Chapter 4: God of Shadows! Terrifying Attributes!

Chapter 4: Chapter 4: God of Shadows! Terrifying Attributes!

The God of Shadows Class definitely wasn’t as simple as it first appeared.

Nathaniel stared at the translucent panel floating before him.

There had to be more.

A Class with a name like this couldn’t possibly end with a single Tier 1 Shadow Soldier.

His eyes moved down the panel again.

[Class: God of Shadows]

[Class Potential: ???]

[Shadow Authority: 1%]

[Shadow Energy: 90/100]

Nathaniel’s eyes narrowed.

Class Potential was unknown.

Even the Shadow Authority was only at one percent.

It was as if he had awakened something that was still sleeping.

Then another line appeared.

[Warning: Current Shadow Authority is insufficient to access higher Shadow Tiers.]

Nathaniel frowned.

So there were restrictions.

That made sense.

If he could immediately command an army of powerful Shadow Soldiers, then there would be no point in leveling up.

He continued reading.

[Shadow Tier]

[Tier 1: Shadow Soldier]

[Tier 2: Locked]

[Tier 3: Locked]

[Tier 4: Locked]

[Tier 5: Locked]

[Higher Tiers: Unknown]

Nathaniel’s fingers curled slightly.

He wanted to know how far this Class could go.

But right now, he had only just awakened.

There was no shortcut.

At least, that’s what he thought.

Then the Awakening Crystal behind him suddenly trembled.

Nathaniel turned around.

The mist inside the crystal began moving faster.

A faint black glow spread from its surface.

The Shadow Soldier standing beside Nathaniel suddenly lowered itself onto one knee.

Nathaniel’s eyes sharpened.

"What is happening?"

The black shadow beneath his feet began to spread.

It climbed across the floor.

Then it reached the stone pedestal.

The Awakening Crystal trembled violently.

A notification appeared before Nathaniel.

[Shadow Authority has detected a large concentration of Awakening Energy.]

[Would you like to absorb it?]

Nathaniel stared at the message.

His heart skipped a beat.

The Awakening Crystal was filled with energy left behind by countless Awakenings.

Could his Class absorb it?

He didn’t hesitate.

"Yes."

The moment he gave the command...

Boom!

The crystal erupted with black light.

A massive stream of energy poured into Nathaniel’s body.

His pupils contracted.

The energy wasn’t painful.

It was cold.

Cold enough to make his entire body tremble.

The darkness beneath his feet became deeper.

His Shadow Soldier’s body began to change as well.

Cracks appeared across its black armor.

Then the cracks closed.

Its body became denser.

Stronger.

A notification appeared.

[Shadow Authority increased.]

[Shadow Authority: 1% → 5%]

Nathaniel clenched his fists.

Power surged through his body.

His original attributes began changing.

[Strength: 10 → 50]

[Agility: 10 → 50]

[Spirit: 15 → 75]

[Constitution: 10 → 50]

Nathaniel stared at the numbers.

His breathing slowed.

An ordinary newly awakened student would normally have attributes close to ten.

Even twenty was considered excellent.

But his Spirit had already reached seventy-five.

And this wasn’t even the end.

Another notification appeared.

[God of Shadows Class potential has been partially unlocked.]

[Class Authority has increased.]

[New skill unlocked: Shadow Blade]

[New skill unlocked: Shadow Step]

Nathaniel’s eyes widened.

Two new skills?

He opened the first.

[Shadow Blade]

[Condenses Shadow Energy into a weapon.]

[The weapon’s form can be freely altered by the user.]

[Current maximum duration: 10 minutes.]

Nathaniel raised his hand.

Darkness gathered around his palm.

A black blade slowly formed.

It wasn’t shiny.

It didn’t reflect the light.

It seemed to swallow the light around it.

Nathaniel swung it once.

Whoosh!

The air itself seemed to tremble.

He looked at the blade.

Interesting.

Then he opened the second skill.

[Shadow Step]

[Allows the user to move instantly between nearby shadows.]

[Current maximum distance: 20 meters.]

Nathaniel’s eyes lit up.

Movement skill.

That was useful.

But the most interesting part wasn’t either skill.

It was the change in his Shadow Soldier.

Nathaniel looked down.

The soldier slowly stood.

Its body was still covered in black armor, but its presence was completely different from before.

It felt heavier.

More dangerous.

A new panel appeared.

