Chapter 116: A Shadow in the Storm

Luke sat by the fire, chewing on one of those blue pear-shaped fruits. The orange glow flickered against the damp cave walls, warming his face while, deeper in the shadows, the Mantis’s corpse lay still — finally defeated.

He took another slow bite, tasting the mildly sour flavor, and let the weight on his shoulders start to fade. That constant pressure, the feeling of being hunted… it was gone.

For the first time in what felt like ages, he could breathe.

His fingers reached up, touching the necklace around his neck. The image of the dimensional storage room flickered in his mind, showing his supplies.

“Is it just me… or are some of the fruits missing?” he muttered, frowning.

It was the third time he had noticed. Normally, he never paid attention to small things like that. The necklace always had more than enough stock. One or two missing fruits never mattered.

But here, in this isolated abyss, where every bite of food could mean one more day of survival, it mattered.

Luke tilted the necklace, inspecting it closer, and sighed.

“I’m sure one or two are gone.”

He opened the item description again, reading the details of what had always seemed like just a useful tool.

[Artemis Invention (Unique)
Description: A prototype crafted by Samael, the Inventor.
‘A gift to help you on your journey. Good luck. It was collecting dust in my workshop anyway.’

PS: I am not liable for any discomfort it causes. – Samael
Enchantments:

[Spatial Storage (Rare)]: Grants access to a pocket dimension where items can be stored.
[Artemis]: (???)
Requirement: Soulbound]

Luke narrowed his eyes.

“So the… ‘I am not liable for any discomfort it causes’ is that this thing is defective?” he muttered, suspicious. “Great. A storage item with manufacturing flaws…”

He sat quietly for a moment, thinking. If that turned out to be true, he would seriously need to reconsider where he stored his healing potions. He couldn’t risk losing one mid-fight.

Or maybe… he was just being paranoid.

Shaking the thought away, he opened his system interface and checked the item he had looted from the Mantis boss.

[Mantis Eye Ring (Rare)

Description: Forged from the eye of a Devourer Mantis, which fought a brutal battle against a demon inside a cage sealed in darkness. Trapped with no escape, they fought until only one survived. In the end, the demon’s fangs proved sharper. All that remains of the Mantis is this eye, still pulsing with fury and instinct. A reminder of savage combat and the fragility of monsters.

Bonus: +10 Agility, +10 Perception, +5 Intelligence

Requirement: Level 20+ in Assassin class.]

Luke squinted at the screen.

“That description is… a bit dramatic.”

Still, he tapped Equip. The ring appeared on his finger — a dark band with a faint green fragment at its center, resembling the alien-like pupil of the Mantis.

Princess Charlie, who had been sitting quietly on the other side of the fire, suddenly bounced over with an energy that felt comically out of place in the silence. She sat right next to him — way too close — and started shaking his shoulder, practically vibrating with excitement.

“What now?” Luke asked, confused by the over-the-top reaction.

She pointed to her own ring — a simple one she had worn for a while — then pointed at the ring he had just equipped. Then at him. Then at herself. Then back to the rings again.

Luke blinked. “If you’re trying to say the rings match… yeah, they kind of do.”

But Charlie didn’t stop. She pointed very specifically at his ring finger.

His eyebrow lifted. “…Why do you want me to wear it on my ring finger?”

Charlie shrank back, head tilting down like she had just been caught doing something suspicious.

“…Right,” Luke muttered, looking away with a quiet sigh. “That was… kind of sus.”

***

Luke and Charlie had been walking through that tunnel for hours. Sometimes, the path twisted in tight curves, but little by little, Luke began to notice faint beams of light filtering through cracks in the ceiling. Weak. Almost timid. But still, a clear sign they were getting close to the surface.

The air stopped feeling suffocating. The pitch-black darkness gave way to a dim, muted twilight. At one point, the tunnel felt less like a natural cave and more like the hollow trunk of some colossal tree, long fallen in some ancient disaster. Luke and Charlie even broke a piece of the wooden wall — only to find dirt on the other side. Still, they pushed forward.

Until finally, they reached what seemed like the end.

At the top of the last wall in the tunnel, there was a hole. Unlike the previous openings, it wasn’t directly on the ceiling. It was on the upper corner where the wall met the ceiling. Like an angled window carved out by nature itself.

Luke felt his heartbeat quicken. A rush of energy hit him, forcing him to move. Days had passed inside that claustrophobic underground. Without thinking, he drew his kukris and started climbing.

Charlie returned to her soul form.

The wood made climbing easier, even when his feet slipped or gravity tried to drag him back down. He jammed his blades into the fibers of the trunk, locking himself in place with each move. Thank the gods it wasn’t stone — climbing that would’ve been hell.

When he finally reached the top and pushed his arm through the hole, sunlight hit his skin.

In that instant, he triggered Wraith Form, letting part of his body become mist and slip through the cracks. A breath later, Luke rematerialized on the other side.

The sun burned his skin like an old friend’s embrace. The breeze touched his face with gentle warmth.

“Finally…”

He had made it.

He took a deep breath, scanning his surroundings. He was standing in a valley surrounded by rolling hills covered in dense forest. A hidden place. Isolated. In the distance, mountains rose like walls. Beyond them… the endless expanse of the Wild Zone.

But then…

Luke froze.

He hit the ground, flattening himself against the brush.

“Orcs…” he whispered, narrowing his eyes.

Right below the spot where he had emerged was an orc base. But not just any camp. This was fortified. Stone houses. Crude watchtowers. Reinforced palisades. Black banners fluttered in the wind, marked with tribal symbols.

This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

Luke glanced back toward the mountains, checking if this was the location near the Orc Lord’s domain.

No. Still far from it.

And then, among the orcs moving through the settlement, he saw him.

Luke recognized him instantly.

Morvat!

The Orc General walked with a commanding presence, followed by other captains. All of them were here. This place… this was their base.

Luke backed away slowly, slipping into the undergrowth. The vegetation swallowed him as he sat down, breathing in forced calm, heart still pounding.

“So this is where the main captains live…” he muttered.

His gaze turned back toward the base. The silence of the forest felt like a heavy contrast to the weight of the discovery.

Luke opened his system interface.

Name: Luke
Level: 11
Rank: F
Class: [Demonic Assassin (Lvl 24)]
Race: Half-Demon
Profession: –
Titles: [Dark Lord]
Bloodline: [Bloodline of the Dark Demon]

Health Points (HP): 1100/1100
Mana Points (MP): 743/760
Stamina: 507/560
Soul Fragments: 28/1000

Stats:
Strength: 114
Agility: 115 (165)
Endurance: 36 (56)
Vitality: 110
Perception: 122 (132)
Intelligence: 71 (76)
Free Points: 3

Luke took a deep breath and opened his interface. He thought for a moment, then distributed the points with precision. +1 to Strength, +1 to Endurance, and +1 to Intelligence.

Stats Updated:

Strength: 114 -> 115
Endurance: 36 (56) -> 37 (57)
Intelligence: 71 (76) -> 72 (77)
Mana Points (MP): 743/760 -> 753/770
Free Points: 3 -> 0

Closing the screen, he turned his gaze back toward the base ahead. Nestled between hills and half-hidden by the scattered vegetation, the stone buildings and heavily armed orcs stood like scars against the landscape.

“I’m done running back to the Safe Zone. I’m going to kill the Orc General.”

With that decision made, the following days were dedicated to one thing only. Surveillance.

Luke became part of the forest.