the distance between himself and the beast, his boots barely making a sound as they touched the fractured floor.

The glow in his daggers pulsed brighter, and his eyes narrowed, flashing with a strange red glow.

His voice was a low murmur, but it carried like a promise of death.

"Time to test the abilities of my new class."

The cavern seemed to darken further at those words, as though the shadows themselves stirred in anticipation.

Fwoosh!

A thick, purplish-dark aura suddenly burst out of Riley’s body, exploding like a violent wave that seemed to swallow the surrounding light.

The air itself warped, trembling under its release as shadows surged outward, twisting and writhing like a storm of smoke.

It swarmed around him in chaotic swirls, the aura moving like a living thing—unnatural, heavy, and suffocating.

Its presence was eerie, terrifying in its sheer intensity, as though the cavern had just been claimed by something that shouldn’t exist in the realm of men.

The dark haze coiled upward, curling tightly around his arms like serpents made of night.

In seamless motion, it slithered down to his daggers, fusing with the already glowing blades.

The initial flare raged wildly for only a moment before it compressed, calming itself.

The dark aura condensed into a thin, sinister coat that clung to his body and wrapped around his daggers like a second skin.

From the edges, faint wisps oozed out continuously, trailing behind him in restless motion.

Riley smirked, a low thrill running through his chest as the power coursed through his veins, making every nerve hum with exhilaration.

Activating his Shadow Aura felt eerily similar to Shadow Shroud.

The sensation of being wrapped in shadow, of wielding something alive, was almost identical.

Almost.

The only difference was density. Shadow Shroud was thicker, denser, like being buried in a suffocating cloak of night, whereas Shadow Aura was lighter, sharper, and more fluid—built for speed and destruction.

Still, the surge was undeniable. His muscles tightened, his reflexes sharpened, and his very presence seemed to grow heavier.

He knew, without a shadow of doubt, that he was at least twice as strong as he had been moments ago.

Riley lifted one dagger and pointed it straight at the hulking monster boss. His red-glinting eyes narrowed as his lips curved into a cruel smile.

"My turn now."

The monster boss felt another wave of chills run down its spine.

Its hulking frame quivered slightly, as though its instincts screamed danger louder than its rage.

It wanted to lunge at Riley immediately, to crush him before he could unleash more of that terrifying power, but at the last second, it hesitated, pulling back as its primal fear gnawed at its resolve.

Riley chuckled darkly, the sound echoing in the trembling cavern.

"If you don’t want to come to me," he muttered, his eyes narrowing into slits, "then I’ll come to you."

He dashed forward without warning.

His speed was a blur, far sharper than before—each stride left behind a thick trail of shadow wisps, streaking through the air like black flames licking at the ground.

The darkness seemed to ripple and tear apart reality in his wake, an ominous signature of the new power flowing through him.

Within a heartbeat, he closed in on the beast.

His grip tightened on one dagger, and with a swift, ruthless motion, he swung it downward.

A powerful slash of Shadow Aura burst out, tearing itself free from the blade in a violent explosion of energy.

It curved outward in a crescent shape, a dark blade of condensed destruction, and it ripped through the air with rapid speed, howling as it went.

The crescent slash reached the monster in an instant.

It collided with the thick crystalline armor covering its body, and where once blows had been deflected or dulled, the shadow slash cut through effortlessly—shattering the hardened crystal into shards.

The crescent blade didn’t stop there.

It tore into the beast’s flesh beneath, leaving behind a deep gash that split across its massive frame.

Blood spurted violently from the wound, hot and dark, splattering across the broken crystal fragments now scattered on the ground.

The monster boss grunted loudly in pain, its voice echoing as a guttural roar that shook the cavern walls.

It staggered back, its massive limbs trembling as the crystals around the wound crumbled and fell away in pieces.

Wisps of shadow aura still lingered around the torn area, seeping into the wound like poison, and the effect made the beast writhe even more, its agony amplified.

Snarling in fury, the monster’s pain twisted into unbridled rage.

Its entire body pulsed, and the crystals across its frame began to glow brightly, resonating with its outburst.

The cavern flickered with the reflection of the sudden crystalline radiance.

With a bloodcurdling roar, the beast charged straight at Riley, trampling through the broken ground as though nothing stood in its way.

Its jaws snapped open, massive and jagged, and it lunged forward—trying to chomp down on Riley with crushing force.

The beast’s massive jaws clamped down with a deafening snap, the force behind the motion sending a vibration through the cavern walls.

Its head shook violently from the recoil, and a faint whimper of pain rattled in its throat as its fangs ground against one another.

Tiny cracks split along the surface of its crystal-coated teeth, evidence of how recklessly it had struck at empty air.

For a brief moment, confusion rippled through the beast’s mind. Its glowing eyes flicked about wildly, searching, wondering where its prey had gone.

It had lunged with precision, its instincts screaming that Riley had been right before it—but now he was gone, swallowed by shadows it couldn’t quite comprehend.

Then, suddenly, a voice whispered from its side.

"Looking for me?"

The beast’s head jerked to the right. Its glare widened when it saw Riley—not standing on the floor, not perched on some rock, but emerging unnaturally from the ground itself.

His head and chest were visible, the rest of his body buried seamlessly into the shadow that stretched beneath the beast’s towering frame.

The sight alone was enough to send another chill crawling up the beast’s spine.

The monster boss growled furiously, the crystals running along its body pulsing brighter with rage.

With a thunderous roar, it swung its colossal arm downward, the motion sharp and brutal, aiming to squash Riley into the ground like a bug.

Its mind, dull and consumed with instinct, could not fathom strategy or restraint—its only purpose in that moment was to kill Riley, to obliterate him with sheer force.

But before its massive blow could connect, three more shadow slashes ripped forward out of the darkness.

They shot through the air with piercing howls, their edges gleaming with razor-sharp energy, and tore directly into the beast’s limb.