Felix currently had a decent amount of mana, enough to keep using the [Fly] spell and reach Ulgracia without much trouble. However, after crossing the mountains near Ingracia and entering the Kingdom of Filtwood, his pace slowed down.
Filtwood was… underwhelming.
A small kingdom that had barely seen development, it lacked both structure and ambition. At first glance, it was simply boring.
Well, not entirely.
It had bandits. Plenty of them.
At first, that had been mildly entertaining. Small encounters here and there, easy clean-ups, a way to pass time while traveling. But that illusion didn't last long.
It didn't take Felix much time to realize something was off.
Most of these so-called "bandits" weren't desperate criminals or starving peasants.
They were organized.
Disciplined.
Some even wore equipment that clearly didn't belong to common outlaws.
And then it clicked.
They were backed by the nobles. Some were likely part of private armies, disguising themselves as bandits to loot merchants and travelers without consequence.
The moment that realization settled in, the entire kingdom felt… rotten.
"…Yeah, this place is screwed."
He could fix it.
Technically.
With the Nameless Book of Spells, he could wipe out the ruling class overnight. Tear down the system and start fresh.
But that wouldn't solve anything.
It would just create a power vacuum.
Chaos.
Unless he was willing to stay here, invest time, rebuild from the ground up… there was no easy fix.
And Felix wasn't here for that.
So instead of lingering in the cities, he avoided them altogether.
Camping outside had proven far better anyway. His Camp provided more comfort than most inns, and with the Horn O' Plenty, he didn't even need supplies anymore.
There was no reason to stay in cities that smelled like horse dung.
That said, he didn't avoid civilization entirely.
He just chose when to engage with it.
By the time he neared the edge of Filtwood, preparing to cross out of the kingdom, the journey had settled into a quiet rhythm.
Which was exactly why—
The moment he felt it, he stopped.
Surrounded.
Not by a few.
Dozens.
No… close to a hundred.
They appeared almost all at once, emerging from between trees, from shadows that shouldn't have been deep enough to hide anyone.
Every single one of them looked identical.
Dark cloaks draped over their bodies. Hoods pulled low, revealing nothing but a hollow darkness where faces should have been.
In their hands—jet black knives.
And not a single one of them cast a shadow.
"…Well, that's new."
"""Hero of Ancient Times, feel honored that the Shadow King has taken notice of you. Come with us and meet the Shadow King… or perish here in the unnamed forest."""
They spoke in perfect unison.
Not overlapping.
Not echoing.
One voice.
Felix felt a faint chill run down his spine.
Creepy.
But not dangerous.
Not yet.
His senses scanned them instantly.
Weak.
Individually, they weren't even comparable to goblins in Tempest.
If this was all they had—
"…You're really not intimidating enough to make that offer work."
But something felt off.
And then—
Life Analysis from Unique Skill Shaman fed him the answer.
Corrupted lifeforms.
Not quite undead.
But close.
Something… unnatural.
Felix's eyes narrowed slightly.
Interesting.
Without wasting time, he extended his connection to the surrounding environment.
Nature responded instantly.
Roots.
Vines.
Energy flowing through the earth itself.
[Twine Plant]
The ground erupted.
Thick vines burst upward, twisting and coiling around every single one of them, binding arms, legs, torsos—locking them in place before they could react.
The forest itself tightened around them.
Felix stepped forward slightly.
"Now then… who's this Shadow King of yours?"
Silence.
Then—
The vines loosened.
No.
Not loosened.
Passed through.
Every single one of them… dissolved.
Their forms breaking apart into shadows, slipping through the bindings as if they had never been there.
Felix blinked once.
"…Right."
That explained the name.
Only then did he notice it clearly.
They had no shadows.
Not one.
Their bodies were the shadows.
The situation shifted.
Not drastically.
But enough.
"""YOU HAVE DISOBEYED THE ORDER OF THE SHADOW KING. YOU ARE THUS SENTENCED TO DEATH."""
Felix felt it immediately.
A pull.
Subtle, but invasive.
His body lagged slightly.
His movement… delayed.
"…They're controlling my shadow."
That was new.
And mildly annoying.
[Teleportation]
Space folded.
Felix vanished from his position and reappeared several meters away, breaking the connection instantly.
He didn't wait.
Natural's Wreath activated—not as an attack, but as a surge of environmental pressure. Leaves, wind, roots—all shifting violently to disrupt their positioning.
At the same time—
[Holy Aura]
Golden light erupted outward.
Not blinding.
But heavy.
Dense with Hero's Haki.
It didn't explode.
It pressed.
Crushed.
Erased.
The moment it touched them, nearly half of the Shadow Soldiers disintegrated.
No screams.
No resistance.
They simply vanished.
