Ren stared at the rusted dagger in Kai's hand and laughed. It was a dry, incredulous sound.
"You?" Ren smirked, pulling out his own short swords. They were polished steel, easily worth two grand. "You think you can take me with that piece of scrap metal? I'm a Level 8 Scout. You're just a—"
Kai moved.
He didn't run. He exploded forward.
His Agility stat, boosted by the Level Ups from the Naga fight, was now far beyond that of a standard E-Rank hunter.
Ren's eyes widened. He tried to raise his swords, but his body couldn't keep up with his brain.
Kai stepped inside Ren's guard. His left hand clamped over Ren's mouth, stifling the scream before it could start.
His right hand, holding the rusted dagger, moved with surgical precision.
[Active Skill: Vital Strike]
SHHK.
A wet, tearing sound echoed in the quiet tunnel.
The blade severed the carotid artery and the windpipe in one clean motion.
Ren's body went rigid. His eyes bulged, staring at Kai in pure shock. He gurgled, blood foaming between Kai's gloved fingers.
"Shh," Kai whispered, his eyes cold and unblinking behind the mask lenses. "Don't struggle. It's faster this way."
He held Ren upright until the struggling stopped. Until the light faded from the scout's eyes.
Then, he let the body slide heavily to the floor.
[You have killed a Human (E-Rank).]
[Experience Gained: 200]
[System Notice: Killing humans yields less EXP than monsters.]
Kai ignored the notification. He wasn't here for EXP.
He stood over the corpse. The blood was pooling rapidly, staining the limestone floor dark red.
Kai extended his hand. The mana inside his core churned, responding to the Authority of the Monarch.
"Arise."
WOOOOSH.
The blood on the floor seemed to boil. Black smoke erupted from the corpse, swirling violently. Two glowing blue eyes ignited within the darkness.
A hand, composed of pure shadow, clawed its way out of Ren's chest. Then a head. Then a torso.
In seconds, a shadow doppelganger of Ren stood before Kai. It held shadowy versions of the twin short swords.
[Extraction Success!]
[Shadow Infantry: Scout (Grade E) obtained.]
[Mana: 170/200]
The Shadow Scout knelt on one knee, lowering its head in absolute submission.
Kai studied his new soldier.
It was impressive, but there was a problem.
The shadow was... too black. It looked like a silhouette cut out of the fabric of reality. Vapors of darkness drifted off its shoulders. No skin, no clothes, just void.
"I can't use you as a decoy in the light," Kai muttered. "Jack isn't smart, but he's not blind."
He checked his skills.
[Shadow Storage]: Can store soldiers in the user's shadow.
"Hide," Kai commanded. "Stay in the wall. Move through the darkness. When I give the signal... aim for the legs."
The Shadow Scout nodded wordlessly and melted into the tunnel wall, becoming a flat, moving patch of darkness.
Kai looked down at himself. He was too clean.
He took a deep breath, then ripped the sleeve of his hoodie. He bent down, smeared Ren's warm blood over his chest and the respirator mask.
Then he sprinted back toward the fork, deliberately breathing hard, forcing his heart rate up.
He needed to sell the performance of a lifetime.
[The Fork - Left Tunnel Entrance]
Jack was swearing.
"Where is that damn chest? The sound came from right here!"
He slashed his sword against the wall in frustration. The "Blue Glow" turned out to be just a patch of bio-luminescent moss. No treasure. No mana crystals.
"Captain..." the Mage said nervously. "We should go back. Splitting up feels wrong."
"Shut up! I know what I'm do—"
"CAPTAIN!!"
A scream tore through the tunnel.
Jack spun around.
He saw the "Thief" (Kai) stumbling out of the Right Tunnel, covered in blood, waving his arms frantically.
"Help! Help!" Kai wheezed, falling to his knees as he reached them. His voice was thick with panic. "Monster... Elite... It got Ren!"
"What?" Jack's face paled. "Ren is dead?"
"Instant kill!" Kai gasped, pointing a trembling finger back into the dark. "It... it bit his head off! I barely escaped! It's coming!"
Jack gripped his broadsword. His greed was instantly replaced by survival instinct. If an Elite Monster could one-shot a Level 8 Scout, it was dangerous.
But then, Jack looked at the shivering, pathetic figure of Kai.
The fodder survived, but the Scout died?
"Useless trash," Jack spat. "Get behind me. Mage! Shield up! Healer, buff me!"
"Yes, sir!"
The team scrambled into combat formation.
Jack stood at the front, eyes locked on the darkness of the Right Tunnel, waiting for a monster that didn't exist.
Behind him, Kai cowered near the wall.
Under the blood-smeared respirator, Kai's lips curved up.
He tapped his finger against the stone wall.
Tap.
In the darkness above Jack's head, a pair of blue spectral eyes opened.
（"Enjoying the massacre? Drop a Power Stone to feed the Clone Army!"）