Stars danced across the night sky as a large group of adventurers moved cautiously across the open field. At the forefront stood their leader, a nobleman named Reginald, who approached a stone plate etched with a large central glyph, surrounded by intricate symbols.
A palpable sense of anticipation hung in the air as the party gathered around, hearts racing with the promise of what lay ahead.
Reginald carefully drew a shimmering necklace from a dark leather pouch strapped to his hip. Holding it above the stone plate, he watched as the glyphs began to pulse with an ethereal glow, casting flickering shadows around him.
He released the necklace. Instantly, the plate engulfed it, dissolving the object into a mesmerizing whirlpool of water that spiraled downward, as if some unseen force were swallowing it whole. The air shimmered, charged with electric anticipation.
As the last remnants of the necklace vanished, the stone plate summoned a brilliant star from the sky above. The celestial body descended gracefully, trailing a cascade of golden light.
When it touched down in front of Reginald, it erupted in a radiant display, transforming into a spiraling portal rippled with black, star-speckled water—like a piece of the night sky, waiting to be entered.
Reginald stared into the portal, eyes wide with anticipation. His voice trembled with excitement as he whispered to himself,
"At last... The power sealed within this dungeon—it's finally within reach.
Years of research, training, sacrifice... and now, I'll finally have the strength to challenge a Cursed Embryo."
This magnificent display was witnessed by the adventuring party known as the Seven Kings of Shadow.
They were opening the gate to the legendary Star Vail dungeon. In a world filled with such wonders, adventurers constantly sought power and fortune. Some uncovered ancient artifacts to sell; others discovered weapons and items that enhanced their abilities.
As parties grew stronger, they earned the right to challenge fearsome entities known as Cursed Embryos—monsters that appeared only in the hearts of SSS-rank dungeons. Conquering these trials could even lead to noble status.
Moreover, defeating a Cursed Embryo yielded materials used to forge legendary weapons known as World Echoes—among the most powerful in history.
These weapons were said to be capable of leveling entire countries. Wielders of such arms could elevate the status of their nations overnight.
Reginald barked across the camp, his voice sharp and grating.
"Nova! Get your sorry ass over here and bring me my sword!"
Nova—a white-haired boy who looked like a stiff breeze might knock him over—staggered forward, both hands clutching the hilt of an oversized greatsword.
His limbs trembled under the weight, and his sunken cheeks made it clear he hadn't had a proper meal in days.
"H-Here it is, sir," he panted, offering the blade.
Reginald snatched the sword from his hands with a sneer, then promptly kicked Nova to the ground and spat in his face.
"Took you long enough, you useless little rat," he growled. "Next time, move faster—or I'll take another one of your fingers."
Nova didn't answer. He just lay there for a moment, then slowly sat up, rubbing the spot where his left middle finger used to be. His expression twisted into a faint smile—fake, practiced. A mask he wore to hide the storm raging inside him.
One day, he thought. One day, I'll make him pay.
If only he'd been born with stronger arcana. If only he'd had the power to fight back. Maybe then he could've protected his sister Nix. Maybe she wouldn't have been forced to marry that monster Reginald calls a brother.
In this world, power was everything. Nobles inherited potent arcana like titles, while commoners were left with scraps—basic elements like wind or fire. But every so often, a miracle happened. A commoner would be born with a gift that defied bloodlines— like space-time, gravity, or even cosmic manipulation.
Those rare individuals were quickly seized by the nobility, treated like living weapons or breeding stock to strengthen noble bloodlines.
Nix had been one of those miracles. She was born with cosmic arcana—the ability to create and control celestial bodies. Stars. Planets. Entire systems bent to her will. The moment the Bluestone family discovered her existence, they moved fast.
They didn't just take her—they claimed her, marrying her off to their eldest son, Balrock, as if she were nothing more than a prize to be passed down.
Nova had tried to save her. He really had. But his fire arcana was laughable in the face of the Bluestones' influence. They caught him before he even made it past the city walls. As punishment for his defiance, they took his finger... and his freedom.
Reginald led his men into the dungeon, confident that he would emerge with the power to defeat A Cursed Embryo.
As the party entered the dungeon, they were thrust into an unforgiving realm. The portal closed behind them, sealing their fate as they encountered various monsters, including goblins and wolves. At the center of this dark world lurked the dungeon's boss, Kan Sha.
The ground trembled beneath its steps. Emerging from the shadows, Kan Sha loomed—a towering monstrosity shaped like a wolf, yet far removed from anything natural. His massive frame was cloaked in white, scale-like armor, smooth and gleaming like forged dragonbone, each movement rippling with power. Only around his neck did true fur remain—a thick, blood-red mane that flared like a warrior's mantle.
From his back lashed four massive tails, each lined with crystalline spikes that shimmered with lethal beauty, running up along his spine in a jagged, glistening ridge. His head turned slowly, revealing four glowing red eyes, each burning with an unnatural, focused hatred. And from his skull erupted four twisted horns, gnarled and sharp, radiating menace with every breath he drew.
He didn't growl. He didn't roar.
He simply stood—and the world seemed to hold its breath.
Reginald was shocked to see the monsters ready for them as if they had known they were coming. He whispered to himself, "No, no, no! Why is Ken Sha here? He should be in the boss area, unless..." Reginald looked around and realized that the necklace had teleported him into the boss area.
"That bastard merchant didn't mention that the necklace would send me here immediately!" Reginald was both angered and worried; there were too many monsters for his party to defeat. However, he needed to kill Ken Sha to gain the artifact necessary to become strong enough to challenge a Cursed Embryo.
Reginald glanced to his side, planning to throw Nova into the horde of monsters to distract them while he ran away and let the party die. Then he could deliver the finishing blow to Ken Sha. But Nova was nowhere to be found.
