Kai's smile widened, his red eyes sparkling with excitement as he yelled in joy, "I got new skills, and I leveled up to level 11!"
The announcement echoed through the area, and his classmates erupted into chaos.
"What?! How did he level up so fast?" "What kind of freak is he?!" "This is insane…"
Sean and Liam froze in their spots, their mouths opening and closing as they struggled to speak. Sean finally stuttered, "L-level 11?! Already?!"
Liam's voice cracked. "How… how is that even possible? Kai, what did you do?!"
Kai grinned even wider, his excitement overflowing. "This new skill is awesome!"
Sean narrowed his eyes warily. "What skill is it?"
"Yeah," Liam added nervously. "I hope it's not some freaky one again. You always get the weirdest powers, man."
Kai suddenly looked away awkwardly, scratching the back of his head. The subtle movement did not go unnoticed.
Sean and Liam immediately pointed at him. "Hey! What's with that look?!" Sean yelled.
"Yeah, what is it this time?!" Liam demanded, his voice edging into panic.
The rest of the classmates, still wary of Kai, whispered nervously amongst themselves.
Kai shrugged nonchalantly, a mischievous glint in his red eyes. "Skill: Summon Shadow Beast!"
The ground beneath Kai darkened ominously. A massive, swirling pool of shadows appeared, tendrils of black mist curling into the air. From its depths, something huge began to emerge. A guttural growl echoed as a hulking form rose up—a beast made of pure darkness with glowing crimson eyes and jagged claws. It howled, its cry reverberating through the air like a storm.
The entire area fell silent.
Sean and Liam froze again, their bodies stiff as statues.
"W-what… the hell… is that?" Sean whispered, his voice barely audible.
Liam's face turned pale. "Nope. Nope. NOPE! That's freaky as hell!"
The rest of the classmates didn't fare much better. Some backed away, while others stood wide-eyed, unable to move or speak.
Kai, completely unbothered, walked casually over to his summoned beast. He reached out and patted its dark, shadowy head. The beast let out a soft growl, leaning into Kai's touch like a loyal pet.
"Good Shadow Beast," Kai said affectionately, grinning ear to ear.
Sean finally found his voice and yelled, "KAI! What is WRONG with you?! That thing is TERRIFYING!"
Liam threw up his hands, still trembling. "You summoned a monster straight out of a horror movie! HOW IS THAT AWESOME TO YOU?!"
Kai turned back to them with a smug look. "What? It's not that scary. Look, it's perfectly harmless… unless I tell it otherwise."
The beast's glowing eyes flicked toward Sean and Liam for a moment, and they both screamed in unison, "KEEP IT AWAY FROM US!"
Kai just laughed, patting the Shadow Beast again. "You guys are no fun."
Kai chuckled and said casually, "Sorry, Beasty. Cancel Summon."
The Shadow Beast let out one last low growl before dissolving into dark mist. The swirling shadows sank back into the ground, leaving no trace of the terrifying creature.
Kai turned around to see his friends and classmates staring at him, their mouths agape. "What?" he asked, tilting his head innocently.
The students immediately erupted into chaos.
"What… what was THAT?!" "Why did it listen to him like a dog?" "Kai's getting weirder by the minute!"
Sean and Liam, still recovering, stared at Kai like he had grown a second head.
"Kai!" Sean stammered. "You summoned a literal monster and then canceled it like it was no big deal! Are you TRYING to give us heart attacks?!"
Liam jabbed a finger at Kai, his voice rising. "You can't just shrug this off, man! That was terrifying!"
Kai shrugged nonchalantly, his face the picture of calm. "What? It's gone now."
"DON'T SHRUG IT OFF, DAMMIT!" Sean and Liam yelled in unison.
Kai smirked, clearly amused. "You guys are overreacting. So what's next? Do we find a town or something?"
The popular guy from earlier, still trying to hold onto his leadership role, stepped forward. "We need to figure out where we are and find some civilization. Wandering around aimlessly won't help anyone."
Several classmates murmured their agreement.
"Yeah, we need food and shelter." "There's gotta be a town somewhere." "Let's just pick a direction and go."
With no better option, the group decided to head in a direction they collectively felt was best. Kai shrugged, hands in his pockets, and followed along without complaint.
After a few hours of trekking through dense forest, the group realized they were no closer to finding their way out. The trees loomed endlessly around them, the sun now dipping low on the horizon.
The popular guy sighed and wiped sweat from his forehead. "Alright, let's set up camp here for the night. It's getting dark, and we're not going to find a town wandering in pitch black."
Everyone muttered their agreement.
"Good idea…" "I'm so tired…" "At least we can rest for a bit."
Kai glanced at the tall trees above them and grinned. "Skill: Shadow Bind!"
Dark tendrils burst forth from Kai's body, writhing like serpents before latching onto the nearest tree branches. Before anyone could say a word, the tendrils pulled Kai upward, lifting him high into the trees.
"H-Hey! What are you doing?!" Liam yelled from below.
Sean just blinked up at him, baffled. "Kai… seriously? What the hell now?"
Ignoring them, Kai settled himself comfortably on a sturdy branch, his legs dangling lazily as he looked down at the others. "You guys have fun setting up camp. I'll just watch from up here."
The other students groaned in frustration.
"Of course he gets the easy spot." "Typical Kai…" "He's so weird."
Kai just smirked, leaning back against the tree trunk. As he watched his classmates stumble through the process of setting up tents and gathering firewood, a surprising drowsiness washed over him. The rhythmic rustling of leaves and the distant sounds of the forest were oddly soothing.
His eyelids grew heavy.
"Mmm… I guess I'll just… rest for a bit," Kai mumbled to himself.
Within moments, his head drooped forward, and he drifted off to sleep high up in the trees, completely unaware of the growing frustration and exhaustion of everyone below him.
A few minutes later, Kai's ears twitched at the sound of groaning and muffled complaints."Ugh… this is so much work…" "Why is gathering wood this hard?" "I'm tired…"
Kai opened one eye lazily and glanced down, seeing his classmates struggling with chores—some hauling firewood, others fumbling with makeshift tents.
An idea struck him, and he smirked. "Skill: Summon Undead."
Twelve dark circles appeared on the ground around the camp, swirling ominously.
The students froze in place, eyes wide with fear.
"What now?!" someone screamed. "Is he summoning another monster?!"
Sean and Liam, already on edge, shouted simultaneously. "KAI! WHAT ARE YOU DOING THIS TIME?!"
From the dark circles, skeletons emerged, their bony frames clattering as they stood tall, glowing faintly with eerie light. The students screamed in terror.
"SKELETONS AGAIN?!" "WHY DOES HE KEEP SUMMONING THESE THINGS?!"
The skeletons turned toward Kai, bowed low, and waited for his orders.
Kai stretched lazily, still perched on his tree branch. "Alright, my minions, please help out the others with their chores. Chop wood, set up tents, and anything else they need."
The skeletons nodded in unison and began to scatter, picking up logs, gathering stones, and assisting the exhausted students.
The students, still shaken, watched in disbelief as the skeletons quietly and efficiently worked alongside them.
"Wait… they're helping?" "This… isn't so bad, actually." "Why didn't he summon them earlier?!"
Sean, his face pale, yelled up at Kai, "You could've DONE THIS FROM THE START?!"
Liam groaned, rubbing his temples. "Of course he did this AFTER we were exhausted. Damn it, Kai!"
Kai yawned and leaned back against the trunk. "All done. Goodnight, guys."
Before anyone could argue further, Kai's head dropped forward, and he was fast asleep once again, leaving his classmates to begrudgingly accept help from his summoned skeletons.