Chapter 78 — The Ancient Hunting Ground

The central hunting region began where the four territories met.

Kael stood before its entrance.

Behind him lay the ruined battlefields of the Blackwater Expanse.

Ahead—

an enormous valley stretched beneath a dark red sky.

The vegetation was sparse.

Huge black stones covered the ground.

Ancient bones were half-buried beneath the soil.

And in the distance stood a mountain split perfectly down the middle.

Kael looked at his status.

[Kael Darven]

Level: 39

Strength: 38

Agility: 47

Vitality: 44

Intelligence: 42

Mana: 43

Bloodline Progress: 15%

Metal Control Mastery: III

Darven Armament: 3/3

Administrator Authority: Active

Beast Path Compatibility: 4%

One level separated him from Level 40.

But Kael wasn't thinking about the next level.

He was thinking about the final signature inside the valley.

The creature he had detected earlier.

Level 48.

The strongest ordinary monster he had planned to fight before reaching Level 50.

Kael opened the map generated from the Territory Cores.

The entire central region had been marked.

At the center was one enormous territory.

The System identified it.

[Ancient Hunting Ground]

Dominant Territory Lord: Unknown

Level: 48

Grade: Lord

Potential: Overlord

Historical Activity: Unknown

Warning: Territory has existed for more than 2,000 years.

Kael stared.

Two thousand years.

That was abnormal.

Most monsters changed territories.

Their power fluctuated.

Their environments changed.

But this creature had controlled the same region for thousands of years.

Kael slowly smiled.

“Then you must know this land better than anyone.”

He stepped forward.

The Ancient Hunting Ground

The moment Kael entered—

his Network Sense went silent.

No network.

No obvious mana current.

No visible territory boundary.

Nothing.

Kael stopped.

“That isn't normal.”

He activated Mana Detection.

Nothing.

Danger Sense.

Nothing.

Even his normal senses seemed strangely dulled.

The valley felt dead.

Kael kept walking.

A few hundred meters.

Then another few hundred.

Nothing attacked.

No monsters appeared.

No traps activated.

The silence itself was becoming suspicious.

Kael looked down.

His shadow was slightly distorted.

He froze.

His shadow moved.

But he hadn't.

Kael immediately jumped backward.

A blade made of darkness emerged from the ground.

SHING!

It missed his leg.

Kael's eyes sharpened.

“Shadow manipulation?”

The shadow disappeared.

Then—

another attack came from behind.

Kael spun.

Katana.

CLANG!

A dark blade struck his sword.

Kael was pushed backward.

There was no monster visible.

Only a silhouette.

Then it disappeared.

Kael waited.

Nothing.

He crouched.

His hand touched the ground.

Cold.

He activated Network Sense again.

Still nothing.

But this time—

he noticed a faint distortion.

Not mana.

Pressure.

The ground itself was carrying information.

Kael slowly smiled.

“You're not hiding your mana.”

He stood.

“You're hiding your existence.”

The creature attacked again.

Kael blocked.

The impact pushed him backward.

He counterattacked.

SLASH!

Nothing.

The silhouette disappeared.

Kael turned.

Another attack.

He blocked.

Another.

He jumped.

Another.

He rolled.

The creature never remained visible for more than a moment.

It was fighting entirely through blind spots.

Kael's eyes narrowed.

He stopped attacking.

The creature disappeared.

Kael stood still.

The next attack came from directly above.

Kael moved.

The blade missed.

Kael looked at the ground.

There.

A tiny distortion.

He followed it.

Another distortion appeared.

Then another.

The creature wasn't invisible.

It was moving through his own shadow.

Kael had found the rule.

Every time it attacked—

it had to emerge from a shadow.

Kael smiled.

“Got you.”

He drew several metal fragments.

Metal Control activated.

The fragments spread across the ground.

Each one reflected light.

Kael created dozens of tiny metallic surfaces.

The valley brightened.

The available shadows became smaller.

The creature suddenly appeared.

A dark humanoid figure stood behind him.

The System finally identified it.

[Ancient Umbral Stalker]

Level: 48

Grade: Lord

Potential: Overlord

Traits:

Umbral Form

Shadow Transit

Predator's Perception

Death Mark

Void Claw

Regeneration

Ancient Adaptation

Territory Authority

Kael's expression became serious.

“Death Mark.”

The creature moved.

Kael attacked.

SLASH!

The katana cut through its body.

The Stalker dissolved into shadow.

Kael immediately jumped.

A black mark appeared on the ground beneath him.

He moved away.

The mark exploded.

BOOM!

Kael was thrown sideways.

His eyes narrowed.

“If that had touched me…”

He didn't know what Death Mark did.

And he didn't want to find out.

The Stalker attacked again.

Kael blocked.

Its claws were stronger than its body suggested.

CLANG!

Kael stepped back.

The monster disappeared.

Kael scattered metal fragments.

The shadow field became smaller.

The Stalker emerged.

