The air shifted.
Kael stood on the jagged slope of stone, gazing into the dark expanse below. A rolling tide of abyssal creatures crawled from the shadows, their forms twisted and malformed—long-limbed crawlers, scaled beasts dripping with ichor, and winged horrors that scraped across the cavern ceiling.
A full wave.
Kael's grip tightened on his weapon, his summons materializing around him in answer to the coming battle.
Pyraflame ignited with a roar, flames coiling hotter than before.Aquara floated to Kael's left, crystalline waters rippling with anticipation.Umbra unfolded from the shadows, claws flexing hungrily.Luminara's radiant figure burned like a miniature sun, steady and unyielding.
For the first time, all four stood in formation.
Kael drew in a slow breath. "Let's test what we can really do."
The first wave slammed forward—twenty creatures in a chaotic rush.
"Pyraflame, front!" Kael barked.
The fiery summon leapt ahead, a blaze erupting outward. A shockwave of fire swallowed the lead creatures, staggering them, forcing them into Aquara's waiting trap.
"Now!"
Aquara surged forward, jets of condensed water slicing through scorched flesh, finishing what the fire had weakened. Steam hissed into the cavern air.
From the shadows at Kael's flank, Umbra struck—darting like liquid smoke, sinking its claws into the exposed abdomen of a crawler. With a guttural hiss, it dragged the body into the dark, devouring the flesh in writhing silence.
[Umbra – Condition 1 Progress: 3/50 devoured]
Kael's eyes flicked to the notification, lips tightening in approval.
At the same time, a screech echoed overhead as a winged beast dove. Luminara blurred upward in response, its radiant blade cutting a streak of light through the air. The creature shrieked once before shattering into fragments of corrupted essence.
[Luminara – Condition 1 Progress: 2/30 purified]
The battle turned fluid, formation solidifying. Pyraflame burned through clustered hordes, Aquara pinned down survivors, Umbra tore stragglers into shadows, and Luminara struck down anything that dared move too high or too fast.
Kael's commands sharpened, each order interlocking their strengths like pieces of a war machine.
This… this is what they were meant for.
And yet, his system window hovered persistently at the corner of his vision:
[Summon Progress]
Pyraflame – Condition 2: Endure battles against Elite-class monsters. (1/3)
Aquara – Condition 2: Purify a corrupted water source. (0/1)
Umbra – Condition 1: Devour corrupted flesh of abyssal creatures. (3/50)
Luminara – Condition 1: Purify abyssal energy through combat. (2/30)
The numbers ticked higher as the battle raged, but Kael's mind remained calm, calculating.
They were growing stronger. Every kill mattered.
By the time silence returned to the cavern, the stone floor was littered with mangled corpses and evaporating ash.
Kael exhaled, dismissing his weapon, letting his summons linger as the glow of their energy flickered in the gloom. He crouched, scanning the battlefield, making sure none of the monsters stirred.
It was then that he noticed it.
Nestled between the broken stone, about ten paces from where Aquara hovered, was a small pond—shimmering faintly, no larger than three square meters. But the water wasn't clean. It churned with a faint, oily darkness. Abyssal corruption.
Kael's pulse quickened.
"Aquara."
The water summon turned, its crystalline eyes locking onto the pool. Recognition seemed to pass between them.
The system confirmed it.
[Quest Path Located: Corrupted Water Source Detected][Aquara – Condition 2 Available: Purify the Source.]
Kael straightened, a faint grin ghosting his lips. "So that's your path forward."
Aquara drifted toward the pond, its body glowing with a pale azure light. The corrupted water rippled violently as the summon lowered itself into the pool, its form merging seamlessly with the surface.
Light and darkness clashed beneath the ripples. The corrupted pond resisted, thrashing like a living thing. Aquara's glow pulsed brighter, steadier, unyielding.
Kael folded his arms, watching with narrowed eyes.
"This is your trial… don't fail me."
The cavern dimmed as Aquara sank deeper into the pond's corrupted depths—its battle for purification just beginning.
The water rippled around Aquara as it slid deeper into the shallow pond, its luminous body glowing faintly. A pulse of tension filled the air, Kael's senses sharpening as he felt the pond's corruption push back against Aquara's attempt to cleanse it.
But before the purification trial could truly begin, Kael turned his attention to the battlefield behind him. Umbra had not stopped moving.
The shadow summon coiled around the corpses of the freshly fallen abyssal creatures, its fanged maw opening wider than its form should have allowed. Black mist billowed out, dragging the corrupted flesh and essence into its body with a single command:
[Devour].
The corrupted bodies dissolved into nothing but smoke and dark mana, vanishing into Umbra's body. Kael felt a surge in the bond—Umbra's presence swelling with unnatural speed.
A notification chimed in his vision:
[Umbra: Condition 1 - Devour Abyssal Creatures (12/50)]Progress increased by +10.
Umbra shuddered, its form pulsing as if it had gorged itself on too much energy at once. Then, its body solidified into something sharper, leaner, more defined. The shadows no longer merely cloaked it—they armored it, shaped like sleek jagged plates across its frame.
Another chime followed:
[Umbra has leveled up!]
Level 6 → Level 7 → Level 8.
New Skill Unlocked: Shadow Bind.Umbra can now extend its form to immobilize or restrict enemies with tendrils of shadow. The strength of the bind scales with Umbra's level and the number of enemies present.
Kael's lips curved into a tight grin. "Good. With this, you're no longer just the predator. You're the trap."
Umbra's glowing violet eyes narrowed in satisfaction, the shadow beast exhaling a faint mist as if eager to prove its worth. It was now his second most powerful summon, only behind Pyraflame.
Kael quickly brought up his summon status window, his gaze flicking across each of them:
[Summon Progress]
Pyraflame (Lv. 8)
Condition 1: Complete.
Condition 2: Endure 3 Elite-Class Battles (1/3).
Skills: Flame Burst, Fire Resistance, Devour (Mana Expansion).
Aquara (Lv. 4)
Condition 1: Complete.
Condition 2: Absorb & Purify a Corrupted Water Source (0/1).
Skills: Aqua Pulse, Fluid Barrier.
Status: Currently engaged in Trial.
Umbra (Lv. 8)
Condition 1: Devour Abyssal Creatures (12/50).
Skills: Shadow Fang, Shadow Bind, Devour Flesh.
Luminara (Lv. 3)
Condition 1: Purify Abyssal Tainted Essences (2/30).
Skills: Radiant Glow, Light Pulse.
Kael's eyes lingered on Aquara's entry. Its condition glowed faintly—locked into an active trial state. He turned his attention back toward the pond.
The corrupted waters churned, black veins of energy bubbling to the surface as Aquara's soft glow sank deeper into the depths. The water-type summon trembled under the weight of abyssal energy pressing back against its cleansing force.
Kael clenched his fists. "This is it… your first true trial. Don't fail me now."
A faint light spread from Aquara's body, rippling through the pond as if attempting to push away the corruption inch by inch. The water hissed, steam rising as purification clashed with the abyss.
And then—Kael's system pulsed.
[Aquara: Purification Trial Initiated.]
Success or failure will determine the completion of Condition 2.
Kael exhaled slowly, glancing once more at Umbra and the battlefield behind him. The shadows had grown restless, Umbra's body twitching as if hungry for more. Pyraflame's flames flickered low but steady, its eyes watching over Aquara's trial with protective intent. Luminara, still young, hovered near Kael's side, its light soft but determined.
For the first time since entering the abyss, Kael felt it clearly:This wasn't just survival anymore. This was the rise of a legion.
And as Aquara vanished fully beneath the surface, the stage was set for its purification trial.