The primordial aura radiating from Nox was not merely a wave of mana; it was a physical weight that pressed down upon Gloom Ravine like a collapsing sky.
The damp air in the narrow gorge turned unnaturally frigid. The rain that drizzled from the dark clouds above seemed to freeze in mid-air, suspended as glittering, icy needle-points before dissolving into thin wisps of black mist.
At the base of the muddy canyon, the twenty-foot Ablative Gloom-Wyrm—a Gold-Grade horror boasting a Combat Rating of 420—was completely, utterly paralyzed.
Its massive, armored tail, which had been poised to crush Kaelen Ashford into liquid mud, hung motionless in the air. Its four venomous mandibles, flared wide to spew flesh-dissolving acid, trembled so violently that thick, green drops of venom dripped uselessly onto its own chest scales. Its slit-pupiled red eyes, previously burning with mindless predatory fury, were now wide with the primal, marrow-deep terror of a helpless prey animal staring into the maw of an inescapable apex predator.
For ten thousand years, the System had taught the creatures of Solis that dragons and higher wyrms stood atop the ecological pyramid.
The System was wrong.
Before the Architects rewrote history, before the ancient world was purged and locked away in erased archives, there existed a singular entity whose entire purpose was to hunt, slaughter, and devour dragons.
And that entity was now standing on the wet mud of Gloom Ravine, its twin eyes glowing like twin pools of molten gold within a vortex of pure, light-devouring shadow.
Nox, Kaelen commanded softly through the soundless resonance of the Primitive Mental Mesh. End it.
With pleasure, Master.
Nox didn't sprint across the mud. It didn't need to.
[SKILL ACTIVATED: VOID-LIGHTNING STEP]
A crackle of violet-black electricity flickered across the gloom. Space itself bent inward with a soft pop, and in a fraction of a millisecond, the seven-foot form of the Ancestral Primal Void-Stalker vanished from where it stood.
It reappeared directly above the Gloom-Wyrm's massive, armored neck.
The monster didn't even have time to hiss.
Nox's front right paw struck down. Four obsidian claws, wrapped in hyper-dense, vibrating void energy, pierced through the wyrm's ablative stone-hard scales as if they were wet parchment.
CRACK-SHATTER!
The thick armor plating along the wyrm's vertebrae exploded into a shower of black stone dust. Before the creature could scream, Nox opened its jaws, exposing rows of translucent, serrated fangs infused with anti-mana energy.
[SKILL ACTIVATED: VOID-FANGS I]
Nox bit down cleanly into the wyrm's central mana core situated right behind its cranium.
The anti-mana discharge tore through the monster's internal organs like an invisible storm. The Gloom-Wyrm's entire twenty-foot body convulsed once, its tail thrashing weakly against the gorge wall, before its crimson eyes lost their light entirely. The massive beast collapsed into the mud with a heavy, wet thud that shook the canyon floor.
[TARGET ELIMINATED: ABLATIVE GLOOM-WYRM (CR 420)] [EXTINCTION POINTS ACQUIRED: +450 EP] [ANCIENT BESTIARY UPDATE: SPECIES 006 — ABLATIVE GLOOM-WYRM INDEXED] [VOID ABSORPTION IN PROGRESS...]
A stream of thick, iridescent violet mist rose from the dying monster's carcass, flowing smoothly into Nox's open maw. The creature's physical size expanded by a barely perceptible fraction, its midnight fur growing darker, sleek and impenetrable.
[VOID ABSORPTION COMPLETE: BONUS EXTINCTION POINTS +300 EP] [TOTAL EXTINCTION POINTS RESERVES: 1,900 EP]
The entire sequence—from the moment Kaelen dropped his brass conscription collar to the death of a Gold-Grade CR 420 monster—had taken less than five seconds.
High above on the rocky rim of the cliff, absolute, suffocating silence fell over the House Vance expeditionary force.
Over fifty armored mercenaries stood frozen, their weapons half-drawn, their mouths agape in stunned, uncomprehending horror.
"W-What..." Captain Vane stammered, his hand trembling so hard against his broadsword hilt that the metal scabbard rattled against his leg armor. His hardened, battle-scarred face had gone entirely chalk-white. "What... what in the name of the Seven Gods was that?!"
Beside him, Valerius Vance was on his knees in the mud.
His pristine, silver-embroidered tunic was soaked in filthy water, but he didn't seem to notice. Beside him, his proud Crimson Flame Drake—the Gold-Grade beast with a Combat Rating of 380 that had made Valerius the envy of the entire kingdom—was flattened against the earth like a beaten dog, its snout buried under its front talons, whimpering in high-pitched, pathetic whines.
"M-My Flame Drake..." Valerius gasped, his voice cracking with hysterical disbelief. "It's... it's submission-locked! Its mana core is failing! C-Captain... what is that thing down there?!"
