My Living Shadow System Devours To Make Me Stronger

‘Sparkle… his surname was Sparkle… well, Makia certainly had a vibrant personality…’

Damon couldn’t help but think of the fairy’s foul mouth and hot temper. He glanced at his corpse—his mangled fingers, his broken body… Damon’s heart was calm, even without Remorseless to keep his emotions in check. It had only been about two weeks or so since he started killing people, and now his heart was becoming unmoved by the lives he took.

He didn’t even feel the weight that was supposed to be there… He wondered if he would become numb to it soon…

He glanced at Lilith.

“I leveled up, and now I need—” He glanced at the system panel. “Huh… argh… come on…”

He looked at her and chuckled.

“I got stronger, but now I need ten more… but I’ve already gotten six here, so make that four more souls…”

She chuckled at his words it was as if the death of a few more people didn’t bother her much.

“That wouldn’t be a problem now, but if you only devour the souls of members of the goddess races… will your shadow eventually demand you kill the whole world?”

He bit his lip with mild irritation, his eyes narrowed slightly.

He had thought about that too… He shrugged.

“I hope it never comes to that…”

It was a concern he had already considered before… if it ever came to that he would without a doubt get killed by the noble and righteous heroes of the world…

‘Even the villain would want me dead…’

He looked at his system panel. He had 40 attribute points—10 from those he devoured outside and 30 from leveling up. His shadow pool was at four hundred… He glanced at the new skill and decided to check it out first.

[Skill: Shadow Control]

[Description:]

“The lost abound, hunger in their souls as they steal shadows, replacing their stolen forms with the essence of those they take. Those whose shadows vanish become like them—lost, wandering, forever chasing what was stolen. In their absence, the shadows once lost now bend to your will, shaped by desire, lingering and intangible, as though they were never meant to be seen.”

[Effect:]

The user can control intangible shadows—those not bound to physical form—manipulating them with will and essence. Masterless shadows now bend to your command, a force under your control.

[Type:]

Active.

[Cooldown:]

10 seconds.

He glanced at his shadow and activated the skill, but he didn’t feel anything. He could only sense the shadows already within his perception. Then, he willed them to move.

All at once, the shadows within the warehouse stirred, pooling toward him. A deep, inky darkness formed around him as he felt his shadow energy burning.

He smiled.

A powerful active skill… Now he could use it to attack. He willed the shadows to shape themselves into spears and strike the walls. The dark spears rushed forward, but when they met their target—nothing. No impact, no sound of destruction, not even a scratch.

Lilith paused.

“Huh… nothing happened…”

Damon glanced at her, feeling a little embarrassed. He looked at his shadow, who only shrugged. Frowning, he checked the skill description again. His excitement from earlier faded as he realized his mistake.

The skill only allowed him to control intangible, masterless shadows.

“It… it’s useless… what a useless skill…”

Damon looked at Lilith with a dejected expression. She met his gaze with concern, but he bit his lip, deciding not to explain. Instead, he willed the system panel to display the skill for her.

As the panel appeared before her, Lilith’s stigmata jolted slightly. She studied the description, surprised that he was willing to share it with her. Was it gratitude for her help?

He seemed frustrated. She smiled and continued reading.

After a moment, she paused.

“Hmm… how interesting. This time, the description mentions the lost from the demon continent. I’ve heard of them. There are a few in Soltheon, but they’re very rare…”

Damkn scoffed. “So what? Not like we’re going to encounter them…”

She sighed. “This skill is very powerful.”

Damkn narrowed his eyes. “I can control shadows that can’t hurt anybody… intangible shadows.”

She shook her head.

“You missed the main point. You can control all masterless shadows. And you know who is a shadow without a master…”

Damon’s eyes narrowed. “You don’t mean…”

“Yes. This skill allows you to control the lost. Those horrible creatures steal people’s shadows, but they themselves are shadows. This is a skill that can control them—all masterless shadows.”

Damon held his chin. “That makes sense… although that doesn’t help me now.”

He glanced at the corpses in the warehouse. “Although, I can still get a skill from one of them if I get lucky.”

He ordered his shadow to move, and it began devouring the corpses.

[You have gained 5 attribute points.]

[Your shadow is full.]

[You have gained 5 attribute points.]

[You have gained 5 attribute points.]

…

As his shadow feasted, he paused. An idea struck him. Stopping his shadow, he willed all the shadows in the warehouse toward the corpses, commanding them to devour. A flood of notifications followed.

[You have gained 5 attribute points.]

[You have gained 5 attribute points.]

He smiled. The skill wasn’t useless after all.

Now, all that was left was Makia’s body.

Lilith watched with a thin smile. He had no idea what she was thinking, and frankly, he wasn’t bothered. His focus was on Makia’s corpse. The others hadn’t given him a new skill, and honestly, he was disappointed. It had been a while since he last gained one.

Lowering himself to the ground, he picked up the glowing dagger Makia had wielded. A magical artifact. He smiled—it would fetch good money. But he dismissed the thought. It could also be traced.

He glanced at his shadow.

“Devour him.”

The darkness moved and swallowed Makia whole.

A notification appeared.

[You have gained 15 attribute points.]

[You have acquired the skill: Parkour.]

He smiled. At last, another skill.