With that thought, he arrives home. The familiar warmth wraps around him. He sighs. He sets his things down and turns on the light. After everything today, all he wants is a shower and sleep.
He pulls off his ruined shoes and catches his reflection in the mirror. His eyes go wide.
His beat up body still has half its HP. I thought I was down to twenty percent. His chest tightens. And Lin Mo held on at ten. How?
The thought moves him more than he expects. He sighs and walks to the kitchen, opens the fridge, pulls out two sausages, grabs a cup of instant noodles from the box beside it.
"What about the eggs?"
A sweet voice floats over from the sofa. Jang Yu freezes. The food slips from his hands. He instinctively pulls his clothes tighter.
Lu Yaoyao is sitting on the sofa. Has been this whole time, apparently, looking at him with an amused smile. "Couldn't reach you. Couldn't find you. I asked you to buy eggs. Did you go lay them yourself?"
Jang Yu tugs his clothes tighter and laughs awkwardly. "Store was packed. Waited forever." He blinks. "Wait. Why do you have a key to my apartment?"
Lu Yaoyao hops off the sofa. "Because you order takeout every single day instead of cooking. Uncle Li asked me to keep an eye on you. He gave me a copy."
She crosses her arms and leans in, eyebrows furrowed. "What happened to you? Did someone beat you up?"
Jang Yu shifts awkwardly. "It's late. You should go home before Uncle Lu gets the wrong idea." He's already edging away.
Lu Yaoyao grabs him and notices. His sleeve is torn. She goes still, taking in his whole sorry state. She asks, "How did you get hurt this badly? Where were you?"
Jang Yu avoids her eyes. "On my way back, I saw a robbery. Got involved. Ended up in a fight. One kick left, one right hook. Left the guy unrecognizable."
Then she reaches out. Her slender fingers gently touch the wound on his face. Jang Yu will swear on his life: the girls at the spa downstairs spend three thousand on hand treatments and still don't come close to how soft her touch is.
The room goes quiet. Something unnameable begins to fill the air. Jang Yu's brain short-circuits. Wait. She actually believed that story?
In that strange, wordless quiet, her hand rests against his cheek. "Does it still hurt?" she asks softly.
Jang Yu scratches the back of his head. "No. You should go get some sleep."
Lu Yaoyao feels it too. A warmth rises to her cheeks. She turns to leave. "I'm telling Uncle Li you were out in the middle of the night brawling with people."
Jang Yu panics. He grabs her hand. "It wasn't a brawl. I was being a hero. Please just go home. I'm begging you."
Lu Yaoyao smiles. "No."
Jang Yu sees she isn't budging. He drops to the floor with a dramatic wail. "Ow. I can't. My whole body. I think I'm dying."
Lu Yaoyao actually startles. She crouches down and pokes him. "You need to go to a hospital."
Jang Yu waves her off. "No need. Uncle Li stocked me up with Night Watch supplies. Better than anything at a hospital."
Lu Yaoyao narrows her eyes. She sees right through him. "Drop the act. You just want me to patch you up."
The words land, and something suddenly clicks. He sits up straight. He realizes he never learned Lin Mo's full name.
The panel flickers to life before him. Characters flash across it, then lock on one. The data profile of Lin Mo and the specter appears in front of him.
Interesting, he thinks. So kills get logged in the codex automatically, or only after shadow devour?
He focuses his thoughts and pulls up the new ability entry. Shadow strike. When attacking from the shadows, unseen by your target, you will more easily identify their weak points. The first strike deals massive damage.
Jang Yu strikes a dramatic pose. "Shadow strike, activate."
He stands there for five full minutes. Nothing happens. Absolutely nothing.
He snaps. "Is this system messing with me?"
Then it hits him. Wait. Maybe it needs a target. He deflates a little. Guess I'll try again when I actually need it.
He sets that aside and opens the codex, scrolling to his own entry. His profile loads. Stalker. You kill from the shadows. You are a born assassin. When concealed in darkness, you are in your element, moving through the dark, hunting within it.
