I finished writing and placed the paper under my pillow.
Falling asleep wasn't hard.
I exhausted my mana first, and the moment my body hit the bed, my eyes grew heavy.
'Wait. I forgot to ask if Yuna can follow me into the Cursed Spirit's domain…'
Darkness took over before I could finish the thought.
When I opened my eyes again, I was standing in a park.
Bright sunlight shone from above.
There were people everywhere. Most of them looked nervous, and shocked.
A large stage stood at the far end of the park.
I looked down at my hands.
My body was different.
I was taller. Judging by my build, I looked like I was in my early twenties.
'It always feels strange when a domain messes with your age.'
I threw a light punch and felt the air move.
My strength was the same as before.
So, the change was only on the outside (physical appearance), and not in stats.
Then I checked my palm.
The [Inventory Rune] was still there.
'Good.'
I activated it, pulled out the white mask I had made earlier, and put it on. It fit perfectly.
A soft popping sound came from beside me.
Yuna appeared in a shimmer of light.
"Lord of Shadows!" she said, relieved.
'Yuna, you can enter the domain of Cursed Spirits?' I asked in thought.
"Yes," she said, smiling faintly. "I will always appear wherever you are. That's why I could come here."
I nodded.
That was good news.
With her here, I could be healed if I got hurt.
Finally, I looked around.
Most people here seemed to be normal civilians. It was easy to tell by their nervous expressions and stiff movements.
But among them, a few stood calmly.
They were Exorcists.
Even though everyone wore the same outfits — plain white shirts, gray slacks for men, and light blue skirts for women — the difference was clear.
The civilians looked confused and scared, while the Exorcists scanned the surroundings quietly.
Everyone here appeared to be between twenty and thirty years old. That was the Cursed Spirit's doing.
Then I saw familiar faces among the crowd.
Nisha. Oliver. Lily.
They had made it inside too.
I was looking around when I noticed someone standing near the back.
Blonde hair. Female. She looked like a delinquent but had a nervous expression.
'Huh?'
I blinked, thinking my eyes were playing tricks on me.
'Is that… Carlotta?'
What was she doing here? I was about to go talk to her when a loud cough echoed through the area.
A figure appeared on the stage, holding a mic.
It was a 'human'. Or so it looked like.
"Hello, humans," the figure said, their voice echoing across the park. "I'm X'Lhaur, a member of the Elicoras Race from Planet X-2342A."
People started frowning and shouting right away.
"What are you talking about!?"
"Send us back!"
"Mom, I'm scared… where are you?"
The figure on the stage smiled faintly.
'He' looked calm, almost too calm, while the crowd grew more panicked. Then, 'he' snapped 'his' fingers.
Everyone's mouths closed instantly.
It was like they had been glued shut.
People tried to speak, but nothing came out.
"Please, let me speak first," X'Lhaur said in a relaxed tone. "We Elicoras are a warrior race. We like to fight and to dominate."
The crowd's fear turned from confusion to dread.
X'Lhaur chuckled, watching their reactions.
"Don't worry. We're not here to invade your planet. We don't fight those weaker than us. We came for something else."
'He' paused for a moment before continuing.
"Your world will soon be destroyed. We came here to save the ones who will prove themselves worthy of our grace.
"Only worthy warriors who survive our test will be chosen."
The words sank in, and the air around us grew tense.
'He' continued, "A hundred of you will fight. The winner will face one of our Elicoras Warriors.
"If you fend off the Elicoras Warrior and find the [Victory Platform] in time, you'll be brought to our world. We'll save you from this dying planet."
'He' smiled again.
"Don't worry about dying during the test. Those who die here won't die for real. You'll just be sent back to where we found you."
X'Lhaur ignored the noise and snapped his fingers. "That will be all."
We could finally speak again.
People started whispering, their voices shaky.
"What test?"
"Is this a dream?"
"I don't want to fight!"
They were panicking. That was a natural response.
I looked around and gave my Shadow Summon a command.
'Go and devour their Shadow Essence.'
The shadow moved from beneath my feet.
It ate the tiny invisible flame in everyone's shadow, and my shadows stats increased rapidly.