Upon entering the dungeon, Nova had immediately realized they were surrounded, so he had snuck to the middle of the party to assure his own safety. He was filled with fear at the thought of what Reginald would do to him if he survived this ordeal. With a nervous but menacing smile, Nova whispered to himself, "Well, let's hope he dies then."
Before Reginald could yell for someone to find Nova, the dungeon came alive with chaos.
A deafening BOOM cracked through the chamber as one of Kan Sha's tails slammed into the stone floor, sending a shockwave that threw half the adventurers into the air. Cries of confusion and pain echoed off the high obsidian walls.
The air vibrated with lethal tension.
Each time Kan Sha's tail struck Reginald's barrier, the impact cracked like thunder, echoing through the dungeon like the heartbeat .
Dark matter swirled violently around Reginald as he channeled more energy into his arcana, erecting a dome of void to shield himself. But the defense was crumbling— fractures spread across its surface with every blow.
"Y-You filthy beast!" Reginald spat, eyes wide with desperation. "I'm a noble! You don't get to kill me!"
But Kan Sha didn't care about titles.
Didn't care about bloodlines.
CRACK—!
The barrier shattered.
Void shards rained through the air like broken obsidian, and Reginald was sent sprawling across the dungeon floor. He rolled, scrambled, forced himself to his feet with a panicked grunt. His once-elegant cloak was in tatters. His chest heaved. His face was smeared with ash and blood.
He raised a trembling hand.
"Die, you overgrown mutt!"
A lance of dark matter formed in his palm—dense, humming with lethal force.
A shadow Spear.
He hurled it straight at Kan Sha's chest.
CLANK.
The monster caught it.
With his teeth.
The spear cracked in the beast's jaws and shattered like brittle chalk.
Reginald's heart stopped.
"Im... impossible..." he whispered, horror dawning in his eyes. "That was a full-force shadow Spear...!"
Kan Sha moved.
Too fast.
A tail lashed out, sweeping Reginald's legs from beneath him.
Before he could hit the ground, a second tail slammed downward like a meteor. Reginald barely twisted away—but not fast enough. His left arm was caught in the strike.
CRUNCH.
The bone snapped.
"AAAAAAGHHHHH!!"
He screamed, raw and broken. Blood poured from the mangled limb as he staggered backward, cradling it to his chest.
"HELP ME!" he roared to his party. "SOMEONE—HELP ME!!"
But no one came.
The Seven Kings of Shadow were scattered, overwhelmed. Screaming. Dying. Fleeing.
No one was coming.
No one cared.
While the battle raged on, Nova hid in the shadows, hoping and praying for his survival.
From his hiding place, he could see that everyone around him was either dead or knocked down—monsters and humans alike. The only ones still on their feet were Reginald and Kan Sha.
Reginald was injured and unable to move, while Kan Sha stood tall with little to no injuries.
Reginald's voice cracked with fury, his body battered and trembling as he staggered back, blood leaking from his wounds. He pointed a shaking finger at the creature standing before him—unmoving, defiant.
"You mangy little beast! Why won't you just die and give me what I want?!" he roared, desperation bleeding into his words.
Kan Sha didn't respond. His eyes, glowing with an unnatural hue, stared through Reginald as if he were nothing more than a passing shadow.
Reginald's breath came in ragged gasps. "Fine… if you won't die easily, then I'll tear you apart with everything I have left!"
He raised both arms, the air around him warping as black energy gathered in pulsing spheres. The temperature dropped. The ground cracked beneath his feet.
"Dark Matter Arcana: Symphony of the Nocturnal Night!" he screamed.
Dozens of obsidian black orbs erupted into the air, swirling around Reginald like a maddened orchestra. Each one trembled with unstable power, shrieking in a pitch only the Arcane could hear. With a flick of his wrists, the orbs surged forward, raining down upon Kan Sha like a storm of midnight meteors.
They struck.
Each impact shattered the earth, bursting into chaotic waves of black matter that devoured the surrounding terrain. The battlefield disappeared beneath a blanket of smoke and darkened dust. Echoes of destruction lingered in the air, and the very world seemed to hold its breath.
Reginald collapsed to his knees, drained. His vision blurred and his energy so low he might die in minutes.
Ken Sha collapsed, bloodied and breathless, the poison from Reginald's final strike eating away at his insides.
Two enemies now lay broken amidst the corpses of their comrades—paralyzed, dying, and bound
Nova, the only one left standing, walked through the battlefield's smoke and silence. His boots crunched over ash and bone until he stood above Reginald—the tyrant who had enslaved him, beaten him, shattered him.
Nova tilted his head, staring at the pathetic man gasping on the ground. What would this bastard do now that he's helpless?
Reginald, ever arrogant to the end, spat blood and snarled, "What the hell are you gawking at, worm? Fetch me a healing elixir before I—"
BANG.
"Fire Arcana: Blazing Bolt," Nova muttered.
The fireball exploded against Reginald's chest. The tyrant's voice—and life—was extinguished in an instant.
Nova stood still, the echo of the blast fading. Then, a crooked grin crept across his face as he ran a hand through his hair.
"Finally... that bastard's gone. Out of my life."
He turned and saw Ken Sha still alive and for some reason… he pitied him. Another victim of Reginald's madness.
Nova approached slowly, holding out a vial of high healing elixir . "I can help. I'm not your enemy. I was forced into this... just like you."
Ken Sha watched him silently. "This elixir might heal my wounds, he thought. But no elixir can cure this poison... . Unless..."
As Nova knelt to help, Ken Sha lunged. A blinding light burst from his core, engulfing them both in radiant light.
Nova's eyes widened as a strange voice echoed inside his head and a glow holographic screen appeared saying.
[HOST DETECTED]
[MAD DOG SYSTEM ONLINE]