---
Chapter 15: Steel and Shadows
The group returned to the village by dusk, battered but alive.
When Ray entered the main square, he noticed something.
The villagers — who once glanced at him with half-pity, half-contempt — now stared with a different light in their eyes.
Respect.
Curiosity.
Even pride.
Chief Degar called everyone together near the bonfire.
He pointed at Ray.
> "This boy killed two wolves today.
Saved Erik and Mara.
Fought without fear.
He's no longer a child.
From today, Ray is officially a hunter of Ember Village!"
The villagers cheered.
Old men pounded his back.
Mothers smiled warmly.
And near the back of the crowd — Ray spotted his younger sister, Lila, wiping tears from her eyes.
Their gaze met.
She mouthed silently:
> "I'm proud of you, Big Brother."
Ray's chest tightened, a strange warmth spreading through him.
He clenched his fists.
He would not stop here.
For Lila, for his family —
He would climb higher.
No matter the cost.
---
Nightfall: Seventeen's Training Begins
That night, after everyone slept, Ray sneaked out to the woods.
Seventeen's voice was sharper, almost playful.
> "Good. Recognition from the herd is a stepping stone.
But if you seek to become king...
You must temper yourself in blood and fire.
Now, Host — let us begin your true training."
Ray nodded.
The skeletal rat appeared beside him with a flick of mana — obedient and twitching.
Seventeen projected a simple interface before Ray:
---
[Current Stats]
Level: 3
HP: 48/60
MP: 42/50
Strength: 7
Agility: 9
Endurance: 6
Intelligence: 8
Vitality: 6
Spirit: 9
[New Skill Unlocked!]
Pain Resistance I (Passive — minor reduction of physical damage felt)
---
Seventeen explained calmly:
> "With each battle, you grow.
But passive skills — like Pain Resistance —
will be your armor when spells and swords fail you.
Passive. Silent. Permanent."
Ray grinned.
The road was opening.
---
Hidden Practice: Blood Dance
The next few hours passed in brutal silence.
Ray practiced dodging between trees.
Fighting with one arm tied behind his back.
Controlling the rat precisely — using it to scout, distract, and kill.
Every slip earned him a painful whip of a summoned skeletal vine (Seventeen's training method — cruel but effective).
By dawn, Ray collapsed to his knees, panting and soaked with sweat.
His muscles screamed.
But his movements — faster. Sharper.
His control over mana — denser, more natural.
> [Agility +1]
[Mana Control Beginner → Adept!]
Seventeen spoke one last time as the sun rose:
> "Congratulations, Host.
You are no longer prey.
You are a predator in training."
---
Morning: Chief's Summons
After washing up quickly, Ray was summoned by Chief Degar again.
This time, the chief's tent was more serious — only a few important villagers gathered inside.
On a rough map laid out on the table, Degar pointed toward the east.
> "The Academy Trials are being prepared.
Every young hunter must prove themselves to earn a recommendation."
He tapped the map — a large forest area, marked "Trial Grounds."
> "Monsters roam there freely.
You must survive for seven days inside.
Bring back beast cores.
The strongest ones will be chosen by the Kingdom for special training.
Maybe even scholarships. Maybe military offers.
Maybe... a future."
The old chief looked directly into Ray's eyes.
> "You're strong, Ray.
But strength without control is a blade without a hilt.
Learn discipline.
Survive the Trial.
Earn your place."
Ray nodded silently.
Inside him, a fire ignited.
The Academy wasn't just a dream anymore.
It was real.
And he would carve his path through blood, bone, and determination.
---
---
Chapter 17: Whispers of Power
The forest swallowed them whole.
Ray stood at the edge of the Trial Grounds, heart hammering in his chest.
Around him, twenty-five young hunters from different villages gathered — some already boasting shiny weapons, light armor, or beast companions.
Most looked nervous.
Some looked excited.
And a few... cold and hungry for blood.
The instructor — a grizzled Knight wearing partial iron armor — barked orders.
> "Seven days.
You survive, you pass.
You bring back beast cores, you earn extra points.
You kill another participant... you die. Understand?"
A cold silence answered him.
The Knight smirked.
> "Good.
Release the beasts."
Behind him, a series of cages were thrown open.
Small beasts — F-Rank wolves, boars, mutated rabbits, venomous lizards — burst into the woods.
The Trial had begun.
---
Seventeen's Murmurs
As the children scattered into the trees, Seventeen's voice came softly in Ray's mind.
> "Host.
Notice the ground beneath your feet.
The Trial Grounds are not just a simple forest."
Ray crouched, touching the blackish soil.
It thrummed faintly with mana.
Wild, untamed.
Like a heart beating underground.
Seventeen's tone sharpened:
> "This land was once a battlefield of ancient gods.
Broken domains, shattered realities...
Their residue still bleeds into this soil.
If you survive...
You might find an ancient fragment.
A seed.
A beginning of your own Domain."
Ray stiffened.
His Domain?
Like a personal world?
Before he could ask more, a low growl ripped through the bushes.
---
First Kill: The Blooded Path
Two F-Rank Bloodfang Wolves circled him, eyes glowing red.
Ray tightened his grip on his worn dagger.
No escape.
No backup.
Only him, his skill... and his will.
> "Move."
He whispered the command.
The skeletal rat — hidden in his pouch — darted out, charging one wolf's leg.
