Hunter Of The Six Realms

Everyone around who'd been watching, their jaw dropped in surprise, they'd just witnessed Guild master Ardan act so humbly before someone, the first one ever. Yeah he was supposed to treat Dragos with respect for being a capital void rank hunter, but not to the point of calling him master or bowing his head before him.

Dragos stood up from the chair and walked up to Ardan. The guards tensed for a moment, wondering what was about to happen. Dragos still had his brows furrowed in a deep frown. Carefully, he placed his hand on Ardan's shoulder, then tapped gently.

"I'll let you off this once, my dear student. It's been a long time hasn't it?"

Ardan nodded, still looking down. "Yes master, it's been ten years."

"I didn't expect you'd become a guild master, I mean...you were my worst student." Drogen said, laughing loudly, his tone mocking. He tapped again on Ardan's shoulder before finally going to seat back in his chair.

And once again, his expression turned cold. "Let's begin, tell me...what exactly is that beast I heard about."

---

The Dungeon Master's grip crushed harder, ribs threatening to snap. Pain flared in his chest like someone was driving nails into him, but Kaizen ignored it. His focus locked on the threads.

He followed one in his mind, feeling the cold, twisting energy running through it. The sensation was strange—like his own shadow power, but heavier, older, corrupted.

The knight at the other end jerked again, its head snapping toward the Dungeon Master as if confused.

Kaizen smirked through gritted teeth.

"Let's see how you like it when someone else plays puppeteer."

He didn't just tug the thread this time—he yanked.

The knight shot to its feet with unnatural speed, its sword whipping upward. The blade drove straight into the back of the Dungeon Master's knee joint.

CRACK.

A deep fracture split the stone, and the giant statue roared. Its grip on Kaizen loosened just enough for him to twist free.

He hit the floor hard, rolled, and came up already moving. His shadows surged toward the broken knee, wrapping tight like chains, pulling the leg out from under the monster.

The Dungeon Master dropped to one knee. The impact rattled the floor, dust falling from the high ceiling.

Kaizen wasn't done.

Another thread pulsed in his mind. He pulled two this time.

Two fallen knights staggered upright, their movements stiff and jerky. They rushed forward, swords hacking at the statue's side, chipping away at the stone plates.

The Dungeon Master swung its massive blade in a wide arc, cleaving one of them clean in half, but the distraction was enough.

Kaizen lunged in, shadows spiraling around his daggers, forming jagged serrations along the blades. He stabbed deep into the cracked knee joint and ripped upward, stone shards exploding out in a gritty spray.

The leg gave way completely.

The Dungeon Master toppled sideways, slamming into the ground with a sound like an avalanche.

Before it could recover, Kaizen sprinted along its fallen body, heading for the neck. The shadows surged with him, stabbing into every gap in the armor they could find, pinning the monster's arms and chest.

He reached the head, both daggers raised.

"End of the line."

He plunged the blades down into the narrow gap between the helmet and the chest plate.

A sickening crunch followed by a deep, muffled crack.

The dark mist burst from the statue's body in a violent rush, the threads snapping one by one like overstretched wires. The knights collapsed instantly, lifeless.

The Dungeon Master twitched once… then went still.

Kaizen stood there, breathing hard, shadows curling restlessly around him like they were hungry for more.

He'd won, he had really cleared this level... right? The system blinked new texts before his eyes.

[LEVEL 1 HAS BEEN SUCCESSFULLY CLEARED.]

[500 POINTS HAVE BEEN REWARDED TO YOUR ACCOUNT.]

[WOULD YOU WISH TO ADVANCE TO THE NEXT LEVEL?]

500 points just for clearing level one? That's a damn lot. I should save up more to purchase the red lily poisonous dagger.

"No." He replied flatly, breathing heavily. If level one was this hard to clear, level two would definitely be more difficult, and he might not make it out without getting killed one more time which he didn't want. He needed to level up more, if would get to at least level 8 before he tries advancing.

"Activate evacuation."

Once he uttered the words, the world around him shifted, and he was back again to where the door had first appeared. He breathed in the fresh air as he placed his hands into his pockets. "I should head to the guild, I feel like something good is waiting for me."

---

Isabella exhaled softly before knocking on the door once again, she hadn't seen him for so long she felt like she might suffocate from missing him too much. Since he wouldn't come, she decided to find him, still dressed as a boy.

After a moment of waiting, she heard his voice call from behind her, "who are you?"

Her heart skipped a bit as she turned hurriedly to find him standing there, looking taller than she remembered. She was sure he'd be taller than her now.

"You..."

"Yuno? Why are you here?" Kaizen asked walking towards her with a surprised expression, he never had friends so no one ever came to his house. And what was she of all people doing here.

"I...i just came to ask why you haven't been coming to the guild." She replied awkwardly, now that she was here, she didn't even know what to say. Being honest wouldn't hurt.

Kaizen raised a brow, "just that?"

"Yeah? So I can't come to see you when I miss you?" She asked bluntly, her brows furrowed.

Kaizen opened his mouth to say something but froze, did she just say miss him? Someone actually missed him? And a girl, well, she wasn't exactly a girl but still.

"Umm, if I may ask, with what identity are you using to say what you just said? A fellow hunter, a girl, or just a friend." Kaizen asked, moving closer to her. He needed to know.