Chapter 14 — The Second Stage

Kael stared at the black crystal in his palm.

[Hidden Inheritance Fragment detected.]

[Progress: 2%]

The number refused to change.

He turned the crystal over.

Nothing.

He poured mana into it.

Still nothing.

He tried Metal Control.

The crystal immediately reacted.

A faint crimson line appeared across its surface.

Kael quickly stopped.

The Golden-Eyed Nightfang watched him carefully.

"What is it?"

"I don't know."

The Nightfang's expression remained serious.

"Then don't activate it."

Kael looked at him.

"Why?"

"Because the first fragment only revealed itself after you touched the black metal."

Kael frowned.

"And?"

"And the forest has been getting more dangerous ever since."

Kael looked toward the trees.

He couldn't deny it.

First, the mysterious armored creature.

Then the underground gate.

Then the Stonefang Guardian.

Then the strange black metal.

Now this crystal.

Everything seemed connected.

But there was one problem.

Kael still didn't know who was moving the pieces.

The Crystal

Kael returned to his camp.

He placed the crystal on a stone.

This time, he didn't touch it.

He surrounded it with several pieces of ordinary iron.

Then he activated Metal Control.

The iron moved.

Slowly, it formed a ring around the crystal.

Nothing happened.

Kael increased his mana.

Still nothing.

He tried again with mithril.

The crystal reacted immediately.

WHOOM.

A small projection appeared above it.

Kael stepped backward.

A figure appeared.

It was impossible to identify.

The projection was heavily distorted.

But Kael recognized the armor.

Darven armor.

The figure spoke.

"To the heir who discovers this fragment..."

Kael's expression changed.

The voice was old.

Very old.

"This is not a weapon."

The projection flickered.

"Do not mistake the inheritance for an arsenal."

Kael stared.

"The weapons are merely tools."

The figure raised one hand.

Behind him appeared a massive structure.

It looked like a gate.

But unlike the underground gate, this one was covered in hundreds of symbols.

"The Darven inheritance was divided."

Kael's breathing slowed.

"Three paths."

The projection flickered again.

"Blood."

"Metal."

"And—"

The projection suddenly distorted.

The final word became impossible to hear.

Kael stepped closer.

"What?"

The crystal cracked slightly.

The projection disappeared.

Kael stared at it.

"Of course."

The Nightfang looked at the broken crystal.

"What did it say?"

Kael shook his head.

"Not enough."

The System appeared.

[Historical recording detected.]

[Recording damaged.]

[Information recovered: 41%.]

Kael's eyes narrowed.

"Can you recover the rest?"

[Insufficient information.]

"Can I repair it?"

[Unknown.]

Kael sighed.

The System was becoming less useful with every mystery.

Then another notification appeared.

[Hidden Inheritance Progress: 2%]

[Second Stage condition discovered.]

Kael immediately focused.

[Condition: Reach Level 7.]

He blinked.

"Level 7?"

The Nightfang looked at him.

"That's all?"

"For now."

Kael smiled.

That was something he could understand.

No ancient gate.

No impossible monster.

No mysterious artifact.

Just becoming stronger.

Three Days

Kael spent the next three days hunting.

He didn't rush.

He chose monsters carefully.

Level 5.

Level 6.

Occasionally Level 7.

He avoided anything above Level 10 unless he had a clear advantage.

His fighting style gradually changed.

He stopped firing constantly.

Instead, he used his weapons according to the situation.

The Darven SG-01 for close-range attacks.

The Darven SR-01 for distant targets.

The Darven AR-01 for sustained combat.

The Darven GL-01 for groups and area control.

The Darven M-01 remained his emergency sidearm.

And his katana was still his most reliable weapon when mana became low.

His Metal Control improved as well.

He could now manipulate several weapons simultaneously.

Not perfectly.

But enough to create unpredictable attacks.

On the third evening—

[Level Up!]

Kael stopped.

The familiar energy flowed through him.

[Level increased: 5 → 6]

[5 Attribute Points awarded.]

He opened his status.

His current attributes were:

Strength: 12

Agility: 15

Vitality: 13

Intelligence: 16

Kael thought carefully.

He didn't want to put everything into one attribute.

He allocated:

+1 Strength

+2 Agility

+1 Vitality

+1 Intelligence

His attributes became:

Strength: 13

Agility: 17

Vitality: 14

Intelligence: 17

His body felt lighter.

His movements were sharper.

But Kael wasn't satisfied.

"One more level."

He needed Level 7.

The Trap

The next morning, Kael discovered something strange.

There were no monster tracks.

Not one.

The entire area was empty.

Kael crouched and examined the ground.

"Something is wrong."

The Nightfang sniffed the air.

"Yes."

"What?"

"Nothing."

Kael looked at him.

"Exactly."

The forest should have been filled with sounds.

But there wasn't a single animal nearby.

Then—

BOOM!

A massive barrier suddenly appeared around them.

Kael jumped backward.

Blue lines formed across the trees.

The Nightfang's expression changed.

"We need to leave."

Kael fired at the barrier.

BOOM!

The shot bounced off.

He tried Metal Control.

Nothing.

The barrier wasn't metal.

The Nightfang attacked.

Its claws struck the barrier.

CLANG!

It was thrown backward.

Kael rushed toward it.

"Are you okay?"

The Nightfang stood.

