Chapter 49: The Awakening Of The Shadow
{DING.}
{Congratulations on Investing in your wife Kelly.}
{Investment: Protected her from danger.}
{Congratulations, Master Triggered the 90,000x Return.}
{Gained a New skill: Shadow Merge.}
{Shadow Merge Description: When activated, User will become invisible to creatures below him or her in rank.}
{Second stage: Can attack while invisible, and Attack increases by 100%. Divine-Tier Skill. [no Cooldown].}
{Note: Skill limit reached.}
{Congratulations, Master gained a new physique! Shadow Body-Heaven-Tier.}
{Shadow Body Description: Master can sense and control the surrounding shadows.}
{Only Ability: Shadow Force: Can manipulate, and extract shadows.}
{All stats doubled when fighting in the dark.}
{Congratulations! Master gained nine Hundred billion dollars.}
{Money sent to the bank.}
Asher stood frozen, staring at the system screen, the glowing golden notifications reflecting in his wide eyes. He actually gained two physiques, was that even possible? In all the history books he had devoured during his isolation, an Awakened having more than one physique was considered a physical impossibility—a biological law that couldn’t be broken.
He had heard of people having one physique, but two? This was a first.
Thanks to his wives, he was growing faster than ever... The System’s investment returns were turning him into a world-ending monster at exponential speed. Asher turned to the men lying dead on the floor, if they weren’t here, he wouldn’t have gained such a harvest. Their foolish attempt to ambush him had accidentally gifted him unprecedented strength and a bank balance that could destabilize entire national economies.
"Come on, we need to leave." He said, turning his head to Kelly, who was already walking towards him with her usual posture, completely unbothered by the fresh blood on the floor.
"I have a question, why kill them? At least you should have left one so we can interrogate him... We need to know who sent them." She said, her corporate, tactical mindset immediately looking for the mastermind behind the hit.
Asher kept the sword in his storage, the Heaven-Tier blade vanishing into thin air: "There is no need for that... We have few enemies. My family are one; and some noble families who are after you three... My family is in Crownfall City, they don’t even know if I am alive or dead... As for Luna, she is a battle psychopath, she will never attack from the back. It only moves to you three... Sara and Juliana aren’t here, meaning they’re after you." He walked towards their pockets, and after some searching, he brought out an envelope.
"Do you remember this seal?" He asked, showing Kelly the red cross seal stamped in dark wax.
"That’s from the Tang family, in the past, they fought with my company for some lands... Now, I already lost everything, so why are they after me?" Kelly muttered in confusion, her brows furrowed as she stared at the emblem of her old rivals.
Asher stared at the envelope, then stood upright, his expression darkening. He had powerful abilities, but he wasn’t strong enough yet to openly challenge an entire noble house without risking his wives’ safety.
"After the dungeon, I will visit them." He muttered under his breath, a cold promise settling deep in his chest, then turned to Kelly:
"Oh, I am planning on giving our family a name, do you have any suggestions?"
"Family name?"
Asher nodded at her, waiting for her next words, curious to hear her thoughts on the foundation of their new legacy.
"Family name... I don’t care about that, pick what you know is the best. I still have some time, let’s go."
Asher stared at her, as she walked towards the entrance, he smiled, feeling his new Shadow Body physique resonate with the darkness of the room, and suddenly vanished.
"....?!"
Not hearing any movement behind her, Kelly turned around only to see an empty space? She frowned, moving her gaze all over the place, searching every shadow. Only the dead bodies of the Assassins were left behind, but Asher, he was gone.
There wasn’t any window, and there was only one entrance, so how did he suddenly vanish?
’Does he also have these assassins’ skills? But with the rank of that skill, only S-Rank above could use it.’ She thought, her expression calm despite the eerie silence of the hall.
"How did you acquire such a skill?" She asked, placing her arms on her hips, expecting him to chuckle and step out from behind a pillar.
Silence... The quiet was deafening.
"....?!"
Kelly frowned, a slight edge slipping into her voice: "Hey! Stop this prank!"
Silence....
Now she was finally getting anxious. In an Awakened world, there are countless abilities, maybe someone took him without her even knowing. Panic spiked in her chest at the thought of losing her protector right after reclaiming her mind.
’No! That can’t be the case? Who will be after Asher?’
BANG!!
".....?!!"
Kelly sharply turned to the hallway, and ran inside, only to freeze by the door, she grabbed it, and tried to unlock it, only for it to be sealed shut from the outside:
’What is this?!! Did he fucking lock me in a Haunted house?!! I’m not scared of these puny haunted tricks but still!’
BOOOOM!!
A huge explosion came from the outside, shaking the foundation of the building and freezing her in place: ’Wait! Are they fighting outside?!!’
___
[Ten Minutes Ago.]
[Outside.]
"Why haven’t those three come out here?" A lady asked, sitting casually on her levitating mage staff, a slight frown on her face. Her robes billowed in the night air, marking her high status.
The ten men standing behind her looked at one another, then shrugged, fully confident in the three SS-Rank shadow assassins they had sent inside.
"Our Rose Guild was given this task, we can’t fail." She said, and closed her eyes, spreading her energy all over the building, searching for the life signatures of her people, then froze.
"They are dead." She exclaimed in shock, her eyes snapping open.
"What?! That’s impossible, the three elders are both SS-RANK Shadow Assassins!" One yelled in disbelief.
’That kid, is he hiding his true strength?! Seems I should have brought all my guild members, but no worries, the ten behind me are all A-Rank and S-Rank... Besides, I am here... That kid won’t survive the night.’ She thought, her confidence returning as she pointed a finger at the Haunted house, preparing to level the entire structure:
"Kill everyone inside!! Atta---"
She froze, and due to years of fighting, she quickly leaped into the air, as a dark shadow moved towards them with insane speed.
WHOOSH!!
’What?’
This thought appeared simultaneously in the ten members’ minds, as they all dropped to the ground dead, their throats opened before they could even draw their weapons.
{Judgement Strike Activated.}
"Impossible?! How did..." She landed on her feet, staring at the dead bodies of her ten guild members, her heart pounding against her ribs. She didn’t even see the attacker, then how...
"How dare you sneak up on me!! Come out!!" She yelled in rage, as her spirit energy burst out, spreading all over the place, fracturing the pavement beneath her feet.
"An SSS-RANK Earth Mage... You will be the first SSS-RANK I will kill."
".....?!!"
She moved her gaze around, her eyes darting frantically across the shadows, not seeing the one speaking. At that moment, facing an invisible reaper whose presence she couldn’t even parse, she knew she was fucked:
’Damn it!’