The wolves attacked together.
Kael barely had time to react.
Three Shadowfang Wolves leaped from different directions, their claws tearing through the darkness.
He ducked beneath the first.
The second passed over his shoulder.
The third came straight toward his chest.
Kael raised the broken spear.
CRACK!
The wolf's jaws snapped shut around the wooden shaft.
For a moment, Kael and the beast stared at each other.
Then Kael kicked it away.
The system appeared.
[Recommended Action: Target the throat.]
Kael grinned.
"You're becoming useful."
He rushed forward.
The wolf lunged.
Kael sidestepped and drove the broken spear into its throat.
THUD!
The beast fell.
[Shadowfang Wolf defeated.]
[Experience gained.]
Two more wolves charged.
Kael didn't retreat.
For the first time in his life, he felt something strange.
Confidence.
His body moved faster than before.
He ducked beneath a claw, twisted, and punched the second wolf beneath its jaw.
BOOM!
The creature was thrown backward.
Kael froze.
"That was my punch?"
[Host's physical attributes have increased.]
Before he could celebrate, the third wolf attacked.
Kael grabbed its neck with both hands.
The creature struggled.
Its claws scraped against his chest.
Kael gritted his teeth.
Then something inside him awakened.
A faint black light appeared around his hand.
The wolf suddenly stopped moving.
[Void energy detected.]
[Absorption function temporarily available.]
Kael's eyes widened.
"Absorption?"
The black light spread.
The wolf's body dissolved into particles of darkness.
[Shadow essence acquired.]
[Voidheart has absorbed a fragment of Shadow Law.]
[Skill acquired: Shadow Step.]
Kael stared at his hands.
A skill.
He had just absorbed a monster's ability.
Then a scream came from the village.
Kael immediately turned.
His adoptive father, Garrick, was standing in the center of the village square.
Several wolves surrounded him.
"Father!"
Kael sprinted forward.
Garrick raised an old iron sword.
He was a former soldier, but age had weakened him.
A wolf jumped.
Kael arrived just in time.
He slammed into the beast.
Both crashed into the ground.
Garrick stared at him.
"Kael?"
"Get everyone inside!"
Another wolf approached.
Kael stood.
The system activated.
[Shadow Step available.]
Kael focused.
The world blurred.
For a brief instant, his body disappeared.
He reappeared behind the wolf.
The creature turned.
Kael struck.
BOOM!
The wolf fell.
Silence followed.
Then the remaining beasts began retreating toward the forest.
Kael looked at them.
He could feel something.
They weren't retreating because they were afraid of the villagers.
They were afraid of him.
The system appeared once more.
[Quest completed.]
Reward acquired: System Initialization Package.
Kael's eyes widened.
A golden chest appeared inside his mind.
He opened it.
[Congratulations.]
[You have obtained:]
• Beginner Cultivation Technique
• 500 System Points
• Minor Healing Potion ×3
• Unknown Egg ×1
Kael stared at the last item.
"Unknown egg?"
The system gave no explanation.
Then another message appeared.
[Main Quest Activated.]
Become Strong Enough to Discover the Truth.
Current objective: Reach Body Tempering Stage 1.
Kael looked toward the mountains.
The strange black crack in the sky was still there.
Something had awakened tonight.
And he suspected it wasn't alone.