Becoming the Dark Lord

The group moved in silence through the fortress’s new corridors. Every footstep echoed faintly against smooth stone, each of them acutely aware of the sound they were making. Unlike the old fortress, there were no alarms or mechanical triggers, just a dense hush and the electric weight of an ambush waiting to happen. Torches flickered on the walls, their flames casting restless shadows that warped the depth of the passageways.

“You’re sure this plan will work?” Ronan’s voice carried a taut edge.

They stopped at a crossroad. The air here felt colder, tinged with rust and damp, as if the walls themselves were swallowing every word. Evangeline studied each hall and archway before answering.

“I’m sure. Even without alarms, these things like to slaughter anything that gets near the mechanism. That makes Luke and me the most obvious targets.” She allowed a thin smile. “So we’ll use that against them.”

“But you said these bastards turn invisible. We won’t even know if they’re right next to us,” Ronan muttered, tightening his grip on his weapon.

The seven of them formed a tight ring, backs together, covering every angle. It was the most defensible spot they’d found in the fortress’s labyrinthine layout, but still a choke point. Eyes swept each corridor. Muscles stayed wired, waiting for the first flash of movement.

Charlie drew her blade from the inventory. The black metal seemed to drink in the surrounding light as she activated its enchantment.

[Midnight Sword (Ultra-Rare)

Description: A blade as black as the night itself, forged from the same shadowed steel used by the Midnight Wardens. It once belonged to a Captain, whose strength and discipline still echo within the blade. The steel is hard and unyielding, making it not only a deadly weapon but also a symbol of authority and fear.

[Shield Form (Ultra-Rare): The blade can transform into a round shield of black steel, equally resilient, providing unshakable defense in critical moments.

Requirement: Level 35+ in any Fighter class.]

“Don’t forget about the spear. They could throw it at us,” Jack said, eyes darting between passageways.

“The Warden Captain we’ve seen only carries a sword. But even if it does have a spear, the instant it throws, it loses invisibility. That’s our window,” Luke replied, voice steady.

Jack swallowed hard. “I just don’t know if I can dodge in time. I’m not agile, I’m not built to take a hit. I’m wearing a robe, not armor.”

“Then hope it sticks to the sword,” Luke said, half serious, half teasing.

“That’s not exactly reassuring,” Jack muttered, clenching his wand.

The formation stayed tight. The silence thickened, broken only by the faint clink of steel when someone shifted their stance. The cold stone walls turned every sound into an echo, like whispers from unseen mouths. Even breathing felt too loud.

Then came the sound of heavy metal footsteps, slow, measured, coming from more than one direction.

“It’s in front of me!” Mason raised his shield.

Another sound snapped from the left corridor.

“Got one on my side!” Allison crouched slightly, ready to strike.

Eleanor held her bowstring tight but didn’t fire. Too early and she’d give up her shot. The seven of them traded quick glances, no one sure where the first strike would land. The creatures were there, invisible, stalking them like predators in their own den.

More footsteps now, fast and sure, heading straight toward Luke’s position.

“Third one’s on me!” he called out.

And then, just as suddenly as it began, the noise stopped. Silence reclaimed the hall. The Wardens were in position, waiting to spring. The moment they had anticipated and dreaded had arrived.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

Charlie raised her shield and the spectral barrier shimmered into existence in front of Luke, a translucent veil quivering like liquid glass. The air grew heavy, vibrating with energy. Eleanor used the moment to draw stamina into her arrow, while Ronan lifted his massive shield, bracing for impact.

The hush lasted only a heartbeat. A sharp crack snapped to the right and the first Warden appeared out of nowhere, a ripple in the air, like heat above stone, before slamming into the barrier. Eleanor released her arrow, the shaft roaring through the distortion. Ronan intercepted a strike with his shield, sparks skidding off the stone where an invisible blade had missed him by inches.

The rest of the group reacted without hesitation. Charlie swung the shield in a tight arc, releasing a surge of force from its edge that drove the enemy back. In the same instant, she transformed her shield into a sword and struck forward. The blade bit into something unseen, the hard metallic crunch of armor proving it was there.

Luke fixed his eyes on the target and loosed a mana-infused arrow. The projectile burst in a flare of white light, tearing a seam through the distortion. In one fluid motion, he hurled a kukri spinning like a black star until it struck home with a dull, wet thud.

