NAMES OF THE NAMELESS**
**Tone:** *A cold calculus of survival—where every breath costs mana, and every name is a weapon.*
---
#### **THE SYSTEM'S BARGAIN**
Golden text seared Seun's vision, the quest parameters unforgiving:
**[DUNGEON ALERT: "CHARNEL VAULT" UNLOCKED]**
- **Objective**: Harvest 1x **Voidspine Serpent Core** (S-Rank)
- **Reward**: 18,500 EXP (+18% Rank Progress), 1x **Soulforged Mana Vial** (Restores 40% Mana)
- **Penalty**: If Mana reaches 0%, all shadow soldiers permanently despawn.
Seun stood at the dungeon's threshold, a jagged portal oozing black mist. Behind him, seven shadow soldiers materialized—three human, four beasts—their forms flickering like static. They stood inert, awaiting **names** to activate.
**[SHADOW ARMY]**
- Unnamed Human Hunter (Sniper, Tier B)
- Unnamed Frostfang Wyrm (Tier A-)
- Unnamed Bloodsworn Assassin (Tier B+)
- Unnamed Gloomstalker Panther (Tier A-)
- ...
His current stats glared back:
- **Mana**: 2,400/3,000 (80%)
- **EXP to Next Rank (A+)**: 21%
Naming was a currency. He began:
**"Kael,"** he said, pointing to the sniper. The soldier snapped to attention, rifle glinting.
**"Vrykas,"** he growled at the Frostfang Wyrm. It hissed, frost swirling around its fangs.
**"Lyssandra,"** he assigned to the assassin—a lethal woman with dagger-teeth, her smirk sharp enough to cut.
The rest remained unnamed. *Disposable.*
---
#### **THE VAULT'S FIRST BLOOD**
The dungeon's first chamber was a cathedral of flesh:
- **Walls**: Pulsing with tumor-like growths that spat acid.
- **Floor**: A mosaic of bones that animated into **Skeletal Reavers** (Tier B) when stepped on.
**"Vrykas—freeze the east wall,"** Seun ordered. The wyrm exhaled, shearing off tumors in an iceburst. Acid pools froze mid-drip.
**"Lyssandra, clear the path."** The assassin blurred, her daggers severing Reavers' spinal cords. Each kill cost Seun **10 Mana** to sustain her.
**[Mana: 2,400 → 2,220]**
Unnamed soldiers charged ahead, triggering bone traps. Two dissolved under Reaver claws, saving Seun the mana drain.
**[Unnamed Soldiers Lost: 2]**
**[Mana Preserved: 300]**
Efficiency.
---
#### **LOOT'S WHIM**
The chamber's alpha—a **Bone Lord** wielding a spine-whip—dropped nothing but a **Rotfang Charm** (Resists poison). Disappointing. Lyssandra decapitated it, her laugh echoing as Seun's mana dipped:
**[Mana: 2,220 → 2,100]**
**[EXP: +3% (24% Total)]**
He crushed the charm into **Mana Dust**, recovering 100 points.
**[Mana: 2,100 → 2,200]**
Grim satisfaction.
---
#### **THE SERPENT'S GAZE**
The core chamber housed the **Voidspine Serpent**, a leviathan with scales that drank light. Its traits glowed red in Seun's vision:
**[VOIDSPINE SERPENT]**
- **Ability**: *Mana Leech* (Drains 100 Mana/sec on contact)
- **Weakness**: Eyes (50x damage multiplier)
Seun's remaining army:
- **Kael** (Sniper)
- **Vrykas** (Frostfang Wyrm)
- **Lyssandra** (Assassin)
- 1 Unnamed Gloomstalker Panther
**"Kael—target the eyes. Vrykas—bind its tail,"** Seun commanded.
The wyrm exhaled a glacier-chain, pinning the serpent. Kael's rifle cracked, shattering one eye. The serpent thrashed, mana tendrils lashing out.
**[Mana Drain Detected: -100/sec]**
**[Mana: 2,200 → 1,800 → 1,400...]**
Seun uncorked a **Lesser Mana Vial** (Restores 20%), gulping it down.
**[Mana: 1,400 → 2,000]**
**"Lyssandra—finish it."**
The assassin leapt onto the serpent's head, daggers plunging into its remaining eye. The beast collapsed, dissolving into shadow.
**[VOIDSPINE CORE ACQUIRED]**
**[EXP: +18% (42% Total)]**
**[RANK PROGRESS: A- → A (42/100)]**
---
#### **AFTERMATH: TOOLS DISCARDED**
Back at the villa, Seun reviewed his forces:
- **Kael** (Mana Cost: 80/hr)
- **Vrykas** (Mana Cost: 120/hr)
- **Lyssandra** (Mana Cost: 150/hr)
- Unnamed Gloomstalker Panther (Unassigned)
He deactivated the panther. It dissolved, freeing 200 Mana.
Lyssandra lingered, her voice a velvet threat. **"Aren't I *useful*, Monarch?"**
Seun tossed her the **Soulforged Mana Vial** from the quest. **"Refill this. Then, infiltrate the Hunter Tribunal."**
She vanished, her loyalty enforced not by desire, but by the System's code.
---
#### **THE NEXT GAMBIT**
The System flashed:
**[NEW QUEST: "INFESTED COLOSSEUM"]**
- **Reward**: 22,000 EXP, 1x **Shadowforged Cognomen** (Name 3 soldiers at once)
Seun's fingers hovered over the unnamed recruits.
*Tools, not allies. Names, not souls.*
---
**End of Chapter 36**