CHAPTER 41: PERCHEL ZONE 3

"Aren’t you asking too much from us?" Selene Whitmore said, her voice sharp, almost scolding, as her blade danced in a clean arc. The edge shimmered faintly with mana before slicing through the wailing specter lunging at her. Its ghostly body quivered, broke apart, and disintegrated into black ash that scattered like smoke in the damp air.

The battlefield was a dim ruin, cracked stone walls jutting around them like broken teeth. Faint, eerie whispers rose with every breath of wind. From the shadows, yet another specter glided forward, its eyeless face twisted in eternal malice.

"Clara Winslet’s, behind you!" Kael Vi-rel yelled out.

Clara Winslet turned, eyes widening as skeletal claws reached for her. Lightning flared from her staff with a crackle.

" Lightning Bolt!"

The specter screeched as white-blue arcs surged through its body, convulsing until its form collapsed into powder. The remains left behind a faint glow a mana stone that pulsed like a captured heartbeat.

"W-wow..." Clara Winslet blinked, wiping her brow before crouching down. "That’s a whole lot of magic stones." Her voice carried a mix of relief and excitement, childlike in tone. She scooped up the shimmering fragments with both hands, stuffing them into her pouch like she was gathering candy at a festival.

The air shifted.

"Kiiiiiikkkk""Kiiiiiikkkk"

The sound pierced the ruins as a cluster of specters floated into view, their bodies dripping wisps of shadow like spilled ink. Their hollow mouths opened in a chorus of hunger.

Selene Whitmore clicked her tongue, kicking away dust from her boots as she prepared herself again. "It’s a drive hunt. The whole swarm is restless. We take them down, then split the rewards evenly, right?"

"Right," Kael Vi-rel replied curtly. His hand flexed, recalling the weight of his sword before summoning it back from the Codex. The gleaming steel burst into his grip, humming faintly in resonance with his mana.

"Here they come!"

The next wave lunged. Three specters rushed Selene Whitmore. She pivoted smoothly, her dagger flashing. One went down in an instant, cleaved from shoulder to waist. She ducked another swipe and countered with a thrust that pierced its hollow chest.

The third specter almost caught her flank, but Clara Winslet shouted:

"Barrier!"

A hexagonal shield of light sprang up, intercepting the claw mid-swipe. The shield cracked from the force but held long enough for Selene Whitmore to spin and decapitate the monster. Its head rolled, vanished, and turned into dust.

Kael Vi-rel stepped forward, raising his sword with calm precision. He didn’t rush; instead, his Resonance spread outward. Rocks on the ground floated, forming sharp daggers of stone that hovered at his side like a deadly orbit. With a flick of his wrist, they launched.

Shhhk! Shhhk!

Three more specters were impaled midair, collapsing instantly.

Clara Winslet let out a low whistle. "You always look like you’re just strolling, but then boom the battlefield’s clean."

Kael Vi-rel didn’t respond. He was watching the last one. A larger specter hovered at the back, its aura heavier, darker, whispering curses that made the air colder.

"That one’s different." Selene Whitmore’s voice sharpened.

"Leave it," Kael Vi-rel muttered. "I want to test something."

They finished it quickly together Selene cutting, Clara Winslet stunning with lightning, Kael Vi-rel trapping it in levitating chains of stone before striking it down. Its core shimmered darker than the others, pulsing faintly.

As the battle faded, Clara Winslet bent down, her hands busy gathering stones again. "So many... this is enough to buy potions for weeks!" Her eyes sparkled as she worked.

Kael Vi-rel sheathed his sword back into the Codex, its glow fading. "Hold on to the stones. But for this one" he gestured at the darker core"don’t touch it yet."

Selene Whitmore raised a brow. "And what do you plan to do with it? Another one of your secrets?"

Kael Vi-rel smirked faintly. "I’ll show you."

He pulled out a pair of glasses with faint runes etched across the lenses the Vismora Glasses. Placing them on, the world seemed to warp, runes appearing faintly in the air around the core. He crouched, drawing a precise circle into the dirt with glowing lines.

"What now..." Selene Whitmore muttered, folding her arms, though her eyes never left him.

