Distant clashing of metal rang in his ears, but his fading mind nullified it. Suna wished Umbralline could extend all the way to his feet so he could use it as a walking stick.

  He leaned against a tree and let out a heavy breath. Why was walking so painful? At the very least, Jack would be able to handle some of the Flesh Soldiers and maybe even the lion.

  Suna wondered if Jack had any red potion left. Actually, did he? His mind was so clouded.

  He reached into his pocket and was pleased to find one. He grabbed it, only for his hand to shake violently. He was about to lay Umbralline down, but then a Flesh Soldier appeared.

  It ambled through the forest and spotted him, along with another figure just behind it.

  His heart dropped as the other one was much bigger and quite familiar, with white hair escaping its open helmet and its whole body armored in rusted steel.

  [Undead Knight. Lvl 20]

  He bit the inside of his cheek, trying to banish as much darkness as possible.

  The Undeads charged at him, making Suna drop his potion. The vial broke, and red liquid spilled across the ground.

  He cursed himself, stepping back and raising Umbralline. The knight blasted the sword from Suna’s hand, and his wrist twisted from the impact. He cried out, staggering back in pain. The Flesh Soldier, however, did not intend to let him escape. It jabbed its rusted sword forward. Suna tried to focus, but the haze was too much.

  When the sword was about to pierce his neck, Pyreflame burst out, melting it into a molten state, and pushing back the Flesh Soldier too.

  The attack didn’t let up; the knight immediately replaced the fallen Flesh Soldier, swinging at him in a deadly downward arc—which Pyreflame blocked.

  The bluish flame burst wildly around Suna, and he noticed it was fading quickly. The flame was eager to be released, and Suna had no way to control it—his mind was hazy, and he couldn’t focus on Brimhat.

  At this rate, he might lose all of his Pyreflame to this scrub.

  He kept biting his cheek to the point it bled. Suna tried to punch with his Gauntlet, but it bounced off in a weak clank of steel. The knight swung down again, and he intuitively shielded himself at the sight of the ugly steel going down on his face. Bluish flame rushed forward, making the knight stagger back.

  Suna growled. There had to be a way out.

  But every time he formed his Gale Bow, it came apart due to his unsteady mind.

  He slung the Marrow Bow and nocked a Sootroot Arrow from his Grave Vine Quiver, but it was a struggle to aim. Both undead ran faster than he could even move his hand.

  Deciding close combat was unavoidable, Suna dropped his Marrow Bow and wielded his enchanted Sootroot Arrow.

  The Flesh Soldier rushed at him, and Suna focused on its movement. He managed to dodge a horizontal strike, saving his Pyreflame. He was about to jab in; however, the knight followed up with a lunge, which Suna sidestepped. Pyreflame still had to rush out to block the attempt.

  His back crashed against a tree, sending a haze to cloud his vision again. But Suna gritted his teeth and lunged at the Flesh Soldier, jabbing deep into its neck as its sword slash missed him and stuck in the tree.

  Vines burst out from the arrow’s shaft and wrapped their green, thin bodies around the undead Flesh Soldier. They choked it down, and it writhed on the ground, its legs kicking up and down.

  This might be something he could practice on…

  A blur of shadow drew his attention, and Suna ducked the strike that jabbed deep into the tree trunk behind him. Wood cracked. The sword swung down ferociously, cleaving the wood toward Suna’s head.

  Suna pushed against the tree’s root and threw himself at the knight with another enchanted Sootroot Arrow. Through his haze, he saw the gap between its shoulder and chest armor, so he intended to pierce there. But the knight moved and blocked the arrow by puffing its chest.

  Its knee lurched up, and Pyreflame was about to burst forward, but the pain came, and Suna coughed up blood as he was slammed back against the tree.

  The knight tried to follow with a strike that would end his life, but Pyreflame once again blasted its sword, forcing the knight to step back. Suna closed his eyes, and all he could hear was the knight's steps and the sizzling flame bursting.

