The orc had fled, clutching the severed heads of his fallen Captains. Luke watched him vanish into the trees. The creature was mindless, irrational, but even so, they knew the message would be delivered.

And even if it wasn't, the heads were message enough.

When he opened his inventory, Luke examined the new item he had earned by defeating one of the orc captains.

[Bracelets of Gromm's Bones (Rare) Description: A pair of bracelets made from the bones of Gromm, an Orc Captain who met his end at the hands of the wearer. Resilient and grim, much like the battle that forged them. Not of the night, but carrying the darkness of a warrior lost.]

When he clicked "equip," the dark bracelets appeared, fusing with the ends of his chestplate. The armor seemed to stretch, reshaping to wrap around his arms. It was typical of system gear: when equipping pants and boots, for example, the pieces would merge into a single integrated set.

Now, Luke only needed a pair of gloves.

He glanced to the side. Princess Charlie stood still, sword resting against her shoulder. Silent.

Without a word, they began sweeping the orc camp.

Most of the gear was crude. Orc armor didn't fit humans well. It could be adapted, sure, but it took up too much space in Luke's storage item. He had to be selective.

The Captains' corpses lay where they fell, but their weapons were gone. Staff and axe. Soulbound. They vanished the moment their wielders died.

Luke crouched beside a fallen warrior and picked up the cleanest swords he could find. If they had once belonged in inventories, they were fair game now. He stashed only the best. Quivers. Arrows. A few crossbows.

The real arrows were for the people back in the Haven. While survivors with the archer class used mana-forged projectiles and enchanted quivers, those without the class relied on traditional wood and steel. Simple. Deadly.

"Time to move", Luke said.

But then they heard it. Metal. Heavy. Measured. Marching through the forest. They froze—the sound unmistakable: an approaching Midnight Warden.

Without hesitation, they bolted. The forest gave way to crumbling ruins, the outer edge of the ancient city. Midnight Wardens didn't hunt orcs unless things got loud. But with humans, it was different. Once you were marked, they came for you. And they didn't stop.

Luke had escaped one before—barely—when he leapt off the cliff with Allison. He wasn't eager to test his luck again.

They sprinted between broken buildings, darting through collapsed walls and shattered doorways. In the distance, he saw them: glowing red eyes.

His instincts screamed. He dove into a ruined house, heart pounding. Still. Silent. Controlled breathing. He was far from the Safe Zone. Too far.

It had been over a month since he and Allison returned from orc territory. Since then, he had roamed the Wild Zone, close enough to scout the castle. Close enough to see. But never cross that line.

He explored. Mapped. Survived.

Outside, the air shifted. A komodo-drake—a sleek reptilian predator—leapt from the shadows and snatched a giant bat from midair.

Then—

CLANG. CLANG. CLANG.

The Warden's footsteps echoed like war drums. The komodo-drake bolted, gone in an instant. Luke remained perfectly still, watching.

The creature marched through the ruins, its cloak trailing like mist. It ignored the beasts but would kill anything that got in its way. Its weapon, a spear the size of a lamppost, hummed with dormant runes.

After long seconds, the Warden turned a corner and vanished into the dark.

Only then did Luke exhale.

He opened Charlie's interface. She'd leveled up and had unspent stat points.

Name: Princess Charlie Level: 8 Rank: F Class: [Death Knight (Lvl 17)] Race: Skeleton Titles: [Servant of the Dark Lord] Health Points (HP): 533/600 Mana Points (MP): 276/320 Stamina: 438/520

Stats: Strength: 68 Agility: 41 Endurance: 52 Vitality: 60 Perception: 27 Intelligence: 32 Free Points: 2

Equipped Items: [Orcslayer Blade (Rare)] [Pugilist Knight's Helm (Uncommon)] [Ring of Fire (Uncommon)] [Crypt Guardian's Gauntlets (Uncommon)] [Stalker Crocodile Chestplate (Uncommon)] [Knight's Cloak (Common)] [Iron-Tusk Boarhide Pants (Uncommon)] [Cunning Velociraptor Boots (Uncommon)]

Class Skills: [Basic Weapon Handling (Common)], Heavy Strike (Common), [Basic Spectral Charge (Rare)], [Iron Fist (Uncommon)], [Crescent Slash (Uncommon)], [Whirlwind Strike (Uncommon)], [Spectral Chain (Rare)]

Race Skills: [Demonic Servant Perception (Uncommon)], [Basic Bone Regeneration (Rare)], [Bone Endurance (Rare)]

When Charlie reached Class Level 15, the system had given Luke a choice: a new ability. From the options available, he selected Spectral Chain.

