My Living Shadow System Devours To Make Me Stronger

Damon gasped, lowering himself to check the bleeding, headless corpse of the redcap goblin. He searched its remains but found little of value—just a few weathered scrolls and some insignificant trinkets.

Standing up, he turned to Matlock, who had cast the ice blast that finished off the goblin mage. The young fairy bit his delicate, feminine lips before quickly stepping away from the corpse, his wings fluttering uneasily. Damon gave him a nod before shifting his focus elsewhere.

His eyes scanned the battlefield for the bag the goblin had dropped earlier. He remembered kicking it near Sylvia—and sure enough, it was still there.

His party was in rough shape, but they had healers. Sylvia was the best, her healing magic gentle and efficient, while Evangeline’s was more aggressive—almost like purification rather than simple restoration. Sylvia was already tending to Xander, who seemed to be the most injured, alongside Leona. Being front-line fighters, they had taken the worst of the damage. Next would be Damon himself and Evangeline, though she could heal herself if needed. Matlock, lacking a fixed position in the party, had still taken injuries, and Evangeline was already tending to him.

Time was short.

Damon grabbed the bag the redcap goblin—called Tooth—had dropped and quickly unfastened it. Inside, he found several scrolls. He flipped them open one by one, but they were mostly low-grade spell scrolls, cheaply crafted from animal skin. He rifled through the contents with growing impatience until his fingers brushed against something different—a crude, hand-drawn map.

It was difficult to interpret, the ink smudged and lines uneven, but it was still a map.

Next, he pulled out a tattered book that barely held together. Damon flipped it open, but most of the pages were damaged—either torn or too faded to read. Yet, as he skimmed through, his breath nearly caught in his throat.

The handwriting was undoubtedly human. And the first line was a prayer.

“Praise be to the Goddess as we begin this mighty undertaking. We have crossed the Duhu Mountain Range and have now reached the Forest of Whispers. I pray we do not become one of them…”

Damon’s grip on the book tightened.

This was a travel journal—one belonging to someone who had ventured into the Whispering Forest. More importantly, it contained mentions of the ruined city and the Path of Kings.

Flipping through the thick volume, he found that most pages were filled with records, though some had been lost to time. Near the very back, there was another map. The ink was faded and some sections were completely illegible, but enough remained to make out a few crucial details.

This book was their hope.

Without hesitation, Damon tucked it into his supply bag and secured it.

Ignoring the pain coursing through his body, Damon reinspected the traps, spreading his shadow perception outward to anticipate where the next wave of enemies might emerge. His gaze drifted toward the mountains in the distance—the Duhu Mountains, as he now knew them to be called. It was time for his party to move.

Their pursuers would inevitably trigger the traps, and when they did, he wouldn’t even need to see their faces.

He swung the bag over his shoulder and turned to his party.

“You all have five minutes to catch your breath. Eat if you can, because once we start moving, we won’t stop until I say so.”

Xander, already healed, leaned back against a tree, sipping from his waterskin.

“And how long do we hike?”

Damon’s eyes remained fixed on the looming mountains. They appeared deceptively close, but he knew better. If they were lucky, the journey would take two days. If obstacles arose—and they would—five days at best.

“Until we reach that mountain,” he replied flatly. “Save your energy. It’s an endurance race. We’ll be hunted by at least twenty redcap goblins, three war trolls, and—if our luck is bad, which it will be—a lesser demon or two might track us.”

He turned slightly, his gaze shifting southwest.

“Or worse… we might all die by dragon’s breath if Ashergon wakes up before we leave.”

Evangeline’s fingers trembled slightly, while Leona’s ears twitched at the mention of the name.

Xander sighed, glancing at Matlock, who had long since stopped crying, having resigned himself to their grim reality.

Sylvia stepped up to Damon, her expression filled with concern as she studied him. His body was covered in bruises and dried blood, his arm swollen from an earlier impact.

“You should sit down. Let me heal you.”

Damon gave a small nod, accepting her help. He needed to be in peak condition for what lay ahead.

Sylvia knelt beside him, releasing a gentle stream of lunar-attribute magic. A cool, refreshing sensation washed over his body as the magic worked through his wounds, easing his pain.

As she healed him, Damon pulled out the book he had found earlier.

“I guess we got lucky,” he muttered. “That goblin mage had everything we needed—a map and, even better, a travel journal.”

Leona glanced at the weathered old tome, her brows furrowing.

“I didn’t know goblins were that sophisticated.”

Evangeline, who had finished tending to Matlock, walked over and picked up the book. She flipped through its fragile pages, her eyes narrowing.

“I can barely make out anything. It’s too faded…” She shot Damon a doubtful look. “The information is too broken. Incomplete knowledge can be more dangerous than knowing nothing—especially where we’re going.”

Damon nodded. He understood that risk well enough. But even so, this was an edge they couldn’t afford to ignore.

“We’ll try to learn as much as we can. I’m not saying to trust the book—just use it as a reference point,” he said. “Now catch your breath. We move out soon.”

The others nodded, falling silent as they mentally prepared for the journey ahead.

Damon sat with them, inspecting their supplies while they rested. Sylvia, having exhausted herself healing him, remained by his side. Without a word, she leaned her head against his shoulder.

Normally, he might’ve pushed her away—like he would have done before. But this time, he just let her be.

With the few minutes he had left, he turned his attention to the new system mechanic.

He opened the system panel and focused on the newly unlocked section.

[Mastery]