The claw strike landed cleanly, piercing straight into the gap behind the millipede's head. It tore into the soft underflesh beneath the armor.

Purple blood erupted like a fountain.

The sight made Aren smile, but the satisfaction was brief. The strike had not gone deep enough.

The millipede let out a thunderous screech that shook the cavern walls. Its entire body convulsed as it thrashed wildly in pain. Its massive tail whipped through the air and slammed into Aren while he was still airborne.

The impact sent him flying.

He crashed into the cavern wall with explosive force, cracking stone before collapsing to the ground. He could not tell exactly how bad the damage was, but the sharp pain in his chest made one thing clear.

Several ribs were broken.

He coughed up a mouthful of blood, one knee on the ground, groaning through the pain. And yet, a faint smile still lingered on his face.

He looked up.

The millipede was still writhing, screeching in agony.

Aren forced himself back to his feet. His body shook. His vision wavered. But he did not back down.

"Let's see who goes down first," Aren muttered. "Me, or you."

His wolf guard gleamed around his hand as he took a step forward.

The millipede regained a measure of control and charged, moving faster than it had before. The ground trembled beneath its speed.

When it closed in, Aren jumped.

He launched himself as high as he could. The millipede tilted its head upward, jaws opening wide, ready to snap him out of the air.

Aren twisted midair.

He spawned his claws and swung his arm like a bat, releasing another claw strike straight into the millipede's head. The blow knocked it sideways, forcing it back a step.

In the same instant, He summoned Fang.

The shadow wolf appeared above and slammed down headfirst, crashing into the millipede and driving it into the ground.

Aren landed in a roll and immediately surged forward, eyes locked on the gap behind its head.

But the millipede was already moving again.

It slammed into the ground, trying to crush him, but Aren leaped clean over the attack, missing it by only inches. He landed on the opposite side, rolled, and came up fast.

The gap was right there.

He fought against his own momentum, forcing his legs to stop and reverse. His boots scraped against the stone as he pushed himself forward, muscles screaming in protest.

He groaned, then launched.

The millipede had not fully turned yet. Its back was exposed.

Aren drove his claw straight into the gap, burying his entire fist inside. Without hesitation, he grabbed hold of the soft flesh and ripped it free with all his strength.

Blood exploded outward.

The millipede shrieked again, thrashing violently. Its body slammed Aren into the air once more.

He flipped and crashed down, skidding across the ground. His boots burned against the stone as he fought to stop himself, eyes never leaving the creature.

While sliding backward, he summoned his merged wolf again.

His soul energy was almost gone. This was everything he had left.

The wolf launched forward, throwing its entire body into the millipede's head, forcing it aside and creating an opening.

Aren charged.

Once again, he ran against his own momentum. Every step felt like slamming into a wall. His body screamed. His lungs burned. But adrenaline carried him forward.

He jumped.

Aimed for the gap.

He unleashed one claw strike.

Then another.

Then another.

Three strikes tore through the air in rapid succession, all slamming into the same opening with perfect precision.

Purple blood poured endlessly, flooding the ground and painting the stone beneath them.

The millipede screeched in panic. Now heavily injured, its movements turned desperate. It tried to flee.

If it stayed, it would die.

It launched toward the wall, smashed through it, and began digging frantically.

Aren did not hesitate.

"The fuck do you think you're going?" he roared. "You're becoming my next summon!"

He chased after it, throwing himself forward and grabbing onto the millipede's body as it burrowed through the rock. His body burned as stone scraped against him, debris raining down from every direction.

He did not let go.

Ignoring the falling rocks, Aren climbed toward its head. He reached the gap again and unleashed claw strike after claw strike, tearing deeper and deeper into the exposed flesh.

The millipede's movements slowed.

Then staggered.

Then stopped.

Its body went limp.

The creature was dead.

The moment the millipede died, system notifications rang out.

[Level Up +4 stat points]

[Congratulations on reaching Level 10]

[20 stat points gained]

[Evolution paths are now open to you]

[Shadow is the first Awakened to reach Level 10]

[You have gained a unique Soul Weapon]

[Unique Soul Weapon acquired: Dark Insect Armor]

Aren read the notifications floating before him. His vision was hazy, his body trembling from exhaustion, yet a smile still rested on his face.

He could hardly believe it.

He had killed the millipede. He had reached Level 10.

Beyond that, he was the first Awakened to do so, still registered under the name Shadow. And as if that was not enough, he had gained his second unique soul weapon.

This time, it was armor.

Aren pushed himself off the millipede's corpse and staggered a few steps to the side. He did not bother checking the detailed descriptions of his rewards yet. His body was far too weak for that.

Right now, he just needed to breathe.

He placed a hand on the massive corpse and muttered a single word.

"Consume."

A vast shadow spread beneath the millipede's body. In an instant, the corpse sank into it completely, vanishing without a trace.

The millipede was now his shadow summon. That alone made this fight worth everything, but just as Aren prepared to move, another system message appeared.

[Do you wish to view the memories of your new shadow?]

Aren frowned slightly.

The system had never prompted him like this before. With his other summons, he could access their memories freely, but it had never urged him to do so.

That alone sparked his curiosity.

He walked out of the tunnel the millipede had carved, leaned his back against the cavern wall, and carefully lowered himself into a seated position. He steadied his breathing, then lifted his head.

"Let's see the memories," Aren said quietly.

The moment he spoke, his consciousness was yanked away.

His mind was dragged with overwhelming force, pulled out of his body and hurled into darkness.

The world vanished.

And his awareness plunged into a pitch-black void.

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