  In the darkness of his mind, a prompt appeared.

  [Use Drowfication I?]

  [Yes/No]

  “Yes”

  Strength: 2145 + 1072

  Dexterity: 1529 + 765

  Vitality: 1455 + 726

  Arcanery: 2783 + 1392

  Sense: 1012 + 510

  The darkness that had been edging his vision was banished; the world turned into colors that were so bright—a pulsing, vibrant hue that enchanted his senses, causing Suna to draw a lungful of breath and end up tasting the air as if it were mint.

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  A blur of steel swung down at him, but it was very slow. Suna stepped in; his hand grasped the sword handle, completely stopping the strike.

  The Knight's eyes widened, and dark mottled skin started to appear. Suna formed a fist with his right hand and punched the knight’s face, sending it flying, its body sprawling and spinning, almost falling into the deep abyss of the hilltop.

  Suna stopped; that power... he had sent it flying so far. He looked down at his arm, and the familiar black mottled skin was there. A prickle of fear rose within him; he let out a calming breath and focused on the Knight, who was already standing with its own Drowfication.

  Before he registered it, the Knight had already closed the gap between them. It swung its sword down at him. Suna stepped back and drew his Sootroot Arrow, ducked and weaved in, dodging a crescent strike and plunging his arrow into the gap just above the undead’s hip.

  Vines grew suddenly, and they lurched around the Knight’s legs, piercing deep into its body.

  The Undead Knight stumbled, but Drowfication kept it alive. It tried to cut the vines away, but Suna kneed the Knight under the chin, slamming it back with a loud crack. The Knight toppled down, and Suna summoned his Gale Bow. A gale formed into a coalescing wind around his hand. Suna could even make out how it formed a blade point at the bow’s edge. Deciding to test it, Suna drove it down as if it were a spear straight at the Knight’s chestplate, piercing deep through the creature.

  Suna whipped the bow out and splayed green blood in a cruel arc through its armor like a knife through butter.

  [You Have Slain Undead Knight. Lvl 20]

  [Rune of Arcanery]

  Mana: 1200/27830

  It consumed that much?

  Suna did not have long. He needed to get to safety. To Jack. He grabbed his Marrow Bow and proceeded to run to where the Tiefling was.

  He burst into the forest, rushing through the ancient branches and roots, smashing through them with his enchanted strength.

  Jack was not far; he should have heard him earlier, and yet the Tiefling had still not come. Something must have happened.

  He was briefly lost until he spotted the deep cut he had made on a trunk, marked with an arrowhead.

  Suna arrived and spotted the sister's corpse, and anger flared inside him. The lion was eating—Suna drew a Sootroot Arrow and pulled it, the string pulled taut, threatening to snap.

  Before he released it, however, Suna heard a whimper. A weak one, a cry full of sorrow. The lion’s shoulder shook, and it whined, tapping Delia’s cheek, licking it as if begging for the [Undead Witch] to wake up.

  Anger flitted away. Suna lowered his bow.

  But a spear. A spear impaled the lion, gushing through its neck. It let out a wail as its whole body was pinned against a tree.

  Suna shook his head; a brief melancholy passed through him. He released his arrow, ending the lion's life.

  [You Have Slain Undead Lion. Lvl 10]

  [Level Up]

  Name: Suna Amor

  Level: 48 → 49

  Class: [Flintwind Archer]

  Rune: 126

  Feat: 23

  Mana: 1200/27890

  Pyre Flame: 85666.

