The portal exit shimmered once again and Allen didn't waste time walking towards it.
By the time he arrived outside, it was so dark, the sky was void of light, not even a single star appeared.
Sigh
He glanced around, not a single soul was there
'Those mfs left me to die, huh?' He grimaced. 'Leaving me to die... But instead of dying, I gained something better, hahaha.'
"Show me my stats."
Ding!
Name: Allen
Class: Hidden
Level: 6
HP: Max
MP: Max
Strength: Max
Agility: Max
Endurance: Max
Intelligence: Max
Mana:Max
Speed: Max
--------
SKILLS:
—Death drive (passive)
—Soul piercer (Active)
—Phantom step
—Blood instinct (passive)
ITEMS:
—Shadow fang dagger
—Basic health potion x2
—Tainted core fragment
—Skill core fragment
—Cloak of the hollow
—Instinctive Reflex [Passive]
—Beastcore of Dreadhorn (Grade: B)
—Cloak of the Fallen Hunter (Grade: C+)
-----
Seeing the stats, Allen frowned as he scanned the word stamped beside each stat: Max.
"Does this mean... I've reached the peak already? Or is it something else?"
There was no answer. The system remained quiet.
Sigh.
"As long as I get stronger, I might as well not care about these matters," he muttered and forced out a triumphant laugh.
Glancing around once more, he smirked. "Perhaps, I should pay someone a visit."
With that, he turned and headed in the direction of the guild outpost.
-----
The outpost wasn't far. Even in the dark, Allen's steps were steady, almost silent. The cold night breeze brushed past his cloak, yet he felt no chill. Maybe it was the new strength coursing through his body—or maybe it was the growing fire inside him.
As he neared the flickering torchlights of the outpost, voices began to drift in. Familiar ones. Laughter. Boasts. Someone even mentioned his name.
Allen stopped just outside the gate, eyes half-lidded as he listened.
"…I told you he wouldn't make it," a rough voice said.
Darius.
That same arrogant tone. That same lazy laugh.
"…kid was all talk. He probably tripped and died before the boss monster even showed up."
The others chuckled. Some nervously. One of them muttered something about reporting the loss.
Allen stepped forward.
The wooden gate creaked open at his touch.
Silence fell.
The men turned. Darius was the last to look, a mug halfway to his lips. His eyes widened.
Allen stood still, just at the threshold of the firelight. His cloak swayed gently with the wind, shadows hugging his figure like old friends. The look in his eyes didn't carry rage.
It carried something colder.
"Yo," Allen said, voice calm.
Darius stood, trying to mask his unease with a smirk. "Heh… didn't think you'd actually—"
Before he could finish, Allen moved. Not a blur, just motion... Smooth and unhurried, yet faster than their eyes could follow.
By the time Darius blinked, the tip of his dagger was pressed tightly against his neck. A thin line of blood slid down.
"I heard what you said," Allen murmured, his tone light. "Funny. Very funny."
Darius didn't speak, he could not.
Allen stepped closer, pushing the dagger in just a little bit deep enough to kill but enough to remind.
"You left me there to die, huh?" He asked. He wasn't accusing him, he was staring the fact.
Darius trembled.
"Unfortunately, I survived. And guess what?" Allen smiled faintly. "It was the best experience ever."
He stepped back and lowered the dagger but his gaze didn't soften.
"I should kill you here and now but you know what, I won't do it, Darius."
The others let out a breath they hadn't realized they were holding.
Allen turned to leave.
"...But the next time you cross me, don't expect a warning. I will certainly do what I had planned on doing to you."
He walked past the firelight and disappeared into the dark.
Darius collapsed into his seat, trembling. He glanced around, they were all staring back at him in silence.
No one dared to speak.
Not that they didn't have something to say but that they feared he'd face them — putting all the blame on them for doing nothing to help him.
After a while, someone summoned courage and spoke.
"Captain, it's late already and we will be returning home," the man said.
Darius didn't speak immediately but when he did, he rose to his feet and grabbed the man that had spoken on his collar.
"You coward!" He spat, his voice cold. "You let that lowlife, that bastard treathen me without doing anything?"
"Captain, what were we supposed to do?" Someone from behind asked Darius.
"I see..." Darius grunted and released the man he was holding. Pointing his fingers at them, he continued. "I see now, but do not worry. I'll show you all that no one dared to mess with me and go unpunished!" With that he turned and walked away.
After leaving the guild outpost, he looked around and began to head towards one direction. As soon as he arrived at a place more quiet, he heard a chuckle and a figure walked out from the dark.
"I knew you'd come after me," the voice said.
Allen.
"You bastard!" Darius growled, drawing his sword. "You think you are something now, huh? Just because you got lucky and survived?"
Allen didn't flinch. He remained where he stood, arms loosely at his sides, expression unreadable beneath the pale moonlight.
"Survival has nothing to do with luck," Allen replied coolly. "You wouldn't know that, though. You've never been left behind, bleeding and broken, watching monsters tear through your comrades."
Darius tightened his grip on the hilt. "Keep talking like that and you won't live to gloat again."
Allen tilted his head slightly. "Then come."
And that was all it took.
Darius lunged with a shout, blade slicing through the air.
But then Allen vanished completely.
No flash, no burst of speed—just silence. The kind that crawls up your spine when something goes terribly wrong.
A sharp pain stung Darius' wrist, and he gasped, dropping his sword.
Allen appeared behind him, holding Darius's own weapon.
"I don't need this," he murmured, tossing the sword aside with a dull clang. "I just wanted you to feel helpless like I once did, the feeling of being left alone to die."
He spun Darius around and drove a fist into his gut—controlled, but brutal. Darius coughed, collapsing to his knees.
Allen crouched beside him, gaze burning. "You are not my goal, Darius. I do not want to waste my energy on someone like you because you are not worth it."
Darius wheezed, his pride shattered more than his body.
Allen stood and turned away, his cloak rippling behind him. "Stay out of my path. If you don't, I won't just kill you…"
He glanced back over his shoulder, voice colder than the night. "I'll make sure no one even remembers your name."
And then he was gone.
Darius lay on the dirt, shivering—not from pain, but from fear. Not of what Allen was but of what he was becoming.
"You... I'll make you pay for all the humiliation you have caused me today, I swear it! I will make you pay!"