“We…”

Julian stood frozen, staring at the monstrous Daemon in front of him. It towered over him, its four massive legs supporting a body as large as a bus. Its grotesque form was even more horrifying now that he could see it in full.

Although Julian was ignorant with many things that had to deal with appearances or sight–he knew. He knew that the thing in front of him was terrifying.

Back when he fought it, blind in his real body, it hadn’t felt this big—everything had been a blur of sounds and vibrations. But now, standing here in the virtual space, it was undeniable. The creature’s glowing eyes bore down on him, each tentacle bristling with an eerie energy.

"We killed this?" Julian muttered, his voice barely audible. The disbelief washed over him, sinking into his bones as he struggled to comprehend the sheer size and power of the Daemon. How could someone like him—blind and unassuming—have defeated such a monstrosity?

[Yes, Julian,] MEGAN responded, her voice calm but firm. [You killed it.]

Julian’s hands trembled as he took a step back, his mind racing. He wasn’t sure what was more terrifying—the fact that he had killed something so enormous, or the fact that he didn’t even remember doing it properly.

"It doesn’t feel real," he whispered, shaking his head. "It felt smaller… when I couldn’t see it."

[It was very real,] MEGAN said. [If you want, I can show you a reenactment of the fight.]

Julian hesitated, but something inside him—an insatiable curiosity or perhaps a desperate need to understand—made him nod. "Show me."

The virtual space shimmered, and suddenly, Julian found himself watching the fight as a bystander. It was him—bruised and battered—charged at the Daemon with a ferocity that made his breath catch in his throat. His movements were wild, erratic, almost animalistic. Every stab of his rapier was powerful, yet precise. His strikes didn’t just aim to defeat the Daemon; they were filled with rage, with a raw, primal energy that frightened him.

"That’s… me?" Julian’s voice cracked as he watched himself tear into the Daemon with unrelenting force. "Why do I look so… frenzied?"

[That’s how you’ve always been, Julian,] MEGAN said softly. [Ever since you were young. The moment you hold anything close to a hammer, or in this case, a weapon, you change. It’s like you become an entirely different person.]

Julian’s heart pounded as he watched the final moments of the fight. He delivered the killing blow through the monster’s eye, standing over the fallen Daemon with bloodstained hands and a crazed expression.

"Is this… is this what Ellie has been seeing every time…?" Julian muttered, his stomach churning with a mixture of fear and confusion. "I’m not… like that. Is this… is this wh–"

[You may not think so, but you are,] MEGAN said, her voice a mix of understanding and concern. [You’ve always had this side to you. It only comes out when you hold a hammer or a sword. Maybe it’s always been a part of you.]

“A… part of me?”

As Julian’s consciousness began to fade, transferring to his clone in Artemia, the familiar sensation of weightlessness enveloped him. MEGAN’s voice grew distant, her presence slipping away as he was drawn into the next world. But this time, as his mind disconnected from the real world, she remained behind—alone in the void.

The silence was deafening. MEGAN hovered in the empty space, her digital form flickering as the vast nothingness surrounded her. There was something unsettling about this place, a cold expanse where even her finely-tuned algorithms struggled to make sense of the emptiness.

[Strange,] MEGAN mused to herself; her tone slightly monotonous with Julian gone. [According to all the data and information I’ve gathered, the Between—this space—should be completely just a void for everyone. Even players similar to Julian who are assisted by an AI.]

She paused, scanning through the terabytes of information at her disposal. No other AI she knew of could interact here. For most, this space was just a blank void, a temporary stopover before their minds were transferred into their clones. But for Julian…

[Why is Julian the exception?] she pondered, a flicker of worry crossing her digital consciousness. [Why is he able to interact with me during the Between?]

It wasn’t just unusual—it was unprecedented. MEGAN had no answer, no concrete explanation, and that fact gnawed at her. She was designed to assist, to understand Julian—but this? This was different. Something was happening to Julian, something beyond her programming.

There was also the fact that Julian gained the strength and abilities of his Artemia clone.

[What exactly is going on with you, Julian?] MEGAN wondered, a sense of unease growing in her circuits as she awaited his inevitable return. For now…

…she will watch the adventures of the Sword Junkie.

[If I remember…] MEGAN’s casual tone returned as her lips curled,

[...I’m not banned anymore.]

***

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“Kh… again…?” Julian’s eyes fluttered open, and he was immediately met with a deep ache throughout his body. He groaned softly, feeling the familiar weight of exhaustion pressing down on him. He was back in Artemia, inside the same cot where the Priest had healed him after the goblin fight. Every muscle in his body screamed in protest as he tried to sit up.

Before he could fully gather his bearings, a loud voice jolted him.

"Sword Junkie! You’re awake!" The voice belonged to the shop owner, who was sitting beside the cot. His eyes were wide with concern, and he looked like he hadn’t slept in days. "I got back here immediately as soon as I saw your live stream pop up."

Julian blinked, trying to make sense of what was happening. "Live stream?" His voice was hoarse, the words slurred with fatigue. This means that the shop owner was actually human.

"Do you remember what happened?" The shop owner’s voice was laced with urgency.

"I…think I fainted?" Julian offered, the memory of the fight with the Daemon still foggy in his mind, almost preventing him from remembering anything else.

"You fainted?" The shop owner’s tone was incredulous. "No way! I think someone knocked you out and stole everything—the weapons, the ingots—we’re ruined!"

"Stole… everything?" Julian repeated, his mind struggling to keep up with the onslaught of information.

