"FROSTFANG — ABYSS CLEAVE!"
The blade fell.
It collided with the dragon's breath in a cataclysmic explosion. The air screamed, shockwaves racing in concentric waves that flattened mountainsides. Ice and abyss devoured fire and corruption, the clash splitting the sky into warring halves — one black, one white.
Jade roared, voice echoing with the force of his soul. His pupils overlapped fully now, dual stars spinning into a vortex of light and void. Power bled from his veins, the abyss bowed to him. The frost sang for him.
The breath shattered.
The abyss-ice blade plunged downward, carving through the Rift-dragon's maw, splitting its jaw, then driving straight into its chest.
The beast shrieked. Its many eyes burst like ruptured stars, spraying molten ichor that froze midair. Its wings spasmed, cracking under the frost, and the shadow-threaded blade pierced its core.
The Rift-dragon convulsed, body locked in spasms, then collapsed. The ground shattered under its bulk, quaking for miles.
Silence.
The corrupted behemoth twitched once, then stilled — a monument of ice and shadow, frozen in eternal death.
The forest went quiet. No insects. No wind. Only the hiss of cooling flesh and the distant drip of frozen ichor.
[EXP +20,000]
[Level Up!]
[Level Up!]
[Level Up!]
…
[You have reached Level 70.]
.....
Jade staggered, sweat streaking down his temple, his aura finally dimming. He inhaled deeply, then exhaled, releasing frost-mist from his lungs.
The familiar chime of the system rang within him.
[Quest Complete: Defeat a C-ranked monster.]
[Reward: Spectra's Band [SS] Acquired.]
[Hidden Quest complete: Defeat a B-ranked monster]
[Reward: +10 all stats, Skill -Shadow travel ]
He had completed his quest and even managed to complete one that hadn't been issued yet.
"Thank you, I guess". He murmured at the corpse of the rift-dragon.
"Status".
---
[DING!]
Name: Jade
Age: 7 years old
Level: 70
EXP: 500/10,000
STR: 115
AGI: 120
INT: 240
STA: 150
HP: 30,000
MP: 30,000
Stat Points: 13
Skill Points: 3
TALENTS
Divine Soul Dual Pupils [EX]
Ice and Snow Manipulation [SS]
BLOODLINES
Yin Phoenix Bloodline [Unique]
Void Belgusari [God Tier]
SKILLS
Glossomancy [A]
Cryokinesis
Basic Weapon Mastery
Advanced Healing
Belgusari's Hunger [B]
Advanced Ice Manipulation
Teleportation [S]
Frozen Aura
Seed of Darkness
Void Sense
Darkness Sense
Clairvoyance [A]
Shadow Travel [B]
ARTIFACTS
Spectra's Band [SS]
- Type: Artifact (Necklace)
- Effect: Shroud of Secrecy (Conceals appearances, aura, mana signature e.t.c)
Properties:
- Adaptive Concealment: Automatically adjusts to hide the wearer's true nature
- Impervious to Detection: Cannot be seen through or analyzed without the wearer's explicit permission
- Stability: High resistance to magical interference or disruption
- Description: A mysterious artifact forged to protect its wearer's secrets and identity. Its power is rooted in the manipulation of perceptions, making it nearly impossible to detect or analyze without the wearer's consent.
INVENTORY:
QUESTS
. Win the Tenday Tournament
Incomplete.
Status: Incomplete
Duration: 10 years
Rewards; Nyx's Kiss
The window shimmered, then faded. Jade's hand rose, and in his palm appeared a necklace — simple, elegant, yet impossibly refined. A band of woven silver threads glimmering faintly, like starlight trapped in crystal.
Jade's lips curved faintly. "…Perfect."
He closed his hand, slipping the artifact into his inventory for now.
....
"Jade!"
Lio stumbled from the rocks, rushing toward him. His eyes were wide, cheeks streaked with tears, but his smile was radiant. "You… you killed it. A dragon! You actually—"
Jade caught him, steadying him with a hand on his shoulder. His body was still humming from the battle, but his voice was calm. "It wasn't a dragon."
Lio blinked. "…What?"
"A Rift-born. A mimic. But yes… it's dead."
Lio swallowed, staring at the colossal corpse frozen into the mountain. "Then… then we should leave. Before more come."
Jade nodded once. "We will. But first, the wolves."
The trek back through the forest was silent save for crunching frost beneath their boots. The trees bore scars of battle — entire swathes splintered, blackened by bile, or crystallized into frozen statues.
They reached the Alpha Wolves' lair. The den was half-buried in frost, the corpses of its pack scattered like brittle statues. Inside, the air was heavy with the stench of death and old mana.
At the center of the chamber, buried beneath stone and roots, was a chest.
Jade raised a hand, frost threads weaving into the lock. It cracked open with a crystalline snap.
Inside lay a modest trove:
A pouch of gold coins, Three vials of condensed mana, glowing faintly blue.
A weapon — a curved dagger of obsidian edge, though only Tier 2, and a book. Old, leather-bound, the script faded, but the aura unmistakable.
"Alchemy," Jade murmured, fingers brushing the cover. His dual irises shimmered faintly. "Tier 3 formulas."
Lio's eyes went round. "That's… valuable."
Not for me.. Jade thought, but valuable non the less— if sold.
Jade slipped the book back into the chest, then closed it. He remembered he still had an unopened one from his D-rank dungeon raid. Well he would sort that when he is free
" let's go ."