"I'm fine."

Then a voice echoed through the forest.

"Darven heir."

Kael froze.

The voice wasn't coming from one direction.

It came from everywhere.

"Who are you?"

No answer.

Instead—

[Trial detected.]

Kael's eyes widened.

The System appeared.

[Hidden Trial: The Second Stage]

[Objective: Survive.]

[Time Limit: 10 minutes]

[Combat victory is not required.]

Kael stared.

"Survive?"

A figure appeared beyond the barrier.

It was humanoid.

But this time, Kael could see it clearly.

A suit of ancient black armor.

A long cloak.

And a mask covering its entire face.

Kael activated Threat Analysis.

[Target Analysis.]

Level: 18

Grade: Boss

Species: Unknown

Potential: Unknown

Traits: Unknown

Kael's expression became serious.

Level 18.

He was Level 6.

The gap was still enormous.

The armored figure raised one hand.

Several black blades appeared around it.

Kael immediately understood.

"This isn't a fight."

The blades flew.

Kael dodged.

WHOOSH!

One blade cut through a tree behind him.

Another passed dangerously close to his shoulder.

Kael sprinted.

The Nightfang moved beside him.

"Ten minutes!"

"I know!"

Kael fired the GL-01.

BOOM!

The explosion filled the area with smoke.

Kael didn't wait.

He ran in the opposite direction.

The armored figure appeared ahead of him.

Kael changed direction.

Another blade flew.

He ducked.

The blade cut several strands of his hair.

"Too fast!"

Kael switched to the SG-01.

BOOM!

The armored figure blocked the blast.

Kael didn't try again.

He ran.

The Nightfang suddenly shouted:

"Left!"

Kael turned.

A blade passed through the exact spot where his head had been.

He continued running.

Three minutes.

Four.

Five.

His breathing became heavy.

The armored figure never seemed tired.

Kael realized something.

It wasn't trying to kill him.

Not seriously.

It was controlling the fight.

Forcing him to move.

Testing his decisions.

Kael looked around.

Then he noticed something.

The barrier wasn't circular.

There was a small gap near the top of one of the trees.

Too small for a person.

But—

Kael looked at his weapons.

A plan formed.

"Nightfang!"

"What?"

"I need thirty seconds."

"For what?"

"Trust me."

The Nightfang looked at him.

Then nodded.

Kael dropped the GL-01.

He activated Metal Control.

The weapon began separating.

Piece by piece.

The components rose into the air.

The armored figure turned toward him.

Kael smiled.

"Metal Arsenal."

The pieces shot upward.

The figure raised its hand.

Black blades appeared.

Kael immediately changed the formation.

Instead of attacking—

The metal pieces formed a staircase.

Kael jumped.

One step.

Two.

Three.

He reached the tree.

The gap was directly above him.

He pushed his Metal Control harder.

His mana dropped rapidly.

The metal pieces formed a temporary platform.

Kael jumped again.

His hand reached the barrier.

For a moment—

Nothing happened.

Then the barrier flickered.

Kael felt something pass through his body.

[Trial condition recognized.]

The timer reached ten minutes.

[Trial Complete.]

The armored figure stopped.

All the blades disappeared.

Kael landed on the ground.

He was exhausted.

But alive.

The System appeared.

[Hidden Trial completed.]

[Evaluation: Survival.]

[Combat victory was not required.]

[Reward granted.]

Kael waited.

[Hidden Inheritance Progress: 2% → 3%]

He stared.

"Only one percent?"

The armored figure suddenly spoke.

"Power is not the only measure of a Darven."

Kael looked at it.

"Who are you?"

The figure didn't answer.

Instead, it disappeared.

The barrier vanished.

The Nightfang walked toward Kael.

"You passed."

Kael looked at the place where the figure had disappeared.

"That wasn't a normal monster."

"No."

"Was it human?"

The Nightfang was silent.

Kael looked at him.

"You know."

"I know what it was."

"What?"

The Nightfang's golden eyes narrowed.

"A guardian."

Kael's expression hardened.

"Guardian of what?"

The Nightfang looked toward the depths of the forest.

"Your inheritance."

Kael looked down at his hand.

The Darven mark had become slightly brighter.

Then the System displayed one final message.

[Next inheritance stage unlocked.]

[Requirement: Level 10.]

Kael smiled.

"Level 10."

He looked at his weapons.

His damaged MP-01.

His SG-01.

His AR-01.

His SR-01.

His GL-01.

And the Darven katana.

He had a long way to go.

But for the first time, the path ahead felt clear.

Become stronger.

Reach Level 10.

Discover what the Darven inheritance really was.

And eventually—

Return to the gate.

Kael turned toward the forest.

"Let's hunt."

The Nightfang smiled.

But far away, hidden among the trees, the black-armored guardian watched him leave.

Its mask slowly cracked.

Behind it was not a human face.

Only darkness.

And two faint crimson eyes.

"He still doesn't know what he is."

A second voice answered from somewhere deeper in the forest.

"He isn't supposed to know yet."

The guardian looked toward Kael.

"Then when does he learn?"

Silence.

Then—

"When the bloodline reaches ten percent."

The guardian disappeared.

The forest became silent again.

And Kael continued walking toward Level 7.

Completely unaware that somewhere ahead of him...

The Darven bloodline was waiting.

[End of Chapter 14]