It was her first skill granted directly by her Death Knight class.

A turning point in her evolution.

[Spectral Chain (Rare)]: Consume mana to conjure an ethereal chain from your hand. It lashes out toward a target, wrapping around them with crushing force. Use it to pull enemies in or hurl them away, reshaping the battlefield to your will.

Charlie had quickly learned to chain the skill with others. She would pull enemies toward her, then immediately follow up with a Heavy Strike. It didn't take long for her to become a force of her own.

In the right situation, she could now take down an Orc Captain by herself. Of course, that depended on the Captain. Not all of them were created equal.

Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

Some were absurdly powerful. Others, surprisingly frail.

Luke had a theory. It had to do with Class Level, something the system didn't show directly.

Charlie, for instance, was Race Level 8 but Class Level 17. Meanwhile, the Orc Captains they'd faced were around Race Level 20. If the system worked like his, that meant a Captain's actual class level could be double that, maybe even higher, placing some of them near Level 40 in class stats. That kind of power should have made them impossible to defeat.

And yet, Luke and Charlie had done exactly that.

So maybe levels weren't the whole picture.

Another theory: maybe the visible level was the sum of class and race. Or maybe something more complex—hybrid progression, passive multipliers, hidden titles. If that were true, then monsters' real strength was deliberately concealed.

But what if it wasn't? What if an Orc Captain really did have a class at Level 40, and they still managed to kill him? Then the difference didn't come down to level at all. It came down to this: Class Mutation. The moment he and Charlie underwent that transformation, they stepped onto a different tier entirely.

Before, Luke had the base Assassin class. Each level gave him a predictable stat spread: +2 Agility, +1 Strength, +1 Vitality, +1 Perception, +1 Free Point. Six points per level.

But after he became a Demonic Assassin, everything changed. +5 Perception, +4 Strength, +4 Agility, +3 Vitality, +2 Intelligence, +3 Free Points. Twenty-one points per level.

That was the true edge. That was why he could fight monsters, and even humans, well above his level and win.

And Charlie? Same story. Compared to others at their class level, they were simply operating on a higher tier.

When speaking with Allison, he learned something that confirmed his suspicion. Not everyone gets a class mutation. It's rare. Takes time. Requires affinity, adaptation, and something you can't grind for: talent.

With Charlie, it had been almost accidental. When she first manifested as his servant, she picked up a sword from the battlefield. That one gesture, her instinct, told him everything he needed to know. He selected Warrior as her base class without hesitation and unknowingly set her down the path to mutation.

Now, staring at her stat screen, he saw two unspent points. He hesitated only for a moment, then made his decision.

Stats Updated (Princess Charlie):

Strength: 68 -> 69 Vitality: 60 -> 61 Free Points: 2 -> 0 Health Points (HP): 533/600 -> 543/610

Luke closed Charlie's stat window, then opened his own. And immediately, he saw it — a new race skill had become available.

Two of the old options were still there, the ones he'd passed up before. But the one he'd been hoping for, Venomous Blood, wasn't.

Instead, three new choices appeared:

[Night Vision (Uncommon)]: Grants the skill to see clearly in dark environments, limited by your current perception range. To improve the distance or clarity of your night vision, increase your Perception stat.

Luke read the description carefully.

Would've been useful… if I didn't already have a demonic bloodline.

The Wild Zone was pitch-black at times, especially deep in the forests and during the night. But with Demonic Perception, he already saw everything he needed.

[Pain Resistance (Uncommon)]: Reduces the impact of pain, allowing you to function more effectively in high-damage or high-stress scenarios. Does not remove pain entirely, but suppresses its influence on focus and combat performance.

Tempting, but dangerous. Luke knew better.

Pain was a warning, sometimes the only warning that told him how bad things really were. Turning that off could get him killed.

[Demonic Endurance (Uncommon)]: Your body becomes tougher, naturally resisting slashes, piercings, and blunt-force trauma. Wounds that would normally cause bleeding or trauma are significantly reduced by the demonic force strengthening your form.

Luke's eyes lit up.

Now that... that's what I needed.

He didn't hesitate.

[You have acquired the Race Skill: Demonic Endurance]

A strange pressure ran through his bones, like his skeleton had thickened. His skin felt denser, tighter. Curious, he grabbed one of his kukris and pressed the blade against his arm. Nothing. The edge slid across his skin like rubber.

