CHAPTER 29: UNKNOWN PLAYER

Stephan was awakened by the noise echoing through his room. He frowned with mild amusement.

"What the hell?" he muttered, getting off the couch.

The racket came from the girl, Yennefer, Anna Mary, and for some reason, his Soul Servant, Grief, too.

He’d given the girls his bed for the night. Grief had chosen to sleep on the floor instead after healing Yennefer and Anna Mary with her soul energy. It didn’t surprise him. Back in the Abyssal Realm, when he’d fought her, she’d used regeneration magic, she’d even regenerated her sword after he shattered it.

So it made sense that both Yennefer and Anna Mary were fully healed. Not a scratch remained. Their flawless skin bore no trace of yesterday’s brutal battle.

"You lost the fight. You don’t get to bath first, bitch," Anna Mary snapped.

"I lost to Stephan, not your scrawny ass," Yennefer shot back. "Don’t forget, I humbled you."

"Huh, that was luck. You caught me off guard."

"I can do it again," Yennefer said, stepping forward.

"Then let’s go," Anna Mary growled. Spartal energy crackled in the air around her.

"Bring it on, bitch." Yennefer’s grimoire flashed into her hands.

Stephan sighed, then finally spoke, not loudly, but with a presence that sliced through the tension like a blade.

"Cut it off."

Just like that, the air went still.

"I’ll bath first," he added, heading for the bathroom.

"Will you be needing my services, my Lord?" Grief asked dutifully.

"You really need to stop asking me that," Stephan muttered as he disappeared inside.

Inside the shower, the water drowned out the girls’ bickering. The noise faded into a muffled hum behind the steam, giving him what he really needed, silence.

Time to think.

He had to understand how much he’d grown since the Abyssal Realm. Yennefer hadn’t been a worthy opponent, that’s why he let Grief handle her. His first obstacle was cleared... for now. But new ones were coming. Maybe they were already here. Watching from the shadows. Stronger than him.

That thought made him clench his jaw.

"How far am I from the top players? I need to know. Damn it."

He looked up, water trickling down his face like tears.

"Give me a sign, Lucidas."

But nothing came.

The system still denied him access to his patron - Lucidas, the Hollow Architect. The one with all the answers. His guide through this tournament. And yet, silence.

Then there was the other problem. The one that twisted beneath his skin, the darkness.

It was spreading.

The bloodlust was growing hotter, swallowing his senses like a fever. It was getting harder to stay in control. To stay... human.

He turned off the shower. Dried off in silence. And returned to the bedroom.

The commotion in the room died instantly as Stephan stepped inside.The girls froze, eyes locking onto him.

It took him a second to realize why. He wasn’t alone anymore. He had grown so used to isolation, he had forgotten the basic courtesy of covering up.

He stood there with nothing but a towel loosely wrapped around his waist.

His body was carved like a war statue, raw, powerful, and untamed. Broad shoulders held a quiet dominance, his chest rising and falling with each breath, every muscle in his torso coiled with latent strength. Veins ran like battle lines down his arms, thick and pulsing beneath skin marred with faint scars, reminders of the Abyssal Realm and the torment he had endured.

There was no softness on him, only the hard-earned resilience of a man shaped by darkness and war.

"Damn," Anna Mary said, biting her lower lip. "You’re a fine-looking man."

"At least that’s one thing we can agree on," Yennefer muttered, color rising in her cheeks despite herself.

"I think you should definitely move out today," Stephan said, walking past them with an unreadable expression.

"Nope. I like it here," Anna Mary replied, her eyes sweeping over the small room. Then she sniffed the air, smirking. "And I like the masculine scent..."

Her gaze slid back to him. "And the human it belongs to."

Stephan ignored her and opened his wardrobe. "Get out. I want to change."

"I’d love to see your..."

"Don’t make me use force," Stephan said flatly.

"You wouldn’t dare lay hands on a woman, would you, Steph?" she teased mockingly.

"No, I wouldn’t," he said, then nodded toward the door. "But Grief would."

Anna Mary pouted but moved. "You’re no fun." She and Yennefer headed off toward the bathroom, their bickering resuming in hushed tones.

Stephan turned, only to see Grief lounging on his bed like a dark queen.

"You too, Grief."

