They began to disperse. Mu He and one more person went one way, the rest headed another. I didn't need to go to the Mu family villa, so I followed the other group. They took off their robes, got into cars, and headed to a two-story mansion on the outskirts of the city. The mansion's territory was fenced with a high wall, and windows were tightly covered with thick curtains. No one was visible on the territory.
Everyone got out of the cars and went inside, where they moved a wardrobe and descended into a basement hidden from outsiders.
"Whose house is this?" one asked.
"Bai Yang's, one of our brothers; he serves in the local military garrison."
"Alright then."
Everyone settled on bunks in this basement and typical daily activity began. I listened to their conversations, which turned out to be ordinary chatter and gossip. The two in blue were the Deacon's confidants who would conduct the ceremony that would become the Bo City disaster.
When one of the grey robes was sent to the store, I attached myself to his shadow. It was already late evening. He moved quickly and ran for groceries. He exited the house and stopped at a traffic light, standing there alone while a truck was driving fast down the road. Emerging from his shadow, I pushed him under the wheels, quickly hiding back.
The truck was an imported, loaded semi. I pushed when it was almost level with the bastard. I doubt the driver noticed me in the dark, let alone being able to brake.
The heavy machine collided with the magician at full speed; he didn't have time to react at all. As if in slow motion, I watched the body break and get smeared across the smooth asphalt. Then it moved under the wheels, jumping slightly as the wheels took turns leaping over the broken body. A wheel hit the head; the sound of a bursting ball was heard. Grey brain matter from the burst head sprayed the area.
The operation was successful. One down. In the mansion remained two Advanced Magicians and three lackeys, plus Bai Yang and two from the Mu family. Heaven knows how they'll react to their own being killed. So they need to be removed gradually. I won't even try to strike Advanced Magicians. I'm not in that league. But as they say, the small tend to grow. That's exactly why they shouldn't be offended. And they wanted to offend, and how. Too bad I can't place marks yet. But apparently, Shadow marks are easily felt by Light magicians, and those are everywhere. So for now, only observation and, if possible, elimination.
I cultivated in the source of madness for another three weeks, and today I felt that the magic in the water had completely faded. After filling a couple of small jars for experiments, I dove directly to its center. Swimming about four meters deep, I felt the point of energy concentration. My amulet began to heat up and jerk on my finger with such force it almost flew off.
The source began to slowly be drawn into my ring. Luckily, as a magician, I can hold my breath longer without air. About five minutes later, the source was fully absorbed. Quickly leaving the cave, I headed to the construction site. The breakthrough could take a considerable amount of time and I couldn't be distracted. No one would give me another source. And Black Order members could come to the cave at any moment.
Moving to the basement at the abandoned construction site, I sat in a meditation pose. I had reached the boundary a couple of days ago and had been only drawing energy from the source since then.
The energy boiling within me overflowed; the ring generously sent purified magic waves into my spiritual world.
Catching this energy, I began to direct and concentrate it on my boundary to the Intermediate level. Waves crashed against it, gradually loosening and stretching it like a soap bubble about to burst. This continued for a long time, and then I felt the ring signaling me to prepare. Intense pain already tormented my soul; the entire inner world was literally groaning with pain. Then a denser, more concentrated wave of energy erupted from the amulet. I understood it would be the last and put all remaining spiritual strength into it. The wave hit the boundary and a deafening crack was heard as the boundary began to crumble. A huge stone fell from my soul, the pain almost receded, and I felt a sense of deep satisfaction and relief. My Stardust rearranged into a Nebula; forty-two dark-purple stars ran chaotically around a large star, and only seven of them smoothly rotated in their orbit.
In that moment I was so happy I was ready to hug and kiss the whole world, even the vile Black Order members—later I'd kill them, of course, but first I'd kiss them.
Checking the time, I realized I had been sitting there for more than a day; it was now deep night. There were almost no people on the street. This area wasn't considered safe, and walking here after dark was not recommended. On the way, some thug-looking guy wanted to ask me something. Without stopping my smile, I hit him in the face with my fist; he fell and went quiet, and I walked on with a light, slightly dancing step, still smiling. His friends quickly scattered. Why scream so much? What demons could there be on such a beautiful moonlit night?
