"No Nightmares, that's a first," Nyx commented after she materialized next to him. "I honestly expected more from the final layer. Disappointing..."

Leo shot her an exasperated look. "Can you please stop trying to jinx us? We haven't been here for long. It can still get much worse. Besides"—he rubbed his chest—"even if they are weak, they can target our souls. That arrow that hit me? Trust me, it hurt like hell."

"Any lasting damage?"

He furrowed his brow, scanning his soul for any inconsistencies. "None I can find, but that doesn't mean that can't change."

Nyx nodded. "Keep your Manifestation active, then. That or at least cover yourself in Essence."

"You think that will be enough? Manifestation I get, but simple Essence?"

The feline shrugged. "I don't see why not. It's a product of the soul. It probably won't work as well as your affinity, but it should still provide some protection. Remember the Soullings?"

"Right…" he muttered as the memories of those slime-like creatures flashed in his mind. "Maybe there is something to it then... All right, we can try some stuff. Within reason of course… The Supercluster is and always will be the goal here."

"Agreed," Nyx quickly said. "I just think we shouldn't waste this opportunity. Who knows when we will get another chance to test ourselves against moderately strong soul-type Voidlings in a controlled environment."

Leo looked around them and quirked an eyebrow at the feline. "Controlled environment, you say? Our definition of that might be a bit different."

"You know what I mean," she grumbled, rolling her eyes.

"Yeah, yeah. Just messing with ya… Want to search the buildings when I check my notification? I swear there must be something valuable here."

"Do you really believe that?"

"Nope! But it can't hurt to check."

Nyx sighed. "And you talk about me spending too much time with Lily. It's your own fault I'm the way I am." She shook her head. "I will go. Just don't move from here."

"I won't." He waved her off as she disappeared into the closest building. "Now, let's see…"

Multiple enemies slain | Experience awarded | 542 Ether gained

Congratulations! You have reached level 75. Class and Racial attributes have been distributed.

Huh. So it was enough. I must have been close to the level-up. No way a few weaklings could bring me over the edge otherwise. Leo concluded and summoned the final notification.

You have reached the peak of the Nightblade class. Your Night Terror trait has evolved into False Nightmare. Beware, this is your final class reward until the next advancement. Use this break wisely.

False Nightmare (Epic)

You might not be bound to the night, but darkness is your friend. Embrace it and claim the power of the night for yourself. False nightmare or not, you shall be the last one standing.

Effects:

Your presence is now much harder to detect, especially during the night. Nightmares hate your presence even more than usual. Might Effectiveness: +5%. Grace, Vision, and Mind Effectiveness: +15%. All effects of this trait are doubled during the night.

An unexpected but very welcome surprise. Leo grinned. Even though the part about Nightmares was slightly disconcerting, it wasn't anything he hadn't dealt with before. Those creatures wanted to kill everyone anyway; what was a bit more hate directed at him?

Who knows, this might even be useful…

With a shrug, he dismissed the System and walked into the same building Nyx did. Just like on the outside, nothing survived the test of time inside. There were pieces of furniture strewn around the massive room, but not much more than that.

Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.

Not surprising…

Leo approached Nyx, who was digging through a pile of debris in the corner, and poked her in the side. "Found anything?"

The feline stopped in her task and shook her head at him. "No. There were some clothes and even a sword, but the moment I touched those, they all turned into dust."

"Any books, pieces of paper, or anything with writing on it?"

"No."

"A pity," Leo mumbled. "I won't lie, I'm kinda curious what this place was before, well… before whatever happened to it. Those Voidlings were by no means normal."

"Did you check your bestiary?"

He blinked. "No. No, I didn't… My bad. Gimme a second."

Race: Voidling | Subspecies: Caged Frostwraith

Expected Potential: N/A

Arsenal: N/A

Weaknesses: Weaponized Ether, Light Affinity

Caged Frostwraith variants are created when a higher-ranked Frostwraith Nightmare infuses a victim with a portion of its power. This process grants the once-dead creature a new lease on life under the command of its killer. It's important to note that their classification as Voidlings is in name only. Many Caged Frostwraiths had no connection to the Void before being claimed by their Nightmare overlord. Their power and abilities also depend on their capabilities before their first death.

"That explains a lot," Nyx commented after she read the entry through his eyes. "A Nightmare did all of this. Now, I'm a bit worried."

Leo grimaced. "You don't say… It has an ability similar to my Takeover. Who knows how many creatures it killed and turned into those abominations."

"A lot, I have no doubt about that now," the feline said and trotted toward the exit. "You were right; we have to be careful. Find the core and get out of here as fast as we can."

He nodded and reactivated Manifestation. "Jump in. I'm not risking them getting a drop on us. Not now that we know what is out there."

Nyx followed his order without a complaint, and soon, they left the abandoned village. Exploring could wait for a different, far away day.

----------------------------------------

For hours on end, Leo kept on running across the endless misty plains as he and Nyx had come to call this place. Along their journey, they passed through a couple more villages and bigger ghost towns, always having to fight off armies of Caged Frostwraiths.

The more they killed, the more monsters began to emerge from the fog. At this point, they had to keep their eyes peeled out for danger even outside of the abandoned villages. To make it better, those transformed ogre-like creatures were now joined by animals of all kinds, some of which he couldn't even recognize, and the System was quite unhelpful here.

Bloody rats. Leo scowled as he removed his blade from a beast resembling a grotesque combination of a lion, rat, and bat. How such a thing was even possible, he didn't know—nor did he want to. It had to be one of the ugliest creatures he had ever seen.

And that's saying a lot… He glanced at the glowing shard in his left hand. At least we are close now. Hopefully, we have killed most of its protection by now.

'I highly doubt that.' Nyx snorted, her smoke form still coiled around his body. 'Either there is an army waiting for us or a monster that can at least make you break a sweat.'

"We will see," Leo muttered, descending deeper into the valley surrounded by mountains he couldn't even see properly and filled with more dead trees than the Amazon rainforest. "Must have been quite nice here before the Void came."

'Just like your Earth and countless other places,' Nyx pointed out. 'Don't think too much about it. It's a waste of time. What's done is done.'

I'm just saying, th—Hold up. Do you feel it?

Leo stopped and closed his eyes, focusing on the Essence swirling around him. Without any skills, he grabbed it tightly with phantom hands and pulled it in.

This power…

'It must be the Supercluster core,' Nyx finished his thought. 'Go on. We are very, very close now.'

Not needing to be told twice, he rushed ahead, waiting for the mist to reveal his target. And it did, only not in the way he expected—or well, he did, just not to this degree.

The core was there, in the form of a crystal pillar that produced the only colors in this bleak realm. However, the massive construct wasn't alone—far from it.

You jinxed us. Leo muttered dryly in his head while keeping his eyes on the huge sleeping serpent coiled around the pillar. And does it really have to be another bloody snake?

Caged Frostwraith Basilisk (Voidling) | LVL: N/A | Rank: D | Type: Soul, Ghost, Surface, Poison

'At least it isn't the Nightmare,' Nyx snickered and materialized next to him. 'Doesn't look particularly strong too. I can take it alone if you want.'

He shook his head. No time for games. I want to get out of here as fast as I can. Go to the other side and target its head on my signal. If it wants to sleep, we will give it an eternal one.

'As you wish.'

With that, Nyx ran away to circle the area and get into position. Meanwhile, Leo activated all of his supporting skills and extended a single blade. He flooded it with his shadow affinity, adding a sprinkle of Ruination. Not too much, though, but enough to guarantee one hit kill if he didn't miss.

All right, Nyx. Let's go!