The night rain washed the air in the undeveloped area, and the scattered surveillance cameras on the streets were quietly destroyed, their broken parts scattered on the waterlogged ground.
Serad coughed heavily and walked through the streets like the Grim Reaper, dragging the heavy shadows with him.
Lying haphazardly behind him were several unconscious pedestrians, captured as prey to replenish his stamina.
The night was the domain of shadow ability users. As long as he didn't make excessive movements, Serad was confident that he could shake off the white-clad executor.
"However, the loss of stamina has always been troublesome..."
"Player has obtained status - Weakness."
"All attributes significantly decreased."
Frowning, Serad looked down at his tattered white shirt, which was stained with large patches of crimson and seemed to be on the verge of tearing.
Having a weak constitution was always the flaw of superpower users, and there was no way around it.
"Just need to hunt one more, and I can last until tomorrow..."
The shadows slowly enveloped Serad as he sneered, once again entering a stealth state that ordinary people couldn't perceive.
...
...
"Have you ever heard of the phrase 'rookies defeating masters'?"
Under the streetlight on a rainy night, Alister, holding an umbrella in one hand and his phone in the other, browsed a discussion posted by a blogger.
"Sometimes, even professional players may be killed in low-level matches. It's an interesting phenomenon."
"In the end, the reason for this is that low-level matches don't follow the 'optimal solution' thinking used in high-level matches."
"In other words, even though there are more obvious and rewarding strategies, rookies will choose action plans that seem foolish to experts."
"Trading one kill for one death, even one for zero... Sometimes, even if it means losing millions, they will make sure to cause you a hundred..."
"Not farming and hiding in the bushes for so long? Taking point B even when point A is being captured? Chasing me even when your nexus is about to be destroyed..."
"In simple terms, masters hold the mentality of 'how dare you?' and are mercilessly defeated by rookies in a way that incurs even greater losses..."
Serad's heavy breathing sounded in his ears, and the dim light was mostly blocked, causing Alister to continue browsing the internet undisturbed.
Unbeknownst to him, Serad had approached and stood in front of Alister. His face, protected by shadows, appeared contemptuous.
This person in front of him didn't possess the aura of a high-level player...
"Disguise, huh... or..."
Even though he was a high-level player disguised as a low-level one, if this A-tier player still acted so casually while playing with his phone, it probably meant...
He's either foolish or just an ordinary person who knows nothing.
With that in mind...
"As a pastime before I get hunted down tonight, I'll just hunt you down properly..."
Serad decided to vent his dissatisfaction on Alister. He sneered and leaned closer, extending the shadows to a height of three meters, obscuring the light above Alister's head, darkening his field of vision.
The sound of dripping rain persisted, but Alister's umbrella was no longer collecting any raindrops.
"Hmm?" Ignoring Serad, Alister looked up at the streetlight covered by shadows.
Alister's expression remained calm, and he tilted his head slightly, muttering to himself, "Power outage?"
Indeed, the power had gone out... Serad looked at Alister with a sense of amusement, almost bursting into laughter.
Alister, without understanding his own situation, made Serad more excited, and the shadows became restless with his anticipation.
But before he could react, Alister's calm voice interrupted his thoughts:
"Hey."
Before Serad could fully understand Alister's expression, his vision was suddenly overwhelmed by a blinding light, instinctively causing him to shield his eyes.
At the same time, Serad felt a sharp pain in his heart, as if it had been pierced.
Alister maintained an unwavering gaze as he locked eyes with Serad. His black eyes were deep and captivating, like falling into an abyss.
"Shadow..." Serad gritted his teeth, attempting to activate his shadow manipulation.
But as soon as he tried, Alister twisted the blade he held against his chest.
Serad's thoughts abruptly halted, his eyes widened, fixed on Alister, as he lost consciousness in a mix of astonishment and anger.
"As a continuation of tonight's hunt where I was being pursued, let me properly hunt you down..."
Alister pulled out the blade, then meticulously made ten more incisions, satisfied that he had finished off Serad.
"Of course, you won't have a future." Alister put away the blade.
As expected, the blue text appeared in his field of vision.
"Detected A-level capacity - Shadow Domination."
It meant that he had acquired a new ability.
But before Alister could activate "Blank," Serad's player body disappeared, leaving only the crimson-stained water as evidence of his existence.
Did players turn into data when they died?
Alister couldn't be sure yet, as he lacked reference material.
"'Blank'."
As Alister calmly uttered those two words, his ability interface began to load new data, and the entries appeared methodically.
At the same time, Alister felt a slight dizziness, recalling the limitations imposed by the threshold of his origin consciousness.
It seemed that he would have to absorb abilities carefully from now on...
In the next moment, Serad's player ability transferred to Alister.
"Ability: Shadow Domination."
"Rank: A."
"Within the limits allowed by spiritual energy, the ability user can perform any operation related to shadows."
New settings appeared... Alister's gaze swept over the term "spiritual energy."
But now was not the time to relax. The official forces were almost catching up.
"Blank" would definitely cause trouble, so he couldn't let any faction discover it. The top priority was to hide his identity and act as a lone wolf.
"Any operation related to shadows..."
Alister, holding the umbrella and with his hands in his pockets, calmly observed the front, speaking under the dim streetlights:
"Shadow."
In the next moment, following the command of the sovereign, shadows grew from the crevices of Alister's attire, whispering in the evening breeze, mysteriously descending.
...
...
"Did I arrive late?"
Yumikou's gaze was cold as she held her three-foot spiritual sword, standing on top of an upright utility pole like a fairy untouched by the mundane world.
And in her gaze, in front of the residential building near the dim streetlight...
Alister, dressed in a mysterious black cloak that resembled shadows, danced with the evening breeze, accompanied by the night, a sovereign of darkness.
The flowing black hair beneath the hood, the eyes as deep as the abyss, calm yet captivating.
The mask covering his mouth had distinct edges, exuding a metallic texture.
With an unknown background, unswayed by the rain's beauty, and the silent death of Serad... Yumikou frowned.
He seemed to be a mysterious high-level player.
In the drizzling rain, the cloaked figure held an umbrella, one hand in his pocket, and tilted his head slightly. He calmly said:
"Good evening."