…
Shadow Summon
Stats:
Strength: 3 → 9
Dexterity: 0 → 2
Endurance: 0 → 1
Spirit: 0
…
'It got a total of nine stats from normal humans.'
After my Shadow ate the Shadow Essence from normal humans, it moved to the Exorcist.
[+1 Strength]
I smiled. One normal human gave me +0.1 Stat, but an Exorcist gave +1. The difference was like night and day.
Inwardly pleased, I ordered my Shadow to devour Shadow Essence of all Exorcists.
…
Shadow Summon
Stats:
Strength: 9 → 13
Dexterity: 2 → 7
Endurance: 1 → 5
Spirit: 0
…
'Nine Exorcists gave almost the same stats as ninety humans.'
Nisha gave +3 Stat instead of just +1 like other Exorcists. Because she was a Rank 3 Exorcist.
Oliver and Lily gave an average of +2 stats per person as they were Rank 2 Exorcists.
Shadow Eater: Level 1 → Level 2
'Yes! Since I consumed the Shadow Essence of a Rank 3 Exorcist, the level went up quickly!'
I checked my own stats.
…
Personal Status
Stats:
Strength: 3 (+1.3) → 12 (+2.6)
Dexterity: 8 (+0.7) → 7 (+1.4)
Endurance: 1 (+0.5) → 5 (+1.0)
Intelligence: 115
Spirit: 19
…
Before, I had 10% stats of my Shadow Summon as passive boost.
Now, I had 20% of its stats as passive boost.
It happened thanks to the Shadow Eater skill reaching Level 2.
My stats would increase further when I used Shadow Assimilation skill.
Just as I had confirmed my stats, X'LHaur spoke, "We will begin the test now."
A bright flash filled my vision, and the next moment, I was standing in a forest.
The air was crisp, and fresh.
I looked up.
The sky wasn't real. It looked like a giant screen, filled with countless tiny screens inside it.
It looked like an online video meeting screen.
Inside those screen, blurry figures moved.
I couldn't see their faces or appearance, but I knew we were being watched by them.
Their mouths moved.
Voices echoed in my head.
"Fight! Fight! Fight! Fight! Fight!"
Yuna quickly covered my eyes. "Lord of Shadows, don't look! It will corrupt your mind."
"Thanks," I said quietly. I stepped back and looked around. "We should find Dad."
I opened a portal and stepped into it.
When I appeared in the air, I created smaller portals under my feet that connected to the ground.
My feet, up to my ankle, entered the portal and touched the ground.
While my feet were on the ground, my body remained in sky.
From up here, I could see far into the distance.
The jungle stretched endlessly, with cliffs rising in the background.
"This must be the test location," I muttered.
Yuna looked serious. "Lord of Shadows, I think we need to eliminate others here. The last one standing will face the Elicoras Warrior. But…"
She frowned.
"An alien race can't be a Cursed Spirit. This feels strange."
"Don't worry," I said. "It is a Cursed Spirit, not an alien. And I know its rules."
"You learned that from your Shadow Class again?" she asked.
"Yes," I replied simply.
I had used that excuse so often that she didn't question it anymore.
"Let's start looking for Dad—"
I stopped mid-sentence.
There was a small convenience store hidden between the trees.
"What's that?" Yuna asked, following my gaze.
"A shop," I said.
I created a portal and stepped through.
When I arrived in front of the shop, I pushed the door open and walked inside.
And there she was, the same blonde person I had seen before.
'Carlotta.'
'To think I would find her so easily twice. It has to be because of my increased luck.'
This woman had been my comrade in my last life.
We had fought together many times.
She was a close friend who died because of a human who betrayed us.
'Carlotta had the potential to reach King rank back then, but she never got the chance.'
If I had to give a genre to her life, it would be tragedy. The end of her story was similarly tragic.
Remembering her death left a bitter taste in my mouth.
I shook my head and focused on the present.
Carlotta should still be a normal human at this point.
She wouldn't be much help against this Cursed Spirit.
Still, meeting her again felt like fate.
'Giving her five minutes wouldn't hurt.'