Three days left until the ability exams.
"I need teleportation before the exam," I said aloud. "If I want to make this lie real, I have to earn it."
From the shadows, the Nethrak slithered into view, his body forming like smoke folding into fabric. His crooked grin returned.
"You're finally ready to talk properly," the Nethrak said, emerging from the wall like smoke folding into shape. "What do you want?"
"If I wanted to gain teleportation," I said slowly, "what could I sacrifice?"
The Nethrak tilted his head, eyes gleaming. "All your mana."
I raised an eyebrow. "That's it?"
He chuckled. "You'd have to sacrifice all of it… seven times. And even then, you'd barely touch the threshold. You don't have that kind of time."
"Then what can I give?"
The Nethrak's grin faded. "Monsters. Dungeon beasts are filled with mana. If you harvest and sacrifice their bodies, you might have enough."
"Monsters?" I muttered. "I can't go into a dungeon alone. I'm just a student."
"And last time," I added, "the Titan sensed me the moment I entered. It tried to kill me."
The Nethrak stepped closer. "It didn't want to kill you. It wanted to imprison you. It can track the Eyes of the Unknown, and by extension, me."
He paused.
"But if we hide the Eyes of the Unknow — just temporarily — you'll be invisible to it."
I looked up. "hide it ,how?"
He raised his hand, two pale lights flickering behind him. "By sacrificing two of my kind."
Two Nethrak emerged from the wall. Their forms were weaker, less defined — like fading silhouettes. They didn't speak. They didn't resist.
"Two sacrifices for two days," he said. "You'll lose the Eyes of the Unknown temporarily, and with it, your signature. The Titans won't be able to find you."
I stared at the two figures, jaw clenched. "Are you sure about this?"
"They know what's at stake," he said. "Besides, I'm their only way back to the Hollow Realm. If they defy me… I'll wait until you die, and we all rot here."
His voice dropped, almost like a whisper. "I don't care about going back anymore. I have another plan. But I still want revenge."
I nodded. "Let's do it."
He drew a circle on the ground. The glowing glyphs flared as the ritual began. The two Nethrak figures knelt at its edge, dissolving slowly into streaks of energy — screaming silently as they were consumed.
Their essence flowed into the circle, then into me. My body shivered as the connection broke.
The Eye of the Unknown dimmed.
I felt... lighter. Empty. Alone.
"It's done, in the next day your magic eyes will turn normal which means you can't see us anymore" he said.
"wait, how will i sacrifice them "
"you don't need to, just use a storage ring to store the corpses and bring it to me" he said.
"ok. Now one more thing."
He raised an eyebrow.
"I need to enter the dungeon. I can't go as a student. I need to look older — like a freelance hunter."
The Nethrak chuckled. "Ah, shapeshifting. That's much easier… but still comes with a price."
"What do I have to give?"
"An object imbued with meaning. Emotional value increases its mana weight."
I stood up, looking around my room. My eyes landed on a dusty frame on my desk. A photo of my middle school friends. People I hadn't seen in over a year. People I once trusted.
I picked it up.
"This," I said.
The Nethrak touched it. The glass cracked. The frame disintegrated in his hand.
A pulse of energy moved through me. My shoulders straightened. My jaw tightened. My voice — deeper. My entire presence shifted.
I stepped toward the mirror.
The face staring back wasn't quite mine anymore.
---
That night, I left the house.
Clad in dark clothes, a hood pulled low over my brow, I stepped into the city streets unnoticed. My steps were quieter. My aura unfamiliar. I wasn't Han Jihoon — not anymore.
As I turned the corner into a quiet alley, the Nethrak whispered behind me.
"You know what to do."
I nodded once.
This wasn't about showing off.
It was about making a lie real.
---
Then let's begin, the Nethrak said.
From behind him, the glyph shimmered again. My first real sacrifice was done.
And the hunt had begun.