Reincarnated With A Glitched System: Why Is My MP Not Running Out?

Chapter 2112: Shade’s Side

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Shade moved swiftly across the city with a deeply worried expression etched on his face. He leaped high into the air and expanded his shadows into dozens of gigantic hands, carefully catching several people who were still hiding instead of fleeing the chaos. Children, the elderly, and those with nowhere else to go, such as homeless individuals trying to hide underground, were all gathered by his shadows. He quickly pulled them into safety.

”Sorry about this, but I have to be rough. Please do not resent me.”

As the people ran desperately from the rampaging monsters, many fell into the Shadow Traps Shade had previously set to catch enemies. Terrified beyond measure, they screamed as they plunged into what seemed like an endless abyss. Yet instead of death, they found themselves floating gently in complete darkness, surrounded by dozens of other frightened civilians.

”W-Where am I?”

”What happened?”

”W-Weren’t we just in the city?”

”Is this some trap set by the monsters?!”

”A-Are we inside a monster’s belly? Are we being digested?!”

”Someone help meeeeeeee!”

As the crowd grew louder with panic and confusion, Shade’s glowing red eyes materialized within his Shadow Realm. The sudden appearance frightened them even more.

”Please, calm down,” he said gently.

His voice echoed in a ghostly and ethereal manner inside the Shadow Realm, which only caused more screams of horror. Shade sighed internally, painfully aware of how ill-suited his powers were for the role of a hero. His arsenal consisted of assassination techniques, shadow manipulation, curses, death magic, and necromancy. In the eyes of most people, he was practically designed to be seen as a villain.

Yet he stubbornly refused to accept that label.

”I am Hero Shade. This is my Shadow Realm. I have brought you here quickly for your own safety. There is plenty of oxygen, and you can rest easy. I will soon send you to the main evacuation area. King Thassarion is currently fighting the monsters that were targeting the escaping citizens.”

”W-What!?”

”Shade?”

”Is the monster lying to us?”

”I heard them talking, so this might be an elaborate trick!”

”No, it must be Hero Shade. I have heard he possesses great control over shadows. Besides, a real monster would not be playing around with us like this. They would have started eating us already.”

”Oi, don’t give him ideas!”

”I am not lying,” Shade assured them calmly. ”There, go.”

He opened a bright portal that led them back outside to safety.

”It was real?!”

”We’re outside!”

”Oh my goodness, thank you so much, Lord Shade!”

”You’re our hero!”

”T-Thanks!”

”Sorry for doubting you...”

”Please go save my parents! They went to the merchant guild before this started!” a young girl begged, her voice trembling with fear.

”I will go there and look for them,” Shade replied softly, gently patting the girl’s head. ”For now, run to safety. The Skeletons will guide you.”

”S-Skeletons?!”

The people gasped as they saw dozens of powerful Shadow Knights standing guard. These were strong undead warriors that Shade could summon temporarily. His permanent undead were far fewer in number. He created these knights by combining Summoning Magic with Necromancy, similar to how Allan and Faylen could summon spirits of fire and light. Shade merged Shadow Spirits with skeletons to form these formidable Shadow Knights.

They drew on twenty percent of his magic power, making them powerful enough to hold back the invading monsters and protect the fleeing civilians.

”Alright. Round two.”

Shade rushed back into the heart of the city without delay. He spun rapidly in midair while wielding his knives, transforming into a deadly tornado of shadows and darkness. Dozens of monsters were instantly sliced into thousands of pieces. When boss-level creatures charged toward him, Shade vanished from sight and reappeared above their heads. His knives fused into a single long black blade, which he used to cleanly behead a Thunder Cyclops King.

He then summoned his strongest undead, including Vulcan, a giant Shadow Undead Ant with dozens of arms. Vulcan was a former son of Armageddon whom Shade had kept as his familiar. Thanks to Shade’s recent evolution, Vulcan had gained the ability of Gigantification. He grew to an enormous size, and his many arms sliced through enemies while summoning both shadow and bone weapons.

His strikes landed with devastating force, allowing him to overpower another boss monster: a Ruby Dragon Golem resembling a dragon made of hard ruby. The creature exhaled red flame sand and fired destructive red beams in every direction. However, a protective barrier suddenly appeared and began regenerating the golem’s damaged body.

”Hahahahaha! You cannot defeat me!”

Some of these bosses had received powerful blessings that granted divine protection, allowing them to survive what should have been lethal attacks. Shade, however, had faced such resilient enemies before.

”Kill them until they die.”

”Abyssal Assassination Arts – Abyssal Slash Barrage.”

He leaped forward, turning into pure darkness before swinging his dagger with incredible speed. The blade cut through the giant dragon’s entire body repeatedly. Chunks of its form exploded and fell apart again and again, regenerating each time until the creature’s confidence finally shattered.

”W-Wait! What are you...?! ”

Its lasers could not reach Shade. He was simply too fast. With a final agonized cry, the Ruby Dragon Golem collapsed as its revival ability broke completely and its divine blessing shattered under the relentless assault of Shade’s sharp dagger.

”One down. Many more to go...” Shade muttered, gripping his knives tightly as he faced a marching group of intelligent and powerful boss monsters working together. Though they were clever, most were still giant brutes. Even the fastest among them could not predict his movements. Shade appeared behind them and finished them off swiftly.

”Vulcan, Fusion!”

”Why only me?!” Vulcan protested.

”I am using the power of the others to maintain the summons,” Shade explained. ”Besides, you are both strong and cost me less mana because you have your own pool. You are the most unique undead I have. Your mother did a good job creating you.”

”Tsk, do not remind me of her. I still cannot believe she is alive after everything we went through, and serving under that girl no less...” Vulcan sighed. He rapidly transformed into darkness and enveloped Shade. ”Come to think of it... your daughter and your wife! Where are they?!”

”I am just as worried as you are,” Shade replied with a heavy sigh. ”But I promised Allan and Faylen that I would stay here and protect the people. Nepheline went to the dungeon with Sylphy, and Aquarina went to another. That is all I know before communication was cut off. Right now, a strange divine power is flowing through the air, making me stronger the more monsters I kill. It feels deeply connected to Sylph. My guess is that the girl is evolving as she fights something truly terrifying. I am worried about my daughter and my wife, but I cannot abandon all these people. It is truly agonizing.”

Shade’s appearance transformed as he merged with Vulcan. He became encased in insectoid armor of black and ghostly blue hues. Multiple new arms sprouted, each wielding different sharp knives. Giant insect wings emerged on his back, and he used his Shadow Step technique to move even faster through the battlefield.

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