The Forsaken Awakening

One Day Ago – Jinhyuk's Apartment

Jinhyuk sat cross-legged on his bed, the glow of his system interface illuminating the dimly lit room.

His heart pounded as he scrolled through his updated status.

His progress over the past month had been insane.

---

[ System Status – Jin Jinhyuk ]

[ Level: 17 ]

Next Level: 32/200 EXP

[ Stats ]

Strength: 33 → 40

Agility: 42 → 55

Endurance: 30 → 38

Mana: 72 → 90

Perception: 49 → 60

---

[ Skills & Abilities ]

[ Unique Skill: Lord of Shadows ] (Evolved from Lord of Illusions)

Illusions and shadows have merged into reality.

Can distort enemy perception and influence surroundings.

Now able to temporarily shift into shadow form for 0.5 seconds.

[ Abyssal Domain ] (B-Rank)

Creates a field where illusions and shadows blend into reality.

Enhances shadow attacks and disrupts enemy perception.

[ Shadow Manipulation ] (C+ Rank, Improved)

Now allows shaping multiple shadow constructs at once.

Can extend shadows for long-range attacks.

[ Shadow Blink ] *(New!)

Short-range teleportation (5 meters max).

Cooldown: 10 seconds.

[ Phantom Steps ] (Improved)

Movement speed and evasion increased by 30%.

Now allows momentary acceleration in battle.

[ Poison Resistance ] (Passive)

Reduces effects of poison by 50%.

[ Mana Affinity ] (Passive, Improved)

Illusions and shadow constructs now last 20% longer.

Mana regeneration increased.

---

Hunter Rank: B-Class

Jinhyuk stared at the screen, a mix of excitement and disbelief washing over him.

"This… this is insane."

He had never imagined progressing this fast.

From a D-Class hunter struggling to survive… to standing at the gates of true strength.

"One more month before the DHR exam."

He clenched his fists.

"I need to go even further."

---

Present – Forgotten Crypt (D-Class Dungeon, Solo Raid)

The cold, damp air of the crypt snapped him back to reality.

Jinhyuk grinned as three skeleton warriors rushed toward him, their rusted weapons raised.

"Time to put all this training to the test."

He activated Phantom Steps, his body blurring as he sidestepped effortlessly.

The first skeleton swung too slow—

Jinhyuk drove a shadow spear straight through its skull.

CRACK!

The second and third skeletons attacked together.

Jinhyuk layered his illusions, making them see him in three different positions.

They hesitated—

And he capitalized.

"Shadow Blink."

WHOOSH!

He appeared behind them, his shadows forming twin daggers.

With a single, fluid motion—

SLASH!

Both skeletons collapsed into dust.

[ EXP Gained: 18 ]

Jinhyuk cracked his neck.

"Too easy."

But then—

The crypt rumbled.

A loud, chilling neigh echoed through the underground chamber.

Jinhyuk's eyes snapped up.

From the depths of the crypt, a massive, skeletal knight rode forth.

Its head wasn't attached to its body—instead, it held its own skull in its left hand.

In its right hand, it gripped a greatsword, black flames flickering along its length.

[ Mini-Boss Identified: Headless Knight (D+ Rank Variant) ]

"Oh."

Jinhyuk smiled.

"Now this is interesting."

---

The Headless Knight charged forward, its skeleton warhorse galloping unnaturally fast through the tight crypt corridors.

Jinhyuk barely had time to react—

He rolled to the side as the black-flamed greatsword carved through the stone where he had been standing.

BOOM!

Dust and debris filled the air.

"Fast and strong. Alright, let's dance."

Jinhyuk extended his shadow, trying to bind the Knight's movements—

But the warhorse jumped, twisting midair before landing with terrifying precision.

The Knight hurled its own skull toward Jinhyuk.

His eyes widened. It can attack like that?!

He barely dodged as the skull exploded on impact, sending out a shockwave of dark energy.

Jinhyuk gritted his teeth.

"Guess I'll have to go all out."

He activated Abyssal Domain.

The air around him warped, his shadows expanding like living creatures.

The Knight halted, its skeletal hands twitching—it could sense the shift in reality.

But Jinhyuk wasn't going to let it adapt.

He teleported forward with Shadow Blink, appearing above the Knight.

His shadow spear formed instantly—

And he drove it down.

CRACK!

The spear pierced through the Knight's exposed ribcage.

The monster let out a chilling wail, its body twitching violently.

Jinhyuk smirked.

"Stay down."

He twisted the spear—

And the Headless Knight shattered into dust.

[ Mini-Boss Defeated. Dungeon Cleared. ]

[ You Have Leveled Up! ]

[ New Skill Acquired: Shadow Summoning ]

Allows summoning of a fallen enemy as a temporary shadow servant.

Summoned creatures retain skills from when they were alive.

Currently weak, but can be improved.

Jinhyuk blinked at the notification.

"Summoning?"

He activated the skill out of curiosity.

A dark mist swirled, and the faint form of the Headless Knight reappeared, its glowing eyes flickering dimly.

It looked… weak.

Jinhyuk crossed his arms.

"Huh. Not that useful right now."

He dismissed the summon, making a mental note to figure it out later.

For now—

He checked his updated status.

[ Level 17 → 18 ]

[ Shadow Summoning Unlocked ]

One dungeon down.

But Jinhyuk was far from done.

He turned toward the next dungeon request on his system.

"Let's see if I can push this even further."

With that, he stepped out of the crypt—ready for his next solo raid.