[Shadow Soldier]

[Tier: 1]

[Strength: 50]

[Agility: 50]

[Spirit: 30]

[Constitution: 60]

[Ability: Shadow Body]

[Shadow Body: Physical damage is reduced while the soldier remains within darkness.]

Nathaniel stared at the information.

His Shadow Soldier had grown stronger with him.

That meant...

The stronger he became, the stronger his army would become.

Nathaniel’s eyes slowly narrowed.

And there was still something he hadn’t tested.

He looked at the shadow beneath his feet.

"Summon."

The darkness moved.

A second black figure emerged.

Then a third.

Then a fourth.

Each one silently took shape from his shadow.

Nathaniel watched them appear one after another.

[Shadow Soldiers: 5]

[Shadow Energy: 40/100]

Nathaniel stopped.

He had summoned five soldiers.

His current Shadow Energy was almost exhausted.

So there was a practical limit for now.

But it wasn’t a limit on his army.

It was simply a limit on how much Shadow Energy he possessed at Level 1.

That distinction mattered.

Nathaniel looked at the five soldiers standing before him.

Five.

Not ten.

Not a fixed number.

And as his Shadow Energy increased...

So would the number of soldiers he could deploy at once.

His gaze moved back to the Shadow Tier panel.

[Tier 1: Shadow Soldier]

[Tier 2: Locked]

[Tier 3: Locked]

[Tier 4: Locked]

Nathaniel smiled faintly.

There was no reason to rush.

He would unlock them one by one.

He would build his army one soldier at a time.

And eventually...

He would find out just how far the God of Shadows could go.

Outside the Awakening Room.

More than four minutes had passed.

Caleb Rowan stared at the door of Room 10.

There was still no movement.

No thunder.

No flames.

No dazzling light.

Nothing.

The smile on Caleb’s lips grew wider.

He loosened his clenched fists.

"It seems I overthought it."

He said softly, with a hint of disdain.

"Some people, no matter how strong their parents are, are simply destined to be ordinary."

The surrounding students were also whispering.

Everyone was looking at the tightly closed door.

They had originally expected Nathaniel to awaken some earth-shattering Class.

After all, his parents were two of Westmere’s strongest guardians.

But now...

There was still nothing.

"Maybe his Class isn’t that impressive."

"Could he have awakened a Life Class?"

"That would be embarrassing."

Daniel’s expression became tense.

He looked at the door.

"Brother Nathan..."

Caleb crossed his arms.

His eyes were filled with anticipation.

He wanted to see Nathaniel’s expression when he walked out.

Then...

Boom!

A violent shockwave erupted from Room 10.

The entire gymnasium fell silent.

The next second, black light burst from the room.

It wasn’t bright like lightning.

It didn’t illuminate the surroundings.

Instead, it seemed to swallow the light around it.

The lights inside the gymnasium flickered.

One.

Two.

Three.

Then they went completely dark.

"What happened?"

Someone shouted.

The entire gymnasium descended into darkness.

Only the faint sunlight coming through the dome remained.

Then something appeared above Room 10.

A massive black shadow.

It spread across the ceiling like an enormous creature waking from sleep.

The students stared upward.

Nobody spoke.

Even the principal’s expression changed.

This wasn’t an ordinary Awakening phenomenon.

It wasn’t lightning.

It wasn’t fire.

It wasn’t an elemental manifestation.

It was darkness.

Pure darkness.

The shadow above the gymnasium slowly formed the outline of something resembling a throne.

Behind it stood countless vague silhouettes.

One.

Ten.

A hundred.

No one could tell exactly how many there were.

They disappeared almost as quickly as they appeared.

The entire phenomenon lasted only a few seconds.

Then the darkness collapsed.

The lights returned.

The gymnasium became silent.

The door to Room 10 slowly opened.

Nathaniel Beaumont walked out.

His expression was calm.

There was no arrogance on his face.

No excitement.

No fear.

But behind him...

For the briefest moment...

A black shadow moved across the floor.

Caleb’s smile disappeared.

Daniel stared at Nathaniel with wide eyes.

And the principal stood frozen on the platform.

Because even though the phenomenon had already vanished...

He could still feel it.

A strange pressure.

Ancient.

Cold.

And impossible to understand.

Nathaniel looked across the thousands of students.

Then his gaze stopped on Caleb.

The corner of his mouth lifted slightly.

He didn’t say anything.

He didn’t need to.

The Class Awakening had already given him the answer.

God of Shadows.