After making up his mind, Vega immediately began to channel the mental energy within his body, focusing his life force until only a single thought remained: the ability and pattern of the Ghost Mask. As his mental qi drained steadily, Vega's palm slowly raised, and a pale black, ghostly mask materialized in his hand.
Seeing the mask truly take form, a smile crept onto Vega's face, excitement flickering in his eyes. "My vision worked."
"No, don't get too excited," he cautioned himself, calming down. "Manifesting the mask is just the first step. Now I need to test its abilities and strengthen it to see its true power."
Once the excitement faded, he carefully placed the mask over his face. It fit perfectly, covering his entire face without feeling cumbersome or uncomfortable. "This is surprisingly comfortable. Now, let's test what this mask can do."
Concentrating, Vega directed his thoughts toward the mask. In an instant, a black shadow flashed before his eyes, and he felt a sharp drain on his mental energy — a sign the Ghost Mask had activated.
Had he summoned a Ghost Warrior?
He scanned the area but saw nothing at first. "How is this possible? I clearly felt the summoning," Vega muttered, frowning. Slowly lowering his gaze, he finally spotted something: a small, three-inch tall black figure standing quietly at his feet.
He bent down and picked up the miniature humanoid figure.
Despite his expectations, the tiny ghost warrior had no real strength — at best, it could defeat a few ants. Vega shook his head, somewhat disappointed, and removed the mask.
Looking at the Ghost Mask in his hand, he took a deep breath and thought, "Now, it's time to strengthen the mask's power."
Focusing all his thoughts on the mask, he accessed the information about it:Embodied Ghost Mask: Grants the ability to summon ghost warriors.
Without hesitation, Vega poured all his experience points into enhancing the mask.
"Ding! Enhancement +1.""Ding! Enhancement +2.""Ding! Enhancement +3."
Over thirty experience points vanished in moments, but the Ghost Mask was successfully enhanced to +3 — its power significantly increased.
The grenade he had strengthened earlier showed only a slight power increase, but now, the mask's power had multiplied dozens of times. Vega's face lit up with excitement as the once simple and crude mask transformed into an exquisite masterpiece, glowing with an aura of power.
"Let's see how much stronger this makes the effect," Vega said, putting the mask back on.
Immediately, a cool sensation swept over him, and a rush of information flooded his mind. He sensed several creatures radiating energy nearby. Suddenly, three or four tall, shadowy figures appeared around him. Their faces were hidden in darkness, but their fierce punches and kicks clearly showed they were stronger than ordinary people.
Vega also sensed there were even more shadow warriors inside the mask, waiting to be summoned, but his mental energy was limited.
"Four ghost warriors are enough for now," he decided.
At that moment, the bar's door was violently thrown open. More than a dozen heavily armed men in suits with fierce expressions strode out, each carrying weapons at their waists. Vega immediately recognized the Shelby family's crest on them.
"They're here!" he said, a malicious smile curling his lips. "Let them witness the birth of the Ghost Mask."
"Go! Destroy them all — leave no one alive!" he ordered, tossing several firearms and grenades to the shadow warriors.
The black shadows caught the weapons effortlessly and surged toward the door without hesitation.
"Bang! Bang! Bang!" The shadow warriors fired relentlessly, bullets tearing into the Shelby gang.
One shadow warrior grabbed two grenades, darting through obstacles. Just meters away, he pulled the pins and charged into the crowd.
"No! Run!" The Shelby gang scattered in panic, but it was too late.
Boom!
The explosion wiped out most of the dozen gang members. Taking advantage of the chaos, the remaining shadow warriors opened fire, quickly eliminating all survivors.