  Pact: 2

  Class Skill (13/35)

  - Archer Instinct [Uncommon]

  - Gale Backstep [Uncommon]

  - Moving Shot [Uncommon]

  - Flint Draw [Uncommon]

  - Arcane String [Uncommon]

  - Gale Bow [Rare]

  - Spell String Mastery [Rare]

  - Hissing Volley [Rare]

  - Drill Arrow [Uncommon]

  - Still Form [Uncommon]

  - Saproot Arrow [Rare]

  - Emberwind Arrow [Rare]

  - Ashen Brand [Uncommon]

  General Skill (12/35)

  - Swift Draw [Uncommon]

  - Drowfication I [Rare]

  - Rune Seeker [Uncommon]

  - Gale Step [Uncommon]

  - Wind Veil [Uncommon]

  - Thermal instinct [Uncommon]

  - Enchanced Sense [Uncommon]

  - Enduring Body [Uncommon]

  - Battle Focus [Common]

  - Eagle Eyes [Uncommon]

  - Pyre Shield [Rare]

  - Pyre Flame Starter [Uncommon]

  Strength: 2145 → 2159

  Dexterity: 1529 → 1535

  Vitality: 1455 →1462

  Arcanery: 2783 → 2789

  Sense: 1012 → 1017

  “Suna?” The Tiefling appeared from the tree line. When Jack’s eyes fell on him, the [Spearbearer] hesitated, opening his palm to recall his spear. “It’s you, right?” Jack asked, his voice low and laced with fear.

  Suna gazed at the lion before nodding. “It’s me.” His head spun, and his body was slowly losing its power. “Jack, I need…” Suna slumped against a trunk, and slowly his skin turned back to normal.

  “Suna!” Jack shouted, running beside him. The Tiefling fumbled through his pocket and pulled out a red vial.

  Good…

  His mind went drifting away.

  Then the haze stopped, and Suna found himself standing with his feet submerged in shallow water.

  The sky was dark. A complete void.

  Only two things existed in the world. The throne in front of him, and a dark kneeling figure beside him.

  Suna stepped back, looking around and examining the figure.

  A class?

  What is this place in the first place?

  [Drowfication II]

  [To attempt the next stage of Drowfication, seat yourself on the throne and make a pact that you shall not kneel to one but to yourself]

  [Pact][Self King]--You are the king of your own story—no one else. You form a pact declaring that nothing shall be above you; you shall obey no one—not an organization, country, or god. Failure to uphold the pact shall allow Drowfication to take over your mind.

  [Accept/Decline]

  This must be why Delia had said only one of the Undead could proceed to the second stage… Well, it was no longer under the [Necromancer]’s command and still roamed the depths.

  But then, what about the deal with Drowfication sought master? What did she mean by that?

  Regardless, it was obvious that it's better not to accept it. At least yet…

  “Decline”

  Suna gazed on the kneeling figure. It was not a class. It was him, with skin of shadows. And he strangely, or perhaps not. He could see its status.

  [Flintwind Archer. Lvl 49]

  Strength: 4319

  Dexterity: 3557

  Vitality: 2997

  Arcanery: 6689

  Sense: 2158

  His status was more than double what he currently had. But it was not enough to tempt Suna into taking the pact. It just didn’t seem worth it.

  Make yourself a king? No, not a king—an absolute authority over yourself. Such a thing would cut him off from many opportunities. If he wanted to join an organization, for example, surely one would be formed in the future of this new world.

  This must have been what caused the Drow’s Tower Wars. But there were no Drow who had that kind of shadowy figure. Why not? The Matriarch should have been at the second stage.

  Was it because of the System? Their ability might have been limited for the tutorial. He briefly wondered what the Drow’s world might be like. Would it be a never-ending war? Probably.

  Then something chilling washed over him. A sudden realization. There were Drows that were not limited by the System.

  The Drow [Beastmaster] and [Seeker].

  Could they do it—ascend to the second stage of Drowfication? But they fought under a Matriarch… Still, if they toppled their Matriarch and ended up in control, then what would happen? Would they command the Drow to seize control? Was this what had made the [Necromancer] take his move?

  He should have asked Delia earlier.

  Suna let out a sigh as his vision returned to the forest.

  Jack's face brightened, and he offered him a grin.

  Suna smiled back, but inside, his blood pumped tightly.

  He couldn’t spend too much time in the depths.

  Not if he wanted to hunt down the Drow [Seeker], that is.

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