He applied more pressure. Only then did the tip begin to dig in.

What the hell…?

It was like trying to cut leather with a butter knife. His skin really was resistant. He exhaled slowly, feeling different. Stronger. More grounded. Like he could take hits that would've knocked him out days ago.

He opened his status screen:

Name: Luke Level: 10 Rank: F Class: [Demonic Assassin (Lvl 18)] Race: Half-Demon Profession: – Titles: [Dark Lord] Bloodline: [Bloodline of the Dark Demon] Health Points (HP): 900/900 Mana Points (MP): 570/570 Stamina: 523/530 Soul Fragments: 28/1000

Stats: Strength: 83 Agility: 87 (112) Endurance: 33 (53) Vitality: 90 Perception: 87 Intelligence: 57 Free Points: 1

Equipped Items:

[Demonic Twin Kukris (Rare)] [Throwing Knife Holster (Common)] [Artemis Invention (Unique)] [Assassin's Cloak (Common)] [Drukar's Chestplate, Orc Captain (Rare)] [Bracelets of Gromm's Bones (Rare) [Aracna's Leggings (Uncommon)] [Centipede Boots (Uncommon)]

Class Skills: [Basic Blade Handling (Common)], [Profane Knife Throwing (Uncommon)], [Twin Blade (Common)], [Basic Dark Dash (Rare)], [Basic Blood Regeneration (Rare)], [Assassin's Mark (Rare)], [Demonic Blade Dance (Rare)]

Race Skills: [Identify (Common)], [Demonic Perception (Uncommon)], [Dark Blood (Uncommon)], [Meditation (Common)], [Demonic Endurance (Uncommon)]

Bloodline Skill: [Servant of the Dark Lord (Unique)]

Servant: [Princess Charlie (Skeleton) - Lvl 8]

With that final free point, he placed it into Strength.

Stats Updated: Strength: 83 -> 84 Free Points: 1 -> 0

Without a word, Luke pulled a fruit from his storage necklace and bit into it, chewing in silence as he leaned back against the crumbling wall of the ruined house.

The night would be long.

He'd need to stay hidden here, motionless, waiting for the Midnight Warden's patrol window to end. Only after 6:00 AM would it be safe to move again.

***

Luke moved slowly across the fallen tree trunk, a massive log wedged between the windows of two crumbling buildings. It stretched across the gap like a makeshift bridge, swaying slightly under his weight. Below him, death waited. The drop was steep, dozens of meters down to the flooded streets. And in those waters, half-submerged and perfectly still, floated giant crocodiles. Dozens of them. Silent. Motionless. Waiting. One slip, one wrong step, and he'd be torn apart before he could scream.

Behind him, Charlie descended the tilted remains of a collapsed building, an old stone structure half-consumed by time and moss. The rest of the street ahead lay in ruins. Medieval homes shattered. Walls broken. Trees bursting through cracked stone. Nature was reclaiming the city.

Luke came to a stop at the edge of a fractured concrete slab. From there, he had a clear view of the horizon. And there it was, the castle, bathed in the golden glow of sunrise. Towering. Regal. Dominating the center of the Wild Zone like a crown upon the land.

But Luke knew better.

That image was a lie. A projection. A hologram. A perfect illusion cast over the landscape by something he didn't fully understand.

He had spent weeks exploring, testing, failing. In the end, he saw the truth for himself, the very thing most people thought was just a theory.

The castle he saw wasn't real. It was a mirage, an elaborate trick hiding something much older. Something... intentional.

"Fuck..." he muttered under his breath.

***

He reached forward and the barrier pushed back. A soft shock, like magnetic poles repelling each other. He scowled, then began walking alongside the invisible wall, tracing a path he'd memorized days ago.

A broken fountain marked the spot. Its basin was overtaken by roots, and at its center stood a statue of a long-forgotten king, hand outstretched. But the real secret lay behind it.

A massive gate. Black iron, embedded in the shimmering veil.

As Luke approached, the system responded:

[To unlock the gate, activate two mechanisms... or insert the arm of a Midnight Warden into the lock.]

Luke read the prompt, closed his eyes, then laughed—dry and bitter. Of course. Both options were hell. Either infiltrate a Warden's den or do the unthinkable.

He stared at the gate, lips tightening. "There's no easy way around this," he muttered.

The first path, infiltration, was suicidal. The second was plain and simple:

"Kill a Midnight Warden."

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