I returned to the dorm toward morning. Without even undressing, I fell onto the bed, and as soon as my head touched the pillow, I fell asleep.
The next morning the feeling of euphoria left me. The spiritual world was still trembling from the tension, but I could already cultivate. At the Intermediate level of the Shadow element, I'll have an attack—Shadow Spike. Piercing the opponent's shadow, it immobilizes them. At the second tier, a second spike will appear, attacking the mind; the opponent won't be able to cast spells or even think. The third tier is the most lethal; the third spike hits the inner world and, if staying there long enough, destroys the inner world and cultivation. Very cruel magic, but it's mine. So it's beautiful—just the thing for executing Black Order bastards.
Settling comfortably, I began to cultivate. Soon this magic will be useful to me. I also need to make time for synthesizing the source of madness.
So much to do, so much to do, where to find time for everything.
Two weeks later. Bai Yang, a Basic Summoner, ran through the forest in panic. His eyes expressed terror. He was on standard patrol near Xuefeng Fortress. Suddenly he fell into some dark substance. Not understanding what happened, he panicked. Just over six months ago he had lost his summoned creature. Of course, he summoned a new one, but it was much weaker than his old dark magic wolf, into which a huge amount of resources had been invested.
And what scared him most was that he couldn't summon magic; he formed the star path, but the ready magic immediately began to dissipate.
Suddenly he was literally thrown outside. He lay on the ground trying to catch his breath. Looking up, he saw a guy in a black cloak looking at him with cold eyes.
"You're that bastard whose fault my magic beast was killed, Li Kai. What the hell do you want? Why did you kidnap me?"
"Just decided to crush one Black Order mutt."
"What? How do you know? Are you one of us?"
"You're mistaken. I am your executioner."
"What pathetic speech is this, kid?"
"Well, no one will know anyway, so I might as well practice."
"You're going to die anyway." Saying this, he formed the summoning star path. From a white portal emerged a magic wolf, a middle-tier Servant.
Snatching a vial, I doused the beast with water. The previously green eyes of the magic wolf began to turn the color of blood. Waving at them, I sank into the shadow.
Bai Yang tried his best to maintain control but couldn't. A wild roar erupted. And Bai Yang ran. He tore through the forest, seeing no obstacles, only one thought in his head: he must survive. If even schoolboys knew about their ceremony, surely the Magic Court was behind it and knew everything. To think a Summoner would be mauled by his own summoned beast. A story worthy of a joke. He tried to send it back to the Summoning Dimension, but it broke control with sheer bloodlust.
A heavy blow hit the Summoner's back. He flew forward and plowed the ground with his nose, scraping his face on the debris. Just as he managed to lift his bloody face, a small twig was sticking out of his eye. Huge jaws closed on his shoulder, lifting him a meter and shaking him violently left and right. Now he could be saved by the Cursed Beasts created in the Black Order, but they were promised closer to the ceremony. Powerful magicians, which Zhang Kong—Bai Yang's direct superior—undoubtedly was, could feel them. And no one wants to risk such trifles.
There was no one to save military instructor Bai Yang, the Basic Summoner who once had great hopes placed on him, but he got stuck at the Basic level and joined the Black Order out of hopelessness.
The wolf shook him for some time, threw him aside, and jumped on top again, grabbing his neck. After several jerks, a crack was heard and blood sprayed. A head with long, blood-clumped bangs rolled slowly from the cold body. In the eyes was forever etched resentment toward the whole world, and the mouth was open in a silent scream.
Stopping, the wolf raised its head and let out a sound of heartbreaking pain from the death of its contractor, whom it had killed in a fit of madness.
It began to be sucked back into the Summoning Dimension and soon disappeared.
Emerging from the shadow, the magician surveyed his handiwork and smiled, looking at the distorted face on the torn head.
"A dog's death for a dog."
The guy spoke softly and, diving back into the shadow, headed away from the scene of the tragedy. As a source of information, Bai Yang was no longer needed; he had already found out enough by tracking and twice infiltrating the enemy's secret base. Of course, they might change location now, so I need to watch where they move. For I have only just begun.
