Shadra's greatsword swung faster and faster, its arc mesmerizing the mage, who was so captivated that she failed to realize how inappropriate her behavior was.
Meanwhile, in her blind spot, a small patch of earth suddenly loosened. The soil began to shift, clumps being pushed upward to form a growing mound.
When the soil finally stopped erupting, the head of a skelefin slowly emerged from the hilltop.
In its crimson-tinged vision, the exposed patch of pale skin on the mage’s neck was especially tantalizing. Human blood was one of the essential nutrients for its early growth.
Oblivious to the impending danger, the mage remained engrossed in Shadra’s performance, completely unaware of the crisis sneaking up on her.
The skelefin twitched its tail, crouched low, and suddenly leapt with incredible force, darting toward the mage's neck at astonishing speed.
At this critical moment, a flash of silver streaked through the mage’s field of vision. She felt a sharp gust of wind graze past her right ear, severing a few strands of her hair.
“Eh?”
The mage blinked in confusion, looking around blankly, utterly unsure of what had just happened.
When she glanced down, she saw a skelefin lying on the ground, barely alive, with a dagger embedded in its neck.
It hit her in an instant.
If not for Shadra, she might not have survived that attack.
Even amidst the chaos of battle, he’d noticed a threat to his teammate that she herself hadn’t perceived.
Calm under pressure, nerves of steel, and a frightening level of reflexes and awareness.
This was nothing like the F-grade rookies she’d encountered before. In fact, his skills were comparable to some of the heavyweights in her guild.
The thought made her cheeks flush, and her impression of Shadra shifted drastically.
For the first time, she had experienced something unexpected from a "rookie."
A sense of security.
Ten minutes later, all skelefin that had emerged from their nests lay slain by Shadra’s blade.
What should have been a perilous spawning phase became, in Shadra’s eyes, a prime opportunity for grinding experience points.
With the skelefins' low physical resistance, high numbers, and decent levels, Shadra’s efforts bore fruit—his level swiftly leaped from LV18 to LV20.
He allocated one stat point to stamina and another to strength, his actions fluid and deliberate.
The spawning phase ended, and the Soul Devourer returned to the battlefield.
Its labored breathing hinted that it was nearing the end of its life. Yet strangely, when it landed and picked up its staff, it didn’t immediately unleash a spell. Instead, it stared fixedly at Shadra.
“Human... you are strong.”
Its eerie voice, surprisingly articulate, emerged from between its bony, jagged teeth.
As it turned out, the Soul Devourer hadn’t been sleeping earlier but recuperating. It had observed Shadra’s movements and now, unlike before, no longer looked down on him.
Shadra, too, refrained from attacking, waiting calmly for the Soul Devourer to continue.
“...Thus, I shall offer you an opportunity.”
“Oh?” Shadra arched a curious eyebrow.
“Don’t let your guard down!” the mage shouted anxiously from the ground, still too weak to stand.
“Go on,” Shadra said, ignoring the mage entirely.
“Become my subordinate. Serve me, and I promise you wealth and glory.”
The Soul Devourer’s voice grew ethereal and resonant as it spoke, clearly pleased by Shadra’s apparent disinterest in the mage’s warning.
Shadra nodded, saying nothing as he waited for what he thought was obvious.
But after a long pause, the Soul Devourer broke the silence, its tone impatient and puzzled. "Human, what is your answer?"
Hearing this, Shadra was dumbfounded.
“Wait, you’re just making offers without showing anything in return?” he quipped internally, baffled by the creature’s assumption that such empty words could sway him.
In truth, it wasn’t that the Soul Devourer underestimated humans; Shadra was simply... unconventional.
Most adventurers familiar with Soul Devourer would have grown wary the moment its voice began to shift. For its hauntingly melodic tone wasn’t a sign of goodwill, but a prelude to a mind-affecting spell—one akin to a siren’s song.
This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author's work.
Normal humans would have succumbed by now.
But seeing that it had no effect on Shadra, its confidence wavered. After a moment’s thought, it grudgingly raised its staff and struck the ground.
With a heavy thud, the staff’s gem lit up in a burst of violet light. A finely crafted necklace appeared out of thin air, its elegance undeniable.
Shadra immediately cast his identification spell.
A screen full of garbled text. Definitely a high-quality item.
Shadra had come to treat this particular skill more as a sorting tool than anything else. If an item was below E-grade, some of the text would still be legible. For anything higher, it was static across the board.
The Soul Devourer noticed the subtle flicker of interest in Shadra’s expression and grinned faintly. Raising its skeletal hand, it pointed toward the downed mage.
“Kill her, and this necklace... will be yours.”
Its voice, now resonating with divine-like clarity, echoed through the cave. The suggestion wasn’t just a bribe—it was nearly a command, amplified by its hypnotic spell.
“You fool!” the mage screamed, her raspy voice almost grating. “Soul Devourer are infamous for their mind tricks! Don’t fall for its lies!”
Shadra, unbothered by her warning, didn’t even glance her way. Instead, he spoke thoughtfully.
“The item’s tempting, but for us humans, killing our own kind is no small matter.”
His gaze flickered with hesitation.
“Human... do not push your luck,” the Soul Devourer threatened, its calm tone cracking slightly. “If I unleash my full power, I could still drag you down with me.”
