CHAPTER 88: PROCEEDING TO THE THIRD TRIAL

It fractured in an instant, scattering into two narrow streams of smoke-like darkness that coiled around the blade without resistance.

Riley’s eyes widened slightly as his weapon cut through nothing but air.

"Damn it," he muttered under his breath, teeth clenched.

The two split halves didn’t disperse.

They spun rapidly beneath his arm, twisting around one another like strands of silk—before merging again into a thick, concentrated lance of purplish-black.

Then—

Fwoosh!

It lunged up at him from under his arm, aiming for his ribs.

His body twisted just in time to avoid the full force, but the momentum of the shadows pressed closer, far faster than before.

As if that wasn’t enough—

Ding!

Another notification blinked before him:

[Lunge De-activated!]

[Cooldown till next activation: 20 seconds]

Riley’s expression twitched.

He had activated the skill in hopes of at least taking down one of them, but his attack had failed, and now the skill has gone into cool-down.

With it went a vital twenty percent boost to his speed and mobility. He could feel the shift immediately—his acceleration dipped, his momentum slowed just enough for danger to creep in.

He immediately knew he couldn’t afford this trial to drag on for too long.

If it did, then [Charge] and [Stealth] would also go into cool-down, and within those few seconds, the shadow would surely catch up to him, and he would die.

The five of them kept attacking him all angle, barely leaving him any room to dodge or even escape.

And so—

Boom!

He used it.

The final stack of [Charge]!

Power flooded through his limbs like lightning, muscle fibers bulking as the final surge of strength coursed through his body.

A sharp shockwave blasted out from his feet as the skill activated, pushing back the air around him in an instant.

His eyes sharpened.

His breathing steadied.

The world seemed to slow.

It wasn’t true slow-motion—but everything felt just a little more manageable. The shadows’ wild movements, their sharp curves and whips through the air, suddenly looked a fraction slower.

That fraction was all he needed.

Riley grit his teeth—and moved.

He spun sharply and slashed upward in one smooth motion, aiming for the shadow diving straight down at him.

Fwsssg!

As expected, it split apart again and the attack passed cleanly between its halves.

But this time, Riley had planned for it.

The moment his first swing finished, a second slash erupted a second later—this one invisible.

Shlick!

A sharp ripple of wind tore through the merging shadows.

[Ghost Slash]!

It struck just before the parts could knit themselves back together—flinging the entity violently to the side with a sound like tearing paper and cracking ice.

Splaashh!!

The shadow slammed into the dead ground and splashed like dark water, scattering into rippling puddles.

It writhed on the spot—its mass flickering and wriggling violently, trying to pull itself back together.

But it couldn’t.

Riley didn’t let landing one attack distract him.

With the speed still granted by his final [Charge] stack, he leapt upward, escaping the four other shadows rushing in from every direction.

Boom!

His body launched into the air like a bullet.

Below him—

Splaasshh!

The remaining four shadows crashed into each other, spiraling and flailing, their forms slamming into the earth with a violent splash.

The dark aura sprayed outward in all directions, steaming and crackling as it twisted in pain.

Above it all, Riley flipped once mid-air.

A sharp, controlled backflip—arms drawn in, knees bent tight.

And then—

Thud.

He landed back on the ground, his knees absorbing the impact.

Nonetheless, his eyes never left the bunch of shadows twisted in front of him, and the frown on his face deepened slightly.

A long, thin brown spike suddenly materialized at Riley’s left— its tip sharpened like a javelin made from metal.

Fwoosh!

At the same time, a medium-sized fireball flared to life at his right, swirling with orange heat and flecks of flickering crimson.

He didn’t hesitate.

With a sharp flick of both hands, the two shot forward like missiles.

Shkkk!

The spike pierced clean through one of the sloshing shadows just as it began to pull itself together—impaling it mid-way and halting its reformation.

Boom!!

The fireball collided with another and burst in a small but violent explosion of heat, sending a ripple of searing flames cascading across the rest.

The wave of fire splashed into the unstable masses around it, causing all four of them to screech and hiss as their bodies rippled and twitched uncontrollably.

Riley narrowed his eyes.

He had timed it perfectly—launching the attack right at the moment all four shadows had clumped together in their chaotic attempt to reform.

They were vulnerable.

And he made sure to capitalize on that window.

With a shrill hiss, they burst apart one after another, wriggling on the ground as they tried to come back together.

Riley smirked.

"Serves you right," he muttered coldly.

[You have successfully escaped and struck down the shadow]

[Damage received: None]

[Completion Rating: SSS-rank]

[Congratulations, Player! You have completed the second trial phase with an SSS-rank rating!]

[Proceeding to third trial phase...]

Riley exhaled slowly, his shoulders easing just slightly as the tension in his heart started to fade.

"That was close," he muttered, still catching his breath.

But even with the second phase completed, his expression didn’t ease fully.

Especially not after seeing that last tab.

A subtle chill slid down his spine.

The third trial...

His jaw clenched faintly, and his gaze drifted forward, narrowing at the thick darkness still curling in the corners of the ruined battlefield.

"...What now?" he muttered.

The wriggling shadows on the ground dragged across the ground, clearly being pulled by something.

Riley’s eyes widened in surprise, and the frown on his face deepened in confusion.

He watched as the shadow tendrils passed by his side, moving towards a far end of the field.

More of the purplish black aura seeped out from the ground and even the skies, all floating towards that particular end of the field.

’I don’t have a good feeling about this...’ Riley thought, his brows furrowing.