My Living Shadow System Devours To Make Me Stronger

Xander heaved, blood running down the side of his head as he sprinted through the forest, chased by a small group of redcap goblins. These goblins were as tall as adult men, with elongated limbs, sinewy muscles, and crimson skin. They wore their signature leather armor and pursued him with savage determination. However, what made things truly dangerous was the goblin mage hurling fireballs and debuff spells at him from behind.

Gritting his teeth, he dodged another incoming fireball.

“Damn you, Damon…!”

He ran as fast as he could, using his spear and floating barriers of gravity magic to shield himself. The goblins, however, were faster, their magically enhanced limbs allowing them to leap with inhuman agility.

Xander dashed toward a familiar patch of shrubs. The moment he crossed it, he intentionally slowed down, skidding across the ground. To any observer, it would appear as though he had just tripped—but he knew better.

The goblins, hot on his heels, charged straight past the shrubs at full speed.

Then, it happened.

The leading goblin was abruptly sliced apart, its body separating into clean, precise pieces. The others skidded to a halt in shock as nearly invisible wires shimmered in the air, slicing through anything that passed through them.

Xander turned back, his eyes scanning the trap Damon had set.

“How vicious…” he muttered.

The goblin mage, more cautious than its kin, immediately halted the others. Its sharp, glowing eyes flickered with intelligence as it surveyed the area, searching for more traps.

Xander couldn’t allow that. He needed to drag the mage into the killing zone—whatever twisted scheme Damon had devised. He didn’t like it, but he had a role to play.

Raising his spear, he let out a mocking laugh.

“Hahaha! Catch me if you can, you lowlife worms!”

The goblins snarled in anger, but the mage held them back, scanning for danger.

Xander scoffed and glared at it. “Stupid mage wannabe! Can’t even read, can’t even cast properly. Ugly, too! And dumb!”

The insults were simple, but they hit their mark. The goblin mage’s eyes burned with fury as it let out a guttural roar and lunged after him.

Xander turned on his heels and sprinted, his heart pounding.

Behind him, the remaining goblins exchanged glances, then shrugged before charging after him, murderous intent gleaming in their eyes.

As Xander ran, a shadow stirred behind him. It spread like ink, slithering across the forest floor toward the fallen goblin corpse.

The body were devoured—vanishing into the abyssal darkness—before the entity zipped forward, following after them.

It wasn’t long before Xander reached a small clearing in the woods, the goblins still in pursuit. As soon as he arrived, he began slowing down, preparing for battle.

The moment the goblins entered the clearing, two arrows shot out from the treeline, piercing through one of them instantly. Before the others could react, a deafening bang echoed across the forest—immediately followed by the head of a goblin exploding as a magic bullet struck it dead-on.

Damon casually blew away the smoke from his fingertip, glancing toward the treetops where birds scattered from the loud sound.

‘That should attract more of them here,’ he thought.

The biggest flaw of the magic bullet spell was its noise. It was far too loud, but it was undeniably effective. Since he had already fired one, he might as well keep going.

Without hesitation, he leapt from his perch in the trees, dropping directly onto a redcap goblin. The creature reacted swiftly, dodging to the side and slashing at him with a rusted blade. Damon rolled out of the way, his dagger flashing in response as their weapons clashed. The impact forced both of them to stagger, their weapons momentarily knocked off balance.

The goblin lunged again, but the moment it moved, Damon’s [Beholder’s Gaze] activated, slowing time in his perception. In that brief window, he raised his finger and fired another magic bullet. The goblin barely managed to dodge, retaliating with a powerful kick to his gut.

Damon coughed, stumbling back as the goblin pounced on him. He caught its arms, the two locked in a struggle. The goblin was strong—too strong. It was slowly overpowering him.

Without hesitation, he activated [5x], increasing his strength fivefold.

The goblin’s eyes widened in shock as Damon suddenly pushed it off him. Before it could recover, he seized its head and slammed it down onto his knee with brutal force.

The creature groaned in pain, dazed. That brief moment gave Damon a chance to glance at the battlefield.

Leona had already cornered and was about to kill another goblin. Meanwhile, Xander, Sylvia, Matlock, and Evangeline had teamed up against the goblin mage.

Damon tightened his grip on the goblin’s head—and twisted.

Crack!

[You have slain Redcap Goblin.]

He exhaled, glancing at his status. He needed one more kill to reach level 7. As for consuming the corpses… that could wait until no one was looking.

His true target was the goblin mage.

[Remorseless] was active, analyzing the creature. Unlike the others, this one was far stronger—it had at least reached its first-class advancement. That was fine. It was still a mage type, which meant its physical strength was lacking.

Even so, his party was struggling against it. He had to kill it before more goblins arrived, so he could spring his real trap.

His gaze flicked to Leona, who was still engaged in combat with a goblin.

“I need to level up…”

He nocked an arrow, his [Dead Eye] skill locking onto his target.

The arrow flew past Leona with pinpoint accuracy, embedding itself directly into the goblin’s eye. The creature let out a dying groan before collapsing.

Leona huffed, barely glancing at him before turning to help with the goblin mage.

Damon, however, heard a familiar chime.

[You have slain Redcap Goblin.]

[You have leveled up.]

[You have gained 60 attribute points.]

He paused, waiting. Every time he leveled up, he unlocked a new skill.

Then, the system continued.

[You have reached an Inflection Point. You have unlocked a new system mechanic.]

[You have unlocked System Mechanic: Mastery.]

[Analyzing your Mastery…]

Damon’s eyes narrowed. He didn’t have time to explore new mechanics right now. If it was a skill, he could use it immediately—but if not, it would have to wait.

Turning away from the notifications, he set his sights on the goblin mage, the sounds of battle thundering around him.