With his new rank and better equipment, Arlen turned his focus to the mystery that had haunted him since awakening in this world: the name whispered by the System—Shadow Seeker. The title felt both familiar and enigmatic, and he knew that understanding it might be the key to unlocking his true potential.
Rivenford's bustling streets were filled with opportunity, and its great library was among the largest in the region. Arlen visited often, scouring dusty tomes and ancient scrolls, asking questions of wizened scholars and gossipy townsfolk. He also kept an ear open in the guild hall, listening to tales exchanged between old adventurers over mugs of ale.
Piece by piece, the puzzle came together. Among the stories and records, Arlen found scattered references to the Shadow Seekers—a secretive order from centuries past. According to legend, Shadow Seekers were warriors and mages who walked between light and darkness, tasked with hunting down forbidden creatures and rooting out corruption that threatened the world. They were said to possess unique abilities: blending into shadows, reading hidden truths, and wielding magic that ordinary adventurers could not.
But the order was gone, dissolved in the aftermath of a great catastrophe. Some whispered that Shadow Seekers had become too powerful, others that they vanished to keep their knowledge from falling into the wrong hands.
The library's oldest keeper, a stooped man with a lantern jaw, noticed Arlen's interest. "Strange, that a young adventurer would ask about the Shadow Seekers," he murmured. "Their ways are not for the faint of heart. If you seek their path, beware: to chase shadows is to risk being consumed by them."
Arlen thanked him and retreated to a quiet corner, mind racing. The System had chosen to call him Shadow Seeker for a reason. Perhaps it was a destiny or a legacy intertwined with his own journey. Whatever the answer, Arlen knew that to master his powers and truly help this world, he would need to continue searching for the truth behind the order—and for what it meant to walk the path of a Shadow Seeker.