The forest was silent.
Too silent.
Arin's boots crunched against damp leaves as he moved deeper into the Moonshadow Ravine's heart. The shadows here weren't just darkness—they had weight, texture, and life. They clung to his clothes, caressed his skin, and whispered in voices he couldn't quite hear.
> [Shadow Energy: 3%]
[Warning: Insufficient reserves for summoning.]
His jaw tightened. This strange screen—this system—had been with him since his fall, and yet he still couldn't understand where it came from. He only knew one thing: it wasn't from the sect's manuals, nor from any heaven-blessed inheritance.
It was his alone.
A rustle came from the treeline to his left.
Arin froze, crouching low.
Two eyes glowed faintly red from the dark—low to the ground, watching, calculating. The beast stepped forward, revealing its form: a Moonfang Wolf. Level two, by the system's faint readout above its head. Its silvery fur shimmered faintly, reflecting what little moonlight penetrated the canopy.
The wolf bared its teeth.
Arin could hear his own heartbeat. Once, he would've backed away. Once, he would've run.
But now—
> [Kill…]
The whisper came from nowhere and everywhere, sliding into his ears like ice water. His fingers curled around the crude dagger he'd carved from scavenged bone.
The wolf lunged.
Arin didn't move until the last possible second. Then—he stepped sideways, almost melting into the shadows behind him. His body felt lighter in the dark, his vision sharper, the world slower. The wolf's claws scraped air where his chest had been.
He pivoted, driving the dagger deep into the wolf's throat.
Warm blood spurted across his hand.
The wolf yelped once, then collapsed, twitching.
> [Shadow Energy: 9%]
[Devour?]
Arin hesitated for only a moment. "Do it."
Dark tendrils bled out of the ground around the corpse, twisting like smoke. They pierced the wolf's shadow, ripping it free like tearing silk. The beast's body went limp—emptier somehow—before the shadow sank into Arin's chest.
He gasped.
Cold flooded his veins, but along with it came strength—a pulse of raw vitality, his muscles tightening, senses sharpening.
> [Shadow Energy: 21%]
[Stat Increase: +1 Strength, +1 Agility]
He looked down at his hand, flexing it. It didn't feel like his body anymore—it felt better. Faster. Stronger. And all it had taken… was one kill.
Arin stared at the wolf's hollow corpse.
A slow, dangerous smile spread across his face.
---
Hours passed as he hunted.
One kill became two. Two became five. Each time, the process was the same: kill, devour, grow. The forest that had once seemed so vast now felt like a hunting ground made for him.
By the time the moon reached its peak, his system displayed:
> [Shadow Energy: 74%]
[Level: 2]
[Strength: 7 | Agility: 8 | Vitality: 6 | Intelligence: 4]
The growth was intoxicating.
But as he stood over his latest kill—a massive iron-tusk boar—he heard something else. Voices.
"Spread out. He couldn't have gone far."
Arin's blood went cold.
Sect disciples.
He slipped behind a fallen tree, peering out through the gloom. There were three of them, each wearing the Radiant Sword Sect's white-and-gold robes. He recognized the one in the lead instantly—Jian Lu, one of the outer court seniors who had shoved him off the cliff.
Arin's grip on his dagger tightened until his knuckles whitened.
Jian Lu's voice was mocking even now. "That trash thinks he can survive down here? Ha! The beasts will tear him apart. But the Elder wants proof. So find the body."
The other two disciples laughed.
Something inside Arin snapped.
He stepped out from behind the tree without a sound.
The shadows clung to him like armor.
---
Jian Lu was the first to notice.
He froze, his eyes narrowing. "You—"
Arin moved.
The forest exploded into motion. His dagger flashed, but his real weapon was the darkness itself—sliding underfoot, curling around his legs, propelling him forward faster than any mortal could move. He was on Jian Lu before the man could even finish drawing his sword.
The dagger punched into Jian's side.
A scream split the night.
The other two disciples shouted, rushing to help—but shadows burst from the ground, solidifying into pitch-black chains that wrapped around their ankles, yanking them off their feet.
Jian Lu's eyes were wide with disbelief. "What… what are you?"
Arin's voice was quiet, almost gentle.
"Your nightmare."
The dagger slashed again, ending him.
---
The system's whisper was eager now.
> [Devour?]
"Yes."
The shadows ripped free of Jian Lu's body, his form withering like dried parchment. The rush of stolen strength hit Arin like a wave—his heartbeat thundered, his breathing steadied, his vision turned razor-sharp.
The other two disciples screamed, but their terror was drowned by the sound of the shadows consuming them too.
When it was over, only empty, brittle husks remained.
---
Arin stood alone in the clearing.
The night was quiet again, save for the faint rustle of leaves in the wind. His breathing slowed, and for the first time in his life… he didn't feel weak. He didn't feel helpless.
He felt hungry.
> [Shadow Energy: 100%]
[Skill Unlocked: Shadow Step] – Instantly move through shadows within 5 meters.
[Level Up: 3]
Arin clenched his fists.
This was just the beginning.
From this night forward, the Radiant Sword Sect wouldn't remember him as trash.
They would remember him as the shadow that came for them in the dark.