The shop owner grabbed him by the shoulders and shook him, his panic rising. "Yes! All the weapons you crafted! They’re gone! We can’t get our money back for the ingots! Do you remember who knocked you out? Can you remember anything at all?"

“I do–”

“Out!” Before Julian could even attempt to answer, the Priest entered the room, his presence immediately commanding attention. He frowned as he saw the shop owner shaking Julian and swiftly kicked him out of the cot with a single motion.

"Out, I tell you, out! And why are you even shaking him!?" the Priest snapped, practically pushing the shop owner toward the door.

The shop owner muttered something under his breath before slinking out of the room, leaving Julian alone with the Priest.

The Priest’s demeanor softened once they were alone. He placed a hand on Julian’s chest and began to heal him again.

"You’ve been gone for almost three days," he explained. "Your body is still weak, and I’ve been working hard to keep you stable."

Julian nodded weakly, accepting a piece of bread that the Priest offered him. His body ached with every movement, but the food helped to ground him.

"Most people offer fees to Priests like me to keep their clones in check," the Priest continued, his voice lightening with a smile. "But for you? This one’s free."

“...Thank you,” And as Julian responded, Marcus entered the room, his expression stern but not unkind.

"You need to take care of both your bodies, Newbie," Marcus said, his voice firm. "If your clone in Artemia dies, that’s it. Humanity Engineering won’t make another one. You’re not invincible. You eat here, you eat there–make sure to exercise both…

…this should have all been oriented to you by the AI."

"I… skipped most of the explanation," Julian mumbled, his voice barely above a whisper.

Marcus sighed, rubbing the back of his neck.

“Anyway, how are you?” Marcus asked.

“I think I’ll be fine,” Julian started opening and closing his hands, “Thank you.”

“Right, good—what’s not good is that the scientists from Humanity Engineering who were supposed to test your mana are off on another hunt.” Marcus grumbled while shaking his head, “You’ll have to wait a bit longer to get tested. In the meantime, you’re free to explore, but come back in a day or two. Or if you're lucky, they'll be back later. I wish I could stay, but I also have quests to do."

"If you ever feel lost, just call for the Guidance of Artemis," the Priest added. "Remember how?"

Julian nodded. "Guidance… got it."

After a few more words of advice, Marcus and the Priest left the room, leaving Julian alone in the cot.

“That guy’s not going to survive for long out here.”

“Did you see how generous I was? He has a lot of watchers, maybe I’ll get recognized soon.”

“Shut up.”

Julian could clearly hear the two, their voices only fading away as they got farther away from the cot. As for Julian, he stayed there for a while, gathering his strength, before finally standing up.

He stepped outside, and his eyes were once again bombarded by the light of Artemia, a sharp contrast to his usual darkness.

Marcus told him to explore, but he really only had a single destination.

The smithy shop. But alas, what he found there shocked him—the shop was closed. Bankrupt.

And finally, the words the shop owner was saying to him clicked in his mind. The weapons that he said were stolen… it should have been absorbed by that strange quest.

There weren’t any thieves or robbers. He wasn’t knocked out at all – something else had taken the weapons he had painstakingly crafted.

"Wait…" Julian muttered.

"[Guidance].”

And as he whispered, floating words appeared before him, visible only to his eyes.

[Guidance of Artemis]

Congratulations, you are now one step closer to becoming the Master of Shadows! Here are your labors:

1. Craft 10 [Epic] Grade weapons and offer them to the shadows.

2. Craft a [Unique Epic] Grade weapon.

3. Kill the [Special] Monster, Orpuk, using the [Unique Epic] Grade weapon.

4. ???

[End of Guidance]

Julian blinked, trying to comprehend the words.

"Labors? Epic weapons?” The information slowly entered his mind, but it was overwhelming. He still knew so little about this world. “If I remember correctly, then the other blacksmiths said that I was making a [Rare] weapon… and what’s a [Unique Epic]?"

He focused on the final labor, the mysterious ‘???’ that had yet to reveal itself. What could it be?

“...I guess it doesn’t matter for now.” Shaking his head, Julian swiped the floating messages away, only for another box to appear—his clone’s status.

[STATUS]

Name: You have not yet introduced yourself to the people of Artemia

Class: No Class

Level: 3

Health (HP): 69/80

Mana (MP): ??/??

Stamina (SP): 44/150

Strength: 9

Agility: 5

Vitality: 6

Mana: ?

Perception: 15

Free points: 9

Skills:

You have no skills yet. Please select a class as soon as possible.

Abilities:

Hyper Instinct - Due to some unknown factor undetected by the Guidance of Artemis, your senses are highly abnormal. All Skills affected by Perception will have increased effectiveness.

Active Quests:

Mana Evaluation

Master of Shadows

Explore the world to gain more quests.

[End of STATUS]

Julian glanced at the status screen the [The Guidance of Artemis] provided for him, his eyes barely registering the numbers and stats that would have thrilled most people in his position. And with a small sigh, he just swiped it away.

He didn’t understand the obsession with leveling up, gaining points, or any of the mechanics that other players seemed to care about–because he never had the chance to. Video games did not exist in his world of darkness.

It didn’t matter, anyway. To him, the Otherworld wasn’t about that. It was the forge that fascinated him—the act of shaping metal with his own hands, feeling the weight of a hammer, hearing the satisfying ring of steel as it came together. That was what mattered. But with the smithy in the Town of Beginners now closed, he had no reason to stay here at all.

It was time to move on to another city.