The three Wardens staggered back, slamming into the walls with echoing crashes. Invisible, but no longer untouchable, each carried a mark betraying its position: one with Luke’s kukri buried in its shoulder, another glowing where Allison’s katana burned against its armor, and the third skewered by Evangeline’s spear through its flank. Even hidden, they were shadows pinned by steel.

“This one’s going for me!” Evangeline shouted, leaping back as the weapon floated toward her.

“And this one’s on me!” Luke twisted aside, already moving to flank.

They split without thinking, instincts snapping into place. The team had to figure out which Warden would focus on which fighter before they could divide and crush them. The third Warden lunged after Luke but was intercepted by a combined strike from Allison and Mason, followed by Eleanor’s pin-sharp arrows. The corridor erupted into steel on steel, muted grunts, and the crackle of magic.

Luke didn’t wait to see the fight end. His boots slapped against stone as he bolted down a side passage into the inner garden. Columns lined the space, the ground a patchwork of beaten earth and low shrubs, a strange oasis inside the fortress. Light streamed from high skylights, falling in dusty golden beams.

Charlie was right behind him, her flaming aura flickering across the plates of her armor. She struck from behind, hammering the Warden Captain with brutal precision. The enemy, invisible but betrayed by the kukri still lodged in its flesh, followed close, heavy steps marking its pursuit across the dirt. ℴ

The kukri trembled, then snapped back to Luke’s hand under magnetic pull. He drew a steady breath, lifting his bow as Charlie lunged again.

A notification blinked across his vision:

[Mark of Doom Activated]

The creature would now take 10% more damage.

Charlie stretched out her hand and summoned her spectral soldier. A dense cloud swirled over the ground before hardening into the cracked form of an orc, green fissures pulsing between plates of ghostly armor. Morvat had arrived. The Warden Captain’s roar thundered across the garden, invisible but close, each step denting the earth and betraying its position.

“Looks like it’s just us,” Luke muttered, glancing at Charlie.

The monster lunged with a guttural snarl, its unseen sword slicing an arc through the air. Luke reacted instantly, pointing his hand toward the ground. Barbed roots burst upward, snaring the creature’s legs. Charlie activated Spectral Charge and drove her sword where she guessed its torso was. A muffled metallic howl reverberated. The roots snapped as the sword gouged the dirt and vanished again.

At the last second, Charlie shifted the blade into its round shield form and caught the strike from nowhere. The impact rattled her arm but held. Morvat vaulted in, Battle Frenzy igniting as he clambered onto the enemy’s back and hammered the invisible helmet, each blow ringing like a smith’s hammer against iron.

Luke watched the orc get hurled into a wall, fragments of spectral energy scattering in the air. He moved before hesitation could set in, capitalizing on the distraction.

He pulled his bow from the inventory, the other hand already shaping an Acid Blood Arrow while tracking the Warden Captain’s faint silhouette. A green glow began condensing as the arrow formed from his plant-based skills. This was the strongest version he could craft.

Notifications flashed in rapid sequence:

[Health Points (HP): 4270/4270]

[Health Points (HP): -100]

[Health Points (HP): 4170/4270]

[Mana Points (MP): 4873/(4940)]

[Mana Points (MP): -1500]

[Mana Points (MP): 3373/(4940)]

Luke steadied his aim at where he knew the target had to be. The arrow’s power transformed its acidic core into something far deadlier. He wasn’t done yet. Layer by layer, he wove Mana Infusion into the arrow’s frame, then Force Infusion on top of that.

[Mana Points (MP): 3373/(4940)]

[Mana Points (MP): -800]

[Stamina: 2863/(2890)]

[Stamina: -1000]

The bow trembled under his grip, fissures creeping along the limbs as the energy climbed to its peak, right to the edge of what the weapon could bear. Across the clearing, Charlie held her round shield high, keeping the enemy’s focus locked on her.

Too late, the creature sensed the danger. The earth beneath its boots sagged under the roots, marking the exact spot. Luke inhaled, holding the arrow until it became a line of pure light, then let the string snap free.

This new combination of the Acid Blood Arrow at its most powerful version, reinforced with Mana Infusion and Force Infusion, he named Acid Burst Arrow.