A silence swallowed the room like a black ocean.
Ethan stood there, staring at empty air, chest heaving so violently it felt like his ribcage would
crack open. His sword arm was trembling. Sweat poured down his temples and slid along his jaw,
dripping onto the wooden floor with soft splashes that seed far too loud in the suffocating
stillness.
He tried to speak but only a strangled sound ca out of his throat. His vision pulsed at the
edges.
He sucked in another shaky breath, forcing his lungs to fill. His entire body felt electric, as if the
woman’s re presence had left lightning still buzzing under his skin.
What the fuck...
He swallowed hard and finally rasped, "System... tell you picked up sothing on that
woman."
A soft digital chi resonated in the silence.
[Processing query... Searching logs...]
Ethan’s breath hitched as he waited, eyes glued to the floating translucent panels flickering before
him. He almost wanted to punch through the screen, the seconds stretched on so painfully.
Finally:
[No data found regarding individual identity.]
[Error: Unregistered magical signature detected. Insufficient records in current Dominion Archive.]
Ethan clenched his teeth until his jaw throbbed. "No data found? Are you kidding ? She’s
clearly not so random street rat. You can’t just give ’no data.’"
The system chid again, its voice neutral yet sohow managing to sound almost apologetic:
[However. Partial data acquired regarding magical technique utilized.]
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Ethan’s heart skipped a beat. His eyes flared wide as hope burst inside his chest like a tiny star.
"Proceed. Show everything."
Lines of neon text began cascading across the air:
[Technique Analysis Result: Classified under Arcane Subgroup – Long-Distance Spatial
Compression Manipulation.]
[Designation: Dragon King’s Secret Art – Shadow Stride.]
[Historical Note: Originally developed by the ancient Dragon King Val’Kareth during the Draconic
Wars nearly 8,000 years ago. Thought to be extinct. Involves folding spatial layers, enabling
instant traversal and high-precision object manipulation.]
Ethan blinked, mind frozen.
A single phrase bounced around in his skull, ringing louder than church bells:
Dragon King’s Secret Art.
He lifted a trembling hand and dragged it through his sweat-damp hair, leaving strands sticking
up. His pulse hamred so hard he thought he’d vomit.
"Dragon King... that’s supposed to be long extinct..." he whispered, voice barely audible.
The air felt thin suddenly, like the oxygen had been sucked out of the room.
He rembered all those dusty pages he’d devoured at the academy—the Dragon King
Val’Kareth, a mythical creature spoken of like a god. A being who could tear apart space, whose
roar alone had toppled empires.
And that woman... used magic created by him.
Ethan’s throat tightened.
This mystery wasn’t just about monsters anymore. It wasn’t just the corrupted cores, or rogue
mages, or even hidden cults.
It was sothing older. Bigger. Deeper.
He staggered backwards and almost tripped over his discarded sword sheath on the ground. His
eyes fell on it, and for a second his gaze went distant, as if he wasn’t seeing it at all.
I’m so fucking far out of my depth...
The mory of the woman’s voice haunted him like a ghost:
"You’ll need in the future, Mr. Saviour."
He couldn’t tear his mind away from that na. Mr. Saviour. She knew. Sohow she knew about
his system, about who he was supposed to beco.
He tried to slow his breathing. Each inhale felt like dragging broken glass into his lungs.
"Focus, Ethan... You don’t have ti to collapse here..."
He bent down and picked up the Warlord’s Fang sheath, his fingers shaking so badly he nearly
dropped it again. He slid the sword ho with a sharp click that sohow felt like an anchor in
reality.
The weight of the blade cald him a fraction.
He closed his eyes, took one more long breath, then glanced at the floating interface that hovered
in front of him.
[Quest Objective: Complete the Investigation into the Corrupted Beasts.]
Ethan stared at it. His heartbeat still hadn’t cald.
"Yeah... you’re right. This isn’t over."
He wiped the sweat from his brow, saring it into his hair. His body still felt raw, nerves crackling
as if he’d been set on fire. But there was sothing else in him now too—a rising, stubborn
defiance clawing up through the fear.
He squared his shoulders.
"Alright then... enough of this. Let’s finish what I started."
He stord toward the door, shoved it open, and stepped into the corridor.
Outside, the fortress corridors buzzed with life. Footsteps echoed on stone floors, tal clinking
as knights hustled back and forth carrying weapons, reports, and crates of supplies.
But Ethan barely heard any of it. His mind was spinning with visions of crimson eyes, molten
monsters, and now the image of that woman’s silver gaze cutting into his soul.
He descended the stairs, one hand still clenched tight around the hilt of his sword as though it
were the only solid thing in the world.
Each step felt like stomping through syrup. His body felt sluggish, drained.
But there was no way in hell he was going to stop now.
Outside, the sun had slipped below the city’s towering walls. Evening light spilled across the
streets in a red-gold glow, like blood on cobblestones.
He stalked through the gates into the lower city. People were sweeping debris off the streets,
burying corrupted beast corpses, scrubbing dried blood from storefronts. But even amid the
sounds of hamrs and shovels, there was a tension in the air, like the whole city was holding its
breath.
Ethan exhaled a slow, shaking sigh.
He touched the poml of Warlord’s Fang.
"One thing at a ti, Ethan. Find the cult. Figure out the cores. And..." His voice grew quiet. "...
find out who the hell that woman really is."
The system flickered again in front of his eyes:
[Quest Progress: 15% Complete.]
[Sub-Objective: Investigate disturbances near the Southern Watchtower.]
Ethan tilted his head.
"Southern Watchtower, huh...? Guess that’s where we go next."
He wiped the last bit of sweat from his forehead, and a small, feral grin twisted his lips.
"Let’s see how deep this rabbit hole goes."
And with that, Ethan turned his back on the fortress walls and started making his way toward the
shadows gathering in the southern quarter of Calsoz City.
No matter how terrified he was... he was done running from mysteries.
He’d find the truth, even if it killed him.
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