The magic circle flared as Kael Vi-rel placed the specter’s remains within. A hum filled the ruin. Shadows condensed, writhing as if resisting. Then...

Snap.

The darkness compressed, twisting into a small cube of black crystal, faintly glowing. It hovered for a heartbeat before vanishing into his Codex. With a flick of his hand, Kael Vi-rel summoned it back into existence, holding it up.

Ding.

You have captured a Specter in the Codex Sealing Box.

You are able to collect attributes from the captured monster.

A low-level Attribute Stone has been created.

"It’s done," Kael Vi-rel said flatly.

Selene Whitmore blinked. "What the..what did you just do?"

"This." Kael Vi-rel adjusted his glasses. "It’s a skill not meant to be discovered this early in the... storyline. But since we’re ahead, I can use it."

Selene Whitmore’s brow furrowed. "Storyline? What are you.."

Kael Vi-rel cut her off, raising the cube. "The specter’s main attribute is Darkness. And this.." he tapped the cube "is a sealing box. With it, I can extract and transfer those attributes."

"Transfer...?" Selene Whitmore’s voice carried more suspicion than understanding.

"Don’t worry. I’ll show you. Give me your knife."

"My knife?"

"Yes."

Selene Whitmore hesitated before pulling her dagger and handing it over. "If you break it, I’ll cut you myself."

Kael Vi-rel smirked faintly. "Relax. Watch closely."

He inspected the weapon.

Well-Forged Dagger

Grade: [Rare]

Description: A solid blade crafted by a skilled artisan.

Effect: Agility +3 when wielded.

"You can think of this as a early gift," Kael Vi-rel said softly. "For helping me back in the hidden dungeon."

He whispered: "Attributes Transfer."

The cube pulsed. Darkness flowed like liquid smoke, pouring into the dagger. Black runes shimmered across its blade before fading, leaving it sharper, darker, and humming faintly.

Well-Forged Dagger

Grade: [Rare]

Description: A solid blade crafted by a skilled artisan.

Effects:

Agility +4

Darkness Attribute +5

Durability +5%

Darkness Resistance +3%

Kael Vi-rel handed it back. "Not high-level, but useful enough."

Selene Whitmore raised the blade, testing its weight. Her brow furrowed, but she gave it a swing at the nearby stone wall.

Shhhhkkk!

The wall split cleanly in two.

"...Wow." Her lips curved into a grin. "This is better than before."

"You should be careful with that," Kael Vi-rel warned.

Ding.

Main Character Selene Whitmore Favorability has increased.

Kael Vi-rel froze. Wait... did her favorability just go up from a simple gift?

He pulled up the display. His eyes widened.

Main Character Selene Whitmore

Impression of Extra Kael Vi-rel

Reliability: 65

Favorability: 76

Affection: 44(+30)

"What the Selene Whitmore Affection over 50? That can’t be right. That’s... a bug. It has to be."

He muttered to himself, ignoring Selene Whitmore’s raised eyebrow. "People say I look like a goblin. Too ugly to stare at for even a second. A normal person wouldn’t..." He trailed off. "Then again, Selene Whitmore isn’t exactly normal."

"Hey." Selene Whitmore’s voice cut in. "Are you seriously muttering to yourself while I’m right here?"

Clara Winslet meanwhile was still gathering the drop Mana stones of the defeated specters.

Kael Vi-rel glanced toward her, cleaning the Vismora Glasses before checking her stats.

Main Character Clara Winslet

Impression of Extra Kael Vi-rel

Reliability: 67 (+1)

Favorability: 31

Affection: 21 (+1)

"Right... that’s normal. That’s how it’s supposed to be." He sighed. "But isn’t 21 too low? Do I really look that ugly?"

A pang of doubt wormed in his chest. For someone who knew the story, who believed he was just an extra, the numbers hurt more than he expected.

"Did something go wrong?" he muttered, his voice faint. "Am I already breaking the script?"

Selene Whitmore tilted her head, watching him with narrowed eyes. "What’s wrong with him now?"

"I don’t know," Clara Winslet said, her tone unusually cold.

"Take heart, Master Kael Vi-rel!" Hay, the hovering drone, buzzed happily above his shoulder, its cheer cutting through his gloom.

Kael Vi-rel groaned. "Easy for you to say..."