In the stillness of the deep night, a spectral calm cloaked the battlefield between Earth and the Zanork-5 invaders. The stars above shimmered coldly, indifferent to the blood that had already been shed. Within the Terra Federation camp, silence reigned. The only sounds came from the occasional crackle of energy pylons and the muffled steps of patrolling guards moving through the dark.
A faint blur moved through the shadows.
Like a wraith slipping from the realm of the unseen, a solitary figure emerged from the heart of the Terra camp—silent, fast, and completely undetectable.
Dray Ballack.
Wrapped in the veil of the newly acquired assassination skill, his body moved like vapor, dissolved into the folds of the night. The skill's stealth mode muffled every step, dampened every breath, and obscured his presence even from thermal scanners. The battlefield was an open grave of wind-blown dust and scorched metal, but Dray maneuvered through it with the finesse of a veteran specter.
System Notification:
Assassination Skill (Intermediate Tier): In Use [12% Mastery]
Passive Stealth Activated – Duration Remaining: 9 minutes 48 seconds
Dray neared the Zanork-5 camp perimeter. Even the enemy patrols seemed unaware of his approach. He kept low, weaving through trenches, debris, and half-dismantled field barriers until he reached the outer tents.
From his concealed vantage point behind a broken drone chassis, he studied the enemy's structure. He counted three major command tents, spread strategically across the rear flank of the camp. From what little recon he could gather, each commander operated independently within their own sectors.
"Good. They're separated," he muttered under his breath.
With ruthless precision, Dray targeted the easternmost tent first. His plasma rifle was sealed back into the system storage—this mission would be silent. No bullets, no traces. Only blood and whispers.
He crept around the side of the first tent, sliding a reinforced combat knife into his palm from the system inventory. With one hand, he manipulated the tent flap open just enough to slip inside. The Zanork-5 commander, a stout male with augment implants on his face and shoulders, was hunched over a holo-map, speaking into a muted comm-link.
Dray moved fast.
With one hand, he disabled the communication device. With the other, he flipped the commander's desk in a violent crash, blocking the only exit. The commander turned, his eyes wide—but it was too late.
A single strike.
Clean, quiet, lethal.
Blood pooled beneath the edge of the tent floor.
Dray didn't hesitate. He activated stealth again, slipping through the shadows toward the second tent. The guard patterns hadn't changed. The enemy still had no idea they were already minus one leader.
Inside the second tent, it was even easier. The commander was asleep.
With surgical efficiency, Dray muffled his breath, advanced in silence, and ended the threat. One swipe. No struggle. No noise.
System Notification:
Assassination Skill (Intermediate Tier): +3% Mastery (Current: 15%)
Enemies Eliminated: 2/3 Commanders
The third tent stood alone near the power field battery. Dray's eyes narrowed as he approached, noting how it was quieter than the others. No guards nearby. Suspiciously unprotected.
He entered with caution.
Inside, soft breathing met his ears—but the scent was different. He could tell before he saw her.
A woman. Tall, slender, with light armor and a holstered blade at her side. Her hair was silver-blonde, braided, and her expression was tired—but alert.
Dray appeared in front of her without warning, dropping the stealth mode.
She stood up, startled, hand moving for her blade, but stopped.
His voice was low and cold.
"Leave Earth. Take your troops. Do it now, or this planet will become your grave."
She blinked. Her throat bobbed in a hard swallow.
"Who are you?"
"Your only warning."
He stepped back, melting into the darkness. She didn't follow.
Her knees buckled, and she fell onto the chair, clutching her chest as she breathed rapidly.
Dray returned to the desert plains, retracing his steps across the battlefield. Patrols were still roaming, unaware of the deadly visitor among them. The stealth mode covered him again, letting him pass through like a whisper.
By the time he returned to the Terra camp, the stars had shifted in the sky.
Everything was as he left it. His comrades still slept in their tents. The guards yawned by their posts. None suspected what had occurred just meters from their base.
Dray slipped into his tent, dropped onto his bunk, and exhaled.
A sharp chime echoed in his ear.
System Notification:
Congratulations: Assassination Mission Success – Enemy Commanders Eliminated: 2
EXP +100
Level Up: Level 7 → Level 8
Victory Bonus Activated: Earth Victory Secured
EXP +120
Level Up: Level 8 → Level 9
Bonus: +1 Level – Reward Claimed
Level Up: Level 9 → Level 10
Level 10 Reached: Bloodline Upgrade Available
Trigger Awakening? [Now / Later]
Dray blinked.
Level 10. So fast. His eyes widened at the new prompt.
"System," he whispered. "What happens when I trigger the bloodline?"
System Response:
Triggering the bloodline will initiate a transformation.
Physical and genetic changes will occur based on your bloodline origin.
Warning: This process cannot be undone.
Awakening may expose visual changes that compromise identity.
Dray narrowed his eyes.
He had seen what the world thought of abnormality. If he awakened here, among thousands of eyes, there was no telling what would happen. He might be seen as a threat, or worse—a freak.
He shook his head.
"Later. I'll awaken later. When it's safe."
System Notification:
Acknowledged. Bloodline Awakening Deferred.
You may trigger the upgrade at any time from your interface.
He pulled up his stats.
System Interface:
Name: Dray Ballack
Bloodline: Locked (Awakening Trigger Available)
Race: Human (???)
Level: 10
Class: None
Strength: 9
Agility: 11
Endurance: 6
Vitality: 8
Skills:
• Night Adaptation (Passive)
• Blood Sense (Passive – Incomplete)
• Blood Echo (Tier I)
• Phantom Reaper (Intermediate Assassination Skill – 15%)
Inventory:
• Rusted Circuit Knife
• Obsidian Data Chip
• Unknown Crystal (Bound)
System Shop: [Access Granted – Insufficient Permissions for Purchase]
Next Level: 500 EXP
Status: Stable
Outside, a breeze swept across the desert, flapping banners and kicking dust.
Dray lay still in his bedroll, hands behind his head, eyes fixed on the tent ceiling.
He had crossed a line tonight. He had killed not in self-defense, not on a battlefield—but silently, by design, as a ghost of war.
And it felt too natural.
Tomorrow would come. But tonight, the shadow of nightfall was his domain.
And from that darkness, Dray Ballack had truly begun to rise.