It was hard to make out the shape of the creature, as it was blending in with the shadows. Hora could only tell that it took on a humanoid shape, despite its ability to fly.
The creature came flying at him like an arrow. Hora had to act fast, curling his wings around himself, forming a shield.
The force crashed into him, sending him flying backwards, and back down towards the ground. He unfurled his wings to regain his flight, but as soon as he did, the creature was on him again.
"Shit!"
The creature followed him through the shadow, preparing to charge again. However this time, Hora took a different approach.
Using his right wing, he flapped hard, using the wind to send him evading to the left.
The creature's attack missed, but it quickly switched directions to strike again.
Hora backed away from the creature.
Come on, hasn't it been a minute yet—
Thud!
His thoughts were cut off, as suddenly a great force crashed into his back. His blind spot.
It sent him flying forward to the creature that was approaching him before.
A second one?!
Hora cursed to himself as the first creature flew into him like being shot from a cannon.
"Argh!"
The force struck him in the chest, sending hot pain through his ribs. Luckily, he managed to pivot himself by using his ability to fly and evade the creatures just barely enough to save his life.
It was only when two more creatures appeared that he realised he might not be able to survive this. Hora started to worry, and cursed himself for entering the Black Dream whilst so unprepared.
But then, the shadow creatures suddenly disappeared.
The entire world went silent, and Hora realised he was safe.
Another black screen with red text popped up in front of him.
[Black Dream Completed]
[Reward Obtained: Shadowsteel Longsword]
[Exiting Black Dream...]
---
When Hora reopened his eyes, he found himself lying down with his back against the white grass once again.
He looked up into the skies and noticed that the air was no longer covered in shadows, but rather grey, foggy ash.
Then, he felt the pain.
"Gargh!" He groaned. It felt like a knife had been thrust into his chest and back, making him sit up immediately.
A figure rushed over to him to make sure that he was alright.
"Ashlord, you have returned... How badly were you hurt?"
It was Mariketh. The Ashfinder had safely watched over him during his time spent in the black dream.
Hora ignored her for now and looked down at his chest. There was a giant bruise on his pale skin, but otherwise, he didn't seem too badly injured. Though every movement did hurt.
"I'm fine." He responded, before turning his attention towards his status.
[Hora Ashfallen]
[Rank: Dirt]
> 60%
[Race: Ashfallen]
[Affinities: Fire]
[Skills:]
> Overheat - Level 1
[Inventory:]
> Shadowsteel Longsword
[Transformations]
> Wings - Level 1
---
Hm. I expected my rank progression to increase more than that. Could it be because I didn't defeat any enemies, or use my skills?
Brushing his rank aside for now, Hora summoned his reward. A black blur surrounded his hands before eventually, an object landed in his grip firmly.
Its blade was thin and tall, made from rough black steel, whilst the long handle was wrapped in brown leather.
As Hora focused on the weapon, he was able to see its status.
[Shadowsteel Longsword]
[Rank: Bronze]
[Skills:]
Cleave - Level 1
"A Shadowsteel greatsword..." Mariketh spoke. "That is a common weapon crafted by us Ashfallen. It can only be mined by those with an affinity to shadow, and apparently wielding it can help the Ashfallen eventually awaken an affinity to shadow magic."
Hora twirled the blade in his hand. Despite the pain in his back and chest, it felt... comfortable.
"It seems you have your uses." Hora acknowledged the Ashfinder's helpfulness.
The woman's white eyes seemed to light up. "Yes. And there are many others with even more uses than me! You will just need to free them from—"
"What do you eat around here?" Hora cut the woman off, noticing that he had started to feel hungry.
Mariketh frowned for a second and let out a sigh. Afterwards, she reached her hand into the air and scooped up some of the ash that floated through the air.
Afterwards, she licked it from her palm.
"We eat the ash. It is all that we need to fuel ourselves."
"..."
Hora palmed his face. "That is not true."
"W-what do you mean?"
"There is a blessing named Ashen Hunger. It allows us to completely sustain ourselves on ash alone. However, I did not choose Ashen Hunger as our blessing. I chose Rebirth, the ability that allows us to revive once." Hora explained.
For a moment, Mariketh simply stood there with a tilted face. Afterwards, she seemed to be filled with disbelief.
"You mean to say that..."
"Yes." Hora sighed. "If you people have only been relying on ash to survive, your bodies have been lacking the complete nutrients that you need to develop. It's probably why you're all so weak."
Mariketh truly couldn't believe what she was hearing. She started to wonder about all the other information that the Ashfallen people were lacking, due to not having a leader.
"That is why you must return, God of Ash. We need someone to guide us! To teach us these things!"
Hora didn't say anything. Instead, he started to practise with his sword, testing out the skill 'cleave'. It was a dangerous strike that could surely slice a weaker enemy in half, though it drained him of his stamina.
His plan was to tire himself out physically, until he was tired enough to sleep again.
He would then enter another Black Dream to gain more rewards. After that, he would decide what his next move would be.
Mariketh simply sat down on the grass and watched him as he trained. The woman had already decided that she would follow the Ashlord wherever he went.
She only wished that he would be a bit kinder to her.