"Would his lordship like me to apply lotion to his body?" she asked with a sly tilt of her head.

He sighed. "Get your ass out."

She stood with a ghost of a smile and closed the door behind her.

Stephan exhaled, finally alone. He ran a hand through his damp hair. "I wonder if soul servants even bathe," he muttered with a chuckle.

Then.

DING!

A sharp chime echoed in Stephan’s ears, the kind only he could hear. His system interface blinked into view, glowing a pale blue across his vision.

[SYSTEM ALERT]

[Mysterious Soul Energy Detected]

[Source: Unknown Player]

[Rank: Undetermined]

[Distance: Approximately seven meters]

[Threat Level: Fluctuating...]

[Signature Pattern: Unregistered. Possibly cloaked or suppressed.]

[Warning: This energy resonates with an unstable frequency — possible Soul Contamination or Cursed Magic detected.]

[Recommendation: Proceed with caution. Surveillance advised.]

The text faded, leaving a faint afterglow behind his eyelids.

Then he felt it.

A powerful aura drifted through the room like a cold wind slithering under a door, uninvited and unannounced. But this was no mere breeze. This presence pressed against his skin like invisible chains, wrapping around his arms, shoulders, and chest, making his muscles tense involuntarily. His breath hitched, as if gravity itself had just doubled.

It wasn’t wild or explosive. It was controlled, measured, and yet impossibly heavy. It carried the chill of death, yet pulsed with restrained vitality. The air grew thick. Not hot or cold but just dense.

It had a scent, too,something metallic, sharp and clean. The kind of scent left behind after a blade is drawn across flesh. Not blood, but the moment before blood spills.

Stephan narrowed his eyes, skin prickling. This was no random player. This one was powerful, undeniably. Not an E-rank, not even close. D or C? Maybe. But that suffocating pressure... that presence,it screamed B-rank, maybe even A.

Stephan’s instincts, sharpened by death and rebirth, told him the truth his mind didn’t want to accept: This was a predator. And they were in its hunting grounds.

He glanced at Yennefer and Anna Mary.

Both girls stood frozen, shoulders stiff, jaws clenched. Yennefer’s usual arrogance had bled from her face, replaced by an almost primal alertness. Anna Mary had taken a half-step back, her fingers twitching slightly as if deciding whether to reach for her spartal magic and disappear from that room.

They felt it too.

Not just the presence,but the message carried in the presence.

"I see you."

Even if it hadn’t been spoken, it was understood.

Grief, ever stoic, had shifted. She now sat cross-legged on the bed, her ghostly form more solid than before. Her spectral eyes glowed faintly, scanning the air like a cat sensing a presence just beyond the veil of visibility.

"This energy..." she whispered. "...is unlike anything I’ve encountered in this realm."

"Where is it coming from?" Anna Mary asked quietly.

Stephan didn’t answer. He was already walking toward the door.

Stephan placed his hand on the doorknob. The moment he pulled it open, the oppressive soul energy that had gripped the room vanished, like smoke whisked away by a breeze.

Gone. Instantly. Utterly.

No one stood outside. Just a quiet, dimly-lit corridor stretching into stillness.The atmosphere shifted. That heavy, suffocating pressure that had coiled around their lungs was gone, replaced by an unsettling calm. The air was lighter, but not comforting. It felt like whatever had been there had simply decided to leave... for now.

Stephan narrowed his eyes, his voice low and sharp.

"What the fuck?" he muttered. "What the actual fuck just happened?"

Someone had been there. No question. Someone powerful. And they had vanished without a trace. Anna Mary rushed to the doorway, her bare feet padding against the floor. Her face was pale, lips parted. She looked at the empty hallway, then to Stephan.

"Where did they go?" she asked, her voice tight. "That presence... who the hell was that?"

Stephan’s lips curved into a slow smile. "That, Anna," he said, eyes still fixed on the hallway, "was what I’d call worthy competition. And whoever it was..."

"They were sending a message," Yennefer finished, stepping beside him. Her eyes scanned the corridor like it might still hold echoes of that soul energy.

Stephan nodded, his expression sharpening with resolve. "Yeah. A warning. A flex."

He turned from the door, letting it swing shut behind him.

"But I won’t be intimidated that easily."