....
....
They emerged from the lair into silence. The forest was still — too still. Even the air seemed to wait, suspended in expectation.
The ground trembled once.
Jade's irises sharpened. He could feel it — the dungeon was unraveling. With the death of the Rift-dragon, the pocket space was collapsing, its threads of reality unwinding.
"Stay close."
Lio grabbed his sleeve without hesitation.
Together, they walked. Frost cracked beneath their feet, the world around them flickering. Trees blurred at the edges, colors dimming, as though reality itself were bleeding away.
At last, the forest gave way to stone. Ahead, light shimmered faintly, a portal tearing open.
The exit.
Jade's steps slowed. His eyes lingered on the glow, the light of Nexus beyond.
"Ready?" he asked quietly.
Lio's grip tightened. "As long as I'm with you."
Jade's lips curved faintly. His dual pupils spun, catching the glow of the exit. He had lost his blindfold somewhere in the middle of the battle with the wolves.
And then he stepped forward.
The light swallowed them.
-----------------------------------------------------------
The governor of Nexus City was not a man easily unsettled. He had stood at the helm of the city for decades, his will a steady flame against countless storms—famine, monster incursions, and even the Council's endless squabbles. Yet tonight, as he sat in the quiet of his private study, staring into the burnished reflection of his wineglass, his hands trembled ever so slightly.
He had made a mistake.
The memory of a boy with silvery-blue hair haunted him, a boy he had tested with care and cunning in the guise of a common noble. The boy's calm had unsettled him, but not as much as his answers. When the governor had slipped hints of medical conditions into casual conversation, probing for depth, the child had not faltered. He had spoken with precision and authority, diagnosing without hesitation. Too precise for coincidence. Too young for such mastery.
The governor had left that shop intrigued, almost hopeful. He had thought: If even half of what I suspect is true, then my wife may yet live.
But he had hesitated. Always cautious, always weighing risk against reward. Before he could test the boy again, before he could peel away that final layer of doubt, disaster had struck.
The slums had erupted in chaos. The dungeon collapse had swallowed lives, and among them… Jade.
The governor's jaw tightened. He had ordered reports, demanded updates, but the news had been bleak: a C-ranked dungeon, unstable, devouring everything around it. No child would survive that. Not even adults emerged from such disasters unscathed.
He pressed his fingers against his temple, the weight of his choice bearing down on him. Had I acted sooner… had I trusted my instincts instead of playing the cautious statesman…
He thought of his wife. Pale, fragile, her laughter long gone from the halls of their estate. The healers had failed her, the Guild had dismissed her case as hopeless, and all his political power had bought him nothing but false remedies. He had clung to that faint spark—the boy's confidence, his knowledge—but now that spark was extinguished.
His hand slammed down on the desk, the crystal glass shattering against the floor.
"Damn it."
The outburst echoed through the chamber. Outside the high arched windows, Nexus City glittered, a sprawl of neon veins against the night. For the first time in years, it seemed to mock him. All his influence, his wealth, his armies of bureaucrats—yet he could not save the one life that mattered most. And the only child who might have held the key was gone.
He sat back heavily, the shadows pressing close. Regret was a rare poison for him, but tonight it burned hot and bitter in his chest.
He would not forgive himself for this.
And he would not forgive those who had engineered it.
Because he knew—he was no fool—that the dungeon collapse had not been pure chance. The timing was too convenient. There were factions in the city who thrived on such tragedies, who would gladly bury potential threats under rubble and call it fate.
His lips curled in a snarl.
Draven.
The name lingered like venom on his tongue. The man had grown bold, too bold, with the Guild at his back and the Council shielding him. The governor had tolerated much for the sake of balance, but this… If Jade truly had been the answer to his wife's salvation, then Draven had stolen her last hope.
The governor rose, pacing the length of the study. His long coat swept against the marble floor, the embroidered sigil of Nexus glinting faintly in the dim light. He paused before a holo-map of the city, its sectors glowing like constellations. The slums blinked faintly in red, unstable and scarred.
That was where the boy had fallen.
He closed his eyes. For a moment, he allowed himself to imagine what might have been: a cure, his wife smiling again, the Council silenced by results instead of rhetoric. That dream slipped further with every passing second.
But his regret hardened into something else—resolve.
If the boy was truly gone, then Draven and those aligned with him would pay. He would scour the rot from Nexus, no matter how deep it ran. No Council chamber would shield them from him. Not anymore.
A soft knock broke his reverie. His steward entered, bowing low, eyes downcast.
"My lord," he said carefully, "there is news."
The governor lifted his head, a shard of cold hope stirring in his chest despite himself. "Speak."
The steward swallowed. "Reports from the slums. Someone… has emerged from the C-ranked dungeon. Alive."
The air stilled.
The governor's fingers clenched around the back of his chair. He did not dare breathe. "…Who?"
The steward's voice trembled. "Witnesses claim… it was the boy. The one from the shop."
The governor's heart thundered. Impossible. Yet he knew, deep down, it was not impossible. That child was not ordinary. He had seen it in his eyes.
Jade was alive.
The wineglass shards glittered faintly on the floor at his feet, like the remnants of his despair. Slowly, a smile cut across his face—sharp, fierce, dangerous.
Perhaps fate had given him a second chance.
And this time, he would not let it slip through his grasp.