Max walked deeper into the cavern, the air growing colder and heavier with every step. The silence stretched until—
Crunch.
Bones.
He froze.
"...Nope. Hate that sound."
Raven hummed lazily.
[That noise? Ah. The locals. Looks like the rats down here absorbed magical essence.]
"Rats?" Max whispered. "As in the small annoying ones? Cheese thieves? Sewer gremlins?"
[Cute. No. These are beast-ranked creatures. Low-tier, but still capable of tearing off limbs if you stand there looking stupid.]
Bones rolled into view clean, polished, disturbingly human.
Max stared.
"...Okay. Maybe not cute."
Red eyes appeared in the dark.
One pair.
Then two.
Then eight.
The first creature stepped forward half rat, half toddler in size, fur patchy and bristling with jagged mana energy. Its teeth were long enough to pierce clean through bone.
Max blinked.
"That is NOT a rat. That is a demonic guinea pig of death."
Raven sounded far too calm.
[You'll be fine… hopefully. Just don't stop moving.]
The beast lunged.
Max yelped and flung himself sideways, landing directly into a pool of cold water—arms flailing, dignity evaporating.
The splash echoed.
Dozens more red eyes opened in the distance.
Max winced.
"…Oh good. The whole family heard me fall."
He tried to scramble up to his feet only to feel something hard and metallic beneath him. Before he could process it, another rat lunged with jaws wide.
But this time—
Time slowed.
Max wasn't sure if it was instinct, his new body, or sheer panic, but he rolled and struck his fist slamming into the rat's ribs with a crack.
The creature screeched and retreated, body trembling.
Max stared at his fist.
"…Did I just one-punch a giant murder rat?"
[Congratulations. You've discovered strength. Try not to faint from pride.]
Max ignored her sarcasm and reached into the pool for the metallic object.
The moment his fingers wrapped around it, something thrummed—alive.
A black blade rested in his hands, ink-dark and pulsing faintly like a heartbeat.
Recognition hit him.
"This—this is similar to the daggers! The ones the hooded guy used when he saved me! But a sword version?"
Text flickered into view:
[Shadow Weapon — Bound Status Detected]
A living weapon forged from corrupted essence.
Shape adaptable. Strength scalable.
Grows alongside its chosen master.
Max's jaw dropped.
"So the secret guardian guy just— yeeted his priceless murder weapons into a hole with me?"
[He probably didn't plan on dying. If he did that is.] Raven muttered.
[Unfortunate. For him. Fortunate for us.]
Max frowned.
"Shadow weapon. Sounds ominous. And cursed."
Raven sighed dramatically.
[All powerful artifacts are cursed. That's what makes them interesting.]
[Normally you'd need a blood contract. The kind where you spill blood every day or it devours your soul because you missed a deadline.]
[This one's not connected to your world anyway so that much stronger for you.]
Max paled.
"That sounds… horrifying."
[Mm. But since you have me, the weapon doesn't need a contract. It already recognizes you as higher on the food chain.]
A new voice cut into his thoughts—cold and emotionless.
[Host detected.]
[Acknowledgment complete.]
[Awakening protocol initiated.]
Max blinked.
"…Okay. Why do I have TWO voices in my head now?"
[Oh. That's just the weapon. Try to keep up.]
Notifications appeared one after another:
[Shadow Weapon recognizes you as Master.]
[Dormant ability awakened: ???]
[Shadow Weapon is evolving…]
[Evolution complete.]
Shadow Weapon Name: ESSENCE REAVER
Max stared at the glowing screen.
"…Essence Reaver. That sounds… friendly."
[It won't be. Use it well.]
Max raised the weapon — and the rats, all of them, suddenly backed away.
For the first time since arriving in this nightmare academy—
he felt dangerous.
And it felt good.