As it got closer to midnight, Rino wondered if Noir would appear. There were only two more hours now. Did something terrible happen to the black cat? The lich started to pace around in his farmhouse.
While Rino second-guessed himself, Ace found himself landing in the forest not too far from where Rino's newly built farmhouse was. Ark did a better job of sending his incarnate over. For that, Ace was thankful. He did not want to alert Rino about his appearance and activities.
The God of Prayers teleported quite a distance from Rino's base, where a recently killed monster's corpse lay decaying. It was a small mountain goblin village, and many creatures died. According to Stephanie, the invading monster was slain by the hobgoblin chief, who was severely injured, so the remaining goblin survivors chose to relocate now that their home was destroyed. It was the perfect opportunity to teach Rino some dark magic and its basics. The magician proved to be very resourceful with his talent, and the next stage required several pairs of hands to pull off.
The sabre-toothed wolf monster rose from the ground as shadows poured into it, covering every inch of decaying fur. It was coated so full of darkness that only a pair of glowing red eyes could be seen after it was revived.
Ace took a look at his handiwork and nodded. Although the revived sabre-toothed wolf monster was as strong as ten trained foot soldiers with its superior strength and speed, it was still a very predictable beast that could be taken down easily with excellent teamwork. Against Rino, it did not really stand a chance.
The only difference between the sabre-toothed wolf monster and the one Ace brought back from the dead was the regeneration abilities. Without holy magic to dispel the curse Ace placed on this wolf monster, it would not die even if Rino shredded it to ribbons. As long as darkness reigned, this shadow wolf monster would never die. It was a test of Rino's ability to understand the root of dark magic.
Once the shadow wolf monster was freed from its revival shackles, Rino watched it let out a howl, running towards Rino's base.
From his farmhouse, Rino did not understand why he suddenly felt lethargic. It was as if the air was denser and Rino decided to stop waiting. Noir might be in the area, and it would be faster to search for the talking cat.
As Rino ran towards the forest, he became more alert. The air was definitely getting denser, and his movements felt heavy even with the shadow tendrils acting as free-flying transport. They were the only reason why he still had his speed. Out of instinct, Rino called out more shadows and wrapped them around him, much like how he once wrapped himself in shadow tendrils as a way to protect himself from the sun. Now that it was night, there were plenty of shadows to borrow.
Ping!
===
Side Quest #8 [Urgent Event]
Objective: Kill the shadow wolf monster.
Time Limit: 5 hours.
Reward: Fundamentals of Dark Magic.
===
When Rino saw the side quest window updating itself with a bizarre format, he raised a brow. Urgent event side quest? That never happened before. Yet, he wanted that reward. Ever since his arrival in this world, the lich could not make heads or tails about his new ability. Dark magic was a very different kind of magic. It could not be compared with elemental magic, spatial magic, or holy magic. It was simply too unique to learn without any guidance.
There was no time to waste. Rino now knew where he had to go. Noir should be able to find its way to Rino's farmhouse and, if wanted to wrap this side quest quickly before the cat visits. He did not want to be late. If anything, killing this shadow wolf monster might provide Rino with some charming tribute to persuade the cat to stay with him permanently.
Before the lich saw the monster he was meant to hunt, he heard it howling. What a dumb dog! This is the reason why Rino preferred cats. They knew how to be discreet and were highly independent creatures with pride and grace like royalty.
As the shadow wolf monster came to view, Rino could not help but feel a shiver from his soul as they locked eyes. The shadow wolf's eyes were red, drawing him in like staring into the abyss. There was a moment of silence as both parties sized each other. The lich could feel an immense hatred from this shadow wolf after looking into its eyes. That amount of hate rivalled how Rino felt about the world in his last life.
The shadow wolf was an extremely worthy opponent.
Without a word, they lunged at each other. Rino could feel the sharp claws of this dumb dog snagging parts of his cape, but he returned a well-timed spell, skewering the shadow wolf with earth spikes. This should put an end to everything.
Cool people did not look back after a finishing move. Rino smirked inwardly at the easy ending, expecting to claim his quest reward. However, he heard a loud cracking sound and the vision tilted in front of him.
When Rino turned to look at the source of the sound, one arm was already gone, and his cape was ripped to the point of no return. The dumb dog was gnawing at his arm like some kind of chew toy. The sight of his torn silk cape fabric clinging onto that severed arm stirred all sorts of emotions in Rino. The emotions became more turbulent when the shadow wolf monster spat the arm out like something disgusting, and that was when it happened.
Like a broken dam, all that anger, hatred, pain and sorrow tumbled from Rino in the form of shadows. The perpetual tiredness, loneliness, sense of betrayal and utter boredom transformed into a huge aura that overpowered the shadow wolf's instincts.
It tried to run, but Rino showed no mercy. He wanted this stupid dog dead.
Unlike cutting his last toe bone, the place where his arm severed barely itched. His lich's high-speed regeneration was working, and Rino saw the tickles of purple undead fire to his right as the bone slowly regrew from where it was torn off. The thing that made Rino the maddest was how his silk cape was so easily ripped by this low life. How dare it?
All those hours Rino spent over the last week and all his effort just to make something that could protect him from the annoying sun, gone in just a moment.
"You should have stayed dead when you had the chance," Rino growled using his thought projection magic, and the shadow wolf monster trembled.
The huge wolf struggled and whined in fear as Rino's shadows grabbed its legs, pulling him into that mass of never-ending darkness. The lich wasn't going to allow it to beg for mercy and a shadow tendril choked the wolf monster's mouth so that it could no longer make any sounds.
"Repent your sins in hell," Rino's voice was cold and menacing, just the way he sounded back when he was a court magician. The only difference was who he was saying it to now.
The shadow wolf monster suffered for less than a minute as Rino devoured everything the shadow wolf monster had to offer from his bones and decaying flesh to his soul.
The side quest was completed at that very moment, and Rino felt something automatically click in his head.
Ace observed from a distance as the reward was automatically activated after the shadow wolf monster was subdued. Even for a genius, this was too fast! He expected the shadow wolf monster to take at least an hour to trigger Rino's darkest feelings. Now, Ace did not know who the true monster was.
Rino laughed heartily and freely after the fight was over. He laughed till he could laugh no more from the bottom of his soul. So this was what dark magic was... he should have known.
"Pay your respects to this dark monarch," Rino declared. "Kneel!"
The shadows that disappeared after the end of the short but exhilarating battle reappeared. The place where Rino devoured the shadow wolf monster was now occupied by the very shadow wolf monster he devoured earlier. There was only one difference now. Those eyes weren't red. They were purple, just like the colour of the soul fire that regenerated his arm.
Summoning magic was one of the easiest spells to perform for dark mages. It was also an extremely useful ability. Rino looked at his first summoned slave and wondered what he should name this dumb dog.
"Nah," Rino decided against it. He was too lazy for this. Only cats deserved proper names.
"From today onwards, you are Mutt. When I call for you, you respond without questions."
The poor enslaved wolf monster could not go against his summoner and lowered its head to the ground as a sign of submission.
Satisfied at the attitude of this dumb dog, Rino still felt a little angry at the destruction of his cape. Hence, he told the wolf to find him more bodies and bring them all back in one piece to his farmhouse. He was simply too lazy to find new slaves, but the extra hands would be helpful.