The outskirts of Oakhaven were a stark contrast to the bustling market district. Here, the cobblestones gave way to packed dirt and the tall stone houses were replaced by small wooden shacks.
The smell of expensive spices and horse manure was replaced by the scent of damp earth and woodsmoke.
James kept his hood pulled low. He guided Emily toward a small, abandoned shed near the edge of a dense forest.
This area was mostly used by loggers during the day, but at night, it was silent. It was the perfect place to disappear for a few hours.
Emily hadn't said a word since they left the alley. She clutched the sleeve of his tunic, her knuckles white.
Her breathing was still shallow, coming in short, ragged bursts. James could feel her trembling every time a branch snapped in the distance.
"We're safe here, Emily," James said. His voice was soft, trying to ground her. "Sit down. Rest."
He helped her onto a pile of dry hay in the corner of the shed. He took off his outer coat and wrapped it around her shoulders.
She looked up at him, her eyes wide and glassy. She looked like she wanted to ask a thousand questions, but the words wouldn't come out.
"Sleep," James whispered. "I'll watch the door. Nobody is coming for us."
It took a long time. She sat there staring at the wall for nearly an hour before her eyelids finally grew heavy.
The exhaustion of the day, both emotional and physical, eventually won. Her head bobbed, and she slumped against the hay, falling into a fitful sleep.
James exhaled a long breath he didn't know he was holding. He sat against the opposite wall, facing the door. The adrenaline was gone now, replaced by a cold, heavy ache in his joints.
He looked at his hands in the dim moonlight filtering through the cracks in the wood. The blood had dried, turning into a dark, crusty brown.
'Now,' he thought. 'What was that light?'
He focused his mind, searching for that blue glow from earlier. As soon as he thought about it, the translucent screen flickered into existence. It hovered silently in the air, glowing with a soft light that didn't seem to illuminate the room around it.
[Host: James]
[Level: 1]
[Class 1: Necromancer (Grade: Unknown)]
[Class 2: Beast Tamer (Grade: Unknown)]
[Skills:]
[Soul Extraction (Active) - Level 1]
[Taming (Active) - Level 1]
James stared at the text. He had heard of dual classes before, but they were incredibly rare.
Usually, a person was lucky to have a single affinity for a basic element like fire or water. Having two classes that seemed to contradict each other was unheard of.
'A Necromancer handles the dead,' he thought. 'A Beast Tamer handles the living. How do these work together?'
He tapped the screen, and more information flowed into his mind. It wasn't a painful download of data, but rather a slow realization, like a memory he had forgotten.
The Necromancy class allowed him to claim the souls of those he defeated. However, most necromancers in this world were known to raise mindless, rotting corpses. They were slow, brittle, and lacked any will.
That was where the Beast Tamer class came in.
The system explained that James could treat a soul as a "wild beast." Instead of just raising a corpse, he could "tame" the soul itself.
By applying Taming to a harvested soul, he could bind it to his will, stabilize its form, and allow it to grow in power just like a monster companion.
'So I don't just raise them?' James realized
He remembered the mercenary in the alley. The system had said a soul was ready for extraction. He closed his eyes and reached out with his senses, feeling for a connection.
A faint, flickering light appeared in his mind's eye. It was back in the city, in that dark alleyway. A tether of energy connected James to the spot where the man had died.
[Would you like to extract the soul of 'Mercenary - Level 7'?]
James didn't hesitate. 'Yes.'
A cold wind whipped through the small shed, though the door remained shut. A swirl of dark energy began to gather in the center of the room.
It wasn't the green, sickly light of common necromancy. Instead, it was a deep, bruised purple mixed with a pitch-black center.
The energy began to take shape. It groaned, a sound that felt like it was coming from underwater. Slowly, the silhouette of a man emerged.
It was the mercenary, but he looked different. He was no longer made of flesh and bone. He was a shifting mass of shadows.
His eyes glowed with a faint purple light. The wounds James had inflicted were still visible in the shadow form, but they didn't bleed. They just pulsed with that same dark energy.
[Soul Extraction successful.]
[The soul is currently unstable. Would you like to use 'Taming' to bind the entity?]
'Do it,' James commanded.
He felt a drain on his stamina. It wasn't mana, since he had none. It felt like his own physical energy was being siphoned off to fuel the skill.
He leaned his head back against the wall, gritting his teeth as the shadow began to thrash.
"Quiet," James hissed, glancing at the sleeping Emily.
The shadow stopped struggling. The black and purple aura settled, clinging to the figure like a thick cloak. A mark appeared on the shadow's chest, a small glowing rune that symbolized the bond.
[Taming Successful.]
[First Shadow Beast Created: Unnamed.]
[Type: Undead Humanoid.]
[Rank: F.]
The shadow man knelt on the dirt floor. He didn't speak. He didn't breathe. He simply waited for a command.
James looked at the creature. It was a killer, a man who had tried to hurt his sister. Now, it was a tool. In this world, James was null. He had no mana. He had no status. But with this, he had something better.
He could hunt monsters. He could take their souls. He could tame the beasts of this world, whether they were living or dead. Even the divine beasts mentioned in legends were no longer out of his reach.
'I need to test its limits,' James thought. 'But not here. Not near Emily.'
He waved his hand, and the shadow dissolved into the floor, hiding within his own shadow. The room felt warmer once the creature was gone.
James looked over at his sister. She was still asleep, her face finally peaceful. He knew that tomorrow would be difficult.
They couldn't stay in Oakhaven. The guards would eventually find the body, and even if they didn't care about a mercenary, they would ask questions.
He needed to get stronger. He needed to find out how many shadows he could hold and how to evolve them.
He closed his eyes, resting his hand on the hilt of his small knife. He couldn't sleep, he was so excited for tomorrow.