Kael fired physical rounds.

BANG! BANG!

The bullets struck.

The monster's body became liquid shadow.

The shots passed through.

Kael frowned.

“Umbral Form.”

He needed to force it solid.

He remembered the Drowned Mire Wraith.

Different creature.

Same principle.

Every transformation had a rule.

He watched carefully.

The Stalker became solid only when attacking.

Its claws needed physical form.

That was his opening.

Kael deliberately exposed his side.

The creature emerged.

Kael waited until the claw came within range.

Then—

Metal Control.

A metal ring formed around its wrist.

The Stalker became solid.

Kael pulled.

The creature's movement stopped.

Katana.

SLASH!

Its arm was cut.

The Stalker recoiled.

Kael attacked again.

SLASH!

Its shoulder.

Again.

SLASH!

Chest.

The creature dissolved.

Kael stepped back.

The wounds regenerated.

Fast.

Very fast.

But not instantly.

Kael noticed something.

The more physical form it took—

the slower its regeneration became.

He needed to force it into combat.

But the Stalker was intelligent.

It stopped attacking.

It began circling.

Kael watched the shadows.

Then—

a thought.

He took out GL-02.

The grenade launcher was almost empty.

Only two rounds remained.

Kael fired one into the center of the battlefield.

BOOM!

A burst of dust and debris covered the area.

The Stalker disappeared.

Kael fired the second.

BOOM!

The dust became denser.

The valley's normal shadows disappeared inside the cloud.

Kael activated Metal Control.

Hundreds of tiny metal fragments spread through the dust.

Their mana signatures formed a three-dimensional net.

Kael didn't need to see the Stalker.

He needed to know where something was moving.

A fragment moved.

Another.

Kael's eyes sharpened.

“There.”

The Stalker emerged behind him.

Kael turned instantly.

The creature's claw came toward his chest.

Kael caught its wrist.

Metal wrapped around the arm.

The Stalker tried to dissolve.

Kael increased mana output.

The transformation failed.

The monster became solid.

Kael's katana flashed.

SLASH!

The creature staggered.

Kael followed.

SLASH!

SLASH!

Three consecutive strikes.

The Stalker retreated.

Kael pursued.

It entered the shadow of the broken mountain.

Kael stopped.

Danger.

He did not enter.

The Stalker emerged from another shadow behind him.

Kael turned.

Too late.

A dark claw touched his shoulder.

A black mark appeared.

The System screamed.

[Death Mark detected.]

[Unknown effect.]

[Warning.]

[Mark is spreading.]

Kael immediately grabbed his shoulder.

The black mark was slowly moving inward.

He activated Metal Control.

Nothing.

Mana purification.

Nothing.

He tried cutting away the surrounding fabric.

The mark continued spreading.

Kael's eyes sharpened.

“So that's your weapon.”

The Stalker attacked again.

Kael dodged.

The mark spread another centimeter.

He needed a solution quickly.

He remembered his father's medical records.

Cursed marks.

External magical contamination.

Many could be suppressed by isolating the affected region.

Kael created a thin metal seal around his shoulder.

The mark stopped.

Not completely.

But the spread slowed.

Kael breathed out.

“Temporary.”

He couldn't fight forever.

The Stalker attacked.

Kael met it.

Their battle became closer.

The creature appeared.

Attack.

Disappear.

Shadow.

Strike.

Retreat.

Kael began reading it.

The Stalker favored the side opposite his marked shoulder.

It wanted the mark to spread.

Kael used that.

He deliberately left the marked side exposed.

The Stalker attacked.

Kael sidestepped.

The claw missed.

Metal Control grabbed the wrist.

Katana.

SLASH!

The Stalker lost its arm.

Its body dissolved.

But Kael didn't chase.

He watched.

The missing arm reformed from shadow.

Kael frowned.

“Complete regeneration.”

He needed another weakness.

The Territory Core.

The Stalker wasn't simply using shadows.

The entire valley was its territory.

Kael activated Network Sense again.

Nothing.

Then he tried something different.

Administrator Authority.

The Fourth Path spread outward.

For the first time—

the valley reacted.

Kael felt something.

A pulse.

Deep beneath the mountain.

He followed it.

One location.

The Ancient Hunting Ground wasn't powered by the Stalker.

The Stalker was anchored to something beneath the valley.

Kael smiled.

“Your territory has a source.”

The Stalker immediately charged.

Kael ran toward the mountain.

The creature pursued.

Kael used Metal Control to create platforms.

He climbed.

The Stalker followed.

Shadow blades appeared everywhere.

Kael blocked.

Parried.

Ducked.

Jumped.

Every movement brought him closer to the mountain.

The Stalker became faster.

It was desperate.

Kael reached the mountain wall.

His hand touched the stone.

Metal Control spread.

Nothing.

He pushed more mana.

Still nothing.

Then—

his bloodline reacted.

A faint Darven symbol appeared in the stone.

Kael's eyes widened.

