Chapter 9 – Threshold of Power
Clara – POV
It started with the silence.
No birds. No wind. No distant monster cries.
Just stillness.
Then came the rumble. Low. Rolling. The kind you felt in your bones before you ever heard it.
Clara stepped back from the tree line, her hand tightening around her short blade. The air shifted. Heavy. Thick with tension and mana. Then the forest exploded.
Dozens of monsters surged from the undergrowth—fangs, claws, horns, wings—chaotic shapes fueled by Rift corruption. Some crawled. Some leapt. Others ran like wolves on fire.
But they weren't charging blindly.
They flanked.
She barely got her barrier up before a tusked beast slammed into it, cracking the invisible shield. She retaliated instantly, lashing out with a spiraling wind blade. It split the monster in two—but three more were already behind it.
"Andrew!" she called, stepping back, both hands blazing with ice and fire.
"I see them!" he shouted, shadows erupting from the ground like black spears.
They fought side by side at first—like they'd done a hundred times now. His umbra hammer crushed skulls, his cloak deflected blades. She burned through swarms with firestorms and impaled crawlers with glacial spikes.
But they weren't winning.
For every monster they downed, two more took its place. They didn't stop.
They didn't fear.
And some of them were using skills.
---
Andrew – POV
He crushed a blade-fanged predator beneath his warhammer, only for a quadruped mutant to leap from a rooftop, spear in hand. It hurled it with inhuman precision.
He phased—Shadow Step—just in time, then Blasted the entire roof apart in retaliation.
Seeker flared. The battlefield lit up in his mind—dozens, no, hundreds of hostile signatures encircling them.
Too many.
They weren't trying to kill them quickly.
They were testing them.
Bleeding them.
Softening them up.
Clara screamed—anger, not fear—as a massive red beast clipped her barrier and forced her back. Fire exploded from her body, wreathing her in flames. Her aura… it shimmered.
Distorted.
Twisting at the edges like something ancient was cracking through.
His gaze snapped to the distance.
There. At the edge of the forest.
A tall, skeletal creature with jagged horns and molten cracks across its hide stood unmoving—watching. The boss.
It locked eyes with him.
Andrew's shadow flared.
"I'll handle it," he said, suddenly beside Clara.
She turned, blood running down her cheek. "What—?!"
"You hold the line. I'll kill it."
She looked like she wanted to argue—but saw his eyes.
And nodded.
"Don't die."
He didn't answer.
He vanished in a whisper of black smoke.
---
Clara – POV
He was gone.
And she was alone.
A dozen monsters howled and charged.
She screamed back, fire roaring around her, ice lancing from her hands, wind swirling around her like blades.
Everything blurred.
Blood. Fire. Shadows.
And beneath it all, she felt it.
Something inside her was watching too.
---
Andrew – POV
He appeared in front of the boss in a crack of darkness, only for the beast to move—faster than it should. A claw swept toward him like a guillotine.
He raised a Shadow Barrier—it shattered instantly.
Bones cracked. Blood sprayed.
He hit the ground hard—but rolled, increasing his mass mid-motion. His gravity doubled. The force grounded him. Stabilized him.
He surged forward.
Warhammer in hand. Shadows twisting into wings.
It would take everything.
He would give it.
—
Clara – POV
Blood sprayed across her face as her blade cut through another charging beast, her flames searing the next in line. She didn't have time to breathe—only to kill.
> [Fire Magic] has reached Level 5.
[Wind Magic] has reached Level 4.
[Short Sword Mastery] has reached Level 3.
Her body moved on instinct now—training and chaos colliding. She twisted around a spear thrust and shattered the wielder's ribcage with an ice-coated kick. Wind roared around her, silent spells firing off like reflexes.
But still—they kept coming.
She screamed, lashing out with a spinning fire arc, carving through four enemies at once. Bones cracked. Flesh burned. Her body was bruised, her blade chipped—but she stood tall.
Then something shifted.
The flame on her arm curled unnaturally, swirling into a spiral as if answering something deeper than magic.
Her heartbeat doubled. Her irises flickered red for a half-second too long.
And the next wave of monsters hesitated.
Just for a moment.
---
Andrew – POV
The katana felt natural in his hand—too natural. He didn't remember ever learning how to use it, but the moment he gripped it, his body adjusted. The balance. The footwork. The killing intent.
> [Longsword Swordsmanship] acquired – LV 1
You have taken your first step into the art of the blade. Increases precision, reaction speed, and lethal efficiency with long swords. Experience gain accelerated in combat.
