"What in the world just happened?" Kailen glanced at Avarice, then at the diabolic beasts who had suddenly turned aggressive and were attacking one another.
"I see… so this is what you wanted to show me. How mind-blowing. This system is full of surprises." Kailen observed as the Dark Fiend diabolic beasts tore each other apart.
Dark silhouettes constantly whizzed past the valley, accompanied by beast wails and the splattering of blood, as the eerie melody of the flute continued to flow through the environs.
Very soon, the whole valley was littered with the corpses of diabolic beasts. The creatures were sprawled lifelessly across the valley—some had their heads bitten off, others had various body parts torn apart. Many other disgusting scenes unfolded, as the metallic scent of blood lingered heavily in the air.
The eerie melody of the flute ceased. Kailen glanced at Avarice again, only to realize that the shadow creature no longer held a flute in its hands.
"So this is your power? You just relax, conjure a few elegies, and then… fellas start killing one another?" Kailen sighed in surprise once again.
Avarice nodded, then stared at Kailen, awaiting his commands.
"Dude, that's too broken… I'm jealous." Kailen feigned a jealous expression, to which the shadow creature sighed helplessly.
Kailen chuckled at Avarice's gesture, then his expression grew serious.
"I should probably use the remaining slots of the Shadow Necromancy skill on some of these creatures. The more strength I have, the better. I'm running out of time. I must complete the mission as soon as possible… I can't afford to become a non-awakener…"
"Avarice, let's head into the valley."
Just as Avarice stepped forward, he turned to look at Kailen with a serious expression on his face.
"What?" Kailen was shocked. Avarice was trying to tell him that, due to his high perception as a C-ranked shadow creature, he could sense the presence of an A-ranked awakener nearby.
---
"Guild Master, guess who I just came across."
An extremely tall and skinny, fair-skinned man with a buzz cut spoke into a walkie-talkie.
"Ice, this better be important… I'm in the middle of a meeting," Ronald Conrad, the Guild Master of Sunset Guild, replied with an irritated expression.
"Well, I knew you'd be interested. That's why I contacted you. Remember Kailen Darkhaven, the guy who recently made waves in New Alexandria City? I just saw him."
Ice's eyes were glued to the black-haired young man who looked extremely short compared to the eerily dark creature standing behind him.
"I don't know how, and I don't care how you managed to come across someone all the guilds in the city have been trying to locate for the past ten days… But kill him and bring his head to me as proof. If you manage to do so, I will make you the Vice Guild Master.
"No matter how monstrous he is, he's only an E-ranked awakener at the end of the day. There's no way he can fight an A-ranked awakener."
Conrad ended the call before Ice even had the opportunity to respond.
"Tsk… I hate it when he does that. Always acting bossy as if he owns the world. Tsk… As if he'll actually honor his word and make me Vice Guild Master if I accomplish this task. That shrewd menace. But at least, what do I have to lose? Enough hiding."
Ice finally deactivated his concealing skill, then appeared before Kailen.
"Kids these days are just too much. Did you manage to end all these Dark Fiend Hounds by yourself?"
Kailen cursed inwardly, then closed his eyes as his brain went into overdrive, trying to find a solution to his predicament. He knew there was no way he could escape an A-ranked awakener.
No matter how strong he was, the gap between an A-ranked awakener and him—an E-ranked awakener who could barely go toe-to-toe with a D-ranked opponent—was too much.
> "System, I need your help. Tell me, with the help of Avarice and Feral, will I stand a chance against him?"
[Technically no, but there could be a way you can survive… Figure it out yourself. If you're so brainless that you can't figure it out, I'll watch you die and then find another host. Tsk.]
"Looks like you've given up all hope of surviving, huh? It's okay—pray to your god…"
Ice slowly approached Kailen and Avarice, his guard completely down. He knew there was no way a C-ranked creature and an E-ranked awakener could fight him.
Kailen ignored the taunts of the overconfident A-ranked awakener, his mind working in overdrive. He was finally putting his high IQ to use.
"Based on the movement of his shadow, he'll be where I'm standing in 20 seconds. It's a good thing he thinks Avarice and I aren't a threat. That gives me at least a few seconds to think of something…
"The system said there's a way I could survive. Think… Think, Kailen… What is my advantage? Shadows. My shadow creatures are shadows. If Shadow Manipulation allows me to control shadows and bend them into different shapes, that includes my shadow creatures. I can bend my shadow creatures into different shapes and sizes too. That means…"
"Agglomerate!"
Kailen used his last three remaining slots on three of the fifty Dark Fiend Hound corpses before him.
In the blink of an eye, three shadow creatures in the similitude of Dark Fiend Hounds—albeit in their ethereally dark forms—appeared before him.
> [You have created a D-ranked shadow creature.]
[You have created a D-ranked shadow creature.]
[You have created a D-ranked shadow creature.]
"Desperate attempts in the face of death."
"Feral, come out!" Kailen called, ignoring the taunts of the lanky man slowly walking toward him.
"This guy's overconfidence might save my life. Perhaps I might have a chance to escape, even if I can't fight him head-on, if this works out…"
"Shadow Manipulation."
Immediately he spoke, Feral, Avarice, and the three new shadow creatures transformed into ethereal droves of shadowy masses, hurtling toward Kailen.
They embraced his form, tightly forming an obsidian armor around him.
Kailen's form brimmed with power. He felt energy course through his being.
The aura he radiated made Ice stagger.
"How can an E-ranked awakener radiate the aura of a B-ranked awakener? Just how is this possible?"
However, that was not the end.
> [You have impressed me. You're not too much of a muscle head after all.
You have obtained a temporal boost for 60 seconds.
After 60 seconds, the boost will disappear.
For the next 60 seconds, you are a B-ranked awakener. Good luck.]
Boom!
Kailen suddenly radiated the aura of an A-ranked awakener, shocking Ice once again. His calm, pride, and feeling of superiority vanished.
> "I was already brimming with the strength of a B-ranked awakener with the enhancement of my shadow creatures. With the temporal enhancement of the system, making me a B-ranked awakener for 60 seconds in addition, I will naturally have the strength of an A-ranked awakener," Kailen mused inwardly.
He turned to look at Ice.
The Sunset Guild member had lost his composure. He performed multiple backflips, distancing himself from Kailen.
He could no longer underestimate his opponent.
Kailen Darkhaven was a freak.