“This…”

The Stalker appeared behind him.

Kael turned.

The monster attacked.

Kael blocked.

The force pushed him into the mountain.

His shoulder mark flared.

Pain shot through his body.

Kael gritted his teeth.

He looked at the stone.

Then at the Stalker.

The monster was protecting the mountain.

Not the other way around.

Kael smiled.

“So you're the guardian.”

The Stalker froze.

For half a second—

its expression changed.

Recognition.

Kael's eyes sharpened.

The ancient beast wasn't simply occupying the region.

It had been bound to an old structure.

That structure contained something.

And Kael's bloodline could interact with it.

He placed his palm against the stone again.

“Darven.”

Mana flowed.

The symbol brightened.

The mountain shook.

The Stalker roared.

It charged.

Kael didn't turn.

He trusted the structure.

The creature's claw came down.

CLANG!

A metallic barrier formed from the mountain itself.

The attack bounced away.

Kael's eyes widened.

“The territory is defending the structure.”

The System appeared.

[Ancient territorial mechanism detected.]

[Darven resonance confirmed.]

[Administrator authority recognized.]

[Temporary access granted.]

A hidden chamber opened inside the mountain.

Kael stepped backward.

The Stalker entered the chamber.

Kael followed.

Inside—

there was no treasure.

No weapon.

No monster nest.

Only a giant stone tablet.

Ancient writing covered it.

Kael couldn't read the language.

But the bloodline translated one sentence.

“THE HUNTER WHO REACHES THE FORTIETH LEVEL MAY CLAIM THE FIRST KEY.”

Kael's eyes widened.

“First key?”

The Stalker attacked.

Kael turned.

This time—

he didn't fight it in the dark.

He fought inside the ancient chamber.

The room had no shadows.

Only pale blue light from the tablet.

The Stalker lost its main advantage.

It still possessed Umbral Form.

But it could no longer travel freely.

Kael attacked.

SLASH!

The Stalker blocked.

CLANG!

It countered.

Kael ducked.

Void Claw.

Kael jumped.

Death Mark.

Kael avoided.

The battle became brutally close.

Every strike had to count.

Kael's shoulder continued hurting.

The creature adapted constantly.

It began using physical attacks more frequently.

Kael responded.

Metal Control created short blades.

The Stalker destroyed them.

Kael changed to a metal spear.

The Stalker dodged.

Kael shifted the spear in midair.

The weapon changed direction.

The Stalker was struck.

The battle continued.

Five minutes.

Ten.

Fifteen.

Neither could finish the other.

Kael's mana fell rapidly.

The Stalker's regeneration slowed.

Its body became increasingly unstable.

Kael realized something.

The tablet was suppressing its shadow form.

The longer they fought—

the weaker it became.

Kael decided to end it.

He baited the creature into using Death Mark.

The Stalker struck.

Kael allowed the claw to approach.

At the last second—

Metal Control.

The wrist was trapped.

The Stalker became solid.

Kael stepped inside.

Katana.

SLASH!

Chest.

The creature recoiled.

Kael followed.

SLASH!

Neck.

The Stalker tried to dissolve.

Kael increased Metal Control.

The transformation failed.

The creature screamed.

Kael drove the blade into its center.

The battle ended.

The System appeared.

[Ancient Umbral Stalker defeated.]

[Ancient Territory Lord defeated.]

[Ancient Territory Core obtained.]

[Ancient Adaptation recorded.]

[Experience acquired.]

Kael waited.

Then—

[Level Up.]

[Level 40 reached.]

Kael stood silently.

Level 40.

The fourth threshold.

Five points remained.

He allocated:

+1 Strength

+1 Agility

+2 Vitality

+1 Intelligence

[Strength: 39]

[Agility: 48]

[Vitality: 46]

[Intelligence: 43]

[Mana: 44]

Then the System changed.

The entire screen disappeared.

A single message replaced it.

[Bloodline Threshold: Fourth.]

[Darven Bloodline requirements satisfied.]

[Sealed inheritance archive unlocked.]

[Warning.]

[Opening the archive may permanently alter Bloodline progression.]

[Proceed?]

Kael stared.

The inheritance his father had mentioned.

The inheritance prepared specifically for the Darven who reached the fourth threshold.

Kael's hand tightened.

“Yes.”

The world went dark.

Then—

a room appeared inside his consciousness.

A massive stone hall.

Four statues stood at the center.

Three were broken.

The fourth remained intact.

In front of it was a sealed chest.

And above the chest—

a name.

Not Darven.

Not Administrator.

Something older.

Something Kael had never seen.

He reached toward it.

The moment his fingers touched the seal—

a voice echoed.

“You have reached the fourth threshold.”

Kael froze.

The voice sounded ancient.

Older than his father.

Older than the network.

Older than the lost branch.

Then it said—

“Now prove that you deserve the fifth.”

The inheritance opened.

And Chapter 79 would reveal what had been hidden inside it.