Jang Yu stares. What is this system power writing? A video game script? Hunting within the dark. Should that not be bringing light to the darkness or something?
Just then, the system chimes. Your shadow has undergone a transformation. You can now merge with it, becoming one. Entering a special state: shadow form.
Jang Yu thinks, What kind of new ability is this?
In shadow form, you gain the following. One, training in this state will yield unexpected results. Two, your presence becomes far harder to detect. Three, your body's recovery rate increases significantly. In the shadow realm, this form costs nothing to maintain. In the real world, it consumes shadow points. Four, you have no vital points. Even decapitation will only drain your HP. It will not kill you outright.
Jang Yu's eyes light up. So this is what system power feels like. Especially four. That's just broken.
Then he sees another line on the panel and goes completely blank. HP reduced by ninety-nine percent. You can still be saved.
"Are you serious?" he says flatly. "I'd rather just die cleanly."
He breathes out. Complaints aside, this ability is solid. Let's test it.
He calls out, "Shadow. Come out."
The shadow rises from the floor. Jang Yu slowly raises his hand. The shadow mirrors him, lifting a finger. Their index fingers touch.
The shadow flows over him like water. A perfect seal pressing against every inch of skin. Surprisingly breathable. Jang Yu's entire body is now pitch black, unsettling and fierce to look at.
He examines himself, curious. So this is shadow form. I like it.
He takes a deep breath. Then he moves, and his body becomes a streak of black lightning flashing back and forth across the room. His speed has jumped by a huge margin. He reaches out and lifts the entire bed off the floor. He grabs a hundred-kilo hammer and smashes it into himself several times. Not even a twinge.
Jang Yu throws his head back and laughs. Shadow form is absolutely insane.
A voice erupts from downstairs. "Are you having a war up there? Keep it down."
Jang Yu awkwardly drops out of shadow form.
He notices an entry in his ranked titles. Unlockable. He taps it. The panel reads: You partially meet the conditions for this ranked title, but have not formally awakened it. This action carries risk. Proceed?
A second note follows. Risk can become opportunity.
Jang Yu thinks it over. A new ranked title. Sounds great, but the system flagged it in red for a reason. Declining is probably safer. But risk does contain opportunity.
Five full minutes pass. He takes a breath and glances at yes.
The option begins to pulse. Warmth begins flooding through his body. Jang Yu goes rigid. Wait. I didn't fully confirm it yet.
The panel shifts rapidly. Tendrils of black wrap around him. On the floor, medicine bottles rattle and shake.
A long moment passes. The room goes still. A pitch black foot slams onto the floor.
New entry. Hunter. Those who hunt either rise or fall within the hunt. You are a born hunter. Your attacks will always deal damage. Note: ranged weapons and other external tools are excluded. Furthermore, as a hunter who dwells in shadow, the more mysterious you remain, the further your fearsome name will spread and the greater the rewards you will receive.
Even a god cannot escape you.
A voice sounds in his mind. The system continues. After activating shadow form, your shadow execute ability will be enhanced. The HP threshold required to trigger it is lowered. When a target's HP falls below a certain threshold, it will turn crimson and a fatal point will become visible on their body. Strike that point and you can execute shadow execute, erasing the target entirely. The HP threshold is affected by both parties' strength, abilities, rank titles, and other factors.
Jang Yu stares at it all, lost in thought. Is this what that red orb was? The one that appeared on the specter at the end? Guaranteed damage plus shadow execute. Am I actually unstoppable now?
The thought sends him into another laughing fit, though the pose he strikes leaves much to be desired.
Then something else occurs to him. He unwraps his bandages. He checks himself over. Wasn't there supposed to be a risk? I feel completely fine. And the wounds have nearly healed. The medicine can't work that fast.
He gently pinches one of the wounds. A small scab falls away. He blinks. Is this the shadow form? That recovery speed is absurd.