Chapter 25 - The 20th level

Kael stood before the black door.

Three symbols were carved into it.

A lion.

A serpent.

A skull.

He reached toward the surface.

Nothing happened.

Then the System appeared.

[Bloodline Progress: 8%]

[Current Level: 19]

[Secondary Threshold: Level 20]

[Condition: Reach Level 20.]

Kael pulled his hand back.

“So I have to level up first.”

Nightfang looked toward the entrance.

“You're not going to like what comes next.”

Kael glanced at him.

“Why?”

“Because the forest has noticed your progress.”

Kael frowned.

“What does that mean?”

Nightfang's golden eyes narrowed.

“It means the stronger you become, the stronger the things hunting you become.”

A low growl echoed from outside.

Then another.

Then dozens.

Kael smiled.

“Good.”

He picked up his weapons.

“I need Level 20 anyway.”

The Crimson Hunt

Kael stepped outside.

The forest had changed.

Creatures that normally avoided him were moving toward him.

Not randomly.

Together.

A pack of Crimson Claw Wolves emerged first.

Then Ironhide Stalkers.

Then something much larger.

[Threat Analysis.]

[Crimson Ironhide Alpha]

Level: 27

Grade: Boss

Potential: Lord

Traits: Adaptive Armor, Pack Command, Blood Tracking, Darven Hunter

Kael's expression became serious.

Level 27.

Eight levels above him.

The Alpha roared.

The surrounding monsters charged.

Kael immediately activated his bloodline.

Darven Arsenal Domain.

Weapons appeared around him.

M-02 pistols.

MP-01 submachine guns.

AR-01 assault rifles.

SG-01 shotguns.

GL-02 grenade launchers.

The forest erupted with magical fire.

The first wave was thrown backward.

Kael didn't wait.

He moved.

The MP-01 fired toward a pack approaching from his right.

The SR-01 fired from behind him.

The shot struck an Ironhide Stalker directly in its exposed joint.

It fell.

Kael turned.

Three Crimson Claw Wolves were already approaching.

He dismissed the firearms.

The katana appeared in his hand.

The first wolf lunged.

Kael ducked.

SLASH.

The second attacked.

He blocked.

CLANG!

The impact forced him backward.

The third came from behind.

A pistol appeared in Kael's free hand.

BOOM!

The creature was knocked away.

Kael spun and struck the first wolf with the katana.

[Crimson Claw Wolf defeated.]

But the Alpha had reached him.

Its enormous claw swung horizontally.

Kael raised his katana.

BOOM!

He was thrown across the ground.

He rolled several times before stopping.

Pain spread through his ribs.

He immediately stood.

The Alpha charged.

Kael didn't retreat.

He raised his hand.

Metal Control.

The ground beneath the Alpha exploded upward.

Metal fragments wrapped around its legs.

The Alpha broke through them.

Kael had expected that.

He summoned the GL-02.

The projectile struck the ground directly beneath the beast.

BOOM!

The Alpha was launched upward.

Kael immediately summoned the SR-01.

He aimed.

The Alpha twisted in midair.

The shot missed its head.

But it struck the same damaged section of armor.

CRACK.

The Alpha landed.

One section of its armor had broken.

Kael smiled.

“Got you.”

The Alpha roared.

Its crimson mark began glowing.

Every monster in the forest suddenly became faster.

[Trait activated: Pack Command.]

The creatures attacked simultaneously.

Kael's eyes widened.

“That's cheating.”

He summoned every weapon he could.

The Arsenal Domain filled the battlefield.

Machine guns suppressed the wolves.

Shotguns knocked back the Stalkers.

Assault rifles tore through the gaps.

Grenade launchers separated the pack.

The sniper rifle waited.

Kael controlled everything.

But his mana was disappearing rapidly.

[Mana: 48%]

[Mana: 39%]

[Mana: 31%]

“Damn.”

The Alpha suddenly disappeared.

Kael's instincts screamed.

He turned.

Too late.

The Alpha struck him.

Kael was thrown into a tree.

His shoulder hit hard.

His vision blurred.

The Arsenal Domain collapsed.

[Mana: 18%]

Kael slowly stood.

The Alpha approached.

It was wounded.

But still standing.

Kael looked at the damaged armor.

Then at the metal fragments scattered across the battlefield.

Then at his katana.

An idea formed.

He had been thinking too much like a gunslinger.

The Darven bloodline wasn't about guns.

It was about metal.

Kael stretched his hand toward every piece of metal around him.

The fragments rose.

Hundreds.

Then thousands.

The Alpha stopped.

Kael's eyes glowed crimson.

“Metal Control.”

The entire battlefield moved.

Metal fragments wrapped around the Alpha.

It broke some.

Kael replaced them.

It destroyed more.

He created more.

The Alpha roared and charged.

Kael pulled harder.

The armor around its body began twisting.

The creature's movement slowed.

Kael grabbed his katana.

He ran forward.

The Alpha broke one arm free.

It swung.

Kael ducked.

The claw passed above his head.

