Chapter 9: Dark Tide

Thoren was fast asleep when he felt a heavy pressure pressing down on him.

It was suffocating, inside and out. His breathing became labored, and his body broke out in cold sweats.

Inside the darkness, thickenings had formed, and everything had been swallowed by eerily oppressive darkness.

Thoren’s body was the only thing visible in the eerie darkness. Even the bed he lay on had vanished into the gloom.

Suddenly, his eyes snapped open, and his pupils turned ghostly green.

[Undead Space Law Activated.]

[Unlocking Sub-Rank Talent]

[Soul Lantern of Eternal Crypt]

Thoren did not look at the notification as his eyes fixated on the illusory lantern floating a couple of inches from him.

Inside the illusory lantern, a pale blue flame swayed gently.

The moment the illusory lantern appeared, the eerie darkness inside the room vanished, replaced by grotesque figures.

Thoren was stunned as he gazed at the grotesque figures. They were unlike anything he had ever seen.

They were thin, elongated humanoids with matte obsidian skin.

Their limbs stretched unnaturally when moving, allowing them to crawl across walls and ceilings like spiders.

Each of their movements produced no sound and left no footprints.

It was as if they had never existed in the first place.

Without the illusory lantern, he would have been oblivious to their presence.

Thinking of the suffocating pressure from before, Thoren couldn’t help but shiver.

[Shadowborne Skulker]

[Level 5]

[Trait (1): Shadow Merge – Instantly melts into any shadow, becoming nearly invisible]

[Trait (2): Shadow Smother – Suffocates a target by wrapping darkness around their face.

[Trait (3): Silent Rend – Attacks produce no sound, making ambushes deadly.]

Looking at the creature stats, Thoren was momentarily stunned but recovered quickly as he watched the Shadowborne Skulkers draw closer.

Suddenly, they let out a shriek when the lantern’s pale blue flame touched them.

Fear and panic spread across their faces as they retreated far from the illusory lantern.

They tried to blend into the darkness, but the pale blue flame made that impossible.

Ahhh! Ahhhh! Ahhh!

Thoren heard screams coming from both inside and outside the inn. The deafening sounds of battle echoed at a distance from the inn.

Realizing the grim situation, Thoren jumped off his bed and summoned his ten level-4 skeletons.

Instantly, the room filled with skeletons as he commanded them to attack the Shadowborne Skulkers.

The ten level-4 skeletons pounced on the five Shadowborne Skulkers from all sides.

Shriek! Shriek!

The Shadowborne Skulkers were quickly cornered. He watched as they tried to use their abilities to fight back, only for the illusory lantern to counter them.

The Shadowborne Skulkers were creatures of darkness, but the illusory lantern rendered their terrifying abilities useless.

Shriek!

Without their darkness ability, the terrifying Shadowborne Skulkers were killed one after another.

“What terrifying tenacity,” Thoren muttered.

Even without their abilities, the Shadowborne Skulkers were not easily killed. They struggled frantically, trying to escape, but it was futile. Five minutes later, all the Shadowborne Skulkers were dead.

Thoren breathed a sigh of relief as he watched the Shadowborne Skulkers die.

Just then, he saw their bodies dissolve into dark mist and vanish from the room.

Hm?

[Soul Fire +5]

[Experience Gained +1500]

[Level: 4 (2100/1800)]

[Level Up!]

[Summoned Entities: Experienced Gained +800]

[Spirit +1 Copper +100]

[Attributes +5]

Thoren’s eyes fixed on the Soul Fire, a bit of confusion flickering across his face. This was the first time he had ever seen it.

[Soul Fire: This allows undead servants to understand and execute simple commands.]

Reading the description, Thoren’s jaw dropped. With this, his skeletons wouldn’t have to fight mechanically, merely with a single focus.

Just thinking of his undead army understood by basic commands sent his blood boiling with excitement.

Still, he repressed his excitement and thought to himself, “How did I get the Soul Fire?”

Suddenly, a stream of information appeared in his mind. Slowly, realization dawned on him.

He turned his head and looked at the illusory lantern and smiled. He had been focused on the Shadowborne Skulker when he failed to check the abilities of his new sub-talent.

[Soul Lantern of Eternal Crypt]

[Rank: SSS-Rank]

[Details: An illusory floating lantern forged from the law of death. It spreads a truth-seeking aura that exposes and suppresses shadow-blending, invisibility, and illusion abilities.]

“Huh! An SSS-Rank Talent.” Thoren gasped in shock.

He thought he only had one talent, but now he realized he was wrong. His Ex-Rank Undead Space talent was more overpowered than he had imagined.

Under his talent, there were many hidden sub-talents he had yet to unlock.

Just thinking of it made him excited. He grinned foolishly, not minding that he was surrounded by skeletons.

After recovering from his excitement, he looked at the illusory floating lantern and withdrew it back into his Undead Space.

With the lantern gone, the room descended back into darkness, though not as suffocating as before.

“Who would have thought that I would level up under such a dangerous situation?” He shook his head, unable to hide his joy.

In a single day, he had moved from zero to level 5. If other awakeners learned of this, none would ever believe it.

[Name: Thoren Starfall]

[Occupation: Necromancer]

[Rank: Iron]

[Level: 5 (300/3000)]

[Attributes: Strength 14, Agility 10, Constitution 10, Intelligence 14, Perception 12, Charm 12]

[Spirit: 13.49]

[Skills: Undead Summoning, Bone Manipulation Skill]

[Talent: Undead Space]

[Abyss Market: Unavailable (Available at Bronze Rank)]

[Attributes Points: 5]

[Inventory]

After sorting out everything, he realized the sound of battle coming from outside had diminished.

Although he could still hear a faint clash of combat, it was not as intense as before.

“I guess the Shadowborne Skulkers are retreating,” he mused.

And indeed, they were retreating. The Shadowborne Skulkers came swiftly and left just as swiftly.

Just as Thoren prepared to relax, a light knock came from his door.

Before he could open the door, he heard a female voice.

“Are you alive?”

Thoren did not bother to answer as he opened his door. Standing at the doorway was the inn’s female manager, the person in charge of the establishment.

Looking at him, she widened her eyes and exclaimed, “Ah! You survived?!”

“Do you wish I were dead?” Thoren replied with a deep frown on his face.

“No, I didn’t mean that… Newbies like you have little chance to survive the dark tide, but you did it without screaming for help.”

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