The Northern Mountains weren't just cold; they were oppressive. The peaks were jagged teeth of granite biting into a perpetually grey sky, and the air carried the faint, copper tang of monster blood.
Kai stood at the base of "Black Iron Peak." According to the coordinates Han provided, this was a "Private Exclusion Zone"—a dungeon that had bled into the real world, turning the entire mountain range into a C-Rank nesting ground.
> [Current Level: 9]
> [Abyss Level: 3.2%]
> [Environmental Effect: High-Altitude Frost]
> [Resistance Check: Passed (Abyss Vitality)]
Kai exhaled, a cloud of white vapor swirling in front of his face. Any other C-Rank hunter would be shivering, their mana focusing on maintaining body heat. But Kai felt a strange, internal warmth. The Abyss didn't care about the cold; it only cared about the hunt.
CRUNCH.
The sound of a heavy footfall echoed from above.
Kai looked up. Standing on a rocky outcropping fifty meters up was a Mountain Ogre. It stood four meters tall, its skin the color of bruised slate and its shoulders draped in the thick furs of dire wolves. In its hand was a primitive club made from a sharpened pine tree.
The Ogre let out a low, guttural growl that shook the loose gravel around Kai's boots.
"Finally," Kai whispered. He didn't reach for his dagger. Instead, he opened his palm toward the ground. "Come forth."
The shadows beneath him didn't just ripple; they boiled. The Iron-Hide Weaver emerged, its obsidian legs clashing against the frozen stone like tempered steel.
"The Weaver will draw its attention," Kai commanded, his voice cold and analytical. "I'll take the eyes."
The Ogre roared, a sound like a landslide, and leaped from the cliff. It swung its massive club downward, aiming to pulverize the "small human."
The Weaver moved with frightening speed. It shot a shadow-cable upward, tethering itself to a higher ledge and swinging out of the way just as the club shattered the earth. Before the Ogre could recover, the Weaver landed on its back, its bladed legs sinking into the creature's thick traps.
The Ogre shrieked, flailing its arms to grab the "spider" on its back.
Now.
Kai moved. His Agility—now reinforced by his Level 9 stats—made him a blur against the grey rocks. He didn't just run; he used the uneven terrain to launch himself upward. He kicked off the Ogre's knee, then its hip, and finally its shoulder.
He was eye-to-eye with the beast.
The Ogre's single, massive eye widened in shock. Kai's dagger, infused with a dark, flickering aura, sliced through the air.
Squelch.
The blade buried itself to the hilt in the Ogre's eye. The monster let out a strangled cry, its massive body stumbling backward. Kai flipped backward, landing gracefully as the Ogre crashed into the mountainside.
> [Target Killed]
> [Experience Gained]
> [Extraction Available]
Kai walked toward the dying beast. He didn't feel the rush of adrenaline he used to feel. He felt a calm, methodical satisfaction.
"I need more than one spider," Kai said, looking at the Ogre's massive frame. "I need muscle."
He placed his hand on the Ogre's chest. The black ink of the Abyss surged forward, wrapping around the creature's heart.
"Extract."
The shadows fought back this time. The Ogre's soul was stubborn, its primal will resisting the void. Kai felt a sharp pain in his head—a mental strain he hadn't felt with the beetles or the spider.
Don't... fight... me, Kai thought, his eyes glowing a deep, dangerous violet. I am the one who devours.
[Extraction Success Rate: 25%... 50%... 100%]
[New Shadow Soldier Acquired: Mountain Ogre]
A massive, shadowy hand gripped the edge of the Ogre's corpse. Slowly, a dark, ethereal version of the monster rose. It was taller than the original, its skin a swirling vortex of black smoke, its club now a weapon of pure shadow energy.
The Shadow Ogre knelt before Kai, the ground cracking under its weight.
Kai looked at his two soldiers—the Weaver and the Ogre. A spider for speed, a giant for power.
"Thirteen more levels to go," Kai said, looking up toward the peak where the Ogre Warlord awaited. "Let's see if this mountain has enough blood to give them to me."