Valerius stared down into the ravine, his eyes wide with a mixture of terror and cognitive dissonance.
Standing next to the towering, lifeless carcass of the CR 420 Gloom-Wyrm was Kaelen Ashford—the trash-tier dock worker, the dung-shoveler, the Failed Summoner whom Valerius had mocked at the Awakening Altar just days ago.
And crouched beside Kaelen was a beast of nightmares. It was no longer a tiny, harmless kitten. It was a sleek, magnificent, obsidian-scaled shadow predator whose very presence warped the light around it, its golden eyes staring directly up at the cliff top with cold, predatory amusement.
"The public evaluation crystal..." Valerius babbled, clutching his head with trembling hands. "The System said his beast was Combat Rating ONE! It was an Iron-grade pest! How... how is it killing Gold-grade monsters in a single strike?!"
Down in the ravine, Kaelen slowly wiped a speck of mud from his cheek. He looked up at the cliff edge, his gaze locking onto Valerius Vance and Captain Vane.
The cold, submissive look that Kaelen had worn all morning was gone. In its place was an expression of calm, razor-sharp authority—the look of a man who held the power of erased eras in his palm.
"Captain Vane!" Kaelen's voice echoed up the canyon walls, clear and steady despite the wind. "You drafted me to be human bait. You poured blood-lure paste over my tunic so the monster would eat me while your archers prepared their volleys."
Captain Vane swallowed hard, his throat dry as bone. He instinctively took a step back from the ledge. "Ashford... you... you concealed an unregistered high-tier beast! You bypassed the Royal Guild's inspection! This is treason against the Crown!"
Kaelen let out a short, quiet laugh—a sound devoid of warmth.
"Treason?" Kaelen repeated, stepping over the dead wyrm's neck. "You brought me out past the city walls, Captain. Beyond the West Watchtower, there are no Guild inspectors. There are no city guards. And there are no laws to protect nobles from the consequences of their choices."
Kaelen reached down and casually stroked Nox's smooth, dark head.
"Nox," Kaelen said softly. "The trap is set. Let's close it."
[SKILL ACTIVATED: ABYSSAL CLOAK I] [SKILL ACTIVATED: VOID STEALTH II]
In the blink of an eye, both Kaelen and Nox vanished from the canyon floor.
"They disappeared!" a mercenary shouted from the cliff top, pointing frantically down into the empty mud pit. "Scouts! Detect invisible entities! Use mana-flares!"
"Formation! Circle formation around Young Lord Valerius!" Captain Vane roared, drawing his broadsword with a metallic screech. "Archers, prepare point-blank area-of-effect spells! If anything moves, kill it!"
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The fifty mercenaries scrambled in panic, bumping into each other as they tried to form a defensive wall. But their training was built around fighting standard System beasts—creatures that growled, roared, and projected visible mana signatures.
They were not trained to fight shadows.
Pfft.
A subtle, soundless ripple cut through the air behind the rear archer line.
Before the first mercenary archer could raise his wooden longbow, a flash of obsidian claws sliced through the leather straps holding his chest plate. The man didn't even have time to scream before a wave of dense void energy knocked him unconscious, flinging him into the bushes.
Pfft. Pfft. Pfft.
Like a silent reaper gliding through a field of wheat, Nox moved between the guards. It didn't kill them—Kaelen had specifically instructed Nox to spare the common hirelings who were merely following orders—but it neutralized them with surgical, terrifying precision. Helmets were shattered, sword arms were disarmed, and heavy steel breastplates were dented into useless scrap.
In less than twenty seconds, thirty hardened mercenaries lay groaning on the muddy earth, their weapons scattered across the grass, their mana cores temporarily suppressed by Nox's anti-magic aura.
"Where is it?! Where is the beast?!" Captain Vane screamed, swinging his broadsword blindly at the empty air. Sweat poured down his face, stinging his eyes. "Show yourself, you monster!"
"Looking for us, Captain?"
A calm voice spoke directly behind Captain Vane's ear.
Vane spun around, swinging his heavy broadsword in a lethal horizontal arc intended to cleave a man in half.
CLANG!
The broadsword didn't hit flesh.
Kaelen Ashford stood there, his left hand raised, catching the edge of Captain Vane's four-foot steel blade with Old Bram's crude iron hunting knife.
The shockwave of the impact rippled through the air, but Kaelen's arm didn't bend an inch. Enhanced by Physical Reinforcement II and his hidden class attributes, Kaelen's raw physical strength easily rivaled a veteran Silver-grade vanguard.
"Impossible..." Vane gasped, his eyes bulging as he tried to push his sword forward. The heavy steel blade wouldn't budge. "You're... you're a non-combatant! A Failed Summoner!"
