[Ding! Blood Extraction Successful]

[Ding! You have extracted the ability 'Shadow Step']

[Ding! [Shadow Step] has been upgraded]

[Ding! You have gained +10 shadow element affinity]

[Ding! You have gained +1 agility]

[Ding! You have killed a moonlight assassin.]

[Ding! You have gained experience points]

[Ding! You have gained +1000 notoriety]

[Ding! Blood Extraction Successful]

[Ding! You have extracted the ability 'Shadow Fusion']

[Ding! Shadow Fusion: (Active, B-Rank)]

Temporarily merge your body with the surrounding shadows, entering a partially incorporeal state for 5 seconds. While fused, you gain 50% damage reduction, 100% evasion from non-magical physical attacks, and can pass through solid objects thinner than 1 meter. Cooldown: 45 seconds.

[Ding! Your understanding of the Umbra Path has increased.]

…

…

…

Damon's crimson eyes gleamed. After a long time, he had gained a big buff in the shadow affinity element. His luck was definitely starting to pick up.

"You are doomed." A voice interrupted his thoughts. Damon turned around to see a peerlessly beautiful woman standing in front of him, except that her body was made of sand. She was probably a clone of someone nearby.

"And why would I be doomer?" Damon calmly asked.

"You just killed a member of the Umbra's Hand. Do you not know who they are?"

Damon shook his head with a casual shrug.

The sand-woman's eyes narrowed. Her expression was a strange mix of contempt and curiosity, as if she couldn't decide whether Damon was brave, stupid, or simply too ignorant to realize the grave he'd just dug.

"They are not assassins," she said softly, voice like dry wind brushing across desert dunes. "They are shadows of judgment. Umbra's Hand is one of the Nine Hidden Orders. They don't forgive. They don't forget. And their marks… always die."

Damon took a step forward, unfazed. "So there are a lot of them?"

The clone's lips curved into a slow, ominous smile. "Don't be cocky. The only reason you're still breathing is because they were scouting. Not executioners, and their target wasn't you. Their true strength is a lot more terrifying."

Damon nodded. "Any idea who the others are? You mentioned Nine Hidden Orders?" Damon had never heard about these things in his last life, so he wanted to gather as much information as possible.

However, his attitude only irked the beauty in front of him. Not only was the man so clueless about Umbra's hand, but he was also completely oblivious when talking to her. Does he not know anything about the Western Desert? And then it struck the woman.

"Are you new here?"

"Guilty." Damon smiled, and he quickly took out a coin pouch. "If you don't mind, I would like to buy all the information that you have. I can pay 100 silver coins for your trouble."

The woman's face twitched. She couldn't believe that she was being handed money, and that too just a hundred silver coins?!

She took a moment to compose herself and then continued. "We can talk about all of this later. How about we join our forces for now? We have a common enemy, and it's in your best interest to team up with us.

Damon studied the sand-woman for a moment, his crimson eyes glinting with amusement. She was calm, composed, but under that surface was a sharp current of irritation. He didn't miss it, and he didn't care. He was never one to care much about egos.

"Team up?" he repeated, pocketing the coin pouch without embarrassment. "Alright. But I don't do charity raids. You lead me to something valuable, and I'll consider it fair trade."

The woman's body shifted, the grains that composed her swirling subtly as her tone turned cool. "There's more in this dungeon than you realize. This isn't just an enchanted forest filled with fairies and trickster beasts. It's a sealing zone. The deeper you go, the closer you get to the heart of something ancient… and cursed."

"Oh?" Damon raised a brow, interest piqued. "Tell me more, and I can help you."

"No." The woman firmly shook her head. "First, you need to help us get rid of the assassins in this forest. Then we can talk more about it."

Damon shrugged. "What is the point? Wouldn't you want what is in this dungeon for yourself?"

"If we wanted it for ourselves, we wouldn't be speaking right now. We would've erased you like the Umbra's Hand tried to. But we're not them. And this place isn't something one group can monopolize."

She looked at Damon with a smoldering look as if her eyes were more than enough to dominate him.

Damon sighed. "I am already taken. I have two. Possibly more wives."

The sand-woman blinked, not understanding for a moment. Damon was kind enough to clarify for her. "Just letting you know ahead of time, so you don't get any ideas. It happens a lot, especially after I save people or kill dangerous things. Boundaries are important."

The clone stared at him, her eyes widened and mouth her just as wide. Then after a moment, her face twitched. "You're insufferable," she muttered finally. She was not in the least happy with Damon's casual attitude.

"Fine, husband-of-many. Let's make this simple. Help me clear out the remaining scouts from the Umbra's Hand, and I'll take you to the edge of the sealed zone. From there… its upto you. We won't help you no matter what happens. At the same time, we won't interfere with you."

Damon's eyes gleamed. "Alright. I like the sound of this."

"Be careful what you wish for, bloodsucker. The heart of this forest holds more than secrets. It has something that was never meant to wake again."

Before Damon could reply, the clone began to dissolve, her sandy form unraveling into grains that caught the breeze. But just before she vanished entirely, her voice lingered in the wind.

"Meet me at the Withered Grove in two hours. Don't be late."

And with that, she was gone. Damon stood alone beneath the rustling canopy, his gaze now serious and cold, no longer casual. He then moved as he extended his senses outward.

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