The Shadowwolf Cave was a two-hour walk from Millbrook, tucked into the foothills of a mountain the locals called The Fang.
The na was fitting — the mountain rose against the dawn sky like a giant tooth.
Mark reached the dungeon entrance just as the sun began peeking over the horizon. He had left early, before most adventurers were awake, to avoid uncomfortable questions.
"Ely," Mark murmured. "Co out."
The shadow at his feet stirred, and Elyndra erged. Her armor glead even in the pale morning light, her sword already drawn.
"I’m ready, Master."
Mark looked at her, still not used to the intensity of her devotion.
"The plan is simple. You go in first and take out anything that moves. I’ll follow at a safe distance. If there’s sothing you can’t handle—"
"There will be nothing I cannot handle, Master."
"If there’s sothing you can’t handle," Mark repeated, ignoring the interruption, "you tell and we fall back. Understood?"
"Understood."
"Good. Let’s go."
The cave was exactly what its na suggested: dark, damp, and full of wolves.
Normal wolves.
Shadow wolves.
Wolves that looked like solidified black smoke.
None of them lasted more than three seconds against Elyndra.
Mark watched her work from a safe distance, fascinated and mildly terrified by her efficiency.
Every movent precise.
Every strike, lethal.
Not a single wasted motion.
Not a mont’s hesitation.
Just fast, clean death.
[Shadowwolf defeated. Experience: 50]
[Shadowwolf defeated. Experience: 50]
[Shadowwolf defeated. Experience: 50]
Notifications stacked up in his vision like a cascade of numbers.
In less than an hour, he had earned more experience than he would have gained in weeks doing Rank F missions.
[Congratulations! You have reached Level 5]
[New Skill Unlocked: Life Link (Lv. 1)]
"Life Link?"
[Life Link – Level 1] Type: Support Necromancy
Effect: Creates a bond between you and an undead under your control. While the link is active, you can perceive what the undead perceives.
"Useful. Very useful."
"Master," Ely interrupted, pulling Mark out of his thoughts. "There’s a chamber ahead. I can sense sothing different."
"Different how?"
"Stronger. Much stronger than the wolves."
Mark frowned.
According to the information Ely had given him, the boss of this dungeon was a Shadow Alpha Wolf — a Rank D creature.
Powerful by normal adventurer standards.
But nothing Ely couldn’t handle.
"Can you take care of it?"
Elyndra looked at him.
And for a mont, sothing that resembled offense crossed her face.
"Master, I could level this entire dungeon with one hand tied behind my back. That question is insulting."
’Noted. ntal note: don’t question Ely’s abilities. The legendary warrior ego is fully intact.’
"Then go ahead. But be careful."
"I am always careful, Master. Your safety is my absolute priority."
Elyndra moved toward the boss chamber, and Mark followed at a distance.
Mark activated Life Link for the first ti.
And suddenly...
He could see through Ely’s eyes.
It was a strange sensation.
Like being in two places at once.
He could feel the weight of the sword in her hand.
The cold of the armor against her skin.
Even the echo of her footsteps on the stone.
’This is incredible, but also very, very weird...’
The boss chamber was wide, lit by glowing crystals embedded in the walls.
In the center, a massive creature waited for them.
The Shadow Alpha Wolf was the size of a horse, with black fur that seed to absorb light and red eyes that burned with malevolent intelligence.
When it saw Elyndra, it growled.
A low, threatening sound that made the air vibrate.
Elyndra didn’t even blink.
"Poor creature," she murmured, almost with pity. "You have no idea what you’re up against."
The wolf lunged.
It was fast.
Surprisingly fast for its size.
Elyndra was faster.
Her sword cut through the air in a perfect arc.
The Alpha Wolf’s head hit the floor before its body finished the leap.
[Shadow Alpha Wolf defeated. Experience: 500]
[Congratulations! You have reached Level 7]
[Dungeon Cleared. Rewards: Shadow Core x1, Alpha Fang x2, 500 gold coins]
Mark stared at the notifications.
"Five hundred gold coins? For one dungeon?"
From what he had learned, a Rank F adventurer earned around ten gold coins per mission.
He had just earned the equivalent of fifty missions in under an hour.
’This is... this is cheating. And I love it.’
Elyndra returned to his side, cleaning her sword with a cloth she produced from sowhere.
"The dungeon is cleared, Master. Shall I collect the loot?"
"Yes. All of it."
While Ely gathered materials from the defeated monsters, Mark let himself smile.
His plan was working.
Better than expected, in fact.
At this rate, he could climb ranks in weeks instead of months.
’I just have to keep it quiet. Nobody can find out about Ely.’
"Master," Ely said suddenly.
"What is it?"
"During the battle... I sensed sothing."
Mark frowned.
"Sothing?"
"A presence, watching us from the shadows. It was gone before I could identify it, but..."
A chill ran down Mark’s spine.
"Soone was spying on us?"
"It’s possible. Or it could have been my imagination. My perception is not what it was when I was... alive."
’Damn. Did soone already find out? This soon?’
"Let’s go," said Mark, feeling his good mood evaporate. "Now."
"As you command, Master."
Elyndra lted back into his shadow, and Mark walked out of the dungeon as fast as he could without looking like he was running.
"Paranoia," he told himself. "It’s just paranoia. Nobody knows anything. Everything is fine."
But as he walked back toward Millbrook, Mark couldn’t shake the feeling that soone was watching him.
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