The beast snarled, snapping down, but the rat exploded into a cloud of bone shards, temporarily blinding it.
Ray used the chance.
He weaved low —
ducked under the other wolf's leap —
and rammed his dagger deep into its throat.
Warm blood gushed over his hands.
The second wolf, injured by the bone shards, howled and staggered.
Ray didn't hesitate.
Mana gathered in his palm.
> "Rise."
A faint black mist rose from the corpse.
The wolf's eyes — once alive — now glowed cold blue.
An undead Bloodfang Wolf stood beside Ray.
The second wolf froze.
A second later, Ray and his new servant tore it apart together.
---
[Level Up!]
Level: 4 → 5
HP, MP restored!
[Skill Gained: Raise Beast I]
Raise the corpse of a beast as a Lesser Undead. Limited by mana and beast rank.
---
Ray panted, smiling grimly.
His first real summon.
A real undead beast, his to command.
Seventeen chuckled approvingly.
> "Good, Host.
Each victory feeds your Domain.
Each kill builds your army.
Grow stronger... until you are the master of death itself."
Ray wiped his blade clean.
He had six more days to survive.
Six more days to conquer.
---
Elsewhere: The Mock God Shop's Whisper
Far away, in a place beyond human perception, a floating screen flickered.
A gentle voice whispered:
> "Mock God Shop - unlocked soon.
Condition: Survive first true battle.
Gifts await... for the greedy."
Somewhere deep inside Ray's soul, a faint pull began to stir.
The path to godhood... had
---
Chapter 18: Blood on the Frost
The forest was quiet.
Too quiet.
Ray crouched low behind a fallen log, breath misting in the frozen air. His palms were scraped raw, his clothes torn from the frantic escape.
Somewhere ahead, hidden among the dead trees, the beast waited.
An F-Rank predator, mutated by stray mana storms—larger, smarter, and infinitely more vicious than the wolves and foxes he trained against.
Its growl rumbled low across the clearing, a sound that vibrated through Ray's bones.
He tightened his grip around the short dagger Asha had given him. The blade felt like a child's toy against a monster like that.
> "Don't be reckless," Seventeen whispered. "Adapt. Observe. Strike only when sure."
Ray swallowed hard.
His first real kill.
His first real blood.
There would be no second chances.
---
The Beast lunged.
A blur of white and black muscles crashing through the snowdrifts.
Ray barely rolled aside in time, feeling the hot breath of the creature scorch his neck.
Snow exploded around him.
He stumbled to his feet, circling warily.
It was a wolf — once.
Now its back was hunched with thickened bone plates, and its jaw hung open too wide, lined with jagged, uneven teeth.
A twisted mana-beast.
And it was hungry.
Ray flicked his wrist, channeling a thin strand of mana into his blade. A weak enhancement, barely more than a shimmer. But it was all he had.
The wolf charged again.
Ray sidestepped — but not cleanly.
The beast's shoulder slammed into his ribs, sending him tumbling backward, the world spinning.
Something cracked.
Pain bloomed sharp and fierce in his side.
> "Broken rib," Seventeen assessed calmly. "Survive the next sixty seconds or die."
Ray coughed blood, staggering up.
His vision blurred.
But he didn't run.
He couldn't.
Not now.
---
The wolf circled him slowly, sensing weakness.
Its tongue lolled out, steaming in the cold.
Ray's heart hammered in his ears.
Then, deep beneath the frost, he felt it:
A tug.
A pulse.
Like something ancient calling to him through the soil.
> "There," Seventeen said urgently. "Beneath the black stone. A fragment. Take it — claim your right."
Ray gritted his teeth, ignoring the beast for half a heartbeat.
Eyes darted — there, half-buried under ice, a small obsidian shard, humming with power.
A seed of Domain.
Tiny. Fragile. But enough.
Enough to change everything.
But first — the wolf.
---
Ray moved.
Not away from the beast. Toward it.
Pain screamed through his ribs, but he channeled all his mana into his legs, exploding into a desperate sprint.
The wolf leapt, jaws snapping—
Ray ducked low under the lunge, dragging his dagger across its exposed throat.
A shallow cut.
Not fatal.
The beast landed heavily, stumbling.
Ray didn't hesitate. He slammed his shoulder into its wounded side, sending it crashing into the exposed shard.
Mana flared.
The shard shattered—
And a flood of raw, ancient energy spilled out.
The wolf howled in agony, flesh searing, bones cracking.
Ray fell to his knees, gasping, as the power surged through the air.
> "[SYSTEM UPDATE: DOMAIN SEED ACQUIRED.]"
> "[Partial Domain: Dormant State — 0.01% Activated.]"
> "[Access to God Shop: Locked (10% Domain Activation Required)]"
> "[Beast Bonding: Primordial Attempt Available.]"
---
Ray barely registered the messages flashing behind his eyes.
The wolf staggered toward him — half-dead, bleeding mana and black ichor.
Its eyes... changed.
No longer pure hunger.
Now, they shimmered faintly with submission.
The shattered shard had altered it.
Connected it.
> "Decide," Seventeen whispered. "Crush it — or claim it."
Ray reached out with a bloodied hand.
The wolf collapsed at his feet, chest heaving.
And bound itself to him.
> "[New Summon Acquired: F-Rank Mutated Frost Wolf — Name Pending.]"
Ray slumped backward into the snow, exhausted beyond words.
But alive.