Crag’s roar echoed through the cavern, thick with the tragic solemnity of a final stand.

  He slammed his cracked greatshield firmly in front of him. His massive frame was like a crumbling mountain, prepared to use his own flesh and blood to buy the kid behind him even a single second of life.

  The black tide was already upon them.

  A death storm formed by hundreds of Shadow Bats swept forward, carrying endless hatred and madness. Their shrill screeches were enough to rupture eardrums and rattle the soul.

  Crag could already smell the thick stench of blood and rot clinging to them.

  At the critical moment.

  A cold hand pressed down on his shoulder just as he prepared to charge.

  "Don't move."

  Kane’s voice drifted over. There wasn't a hint of panic; it was as calm as a frozen abyss.

  Crag snapped his head back, only to see a pair of eyes deeper than the cavern’s darkness.

  In those eyes, there was no fear, no despair—only the absolute composure of someone in total control.

  Before Crag could ask why.

  In the next second, he witnessed the most incomprehensible sight of his life.

  Kane, standing beside him, made no movement.

  But his figure was like a drop of ink falling into clear water.

  No—it was like falling into a shadow!

  His silhouette began to blur. His edges melted rapidly. His entire being seemed greedily swallowed by the shadows cast by the rock walls.

  Presence.

  Heat.

  Sound.

  Even his very existence as a "living thing."

  Everything evaporated from Crag’s perception within a single second!

  Crag’s pupils constricted to their limit instantly.

  He looked at the empty space before him in shock, his mind a complete blank.

  Where was he?!

  "Screee—!!!"

  The frenzied bat swarm, like a black tsunami, instantly submerged the spot where they had just been standing.

  But they had lost their target.

  The enemy who had slaughtered their king had vanished into thin air!

  Fury and chaos erupted within the swarm.

  They bit and slammed frantically into the ground where the Shadow Bat King's corpse had fallen, their sharp claws and teeth sparking against the stone.

  Yet, they were blind to Crag, who stood frozen and breathless just inches away.

  It was as if he were nothing more than a moving rock.

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  Every muscle in Crag’s body was taut. He didn't dare breathe.

  For the first time, he felt it directly—a power bordering on the supernatural, completely beyond comprehension.

  This surpassed his entire understanding of the Wasteland.

  Just then.

  A hand appeared out of thin air and gripped his arm.

  Crag’s entire body jolted; he nearly cried out.

  He could clearly feel the contour of that arm, its temperature, and its unquestionable strength.

  It was Kane!

  He was right beside him!

  And yet, his eyes and his senses couldn't capture a single trace of him!

  "Move."

  Kane’s voice seemed to ring directly inside his head.

  The two of them—one visible, one invisible—moved through the violent storm of hundreds of bloodthirsty monsters. Like two ghosts walking in different dimensions, they edged step by step toward the crevice they had come from.

  Every second felt as long as a century.

  Crag’s heart hammered. He could feel the wind from the Shadow Bats' flapping wings brushing against his cheeks.

  Exactly one second before the thirty-second duration of [ Shadow Veil ] expired.

  They finally squeezed through the narrow crack.

  "Run!"

  Kane’s figure reappeared. He let out a low bark and pulled the dazed Crag along, sprinting frantically toward the outer perimeter of the mountains without looking back.

  ......

  An hour later.

  The two found a more secluded cave. Only after confirming there were no pursuers did they finally allow themselves to relax.

  Crag slumped onto the ground, his chest heaving violently. The way he looked at Kane had completely changed.

  It was a mix of shock, awe, and the sheer disbelief of one looking at a monster.

  His lips quirked several times before he found his voice, stammering out a question:

  "Kid... you, just now... did you turn into a shadow?"

  Kane didn't answer immediately.

  He leaned against the cold rock wall and closed his eyes, sensing the violent transformation occurring deep within his body.

  A sense of clarity, more profound than anything he had felt before, surfaced in his consciousness.

  He could "see" it.

  Deep within the palm of his right hand, the mysterious [ Five-Star Soul Seal ] was undergoing a change.

  Of the seal's five points, only one had previously glowed with the faint green light of Tier 1 Awakening, thanks to [ Phase Burrow ].

  But now.

  Right next to that green speck of light, another point was erupting with a deep, tranquil blue radiance!

  The light was like the midnight sky over the northern ice fields—mysterious and brimming with power.

  "The Soul Seal... the second star has ignited," Kane muttered to himself.

  A thought flashed through his mind like a bolt of lightning.

  He understood instantly!

  The reason a new slot had unlocked wasn't just because he had obtained a second skill.

  It was because of the quality of the skill [ Shadow Veil ]!

  Tier 1: Awakening corresponded to Green.

  Tier 2: Manifestation corresponded to Blue.

  Only by obtaining a higher-tier skill could he ignite the corresponding point on the [ Five-Star Soul Seal ] and unlock a new skill slot!

  He settled his mind and began to carefully catalog the massive harvest from this brush with death.

  First, [ Shadow Veil ].

  Merge into the shadows, completely concealing all biological signatures.

  This was a god-tier skill tailor-made for assassination, infiltration, and evasion. With this, his survival rate and lethality in this wasteland would undergo a qualitative leap.

  More importantly...

  Kane’s consciousness sank into the [ Five-Star Soul Seal ].

  He sensed that the green energy representing [ Phase Burrow ] and the blue energy representing [ Shadow Veil ] were like two non-interfering stars. Under his command, both could be mobilized simultaneously!

  A wild idea bubbled up uncontrollably.

  If...

  If he combined two completely different abilities, what would happen?

  Kane snapped his eyes open.

  He stood up and looked at the curious Crag.

  "Watch closely."

  He wanted to test this bold hypothesis.

  Kane took a deep breath. With a single thought, he activated [ Phase Burrow ] and [ Aerial Step ] at the same time.

  [ Phase Burrow ] was meant to merge him into the earth.

  [ Aerial Step ] was meant to change his trajectory in mid-air.

  These were two abilities with diametrically opposed applications.

  However, the moment he triggered both powers simultaneously...

  The unthinkable happened.

  His body didn't sink into the ground, nor did it leap into the air.

  Instead—

  Buzz!

  The air around Kane’s body distorted for a fraction of a second.

  In the next heartbeat, his figure vanished from the spot.

  When he reappeared, he was already behind another rock ten meters away!

  The entire process involved no running and no jumping. It was as if space itself had been folded.

  Crag’s eyes bulged like copper bells!

  What had he just seen?

  Teleportation?!

  Kane himself was stunned. He looked down at his hands, his heart racing.

  That feeling just now...

  It wasn't teleportation.

  Instead, the power of [ Phase Burrow ] had enveloped his body, giving him an extreme affinity for the "ground" as a concept.

  Meanwhile, the power of [ Aerial Step ] provided a vector for an instantaneous burst.

  The combination of the two allowed him to complete a short-range, explosive displacement—like "gliding" against the very fabric of the earth.

  "So... that's how it is..."

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