Kaizer sat on the edge of his bed, his breath hitching as he watched the digital screen flicker in the dim morning light. He had just dumped 5 points into Strength and 5 into Agility.
Immediately, a violent surge of heat raced through his veins, followed by a bone-chilling cold. His muscles didn't bulge like a bodybuilder's, but they knit together with a new, terrifying density. When he gripped the metal frame of his bed, the steel groaned under his touch as if it were made of plastic.
"Why me?" Kaizer whispered, his voice cracking. "Out of billions of people... why did a 'Warlord' choose a college loser?"
The shadows in the corners of his room didn't just sit there; they began to ripple like black silk. From the darkness beneath his desk, a pair of crimson eyes opened. A silhouette of a woman manifested, sitting atop his swivel chair with regal nonchalance, one leg crossed over the other.
She was devastatingly beautiful—lethal, cold, and radiating an aura that made the oxygen in the room feel heavy. This was Paimon.
"Because the others are predictable," she said, her voice like velvet sliding over a blade. "The 'Gods' who sent that light in 2025... they want soldiers. They want drones who follow a 'System' and play the hero. My kind, the Warlords of the Underworld, usually find this world beneath us. We have our own realms to conquer. Why bother with a pebble like Earth?"
She leaned forward, her face inches from his. Her breath didn't smell like death; it smelled like rain and ozone.
"But I am a conqueror who has grown bored. In the centuries since we last touched this realm, only one other has been worthy—that little ghost in Korea. He was a fluke, a curiosity. I chose you because when that werewolf was about to end you, you didn't pray to the Light. You didn't beg the Gods. You just wanted to bite back. I like things that bite."
She vanished into a cloud of black smoke, leaving behind a final, chilling command: "Go to school, my Contractor. Try not to break your toys too early."
The university felt different today. The "Great Illumination" of 2025 had turned society into a hierarchy where the "Awakened" were royalty and "Zeros" were dirt. As Kaizer walked through the gates, his heightened senses picked up everything: the hum of mana in the air, the frantic heartbeats of trauma-stricken students, and the smell of ozone from the D-Rankers practicing their sparks.
"Look who's back from the dead," a mocking voice called out.
Kaizer stopped. Walking toward him was Sato, a C-Rank "Brawler" who led the group that usually used Kaizer as a punching bag. Sato's hands were glowing with a faint, molten orange light—his signature flame ability.
"I heard you were in the courtyard during the attack, Gold," Sato sneered, slamming a hand against Kaizer's locker. "Must have been terrifying for a Zero. Did you wet yourself while the real heroes handled it?"
The old Kaizer would have looked at the floor. But as Sato leaned in, Kaizer didn't see a bully. He saw a slow-moving target. With his 17 Agility, Sato's movements looked like they were occurring underwater.
"The real heroes are dead, Sato," Kaizer said, his voice unnervingly steady. "And you weren't there. You were hiding in the gymnasium with the other cowards."
The hallway went silent. The crowd of students gasped. Sato's face turned a violent shade of purple.
"You little trash... you think because you survived a scratch you can talk back to an Awakened?" Sato pulled back a glowing fist. In the eyes of the law, an Awakened hitting a Zero was a gray area. Usually, the Zero just had to take it.
Kaizer tightened his fist in his pocket. He felt the shadows crawling up his spine, begging to be let out. Kill him, Paimon's voice whispered in his ear. Show them the Abyss.
But Kaizer hesitated. Should I humiliate Sato in front of the whole school, or should I keep my power a secret for now and lure the bully somewhere private?
He looked at the smartphones being held up by classmates. If he revealed his power now, the Japan Awakened Administration (JAA) would be at his door by sunset. They'd test his mana, realize it didn't come from the "Light," and label him a villain. He needed a "chill life"—or at least the cover of one—to grow strong enough to survive the JAA.
"I didn't move," Kaizer lied, feigning a tremor in his voice. "You tripped, Sato. Maybe the dungeon air got to your head? You should see a healer before you hurt yourself."
A ripple of stifled laughter went through the crowd.
Sato's ego shattered. He grabbed Kaizer by the collar, hoisting him up. "Meet me behind the old gym after the final lecture. If you don't show up, I'll find you at your apartment. And I'll burn everything you own."
Sato shoved him back against the locker and spat on the floor before walking away.
The "old gym" was a condemned building on the edge of campus, half-swallowed by ivy. It was the perfect place for a disappearance.
Sato was waiting, flanked by two of his lackeys. "So, the rat actually showed up," Sato said, his hands igniting with fire.
"I wanted to ask you something," Kaizer said, standing in the center of the dust-filled room. The sun was setting, and the shadows were lengthening, stretching toward Sato's boots like hungry fingers.
"What? How to beg for mercy?"
"No," Kaizer looked up, and for the first time, he let the mask slip. His eyes flashed with a faint, abyssal violet. "I wanted to ask if anyone knows you're here."
Sato blinked, a primal fear suddenly gripping his chest. "What does that—"
"Because if no one saw you come here," Kaizer whispered, "then no one will see what happens next."
Kaizer didn't walk; he flickered.
[SKILL ACTIVATED: Shadow Step (Lv. 1)]
In the blink of an eye, Kaizer vanished.
BAM.
He reappeared directly in Sato's shadow. A single palm strike to the back of Sato's head sent the C-Ranker face-first into the dirt. The two lackeys tried to move, but their feet were stuck. Their own shadows had turned into liquid chains, binding them to the floor.
"Pathetic," Paimon's voice echoed, her silhouette manifesting in the rafters above. "Is this the best your world has to offer? My Contractor using the power of the Underworld on... children?"
"I'm just cleaning up the trash," Kaizer muttered.
He knelt over the shivering Sato, grabbing him by the hair. "From now on, Sato, you don't see me. You don't talk to me. If you even think about mentioning my name, I won't just hit you."
Kaizer's shadow rose behind him, expanding until it filled the entire gym—a massive, multi-eyed specter looming over the bullies.
"I'll let the shadows eat your soul. Do we have an understanding?"
Sato couldn't even scream. He just nodded frantically.
"Good. Now get out."
As the three bullies scrambled away, Kaizer felt a strange rush of heat.
Ping.
[HIDDEN QUEST COMPLETED: 'Silence the Loud.'] [Rewards: 500 EXP, 1x 'Underworld Essence'] [Level Up! Level 5 -> 6]
Kaizer looked at his hands. "One year ago, the Light made me a victim," he whispered. "Today, the Dark made me a King."