Chapter 2: The first Legion

"...Mine is F-Rank."

Someone shouted.

Soon, more voices followed.

"I got C-Rank!"

"E-Rank..."

"Mine’s called Farmer."

People began comparing their professions. Some smiled with relief while others looked disappointed.

Just like Ethan remembered, most professions fell between F and D. A few people awakened C-Rank professions, drawing envious looks from those nearby.

Then a surprised voice rang out.

"...A-Rank?"

Lucian looked at his panel, surprise flashing across his face.

"Arcane Swordsman..."

The surrounding chatter came to an abrupt halt.

"A-Rank?"

"What profession is that?"

"I only got C-Rank..."

Before anyone could recover from the surprise, another voice spoke up.

"I... I’m A-Rank too."

It was Elena.

She lowered her eyes to her panel.

"...Life Priestess."

A wave of excitement swept through the crowd.

Two A-Rank professions had appeared among them.

Ethan merely glanced in their direction before looking away.

"As expected..."

Apart from him, nothing had changed.

Lucian was still the Arcane Swordsman.

Elena was still the Life Priestess.

History was following the same path.

People continued gathering around Lucian and Elena.

Lucian answered patiently, without showing any pride.

After a while, he looked toward Ethan.

Seeing him sitting alone beneath the tree, he excused himself and walked over.

He stopped in front of Ethan.

"Ethan."

Ethan looked up.

"What profession did you get?"

Before Ethan could answer, a loud bang echoed across the grassland.

Boom!

Everyone turned at once.

The golden barrier around them had become much dimmer than before.

Outside it, monsters were throwing themselves against it again and again.

Every impact made the barrier shake.

Someone swallowed nervously.

"...Is it going to break?"

Panic quickly spread through the crowd.

"What do we do?"

"The monsters are going to get in!"

"Can someone stop them?"

People instinctively moved away from the barrier, their eyes fixed on the cracks spreading across its surface.

Ethan simply watched.

He remembered this scene all too well. The barrier wasn’t breaking yet. It was only running out of power. There were still three minutes left before it completely disappeared.

Three minutes before the real test began.

Lucian looked around at the frightened crowd before taking a step forward.

"Everyone, listen." His calm voice immediately drew everyone’s attention.

"We don’t know what will happen after the barrier disappears, but standing alone is too dangerous. The safest thing we can do right now is stay together."

Many people nodded in agreement. After all, they had been thrown into a completely unfamiliar world. Staying in a group was the only thing that gave them a sense of security.

Lucian’s eyes turned to Ethan beneath the tree.

"Ethan, come with us."

Ethan looked at him and calmly shook his head.

"I’ll be fine on my own."

The smile on Lucian’s face paused for a brief moment before returning.

Someone in the crowd spoke up.

"What’s your problem?"

"Lucian’s trying to help you."

"Yeah. You punched him for no reason, and he’s still willing to look out for you."

Several others nodded in agreement.

"If you ask me, he’s just being ungrateful."

Lucian raised a hand, stopping the discussion before it could continue.

"That’s enough," he said with a helpless smile. "This isn’t the time to argue. Ethan has always had his own way of doing things."

He looked at Ethan again.

"If you change your mind, we’ll be right here."

Ethan met his gaze.

"...I hope you remember those words."

Without waiting for a reply, he closed his eyes.

Three minutes was all they had left and he had no intention of wasting them.

Whatever this EX-Rank Legion Summoner was, he needed to understand it before the barrier disappeares.

[Profession: Legion Summoner (EX)

Description: A profession that commands countless legion types. Unlock new legions as your level increases. Every legion possesses unique soldiers and its own growth path, while granting you an exclusive Divine Legion Skill.]

[Skill: Legion Formation

Description: Create a summoning formation to recruit legion members, deploy them from the Legion Space, or recall them at your command.]

[Innate Talent: One Mind, One Legion (Divine)

Description: Every member of your legion is connected as one. You can perceive through their senses, always know their location and status, and all beneficial effects gained by you are shared with your legion.]

Ethan read the descriptions again.

His heart couldn’t help but speed up.

A profession that commanded countless legion types...

Each legion had its own soldiers.

Its own growth path.

And every new legion would grant him an exclusive Divine Skill.

"...Divine?"

A trace of disbelief flashed across Ethan’s eyes.

He had spent nineteen years in this world.

He had seen countless professions and uncovered countless inheritances.

Yet this was the first time he had ever come across the word "Divine."

Just what had he awakened?

His gaze finally settled on the only profession skill[Legion Formation]and activated it.

A complex formation nearly twenty meters wide spread beneath his feet.

At the same time, a new panel appeared before him.

[Legion Formation Activated.]

[Searching for a compatible legion...]

