CHAPTER 87: ESCAPE THE SHADOW[2]

It rose slowly at first, spiraling upward in slow, lazy coils. It was like watching smoke from a dying fire—only denser, heavier... and ominous.

A faint pressure settled in his chest.

Riley’s pupils contracted.

The aura grew denser by the second, swirling into thicker clouds that bled through the entire battlefield.

It pulsed.

And the moment it did, Riley’s body gave a subtle tremble.

A cold sweat crept down the back of his neck as a single thought flickered through his mind—

’Escape the shadow... does that mean—’

He wasn’t given the chance to finish the thought.

Fwoosh!

The purplish-black aura exploded forward.

It surged toward him with terrifying speed, as if it had sensed him the moment it was born. There was no delay. No charge-up. No warning.

It just moved at terrifying speed.

Too fast.

Like a beast unchained from hell, it howled through the air with a distorted, otherworldly screech that echoed inside his bones.

Riley’s instincts screamed.

He grit his teeth, pupils narrowing to slits.

Riley jerked to the side just as the mass of purplish-black aura lunged toward him.

Fwoosh!

It missed him by inches.

The ground where he’d been standing a heartbeat ago exploded, scorched by the corrosive force of the shadow.

The moment it struck, the aura didn’t pause or disperse—it sprang back up like a geyser of water, rippling into the air and lunging towards toward him again.

Riley clicked his tongue and shifted once more, his boots slamming into the dirt as he narrowly avoided the second attack.

Szzzk!

It streaked past him, hissing violently through the space he’d just vacated. His eyes followed it for only a second—just enough to note its speed. And then—

It split, forming into two, swirling shadows.

They were almost like water, except they were a lot thicker and darker.

And worse, more of of it began to rise.

From the wilting grass in the distance, more coils of purplish-black shadow bled into existence, swirling upward like smoke caught in a storm.

They spun toward him, converging in the air, before merging with either of the two other shadows.

Riley froze mid-stride, his pupils contracting again.

’It... split?’ he thought in disbelief, chest tightening. ’How great.’

He inhaled sharply, barely managing to duck under one of the tendrils flying toward his head.

"If I fail, I’ll lose all my levels..." he muttered aloud, dodging again, "...and die."

The frown on his face deepened.

A tendril flew past him, close enough that it effortlessly split the dark shroud around him, grazing his arm.

A dark mark was left on the side of his armour, but fortunately, it didn’t seem like he lost any health.

However, his expression still tightened even further, realising the situation might be even more dire than he expected.

The tendril on the other hand went on to merge with the shadow on the left, swirling along with it.

’These things are just too fast!’

Even now—with [Stealth], [Dash], [Charge], and [Dark Shroud] all active—he was still struggling to stay ahead of them.

This was supposed to be his fastest state. Yet here he was, gritting his teeth just to stay one step ahead.

It wasn’t enough.

And worse, the faint dark mark on the arm of his armour—it hadn’t disappeared.

Riley glanced down briefly.

The mark pulsed faintly, like a slow-burning bruise etched into the fabric of reality itself. It hadn’t cut through his armor, hadn’t broken skin, but the moment it touched... it left something behind.

He didn’t want to know what would happen if the shadow actually hit his flesh.

Because whatever it was—it wouldn’t just sting.

It would be exactly what the system had warned.

[You will lose all your levels and finally... die.]

A terrifying thought.

Ding!

Two new notifications blinked into view just ahead of him:

[Trial Phase 2 has started!]

[Good luck, Player!]

Riley’s brow twitched.

"...Really?" he muttered flatly.

It almost felt like the system was mocking him.

He couldn’t help but imagine it chuckling somewhere, amused at his struggle.

’I can’t just keep dodging and waiting for it to attack first...’ Riley thought. ’I need to attack too!’

But the moment the thought formed, the two main shadow tendrils—still roiling with that purplish-black aura—snapped into motion again.

This time, they came from both sides.

Riley’s pupils shrank.

"Tch."

He leapt backward at once, flipping midair just as the two shadows slammed together with a deafening impact.

Sploosh!

A surge of energy pulsed from the collision point. The blast kicked up dust and sent a violent ripple tearing across the wilted ground.

But that wasn’t the end of it.

The shadows didn’t repel each other.

They merged for a split second, and then—

Fwshhhh!

They split again.

But not into two.

Five new spinning shadows exploded outward, shooting across the field in five separate directions, all aimed at one target: him.

Each one swirled with malevolent hunger, jagged like blades, and moved with even greater speed than before.

Riley’s eyes widened.

"What?!" he shouted, stunned.

There was no time to think.

No time to breathe.

They were all coming at once—from the left, the right, above, behind, and front.

The air around him crackled, dense with killing intent, and his instincts screamed louder than ever.

Riley’s instincts flared—he moved.

His body twisted sharply to the side, boots kicking up dried grass and dust as he narrowly evaded the tendril surging from above.

Boom!

It crashed into the ground where he’d just been, slamming down with such force that the entire area shook violently. Cracks spiderwebbed outward from the impact site, and the ground itself seemed to groan.

But he didn’t pause.

While mid-dodge, his arm snapped sideways—dagger flashing toward another shadow that raced in from the right.

Swik!

His blade sliced forward at rapid speed, the tip gleaming in the gloom as it flew straight for the shadow’s center.

But just as the dagger was about to connect with it—

Sssssk!

The shadow wobbled and split again.