Though outwardly composed, the Soul Devourer was growing increasingly uneasy. Why wasn’t the spell working? This was enough magic to drive ten elephants off a cliff!
“You can speak our language, so you must understand our bonds as well,” Shadra replied coolly. “Were it not for this mage, I’d probably be dead already.”
There was no falsehood in his words. Shadra knew that if not for the capable mage’s presence, he would have long since fled. D-ranked monsters were no joke.
Negotiations often reached a boiling point when neither side yielded. However, Shadra knew full well—it wouldn’t be him who gave in first.
“Fine! This is my final offer, human,” the Soul Devourer hissed, slamming its staff down once more.
Another violet flash erupted, and this time a hefty tome appeared, its cover bound by dark iron chains.
The mage’s expression shifted ever so slightly, though she quickly masked it.
For Shadra, the result was the same—a screen full of garbled text. Another rare find.
“Well, since the stakes are this high, I guess I have no choice but to accept your... less-than-honorable request.”
With a bitter smile, Shadra turned and began dragging his greatsword toward the mage, his movements seemingly sluggish.
“Are you fucking insane?!” the mage cried in disbelief. “You can’t seriously be considering this!”
“Sorry, but the offer’s just too good.”
As the Soul Devourer watched from the side, its hollow eye sockets gleamed faintly with green light.
When Shadra was far enough away, it covertly moved a bony finger, conjuring a small flame of violet fire.
Soul Devourer were said to rely on their staffs for magic. Even seasoned adventurers didn’t know they could cast spells independently.
This was a blind spot in human knowledge, a trick the Soul Devourer had learned through studying a fresh brain of a mage.
It smirked. You’ll make a fine throne for the rest of your life.
But as its ambitions swelled, the unexpected happened.
The violet flame barely flickered to life before a blinding white light cut through the air.
The Soul Devourer instinctively tried to block, but it was too late.
Pain exploded in its chest.
“W-what? How?”
Its disbelief was matched only by the sight of Shadra, now just a meter away.
With a powerful swing, Shadra’s greatsword shattered Soul Devourer's fragile ribcage, sending its body flying into the cave wall.
As it turns out, feigning exhaustion had been part of Shadra’s plan all along.
“Cursed human! You... despicable!”
The Soul Devourer screeched, lifting its staff for one final stand, but it was too late.
Shadra leapt forward, his sword slicing through the air. Empowered by the mage’s buffs, the blow struck true, shattering the wraith’s skull into countless fragments.
The Soul Devourer’s body crumpled lifelessly to the ground, its once-glowing eyes dimming to nothing.
“Doesn’t understand human bonds or human cunning, yet dreams of ruling this cave,” Shadra scoffed.
[You have successfully slain the Soul Devourer. Reward: 20,000 (-40% for non-solo kill) experience points.]
The system notification resounded in his mind. The surge of experience pushed his level past LV23, stopping only halfway to the next.
Among the Soul Devourer’s remains, two radiant items lay waiting to be claimed.
Shadra instinctively moved his legs, intending to check the attributes of the dropped items. But before he could get far, the mage’s voice rang out behind him.
"Congratulations, you’re ready for your second class advancement."
She stood up with some difficulty, brushing off the hem of her robe. Her eyes, filled with the warmth of a mother seeing her child grow up, were fixed on Shadra.
Level 21 marked the official start of the second class advancement. If the first advancement was about shaping interests and exploring directions, then the second was like choosing a major—something that would profoundly affect the character's future growth trajectory.
This was news to Shadra. He cast the mage a grateful nod.
However, noticing her empty hands, Shadra seemed to have thought of something and asked, "Why didn’t you just use a teleportation stone earlier?"
"You’re definitely not a newbie if you even know about teleportation stones."
Teleportation stones were typically only owned by guilds ranked Silver Shield or higher—ordinary adventurer wouldn’t know about them.
Shadra didn’t respond to her remark.
The mage gave him a disdainful look. "You were signaling me with your eyes so desperately—I’m not stupid enough to fall for that."
From the moment the Soul Devourer had presented its first bargaining chip, Shadra had subtly blinked to signal her, though he wasn’t sure if she understood his intentions.
The reasoning was simple: if the mage escaped, the outside world would accuse him of attempted murder. Her guild would inevitably come after Shadra in retaliation, and drawing any form of hatred at this stage would be unwise for him.
That had been his intention, but now Shadra wore a evil smile as he spoke.
"What if I was only pretending to signal you and actually planned to take everything for myself?"
"This…"
Shadra’s question stunned the mage.
The two locked eyes, and for a moment, the atmosphere was thick with silence. After a while, Shadra waved his hand casually and smiled lightly.
"Ha, just kidding. I’d never kill a fellow human—unless they were an enemy."
Though it was brushed off as a joke, the mage couldn’t hide her surprise. She had never considered the possibility that Shadra might harbor such ruthless thoughts.
She had trusted him moments ago. But truthfully, they were nothing more than strangers who didn’t even know each other’s names. His plan had been entirely feasible: take all the resources for himself and blame her death on the Soul Devourer.
The thought sent chills down her spine.
The more she thought about it, the more convinced she became that Shadra was far from an ordinary F-grade Priest.
He possessed both cunning and courage. Aside from his low-grade bloodline, he seems to had all the qualities of a potential leader.
An idea—wild and still forming—began to take root in her mind.