He stepped inside its reach.

The katana struck the cracked section of armor.

CRACK!

The Alpha staggered.

Kael attacked again.

And again.

The final strike shattered the damaged armor.

The Alpha collapsed.

[Crimson Ironhide Alpha defeated.]

Silence.

Then—

[Level Up.]

Kael stared.

[Level 20.]

His body surged with energy.

Five attribute points appeared.

Kael allocated:

• Strength +1
• Agility +1
• Vitality +1
• Intelligence +2

Then the System changed.

The forest disappeared from his vision.

Everything became crimson.

[Major Darven Bloodline Threshold reached.]

[Bloodline Progress: 8% → 10%]

[Hidden Inheritance awakened.]

Kael's heart began pounding.

[Secondary Bloodline Function fully unlocked.]

[DARVEN FORGE.]

Kael froze.

The System continued.

Darven Forge:

Allows the host to create permanent weapons through Metal Control, mana, and bloodline energy.

Weapon quality depends upon materials, mastery, bloodline strength and blueprint complexity.

Higher-grade weapons require higher bloodline synchronization.

Kael stared.

This was different from the temporary Arsenal Domain.

These weapons could remain.

They could evolve.

They could become legendary.

Then another notification appeared.

[Bloodline Ability evolved.]

Metal Control: Advanced → Mastery Stage I

[New Skill: Weapon Manifestation]

Kael slowly raised his hand.

A weapon began forming.

Not a copy.

Not temporary energy.

Real metal.

Real mana.

A permanent weapon.

Crimson lines spread across its black surface.

The weapon formed into an assault rifle.

[Darven AR-02 created.]

Type: Magical Assault Rifle

Grade: 5 — Rare

Special Trait: Bloodline Synchronization

Special Trait: Mana Conduction

Kael stared at it.

Then smiled.

“This…”

He looked at the ruined forest.

“…is only the beginning.”

The Second Inheritance

The ancient library reacted.

Every book inside began floating.

The black door opened.

A massive wave of crimson energy swept through the underground structure.

Kael and Nightfang entered.

The three symbols on the door began glowing.

But only one activated.

The symbol of the lion.

A voice echoed through the chamber.

“The first inheritance has recognized you.”

Kael looked around.

“First?”

The voice continued.

“The Darven bloodline was divided because one bloodline was never meant to hold everything.”

Three enormous images appeared.

Weapons.

Beasts.

And something Kael couldn't identify.

“Metal.”

The first image glowed.

“Beasts.”

The second glowed.

Then the third.

“And the Origin.”

Kael stared.

“What is the Origin?”

Silence.

Then—

[Information Restricted.]

Kael frowned.

“Of course.”

The lion symbol suddenly released a beam of light.

It struck Kael's chest.

He didn't feel pain.

Instead—

he saw a vision.

A gigantic black lion.

Its fur moved like living darkness.

Crimson energy flowed through its body.

It was chained.

Thousands of enormous chains wrapped around it.

But the lion wasn't asleep.

It was awake.

Its golden eyes opened.

Kael felt its gaze.

For one terrifying second—

the beast looked directly at him.

Then the vision ended.

Kael stumbled backward.

Nightfang caught him.

“What did you see?”

Kael looked at the lion symbol.

“The Shadow Lion.”

Nightfang's expression changed.

“And?”

“It was chained.”

Nightfang became silent.

Kael continued.

“But the chains were different from normal chains.”

“How?”

Kael remembered the vision.

“They weren't holding its body.”

He looked toward the darkness.

“They were holding its power.”

Nightfang's eyes widened.

Kael suddenly understood.

The imprisonment hadn't merely kept the beasts inside.

It had been draining them.

For thousands of years.

And if that was true—

then the Legendary Beasts weren't simply waiting for someone to defeat them.

Something had been deliberately keeping them weak.

Kael looked at the three symbols.

“Who built those chains?”

The chamber answered with a single message.

[Unknown.]

Then another appeared.

[Legendary Beast battle preparation unlocked.]

[Three Legendary Beast weaknesses partially revealed.]

Shadow Lion — Shadow Core instability.

Verdant Serpent — Sealing growth restriction.

Bone Sovereign — Soul-flame instability.

Kael's eyes sharpened.

Now he had a path.

Not an easy one.

Not a safe one.

But a path.

Level 20.

Ten percent bloodline progress.

The Second Darven Inheritance.

And the first clues to defeating the three beings who had survived thousands of years.

Kael looked at his newly created AR-02.

Then at the three symbols.

“One day.”

His voice was quiet.

“I'll come for you.”

Far away, inside the pocket world—

the Shadow Lion opened its eyes again.

This time, it smiled.

Not because Kael had threatened it.

But because it had recognized something.

Something ancient.

Something that hadn't appeared in thousands of years.

A worthy challenger.

And somewhere even deeper—

the Bone Sovereign lifted its ancient staff.

Three blue flames burned brighter.

The hunt for the Darven had begun.

But the hunt for the Legendary Beasts—

had begun too.