A few seconds later, the words on the panel changed.

[Compatible Legion Found.]

[Shadow Wraith Legion]

[Would you like to recruit your first legion?]

Ethan nodded.

"Yes."

The moment his voice fell, the formation beneath his feet began to shine.

"What is that?"

The people standing nearby quickly stepped back, afraid of being caught inside it.

Even Lucian’s attention was drawn over.

Another notification appeared before Ethan.

[Recruiting first legion...]

[Recruitment in progress...]

A few seconds passed and the shadows inside the formation suddenly began to move.

They gathered toward the center of the formation at a speed visible to the naked eye.

Before long, dozens of dark figures stood silently within the formation.

Their faces were hidden beneath black hoods, while tattered cloaks covered their slender bodies.

[Successfully recruited your first legion.]

[Shadow Wraith Legion × 50]

Legion Traits:

[Shadow Body]

Can hide within shadows and move between connected shadows.

[Silent Presence]

Greatly reduces their presence, making them difficult to detect.

Legion Skills:

[Shadow Strike]

Attack directly from a target’s shadow, dealing increased damage.

[Shadow Bind]

Extend surrounding shadows to bind a target for a short time, restricting its movement.

Divine Legion Skill:

[Shadow Veil]

Description: As long as one Shadow Wraith remains hidden within a shadow, your presence cannot be detected, tracked, or locked onto by any ability. Your location, aura, and traces are concealed. However, you can still be seen with the naked eye.

Before anyone could react, the familiar voice spoke again.

[Protection Period has ended.]

[The first trial will now begin.]

[Survive.]

Crack!

The golden barrier finally shattered.

A flood of monsters rushed toward the grassland.

"W-What’s happening?!"

"They’re coming!"

"What are those things?!"

People panicked as dozens of monsters charged at them.

Lucian was the first to react.

He pulled out the dagger at his waist and stepped forward.

"Don’t panic!"

"Their levels aren’t high!"

"If we fight together, we can kill them!"

As he spoke, a wolf-like monster lunged at him.

Lucian dodged to the side and drove his dagger straight into its neck.

The monster let out a miserable cry before collapsing to the ground.

"It died!"

"So they’re not that strong!"

"He’s right!"

Seeing the monster fall, the fear in everyone’s hearts eased.

One after another, they drew their weapons and rushed forward.

Ethan didn’t move.

He looked at the fifty Shadow Soldiers standing silently around him.

"Hide."

The moment the order left his mouth, all fifty Shadow Soldiers melted into the surrounding shadows.

They disappeared without a trace.

"What...?"

Someone nearby rubbed their eyes.

"Where did they go?"

Before anyone could think about it, a Level 1 monster changed direction and charged straight toward Ethan.

It had only taken a few steps.

Its shadow suddenly twisted.

Whoosh!

Black figures burst out of the shadow beneath its feet.

[Shadow Bind]

The monster’s body froze, unable to move.

[Shadow Strike]

The next second, Black blades flashed from the shadows.

Before the Horned Jackal could react, dozens of cuts appeared across its body.

The Horned Jackal collapsed to the ground.

[You have killed Horned Jackal (Level 1).]

[Experience +10]

A pale red orb slowly rose from the corpse.

Inside the orb was a small crimson symbol shaped like a clenched fist.

Strength.

Ethan recognized it immediately.

Essence Buffs.

One of the most valuable resources in the Elyria.

Every orb contained a temporary blessing. Once crushed, the buffs would be absorbed immediately. Different monsters produced different essences, though not every monster left one behind.

"Bring it."

A Shadow Soldier emerged from the nearest shadow, picked up the orb, and silently placed it into Ethan’s hand before disappearing again.

Without hesitation, Ethan crushed it.

The orb shattered into countless specks of light and flowed into his body.

[Strength +10]

[Duration: 10 Minutes]

[One Mind, One Legion activated.]

[Strength +10 has been shared with all 50 Shadow Soldiers.]

[Duration: 10 Minutes]

Ethan could clearly feel it.

The moment the buff was shared, every Shadow Soldier became slightly stronger.

One Mind, One Legion...

It really shared every beneficial effect he received with the entire legion.

A smile appeared on Ethan’s face.

This Divine Talent was even stronger than he had imagined.

He looked at the shadows around him.

"Split up and hunt."

"And bring every Essence buffs back to me."

The fifty Shadow Soldiers disappeared at once.

Soon, system notifications began appearing one after another.

[Shadow Soldier has killed Forest Goblin (Level 1).]

[Experience +10]

[Shadow Soldier has killed Horned Jackal (Level 1).]

[Experience +10]

[Shadow Soldier has killed Wild Boar (Level 1).]

[Experience +10]