***
Taking control of the Shadow stars took several months. The third year of study had long since arrived. The most memorable event was my second awakening.
During the first lesson after the entrance ceremony, first-year students always awaken magic. Excusing myself for the day, I waited outside one of the doors and listened to the freshmen awakening, even feeling a bit nostalgic while waiting for the lesson to end. Afterward, the teacher put the awakening orb in a special box and took it to the principal, who put all boxes in a storage room in his office and locked it.
During all this time I moved through shadows behind the teacher. Waiting for the principal to leave, I emerged from the shadow and opened the coveted box. There lay the awakening orb! Good thing I can awaken unnoticed; in a few hours, the stones will be taken back to the Magic Association—today was my only chance.
Deciding, I placed my hand on the awakening orb and entered my spiritual world.
Besides the two already familiar stars, two more began to form. The first star was light-grey, and the second was milky-white. Unexpected! Very unexpected!
After the first awakening, I thought I had a leaning toward dark magic, so I expected Necromancy with Curse, or standard Elemental. But to awaken Light magic and Dimensional magic—specifically Spirit and Summoning—was completely unexpected. Honestly, I thought those who awakened dark elements would never awaken light magic. Summoning is fine, but where did Spirit come from? Or did my ring tweak something?
In any case, I'm glad! Both are very strong elements. With them, I can achieve much.
During these months, besides Shadow cultivation, I mastered all seven Summoning stars; after all, at the Intermediate level your cultivation isn't limited to a couple of hours. You can cultivate all day long. And while cultivating I thought a lot. Mo Fan's wolf was a pure fighter like its owner; such tactics don't suit me since I don't have destructive magic and mostly use strikes from the shadow. That's the kind of beast I need! A silent killer, killing enemies from ambush. Stealthy and lethal.
And I chose it.
The Six-Eyed Sand Spider. A low-tier Servant from birth, it has great growth potential. It lives mainly in African deserts, specifically the Sahara. A natural enemy of sand scorpions, it is good at camouflage. The peculiarity of this spider lies in its venom, which causes real terror among pharmacists. The toxin causes tissue rupture and necrosis, destruction of red blood cells and vessels. Currently, no effective treatment for a Six-Eyed Sand Spider bite exists.
My first poison is somewhat similar to what these spiders use. So I think we'll get along. Moreover, evolving to Warrior level, this spider begins to intuitively control Shadow magic and is capable of setting ambushes in it.
Just a perfect summon for me. The main thing is to find them in the Summoning Dimension. For this, I ordered a sample of its venom from the union. I had to pay two hundred and fifty thousand for one gram. But if I can find it, it will pay off all losses. For like Mo Fan, I plan to develop not only the contract creature but also the summoned one to the cap.
Right now I'm heading to the union to pick up my venom package. I explained to everyone that the venom is for pharmaceutical experiments. Good thing Deng Kai doesn't pry much into my business, letting me develop independently.
Picking up the venom, I headed to the border of the safe zone. There's a clearing I noticed during scouting missions. It's practically impossible for monsters to get to; it's surrounded by a swamp on one side and a rocky ridge on the other.
Pricking myself under the lip with a needle slightly dipped in the venom, I felt only a slight tingling. Waiting a bit more and realizing the venom doesn't affect me, I entered my inner world. A barely noticeable foreign inclusion appeared on the main Poison star. Isolating and synthesizing it, I sent it to the fifth Poison star. "Two free slots left," I thought with a smirk.
Drinking the rest of the venom, I was back in the inner world. Isolating all the spider venom in my body, I sent it to the main Summoning star, launching search parameters. The venom was no longer a material thing but particles of energy into which my body had broken it down. While the main Summoning star digested the feed, I formed the star path and headed directly from the inner world to the Summoning Dimension.
I flew quickly over mountains and forests. In the Summoning Dimension, I was non-material, like a spirit. I was pulled like a kite on a string to a place known only to God in this huge world. I began to slow down. A desert passed beneath me. Stopping near a sand dune, I saw nothing as far as the eye could see except sand and scorching sun.