The boss circled him like a panther—each step melting the earth beneath it. Its eyes were molten coins, and it wielded a curved bone scythe twice its size.
Andrew struck first.
A flicker of Shadow Step, then a high slash—blocked.
The monster retaliated with a downward swing that cracked the ground. He ducked, reduced his mass, dashed low, then increased it mid-slash—amplifying the weight of his strike.
Steel met corrupted bone.
The clash sent shockwaves through the clearing.
The boss hissed.
Andrew bled.
He didn't care.
His body was a mess of bruises, but his movements sharpened. Every block fed him data. Every mistake refined his form.
> [Longsword Swordsmanship] LV 2
[Seeker] LV 2 – Range increased to 10 meters.
He saw more. Felt more.
The monster shifted—changing stance.
Andrew mirrored it without thinking.
And when they clashed again, he drew blood.
---
Clara – POV
She was drenched in it now—her own, and not. The world was spinning. But her enemies were fewer now. She'd pushed them back.
Some had begun to flee.
Others circled warily.
She didn't care.
She stood in the center of a field of corpses, the ground scorched and frozen in patches. Her blade hummed with elemental resonance, the metal pulsing with power. Her body hurt, but her soul burned brighter.
She raised her arm.
The wind howled.
> [Chaos Affinity – Inactive] pulsed.
Warning: Magic output unstable.
She smiled grimly.
"Let it come."
---
Andrew – POV
His blade pierced the boss's thigh.
The monster shrieked and retaliated with a furious combo of slashes and bone-shattering strikes. Andrew dodged. Parried. Shadow-flickered. His cloak tore. His mouth tasted blood.
But he didn't fall.
Because every second—he grew stronger.
Then the monster screamed, channeling energy—black and orange flame rippling through its horns.
Andrew didn't run.
He planted his feet, raised his sword, and whispered: "Let's end this."
—
Andrew – POV
The boss roared, flames pouring from its mouth, and raised its scythe high—mana flaring like a sun.
Andrew narrowed his eyes.
He felt the darkness twist around him—not consuming, but reshaping. The black inside his chest didn't just respond—it answered.
> [Darkness Flames] acquired – LV 1
Wreathe weapon or body in black fire. Burns mana, mind, and matter. Intensity scales with Intelligence.
A surge of energy exploded through his limbs as the katana ignited—not with normal fire, but with cold, devouring flame.
The blade hummed.
The world slowed.
He felt everything: the weight of the scythe's arc, the distortion in the air, the mana coil inside the beast's chest. Seeker screamed in his skull. The path was clear.
He moved.
Clashed.
---
Clara – POV
She staggered. Blood dripped down her ribs, her left arm numb, her vision doubling. A monster with golden armor loomed over her, laughing—a corrupted knight, Level 19 at least.
She raised her hand to cast—but nothing came.
Then… the whispers returned.
Faint. Metallic. Ancient.
> Warning: Chaos Trait Activation Detected.
Stability compromised.
Her eyes widened—then began to glow, flickering between red and violet. Her pulse spiked. Something inside her snapped and flowed outward.
A wave of pure pressure dropped the knight to its knees.
Her fire magic flared—then changed color. Her ice began to move like liquid shadow. Her wind howled with whispers.
And Clara screamed—not in fear.
In release.
She lunged, blade leading, magic spiraling in chaotic arcs. One strike. One impossible burst of force. The knight vanished in a maelstrom of mixed elements.
---
Shared POV – The World Burns
Andrew's sword met the boss's scythe—Darkness Flames erupting in a geyser of silent black.
Clara's chaos surge collided with the last elite monsters—a storm of red, violet, and white light.
The two explosions occurred simultaneously—opposite ends of the same clearing.
The world split.
A soundless pulse rippled through the forest, trees evaporating into ash, monsters turned to shadows and cinders.
Flame and darkness.
Chaos and control.
A crater formed. Smoke billowed. Nothing moved.
Then, a cough.
Clara rose slowly, wobbling, burned but alive. Her eyes returned to normal.
Across the field, Andrew stood over the boss's charred remains, blade still glowing faintly.
Their systems screamed.
> Level Up!
Andrew: Level 14 → 21
Clara: Level 18 → 20
> Milestone Reached: Level 20
All stats significantly increased.
New abilities awakening…
Chaos Trait resonance detected…
Darkness Core stabilizing…
They didn't speak.
They just stood.
Breathing.
Victorious.
And changed.
Forever.