"I was," Kaelen said softly. "Until I realized your System is built on lies."
Before Captain Vane could pull his sword back, a heavy black tail wrapped in obsidian scales lashed out from the shadows beneath Kaelen's cloak, striking Vane directly in the chest.
BOOM!
Captain Vane's heavy steel plate armor caved inward. The veteran commander was lifted off his feet and launched backward, skidding thirty feet across the mud before crashing into the base of a large oak tree. He coughed up a mouthful of blood, his broadsword slipping from his numb fingers, before falling unconscious.
The remaining mercenaries who were still standing dropped their weapons instantly, raising their hands in utter surrender, trembling as they backed away.
Now, only one person remained standing near the cliff edge.
Valerius Vance.
The young noble scion was shaking like a leaf in an autumn gale. His golden hair was plastered to his forehead by rain and sweat, his expensive crimson doublet covered in filth. He looked back and forth between his unconscious bodyguards, his whimpering Flame Drake, and the young man walking slowly toward him.
"K-Kaelen..." Valerius whimpered, his voice small and pathetic, completely stripped of its usual noble arrogance. He backed up until his heels hit the edge of the cliff. "Wait... please! This... this was a mistake! It was Captain Vane's idea! He was the one who suggested using you as bait! I... I had nothing to do with it!"
Kaelen stopped five paces away from Valerius. Nox trotted up beside Kaelen, leaning its sleek, magnificent head against Kaelen's hip, its golden eyes fixed on Valerius's throat.
"A mistake, Valerius?" Kaelen asked, his voice chillingly quiet. "You paid three silver coins to watch me fail at the Altar. You laughed when the System gave me a CR 1 rating. You bribed Master Garrick to cut my wages and assign me to the dung pits. And today, you put a brass collar around my neck and poured monster-lure on my tunic."
"I-I can give you money!" Valerius shrieked, tears of sheer terror finally spilling down his cheeks. He reached frantically into his belt pouch, pulling out a handful of heavy gold coins and throwing them onto the mud at Kaelen's feet. "Take it! Take all of it! House Vance is rich! I can make you an officer in our merchant guard! I can get you a full scholarship to the Academy!"
Kaelen looked down at the glittering gold coins resting in the mud, then raised his eyes back to Valerius.
"Do you know what I realized down in that ravine, Valerius?" Kaelen asked softly.
Valerius shook his head violently, too terrified to speak.
"I realized that you and your noble family aren't strong," Kaelen said, stepping forward. "You're just fragile children hiding behind titles, gold, and a System designed to protect you from reality. Take away your Flame Drake, take away your guards, and you're nothing. You couldn't survive a single night in the lower stables without crying for your father."
Kaelen reached out and grabbed Valerius by the collar of his silk doublet, dragging the screaming noble boy forward until their faces were inches apart.
"I'm not going to kill you today, Valerius," Kaelen whispered into his ear, his voice sending a marrow-deep chill through the noble's spine. "Because dying here in the mud is too easy. I want you to go back to Oakhaven. I want you to tell your father, House Vance, and the Royal Guild that the Failed Summoner is coming."
Kaelen released his grip. Valerius collapsed onto his knees, sobbing uncontrollably into the mud.
"Nox," Kaelen called out.
Nox stepped over to the whimpering Crimson Flame Drake. With a single, casual swipe of its obsidian claws, Nox shattered the golden binding crystal on the Flame Drake's collar—the artifact that bound the dragon to House Vance's servitude.
The Flame Drake let out a soft screech, but instead of attacking, it bowed its head low to the earth before Nox, acknowledging the ancient apex predator, before turning and fleeing into the deep forest, completely abandoning its former master.
"My... my drake..." Valerius wailed, watching his Gold-Grade beast disappear into the trees.
Kaelen didn't give Valerius another glance. He walked over to Captain Vane's supply wagon, cutting open the heavy leather sacks with his iron knife.
Inside were pouches of refined mana-stones, high-grade healing potions, and a leather-bound map detailing the uncharted inner zones of the Whispering Woods—including the location of an ancient, sealed ruin known as the Abyssal Vault.
Kaelen gathered the valuables, slinging the leather bag over his shoulder.
He looked back toward the horizon, where the distant spires of Oakhaven rose above the forest canopy.
With 1,900 Extinction Points in his reserves, a newly indexed CR 420 monster in his Ancient Bestiary, and Nox standing beside him at a True Combat Rating of 770, Kaelen Ashford was no longer just surviving.
He was ready to hunt the kingdom itself.
"Come on, Nox," Kaelen said, stepping off the cliff path toward the deep woods. "Let's see what else the Architects tried to erase."
Nox let out a low, rumbling purr of satisfaction, dissolving into Kaelen's shadow as the rain began to clear, revealing the bright, unfiltered sun above.