Walking around the dune, I was attacked by the one I sought. In an instant sand surged upward, and from this suspension flew a light-grey shadow that passed through my projection at high speed. Flying five more meters, the spider landed on all eight legs and, quickly moving them, tried to attack me again; this time two front legs flew through me like two blurred streaks. The spider was so fast I only managed to see its blurred silhouette. Realizing it couldn't catch me for dinner, it stopped a couple of meters from me, not taking its steady gaze of six black eyes off me. Its body was small, about half a meter including the abdomen. Grey, steel-tinted chelicerae were wet with venom. Eight thin, long legs held its position firmly; it seemed not to have moved a millimeter since stopping. Their thin tips were slightly darker but also had a steel sheen. As far as I knew, they were so strong that attacking artifacts were made from them. Small hairs barely moved on its body. These hairs were its camouflage. They easily changed color, letting the spider blend with the terrain.
It was an ideal hunter and stealthy killer. Fortunately, these individuals are quite rare in our world. Had their reproductive system been more developed, it would have been a catastrophe.
Approaching the frozen monster, I called the Poison element, focusing on the fifth star. Poison energy akin to this species appeared around my right hand. The spider moved slightly closer and froze again.
Forming the Summoning stars, I created a contract seal, sending the intent to hunt together along with it.
Approaching, the seal froze over the spider's head; it was in no hurry to accept the contract. Then I released my aura, which I had always hidden until then. The small space was covered by the pressure of an Intermediate Magician. The spider immediately crouched down, instantly accepting my contract.
I immediately felt our connection, as if I had another limb I couldn't control, only project my desires to. Sending the desire to catch prey to the spider again, I moved back to my world.
Forming the summoning path, a grey portal opened before me, and my summoned beast emerged.
It's an indescribable feeling—one thing to fight monsters, and quite another when this power of nature belongs to you. Owning even the coolest and fastest car doesn't compare to owning one of the most dangerous Servant-level monsters in the world. This little girl—yes, by making the contract I realized it's a girl—is capable of snapping all the rat demons and wolves in this forest like seeds. Of course, a crowd or a Warrior-level monster could defeat her, but one-on-one, this peak of evolution in terms of killing is capable of defeating any Servant.
Placing a hand on my companion, I sank into the shadow with her. Moving over the pass, I headed to the nearest habitat of rat demons. In the shadow I could develop quite high speed, about sixty kilometers per hour. For my old self, this would have cost astronomically much energy, but after the breakthrough to Intermediate, my spiritual capacity grew about ten-fold. Now, just being in the shadow, my reserves replenish faster than they are spent, so I don't have to leave the Shadow Dimension at all. But then I saw our target ahead.
Emerging outside the range of its senses, I passed the direction and the image of a Colossal Rat to the spider. Blending with the terrain, she dashed up a tree trunk without even moving a leaf. Sinking into the shadow, I slid up to the rat and watched the show.
Nothing happened at all! It was impossible to notice the spider even knowing it was there. One moment no one was there, the next she was on the rat's back, piercing its limbs and pinning it to the ground, while razor-sharp chelicerae pierced the nape and plunged into the flesh, generously injecting venom into the victim. After a few seconds of death throes, the rat went still.
Releasing her victim, the spider ran back to me. Through our link I felt she really wanted to keep the prey; in the desert, she rarely managed to get such nutritious food.
"I'll name you Shelob"—that's the huge spider from Lord of the Rings. She stood there not understanding what was wanted. Sighing, I pointed my hand at her seal and generously shared energy. Thanks to this energy, summoned monsters can evolve. Shelob liked this action much more than receiving some strange name.
Sending the intent to send her back and that she could take the prey with her, I formed the summoning star path, opening the portal.
Shelob picked up the rat carcass quite easily despite the difference in size. In a couple of seconds, quickly rotating it, she wrapped it in webbing and dove into the portal, dragging the prey behind her.
Standing for a couple of seconds and marveling at the perfectly chosen name, I headed back to the city. Remembering how the original Shelob wrapped Frodo Baggins in a cocoon in exactly the same way.