The webs of the Spider Nest gleamed with a silvery sheen under the moonlight. As Kiriya's bronze sword cut through the last sheet blocking the path, its blade was still stained with the dark green venom of the "Shadow Spider."
Lina followed closely behind. Her right hand, wielding an ice-blue longsword, occasionally released a wave of frost, freezing the venom clinging to the webs into crystals of ice.
Her left hand pressed a shield tightly to her side—the shield's surface was inlaid with an ice-blue crystal that shimmered faintly in the moonlight and the drifting chill, as though ready at any moment to block the venomous fangs and webs lurking in the dark.
"Just 300 more experience to hit level 20." Lina brought up her status panel.
"That 'Venom Widow' up ahead should be enough." She pointed into the shadows deeper inside the nest, where a monster nearly two meters tall lay in wait, its abdomen marked with the same grotesque pattern as always—like a twisted human face.
Kiriya summoned two phantoms. Pale-blue orbs of light burst against the webs, scattering a swarm of insects.
"You freeze its movements on the left. I'll circle and attack from behind."
His instructions were simple and precise. After fighting side by side for so long, there was no need for wasted words.
Lina nodded. Frosty mana flowed down the tip of her sword and seeped into the ground.
With her soft chant, a wall of ice suddenly surged beneath the Venom Widow's legs, trapping it within a five-meter diameter circle.
"Now!"
Kiriya's real body and his phantoms teleported at once, forming a triangular formation outside the ice wall.
He didn't strike immediately—he watched instead, waiting for the Venom Widow's move. Elite monsters were far stronger than ordinary ones, and when trapped, they would always unleash an area attack first.
Sure enough, the Venom Widow let out a piercing screech. Its abdomen swelled grotesquely, venom dripping from its legs and sizzling holes into the ground.
"It's going to spray venom!" Lina's warning came just as the Venom Widow spewed a green arc of poison at the nearest phantom.
Kiriya's eyes narrowed. He gave the command:
"Switch!"
A flash of pale-blue light—his real body and phantom instantly swapped positions. Kiriya appeared right behind the Venom Widow, perfectly outside the venom's trajectory, while the targeted phantom dissolved into motes of light before the venom hit.
"Phantom Thrust!"
The bronze sword whistled through the air, piercing the Venom Widow's exposed back—its weakest point.
-470!
The Venom Widow screeched and spun, its massive legs lashing out with deadly force. But one of Kiriya's phantoms had already circled to its flank and slashed down across one of its clustered eyes.
-280!
The flurry of strikes staggered the creature for an instant. Lina seized the opening, her ice-blue sword glowing with frost:
"Frost Thrust!"
The blade's crystalline tip drove into one of the monster's joints. The ice shards exploded, frost surging through the wound and making its hulking body convulse.
"Now!"
Kiriya and his remaining phantom struck together. The bronze sword rained down blow after blow, each slash spraying arcs of venomous green ichor.
-520! -380!
Damage numbers floated up one after another. The Venom Widow's HP dropped visibly. With Kiriya's final strike, the monster let out a shrill, dying screech before its enormous body collapsed, dissolving into green light.
[EXP Gained: 800]
[Current Level: 20 (500/3000)]
Twin beams of golden light flared from Kiriya and Lina, the familiar chime of level-up ringing in their minds. At the same time, a new icon suddenly appeared on Kiriya's skill panel, accompanied by the system's message:
[Congratulations on reaching Level 20. New Skill Unlocked: Phantom Resonance]
[Phantom Resonance]
Active Skill
Cost: MP 100
Effect: For 10 seconds, all phantom attacks fully synchronize with the user's (including critical hits and elemental effects).
Cooldown: 60 seconds
"A new skill?" Lina leaned closer, curiosity sparkling in her ice-blue eyes.
"What does it do?"
Kiriya's finger hovered over the skill icon. His heartbeat quickened uncontrollably. Fully synchronized damage—this meant his phantoms would no longer deal only 50% of his strength, but the full damage of his strikes. For ten seconds, his output would effectively triple.
"You'll see soon enough." A faint smile tugged at his lips as his gaze shifted deeper into the nest, where two Venom Widows were locked in a vicious struggle. "The perfect test subjects."
Lina raised an eyebrow but didn't press him. She simply lifted her sword and shield, ready for battle. By now, she knew Kiriya's nature well—the stronger the skill, the more he insisted on testing it in live combat.
Kiriya drew in a deep breath, channeling mana to its limit. With a low chant, the skill icon of Phantom Resonance lit with black light. The two newly summoned phantoms shimmered with the same aura, marking the skill's activation.
"Left flank—distract! Right flank—freeze!"
Lina immediately understood. Her ice-blue sword carved two sweeping arcs of frost, freezing the front legs of both Venom Widows. Kiriya's two phantoms shot forward like arrows, drawing aggro to themselves.
The real strike was yet to come.
Kiriya's true body launched Blink Step, reappearing above the left Venom Widow's head. He didn't attack—instead, he gave the command to his right-side phantom:
"Release in sync!"
"Phantom Slash!"
At the same moment, Kiriya and both phantoms unleashed their sword strikes.
Three silver-white arcs of blade-light bloomed like petals, cleaving into the monsters. The real Kiriya and his left phantom targeted the left Venom Widow; the right phantom struck the one on the right.
And then, the impossible happened.
-480! (Real Body)
-480! (Left Phantom)
The same numbers floated above the left monster's head.
-480! (Right Phantom)
The right monster reeled with identical damage.
It was true—the phantoms' strikes now carried the same force as his own!
There was no pause. The ten seconds of Phantom Resonance were pure gold. Kiriya wove between his phantoms, switching positions seamlessly, every strike landing on a vulnerable joint or weak point.
His three blades moved as one, like dancers locked in perfect rhythm, weaving death through the battlefield.
By the time the resonance faded, both Venom Widows were already below 30% HP.
"Finish it!"
At his command, Lina's Frost Thrust pierced deep, colliding in perfect timing with Kiriya's Phantom Thrust. With two shrill cries, the monsters disintegrated into green light, vanishing almost simultaneously.
From the first strike to the last, the battle had lasted only fifteen seconds.
"That's insane…" Lina whispered, staring at the venom-stained ground in disbelief.
"It used to take us two minutes to bring down one of those things, and now two at once…"
Kiriya sheathed his sword, his fingers still tingling with the burn of overcharged mana. The cost was steep—100 MP for only ten seconds—but the result was worth every drop.
"With this, we can try the Level 25 dungeon." He opened his map and tapped a location.
Lina slid her sword back into its scabbard.
"Perfect. I've got a new skill to test there, too." She hesitated, then added thoughtfully, "By the way… this Phantom Resonance—could it stack? What if… You had a third phantom?"
Kiriya froze mid-step. The thought hadn't occurred to him. If his phantoms ever grew to three, then with resonance… his output in those ten seconds would quadruple.