Gone.
"…Effective."
Felix exhaled lightly.
Still calm.
Still controlled.
But the remaining ones—
Adjusted.
Immediately.
They spread out.
No hesitation.
No fear.
Knives flew.
Black streaks cutting through the air.
At the same time, the pressure returned—stronger this time.
Shadow control.
And not just one.
Multiple.
Layered.
Felix moved.
Dodging, stepping, shifting with minimal effort.
[Holy Ray]
Thin beams of concentrated light cut through the forest, piercing multiple enemies at once.
Each hit erased another.
But—
They were adapting.
Some got close.
Too close.
The moment he turned to strike—
They detonated.
Black energy erupted outward, violent and unstable, tearing through the surroundings.
Felix clicked his tongue and teleported again.
"…Annoying."
This was no longer effortless.
Still manageable.
But irritating.
They weren't strong.
They were persistent.
Coordinated.
And disposable.
Felix's expression sharpened slightly.
As he fought, he was already layering seals.
Invisible.
Subtle.
Built into the space itself.
If they were a hivemind—
Cutting communication would cripple them.
That was the plan.
But—
It wasn't working.
He sealed magicules.
Nothing.
He sealed space.
Nothing.
They still moved perfectly in sync.
"…That's not good."
He considered brute-forcing it.
Just overwhelming them with stamina and output.
It would work.
Eventually.
But before he could decide—
It hit.
Hard.
His body froze.
Not completely.
But enough.
Movement became heavy.
Slow.
Like something was dragging him down from within.
The same ability as before—
But magnified.
Hundreds of times stronger.
"Truly worthy of an Ancient Hero… to resist this King's control."
The voice came from above.
Felix turned his eyes.
A figure floated in the air.
Humanoid.
Barely.
Sunken eyes.
Skin cracked, dry—leaking black, viscous fluid from within.
A smile stretched across its face.
Wrong.
Everything about it was wrong.
"Fuck…" Felix muttered under his breath, forcing his body to respond.
It moved.
Barely.
But it moved.
Humanity Unchained held.
His will didn't break.
"Finally… a Shadow Commander. What splendid fortune."
The thing tilted its head slightly, almost… delighted.
Felix stared at it.
Then—
Smiled.
"…Yeah. Not happening."
Without moving his body further—
He triggered it.
The Nameless Book of Spells.
[Tier 10 Spell: Implosion]
Space collapsed inward.
The Shadow King didn't even react in time.
Its body twisted—
Compressed—
And then—
Exploded from within.
Black matter splattered outward, painting the forest in a grotesque pattern.
Silence.
Felix dropped to one knee for a moment, catching his breath.
"…That should've—"
He stopped.
The Shadow Soldiers were still there.
Moving.
Attacking.
"…You've got to be kidding me."
That was his trump card.
Gone.
Used.
And it didn't end it.
A flicker of unease passed through him.
Then—
One of the Shadow Soldiers convulsed.
Its body twisted.
Cracked.
Expanded.
Black fluid leaked through splitting skin.
It grew.
Changed.
Became something closer to that previous form.
But worse.
More unstable.
Eyes hollow.
Body barely holding itself together.
Felix didn't hesitate.
[Teleportation]
He appeared behind it.
One clean swing.
The head fell.
Gone.
But that—
Triggered everything.
The remaining soldiers surged.
Dozens rushing him.
Others—
Running.
In different directions.
Felix's eyes widened slightly.
"…Ah."
He understood.
Sacrifice.
Delay him.
Let one escape.
Let one evolve.
"Yeah… that's bad."
He teleported again, avoiding a chain of self-destructions that tore through the forest.
The ground shattered.
Trees collapsed.
Black energy spread like a stain.
Felix landed on a tree branch, breathing steadily.
His calm was still there.
But now—
It was strained.
"This is turning into a bigger problem than I expected…"
And then—
Another thought surfaced.
Something subtle.
Something wrong.
His luck.
Chosen One.
It had been working.
Slightly.
But against that Shadow King—
Nothing.
No coincidence.
No favorable twist.
No hidden advantage.
"…That's not normal."
He exhaled slowly.
Then the realization hit.
"…An Ultimate Skill."
That was the only explanation.
Something capable of resisting Chosen One.
Something that operated on a higher level.
Felix's grip tightened slightly.
"…Yeah."
That was bad.
Not the worst situation he'd been in.
But definitely not something he could ignore.
The fight wasn't over.
And whatever he was dealing with—
It wasn't just some random threat.
It was something much bigger.
A/n: Before anyone complains about too much AI... It is not really, like other than spacing out lines and making it more dramatic, It's all original. I just wanted the fighting to be more expressive and flashy.
Anyways, how you guys like my Original Character the shadow king.